I got tired of eating leftover christmas ham and didn’t really want to go the high fat ham salad route, so I raided the pantry and came up with this.  It’s healthy--low fat and high protein, but it tastes better than most healthy food. Lentils cook scary fast so you could probably also do this in about a half hour on the stove as well.  Serve with a salad and bread sticks.

Lentil Ham soup

Ingredients
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 cups water
1 onion cut into thin wedges
1 1/2 cup sliced celery
1 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup dry lentils
1 1/2 cups diced ham
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 cup frozen corn
3 cups shredded spinach
shaved parmesan cheese

Directions
Throw the first nine ingredients into a crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or 3 1/2-4 hours on high (estimated).

Stir in the corn about 1/2 hour before serving.  Immediately before serving, stir in the spinach.  Garnish with Parmesan if you have it. 

Having experienced the piss-poor driving habits of the Bubbastan-area natives after last week’s tiny snowfall, I opted to stay home after getting off of work at 6:00 am.  The only pizza delivery place in town is both overpriced and unparalleled in it’s its general suckitude and nastiness of taste so I foraged around the kitchen.  This is what I came up with.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a fan of citrus unless it’s with seafood, but this turned out pretty okay. The soy and ginger gives it a bit of an oriental flavor that you can emphasize further if you want, and you could use grapefruit juice if you prefer a sauce that is a bit less sweet.

Kinda Oriental Chicken

Ingredients
4-5 skinless chicken thighs*
1 1/2 cups orange juice
4 Tbs soy sauce
2 clove minced garlic
2 tsp grated ginger
4-5 Tbs soy sauce

Directions

Score the chicken pieces with a knife and place in a gallon-sized zip-top storage or freezer bag.

Add remaining ingredients to a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine. Add to the chicken in the bag and squeeze to remove all possible air before sealing. Throw the bag-o-bird parts into the fridge and allow to soak for 30-40 minutes up to all day, turning and squishing occasionally to make sure the liquid has circulated.

About 2 hours before you want to eat, pull out the chicken and allow to come to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350.  place the chicken parts in a rectangular baking dish and pour the marinade over them.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until done (bone-in pieces will cook a bit faster than boneless).

Place the chicken on a warmed plate and cover to keep warm.  Transfer the liquid in the baking dish to a saucepan.  Simmer over medium heat until reduced to the consistency you like and spoon the sauce over the chicken.  Serve with steamed or sauteed veggies. Noodles with butter and a bit of cheese would work too

* I prefer dark meat.  It’s got a lot more flavor and is boatloads more forgiving of overcooking as opposed to chicken breasts, which turn into chicken jerky if you don’t get ‘em out of the oven or frying pan exactly on time.

Recipe Twofer

My regular days off are Tuesday and Wednesday and are pretty much the only days I’m motivated to cook unless there’s a good reason.  Of course in my mind, ‘good reason’ can encompass anything from ‘holiday goodies to be neighborly,’ to ‘what can I do with these leftover bits,’ to ‘found a new recipe that looks intriguing,’ to ‘I just picked up this package of something in an ethnic grocery so what now?’ This week covered regular cooking plus a smattering of holiday goodies for the office holiday party.  That one will be for Friday.  Today I’m covering the dinner I made on Wednesday; marinated porkchops with pan gravy and a hash brown casserole.  As always, pour yourself a glass of vino, pop in some tunes and follow along.

For the porkchops:

Ingredients
(Makes enough for 4 chops)

4 porkchops, 1/2-1 inch thick.*

Marinade
1 1/4 cup olive oil
5-6 Tbs Balsamic vinegar
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
2 Tbs chopped cilantro
1-3 dashes lime or lemon juice

Gravy

2 Tbs unsalted butter
2 Tbs finely chopped onion
2 Tbs flour
1/2 cup liquid from rested chops plus chicken broth to make up the difference

Directions

Earlier in the day:  Toss the oil, vinegar, garlic, spices and juice into a bowl and whisk to combine.  Place the chops into a big freezer bag and pour the marinade in.  Squeeze out as much air as possible, seal and toss in the fridge for a minimum of 1/2 hour, though it won’t hurt anything if you did this in the morning and left them marinate all day.  About the same time you start baking the potatoes, pull the chops out of the fridge to allow them to come to room temperature (45 minutes to an hour before you want to cook them).

