Salted Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

First of all I would like to welcome all the new followers that have showed up in the last few days, its great to meet all of you and I hope you enjoy your stay.  Second of all, if you haven't heard yet, Southernplate.com has launched a new forum, so if you'd like to join us all, pull up a chair with your sweet tea (or coffee, soda, water, whatever tickles your fancy) and come join in the conversations.

I think just about everyone is on a mission to find their perfect chocolate chip cookie.  Who knew something so simple could be so finicky?  One time its soft and chewy, the next its thin and crispy. I personally, like mine thick, soft and chewy.  That's just what I found in this recipe.  It's taking me quite a few tries to get it right and lots of research as to what changes the cookie.  

The best resource I came across was Alton Brown's Good Eats episode on the chocolate chip cookie.  It was very informative and exactly what I needed.  Btw, I absolutely adore his show.  He's the Bill Nye of the cooking world and gives you the hows and whys instead of the "Watch me make this recipe" that many other shows have.  If you get a chance you should definitely check it out.  You can find all 14 seasons on Youtube (30 minute episodes).

Salted Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup Shortening

1 Cup Unsalted Butter, melted

3 Cup Brown Sugar

1 egg + 1 Egg Yolk

2 Tbsp Milk

3 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 1/2 Cups Bread Flour

2 Cups Cake Flour

3 tsp Baking Powder

1 1/2 tsp Salt

Coarse Sea Salt

In large bowl, cream shortening, butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at time, mixing well after each addition.  Add the milk and vanilla, mix well.  In another large bowl, sift together both flours, baking powder and salt.  Add to creamed mixture, one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Chill mixture for 2 hours.  Preheat oven 375 degrees F.  Using a cookie scoop drop spoonfuls of cookie dough on to baking sheet.  Lightly sprinkle each mound with sea salt.  Bake for 10-11 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  Let cool on pan for 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack.  After completely cool remove to cookie jar where your family can inhale with a large glass of cold milk.

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Triple Peanut Butter Cookies

Last night, after the girls had gone to bed, I was able to catch the last half of a Celtic Woman concert on PBS.  I've never been able to catch it when it was on so I was grateful that I at least got to see part of it.  Wish I could see them live.  Maybe someday in the future.  Afterwards they did a Yanni special.  Of course I told my dad about it.  He is a big Yanni fan.  

I remember listening to him when I was younger.  One song in particular.  "Reflections of Passion".  When ever my dad would play the music video or the concert he had on tape and this song came on, I would dance across our dining room like a ballerina like in the music video.  It is such a beautiful song.  You can hear it here.

Anyways when I saw Yanni last night I was disappointed.  I haven't seen him in probably 10 years.  See, he used to have long black hair with a thick mustache.  I personally like the shorter hair and the only facial hair I like is a goatee.  But I liked it on him.  Not to many people can rock the long hair and mustache and look good while doing it.  Yanni did look good in it.  It was like a trademark.  You knew immediately who he was.  Now, he has shorter hair and no facial hair.  He just blends in with the crowd.  Makes me sad.

Anyways on to things that make me happy.  And not just me, my entire family.

I don't much care for peanut butter all that much but these cookies are delicious.  Soft and chewy, with peanut butter being delivered 3 different ways.      This is a favorite not only with my husband (Who is in love with peanut butter), but with my children (who will only eat peanut butter in this cookie) and my parents and sisters (Yes mom, I put some aside for you.)

Triple Peanut Butter Cookies

1 Cup Butter Flavored Shortening

1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter

1 Cup White Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1/4 Cup Milk

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

3 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt 

10 oz Bag Peanut Butter Chips

10 oz Bag Baking Reese's Pieces

In a large bowl, cream the shortening, peanut butter, and both sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in milk and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt and whisk together.  Gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.  Mix in peanut butter chips and Reese's pieces.

Roll into 1 inch balls or use a cookie scoop.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 375 Degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes.  Remove to wire cooling racks to cool completely.  Store in an air tight container.

