The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Mmmmmm Cookies! We love cookies at our house – I can’t for sure say if we have a single favourite type of cookie but we do make these chocolate chips cookies quite often. 

My daughter and I love to make these together. They are quick and easy to make. We use our KitchenAid mixer to do all the heavy mixing for us. We just pour in the ingredients and turn it on.

We got the recipe from the September 2009 issue of Chatelaine. My daughter insists that she gets the first taste of the cookies, still warm from the oven, with a cold glass of milk.

Here they are cooling on the rack. The empty spots are from the cookies that we just could not wait to try.

Here is the recipe from Chatelaine's website for the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients

• 21/4 cups (550 mL) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
• 1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter or magerine, at room temperature
• 11/4 cups (300 mL) lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 11/2 tsp (7 mL) vanilla
• 2 cups (500 mL) dark chocolate chips or coarsely chopped dark chocolate chunks (** We use mini chocolate chips)

** We made a double batch of cookies this day to send some home with a friend **

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Lightly spray a baking sheet with oil. In a medium bowl, use a fork to stir flour with baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer, beat butter with sugar until creamy, about 1 min. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture, until just combined. Mix in chocolate chips.
2. Scoop about 1 tbsp (15 mL) of dough and place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, placing at least 2 in. (5 cm) apart. Don't press down; they will spread as they bake.
3. Bake in centre of oven until cookies are golden around the edges, from 8 to 10 min. Remove sheet to a heatproof surface and leave for 2 min. Then remove cookies to a rack to cool completely. Cool baking sheet or use another one and repeat with remaining dough.
4. If making ahead, form dough into a thick disc and wrap well. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze up to a month. Cookies will keep in a covered container at room temperature up to 2 days - but we doubt they'll last that long.

Nutrients per Cookie

• 1 g protein 
• 5 g fat
• 12 g carbohydrates
• 1 g fibre
• 8 mg calcium
• 92 calories

Project of the Month - May 2011 Kimono Slippers

This month I wanted to do a project that was just for me. I regularly make gifts for other people and items for my shop, but rarely take the time to make something nice for myself. I figured that it could be my turn to get a wonderful item handmade by me!

I was searching on Etsy for some inspiration and found a wonderful shop, Lena’s Patterns.  Lena has a great selection of patterns for babies, children, and adults as well as some home decor patterns.

I saw the pattern for the Kimono Shoes and wanted a pair of my very own. I also thought that they would make a lovely gift for some dear friends of mine so I bought it.

The pattern was delivered quickly and was very clear, easy to read and follow along. The pictures that accompanied the instructions were very great. 

It is still cold here in Alberta so I used anti-pill fleece as the lining instead of cotton and I did not add interfacing because the fleece made the shoes stand up enough. I also used my serger instead of my sewing machine to finish off the edges.

I think it took me about 90 minutes to cut out and put together 3 pairs of adult shoes. I think I could have completed them faster on my own but my daughter wanted to help so we went a little slower. We had fun together and made some great shoes.

My pair was pink fleece on the inside and green cotton on the outside.

Once my shoes were done, my daughter took them and wore them all over the house. They were loads to big, because her feet are much smaller than mine. She declared that she loved them and wanted a pair of her very own, that were made just for her. 

So, back to Lena’s shop I went and bought the children’s pattern for the Kimono shoes. Thank goodness she had one.

We picked out some fabrics and about 30 minutes later my daughter had her very own kimono shoes. She is so pleased with them!

Thank you for a fabulous pattern Lena and for letting me share my project with everyone!

Lena’s Patterns are available in her Etsy shop.