Wipe as much of the marinade off the chops as you can.  Place all four in a large skillet or split them up into two smaller skillets. I use the cold skillet method.  It seems to result in incredibly moist chops without the need for brining.

Once the chops are done, Turn off the burner. Remove the chops to a warmed plate and cover loosely for about 5 minutes.  If needed, turn heat to medium and simmer away remaining liquid, being careful not to burn or scorch.  Add butter and onion and saute for two minutes or so, scraping up any browned bits. Add Flour.  Whisk together and cook for another minute or so. Add juices and chicken broth and reduce to whatever consistency you like your gravy. 

Hash Brown Casserole

Pure comfort food here.  I kind of tried to make it a bit healthier as well as give it a bit of a kick in the pants taste-wise in order to combat the richness of it all.  I thend to like things a bit on the spicy side, so

Ingredients

2 lb hash brown potatoes (frozen works just fine here)
1 can cream of chicken soup (98% fat-free if possible)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz fat-free cheddar cheese
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup onion, chopped
3/4 tsp ground cayenne or…
several shakes hot pepper sauce (I like Marie Sharp’s if you can find it)
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Dump the hash browns in a big-ass bowl.  Big enough to mix the spuds with the other ingredients.  Think really, really big.

Throw the remaining ingredients in a smaller bowl.  Whisk and/or stir together.  Take a little taste and see if you like the way it tastes and adjust accordingly.

Combine with the hash browns and mix as well as you can. Mine was kind of a gloppy, uneven mess, but it turned out pretty damn tasty anyway, so don’t worry if it’s not perfectly mixed.  Put the whole mess into a rectangular baking dish (no greasing necessary) and bake for about an hour (an hour and a half is okay if you’re using frozen browns).

Let rest 5 or so minutes before serving.

Suggested additions/modifications:  chopped bell peppers (whatever color you have handy), diced ham, Nacho cheese sauce as a substitute for the cream of chicken soup

*Donna and I both prefer bone in meat.  It’s almost always more flavorful and juicy; but hey… when boneless pork loin is on sale for $1.08 a pound, you don’t pass that shit up.

When I was little my mom used to go to bingo every Tuesday night.  And every Wednesday after school, I got to have a square of the absolute best chocolate cake ever.  Seriously.  This is my very favourite cake even more favourite than red velvet cake and carrot cake.  That’s a lot of favourite. 

This cake goes by lots of names, Church Lady Cake, Brownie Cake, Pot Luck Chocolate Cake, Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake (cuz it’s as big as Texas) and it always appeared at my mom’s bingo games...probably brought in buy a church lady.  Whatever.  It just rocks.  It’s the moistest cake you will ever eat.  Ever.

I made this one the other day, Bill took some to work and I immediately got a call from my niece who wants one for her very own...guess what I’ll be doing today…

Anyway, try this.  Even if you don’t bake it’s insanely easy to make this cake.  You have no excuse not to try it.  Oh and PS: I only bake with butter.  I don’t use margarine.  Substitute at your own risk.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 C flour
2 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 TBSP cocoa
2 sticks butter (REAL butter!)
1 C boiling water
1/2 C buttermilk (See below for substitute)
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Start the water boiling.

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a 2 qt bowl.

Melt butter in a 1 qt saucepan, stir in cocoa.  Add boiling water and cook and stir for 1 minute.  Pour into flour and stir well.

Combine buttermilk, eggs, soda and vanilla, stir into chocolate mixture. Batter will be thin.  Pour into ungreased sheet pan** and bake at 350° for 20 minutes.

---
For the frosting:

1-1/2 sticks butter
4 TBSP cocoa
6 TBSP milk
1 tsp vanilla
4 C confectioner’s sugar

While the cake is baking melt butter in a saucepan, stir in cocoa.  Remove from heat.  Add the milk, vanilla and confectioner’s sugar. Mix well and pour over warm cake.