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February 2011 Daring Bakers Challenge - Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies

This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was hosted by Miss Mallory @ A Sofa in the Kitchen.  She decided to challenge us to make Giada's Vanilla Panna Cotta and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

This was the first time I participated in the Daring Bakers Challenge.  I was very, very nervous about making the panna cotta.  Not only have I never made panna cotta before but I've never even eaten before.  To make matters worse, I threw it together at last minute.  I wanted to make it for Valentine's Day, but piles of dishes sitting in my kitchen waiting to be cleaned made me put it off.

This was actually pretty easy to make.  I altered the recipe and came up with a Coconut Cream Cheese Panna Cotta.  It turned out pretty well other than struggling to get it to un-mold.   Mine is no where near as gorgeous as the others that have been posted but with panna cotta being fairly easy and not very time consuming I will definitely be making many different kinds.

Giada's Vanilla Panna Cotta 

my alterations are in purple

1 Cup Whole Milk - 1 Cup Coconut Milk

1 Tbsp Gelatin ( 1 packet)

3 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1/3 Cup Honey

1 Tbsp Sugar

Pinch of Salt

1/2 tsp Coconut Extract

4 oz Cream Cheese, Softened

 Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigetor for a few minutes before you start making the panna cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.

 Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage). 

 Next, add the cream, honey, sugar, cream cheese, extract and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved and cream cheese is melted, 5-7 minutes.

Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin.  Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve. 


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I seemed to have accidently deleted my photos of the Florentine cookies.  I actually struggled more with those than the panna cotta.  The dough turned out a little to wet and spread way too much.  Some were chewy, some turned out crispy.  They were good though.  They reminded me of Brandy Snaps.  I may not have my photos of them but here is one posted by Mallory.

Nestle Florentine Cookies

2/3 cup unsalted butter

2 cups quick oats

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup flour

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups dark or milk chocolate

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C) 

Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper

 Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.

 To the melted butter add oats, sugar,  flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.

 Drop a tablespoon full, three inches apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flaten slighty with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula. 

Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets. 

While the cookies are cooling melt your chocolate until smooth either in the microwave (1 1/2 minutes), or stovetop (in a double boiler, or a bowl that fits atop a saucepan filled with a bit of water, being sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl).

 Peel the cookies from the silpat or parchment and place face down on a wire wrack set over a sheet of wax/parchment paper (to keep counters clean). Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end)cookie atop the chocolate. This recipe will make about 2 1/2 - 3 dozen sandwiched florentine cookies. You can also choose not to sandwich yours, in which case, drizzle the tops with chocolate (over your wax paper).

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M&M Oatmeal Blondies

I made these a couple days ago after making the baking mix, during which a crisis occurred. You see, my parents and sisters who live only a few minutes away had their pipes freeze during an extremely cold night.  No running water, no toilets working, nothing draining.  They had finally gotten their pipes to thaw and getting running water but still could not get their water to drain.  I offered to let them use our shower being the awesome daughter that I am.

Now we haven't been living here long, and there a few repairs that need to get done that we just either haven't gotten to or haven't been able to afford yet.  Recently the hot water faucet in our bathtub busted off but was still use-able using a wrench.  I had let my family know ahead of time before using the shower.  My little sisters and mother came and left.  Then my sister and nephew came for theirs.  

It didn't occur to me to let them know not to turn the little plastic thing to far.  In which it was turned to far.  I was standing in the kitchen pulling these out of the oven when I heard what sounded like a hose pelting our kitchen wall with water.  I walked into the bathroom to see what in the world was going on.  Water everywhere.  The water pressure had popped what was left of the faucet handle right off and water pelting the back of shower and spraying water everywhere. 

I had called my Dad to help because I had no idea what to do, I didn't even know where our water turned off at.  After about 10-15 minutes of water flooding my bathroom and laundry room we finally got the water to turned off enough by turning the hot water heater off, in which we had to pry a dry wall door off of because the people who lived here before us thought that bolting it shut was in some way a good idea. We were able to get the plastic piece that popped off and restore sanity in the house.  That faucet will have to be the first thing that gets fixed.

