Tag Archives: chocolate chip

MeeMaw’s Orange Chocolate Chip Cake

Posted in Family & Friends, Food, Uncategorized by

When Hubby and I got married and his family and my family converged to become Our Family, one of the things included in that merger was our old family recipes. This weekend, I got to try one of Hubs’ mom’s recipes.

He had mentioned that he wanted an orange chocolate chip cake for his birthday. I Googled and found Ina Gartner’s sumptuous recipe, only to discover that what Hubs meant was he wanted the cake his mom used to make.

So I called my sister-in-law and got the recipe. It’s a brownie type cake with no icing or glaze. It doesn’t need any. It’s very moist and oh-so-good!

Funny that in 30 years of marriage, this is the first I’m hearing of this cake. Wonder what else I’ve been missing?

Meemaw's Orange Chocolate Chip Cake

MeeMaw’s Orange Chocolate Chip Cake

Preheat oven to 250°F  (Yes 250°. You cook it low and slow.)

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt

Mix the above dry ingredients lightly together in bowl and set aside.

  • ½ cup shortening
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp grated orange peel (You’ll need two large oranges.)
  • 1 cup soured milk*
  • 1-12 oz bag chocolate chips (I like to use Nestlé’s semi-sweet Tollhouse chips.)

In a large bowl, cream together shortening and sugars with a fork. Beat in eggs until creamy. Mix in grated orange peel then soured milk. Add flour mixture slowly, stirring as you do. Don’t over-stir. This stuff is more like muffin batter than cake batter, so over-mixing might make it less fluffy. Lastly, stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour batter into a 13×9 cake pan that has been greased and floured. Bake for 50-65 minutes at 250°F until golden and done. (The recipe says 50 minutes, but at that point, mine was still pretty wet in the middle. 65 minutes was perfect for mine.)

Hubs says his mom used to make this as a Bundt cake. Sister-in-law said she tried it, but it didn’t work for her. I might try it next time, just to see.

Let me know if you make this and how you like it!

*Prepare soured milk by mixing 1 tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar into 1 cup of milk. Set aside for about 15 minutes to sour.

Cookies for Breakfast!

Got to admit, this is what I had for breakfast this morning. (What? They’ve got eggs & flour in them, same as eggs & toast or pancakes, right? Cue Bill Cosby’s “Dad is great! Gives us chocolate cake” bit.)

After I posted my chocolate chip cookie recipe (below), my son J texted me, “Do we have the stuff to make cookies?” I thought that was quite the coincidence, but no. Seems J’s sweet girlfriend Andi read the blog, and it made her crave the cookies. So of course, J jumped to his feet to make some for her.

No, seriously. He’s just that kind of boyfriend, and it thrills me no end! I’m happy to say both my boys have learned much from their father about how to treat their woman. They are such caring boyfriends. Makes me happy, and makes Hubby proud.

So yesterday J made these cookies for Andi…and he let us have a few. They are so big and fluffy, I just couldn’t pass them up this morning. Now Andi and I are wondering if this would work for other things, like say I blog about ironing. Andi reads it and says, “Sigh, that reminds me. I have a few shirts I need to iron, but I just haven’t found the time.” Will J jump up and do it for her?

Never underestimate the influence of a good woman, nor the willingness of the man in love with her.

(Source: http://morethanhappier.tumblr.com/post/23621206696/better-chocolate-chip-cookies)

Better Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted in Family & Friends, Food by

If there’s one thing I can make really really well every time, and there’s really only one thing, it’s chocolate chip cookies. 

I get a lot of compliments on my cookies. People seem to think they are something special. I started making them when I was a teenager, and taking them to rock bands that I liked. I still do that from time to time. Mostly I make them for my kids…and myself. To tell the truth, our favorite part is the dough! 

I use the Toll House® recipe on the back of the NESTLÉ® Chocolate Chip package, but with a couple of changes. The first change my mom made back in the 60’s. Toll House cookies are amazing, but they tend to be flat, not fluffy. So Mom added more flour, adding 2 ½ cups instead of 2 ¼ cups. That gave the cookies more body.

When I started making them for my family, I changed the two sticks of butter or margarine to one stick of Butter Flavored Crisco® (both equal 1 cup). The Crisco fluffs the cookies up quite a bit!

Here’s our changed recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2½ cups all-purpose flour 
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 sticks of butter or margarine 1 stick Butter Flavored Crisco sticks (1 cup)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
  • 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in medium sized bowl. Mix lightly with a fork. In a large bowl, with a fork or electric mixer (I use a fork. Easier to clean up afterwards, and you won’t over-mix them.) Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. (I dump it all in at once.) Stir in chocolate morsels and nuts (optional). Drop by rounded tablespoon onto lightly greased baking sheets. (I take a stick of butter and use it to grease my Air-Bake cookie sheet. The Air-Bake sheet keeps the bottoms from burning. You only have to grease it before the first batch. It’ll stay greased after that.)

3. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

Pan Cookie Variation: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars. 

Slice and Bake Cookie Variation: Prepare dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen 

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.