Yum Yum! What a Treat

In just two days, my house goes from a one person cottage to a 10 person hotel and restaurant. It is sooo much fun, but takes a lot of planning and cooking. My number 3 is home for college and great in the kitchen. Last night at 10:00 she decided to make one more batch of cookies. We settled on the Ghiradelli Cookie recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag-Oh My Goodness-I think that these are the best chocolate chip cookies that I have ever tasted! They are crispy on the edges and chewy in the center. I used a tablespoon to drop them on the baking sheet and lined my pans with silpat. I have learned the secret to baking cookies is using a silpat, only putting in one cookie sheet at at time in the center of the oven, and only placing 9 to 12 cookies per sheet. It takes patience and time, but is well worth the effort. I also have two ovens, and that helps. Oh yeah, don't forget to finish that last minute shopping at http://www.shopjellybeans.com/. We will upgrade your $150 clothing order to overnight express until noon tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

Ghiradelli Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 4 Dozen

Ingredients:
2 1 4 cups unsifted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Stir flour, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and cream again until fluffy. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Gently stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
Drop tablespoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets, keeping cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown