chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies with Chestnut Spread

October 10, 2013 by Danielle 13 Comments

A few weeks back I received a fun delivery at my doorstep. Pretzel Crisps were delivered in just about every flavor and I couldn’t wait to dig in. And boy did we dig in! SO much so that I needed to run out and grab more Pretzel Crisps, stat. Luckily our Costco sells the huge bag of them so we were saved.

But then I realized I was stuck with a HUGE bag of pretzels and no parties coming up. So I decided to bake with them. I was already trying to figure out what to do with the chestnut spread I had in my Try The World box so I figured why not add pretzels AND chestnut spread into a cookie.

Of course chocolate was added to round everything out. But I didn’t just go with your standard semi-sweet chocolate chips. I added some chunks of TCHO dark chocolate. Boy was this flavor combo deliciously good! At first I thought it was a tad too salty but my friends confirmed that they were perfect.

Now if they are more salty than sweet for your taste I have the perfect solution! Grab a scoop of vanilla ice cream and nestle it in between two cookies. Ice cream sandwiches! Yum. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Desserts, In the Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: chocolate chip cookies, Cookies, Dessert, Pretzel Crisps, pretzels

Tips on How to Make the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

August 2, 2013 by Danielle 15 Comments

Ever make a batch of chocolate chip cookies and wonder what went wrong? Well I’ve chatted with a few friends to find out how to make the perfect chocolate chip cookies and am so excited I did. Because now I know all of the secrets passed down from grandmothers, friends, and neighbors. And you will too!

Some of these tips are so simple you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it first, and some of them take a little more work. But in the end it’s all worth it for the perfect chocolate chip cookies. [Read more…]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Uncategorized Tagged With: Baking, chocolate chip cookies, Cookies, Tips

The Ultimate First Street Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich Recipe

May 11, 2013 by Danielle 13 Comments

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Smart & Final.

Mother’s Day is all about mom’s favorite things, right? And I know that my mom – and mother in law – loves sweets. Since it’s been so warm lately I knew she’d appreciate something cool if she were down here (don’t worry mom, we can make these again!).

So when I headed out to Smart & Final to pick up some ingredients for an awesome dessert to serve on Mother’s Day, I knew that First Street ice cream would be the perfect base for any dish.

I thought bringing my husband along with me as we shopped would be a bad idea but he inspired this dish when he asked if he could pick up some chocolate chip cookies too. Genius!! Why not make ice cream sandwiches?

Better than Panera Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

October 30, 2012 by Danielle 12 Comments

There’s one thing my family is obsessed with. And that’s cookies. Our favorite cookie? Chocolate chip cookies!

There are many nights that my husband comes home and, after eating dinner together, heads to the kitchen to start a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. You can understand now why it’s so hard to stick with a diet plan in this house.

One cookie we absolutely love are the Panera chocolate chip cookies. Every bite is filled with chocolate and they’re super soft with the perfect crunchy outer layer. So when we heard of a chocolate chip cookie recipe that was deemed better than Panera we had to try it out.

The results? Oh, these cookies are definitely better. And worth making again and again!

Better Than Panera Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups mini semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until mixture is creamy.

Mix in the sifted dry ingredients until just combined. Using a spatula, fold in the mini chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop, drop cookie dough (about 1/4 cup) onto the prepared chookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before serving.

Makes about 18 large cookies.