the ultimate chocolate chip cookie

there are so many recipes for chocolate chip cookies - how can you know which one to bake? well, let me choose for you: this one. christopher kindall, the guy who started "america's test kitchen" (and who also apparently hunts) came up with this recipe. and man is it amazing! i think the big difference is that you brown the butter. and anything with browned butter is my friend. it takes just a little longer than the regular nestle recipe, but you don't need to use a mixer with this one - score! just... trust me, they're amazing!

the ultimate chocolate chip cookie adapted from america's test kitchen
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 3/4 sticks butter
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. salt
2 t. vanilla
1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

preheat oven to 375 degrees. combine flour and baking soda in a bowl. mix and set aside.

melt 1 1/4 sticks butter in a pan over medium-high heat. keep stirring until butter has a dark golden brown color and a nutty aroma, about 3 minutes. remove from heat & mix in the remaining butter until melted. add the sugars, salt, and vanilla to the butter and mix well. add the egg and yolk; whisk until smooth, about 30 seconds. let it rest for 3 minutes, then whisk again for about 30 seconds, before letting it rest again. repeat the whisk/rest routine about 4 times, until you have a thick, glossy, and smooth mixture. gently stir in the flour and baking soda just until combined. stir in the chocolate and nuts.

bake for about 10 minutes, then put the baking sheet on a cooling rack and let the cookies cool on the sheets.

thai-ish honey peanut chicken

can something be "thai-ish"? because i believe this is. probably not the most authentic thai recipe, but it calls for ingredients that you most likely have around the kitchen... so who can complain about that? also, it's delicious and super easy: win-win! this recipe is adapted (barely) from thepioneerwoman.com. when i make this, i throw in whatever veggies i have lying around, and if you want to go vegetarian, i think this would be great with firm tofu. something else i love about this recipe: you can marinade the chicken anywhere between half an hour to 6 hours ahead of time. don't you love when a recipe is flexible? and thai-ish?

thai-ish honey peanut chicken
1 lb. chicken, in 1" chunks
1/4 c. soy sauce
3 T. honey
1 T. lime juice
1 minced garlic clove
2 T. peanut butter (smooth? chunky? natural? yes to all!)
1/2 t. curry powder
1 t. sriracha sauce (spicy chinese sauce - in most grocers in the asian section)
1/2 t. flour to thicken sauce (optional)
any chopped veggies you'd like

mix all ingredients except flour and veggies and marinade from 1/2 to 6 hours. cook chicken in sauce over medium heat for 7-8 minutes or until done. reduce heat and add veggies and flour (if desired). serve with rice.

chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies

oh. my. land. bake these cookies and then cancel your afternoon appointments in order to pig out in peace. found this recipe at bakersroyale.com (via pioneer woman - thank you, ree!) and the picture drew me in so i included it below - why would i ever try to top that picture? these work best if you chill the dough in the refrigerator for a few hours (or up to four days - just as good!), although the cookies themselves don't keep very well after 4 days or so - not that they'll probably be around that long. these would have been great at Christmastime... but i had a newborn and can say that these are also fantastic in january. or june. or right now - go bake!

chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies adapted from bakersroyale.com
1 3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. canola oil
3 T. butter, melted
2 T. corn syrup
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 t. vanilla
1 ½ t. peppermint extract
1 c. powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on 50 percent power for 1 minute, stir, microwave for 15 seconds more and stir, repeat until melted; set aside.
In a mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together sugar, oil, butter and corn syrup. Beat in the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla and peppermint extract. Then on low, beat in the melted chocolate. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll the dough into 1-1.5 inch balls. Pour powdered sugar into a bowl. Roll each cookie dough ball in sugar. Arrange cookies on baking sheet and bake 12 to 14 minutes for crisp cookies, or 10-12 minutes for a chewier cookie.

simple fish marinade

well, it's been a while! i guess that happens when you have a baby. also, it means that you keep your eyes peeled for simple and quick recipes like this one! james requested fish for dinner since we've been o.d.ing on chicken as of late. here's a very easy marinade to throw your fish into up to two hours ahead of cooking - not much longer than that as the soy sauce can start to break down the fish after a while. last night we had this on sole, i believe we've done this same marinade on halibut and salmon before... it's pretty versatile. i baked our sole at 400 for about 4 minutes (it was thin), but you can pan fry this if you'd like... just cook it till your fish is flaky.

fish marinade
1/2 c. orange juice
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 t. ground ginger (or 1 T. grated fresh ginger)
1/2 t. pepper

chocolate pumpkin muffins

these might be the easiest muffins you'll ever make. well... let's be honest - they're a little more like a cupcake than just a muffin. so we will call them a "cupin" and just enjoy, ok? my sister jen shared this crazy recipe with me and i could hardly believe it'd work. but it does! the other magical thing about these is that you really cannot taste the pumpkin - they just taste like moist chocolate... cupins.

chocolate pumpkin muffins/cupcakes/cupins (you decide)
1 box devil's food cake mix (any brand)
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
3/4 c. water
1/2 c. chocolate chips and/or nuts (optional)
1/4 t. salt

combine cake mix, pumpkin, salt & water until moist (batter will be thick). mix well and stir in chips/nuts. put into muffin pan sprayed with oil - fill cups 2/3 full. bake at 350 for 25 minutes. makes 20

apple crisp

mmm... it's starting to get cooler out there. somewhere the leaves will start to slowly change colors (not here... bummer, southern california!). and apples are starting to get real cheap - heyo! time for an apple crisp recipe! i found this on the website joyofbaking.com, and only made a couple minor adjustments. so yummy and warm - and very easy. this is especially great with tart apples, like granny smiths. i love throwing in a few frozen raspberries (for color and deliciousness), but you can skip it if you don't have any. enjoy with a little vanilla ice cream... or not, you'll be happy either way!

update: this can be made gluten-free! i just put some oatmeal in the food processor and ground it up into a flour and substituted it in for the regular flour. worked like a charm!

apple crisp
topping:
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg (if you've got it)
1/8 t. salt
6 T. butter, cubed
1/3 c. old-fashioned oats
1/3 c. chopped walnuts

filling:
6 c. (about 4) granny smiths, peeled, cored, & cubed
< 1/4 c. frozen raspberries
1 1/2 T. lemon juice
1 t. lemon zest (if you have it)
3 T. sugar

preheat to 375. spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray. mix topping ingredients with fingers & set aside. toss filling ingredients in another bowl & put into baking dish. sprinkle topping evenly on top and bake 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly.

cream cheese frosting

sorry for the delay in posts; i think our cross-country road trip (and my energy being sucked up by a little tater tot - third trimester, baby!) put me back a few paces. but i'll make it up to you... right now. with this simple frosting. from heaven, via my buddy kristin. we had friends over for lunch the other day, so i defrosted a frozen zucchini bread, but wanted to make it... more desserty? dessertier? anywho, tried out this recipe and wham-o! we had a winner :) you can cut this recipe in half, but even more exciting: it freezes really well. dangerously handy, eh?

cream cheese frosting
1 c. butter
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
~ 1 T. milk, as desired

blend first four ingredients well. slowly add splashes of milk to reach desired thickness (or don't add any - your call!).