Mississippi Mud Pots

Here are the promised Mississippi Mud Pots. Aren't they cute?

I made some more chocolate chip cookies, this time with some baking powder and less baking soda. I even bought new baking soda. They came out better than last time, but could use some improvement (in looks only, taste was terrific as always). Unfortunately, that was the day my brother was over, so not a one is left for a picture.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??!

Ok, I am seriously depressed. My chocolate chip cookies are coming out flatter than a pancake. Which is saying something because I make some fluffy pancakes. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Ok, maybe because I'm not spooning the flour into the cup. Or, because my baking soda is old. Hmmm?

I made a batch of cookies last night, and everything looked fine until I pulled the baking sheet out of the oven. The cookies had spread way too much and they turned brown after I let them rest on the sheet. Nothing at all like the first time I tried the recipe. AGGGHHHH! They turned out delicious, but not pretty.

I need to change something. I am obsessed. What to do? Ok, I think I'm going to try using less soda and more powder. And maybe, spoon the flour instead of scooping it. I hate flour.

I'm having a bake-off against myself. That way only I can win. Hehe.

I'll post the results next week.

EEEEK! & MMP

Ok, I jinxed myself. I made chocolate chip cookies last night, and they didn't come out anything like the ones before. But readers, try your own fate at the famous recipe, it works. Its not the recipe, its me. :(

However, I did make something else that turned out fabulous. Mississippi Mud Pie is a staple in our house. Whenever I need a quick dessert, I turn to MMP. Amna and Jawad were coming over and I didn't feel like baking anything, or creaming butter, or all that, so I turned to my trusty MMP. What kind of baker am I, huh?

Instead of making a whole big dish, I made Mississippi Mud Pots. They were just as good, but cuter. (Pictures to come later.)

The search is over!

I finally found the perfect recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I was searching for a recipe that makes soft, chewy, buttery cookies, and that stay soft for a couple of days in the cookie jar. When I first started baking, (approximately 15 years ago) I loved the Nestle Toll House recipe on the bag, but that became unsatisfactory real fast. They came out flat and too crispy. I know some people like crispy chocolate chip cookies, but I like mine soft and chewy. After hours of searching and looking at cookie forums I found a recipe on Foodnetwork. Alton Brown had done a whole show on chocolate chip cookies! (I didn't see that episode.) He has a cookie called 'The Chewy" that I tried out. The first time I made it, oh my god, it was good. I tasted one right out of the oven, and it seemed like this is exactly what I was looking for. And the recipe makes HUGE cookies. But they don't store so well. After 2 days, the cookies were kinda hard and crumbly, and didn't taste too good. Since I don't buy cookies from the store anymore, I needed a cookie that would last at least a week for lunch boxes and evening snacks and still taste like it was fresh out of the oven.

So, back to searching and trying out different things. Some chocolate chip cookie forums said to add more flour to make a stiffer dough. This helps with the spreading but it makes a cakey cookie. Some said melted butter makes the difference, but majority of the recipes call for creamed butter.

Finally I found one. Wendy Gaynor's recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Usually I hate letting things chill because I'm craving the chilling dough so bad, but its worth it to let the dough chill and bake perfect chocolate chip cookies. I don't bake these too big, just about 1 1/2 tablespoon full of dough. I shape it into a ball to have perfect rounds, and also I decreased the amount of chocolate to 2 cups dark chocolate chips. Rehan loves these and even told me so! Without me asking him.

The search is over! They came out perfect.

I usually get about 30-36 cookies, I can never keep count because my kids keep darting in and out of the kitchen and cookies keep disappearing.

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Wendy Gaynor’s ‘Perfect’ Chocolate Chunk Cookies

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract4 cups semisweet chunks (preferably imported).

1. Place the butter in a large bowl and cream at high speed until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 4minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until completely mixed.

2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture at low speed until just combined and add vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl down, until blended. Do not over mix.

3. Add chocolate chunks and mix till thoroughly combined. Refrigerate batter until cold, preferably overnight.

4. Preheat a conventional oven to 350 degrees or a convection oven to300 degrees, and line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop heaping spoonfuls of batter 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets and bake, turning tray once, until golden brown around edges and soft(but not bubbly), about 9 minutes in a convection oven or 12 in a conventional one. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 36 to 72 cookies, depending on size.