Cookies for a crowd

Tonight I am baking 6+ dozen cookies for 70+ youngsters. I’m not sure that is enough, so I may have to whip out the mixer and make a couple (dozen) more. And by a couple, I mean four. I have no idea what 11 dozen cookies looks like, but I am about to find out. Dozen 8 and 9 are in the oven right now and my kitchen is already a tower of cookies. It is also 100+ degrees in here–quick side bar, I just went to hit the + sign and found cookie dough on it. This should indicate 2 things to you 1) I have been using the + sign with abnormal frequency tonight. 2) I have cookie dough coming out of my ears– Seriously, I bet it is over 100 degrees in here. As I was downstairs licking my fingers while washing the dishes from batch-o-cookies number one, I called up to E and asked if sweating while baking counts as a workout. Apparently not. HUMPH, would it kill him to enable my denial?

Anyway, in the end, my batter made 12.5 dozen cookies. I don’t have tupperware for that many cookies. But, the good news is, these cookies are delicious. I got this recipe from Jennifer at Bake or Break. It is her favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and now it is mine. I’ll ask the kiddies tomorrow and see what they think, but this recipe tentatively gets an A+ in my recipe book.

In other news, I ate my weight in cookie dough this evening, so if salmonella is legit (and not just a scare tactic to keep me away from the batter growing up) I’m about to suffer big time. Honestly, I’ll probably suffer for this either way.

Stay tuned, tomorrow night we’re making pizza with some new friends. Our apartment is currently a mess. I figure I have 2 options: clean the apartment, or distract our guests with beer until they are too buzzed to care. We’ll see which one I go with.

Ciao bella.  Arrivederci

Advertisement

Keeping Busy

I know how lame this sounds, but the truth is that I get bored on weekends.

I’m sure I’ll miss this boredom come fall when I have to spend every moment not dedicated to research dedicated to studying Child Assessment and Psychopathology (I know, my life is awesome, right?). But anyway, until then… I get bored.

So today, I gave myself a project. I made a recipe book.

I don’t know how well you guys stalk me, but last week I did a guest post on a semi popular blog (thedailybalance.com) about ‘my’ world famous pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. When I make those cookies I used to use a paper print out of the recipe but it ultimately got destroyed by water and what not. So, when I was making them for the post, I tried to recreate the recipe by memory and um… failed.

Then, this morning, I read this post by Kath on her blog. This post depicts pictures of a recipe book she’s had for years, with little notes on each page about what she thought of each meal.

AHA!

I love craft projects (despite have less than zero artistic talent) so I went into this full force.

I am so excited about this book. It is full of cookie, cake and bread recipes that I have tried and that I want to try. Now, every night when i want to bake something, I just have to ask E to open the book and pick something new.

That's a blanket in the corner, not a small animal!

Tonight, he picked peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

waiting to go in the oven

This recipe is from Cooking Light, but they aren’t so light. 1 cup white and 1 cup brown sugar?! 1/2 cup peanut butter? Granted, the recipe made 4 dozen cookies, but that’s still 1/24th cup sugar per cookie. I have no idea if that is a lot… But it tastes like a lot. The verdict: These cookies are too sweet and not peanut-buttery enough. Kind of bland really. Also, the recipe only calls for 2/3 cup chocolate chips, I was skeptical of this and upped it to a generous cup, but still not enough!

So what did the man think? In E’s Opinion: they’re not terribly peanut buttery, but good texture and creamy and yummy (I left him with 3 cookies and ran upstairs to grab something. They were all gone when I returned. Good Boy!). So maybe I spoke too soon. They’ll go in the book as a B/B+.

Next time, I think I’ll try a bundt cake. Any recommendations? There are still lots of empty pages in my book!

The verdict is in!

Judge loved ’em!
E told me the judge came into his office at 1pm and said something like “I’ve already eaten half of them. I think I overdosed on cookies. In fact, I didn’t eat lunch! The cookies were lunch.”
So there you go. My cookies got the judge’s stamp of approval. I’ll tell you what though: they weren’t terribly good for you. Lots of buttah of the peanut and normal varieties. I hope the judge doesn’t have a coronary in the next 24 hours. It would be hard for me to not feel guilty (I feel guilty already, and nothing’s happened. What can I do, I’m a good(ish) jew).
ALSO in other non-chocolate related news: I changed the water cooler at work today.  Without any help!! Anyone watch 30 rock? (if you answered no to that question, you should) Remember the episode where Liz has to change the water cooler and gets water everywhere but in the contraption? That was always my biggest fear. But I am to all about facing my fears (And eating cake). So anyway, I was alone in the break room and I wanted water but woe is me, there was no water………. ok I could tell this story but I bet you can guess the ending (hint, I told you already): I changed the water cooler at work today. YAY ME. And then I bragged about it on the internet. The End.

Still no pictures of chocolate. I know. I know, what kind of blogger am I? Um, a tired one? I’m on day 2 of my impromptu-ish caffeine withdrawal. Impromptu?? You say. Well,
Day 1: I didn’t have enough cash for the vending machine yesterday*, and decided, on a whim-type thing to go cold turkey!
Day 2: I hate Day 1 me. I hate turkey. Unless it’s warm.
So, no chocolate today. But there is still reason to celebrate: SYTYCD is recording as I type this.  Tomorrow, I will watch it. I love you, tomorrow.
And not to worry, there will definitely be real chocolate baked goods come Friday night. E and I are going to a dinner party and I’m making desserts. I’m thinking something chocolate with strawberries, but I’m not sure… what should I make?

* Um I am such a junkie. I didn’t have $1.25 for a coke, and I was almost in tears. Talk about a coke habit. At least it was the cheaper and legaler kind.

What’s wrong with this picture?

When I said this blog would be ‘all chocolate, all the time’ I may have spoken too soon.

Tonight there will be no chocolate, only peanut butter cookies.

One thing you should know about me: I am something of a bake-aholic. When I am bored, I go bake-crazy. And it has been raining steady everyday, and it was a very boring holiday weekend. I baked all of my chocolate chips away!

Turns out our choc-stock was irrelevant for tonight’s bakefest anyway. This morning, I received a request from E’s boss to make peanut butter cookies.  You do not cross a judge, even if it does mean baking a non-chocolate good. Plus, I love peanut butter cookies.  E does not, so this request was an excellent excuse to make them.

Ergo (lawyer speak! I’m so clever) no chocolate passed these lips tonight. Ok, that’s a big lie. I have chocolate hidden stored in my desk to munch on all day long (I bake when I’m bored, I eat when I’m bored…why can’t I crave running or weight lifting when I’m bored?). I also had some chocolate ice cream while I waited for the cookies to bake, but you get the point.

These particular peanut-butter cookies are unique because they are not overwhelmingly peanut-buttery (because we ran out of peanut butter). E and I both agree that is a good thing. Unsure how the judge will rule. I’ll inform you of the verdict.

Cookies and roses. Sort of like valentines day, except: no chocolate, and I bought those flowers for myself ($6! not bad). So, not really like valentines day at all.