A Sweet Post

As a special Wednesday treat, I have two sweet recipes I want to recommend.  First is my mother's chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I can't quite believe that I haven't shared it with you yet but there is a reason.

You see, I lose total control when I'm around these cookies.  Not only are they delicious (and so soft and chewy) but they remind me of home.  Mom would put these in our lunches (we had the BEST home-packed lunches) and take them along on family vacations.  To save money and because grocery stores were often hard to get to or nonexistent where we vacationed, we almost always brought ALL our own food along.

So, for years (especially those years when my kids were young, for some reason) I could not make these without eating almost all of them myself.  Since I've matured a little bit I've found that I can trust myself to make them now and again.  It's still hard not to eat them all, but I do much better than I used to.

Jane's Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from an old recipe card ring from Eastern Mennonite College)
Makes about 2 dozen cookies

3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp. hot water
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups chocolate chips

In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream the shortening and both sugars.  Add the eggs and beat well. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water and add to the butter-sugar-egg mixture.  Add the salt, vanilla and flour and combine well.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Spoon onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes and then check them, adding a few more minutes if needed.  They are done when the ridges on top turn medium brown.  Let them set on the cookie sheets for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to let them set up a little bit.  These cookies are best nice and soft and freeze very well.

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Next, I want to share with you another special occasion cake: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake from Smitten Kitchen.  I saw it posted there and promptly asked my friend if I could make it for her for her upcoming birthday.  I really wanted to try my hand at making (and eating) it.  It did not disappoint.  And, yes.  There is chocolate ganache inside and on top of the cake.

The only change I made was that I couldn't find chocolate waffer cookies at my grocery store so I used Chocolate Teddy Grahams and they worked just fine.  There are several steps involved but the steps are simple.  Seriously.

Now go plan healthy meals for the rest of the week and file these recipes away in the back of your mind. Just in case you need them one day ;-).

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