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Monday, October 14, 2013

Picture Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies




I had been dying to make a recipe using cream cheese for a while (lingering pregnancy craving maybe??).  Finally I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided I needed to try it.

These little beauties came out literally picture perfect.  They were so perfectly formed, and fluffy, not to mention delicious...definitely blog worthy.

You really can't taste the cream cheese, but they give these cookies such a unique texture, it's awesome.  These are a new favorite!







Here is the recipe:


Yield: about 28 medium-small cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 3+ hours, for dough chilling

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened (use cream cheese in a block or spreadable, don't use fat-free, light or whipped)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
2 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

Directions:

  1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, cream cheese (measure it by smooshing it into a 1/4-cup measure), sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use an electric hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes).
  2. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
  3. Add chocolate chips and chunks, and beat momentarily to incorporate, or fold in by hand.
  4. Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping mounds (I made 28). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly with your palm, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
  5. Preheat oven to 350F, spray with cooking spray and place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet). Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than 10 minutes as cookies will firm up as they cool  Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
  6. Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Friday, October 11, 2013

5 Months Old!



5 months old brought a lot of new milestones.  Baby boy has learned to sit up on his own without any support, although sometimes he gets pretty excited and topples backwards.  But for the most part he is pretty steady.  He also began the oh so fun stage of teething.  He now has two tiny little bottom teeth and they are adorable!  I was pretty sad to see my gummy little smile go, but this next stage is just as cute :)

He has also started consistently rolling from his back to his belly over his right shoulder.  And despite our best efforts to lay him down to sleep on his back, we can't keep our little roley poley on his back!
 
We have also started some actual solids other than rice cereal.  We chose to begin with vegetables.  I have been making all of the purees for him so far and those have included squash, zucchini (from our garden), sweet potato, pumpkin, avocado, broccoli, green beans (also from our garden), and carrots.  So far he has enjoyed everything except the squash.

We also took our first road trip down to LA to visit Aunt Heather and Uncle Jason!  The bean did great in the car and was such a good little road buddy.  Many thanks to Nana for coming with me and helping out since Daddy was out of town.  


Hanging out at Aunt Heather and Uncle Jason's


Hugs for Mama

Sitting like a big boy!




4 Months Old




Holy smokes it has been a long time since I posted!  My camera sort of took a turn for the worse when the battery charger stopped working.  It took me a while to finally getting around to sending the darn thing in to Nikon.  Without a functioning battery, I couldn't even get the pictures off of my camera!  Hence, because of my battery charger fail, and my procrastination getting the best of me until recently...no posts.

But, we are back in business now!  And on to the 4 month old post!

At 4 months old Luke rolled from his tummy to his back twice in a row.  I don't think it was entirely intentional still...but nevertheless...it counts!  Once he rolled, everyone in the room started to clap and cheer, which scared the little guy and caused some tears.  Hmm..maybe that's why he hasn't done it again....

We believe teeth are in our near future because everything that is within reach, is promptly in the mouth.  And his little fingers are his favorite chew toy at the moment.  He is learning his hand/eye/mouth coordination and realizing that his hands are in fact attached to his body.  It is a lot of fun now that he interacts with us and his toys. 

It is getting easier to get belly laughs, but this causes us to have to be creative.  This little man does not like to laugh at the same thing twice!  Apparently he needs new material to keep him entertained. 

We got the go ahead from the Dr to start some rice cereal and other solids, and what fun that was!  The first few times were a complete mess!  But after getting the hang of it, he has become a champion eater!