Chocolate Chips Cookies: Chewy or Crispy

Chocolate Chips Cookies: Chewy or Crispy

Hi everybody :)
I promised a recipe was coming soon so here it is, Chocolate Chip Cookies. I know, I know there are thousand of chocolate chip cookie recipe out there, but this one caught my attention because with few changes; you can make your cookies chewy or crispy. You decide. Anna Olson, Pastry Chef at Canada Food Network, noted for crispy cookies omit the cornstarch and replace the baking soda with baking powder. Now, let's get it started... 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks (I used 1 cup milk chocolate chips)

In an electric mixer cream together butter and sugars until smooth and light in color, about 2 minutes with stand mixer. 

Add egg and vanilla and blend in.
In a bowl; mix together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks. 

(Dough can be refrigerated at this point and baked about an hour later, or shaped and frozen following the direction here  for an easy make-ahead recipe. If baking from a frozen dough add about two more minutes to baking time.)
 

Drop by tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet in an oven preheated at 350 degree. (I used parchment paper.) Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown around the edge.

Source: Food Network
 

What I Did and/or Think: 
The changes I made are in Bold, Italic, and Purple.   Brown sugar also helps when making a chewier cookies especially dark brown sugar. Sometime when making cookies that call for brown sugar I like to use 1 part dark brown and 1 part light brown to get the amount of chewiness I love.

The Taste: I love the chewy chocolatey taste of these cookies and so does my daughter. She requested more after class. 

How do you like your chocolate chip cookies? Either way you choose, I think you will find this recipe a winner, so they're definitely worthy of REPEATS.

ENJOY!  Come again... 
Linked to: 
Foodie Friends Friday @Nosh My Way
The Better Baker Weekend Potluck 
The Mandatory Mooch Tasty Thursday
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage 
Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sister's Stuff 
Sweet Saturday Link Party: The Gingerbread Blog 
Wednesdays Adorned From Above

Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party  @ Addicted Recipes

Mop Up Mondays - I Should be Mopping the Floor  
Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday!
Sweet 2 Eat Baking: Sugar & Slice Sunday Melt In Your Mouth Monday @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms 
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop 
Tried and True Recipes Party  
Zentmrs: Tuesday Table
Titus 2 Tuesday 
Tuesday-Talent-Show:  Chef In Training    

Sweet Barbecued Pork: Posting News

Sweet Barbecued Pork: Posting News

Hi everybody :)
Before we get to the recipe, I will not be posting as much for the next few months. My daughter fell and broke her ankle Sunday,  so I'm going to have my hands full helping her recover from surgery while she's finishing college. I will try to post at least once or twice a week, so please bare with me.

Now on  to the recipe...

Looking for a great dish that helps make meal planning easier? I may had the solution for you. Not only is it easy to prepare, it's a great recipe to make-ahead too, because it can be frozen and reheated for later. These pork chops are simmered in a sweet sauce to perfection in minutes.  The sauce is similar to a sweet sauce I make to do oven BBQ chicken, only without the heat. I love the sweet-n-spicy combination. Let's get it started...

Sweet Barbecued Pork
8 boneless pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick and 8 ounces each) (I used 4 {1/2 inch} chops)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup each ketchup, barbecue sauce, French salad dressing and honey

In a large skillet, brown pork chops in oil in batches for 2-3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. 

Return all to the pan. 

Combine the remaining ingredients; pour over chops. 

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until a thermometer reads 145°. (I simmered my chops for 20 minutes)

 Let stand 5 minutes before serving, or cool before placing in a freezer container. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. 
To use frozen pork chops: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Place in a skillet; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-6 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 8 servings.
Source: Taste of Home 2008 Quick Cooking Annual Recipes or  here.
What I Did and/or Think:
I did cooked my chops longer then the recipe suggested, be sure to check with a meat thermometer. (I got to get one.)

To give this a little heat I used Wish Bone Light Sweet & Spicy French for the salad dressing and Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet n' Spicy BBQ Sauce for the barbecue sauce.  I divided the recipe in half; using 4 pork chops. I also seasoned the chops with pepper and Lawry's perfect Blend SWEET BASIL, CITRUS & GARLIC RUB.

The Taste: I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sauce. The pork chop was nice and tender too. I'm sure this would would work for bone-in pork chops also. The sauce would be great for chicken too :) It's an A.G.R. ladies;  (Another Great REPEAT).
 ENJOY! Come again...
Linked to:
Show Case Your Talent  @What's Cooking Love 
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  
The Mandatory Mooch Tasty Thursday
Food-Tastic Fridays @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes
The Country Cook:: Weekend Potluck 

Oatmeal Dinner Rolls: From Breakfast to Dinner

Oatmeal Dinner Rolls: From Breakfast to Dinner

Hi everybody :)

Well, I'm back with the second half of the Oatmeal Yeast Dough  to make the dinner rolls. I just love recipes with variations, don't you? This recipe have 3 variations of one yeast dough. 
The dough is also a great make-ahead recipe because it can be prepared ahead and frozen for later uses. 
 
