The Palmer Cousins

I have a pretty large extended family and I grew up in the Midwest, which means that throughout my life I’ve consumed massive amounts of meat and potatoes, and being a Brunner (maiden name) who was fortunate enough to live close to family and have lots of family get togethers; No meal was complete without some kind (or multiple kinds) of desserts.  And so my obsession with sweets began at a very early age.

Some of the Brunner Cousins

My Grandma Brunner was the master at preparing enormous quantities of food for our big family and she could bake with the best of them so I looked up to her and just knew that one day I wanted to cook like she did.  And still…to this day…my Mom makes the best Chocolate Chip Cookies.  She’ll swear that it’s all in the baking sheet…….but watching her for so long made me realize that it’s not just the baking sheet but also the little bit of extra love she adds to every batch : )

I got an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas back in the 1980’s…and the rest is History.

I can’t take credit for this recipe because it’s the Nestle Tollhouse Recipe found on the back of their chocolate chips.  However, I know so many people who use this same recipe but regardless I don’t think I’ve had a single batch taste exactly like the previous one prepared by a different person.  I guess everyone has their own tips and tricks.

So…here are a few of mine

Nestle Tollhouse (Chipless) and Chocolate Chip Cookies

First things first….preheat your oven to 375 degrees and gather your your ingredients

• 2 sticks of margarine (or butter) room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (make sure it hasn’t been open more than a month or so)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Chocolate Chips (added to your taste)

First…

Make sure your margarine is soft enough that when you press your finger into it is leaves an indentation, but is not melted.  In my experience, if I am in a hurry and try to microwave it to soften it and it melts a little bit…my cookies end up flat and crispy around the edges, rather than light and perfectly fluffy all around. Instead of microwaving try this tip or trick open your margarine and cut into pieces to make it come to temperature more quickly

Next…

Add your room temperature margarine brown sugar, sugar, and vanilla into your electric mixer and beat until creamy…then add your eggs one at a time until you have something that resembles this

Then…

Combine your flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and gradually add it to your sugar mixture, then mix by hand (so you don’t get flour all over the place, and so you don’t over mix your batter)

Line your baking sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper and first drop chipless cookie dough by rounded spoonfulls onto your sheet (my hubby and my brothers prefer their chocolate chip cookies to be chipless) which basically makes them sugar cookies…..only better : ) and bake for 9-11 minutes depending on your oven

In the mean time…

Give a quick Hello and a Thank You to your Hubby for keeping your son entertained

Add your chips to your remaining cookie dough

Let the delicious smell of your cookies fill your home with sweet goodness as they bake.  Then pull them from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and move them to a rack to finish cooling before sealing them in an air tight container, ziploc bag or cookie jar (this helps to keep them soft, chewy, and delicious for days to come)

And Finally…enjoy them after dinner with a big glass of milk : )

What is one of your favorite go to desserts?