Thursday, November 21, 2013

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Recipe

My friend just informed me that she went to the store to buy Nestle' Toll House Chocolate Chips.  But, she found that all the bags she looked at didn't have the pan variation on them.

I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, maybe the milk chocolate chips don't have this recipe.  But, for the sake of convenience for those of you who want to try this great easy recipe..... here it is:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
combine these in a separate bowl

1 cups (2 sticks) butter.........now I suggested cutting the butter amount, my mom informed me that they
                                            were not as rich tasting if you don't use the 2 sticks.........this might be a
                                            personal choice here:)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs

beat butter, both sugars and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition

Gradually beat in flour mixture, do not over beat,

Stir in 1 cup semi-sweet choc. chips
          1 cup white chips
          1 cup coconut (this is optional of course)
          1 cup walnuts or pecans

Spread in greased 15 x 10 inch pan..........  BAKE:  375         18 - 20 minutes.......

I cut the edges off all around the pan, these become by biscotti cookies to have with coffee!!

Hope this helps

Sharon
                                                                                                                   

Monday, November 18, 2013

"My Chocolate Chip Bars"

Confession, I am not a good chocolate chip cookie maker!  I either bake them to long, not long enough ending in a product that is to flat or to hard.  So my solution is now just to make the bar recipe on the back of the Hershey's semi-sweet bag.  Always comes out pretty perfect.  Quick & easy, that's my kind of baking.

Maybe you have already found these bar recipes, but there may be some out there that never check this part on the bag; like me for many years. The many people I have given these to never tried the bars, and they have given me a "thumbs up" on the bars:)

I follow the recipe pretty much as it is listed. ......... BUTTER, (for me) the 2 sticks of butter is to much, but it does make a really rich bar.  So, if you make these for the first time, you may want to try the 2 sticks, and work at cutting it down when you make more batches.  I now use 1 1/2 sticks......still pretty darn good.
****My mom just informed me, that she likes it better with the 2 sticks of butter!  

I add 1 cup semi-sweet chips, 1 cup white chips, 1 cup coconut, and 1 cup nuts. Not much of an eye opening moment..........but try it, I am thinking you'll like it!


Not much preparation


Looking good!



It is very thick, so helpful hint.....spray spatula with cooking spray to spread  10" x 15" pan.


18-20 minutes at 375 degrees


I am a lover of biscotti, if you cut off the ends around the pan, it becomes a biscotti like cookie.  Some of my friends that I have given this cookie to, do not know this, because I always take that part for me, and just give them the bar.  I never said I was a perfect friend:)



I hope you give this recipe a try if you haven't already done so.  Let me know if you find it pretty darn good to.


Tuesday, November 12, 2013

My Adventure Into Sock Making!

So far this month:  I have been productive, but not much to show for it. LOL

I talked my friend (Charlene)  into taking a sock knitting class with me.  A few years ago we took a beginner's knitting class.  We are a wiz on knitted dish cloths.  I did manage to get a few more knitting projects done, a couple of scarves, 2 Wallaby sweaters for my grandchildren, and a few other things.  But, by no means do I consider myself a true "knitter". I really do find it relaxing and I do enjoy it.

Now, so I drag my friend into the quilt/knit shoppe.  We sign up for the class, and the teacher of the class so happens to be there when we do it.  So, she says, why don't we just get started and we will have that much more done when we come in for our first class.  Doesn't sound like a bad idea.....so 3 hours later we leave to come back the following week.  I think we have like maybe 3 inches sewn?

I end up tearing out what I had done at the shop, my friend does also.  She was watching  Char knit and told her she was knitting the stitches wrong.  So, she tears them out, Char starts again.  Char comes over to my house a few days later to show me her progress, and I ask her why she is knitting that way.........cause the lady told her to!  We look it up in my books, cause at that point I am thinking I am doing it wrong.  Nope.........the teacher lady was wrong.  She must have been looking at my friend upside down?

So once again, my friend tears her knitting out..........  Following week we go in to start the heal.  After 2 hours knitting, not understanding a darn thing (because she doesn't have the pattern for us to follow, she just takes our work and does some stitches and gives the work back to us).  (Or she takes our work, tears it out, and hands it back for us to re-do. Not understanding why, just doing.)  We head out to lunch. We come back, we have to scramble to get our chairs back.  You see, not only is she teaching us, but it is an open knit.  Around the table are 7-8 knitters, all doing something different.....she is helping us all.  Talk about confusing (the teacher was getting a little flustered herself...she's good, she knew how to help everyone, but it was frustrating to see her work so hard).  After 5 hours of knitting..........we looked at each other and knew we were done for the day, and left.

Third time is the charm?  No.  We finally get the pattern, but it is nothing like we are doing.  We are learning on small circular needles and the instructions are for 4 dbl. needles.  We are doing different number of stitches than the pattern calls for too.  Talk about lost.  After another couple hours.....we leave for lunch.  Come back, more knitters at the table.  Someone comes in and asks if she is teaching a class.....she said no.  What???? We thought we were still taking lessons.  So she takes a few minutes to sell a private job for herself .......and we are left to try and finish our "gusset" .  Finally, we bid goodbye, and hope I can figure out the toe from the so called pattern at home.   She said we need to come back for the toe ...........I am thinking no-way.

Are you still with me?  My family gets tired of the endings to my stories too.  So smarty me,  I find a pretty easy looking pattern on u-tube.  LOL   So I said to myself, everything fits pretty good so far, I can figure out the toe part of the pattern.  No, there will be no pictures of the toe of my sock, thank you. Once again, back to the internet again,  find another easy looking sock, and I am now working on that.  If this one comes out, I will tear out the end of that first sock and no one will be the wiser.  Oh, I do not want to go back into that crazy store for her to help us with our "toes".  

The moral of the story, I don't think there is one.  But, probably for a good wool sock you could buy at a department store, you would pay around $10.00??  We got a bargain, our pair of socks, if we finish, will only have cost us $60.00 (needles,yarn,lesson)........plus the 3 trips into the store.

I am sorry, I am laughing so hard I can hardly type.  Maybe someday in the future, I will share with you my completed pair of $60.00 knitted socks.     Again... LOL

Sharon.........
(Maybe I'll look for a crocheted sock pattern!!!! )