My new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe

I luvvvv chocolate chip cookies, but until now I've never been very successful at baking them. They look so good when I'm mixing them up, but frequently in the end, I have flat, tasteless cookies. Well NO MORE!!

Try this recipe. I dare you. Yummy, chewy, with just enough crunch. PERFECT chocolate chip cookieness.

THE ESSENTIAL CHEWY
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE –

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or white vinegar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with
parchment) two baking sheets.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter,
sugars, corn syrup, and vinegar, then beat in the eggs.
Beat in the vanilla, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Stir in the flour and chocolate chips.
Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the prepared
baking sheets. Bake the cookies at 375°F for 10 minutes,
until they’re just set; the centers may still look a bit
underdone. Remove them from the oven, and transfer to
a rack to cool.

The Essential Chewy Chocolate Chip is from the Cumberland County Fair (mmmmmmmm yummy).

My favorite crock pot yummies

I'm posting these recipes for the crock pot festival being hosted here . They are pretty basic ones, but my favorite thing is that the boys will eat all of these, no questions asked. So that pretty much makes them a-ok in my book :-)

Chicken and Dumplings
(ridiculously easy, but oh so yummy!)

boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Celery Soup
1 can refrigerator biscuits

Place thighs in crockpot and top with condensed soups. Cook on low 6 hours or so. 30 to 45 minutes before you are ready to eat, open the biscuits and divide each biscuit into fours. Put the biscuit pieces on top of the chicken and soup mixture and return to cooking until the biscuits are done.

*Note* Usually I will substitute one of the soups for a low sodium or low fat variety.


Nicole's Favorite Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
6 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Seasoned Salt
Italian Seasoning
Black Pepper
10 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 can Italian (15 oz) Italian Style tomato sauce
1/4 cup red wine or chicken broth
8 oz. bow tie pasta cooked

1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray for easy cleanup. Place chicken in slow cooker. Sprinkle generously with seasonings to taste.
2. Add mushrooms. Pour tomato sauce and wine over top. Cover, cook on LOW for 6 hours.
3. Serve with cooked pasta.


Slow Cooker BBQ Beef
1 Beef Chuck shoulder roast (3 lbs)
1 cup water
2 cubes beef bouillon
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup mustard
1 TBS minced onion
Dash worcestershire sauce

1. Place roast, water, and bouillon cubes in slow cooker. Cover. Cook on LOW 8-10 hours or until tender.

2. Remove meat, shred with fork.

3. Discard all but 1 cup of cooking liquid. Add remaining ingredients and shredded meat to slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 3-4 hours or on HIGH 1 1/2-2 hours.