Mom's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

There's just some things your mom does best, end of story. Let's face it, we're all a little defensive when it comes to our mothers. Don't you remember the cruel days of elementary school when the "your mama's so fat" jokes took flight?! I admit, I may have fallen victim to a few of those jokes, as well as dished out some too. Not proud of it, but somebody's gotta defend mama!

Well there is one thing that I will go down to my grave claiming the truth of, and that is the fact that my mother makes, hands down, the BEST chocolate chip cookies ever. Really, there is no comparison. I'm not even tempted to test out another recipe, that's how good these are. You know what the best part is? No matter when I go home, I can always get my hands on some. My mom keeps a continuous stock of these bad boys in the freezer for such occasions. Ooooh, that reminds me. They're delicious frozen too!

 

One fun thing that I've learned about this recipe is that the base dough is perfect for making a variety of flavored cookies, rather than just chocolate chip. Instead of pouring chocolate chips into the finished cookie dough, I like to divide it up and mix chocolate chips in one and white chocolate chips, macadamia nuts and flaked coconut in the other. Today I even added a third flavor by adding in a few sprinkles of cinnamon and cinnamon flavored baking chips. Yum!

 

 

Mom's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 1/4 cups flour

1 bag chocolate chips

 

Additional mix ins:

chopped nuts with chocolate chips

white chocolate chips, macadamia nut pieces and flaked coconut

peanut butter flavored chips with chopped peanuts

cinnamon and cinnamon flavored chips

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter, shortening, sugar, brown sugar and eggs.

 

 

2. Add baking soda, salt and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

3. Add flour (make sure to lightly scoop and level off with a knife, so as not to add too much flour) and mix until combined. Dough should be just slightly sticky to the touch.

 

 

4. Add in chocolate chips for one flavor variety or divide dough into parts for flavor mix ins. With a wooden spoon, stir in desired mix ins.

 

 

5. Scoop batter into 1" balls and place 1" apart on cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes until lightly brown. Do not over bake! That's what makes these oh so delicious.

 

 

What's the best part about taking the little extra time to make multiple varieties??? You HAVE to taste test each one! Oh well...

 

 

Thanks mama! You and your cookies are the BEST!

 









Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Is it really almost Christmas??? I guess I can believe that as long as I'm outside of my own home. Our neighbors have been great about putting up Christmas lights to foster that holly jolly spirit of the season. Braelyn has already seen Santa twice. Heck! She saw Santa the first time before it was even Thanksgiving! We've even attended some holiday gatherings.

But, open my door and you wouldn't know the biggest holiday of the year is only a week away. I haven't decorated a stitch for Christmas. Sadly, not even an inch of my home is filled with red or green décor. I could blame it on the fact that we're leaving for the holidays, but that hasn't stopped me from busting out the decorations in years past. I honestly think that this year life has just thrown me two many balls to juggle, and well when there's too many balls, sometimes you just gotta drop one!

Although I did pass on the Christmas décor this year, I just couldn't pass on my favorite tradition of holiday baking. I love passing out Christmas goodies to the people in my life that mean so much. It's just my way of saying a big THANK YOU! And this year, what better way to say "thank you" than with a delicately decadent Pumpkin Pie Cupcake...or two.

 

This cupcake has so many exciting flavors to it that just a plain old pumpkin pie cannot deliver. With a graham cracker crust, a moist pumpkin cake, actual pumpkin pie filling and a smooth cinnamon maple buttercream...you will never go back to ordinary pie for the holidays ever again. That's a promise! And if you do choose to go simpler, just the cake and frosting alone are delicious.

 

 

 Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

 

Pumpkin Cake Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 2/3 cups sugar

1 cup cooking oil

1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz.)

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon, plus more for dusting

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

 

*Pumpkin Pie Filling Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

2 eggs

1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz.)

1 can evaporated milk (12 oz.)

*Traditional recipe from Libby's pumpkin puree can

 

Graham Cracker Crust Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 stick butter, melted (1/2 cup)

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Cinnamon Maple Buttercream Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature (3/4 cup or 12 tablespoons)

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided

1 tablespoon maple extract

3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of salt

 

Chopped nuts (I prefer pecans)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare pumpkin pie filling. Beat eggs together. Mix in pumpkin puree. Mix in sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice with a whisk until well incorporated. Slowly mix in evaporated milk until well combined. Pour mixture into an 8 X 8 baking pan and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 45 minutes or until knife inserted into middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside. Let sit at least two hours, or in fridge for at least one hour.

 

 

2. Prepare graham cracker crust by mixing together graham cracker crumbs (I make my own by smashing about 8 full sheets of graham crackers...cheaper than buying premade crumbs), sugar and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl. Pour melted butter on top. Stir mixture to coat crumbs evenly with butter. Set aside.

 

 

3. Line muffin tins with paper liners and scoop about 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into each liner. Press down gently to flatten. Make sure bottom of liner is coated with crumbs.

 

 

4. Begin preparing pumpkin cake by preheating oven to 350 degrees (if it already isn't still on from making the pumpkin pie filling). In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin puree until light.

5. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Whisk by hand until well incorporated.

 

 

6. Scoop pumpkin cake batter on top of graham cracker crust to fill liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 22-25 minutes until toothpick entered into center comes out clean. Place on cooling racks until completely cool.

 

 

7. Once cakes are completely cool, core out centers with an apple corer or cut out a dome shaped hole at top of cake. Using a pastry bag, fill the centers with the pumpkin pie filling until it barely mounds on top.

 

 

8. Prepare frosting by beating butter until light and fluffy. Add in 2 cups of the powdered sugar and beat until sugar is absorbed into butter. Add maple extract, cinnamon, milk and salt. Beat until well incorporated. Add in additional 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Beat until well combined, adding more milk (thinner) or powdered sugar (thicker) to reach desired consistency.