Serves a whole lotta people.

------
If you don’t have buttermilk, add 1 TBSP white vinegar to 1 C regular milk.  Let stand 5 minutes.

** I use this half sheet pan:  Nordic Ware Bakers Half Sheet, 13 X 18 X 1
You can use a 15 x 11 inch pan as well.  I’ve never tried to make it in a smaller pan so if you do and it comes out crappy, don’t blame me!

The arctic winds, snow and cold on Wednesday night made it seem like a good night to cook up a big ole pot o chili and cornbread. I wasn’t in the mood for standard red chili so I decided to modify a regular chili recipe to make a white chili instead.  It didn’t turn out too bad.

Blond Chili

Ingredients

1 lb dry great northern beans, or
2-3 cans northern or cannellini beans
2 lb boneless pork loin, cut into 1/2 inch hunks
flour for dredging, seasoned as you see fit
2-4 Tbs olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans chopped green chilies
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
6 cups chicken stock (if using canned beans, you can get by with 5 cups)
3 cups shredded jack cheese

Directions

If using dry beans, place in a large pot and cover with 3 inches of water.  Soak overnight.

Dredge pork in flour mixture and brown in a large pot with oil in batches, using more oil as needed. Remove to a platter and set aside as each batch is finished.

Drain beans if using dried ones. Heat 1 Tbs of oil in the same pot you browned the meat in.  Add onions and saute until softened.  Stir in the garlic, chilies, cumin, oregano and cayenne.  Saute for 2 more minutes. Add pork, rehydrated beans* and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beans are tender (about 2 hours).  Add 1 cup of cheese and stir until melted in.

If using canned beans, drain and rinse, then add to the pork/onion/stock mixture after it has simmered for an hour.  Serve when heated through or allow to simmer for up to an hour more.

Season with salt and pepper if desired and serve topped with the remaining cheese. 

These are really tasty and addictive as a snack, but they’re also great to use in place of seasoned croutons in salads or soups.  Substituting Italian dressing seasoning is pretty tasty too.

Garlicky ranch crackers

Ingredients

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 envelope Ranch dressing mix
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 bag oyster crackers

Directions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F .

Combine vegetable oil, ranch dressing mix, dill weed, lemon pepper and garlic powder and whisk together. Put the crackers in a largish bowl and pour the oil mixture over the crackers. Stir until the crackers are coated. Using a slotted spoon, put the crackers onto a parchment lined baking sheet or into a rectangular baking dish. Drizzle the seasoned oil still in the bottom of the bowl over the crackers before slapping them in the oven.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.  Throw in a bowl to eat right away or let cool before putting into a food storage bag.

I make a lot of bread and I experiment with bread recipes all the time.  There’s only two of us so I strive to tweak recipes to make only one loaf instead of the typical 2 or 4 loaves most recipes yield.

This recipe makes one loaf of bread with a firm, somewhat dense but still soft texture with a fine crumb and a crust that is not quite crunchy but still firm.  To me it is the very essence of what sandwich bread should be.  It’s different from the bread I usually make in that the recipe I usually use has a tender crust and is more fluffy and light.  Still, I liked this one very much.  Oh, and it made wicked good toast. 

A little about flour and yeast:

I never use bread flour.  I dislike the taste.  I use Heckers all purpose unbleached flour in all my bread making.  If I can’t find Heckers, King Arthur is my second choice.  I know you can find Heckers at Netgrocer. 

I swear by this flour.  It’s cheaper than most flours but the quality is far superior in my opinion.  It’s kosher as well.  And the label is awesome.  It has a picture of a child about 3 years old with a huge loaf of bread and a knife which he is using to cut the bread...aimed squarely towards his hand.  Fortunately, there’s a recipe for cinnamon rolls on the back which will make him feel much better as he convalesces after amputating his hand.  (Picture below the jump.)

I use Red Star yeast which I buy in bulk here.  One packet of yeast is equal to 2-1/4 tsp.

