Celebratory Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello Sweets!


I hope everyone had a good day today.  I saw the doctor today, and the good news is I don't have strep throat, bad news is my glands are swollen so I am on antibiotics in hopes we can clear it up.  I have some very exciting news to announce.......I have over 1000 views on my blog!!!!  I know to some that may seem quite small but I only started writing a month and a half ago, and only for my own piece of mind, not thinking so many would be reading it.  I want to say thank you to all my amazing readers.  :)  You really know how to make a girl feel loved, and I truly appreciate all the support.  Since you guys keep reading, I'm going to keep on blogging, I must be doing something right because you keep coming back for more.  I really am on cloud nine right now, this is a great feeling, and as I sit here typing I have a HUGH smile on my face, lol I'm such a nerd :D

So last night I could not sleep (same old same old), so I started thinking about the savory cupcakes again and Christmas baking, which means research, research, research!  I have found some more interesting savory "cupcakes", and then I kicked over to my holiday goodies research mode, and man oh man, have I found some goodies.  There are some traditional, and some not so much, some that I have made and some that will be brand spanking new!  I do know one thing though, Nathan is going to be one happy camper next month when he has so many goodies to choose from :)

Since I surpassed 1000 views today I thought I would make myself a treat that will make anyone reminisce to their childhood.  The good old, tried, and true chocolate chip cookies, with a canuckette twist of course lol now let us get to the good stuff shall we?

Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Pikky Lady)

Ingredients

1C butter, softened

3/4C granulated sugar

3/4C packed light brown sugar

1Tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/4C all-purpose flour

1Tsp baking soda

1/2Tsp salt

2C semi sweet chocolate chips

1C chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 375F.  In a large bowl, cream butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.

2)  Add eggs, beat well.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.  Beat well.

 egg mixture/flour mixture

almost ready :)

3)  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (optional).  This is where I put a little Canuckette twist, I added both pecans and walnuts (next time I'll season them lightly), you can add whatever suits your fancy in addition to the chocolate chips.

mmmm cookie dough

4)  Drop by teaspoon full onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

now the house smells delish!!

5)  Let cool slightly on the cookie sheet.  Remove from cookie sheet; cool completely on wire rack and enjoy!

My yummy haul

Needless to say, they are super yummy.  Even John (my roommate's son) loves them.  Definitely the perfect celebratory cookie!  A perfect way to end the day that put a smile on my face, in a very simple way too!

Tomorrow is the day I make pastizzis with my grandfather, :) and I am so excited.  These are something I have enjoyed eating my entire life, but have never helped make them.  There are many members of my family that are looking forward to this post because they are just that good. lol  So either tomorrows post will be the entire recipe, or the dough only.  It all depends on the consistency of the dough.  Either way, yummy family recipe + quality time with my little grandpa (he's really short lol) = a fantastic way to spend an afternoon!  Well sweets, I am going to sit back, relax, and watch Chopped (The Food Network), yea I love watching foodie shows lol obviously ;)  Until next time.......

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo 

  

A Happy Birthday Cheesecake :)

Hello Sweets,

I hope you all had a fantastic Friday,  It's my birthday today, although it doesn't really feel like it. Actually, this is the first year where I could have probably gone almost all day without hearing much of anything, with the exception of Facebook.  It hasn't really bothered me too much, but I'm not going to lie, there have been a couple of tears, but not because of me turning twenty-nine.  I'm really rather excited, like I always say; "women are like a fine wine, they only get better with age" ;) and I whole heartily believe this, but I think it's because I realize how much my health had really impacted my life.  Every year you grow a little more and learn new things, I always like to look back to when I was younger, and take an enormous amount of pride in how much I have changed for the better!

So what did I do for my birthday you ask?  Well I got all my weekend cleaning out of the way (this screams adult lol), and had a nice quite lunch at home by myself, and then I made myself a delicious cheesecake from an old family recipe, with a couple of "jennifications" of course.  Now as I start writing this post, the cheesecake is cooling in the refrigerator (hardest part of any dessert is the waiting), and by the time I post this, you will see a picture of me enjoying the fruits of my labor as my birthday treat.  I also believe that you truly cannot celebrate your birthday without having either your favorite meal or dessert, so as of right now I have yet to celebrate my birthday, but I will by 10pm.  Okay on to the good stuff, that which we will call the "Happy Birthday Cheesecake", and only because I made it for my birthday lol there is no birthday cake flavors to it :p

Canuckette's Cheesecake 

Ingredients

Crust:

1 1/2C graham cracker crumbs (I used whole then used a food processor)

1/2C Pecans, finely chopped

1/2C Walnuts, finely chopped

1/2Tsp Cinnamon

1/2Tsp Nutmeg

1/3C butter, melted

Filling:

4-8 ounce pkgs of Cream Cheese

1 1/4C Granulated sugar

1/2C Sour Cream

2Tsp Vanilla extract

5 Eggs

Topping:

1/2C Sour Cream

2Tsp Granulated sugar

Optional Garnish: Whip Cream (I opted for my signature Cherry topping)

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 475F, place a large pan or oven-safe skillet (that the cheesecake pan will fit inside), filled with about 1/2 inch of water, into the oven while it preheats.  This will be your water bath.

my cheesecakes bath

2)  Combine all the dry ingredients for the crust into a medium bowl, mix in the melted butter.  Press the crumb into a 9" spring form pan that has been lined on the bottom and sides with parchment paper (I don't have a spring form pan, but you can use a regular cake pan or pie tin if you're going to serve directly from it).  Use the bottom of a glass to press the crumb mix flat into the bottom of the pan and about 2/3 up the side.  Wrap a large piece of foil around the bottom of the pan to keep the cheesecake dry when in the water bath in the oven.  Put the crust in your freezer until your filling is complete.

                      

                                                           

The smell of the graham/nut crust is divine

3)  Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla; blending until the ingredients are smooth and creamy.  Be sure, as always, to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl, and then add them to the cream cheese mixture.  Blend the mixture just long enough to integrate the eggs, over mixing will cause the cheesecake to crack

                                   

                                    

All the creamy goodness :)

4)  Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the filling into it.  Carefully place the cheesecake into the preheated water bath.  Bake for 12 minutes at 475F, then turn down the oven to 350F, and bake for 50-60 minutes (it will be down once the top of the cheesecake turns a light brown color).  Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool.

Mmmm mmm YUM!!

5)  When the cheesecake has cooled, combine the sour cream and sugar for the topping.  Spread the sweetened sour cream over the entire top surface of the cheesecake.  Cover and chill the cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.  Makes about 12 servings.

Now the final wait begins

Once of the hardest parts about making cheesecake is waiting for it to be completely cooled before eating, if you don't let it cool completely it won't set in the middle and will be runny and no one likes a runny cheesecake lol!

So thus ends my birthday baking, :) of course it tastes delicious, I did make it after all lol.  But seriously I think one of the best things you can learn when baking is to bake with confidence, and even when things don't turn up roses, knowing that you gave it your best is really the only thing that matters.  Also trying to determine the point of your mistake, and learning from it, there is never a wrong turn in a recipe only lessons to be learned. 

first piece didn't cut so pretty but it tastes pretty good :)

Now I'm going to enjoy the rest of my piece of birthday cheesecake, I really think they should replace birthday cake with cheesecake, after all it is much more enjoyable :)   Until next time......

mmmm happy birthday to me!!

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo