After reading Sundry’s entry on Friday, I decided I’d give her cookie recipe a try.
I made them, and mine came out looking kind of different than hers. Go look at what hers look like, at the bottom of that entry.
This is what mine look like:
They have an almost cake-like consistency, and they were a BIG hit with Fred. He even said that he likes them more than my stand-by best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever.
I don’t know how it is that my cookies turned out so differently from Sundry’s – the only thing I can think of is that I used a couple of eggs I’d frozen a month or so ago and then thawed. I’m certainly not complaining – the cookies are really good, and I almost don’t want to send half the batch to Fred’s mother tomorrow.
I think I’m going to try making another batch with thawed eggs and see if they still come out the same. My concern is that I did something of which I’m unaware while I was mixing the cookies, threw some mystery ingredient in there, and that I’ll never get the same result again in my life.
It was kind of a cooking-themed weekend for me. We’re giving Fred’s niece and nephew jars of habanero jam, hot sauce, and money for Christmas. Fred’s made cherry-habanero, strawberry-habanero, and blackberry-habanero jam in the last couple of weeks. I made a batch of habanero hot sauce on Saturday and then made my first batch of raspberry-habanero jam on Sunday. Fred usually makes the habanero jam, but if I want to get the 300 habaneros out of my freezer – and I DO – then I’m going to have to take over making the jam and hot sauce because Fred doesn’t have the inclination to spend his evenings making jam.
Once Christmas is past, I’ll probably gear up the jam-making in earnest and I plan to start experimenting with sugar-free jam. Hopefully that goes well – it’s a little weird to make things that you can’t really taste-test without your lips falling off. Fred’s my taste-tester, and he pronounced my habanero hot sauce and my raspberry-habanero jam to be “not bad.”
I’ve been using Blogrolling to organize my Blogs I Read list, but since I can’t log into Blogrolling because they’re taking forever to redesign it, or whatever (I lack the interest to give the Blogrolling page any more than a cursory glance), I’m looking for something else to use instead.
Suggestions? The simpler to use, the better. Simple to use and free is particularly good.
The handyman Fred found in the yellow pages showed up on Saturday – when it was pouring down rain – to install the storm door on the back of the house. He did it pretty quickly, and he did a great job. It is absolutely amazing, the difference between having a screen door and having a storm door. Saturday night after the storm moved through, the temperature dropped into the 30s. When Fred got up Sunday morning, he opened the back door and collared up the cats. When I came downstairs a few hours later, you totally could not tell at ALL that the back door was open. It wasn’t until I stepped into the laundry room that I could feel that it was slightly cooler than in the rest of the house.
I’m eager to see what’ll happen to our electric bill, if there’ll be a noticeable drop next month. I’m hoping there will be – and for that matter, I imagine our electric bill in the summer will drop as well, since we’ll leave the storm door in place to keep from cooling the entire outdoors with our air conditioning.
Last night, we had our first successful night where the kittens had access to the rest of the house all night long. Saturday night we attempted it, and I woke up around 10:30 to hear a banging sound. I got up to investigate, and all four kittens were in the foster room, watching Tommy smack one of those plastic tubes that has a plastic ball inside. I lured Tommy out and closed the door to the kitten room. They stayed in there until 3:00 Sunday morning, when Lem started banging on the door (I’m pretty sure it’s Lem, since he’s always the one who comes shooting out the door when I open it).
Last night went okay. For most of the night I had Delmar curled up against my throat and Lem curled up against my back, and have I mentioned that kittens are WARM? I’m not complaining, though, believe you me. At one point I had all four kittens, PLUS Miz Poo, PLUS Tommy on the bed with me, and Lem smacked at Tommy (he’s a scrapper, that Lem) and Tommy rolled Lem over and bit his neck, and there were squeals of rage, and I finally grabbed the can of compressed air off the bedside table and shot a blast of air, and all the cats scattered long enough for me to get back to sleep.
Stinkerbelle has started spending a lot of time around the kittens. If I go upstairs during the day, she’s usually hanging out on my bed with the kittens. I’ve never actually seen her playing with them, but she’s shown an interest in them ever since they started spending time outside the kitten room.
Delmar has a complaint.
More pics over at Love & Hisses.
Have you ever seen such a happy Newt?
Previously
2007: I expected to read “And after we had fabulous chocolate crepes for dessert, we moved on to Bob’s house for the key party to end the night on a high note.”
2006: It burns, Jane! The applique, IT BURRRRRRRRNS!
2005: I’m a creature of habit, what can I say?
2004: No shit, Matt. Ya think? Ya think she might like to eat?
2003: “You are NOT allowed in Maine!” I informed him.
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: Except for world peace and all that. Yadda, yadda.
1999: No entry.
Google reader! I switched from bloglines and I just imported my list….easy and free!
Michelle – is there a way to share your links with other people, by slapping a piece of code on a page, so they can see your links? I have Google Reader, but maybe I need to poke around and see exactly what-all it can do!
I love the labels for the jam!
There sure is – there is a setting for “shared” stuff. I randomly will see stuff that people on my gmail list have shared…it’s kind of cool! I think you just click “start sharing” on there.
