by kathilipp | Dec 2, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Welcome to any and all Rants and Ramblings Readers – as you can see we are delving into really deep topics round these part – Cookies that is. So take a break from the sometimes heartbreaking world of publishing and have a cookie on me. You’ll feel better. I promise.
Today’s cookie is the Ivy League Choco-Chunk Cookies.
“But Kathi” you might be thinking, “you just gave us the BEST Chocolate Chip cookie recipe ever! Why a repeat?” Well, dear readers, a girl’s gotta have options, and this is no ordinary Chocolate Chip Cookie! It’s sweet, it’s got texture, and a melding offlavors I wouldn’t naturally put together, but believe me, it works! So without further adieu…
Ivy League Choco-Chunk Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons each: baking powder and ground cinnamon
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
10 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chunks
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Cream butter and sugars in large mixing bowl. Beat in eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice.
Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Gradually stir it into creamed mixture to make a smooth batter. Stir in oats, chocolate and walnuts until thoroughly incorporated. Drop mounds of batter, each equivalent to 2 tablespoons, 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets. Bake until cooked through in the center and light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Makes 3 dozen.
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. light brown sugar (packed)
4 large eggs
1 1/2 T vanilla extract
1 T fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
12 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chunks separated in half (you can substitute a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips)
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a microwave safe container, melt 1/2 of the chocolate chunks in the microwave until smooth. (do this for 10-15 sec. bursts at a time, stirring in between until done)
Cream butter and sugars in large mixing bowl. Beat in eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition. Add in melted chocolate and mix well. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, add together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix well with a whisk.
Gradually stir dry mixture into creamed mixture to make a smooth batter. Stir in oats and chocolate chunks until thoroughly incorporated.
Drop mounds of batter, about 2 tablespoons full, 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets. Flash freeze.
To bake, preheat oven to 350F. Bake until cooked through in the center, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Makes 3 dozen.
by kathilipp | Dec 1, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Remember – this week’s giveaway! If you leave a comment and share your favorite cookie dough recipe, you will be entered to win a Cookie Dough Exchange kit. Drawing will include all comments through the week and will be announced next Monday, 12/7.
If you want to know more about participating or even hosting a cookie dough exchange party, you can go to my website and sign up for my newsletter. There you will learn of my undying love for all things Cookie Dough and why a Cookie Dough Exchange is far superior to a plain ol’ cookie exchange
Mmmmmmm. Chocolate. There actually used to be a woman at our church who didn’t like chocolate. Can you imagine?
If you don’t like chocolate, this is still a fabulous recipe to have in your CDE arsenal, because chances are, the other 99% of the attendees, friends and family love it!
Homemade Brownies
For this recipe, you will need a disposable 8×8 foil pan for each batch of brownies you are making, if using for a Cookie Dough Exchange (or freezing ahead)
3/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Grease 8x8x2″ pan.
In a medium bowl, mix butter, sugar and vanilla.
Beat in eggs with a spoon until combined.
In another bowl, combine remaining ingredients (except chocolate chips). Add to first bowl and mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Add in chocolate chips. (you can reserve a few to sprinkle on the top if you want).
Bake 40-45 min in a preheated 350F oven, until brownies start to pul away from pan.
Remember – this week’s giveaway! If you leave a comment and share your favorite cookie dough recipe, you will be entered to win a Cookie Dough Exchange kit. Drawing will include all comments through the week and will be announced next Monday, 12/7.
If you want to know more about participating or even hosting a cookie dough exchange party, you can go to my website and sign up for my newsletter. There you will learn of my undying love for all things Cookie Dough and why a Cookie Dough Exchange is far superior to a plain ol’ cookie exchange
by kathilipp | Nov 30, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Wedding Cakes, Tea Cakes – whatever you call them, the Cookie Dough Exchange madness continues!
Remember – this week’s giveaway! If you leave a comment and share your favorite cookie dough recipe, you will be entered to win a Cookie Dough Exchange kit. Drawing will include all comments through the week and will be announced next Monday, 12/7.
If you want to know more about participating or even hosting a cookie dough exchange party, you can go to my website and sign up for my newsletter. There you will learn of my undying love for all things Cookie Dough and why a Cookie Dough Exchange is far superior to a plain ol’ cookie exchange.
This is another family favorite, and a Christmas tradition you might often see. They aren’t really cakes, but they are delicious.
Makes about 48
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped almonds or pecans
1/4 teaspoon salt
powdered sugar
In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in flour, nuts and salt until dough holds together. Shape into 1-inch balls. Place inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. (This is where you should flash freeze the cookies) When ready to bake, reheat oven to 325 F. Bake for 15-20 minutes until set but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets. Cool slightly and roll in powdered sugar. Cool completely and reroll in powdered sugar. (go ahead – when you’re all done, you can lick your fingers)
by kathilipp | Nov 29, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Chocolate Chip Cookies
I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving! My family had eight pie.
EIGHT PIES.
One pie for every 1.4 people.
We are a sick, sick bunch.
This week on my blog, I will be posting our family favorite cookie recipes. (Yes, the sickness continues…)
If you want to know more about participating or even hosting a cookie dough exchange party, you can go to my website and sign up for my newsletter. There you will learn of my undying love for all things Cookie Dough and why a Cookie Dough Exchange is far superior to a plain ol’ cookie exchange.
This week’s giveaway! If you leave a comment and share your favorite cookie dough recipe, you will be entered to win a Cookie Dough Exchange kit. Drawing will include all comments through the week and will be announced next Monday, 12/7. The winner of last week’s 11/24 Project 20, for the Post-It Pack is Heidi! Please e-mail kimber@kathilipp.com and she will get it right out to you!
The following recipe is by far the best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe we have ever made at home. There is something about that blended up oatmeal that makes these cookies about the mositest (is that even a word?) and chewiest CCC I have ever had the delight of eating. Oh, and the dough freezes perfectly!
On to the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!
(Recipe may be halved):
2 cups butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and blend in blender to a fine powder)
24 oz. chocolate chips
1 tsp. salt
1 8 oz. Hershey bar (grated)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
2 tsp. vanilla
Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar and nuts.
Decide if you want to freeze into pre-scooped balls, or ready to slice logs.
Flash freeze scooped balls on a cookie sheet before packaging it. It will make it easier to handle and keep its shape better if you are freezing a lot of packages on top of it. For logs, wrap in plastic wrap and form into a log about 2″ around.
I package my dough in large Ziploc bags. Put the dough in the bag and write the baking instructions on the bag. I like to experiment with the cookies and find out what the baking time and temp is for frozen dough as well as thawed dough.
Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies
by kathilipp | Nov 24, 2009 | The Husband Project, Uncategorized |
Your Project:
Let him win the media wars as you suggest an action-packed-car-chasing-things-exploding thriller.
It’s the last day of the challenge – plus it’s the day before Thanksgiving – the perfect time to snuggle down and watch a movie with your man. Congrats on getting this far – so take a little time to relax with your man.
So in the interest of public service to the wife community, I’ve compiled a list of guy movies for you to choose from.
Thanks to my guy friends for their insight and comments. They have preformed a great service to women everywhere.
Guy Movies
Anything with Al Pacino
Anything with Marlon Brando (pre-Don Juan Demarco)
Anything with Bruce Willis
Sports
Field of Dreams
“Baseball. Need I say more?” Steve
We are Marshall
“Inspiring, true, sports story,” Scott
Action
Back to the Future trilogy
Steve says,” I’ve always been interested in time travel. The only think that would have made it better would be a cameo by Molly Ringwald.”
Mission Impossible 1,2,3,
Bourne Supremacy and all the sequels
The Net
Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King
“Great story, great action, worth sitting through three hours.” Karl
Violence
Gladiator
“Total macho movie, lots of action, however good plot and I love the soundtrack. This is one of the few movies where you don’t mind being the guy wearing the skirt.” Karl
Saving Private Ryan
Steve says, “Groundbreaking cinema, pro-military without being pro-war.”
The Shawshank Redemption
“Morgan Freeman and good over evil. What more could you ask for?” Charles
(Note from Kathi: While these are the hardest movies for me to watch, they do give me ample opportunity to bury my face in my husband’s shoulder.)
Humor
Young Frankenstein
“Seriously funny movie, quotes are memorable and make me laugh out loud whenever I think about that movie.” Karl
Oceans 11
Romance
(This was a trick category – if you think this falls under guy movies, you are still thinking like a chick.)
Movies Both Guys and Girls Like
This is a magical list. Every Hollywood producer is looking for that mystical intersection of entertaining males and delighting females. Here’s a group of movies that, from my research, is a pretty sure bet for both of you:
Princess Bride – Don’t let the title fool you – even the teenage boys in our home love this movie.
What’s Up, Doc?
Indiana Jones (1 and 3 – but don’t even bother with 2)
City Slickers
Field of Dreams
Shrek
Chick Flicks
Only to be watched with girlfriends and large supplies of tissues and chocolates.
• An Affair to Remember
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s
• Steel Magnolias
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Say Anything (John Cusack declaring his eternal love with a boom box? It’s the fantasy of many a girl and the impossible-to-live-up-to standard for every guy.)
