Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies are a standby in our household. We make a batch every few weeks, when we get a hankering for something sweet. They are easy and quick, and mostly use ingredients that are always around. The recipe is minimally adapted from one in the manual for our Kitchenaid mixer.

Note that your butter should be left out at room temperature for about an hour before you start.

Start by creaming 8 oz softened butter (2 sticks; see above) with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup brown sugar. This means that you beat it with the paddle until it gets creamy and smooth. Reduce the speed on the mixer and add, one at a time, 2 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla extract, mixing until combined. Stop the mixer and combine 3 cups flour with 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt. Start the mixer on 'stir' speed, and slowly add the flour mixture, continuing to mix until combined. Then add 12 oz (1 bag) chocolate chips, and mix just long enough to disperse them evenly through the dough.

Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper, and scoop 1 tsp of dough per cookie, spaced 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 F in a preheated oven for 9-11 minutes, until just starting to brown. Remove immediately from the sheet to a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy with a large glass of cold milk!

Metric Info: 8 oz = 225g; 1 cup = 240 ml; 3 cups = 710 ml; 12 oz = 340g; 2 inches = 5 cm; 375 F = 190 C.

Anise Cookies

Sorry, no photo for this one - the cookies disappeared too quickly...

These are a simple 'cakey' (i.e. soft, not crisp) sugar cookie, flavored with anise extract.

Start by softening 1 cup (8 oz; 2 sticks) butter at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Once soft, beat in a mixer with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add 3/4 cup sugar and cream (keep beating until smooth again). Slow down to stir speed and add 3 cups flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt and 1 tsp anise extract. Stir until combined, then stir in 2 eggs, until a smooth dough forms.

Form your dough into small balls, and set directly on 2 cookie sheets. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 15 minutes, switching the sheets halfway through. Once the time is up, transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Enjoy!

Note 1 - Be sure to use anise extract or anise flavoring for this recipe. Anise oil can be substituted, but very sparingly - 1/4 tsp would probably be too much. I made this mistake once, and the cookies were painfully anise-y!

Note 2 - Apologies for the lack of weight measures in this recipe. I threw these together quickly and did not figure out weights.

Note 3 - Metric Info: 8 oz = 225g; 3/4 cup = 180 ml; 3 cups = 700 ml; 350 F = 175 C.

Zucchini Bread

We had a few zucchini sitting in our fridge from our Full Moon Farm CSA share. I haven't been cooking much, with the extreme heat and all, but it let up a little yesterday, so I finally fired up the oven at night. I had eaten zucchini bread before but had never made it. The recipe is based on one in the Joy of Cooking (Rombauer et al).

Start by measuring out 1.5 cups of flour into a bowl. To the flour, add 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (or allspice, if you don't care much for cinnamon like me) and 1/2 tsp salt.

In another bowl, crack and beat 2 eggs. Add 1/2 cup canola oil (or other mild-flavored oil), 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Mix well.

Next, grate 2 cups of zucchini. Remove the ends, but you do not have to peel them. You should be able to get this much yield from 1 medium zucchini. Squeeze the result to get rid of excess water. You can use a grater for this, or a mandoline (with a julienne attachment), or a food processor with a grating blade - easily the fastest.

Last prep item is 1.5 cups of ground walnuts. You will probably have to grind them yourself - use a food processor with the blade or a blender. If you don't have either of these appliances, you could put them in a plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin. I wound up with a little less than 1.5 cups - the quantity does not have to be exact on the nuts. You could also use pecans if you like.

Take the bowl with the egg mixture, and stir into it the flour mix. Just mix it until it comes together. Then add the grated zucchini and ground nuts, and fold them in so that they are mixed through. Don't over-mix.

Pour your batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan and bake in a 350 F oven for 40-45 minutes - until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for a few minutes, then remove from the pan and leave on the rack until cool.

Note 1 - (For English readers) Zucchini = Courgettes

Note 2 - I made this recipe again but with a couple of small changes. I used cinnamon instead of allspice, and ground hazelnuts instead of walnuts. It was even better.

Note 3 - Discovered today that this bread is really good with a little butter and some cheddar cheese...

Note 4 - Made chocolate zucchini bread by substituting 1/4 cup of flour for cocoa powder. It was good!

Note 5 - Metric Info: 1.5 cups = 350 ml; 1/4 cup = 60 ml; 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 3/4 cup = 180 ml; 2 cups = 475 ml; 9 in = 23 cm; 5 in = 12.5 cm; 350 F = 175 C.