Hey Cookie!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

We headed down the interstate over the weekend. It was a holiday, the end of school and a dance recital all rolled into one. All things to be celebrated. It was a delightful surprise to walk in the front door and find that Little Sister was in the middle of baking cookies as a welcome treat.

She has become quite the cook. She bakes. She makes entire meals now. How good it has been to watch her kitchen skills increase. You'll have to ask her mom how good her kitchen cleaning abilities are.

Baby Girl has been working hard on her tumbling skills. How she bends, flips and twists like that is beyond me! I tell her she must be made of rubber. We enjoyed the entire recital. From the tiniest ballet dancers to the graduating seniors who have studied dance for 15+ years. As a former dance mom, let me say this was the best organized recital I've ever attended. One number flowed right into the next. The program lasted about 90 minutes but it felt much shorter. It takes masterful planning for that to happen.

And we had the added pleasure of sitting in the new performing arts center that is part of the county school district. It is truly first class. Thankfully (for us) Baby Girl's recital was in the morning (there were 3 recitals that day) so we were able to go out for lunch afterward.

Then we headed home to enjoy these special cookies. There are many good recipes for chocolate cookies. This one is as good as any I've ever had. Little Girl asked for a cookbook for Christmas last December. I gave her the White Lily cookbook and she has been steadily working her way through it. I have sampled a few of her creations. Everything has been delicious.

This recipe says it make 36 cookies. Little Sister went for bigger cookies and made 24. I love that she's gaining the confidence to make a recipe her own. And I completely approve of her adjustment. These were big cookies, but not giant. They were just right. They were crisp on the edges, tender on the inside. Exactly how I like them.

Chocolate chip cookies made into ice cream sandwich.

I didn't think about a photo until I reached into the bag for a second cookie.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (from White Lily)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten, room temp

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups White Lily all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (12-oz) bag chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 3 or 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture all at once. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375º. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using 2-tablespoon scoop, scoop dough and place 3-inches parts on prepared pans.

Bake until bottoms are golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Let cool on pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks and let cool completely.

Makes 36 cookies.

NOTE:  Little Sister used the next larger size scoop and made 24 cookies and adjusted the baking time accordingly.

The Kitchen Tip in the cookbook says you can freeze the scooped dough balls for up to 3 months and then bake them a few at a time when you want warm cookies.