Chicken Soup

Epic failure. 

After playing an evening of get-to-know-your-co-worker, where we discovered we had the same first and middle name, shared our love for good beer, and delicious food, I was plagued with the inevitable hangover this morning. Sympathy not necessary, I knew exactly why I felt the way I felt. Aching head, upset stomach aside, I got up early and went to my hair appointment.

Why oh why did I eat all the cookies I had saved for breakfast? Lesson learned. Always eat breakfast. It was a very sick day.

To my disappointment I couldn't stand the thought of working in the kitchen today. My brilliant self had recently thrown out the frozen chicken soup in the freezer. Campbell's it was... and then wasn't.

Flourless cake has sadly been put off, again, hopefully until tomorrow. I can assure you, the first taste tester when I make this unbelievably delicious chocolate flourless cake with whipped peanut butter buttercream frosting, will be my sister. Well, maybe second.

Happy party tonight Riss. Love you. 

Butter Explosion

Is there even such a thing as the perfect chocolate chip cookie? Like many people, I have always been in search of that perfect cookie. Firm but not hard, chewy but not overly gooey, not too many chocolate chips, not too few. Is this dream even possible?

I have tried more cookie recipes than I care to count. The back of the chocolate chip bag, cookbooks, cookies with applesauce, whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose... I am sad to say, I have only made a handful of chocolate chip cookies that reach my standards. As with most things, nothing can compare to my Mom's homemade cookies. Persistence wins, and I will undoubtedly continue on my quest for as long as I have a kitchen. 


Last night I tried my newest chocolate chip cookie recipe. It promised me a moist, buttery, and chewy future. After all the sweets I had consumed this week, I was most excited for these cookies. Most people that know me know that a good cookie will turn me from heinous to happy in a matter of seconds.

I will admit, I have never melted my butter in a cookie recipes before. I was a little hesitant, because I know how impatient I am when it comes to... well, everything. My impatience must have showed. The butter exploded in my microwave (under the cover of paper towels), and I'm pretty sure I lost a tablespoon of butter.The cookies were nicely formed, but slightly crunchy on the edges. The sugar content of this cookie was enough to keep 10 small children awake for at least 24 hours. I added the optional chopped walnuts. What I did not realize, was I added nearly a cup of walnuts. The overpowering walnutty taste is a little much for me, but probably not for the nut lovers out there. Otherwise, the butter flavor was very evident and they were nice and soft. I found myself eating more and more and more trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with these cookies. Thanks to a co-worker this morning, I did realize it was the sugar. Next time I might try them with less sugar and less nuts.


For tonight; CAKE! Nervous, anxious and excited to see how my second homemade cake will turn out.


Mmm...

Foodgasm

Anticipation over, the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake was just as I expected... sensationally delicious. I refrigerated them overnight, which didn't allow me to test them until this morning. My nutritional breakfast today? Two cheesecake bars. I have validated myself only by thinking, "at least I ate breakfast"... right?

Before I ran out the door to work this morning I desperately attempted to melt chocolate chips in the microwave to create my chocolate drizzle topping, but as I wrote before... the microwave and I do not get along, and I burned it. Even without the chocolate drizzle, the bars exceeded my expectations. The cookie dough was the perfect added touch for an extra decadent dessert. The ratio between graham cracker crust and cheesecake was definitely not fair on the cheesecake's side. As much as I love crust, I wanted more of the rich taste of cheesecake and sugar infused cookie dough.

I will definitely be making these again, possibly adjusting the recipe to see what I could add (caramel drizzle?) to make them even more delectable. 



Mmm... 

Cheesecake Overload

Yes, yes, you guessed it. I drove over the speed limit, left the garbage cans outside and ran inside to start on the Cookie Dough Cheesecake bars I had been salivating over all day. My love of baking was once again reaffirmed when I took refuge in the soothing measurements of sugar and vanilla.

The recipe was easy to follow, and simple enough that a beginning baker could do this with ease. I did have to slightly adjust the baking time. I blame my oven. The cheesecake has to chill for two hours, so I might not be able to taste it tonight. However, as I do love Cookies for Breakfast, I will undoubtedly be eating, and describing every bite, in the morning. 

To not leave you begging for the description of the rich, creamy decadence of the cheesecake cooling in my fridge, I will let you know that I can never end my evening without something sweet. Tonight I will polish off the fresh picked blueberry peach pie I made on Sunday.

Mmm...

Is this how you do it?

Yes, it's true. I am a virgin blogger. I have no idea what I am doing here, or why exactly I am doing it, but my desire to share with people my obsession with food has finally overcome me. 

My specialty is sweets. Cookies, cakes, pies, and anything delicious that teases my palate. You will ultimately find anything that I deem worthy of posting, from my favorite dinners to my least favorite breakfasts, but I can pretty confidently say the majority of my recipes will be crammed with sugar, and as always - real butter.

I would love new recipes to try, your favorite could soon be one of mine. 

Tonight's creation will be inspired by the Brown Eyed Baker, of whom I owe this blog to! Her delectable dishes are right up my alley and there are far too many to pass up testing. Alas my skills at cooking or writing may not be up to her standards, I am quite sure my love for all things delicious are. 

For later... cookie dough cheesecake, recipe courtesy www.browneyedbaker.com