Crazy Person CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. Strategically Placed.

I've been called a lot of things in my life.

But this one takes the cake.

You see......I have this little trick I do when I make chocolate chip cookies.

I didn't realize it was a secret.

I guess I never realized that no one has ever seen me do it before.

Until today.  When my teenage daughter walked in and caught me doing it.

You see, I have this problem.  Or lets say "theory".  That sounds better.  Theory.

I believe that chocolate chip cookies look  more appealing, more YUMMY, more decadent, when the chocolate chips are emerging from the top of the cookie.

You know, instead of buried into the cookie where you can't see the chocolate chip.

Personally, the first cookie I reach for, is the cookie that has all the chocolate chips gloriously peeking out at me. 

I mean tell the truth.

Which cookie would you reach for first?

This one?

Or.....This one?

So I have this little trick.

Once my cookie dough is placed on the cookie sheet, I strategically get to work.
I take my little jar of chocolate chips.

And start placing extra chips on top of the dough.  One by one.

No matter how many chocolate chips you mix in the cookie dough batter, for some reason, they always stay hidden under the dough after they are baked.

So I like to  pretty-them-up just a bit, and I carefully hover over the cookie sheet, and place one by one, about 5 extra chips, on top of each pile of cookie dough.

And that's when it happened........

That's when my daughter walked in, and saw me, hunched over, strategically placing chip, by chip by chip by chip, by chip, on top of each cookie. I felt like one of those incredibly talented crafters, who paint really small detailed images on a piece of rice.

I had no idea how long she had been standing and watching me.

"What are you doing"? she said, in her know-it-all....."I'm-almost-20-years-old"  voice.

I simply explained to her my "theory".

"You're a crazy person!", she snapped at me.

And off she went.  Obviously to go do some non-crazy things I'm sure.

Well, crazy I may be.  I'm sticking to my theory.

I will continue to place extra chocolate chips on top of my mounds of cookie dough before I bake them.

Which cookie dough mound do you think will turn out the prettiest cookie?

This one..................

OR THIS ONE..................?

I guess when these darlings come out of the oven, and my daughter reaches for one.  I will have to tell her............. "NO, YOU CAN'T EAT THAT!  A Crazy Person made them!"

My never fail cookie dough recipe:

1 c. butter

1. c. sugar

1 c. packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. hot water

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c. chocolate chips - plus extra of course to be strategically placed.

With a cookie scoop, scoop out onto greased cookie sheet.

Place your extra chips on each mound and bake at 350 for 10 minutes only.

Cookie Monster Cookies - Peanut Butter, Oatmeal & Chocolate

Cookie Monster from Sesame Street has very strict requirements for his cookie consumption don't ya know.

His cookies have to be BIG (he has very big hands of course).

They have to be perfectly round.

And most of all they have to be delicious, because they are eaten very quickly (preferably with crumbs flying everywhere) and only a delicious cookie can be eaten quickly.

Isn't that right Cookie Monster?

Warning: These cookies are meant for Large Cookie Monster-Like Hands. 

They are large, perfectly round, and gobble-up delicious.  Just ask my very close friend. C.M., he'll tell ya.

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 c plus 2 Tbsp brown sugar, firmly packed

3 eggs

2 c. peanut butter

1/4 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. light corn syrup

4 1/2 c. uncooked rolled oats

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. miniature chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, cream butter.  Gradually add sugars, beating until fluffy.

Add eggs and peanut butter.

Cookie Monster has such big hands, he can not help me with the Peanut Butter portion, because this is where I use my infamous Mini-Spoonula to scoop out the peanut butter.

Then add vanilla and corn syrup.  Mix well.

Stir in oats, baking soda, salt and chips. This is where you might need Cookie Monster's big hands (or the like) to help you stir.

Batter will be stiff, so I use my wooden spoon...I mean Cookie Monster uses his wooden spoon,  to be sure and get everything all combined.

Be sure to get all the oats and mini chocolate chips combined with the peanut butter mixture.

Now comes the fun part.

Spray your cookie sheet with Pam. (That's not the fun part, what's coming up is the fun part).

Take your 1/4 c. measuring cup and fill it with dough (this is where I like to spray just a wee bit of Pam inside the measuring cup, so the cookie dough flops out perfectly onto the cookie sheet).

Since my measuring cup is a little on the "square side" you will need to gently pat down the dough so it becomes a 3 inch round circle. 

Cookie Monster will only eat perfectly round cookies, so remember that. Very important.

Space cookie dough 4 inches apart.  These suckers grow in the oven to become the ultimate Cookie Monster Cookie.

Bake for 12 minutes.  Be sure they do not get brown around the edges.

Wow, look how they grew in the oven.

Perfect size Cookie Monster Cookies. Please note, those are NOT Cookie Monsters hand below.



They turn out perfectly round, perfectly big, and wonderfully delicious!

Everyone has a cookie monster in their house. 

Could that cookie monster be you?

Mom's Cookies Worth a Second Look! DOUBLE CHOCOLATE Chip

I refer to my "Recipe Binder" quite often in my blog and if you don't know what it is, well it's pretty special to me. If we had a house fire, and all said parties were safe, then this would be what I'd grab as I ran out the door.  Pretty special, you get the picture.

It's where I keep all the recipes I've collected over the years.  But not just ANY recipes.  These little darlings are the ones that I call my Winners. The only recipe that goes into my Binder are ones that are privileged.  They are tried-and-true blue ribbons. Tested and proved worthy enough to be added to my precious binder.

This binder of mine is 30 years old. I have collected my favorite recipes for a little over 30 years, and most of the pages show their age.  That's what makes this Binder of mine so special to me.

Some of them have food stains on them, some are hand written by people that are long gone from my life, some have notes from my daughter when she was a wee-one, and some are torn, worn & yellowed.

That's where this recipe comes in.

We lived in Southern California when my daughter was born, about 19 years ago, and that's when I cut this recipe out of the newspaper.  1992 to be exact.

As you can see, this paper has seen it's better day.  But to me, it looks like a beauty queen!

I cut this out of the newspaper when my daughter was still on baby formula, and now, 19 years later, it's her all-time favorite cookie and she refers to this paper, and makes it quite often with her friends.  That makes me smile!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix

2 eggs

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips.  When all combined, gently fold in chips.  Take cookie scoop and scoop onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Cool for 10 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.

Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?

Look at how this cute little cookie accidentally got a chocolate chip right smack dab in the center!

I couldn't have planned that if I tried!



One has to taste a cookie from the first batch, to make sure it doesn't taste like soap!

I'm pretty sure this one doesn't taste like soap.  But I better check again.

Yep, no soap here!  But looks like I DO need to get my nail polish changed!

Ok no soap in that cookie! Thank goodness I tested it right when it came out of the oven.  

I don't want anyone to get a bad cookie! 

Double chocolate people!  Are you understanding this? 

Feel free to test your first cookie for soap before anyone sees you.  You might need to test TWO just in case :)

P.S.  My secret wish is one day, when my daughter is grown with a family of her own, she will pull out this tattered binder filled with recipes and notes and food stains, and tell her children a little story just like I told you about this one.

And that she will point to this and say "Kids, that's your grandma's handwriting".