Ingredients:

4 C flour
2 tsp salt
2-1/4 tsp (one packet) yeast
1/4 C milk
3/4 C water
1 TBSP butter, softened
1 TBSP sugar

Directions:

Grease a standard loaf pan and a 2 qt glass or metal bowl.  Set aside.

Combine milk, water and butter in a 2 cup measuring.  Microwave for about 45 seconds on high.  Butter should be melting but not fully melted.  Place flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl.  Add milk and stir well until you can form a ball.  Add flour small amounts at a time until you can handle the dough without it sticking all over your hands...much.  It should be somewhat sticky just not realllllly sticky.  (Yeah, real helpful instructions, I know.) The more flour you add, the heavier and dryer your bread will be.  Form into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place (the top of the fridge is a really good spot) until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.  Remove from bowl to a floured surface and knead a few times.  Form dough into a loaf shape and place into a greased bread pan.  Cover with the kitchen towel and put it back on top of the fridge for about 45 minutes.  The dough will have once again doubled. 

Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes until well brown and hollow sounding when tapped.  Remove from pan immediately and place on wire rack.  Brush the top with butter...I use a paper towel I wipe in the butter.  I just rub the buttered part of the paper towel on the bread.

Makes one loaf. 

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Here’s a quick and easy dish to help use up the leftover Thanksgiving turkey.  It’s tasty and definitely qualifies for comfort food status. 

Ingredients:

1/3 C butter + 2TBSP
1/3 C flour
1 stalk celery
1/2 a small onion
1 packet G. Washington Golden
1-1/2 C turkey broth (You did boil your turkey carcass for broth and stock, right?) or 1 can chicken broth
1/2 C half & half
4 oz fresh mushrooms
2 handfuls frozen broccoli florets
1-1/2 C cooked turkey
1/4 meat leftover pan drippings
salt & pepper or Nature’s Seasons, parsely
1/2 to 3/4 of a bag cooked wide egg noodles

Melt 2 TBSP butter in a frying pan.  Add sliced fresh mushrooms and cook until brown and all liquid has been given off.  Melt 1/3 C butter in 3 or 4 quart pot.  Cook celery and onion until tender.  Add flour, G Washington and Nature’s Seasons all at once.  Stir well.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Slowly add about 1/2 the broth while whisking briskly.  Add the half & half and simmer for 5 minutes or so.  Add more broth as necessary to make a creamy sauce.  Add meat, mushrooms and broccoli to sauce.  Add noodles until you like the consistency of pasta to sauce.  Re-season to taste.  Add parsley.

I always save the pan drippings from the turkey that I don’t use for gravy.  It will form a kind of jelly consistency.  This stuff is full of yum.  Seriously.  It adds so much flavour.  Save this and add it by tablespoonfuls to this sauce and other turkey or even chicken based dishes.  Good stuff.

Oh and the pan I cooked this in?  My new best friend.  I do not kid.  I love this pan.  You can check it out on the sidebar in the Amazon ad.  You want one.  Really.

These are single handedly my favourite cookie bar.  Ooey, gooey, chewy, caramel-y goodness.  You really, no matter how sweet your tooth, want to wait to cut these.  Leave them overnight before you cut them.  Really.  Trust me, they taste way better the next day anyway.  I think the original recipe...like anyone knows where that is...contains chocolate chips.  I do not like chocolate chips so I leave them out.  If you have trouble finding caramels...it seems stores don’t carry the Kraft Caramels in the bag much anymore...try the loose candy aisle.  They almost always have them there.

Ingredients:

2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
1-1/2 C firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 C melted butter
14 oz bag Kraft Caramels or about 32 pieces
1/3 C light cream

Optional:
Chocolate chips
Chopped nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 13x9-inch pan AND LINE WITH PARCHMENT PAPER** (!!!!) Do not skip lining the pan.  The caramel sticks and your pan will be a big sticky mess if you do.  Press the parchment paper on the bottom and up the sides.  It’s ok if it’s wrinkley.  Then grease the parchment paper as well.

In large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, soda, salt.  Add melted butter and mix until crumbly.  Press half of the crumb mixture in bottom of greased pan.  Reserve half for the topping.  Blind bake the bottom crust for about 10 minutes.  Cool.