9. Frost cupcakes, dust with extra cinnamon and garnish with chopped nuts. Shove one in your mouth because YOU DESERVE IT!!!

 

 

These turned out to be adorable Christmas goodies. It was so fun finding little boxes to fit these cupcakes in. I thought the bow and miniature ornament added a special touch. Here's the kicker, it hardly cost anything! Everything was on sale. Boo yeah!

 



Well, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good restful night!







Pork Chile Verde

So I know I claim to be a Texas girl through and through, which I am not denying. I already posted a southern favorite of mine with my San Antonio Stew. But, I also can't deny the Arizona spark that is growing in my heart after years of living here. Sure, I cried when we first drove out here right after college thinking this was the ugliest place on earth. Dessert landscape??? Wait, you call that landscape? I'm still not a huge fan of the Arizona "look", but I am becoming converted to the Arizona "flavor".

I was able to teach high school for the first four and a half years that we lived here to challenged inner city kids. Our principal, who is one amazing lady, really knew how to get our kids motivated and inspire them. I can't tell you how many field trips we went on, dance parties we had and impromptu "teacher vs. student" kickball matches we played just to keep these kids coming to school. One of my favorite activities we had were our potluck parties. Most of our kids were Hispanic, and man could their families cook! They would bring fresh tamales, ceviche and homemade mole. If was so fun to see how proud these kids were to show off their culinary masterpieces.

So, this post is dedicated to each and every student that passed through my classroom doors and made a difference in my life, to each coworker that I had the pleasure of working with and most of all to my dear principal that gave me the opportunity to teach, and is now one of my biggest foodie fans.

This Pork Chile Verde is filled with so much flavor and spice that is sends you straight to Mexico. With the flavors of lime, cilantro and green chilies you might just find yourself throwing a little fiesta!

 

Pork Chile Verde

Ingredients:

1 jalapeno

1/2 onion, skin removed and cut into four wedges

2 cloves of garlic

2 tomatillos, stems and papery skin removed

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 lb. pork stew meat

1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice

2 cups chicken broth
1 small can diced green chilies (4 oz.)

1 can navy beans, rinsed and drained

1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained

3/4 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3 teaspoons honey

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange jalapeno, onion wedges, garlic cloves and tomatillos on foil and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in oven on top rack for 25 minutes, turning vegetables halfway through, until tender and slightly charred. Remove from oven.

 

 

2. Once vegetables can be handled, remove skins from garlic and stem from jalapeno. Slice open jalapeno and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Discard seeds. Roughly chop the vegetables.

 

3. Add vegetables to a food processor along with cilantro and lime juice. Finely puree the mixture.

 

4. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium high heat and add pork meat. Cook until outside is no longer pink.

 

 

5. Reduce heat to low and add chicken broth, vegetable puree, green chilies, navy beans, great northern beans, cumin, salt, cinnamon, oregano and honey. Stir to combine.

 

 

6. Bring pot to boiling. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Remove lid and raise heat to keep a low simmer. Simmer an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness is reached.

 

 

7. Serve warm with toppings such as sour cream, cheddar or Monterrey jack cheese, avocado, lime juice, cornbread (recipe to come), tortilla chips, etc. Enjoy the fiesta!

 

Serves 4

 







Banana {health}Nut Pancakes

Mornings...what can I say? Mornings are tough for anyone I think. I don't care who out there claims to be a morning person, the moment you "wake up" whether it's to an alarm, a kid bounding into your bed or even just the sun peeking through your window...whose first thought isn't a swear word?! Haha! Seriously, on the record here, that is how I wake up every morning, and I'm one of those who claims to be a morning person. I just can't help it. It's probably more so the thought of everything I have to get done that day, rather than just the waking up part, but nonetheless the inner conversation going on in my head at 6:30 am is not "G" rated.

That being said, the last thing I want to do is cook breakfast. Poor Braelyn asks me all the time to make pancakes, but I just don't have it in me. Plus, I'm hungry the second I wake up. All I want is my bowl of plain shredded wheat cereal, soaked in ice cold milk with sliced bananas on top. Call me crazy, but it's one of my favorite things to eat.

Occasionally on weekends I will muster up the energy to make a nice breakfast, and this morning was one of those special times. Because breakfast is the most important meal of the day I like to make sure that our breakfasts are hearty, healthy and of course delicious. In fact, I have a sugar rule for breakfast since most people tend to pack their morning meals full of sugar. I won't buy any cereal unless there are 9 grams or less of sugar per serving, and that is even pushing it. That's why I love making these Banana {health}Nut Pancakes. These pancakes are made with 100% whole wheat and contain no sugar or oil. Plus they are made with skim milk. The bananas give them the mild sweetness they need and the peanut butter provides a protein punch. This breakfast will stay with you and your sweet kiddos until you can really wake up!

 

Banana {health}Nut Pancakes

 

Ingredients:

1 medium ripe banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)

3 eggs, well beaten

1 cup skim milk

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons peanut butter (I like crunchy for the extra texture, but can use creamy)

 

Directions:

1. Begin heating skillet on medium low heat.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat by hand the mashed banana, eggs and milk. In a smaller separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Pour dry mixture into wet and mix with a spoon until incorporated. Add in peanut butter and mix until well combined.

3. Spray skillet with cooking spray to avoid sticking and pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook for about 3 minutes until you begin to see batter bubble from the top. Flip each pancake and cook 45 seconds to one minute more. Remove pancakes.

 

 

 

4. Serve warm with sliced bananas, chopped nuts and a touch of maple syrup. Enjoy waking up!

 

*Makes 12-18 pancakes

 

 

Oh, and somebody was a little excited this morning! Wink wink!