I'm doing the plain dinner rolls today, the other one, Herb Swirled Rolls, is similar to the Herbed Oatmeal Pan Bread. If you're a bread lover like me, this one recipe can carry you from breakfast to dinner with minor changes to the base recipe. Now that I had my taste of delicious Oatmeal Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast, on to the dinner version. Let's get it started...

Oatmeal Dinner Rolls
Prep; 15 minutes
Rise: 1 hour: 30 minutes
Bake: 15 minutes

Oatmeal Yeast Dough  see pictures at Oatmeal Cinnamon Rolls
2 cups water
1 cup quick-cooking oats
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 (1/4-ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Bring 2 cups water to a boil; stir in oats and butter. Boil, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool to 110°. Stir together yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a 2-cup measuring cup, let stand 5 minutes.
 
Beat oat mixture, yeast mixture, flour, salt, and brown sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. (The dough will be very sticky, add more flour, if needed)
 
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface: knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts. 1 hour or until dough is doubled in bulk. (Can be frozen after this point; see 2nd. Note below)
 
Punch dough down, and divide in half; shape each portion into 16 (1 1/2-inch) balls. Place evenly into 2 lightly greased 9- X 1 3/4-inch round cake pans. (I did 1 pan and got 8 balls making 8 Big Rolls.)

Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
 
Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 32 rolls.
Note: Reserve 1 portion of dough for Oatmeal Cinnamon Rolls recipe, if desired

Note: Rolls may be chilled overnight after second rising let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking as directed. Or, freeze up to 1 month after second rising, thaw overnight in refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature minutes before baking as directed

What I did and/or Think:

The change I made is in Bold, Italic, & Purple

The Taste: Just like the Oatmeal Cinnamon Rolls, the dinner rolls have a soft fluffy texture. They taste their BEST warm fresh out of the oven, but can be reheated with great result! IT'S AN A.G.R. Ladies!  Another Great REPEAT!

For Herb Swirled Rolls:
Substitute 1/2 teaspoon each of freeze-dried chives, dried basil and dried rosemary for brown sugar and cinnamon or use 1 teaspoon each of fresh herbs. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, if desired Omit glaze. (I might make this one later)

ENJOY! Come again...

Linked to:
Melt In Your Mouth Monday @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms 
Jaime @ Mom's Test Kitchen
Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday!
Keeping It Simple - Motivate Me Monday Link Party
Manic Monday 
Watch Out Martha 

BYOB @ Roxana's Home Baking : Baking Your Own Bread   

Oatmeal Cinnamon Rolls: Breakfast Is Served

Oatmeal Cinnamon Rolls: Breakfast Is Served

Hi everybody :)

I've been missing from posting these past few days because I have been sick with this sinus/allergy thing. I had a very bad sinus headache, but I'm feeling much better now. The weather changes brought it on, we're still having weird weather here, first it sunny and bright then it's cloudy, rainy, and cold... go figure. 

On to the post...

"Welcome to another Breakfast Is Served Sunday!" If you're just tuning  in to my post, every Sunday I try to post a Breakfast Is Served. The last Breakfast Is Served post was Pancake from a Homemade Bisquick Mix.

Today recipe is from an Oatmeal Yeast Dough, that can be used for plain or savory dinner rolls or sweet cinnamon rolls. I chose to make the latter for the Breakfast Is Served post. The other one I will share with you at a later time. 

The dough is prepared basically the same as all yeast doughs, the only difference is that the oatmeal is cooked and cooled down to 110° first, as with the Herbed Oatmeal Pan Bread. Here's how it's done...

Oatmeal Cinnamon Rolls

Oatmeal Yeast Dough
Prep; 15 minutes
Rise: 1 hour: 30 minutes
Bake: 15 minutes

2 cups water
1 cup quick-cooking oats
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 (1/4-ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
 
Bring 2 cups water to a boil; stir in oats and butter.  Boil, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool to 110°. (This took about 25 minutes for me)
Stir together yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a 2-cup measuring cup, let stand 5 minutes. (Mixture should have risen and bubbles and foam would appear at the top)
Beat oat mixture, yeast mixture, flour, salt, and brown sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. (The dough will still be very sticky after mixing in flour, add a little more if needed )
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface: knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top.
Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts. 1 hour or until dough is doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down, and divide in half; reserve 1 portion of dough for dinner rolls. (I will be sharing the details later)

Oatmeal Cinnamon Rolls

Prep: 20 minutes
Rise: 30 minutes
Bake: 25 minutes

Oatmeal Yeast Dough (recipe above)
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
 
Roll dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14- x 12-inch rectangle; brush with butter.Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over butter. 

