chocolate chip cookies and christmas eve

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! Thought I would make my final Christmas cookies post before I start cooking for Christmas dinner tonight (our family celebrates on the night of the Eve with dinner and presents). With all the cookies lately, I decided to wrap it up with a classic, chocolate chip cookies.



I made a slight adjustment and added chopped toasted walnuts for texture, and for A. since she loves nutty cookies. These were extra chewy and soft, ideal to wrap up the weeks of Christmas cookies. Even her coworker Al. thanked me for them, so I'm sure chocolate chip cookies have a special place in all of our hearts. The big box went to her office, and I packaged a small take out box for Audgbodge along with her Christmas craft. Coincidentally, she's been craving for chocolate chip cookies, which made my choice perfect all around.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season with family and friends!

Chocolate Chip Cookies adapted from Martha Stewart

makes 3 dozen

2 1/4 cups AP flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour and baking soda in a bowl. Mix butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs and mix until well blended. Mix in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Using a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop, scoop two scoops of dough to form one cookie. Drop onto parchment lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating halfway through, until edges turn golden brown but centers are still soft, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool completely.

banana-walnut chocolate chip cookies

Continuing my cookie baking bonanza, I made these wonderful banana-walnut chocolate chip cookies. They were deliciously right between chocolate chip cookies and banana nut bread. A great combination of flavors to package away as gifts.

I loved how these cookies called for wheat flour and oatmeal, making me feel just a bit better about all the buttery goodies I've been making and tasting. By adding the banana, the recipe called for less sugar than usual, which was another added benefit.

I packaged a box to send to A.'s office for her to share with her coworkers. The rest went into little cellophane baggies adorned with my Christmas craft this year of personalized felt gingerbread houses as a little Christmas gift to my college friends.

Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies --Martha Stewart

makes about 3 dozen

1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
8 oz semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together both flours, salt, and baking soda in a bowl.

Mix butter and both sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add egg and vanilla, until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture, mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate, and walnuts.

Drop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets by a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop. Space about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes, and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

pumpkin galore

I had a bunch of pumpkin puree left over from the Thanksgiving dessert, so I followed up with more pumpkin goodies the week after Thanksgiving. I made this pumpkin nut bread last year, and my coworkers really liked it. It was a nice change up from the normal banana nut bread.

The recipe is from the reliable Williams Sonoma, since they never fail me in offering up delicious recipes for tasting and testing. It was originally a pumpkin bread with dates, but I swapped the dates for toasted chopped pecans. As for the nut oil it called for, I substituted canola oil, which has a neutral flavor and won't take away or distort the bread flavor.

I used a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter to shape these thick slices of bread into cute little pumpkins. A small baggie was packed and left for my brother to taste.



Still left with some puree in my fridge, I continued on the pumpkin journey with cookies. This time I tried to clean my fridge of the remnants of Thanksgiving. There were fresh cranberries leftover from making cranberry sauce, so I oven dried them on a parchment lined baking sheet in a 275 degree oven. I hoped to mimic dried cranberries, but some of them bursted. Nonetheless, I added them to about half of the batter before baking.

The recipe once again was from Williams Sonoma, only with my tweaks. The original pumpkin cookies were iced and called for walnuts and raisins, but I opted out of icing, since I prefer my baked goods less sweet than most and swapped in pecans and cranberries. The results were pretty good for a first time try of the recipe. A's coworkers thought they were gingerbready, most likely a result of the ground ginger. The cranberries were actually quite sour, but worked well to balance the flavors of the cookies.

I can honestly say I've never had this much pumpkin, but it was nice to fill my house with the familiar smells of warm spices of the holiday season. I love busying myself in the kitchen, my favorite room of the house. I hope everyone has a little time to do their own baking to share with family and friends this holiday season.