Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'm not what you would call a morning person. I like quiet and no conflict for the first hour or two of the day. I also am not a big breakfast person. Just never have been. I prepare breakfast meals maybe four times a year. We usually eat cereal or oatmeal or Cream of Rice/Wheat or eat oat bars or crackers. I know, it's awful. So, a couple weekends ago after my kiddo woke up, I asked her if she would be interested in some chocolate chip muffins. Not my thing, but I know she likes them, and I had pinned a recipe on Pinterest for them: Chocolate Chip Muffins several months ago. The recipe was very easy to follow, and she liked them a lot and finished off all the muffins for breakfast and snacks during the next week, so all-in-all I consider it a success.

1 1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 medium eggs
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups flour
¾ lb chocolate chips



Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and prepare muffin pans with butter - I ended up with 18 muffins. In small bowl combine baking powder, salt, and flour, set aside. In large bowl combine butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. You can use a hand mixer, or like I did, use a stand mixer.

 

Slowly beat in eggs, until combined. Add milk. Slowly add sugar, until completely combined. Mix flour mixture into butter until just combined, but still lumpy. 

Add chocolate chips and combine. Pour mixture into muffin pans, filling each cup two-thirds full. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until muffins turn golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

Make-Your-Way Chocolate Chip Cookies

I will always love Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies. I grew up making those with my dad, and they will always be special to me. But I have found THE PERFECT chocolate chip cookie recipe...  Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, on Pinterest, of course. I saw the picture, and they looked so good I followed it and read the blog. I decided to give it a try, and I've since made three versions of the cookies. I made one batch with triple chocolate chips - white, semi-sweet, and dark, one with all white, and one with all dark. They were all absolutely amazing. This is important enough to repeat... absolutely freakin' amazing! None of the batches lasted long, and I have a few other plans for this cookie as well. Following is the recipe from the blog for the triple chocolate chips. Substitute whatever chips you prefer, and I'm sure they will come out fantastic.

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (or light brown - dark is preferred)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup SNO-CAPS (or other kind of chocolate chip)

In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. 

Mix in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed. 

On low speed, mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Dough will be thick and sticky. Chill for at least 30 minutes (or up to 3 days).

Preheat oven to 350F. The original blog suggests lining the ungreased cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. I did not do this. Drop balls of dough onto cookie sheet (about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie) OR used a standard-sized cookie scoop. Press a few chocolate chips onto the tops of cookies for looks, if desired. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. Do NOT bake them longer than 10 minutes. Remove and let cool for 3 minutes on the cookie sheet. If the cookies are too puffy, try gently pressing down on them with the back of a spoon. Transfer to cooling rack. Cookies remain fresh in an airtight container for up to 7 days.