Top with pecans. (I added the pecans to some of the rolls after cutting) Roll up. jellyroll fashion, starting at a long edge: cut into 1-inch-thick slices. Arrange in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan. (They can be refrigerated and bake the next day at this point)

Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

 Whisk together powdered sugar and milk; drizzle over warm rolls. Yield: 14 rolls. (I made 11 Big rolls)

Source: Southern Living 2001: Annual Recipes

What I Did and/or Think:
The changes I made are in Bold, Italic and Purple were adding the pecans to the top of some of the rolls after  slicing and adding 1/2 teaspoon vanilla to the glaze. 

The Taste: I love the soft fluffy texture the oatmeal provided in these rolls. They were absolutely DELICIOUS! A definitely REPEAT!

To Make-ahead: Prepare the rolls up to the 2nd rise, refrigerate overnight, the next day bake as directed. 

Stay tune! I'm using the second half of the oatmeal dough to make dinner rolls, which would be great served alongside a bowl of hot steamy soup :)

Oatmeal Dinner Rolls

ENJOY! Come again...

Linked to 
YeastSpotting! @ wildyeast 
BYOB @ Roxana's Home Baking : Baking Your Own Bread  
Sweet 2 Eat Baking: Sugar & Slice Sunday 
Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party  @ Addicted Recipes
Think Pink Sunday @ Flamingo Toes Get Your Party On 
Everyday Moms Meals   
Nifty Thrifty Sunday  
Mop Up Mondays - I Should be Mopping the Floor 
Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks 
Weekend Kitchen Creations 

Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls: Downsizing Recipes

Sour Cream Pocketbook Rolls

Hi everybody :)

The Holidays Are Over...letting that sank in...Everybody's back to their day to day routine here; my daughter back at college, my son spending more time with his girlfriend, and hubby back at work. Once again, I'm surrounded by the quietness of an empty house. It's okay... I suppose; like I've mentioned before I enjoy being in the company of one, sometimes. The only downside, as I mentioned, is I love cooking for a crowd. So, at times I have to downsides recipes to fix my small family of four or many times, a serving of one. 

These rolls, for example, makes about 4 dozen, can be downsized to produce 2 dozen. The online recipe is the 4 dozen recipe and the book recipe is the 2 dozen recipe.  

Sour Cream Yeast Rolls adapted Christmas with Southern Living Cookbook Volume2 or here

Yield: Makes about 4 1/2 dozen

Total: 9 Hours, 32 Minutes

Ingredients: 

4 dozen                                                                     2 dozen

1 (8-oz.) container sour cream ---------------  1/2 cup (4-oz)

1/2 cup butter ------------------------------   1/4 cup

1/2 cup sugar -------------------------------   1/4 cup

1 1/4 teaspoons salt  -------------------------  1/2 tsp.

2 (1/4-oz.) envelopes active dry yeast-------    1 pkg. or 2 1/4 tsp.

1/2 cup warm water (105°- 110°)  ----------    1/4 cup

2 large eggs, lightly beaten  -----------------     1 egg

4 cups all-purpose flour  --------------------     2 cup

1/4 cup butter, melted and divided  --------      2 tbsp.

Directions: 
Cook first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes or until butter melts. Let cool to 115°.

Combine yeast and warm water in a liquid measuring cup; let stand 5 minutes. Stir together eggs, flour, yeast mixture, and sour cream mixture in a large bowl until well blended. Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours. 

Divide dough into fourths, and shape each portion into a ball. Roll each ball to 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface; cut dough into rounds with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter.Brush rounds with 2 Tbsp. melted butter. Make a crease across each round with a knife, and fold in half; gently press edges to seal. Place rolls, with sides touching, in a lightly greased 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Place any remaining rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
Preheat oven to 375°, and bake rolls 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush rolls with remaining 2 Tbsp. melted butter.

What I Did and/or Think:

I made 9 Big rolls because I like my rolls big :) and follow remaining instruction as directed.

This is a great make-ahead recipe because of the 8 to 24 hours chill time. The dough can be prepared ahead and chill overnight in the refrigerator. 

The Taste: The fluffy softness of these buttery, tangy, with a hint of sweetness rolls just melts in your mouth. They are MMMMMmmmmmmm GOOD! REPEAT! REPEAT! REPEAT!

For variation these can be shaped into Cloverleaf Rolls. 
Grease 2 muffin pans. Shape dough into 1" balls; place 3 balls in each muffin cup. Cover and let rise until double, about 40 minutes. Bake as directed. Brush with butter.  

For more useful information on measurement or converting recipes check out my newest chart adapted from my cookbook collection.

ENJOY! Come again...

Linked to:
YeastSpotting! @ wildyeast 
BYOB @ Roxana's Home Baking : Baking Your Own Bread  
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage 
The Mandatory Mooch Tasty Thursday 
Show Case Your Talent  @What's Cooking Love
Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive