Jenn's Baking Chamber

When it comes to making chocolate chip cookies I don't like to steer too far away from my favorite recipe that I've posted here.  I usually just change a few ingredients and hope for the best and this time it turned out well.  I substituted the shortening for butter and added toffee baking bits instead of nuts but also kept the chocolate chips for extra goodness. 

Chocolate and Toffee Chip Cookies

1 Cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 Cup golden brown sugar
3/4 Cup white sugar
2 Large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 Cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 Cup chopped toffee baking bits

1) Preheat oven to 350F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
2) In a large bowl, beat well together butter and sugars with an electric hand beater
3) Add eggs and vanilla to the sugar mixture and beat well
4) In separate bowl, mix together flour, soda, and salt
5) In two additions add flour mixture to egg mixture using a wooden spoon
6) Fold in chocolate chips and toffee bits
7) Drop cookies by rounded tablespoonfulls onto lined cookie sheets and bake for 10-12min (the less time, the chewier the cookie)
8) Cool on pan for 5min then transfer cookies to cooling rack and enjoy!

My Aunt was having a late Thanksgiving dinner tonight because she was away when we had our actual Canadian Thanksgiving.  I made an apple and pear crisp for dessert but I also thought it would be nice to have a little chocolate fix to serve along side of the crisp as well.  I got the recipe from the 'Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics' cookbook, I altered the recipe slightly and it turned out well.  She states in the cookbook that this version of chocolate bark is a French style because the nuts and fruit are embedded on top of the chocolate rather than the U.S version of chocolate bark where the nuts and fruit are mixed into the chocolate.  Either way you make it, this recipe is fast and good!

Chocolate Bark

6 Ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used chocolate chips)
5 Ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 Cups whole cashews
1/2 Cup craisins

1) Preheat oven to 350F and toast the cashews for about 5-7min then set aside to cool
2) In a microwave proof bowl, mix together both chocolates and microwave for 30sec
3) Stir chocolate every 30sec until it begins to melt then start stirring the chocolate every 10sec
4) Once chocolate has almost completely melted, remove it from the microwave and stir it vigorously until the chocolate becomes smooth and slightly cooled (stirring helps make it glossy)
5) Pour melted chocolate onto a 13*9 piece of parchment paper and spread evenly
6) Sprinkle cooled cashews and craisins evenly over top of the chocolate and very slightly press them into the chocolate
7) Let chocolate cool at room temperature until set or if you are in a hurry you can put it in the fridge then break into pieces and enjoy!

Sometimes mistakes are a good thing!  I was too busy talking to my boyfriend when I started making this recipe that I didn't realize it when I added too much shortening to the recipe. Little did I know that the cookies actually turned out well, a little thinner and chewier than I wanted them to be but they still tasted great and I ate about 5 cookies everyday until they were gone!  So this recipe turned out to be a good mistake.

Thin and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 3/4 Cups shortening
1/2 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup white sugar
2 Large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 Cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Cups chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
2) In a large bowl cream together shortening and both sugars until well mixed
3) Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined
4) Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt until cookie dough forms
5) Stir in chocolate chips
6) Scoop tsp size balls onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for 10-12min or until cookie edges are nicely browned
7) Because the cookies are so thin, keep them on the pan until almost completely cooled then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely then enjoy!

This recipe is great for a Thanksgiving dinner or a Halloween treat!  I used my pumpkin bread recipe for the cupcake base and baked them at 350F for about 20min (or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean).  I made mini cupcakes but you could also make regular sized ones and just bake them for a bit longer.  I used a basic cream cheese frosting on top and then decorated them with edible pumpkin candies.  The cupcakes themselves are very moist, I kept them in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting and they tasted great.  Happy Thanksgiving and Enjoy!