The Chocolate Chip Cookie Story

Idont think ANYONE can question chocolate chip cookies. Those yummy little cookies with their buttery taste, and the gooey chocolate chips as they melt in your hands ... fresh out of the oven... *sigh*

A few days ago it was Family Day here in Ontario, the first one we have ever had actually, and my younger brother was going to be home for the day. My mom decided to invite some of his friends over so they can hang out for a day, and their moms can take a break (They take turns handling a group of 13-14 year old boys who seem to ALWAYS be on a sugar high ...without any sugar...!)

So, my mom asked me to make something yummy but simple for the kids to eat up... I was thinking layered cakes and mousses....my mom was thinking simple cookies....lol

SO ...I decided to make Chocolate Chip cookies, and used my FAV recipe! :) (the original recipe of course!

I also thought it would be the perfect opportunity for using my new Wilton pans! and OMG I am in LOVE with these things man! the PURRRFECT PAN!

But anywho....back to the story at hand ;) So where DID these delicious cookies come from? Well there are two conflicting stories....but they both begin with the Toll House Inn.

Heres the official Nestle version:

Mrs. Wakefield was making chocolate cookies but ran out of regular baker's chocolate, so she substituted it with broken pieces of semi-sweet chocolate from Andrew Nestlé, thinking that it would melt and mix into the batter. It clearly did not, and the chocolate chip cookie was born. Wakefield sold the recipe to Nestlé in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate chips. Every bag of Nestlé chocolate chips in North America has a variation of her original recipe printed on the back (butter and margarine are now both included as variants). During WWII, GIs from Massachusetts who were stationed overseas shared the cookies they received in care packages from back home with soldiers from other parts of the U.S. Soon, hundreds of GIs were writing home asking their families to send them some Toll House Cookies, and Mrs. Wakefield was soon inundated with letters from around the country asking for her recipe. Thus, began the nation-wide craze for the chocolate chip cookie.

And here's the conflicting story:

Mrs. Carol Cavanagh, of Brockton, Massachusetts and a former employee of the Inn, and her father, George Boucher of South Dennis, MA and the former head chef at the Toll House Inn during the years of its operation, offer a different history of the cookie. Contradicting Nestlé's claim that Mrs. Wakefield put chunks of chocolate into cookie dough hoping they would melt, Mrs. Cavanagh states that Mrs. Wakefield was already an accomplished chef and author of a cookbook, and knew enough about the properties of chocolate that it would not melt and mix into the batter while baking. Mr. Boucher states that Mrs. Wakefield was known for her sugar cookies, which came free with every meal, and were for sale in the inn's lobby. One day, while mixing a batch of the sugar cookie dough, the vibrations from a large Hobart electric mixer caused bars of Nestlé's chocolate stored on the shelf above the mixer to fall into the mixing bowl, where it was broken up and incorporated into the dough. Mrs. Wakefield believed the dough was ruined and was about to discard it, when Mr. Boucher stopped her and talked her into saving the batch. His reasoning was out of frugality rather than a prediction of the cookie's future popularity. Mrs. Cavanagh states that Mrs. Wakefield did not sell the ownership of the recipe to Nestlé, but she only gave them rights to print her recipe on the packages of their chocolate morsels. Later, Nestlé's lawyers found loopholes in the initial agreement that ceded the rights to the recipe from Mrs. Wakefield, and began mass-producing the cookies.



Who would have thought that innocent little chocolate chip cookies could have SO much scandal?! ;) Which ever story is true, what really matters, is that it happened...and the chocolatey goodness was invented!

Now after all that reading, you're prob quite ready for that recipe huh? ;)

Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies

Estimated Times: Preparation - 15 min | Cooking - 9 min | Cooling Time - 15 min cooling | Yields - 60

Ingredients:
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 large eggs
* 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels **
* 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions: PREHEAT oven to 375° F. COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar 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. Stir in morsels and nuts.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

** I personally tend to use MUCH less chocolate chips....and I still find that I have at least 5-7 chocolate chips in each...but that's all about personal preference. :)

Heres a step by step pic of it ;)

The OH SO YUMMY Cookie dough....if you asked me if I ate some of it raw....I would lie and say no. :)



So Go on...make some chocolate chip cookies...and you can say..."THAT'S RIGHT...that's how the cookie is SUPPOSED to taste like " ;)

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Politics Explained

Hey All,

well this post shows my political science student side of me ;)

though I LOVE politics and everything related to it, I can NEVER seem to figure out what all the different systems MEAN. However, this really does explain it in a very simple and easy to understand way (with added humor ;) )

Enjoy!

