Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Everyone has their own opinion about what makes a chocolate chip cookie "ideal". Some people like them crunchy, others like them barley cooked, and heck, some people just eat them BEFORE they're even baked. Then there are chocolate choices... Mini chips, chunks, dark or milk chocolate etc. Then there are the extra add-ins like oatmeal, chopped nuts, coconut, cinnamon... Basically the options are endless. That being said, for me, a perfect chocolate chip cookie is crunchy on the outside but still soft in the center, has dark chocolate chunks, and last but not least, has just a touch of sea salt to balance out the sweetness. It's taken me a very long time to come up with my perfect cookie but after lots of experimenting I think I've finally figured it out! So without farther ado... here is the recipe for MY ideal chocolate chip cookie.

Makes: 24 cookies
Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 8-10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 white sugar
2 eggs
1Tbs. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 3/4 flour
6 oz. chopped dark chocolate bar
2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand up mixer, cream the butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add the next four ingredients and beat until smooth. Lastly, stir in the chopped chocolate and sea salt. Roll batter into 2inch balls and place on the prepared cookie sheets and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden around the outside. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack for at least 4 minutes just to let them set but these are best when eaten warm with a nice glass of cold milk.

                                                                              Cheers! 

Vanilla Pound Cake

Call me crazy but pound cake is one of my favorite desserts. Its so versatile and you can basically top it with anything you want. I personally like to top it with fresh berries and homemade whipped cream but feel free to get creative and top it with whatever suits you best!

Serves: About 20
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 1hour and 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) softened butter
8 oz. softened cream cheese
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
3 cups flour
1 Tbs. vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and grease and flour a bunt pan. Loaf pans work well too but bunt pans are just so pretty. In a stand up mixer, cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until they're all incorporated. Next add the flour and vanilla and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1hour and 40 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan, on a wire rack for 30 minutes and then remove it from the pan and let cool until it is room temperature. Dust it with powdered sugar and top it with whatever delightful thing sounds good to you!

                                                                          Cheers!