After all was done I cut into these babies, sending some home with my sister for the all the pain and suffering we had all been through.  I then sat down and ate the rest of the pan.  No joke.  I was exhausted.  And I don't feel guilty about it.  They made me feel better.  However I wished I had doubled the pan so I could have some the next day while I was still recovering.  

If you are ever in a horrific event, these are easy to make and will make you feel better, promise.  They are so soft and the M&Ms give you that chocolate you need to make your day better.

M&M Oatmeal Blondies

adapted from Mommy's Kitchen

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 - 1 cup M & M candies (I use 1 cup)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
(light or dark, whatever you have on hand)
2 cup Pioneer or Bisquick Baking Mix
(any biscuit baking mix works)
1 egg
1 stick margarine, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine everything in a mixing bowl except candies. Mix until well blended. Stir in candies, reserving some to place on top. Pat into greased 8×8 pan. Press some additional m&m's on top and bake at 350 for about twenty minutes. Allow to cool and cut into bars.

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No Bake Bars

With Valentine's Day just around the corner and kids having parties at school, I thought I would post some great easy treats to make.  I'll be posting more in the coming weeks before Valentine's Day.  I made these no bake bars with some Valentine M&M's that I had in the cupboard, and work well with any color for any occasion.

These are so quick and easy to make and a great treat for kids, and adults too!

No Bake Bars

4 Cups Multi-grain Cheerios (Plain works too)

2 Cups Dry Roasted Peanuts

2 Cups Crisp Rice Cereal

2 Cups M&Ms

1 Cup Corn Syrup

1 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 Cups Peanut Butter

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

In a large bowl mix together cheerios, peanuts, rice cereal, and M&Ms.  Set aside.  In a small saucepan, bring corn syrup and sugar to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and mix in peanut butter and vanilla.  Pour over cereal mixture, mixing well.  Pour into a well greased 15 x 10 in baking pan (or a 9x13 in pan like I did, they will just be thicker).  Let cool and set before cutting into.

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Chrisy's Favorite Cookies

I've always loved scrap booking.  People make such gorgeous pages for their memories.  I've been meaning to take a crack at it but have no idea where to start with my pile of random photos.  I decided that I would start small.  With collecting recipes, perfecting them and taking photos of the finished product, I decided that I was going to put together a family cookbook, scrap book style.  I've only gotten 1 page down and the cover done.  Haven't had the time to really work on it and I'm still messing with many of the recipes I have.

The cover.  I used a purple 3 ring binder I had laying around, using scrap book paper, stickers and some clip art I found on the internet.  I really like that picture.

The only page I have done.  Going with simple as to not overload the page.

I'll be switching this picture out soon, with the one I'll be posting her in a minute.  I think the most recent picture looks better.  I'm hoping in the next few months as I take more pictures to post with my recipes that I can get a couple more pages done at least.

Anyways on to the cookies!

These cookies are known by several names and most people seem to have a version of these. My sister Chrisy, always asks me to make these.  She babysat for me a few days ago while I ran errands and made a special batch for her.  I don't make these very often because looking at the ingredients, well, they really aren't that good for you.


These cookies are very delicate and fragile and should be handled with care as they don't travel well.  Perfect example would be that I made some for Christmas and carefully packaged them in an old ice cream bucket for storage. I had them sitting on my bed for the time being till I could put them away and my oldest monster went into my bedroom and knocked the bucket over.  Half of them were broken.  Next time I will put them away right away.  Lesson learned.


2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Oil
1 Cup Butter, Softened
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
4 Cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cream of Tartar
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg (optional)


In a large bowl, cream eggs, oil, butter, both sugars, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, cream of tartar and nutmeg.  Add to creamed mixture mixing until combined.  Chill for 1 hour.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet. Using either your hands or the bottom of a glass, greased, flatten the dough slightly.  Sprinkle with sugar crystals if desired.  Bake for 10-15 minutes until edges start to turn golden brown.


Ideas: You could easily switch up the flavor of this cookie but omitting the nutmeg and switching out the vanilla extract for others such as lemon, orange, coconut or whatever else tickles your fancy.  I'm looking to make coconut next time because I've fallen in love with coconut extract.  If you try one of these others let me know how they turn out!


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