Politics Explained

FEUDALISM: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

PURE SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all of the cows. The government gives you as much milk as you need.

BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and put them in a barn with everyone else's cows. They are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs as the regulations say you need.

FASCISM: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them and sells you the milk.

PURE COMMUNISM: You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.

RUSSIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.

CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and shoots you.

DICTATORSHIP: You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.

PURE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.

BUREAUCRACY: You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.

PURE ANARCHY: You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.

LIBERTARIAN/ANARCHO-CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

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BestEVER Car scene from movie "wanted"

Best. Car. Scene. Ever.

Ever.


via videosift.com

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French Onion Soup

Hello! So Im scrambling to try to update all the stuff I never got to! You see, even though I never posted, I still did the baking/cooking, and the photography part too! ( I got a new macro lense...so I just HAD to ;) ) A little while back I made this oh so yummy soup for the family. Oh my goodnessss was it ever heaven. I honestly didnt expect it to taste good....in fact...I had very low expectations. But like I said...OMG.....right now its totallyyyy my fav and go to soup! What I love about it is that its SO Easy to make, yet tastes fabolous!(and as my mom likes to mention...it can be a great way to empty out the fridge ;) )

So without further adu.... heres the recipe:

adapted from here ... ( I dont have the direct link...I just copy and pasted the recipe into my email! - which is below.)

Onion Soup
Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child

Ingredients:
3 to 4 cups or 1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced
3 cups or 1 pound yellow onions, thinly sliced (or, of course, leeks)
1/2 bag of baby carrots (or whatever amount you’d like)
2 quarts water
1 Tablespoon salt
4-6 Tablespoons whipping cream
1 Tablespoon softened butter
2-3 Tablespoons minced parsley or chives

Directions:
1. Dump the potatoes, onions, carrots, water and salt into a three- or four-quarter saucepan or a dutch oven. Simmer the mixture, partially covered, 40-50 minutes until vegetables are tender.

2. After it’s all heated, mash/puree the vegetables in the pot with a fork or a potato masher. I chose to use a stick blender, which was fast and easy. The only thing I’d do differently next time is blend for a little less time; you want there to be small chunks throughout for more flavor. Correct seasoning by adding salt and pepper to taste.

3. Off heat and just before serving, stir in cream or butter by spoonfuls. Pour into a tureen or soup cups and decorate with the herbs.

NOTE:
The following may be simmered with the potatoes and leeks at the start: Sliced or diced turnips; peeled, seeded or chopped tomatoes or strained, canned tomatoes; half-cooked dried beans, peas, or lentils, including their cooking liquid.

The following may be simmered for 10 to 15 minutes with the soup after it has been pureed: Fresh or frozen diced cauliflower, cucumbers, broccoli, Lima beans, peas, string beans, okra or zucchini; shredded lettuce, spinach, sorrel, or cabbage; diced, cooked leftovers of any of the preceding vegetables; tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced and diced.

I'm Sure you would agree, that there is honestly nothing better then cuddling up with a nice cup of hot soup and some crackers. Especially during a cold snowstorm, or better yet, when you catch a nasty bug...*as I currently have**

....

This post has made me *seriously* crave some of this soup! I think I'm going to have to go make some now! lol

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NEW BLOG LAYOUT! and Happy Valentine's Day!:)

Hello all!

Alrighty, first up...spiffy new blog layout eh? eh? ;)

I know right? I love it:)

And moving on...I know I said I would update, (and I will!) but first up, I decided to make a lil something for Valentines Day yesterday that I will post up first! :)

My Cousin's wife, whom I have yet to meet, gave my mom a "heart shaped" pan to give to me cause she heard I likd baking! (aww thanks :) )

So I thought, hey, what better timing then Valentine's Day then to put it up for use?:) So here's the result! A Yellow cake with a chocolate glaze.

The cake had a nice mould, so I wanted a way to have it show!

So I made chocolate sauce!

Just melted 3/4 cup chocolate chips, 3 Tbsp butter, and 1 tbs Corn Syrup and mixed!

It ended up tasting pretty darn good!:) Even though I was uber sick while making it!

Well thats all for now!

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