I adore chocolate chip cookies, so when I saw the recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cornstarch I knew I had to give them a try .
I have made countless batches always searching for the next best recipe. I am sure I will try other recipes on occasion, however this is hands down a new classic for me. I got this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction website. Click here to see her recipe as well as her absolutely stunning pictures.
There are several differences in this recipe compared to others I have tried – the three being that you use melted butter instead of softened (which means NO mixer needed!!!!), one egg and a yolk as opposed to two eggs that most recipes call for and 1 1/2 tsp. of cornstarch. I was a bit skeptical at first, however these have come out heavenly again and again. The recipe calls for 1 cup of chocolate chips. I like to mix this up with part dark chocolate, part milk chocolate and part cacao nibs (to sneak in a little added health benefits.)
These cookies are chewy, soft and incredibly delicious. They remind me of a Mrs. Fields cookie, but without the $2 price tag. I hope you try these out and let me know what you think.
CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES (uses cornstarch) – adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
INGREDIENTS
2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, cacao nibs and/or some M&M’s
DIRECTIONS
Toss together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk. Finally, whisk in the vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft. Fold in the chocolate chips. They may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to have them evenly dispersed among the dough. Cover the dough and chill for 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.
Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.Preheat the oven to 325F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.Roll the dough into balls, about 1-2 tablespoons each. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked. They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur….I never knew this was something that could be concocted using some pretty basic ingredients, but it is. I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled onto this super simple recipe on a cold December evening. I had friends coming over and I wanted to serve some Bailey’s on ice along with some other fun cordials, but when looking for my rarely used bottle of Irish Cream I just couldn’t find it.
So who hasn’t been in this situation…you think you have something on hand, but when you realized you actually didn’t and needed it, was in a bind. Well that is what happened here and I am not gonna lie, I was frustrated. In this case my husband had been using the velvety liqueur to add to his coffee before his morning golf rounds over the previous months. Since I rarely drink Irish Cream I understand why he didn’t think to tell me we ran out, but in the moment I was annoyed.
I got over it and since almost ANYTHING can be found on the web I decided to see if there was an alternative and was stupid-excited to find out I could make it at home. Not only did I find a great substitute from store bought Irish Cream, but I also realized that this would make a great hostess gift. Who doesn’t love homemade items?
Easy, delicious and can makes an excellent hostess gift. It tastes better than Bailey’s, makes an amazing hostess gift and couldn’t be easier to make. This recipe for homemade Irish Cream Liqueur is a keeper.
Pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving tradition – problem is, I am not a fan. I enjoy the flavor of pumpkin but I find pumpkin pie to be too dense in pure pumpkin. I am a heavy carb kind of a girl – a real white flour and butter kind of a gal, if you catch my drift. So I need to share this recipe for Pumpkin Crisp that is pure heaven.
As a child my mom being the traditionalist that she was always served pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving dinner so growing up I just passed on turkey day dessert. All this changed several years ago when a dear neighbor told me about this Pumpkin Crisp that she makes. A buttery crust houses a delicious pumpkin filling and a buttery, sugary crust tops that. The crumb crust gets crisp, yummy and melts deliciously into the decadent pumpkin filling. I love the dish and so does everyone that tries it.
I should also add, that it is simple. No crust to roll out and nothing fancy. I hope you try it and like it as much as my family does.
Pumpkin Crisp
Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
Ice Cream or Fresh Whipped Cream (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Set aside 1 cup cake mix for the topping. Combine remaining cake mix, 1 egg, and melted butter or margarine. Pat into a 9×13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, 2 eggs, spices, 1/2 cup sugar, and milk. Pour pumpkin mixture over the cake mix crust.
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup cake mix and 3/4 cup sugar. Cut in 1/2 cup softened butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle mixture on top of pumpkin mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 minutes.
I like to cut this into 12 servings, but you could make the squares smaller or larger depening on how “stuffed” you are after Thanksgiving dinner. 🙂
Recently I took a trip to Chelan, Washington where there was an abundance of fresh blueberries. I purchased ten pounds of berries for $5 – what a deal! Well, yes, it was a deal, but now I am faced with what on earth to do with a gizillion blueberries. There is only so much blueberry muffins, smoothies and syrup a family can take after all…enter my heavenly Blueberry Crisp Marshmallows.
I decided to get creative and make my favorite recipe for homemade marshmallows, but with a twist. Rather than dust them with confectioner’s sugar, I decided to dust them with a topping of graham cracker crumbs and swirl some fresh blueberry sauce in the marshmallows once completed.
The final result was fabulous and a great way to use up a bit of those blueberries. I fused several recipes together – Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for homemade marshmallows along with a Blueberry Sauce from All Recipes.
Blueberry Crisp Marshmallows
Ingredients
1 package unflavored Knox gelatin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 t. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (crushed from about 7 squares)
2 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 T. sugar
3 T. blueberry sauce (recipe below)
Directions
Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes.
While the marshmallow is being whipped, add the crushed graham crackers, sugar and butter together. Set aside. Grease a 8×8 inch square pan with cooking spray or butter and dust the bottom with the graham cracker crumbs. Reserve the remaining crumbs. Like this:
Once the fifteen minutes has passed, your marshmallows will be light and fluffy. They will look like this:
Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly. Carefully fold in the blueberry sauce just until you see a ribbon of blueberry and a light marbling effect. Pour into the baking pan and sprinkle with some of the remaining graham cracker crumb mixture. Let the marshmallows set overnight or for approximately 6-8 hours.
Cut the marshmallows up once they are set and dust the remaining sides with the graham cracker crumb mixture. Enjoy!
Blueberry Sauce
Ingredients
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup water
1 cup orange juice
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cold water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 1/4 cup of water, orange juice, and sugar. Stir gently, and bring to a boil.
In a cup or small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Gently stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries so as not to mash the berries. Simmer gently until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract and cinnamon. Thin sauce with water if it is too thick for your liking.
I have been cooking a ton lately, but everything has been so healthy I was craving something that was decadent and blog worthy. Even though I have been trying to cook healthier I can not and will not ever give up sugary, decadent delights such as this Orange Scented White Chocolate Toffee.
The base is the same that I use for my original toffee which is butter, sugar, almonds and vanilla, however in this case I use orange extract in place of the vanilla extract. The orange extract I use is Nielsen-Massey’s Orange Extract, which you can find on Amazon here. I find this extract lends the toffee a mild orange flavor without tasting artificial.
There are still many delicious healthy recipes to be posted, but as with everything in life there needs to be some balance and this Orange Scented White Chocolate Toffee brings balance into my life – well this and Proseco. 🙂