In a small bowl, combine caramels and cream. Heat in microwave oven for about 5 minutes on 50% stirring twice during cooking until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth.

If using, sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over reserved crust. Drizzle evenly with melted caramel mixture and sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.  Press down on the crust lightly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely. Remove from pan then remove parchment paper.  Cut into bars.  These keep for several days...if they last that long...just cover them with plastic wrap.

** Don’t use waxed paper in place of parchment.  Waxed paper has...well...wax.  Wax melts in the oven.  It’s why you put it in the oven supple and it comes out crinkley.  Parchment paper doesn’t have anything on it that melts, it’s just non-stick.

Spicy Black Bean Salad

Ingredients

1 can black beans or 1 1/2 cups fresh
3 Tbs lime juice
1/4 tsp cumin or crushed red pepper
1 green pepper, chopped
2 Tbs oil
1 small carrot, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs chopped red onion
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp lime zest
1/4 tsp salt (omit if using canned beans)

Directions

Rinse and drain canned beans or cook fresh beans.  Add green pepper, carrot and red onion to the cooled beans.

In another smaller bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together.  Pour over the bean and vegetable mixture and stir to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for several hours to allow flavors to meld before serving.

Variations: If you’re willing to double the original recipe, toss in a cup of thawed whole kernel corn or an additional chopped red pepper makes it crunchier and more colorful. 

Red Skin Caesar Potato Salad

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb small red skin
1/4 tsp salt
potatoes, quartered
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1/3 cup Caesar Dressing
1/3 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbs Mayonaise
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 Tbs chopped cilantro

Directions

Boil potatoes until tender (10 minutes or so).  Drain, rinse and set aside to cool.  When cooled, throw in a large bowl and add the celery and onion.

Whisk the Caesar dressing, mayonaise, cilantro and salt (if using) in a small bowl. Transfer dressing to the bowl containing the potatoes and gently fold.  Add the tomatoes and refrigerate.

*I like to double the amount of tomatoes, but after halving them I sprinkle them with a pinch or three of salt and drizzle them with a bit of olive oil before roasting them for 15-20 minutes at 300 degrees to make them a bit sweeter. Also, since I like the taste of anchovies, I moosh an extra filet or two into the dressing. 

I recently purchased a Baker’s Secret Mini Fluted Tube Pan from Amazon.com.  I had a pan quite like it but it was all bent and beat up.  I am a person who makes good use out of my pots and pans.  So I needed a new one.  I’m very put out by how hard it is to find baking pans that are not non-stick.  I like stainless steel without non-stick crap but after searching around for an hour, I settled on the non-stick one.  Whatever.

So it arrived and I was all, oh cool! until I went to peel the paper label off the top.

I am utterly disgusted with the glue they use to attach the paper to the pan.  I cannot remove this stuff.  It simply will not come off.  I have made my fingers sore trying to pick it off.  When I do get a little off, it sticks to my fingers and I can’t get it off of them!  I tried soaking in warm water, but water seems to just make it harder.

I know there is a glue that comes off easily while holding paper firmly attached.  I’ve seen it.  Why can’t they use that?  I am left with a brand new pan that looks like hell.  I don’t even know what will happen to that glue mess if I tried to bake with it still on....which I totally would not even attempt to do.

How can this company charge people money for this crap with good conscience when they have to know (because I am not going to believe I am the only person with this problem) about this horrible issue?  I would return this to Amazon but they will charge me to ship it back since this is not their fault and shipping would be nearly as much as the $10 I paid for the pan.  Ten dollars might not be a lot of money, but it’s money I no longer have and have given to them for a product that is useless to me. 

I will NEVER buy another Baker’s Secret product.  Never.

Okay.  I wasn’t sure about this one, but I figured it was worth a shot.

Cranberry Chicken

Ingredients
5-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cranberry jelly
1 pack onion soup mix
8 oz bottle italian dressing

Preheat the oven to 350. and pour yourself a glass of wine.

Place chicken in a rectangular baking dish.

