Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you ever just want to bake? I have wanted to the last couple of days, and finally gave in today. I was so excited to have recipes to share with you, but I am terrible with the whole taking photos with each step of the cooking process. Sorry about that. Don't worry, I will share with you what I have and use my words to fill in the blanks.

First of all, let me tell you how I feel about baking. I love mixing ingredients and watching them transform. I like seeing yeast bloom and bread rise. I like knowing that cakes and cookies and breads use most of the same ingredients, but just by changing a few of the techniques, you end up with completely different products.

I was most excited about baking rolls today. Oh, how I love rolls. They are perfect for snacking and making sandwiches. Plus, who doesn't love dipping rolls in soups or sauces? Yum. So those were easily the first thing on my list today. I have the perfect recipe for easy, soft rolls. After I started kneading the finished dough, I realized that I hadn't taken any photos. Sorry again. I will make them again soon (because these perfect rolls freeze so well - you'd never guess they were frozen and then thawed) and I will probably take photos. So, keep being patient with these. I promise I'll share the recipe soon.

While my rolls were rising, I mixed up a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies. They are my husband's favorite. Good news? I took photos of these!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c Butter
3/4 c White Sugar
1 c Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
3/4 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
3 c Flour
Chocolate Chips

Step 1. Soften the butter. (I usually get the butter out before I get all my other ingredients out so it can be softening while I work. Sometimes, I hold it in my hands (in the wrapper) to soften it faster. Then I cream it in my mixer for a while. Keeping your hands on the bowl help soften it quicker.)

Step 2. Add the sugars and cream well. It should look really similar to finished cookie dough at this point. Make sure you scrape the sides of your mixer several times while you combine the ingredients.

Step 3. Add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Make sure it is mixed well.

Step 4. Add the flour and slowly mix it in.

Step 5. When the flour is almost completely mixed in, add the chocolate chips. Mix for a couple of seconds, and you're done!

Step 6. Oh wait, no. Not quite. Bake them at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. In between each batch, I put the dough in the fridge so the dough doesn't get too soft.

Step 7. If you live in my house, you let the cookies cool and then you put them in the freezer.

You can replace some of the flour with wheat flour so you can pretend they are healthier. They are just as good.

After I made this batch, I made a batch of peanut butter cookies with peanut butter and chocolate swirled chips. They are delightful. I will share the recipe with you tomorrow. For now, I am going to finish watching The Host (while telling my husband how the book is different from the movie - I'm SURE he loves that part) and snacking on cookies and rolls. Perfect end to a busy day.