I *love* Lem at the door. He looks meercat-ty.
I am going to have to try that cookie recipe in the hope that they DO turn out like yours did. My husband loves cake-y, puffy chocolate chip cookies! The problem is I never know when my recipe is going to turn out puffy cookies and when they’ll be flat. Used to think it had to do with butter…that if you use real butter you’ll get a flatter cookie versus shortening or margarine. That theory doesn’t always hold up in practice, although butter does have a slightly lower melting point than other fat. Now I wonder if it may have to do with the freshness of the eggs and/or the baking powder? (Where’s that semi-annoying Alton Brown when you need him?) Love the labels too! You gonna put any leftover jars of jam up for grabs?
It could be that the baking powder/baking soda/whatever was fresher.
I always know when it’s time tochange mine out when my cookies or cakes start to look a bit deflated.
Could you have accidentally substituted baking powder for baking soda?
Lurrrrve the smooshie Newtie!
HELP! My husband ran my dyson on Saturday, and now it won’t run unless it’s reclined to vacuum. Can’t use the hose at all. Has this ever happened to you? He was messing the the button that turns the beater bar on and off. I’m wondering if we need to reset something. I don’t know anyone else with a dyson, so you’re my only hope! Well I guess I could email the company… ok – maybe I’ll do that too. Thanks for your help!
PS — I sent this message on facebook too, didn’t know which you’d see first. (I’m not stalking you) unless you want me to. hee hee
My guess on the cookies would be the amount of mixing with the sugar and butter part. Since I got the Kitchenaid mixer, when the recipe calls for “beat until creamy” and now I actually know what that means, you get a whole different result in which each cookie I make now comes out light and fluffy. I am not complaining! My guess is she mixed it by hand.
I have a recipe to make the chewy pecan cookies like the cookie place in the mall. That is a fickle recipe and where I learned ot actually Cream the mixture so now the cookies are no fail! They are melt in your mouth yummy and makes your knees weak. *drooooooool*
Oh my goodness, that jam sounds amazing! I’d pull out the puff pastry sheets and cut them into bite sized pieces, put a dollop of cream cheese and some of that jam on them and bake them up in a mini muffin pan so the puff pastry makes a little cup. Oh, YUM!
Nicole: Thanks! Fred came up with the names for the jams, I bought the labels online and use their program to design the labels. They’re not fancy, but they work pretty well, and they make me smile. 🙂
P: We’re probably going to start selling it!
Dianne: I thought of that, but no. The baking powder is in the back of the cabinet and has to be dug out, and it’s still back there, so I must have used the baking soda.
Barb: I emailed you, let me know if you don’t get the email.
Kristina: Very rude to leave a comment like that with no recipe (or recipe link), don’tchaknow? 😀
Stephanie B: That sounds really good – well, except for the part where the habanero jam would burn my lips off, of course. 🙂
Newt looks beside himself with happiness 🙂
I love my Bloglines! Not sure you can share it – never looked into that.
I’ve been trying to get puffy cakey choc chip cookies for a couple of years. I’ve tried beating a lot after adding the eggs; using baking powder; adding more flour; adding a little milk; you name it–I’ve tried it! If yours come out the same next time, I’ll have to try that recipe. Or, if you figure out what you did the first time, let us know!
My guess for the different appearance in the cookies: altitude.
My guess for the different appearance in the cookies: altitude.
My chocolate chip cookies used to come out looking like that, and cake-like in consistency like you described, and I hate it. Plegh!
Over the years I’ve learned that using just a little bit less flour than the recipe calls for avoids that, and helps the cookies stay soft and chewy for a longer time (as long as no one forgets and leaves them uncovered). So, I’d say do the opposite from what I’ve learned: Make sure you use the exact and full amount of flour, and don’t just eyeball it when you’re measuring.
Sorry, Robyn. I planned on giving it to you, honest. These cookies will literally melt in your mouth and the outside is a bit carmelized and oh so yum. It is supposed to be tne recipe like Great American Cookie Company at the malls. Here goes…I added my notes as the recipe was perfected.
Chewy Pecan Cookies
1/2 c shortening (do not use butter flavor!)
1-1/3 c light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 c self-rising flour
1 c crushed Corn Flakes cereal
1-1/2 c chopped pecans
Cream together shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla (I just let it go for a while in the Kitchenaid until the mixture is nice and fluffy). Add dry ingredients gradually. Roll into 2 inch balls and flatten a bit with bottom of a glass. Bake on parchment paper at 350 for 9-11 minutes. (I go for the shorter time for more chewy goodness.)
Make sure you are sitting when you try the first bite. I cannot be held responsible for any injuries occuring from your knees going weak. Enjoy!
Oops, meant to say to chop pecans fairly tiny. I buy the chopped pecans that are chopped small and says perfect for cookies on the package.
Will you please add me to the list of readers seeking jam the next time you have some extra to spare? I’d love to try the different varieties of Crooked Acre Happy Habanero jams.
Peace!
When you read “1 cup butter” did you think it meant 1 stick? I did that once and ended up with cakey cookies.