De-can the cranberry jelly into a bowl and marvel at its ability to tower over the bowl while quivering as if it’s going to collapse. Once you’ve become un-hypnotized, mash the jelly and spread over the chicken.  Sprinkle the onion soup mix on top of the cranberry jelly and top with the Italian dressing. Toss in the oven and bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes.

Despite my misgivings, this turned out to be damn tasty and it made my kitchen smell like autumn. I think that the next time I try this, I may substitute a balsamic vinagrette for the Italian dressing and chopped fresh onions and herbs for the onion soup mix. 

Ingredients: 
About 2/3 of a box of spaghetti (I use linguine)
5 slices bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1-1/2 C cream
4 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch long, thin slices
1/2 lb mushrooms (or 10 oz package)
4 tbsp butter, divided
1/2 C grated parmesan
Pepper (I use Nature’s Seasons)
1 packet G. Washington Golden
4 Egg yolks, lightly beaten

Directions:
To more easily dice bacon, freeze it hard, at least 8 hours or overnight.  It’s much easier to dice.  Same with the chicken breast...it’s easier to slice when it’s partially frozen. 

Pecorino romano can be substituted for parmesano reggiano.  Buy the good stuff, I beg of you.  It costs more but there are some things you don’t skimp on.  This is one of them . Don’t use that crap in a can!!  Also, parmesan is a salty cheese.  You don’t need to add salt to this dish.

Boil spaghetti to your liking then drain.  Run hot water over to rinse off some of the starch.  Drain well.

Sauté mushrooms in 2 tbsp butter until golden brown and all moisture is cooked off.  Set aside.
In a another large saucepan, sauté the bacon bits and onion until golden.  If there’s a lot of bacon fat, drain off some drippings but be sure to keep at least a tbsp or so.  Add 2 tbsp butter and the chicken.  Season with pepper and G. Washington.  Sauté until chicken is fully cooked.  Add cream and heat until just simmering.  Stir in the the cheese.

Lightly beat the egg yolks.  Slowly add some of the hot cream to the eggs, stirring well.  Turn heat to low to stop the simmer.  Add egg-cream mixture back into the pan and stir well and continuously for a few minutes.  Mixture will thicken as it cooks.  DO NOT BOIL OR YOU MIGHT SCRAMBLE THE EGGS.

Add mushrooms to pan and heat through.  Turn off the heat.

Using a slotted spoon, remove some of the chicken to a plate.  Spoon some of the cream mixture over the spaghetti until it is thoroughly coated.  Plate the spaghetti and top with chicken and the rest of the sauce.

Makes about 4 servings.

I was talking about my distaste for chocolate chip cookies the other day. I don't much like them. I very much don't like semi-sweet chocolate chips. But these...chocolate cookies with white chips...these are sublime. They're soft and moist and just plain yum.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup white chocolate morsels (I used Ghirardelli)

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Gradually beat in flour mixture in three batches. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Put some more chips on top if you like.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 2 to 2-1/2 dozen.

These cookies are very soft so make sure they're cool before you move them. Try to use mesh racks rather than wire if you have them. They break in half easily when they're warm.

I got this recipe from my friend, Maureen after she caught me making Nestles Toll House cookie dough and baking it without the chips.

Ingredients:
1/2 C melted butter
1 C packed dark brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
1 C flour
1/4 C any of the following, alone or combined…not to exceed 1/4 cup:  butterscotch chips, chopped milk chocolate bar (Ghirardelli Luxe Milk Chocolate is my choice), pecans…or none at all

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Butter an 9x9 pan. With a fork mix together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl.  Add the egg and vanilla extract.  Stir until smooth.

Combine flour, soda, powder and salt.  Add to brown sugar mixture and stir well.  Add the chips and nuts if desired.

Spread evenly in pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Top will be soft.  Blondies will continue to set while cooling so make sure to cool completely before cutting.  Cut into 9 - 3” squares.

PS:  I didn’t take a photo because the batteries in the camera were dead and I couldn’t find anymore.

A good cook is not necessarily a good woman with an even temper. Some allowance should be made for artistic temperament.
~X. Marcel Boulestin

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