Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Where's My Camera?

Really, I have no clue. It's around here somewhere. I spent the weekend with my friend and now it's hiding. So for now, I don't think I'll have any new recipes up here, but I'll find it as fast as possible.

Oh. I do have to tell you about one thing. I had a package of cream of chicken soup from the Mexican section sitting on my shelf. Add a rice-a-roni creamy herb box. I wasn't expecting much. Actually, I expected soup, but got risotto. Seriously good risotto too. I just scraped the last of it out of my tupperware and wolfed it down. So good. I'll have to try it with a can of soup next time.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Chocolate Chips Cookies with Espresso and Cinnamon

Pre-post: I made stroganoff.

Post: I made cookies. More specifically, thank you cookies to the boyfriend's mom and grandmother. The dough for these cookies tasted AMAZING. Like, the best cookie dough I've ever had amazing. Seriously. The cookies themselves are also good. I'm partial to thicker cookies that are crispy on the edges and soft in the center. These flattened out like crazy and are really crispy. They'd be great for ice cream sandwhiches. Aside from my cookie snobbery, still amazing. I just hope they stand up in the mail.

I found that somehow my espresso powder had molded, so I used instant coffee instead. Just put it through a coffee grinder for a minute and add an extra teaspoon or so. Also, I used bittersweet 60% cacao Ghiradelli chips that were huge mixed with store brand semi-sweet. Next to the Ghiradelli, the sweet chips were the suck. If I make these again, I'll try to play around with the flat texture and use only the good dark chocolate chips chopped a bit smaller. I substituted almonds for walnuts too. I had a bag that needed to be used and walnuts are usually stupid. If you try the almonds, toast them first for more flavor. I was just lazy.



Chocolate Chips Cookies with Espresso and Cinnamon
From the Bon Appetit Cookbook

Nonstick spray
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 T ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c (packed) golden brown sugar
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 large egg
4 tsp instant espresso powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c semisweet chocolate chips (about 6 oz)
1 c milk chocolate chips (6 oz)
1 c walnuts, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, egg, espresso powder, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in all chocolate chips and walnuts.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart (do not flatten dough). Bake cookies until brown on top but still slightly soft to touch in center, about 14 minutes. Cool on baking sheets.