Monster Cookie

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

I must confess while I do love chocolate, it's not to the exclusion of other desserts. At restaurants I find myself choosing peach crisp with vanilla ice cream, or cheesecake over chocolate cake. My girls, on the other hand, are chocolate fiends. So when we were discussing what to bake for the Valentine's Day bake sale, I was thinking shortbread hearts or lemon bars. I was thinking wrong. My kids very clear that we would be making something very, very chocolately. I thought of those huge double chocolate cookies and knew it would hit the spot. I dressed them up with some cute heart baking decorations I found at Crate and Barrel to give them a little seasonal flair. The coffee's influence is light, but adds a little more flavor.

Please note that while you may think I am horribly bourgeois for using shortening for part of the fat in this recipe, really big cookies hold up better if they aren't all butter. I promise you they taste amazing. Also, I have always cooked them on a silpat mat. This is also very helpful for monster cookies. The mat allows you to cook them through without burning the bottom. You can get them at Williams Sonoma, Amazon, or any cooking shop, and I think they make cookie baking much easier. 

You will need:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/2 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco) 

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 tablespoons instant coffee, crushed to a powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

12 ounces milk chocolate chips

1 cup raisins (or walnuts. we've got nut allergies in the house)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Put a silpat mat on a cookie sheet. 

Beat the butter, shortening and sugars together well. Add both eggs and the vanilla and beat until all incorporated. In a separate bowl, combines the flour, cocoa, coffee, salt, and baking soda. Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture, and when well blended at the chocolate chips and nuts/raisins and stire. 

Take a 1/4 cup measure, and scoop out the batter. Place on the silpat mat/cookie sheet and flatten the dough a bit. Bake the cookies 12-15 minutes (really depends on your oven, but don't overcook). You'll know they are done when they are puffed up and cracked, but still give a little when you touch them in the middle. Makes about 18 huge cookies. 

Valentines Day Bake Sale Treats

You may be thinking WHAT? right now. After taking almost two months off from blogging, why is she posting two days in a row? I suppose it's because I've gotten most of my apartment unpacked by now from our December move. Regardless, I should really learn to pace myself. This is not the right time for pacing though, because next week is Valentine's Day, and at my kids' preschool that means the Valentines Day Bake Sale! Hooray! I love to bake. Love it. But there is the whole issue of eating the goodies afterward and health of my children and the size of my rear end to be considered, so sadly I don't do it very often. Bake sale day is awesome, because then I just donate the goodies and don't have to worry about giving my children heart disease before they hit elementary school.  Last year I made these little babies for the sale. I even have a picture of them, I was so proud of how I packaged them. There is nothing really special about the recipe. I just used a basic chocolate cookie chip bar recipe and substituted the special red and pink M&M's they sell around Valentine's day for the chocolate chips.

I'll include the recipe here. And I might even post what I decide to make this year as my next entry!


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for the baking sheet
4 cups flour
2 tsps baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
12 oz of M&Ms (or to your taste)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. A note about this: when you are baking it is really important to preheat the oven. Make sure it is actually 350 degrees when you put in the cookies. Butter a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet. You can also use cooking spray, but the butter works a little better. Put the sheet aside. Combine together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set that aside as well.
Cream butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined. Add flour mixture and beat until they are just combined- you don't want to overbeat or they get a little tough. Stir in most of the M&Ms by hand so you don't break them. Leave some for putting on the top.
Put the raw dough into the baking sheet, and smooth it so it's even. Lick spatula. Add the remaining M&Ms to the top wherever things look sparse. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, depending somewhat on your oven. I recommend taking a peek halfway through and rotating it around so it bakes evenly. Yummmmmm!

Chicken Chili

Despite living in NY for 10 years now, I can't muster up anything but benign apathy for the Giants. Sorry Giants, but when you grow up in Steeler country you are a Steeler fan for life. So the Superbowl was not as exciting for me as it was for many of my fellow New Yorkers. The bright side is that no matter how indifferent you are to the actual game, Superbowl food is always awesome. One of the main features of Superbowl fare is classic meat chili. I love it, but I make a different version that is a little healthier. I think my version is even tastier with big juicy chunks of veggies and chicken, almost like a stew. I suppose in this way it is doing double duty as chili and stew. It is spicy and filling like chili, and healthy like stew. Almost like if Tom Brady could throw the ball and catch it too. It's easy to make and freezes well.

Ingredients
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 tblsps olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded, and large-diced
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for chicken
1 14.5 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
1 14 oz can of chicken broth (I use the reduced sodium kind)
1.5 cups of frozen corn
1 can of kidney beans
12 ounces of chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces (note: you can use raw or leftover chicken)
3/4 cup of salsa
Freshly ground black pepper
For serving:
Chopped onions, corn chips, grated cheddar, sour cream

Directions
Cook the onions in the oil over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. Cook for 1 minute. Crush the tomatoes by hand or in batches in a food processor fitted with a steel blade (pulse 6 to 8 times). Add to mixture. Add broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the frozen corn, chicken, salsa and beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add pepper to taste.
Serve with the toppings, or refrigerate and reheat gently before serving. It's great with crusty bread and salad, or on top of rice