• Anything with Meg Ryan
• Anything written by Jane Austin
Prayer for Today
Dear God, help me enjoy the things that my husband enjoys – let him see that I try to connect with him in ways that are big and small.
Getting Creative
• It doesn’t matter if this happens at home or at the local Cineplex. Just find the movie and go.
• Don’t want your husband’s suspicions to be aroused? Perhaps get two movies – one that you both agree on and one just for him.
by kathilipp | Nov 17, 2009 | The Husband Project, Uncategorized |
***This blog post went way way bad yesterday and many of you missed it – and it is such a fab give away I didn’t want any of you to miss out – so here is a repost and another chance to win!***
Win today’s giveaway! Just tell us what you did (or are going to do!) for today’s Project by 5:00 PST on Thursday and you will be entered into the drawing for today’s prize:
Monday’s winner? Kim
(E-mail my assistant kimber@kathilipp.com with your mailing address to get your goodie!)
And today’s giveaway?
I am so excited about this giveaway! One of my favorite blog readers, Mica, and her husband are the owners of Open Space Meats and they have graciously donated 2 New York Steaks and 2 Fillet Mignon! These steaks are from their own farm and they deliver all over California (if you are outside of CA you can have them sent to someone you love in CA!!!)
We are customers of Open Space Meats and LOVE them – in fact – here is Roger’s famous Roger’s Burger Recipe (I pried it out of him for the sake of everyone’s marriage…) that we just made Sunday night with Open Space – SOOOO GOOOOOD.
Roger Burgers (We really do need a new name! )
2 pounds ground beef
1 packet of dry Lipton onion soup mix
½ cup barbecue sauce
¼ cup course-ground mustard
Mix all ingredients well by hand. (watch out for wedding rings!)
Patty the burgers a little bigger than normal to bring out the bold flavors, and to help them stay together on the grill.
Grill as usual.
After the last flip, coat top of burgers with a generous amount of barbeque sauce.
Top with cheese.
Wait for cheese to melt, remove from grill.
Serve Immediately.
Project #18
Dinner’s On Me
Take Him Out for His Favorite Meal
Your Project:
Take him out to his favorite restaurant. Or make him something FAB at home.
I know why you like to eat in restaurants. Half of the struggle of cooking dinner is coming up with a plan to feed the two of you (made even more complex if you’re feeding additional, and sometimes picky, members of the family) then shopping for it, cooking it, and possibly, occasionally, not even being thanked for it. A trip to the Olive Garden would be so much easier.
But why does your husband like to go out to eat so much?
I asked a couple of friends to talk with their husbands about the appeal of eating dinner in someone else’s kitchen: Here is what they had to say:
“My husband’s response was ‘a break in the routine or depending on the movie … to romance’ (me). My thought was ‘to get out of doing the dishes!’” ~ Sherry
“My husband said, ’Because it’s relaxing, we get to focus on each other and it’s a special time.’ I asked if it had anything to do with being able to get meals that he doesn’t get at home. He said NO. It has to do with being with me. ‘We could go out to McDonald’s and have a good time, I don’t care.’” ~ Angela
“My husband travels frequently, so he eats many meals in restaurants. Despite that, we still dine out without the kids a couple of times a month. He says the appeal for him is to escape from our crazy schedule and have some quiet time together. More often that not, we combine dinner out with a movie, so in his mind, it’s a good date night event. He noted that since we also truly enjoy the art of food and savoring spectacular meals, that dining out and sharing meals and desserts (which are usually not eaten at our house outside of holidays or dinner parties) is more like an event than just a meal.” ~ Teresa
I have found a great place to find those favorite restaurant recipes that you can re-create at home. Go to www.copycat.com to find all those recipes that make eating out such a treat. With a little patience (and a lot less money) you’ll be able to have your man’s favorites waiting for him as he walks through the front door. (And no credit card aftertaste to regret your choice at the end of the month.)
Prayer for Today
Dear God, it’s my deepest desire that my husband knows he is loved and cherished. Let my words, planning and actions reflect that everyday.
Getting Creative
- If you don’t know whether your husband will be in the kind of mood that an ambush dinner requires, present him with the gift card to be used that night, or on the night of his choice.
- Steaks on the BBQ when he gets home may be just the thing your man would love. See if you can duplicate the steak rub used at your favorite restaurant.
Project Reports
“It’s easy, I just have Chinese ready for him! He’ll love it!”
Stephanie
“We don’t seem to be able to squeeze in the ambush meal these days, so on a Thursday at noon, right before he was getting ready to go out of town, I made his favorite lunch and lit candles and placed an orchid on the table. He looked at the table, smiled with a twinkle in his eye and said: What is this for? He was totally surprised and very pleased!”
Elaine
