Stormy Weather

It is a wonderfully stormy morning here in northwestern Wisconsin.  It has been raining and thundering off and on for much of the morning, but I was lucky enough to do my chores early between rounds of raindrops.  The chickens don't care if it rains, and the rabbits are happy in their bunny barn.  The only creatures that don't seem to like it are the dogs (too scary) and the cats (floods the porch which is just irritating).

I am working on some canning prep in the kitchen, and decided to bake up a batch of my favorite chocolate chip cookies.  I don't make these often, because they are addictive and when you live by yourself, that can mean sugar overload with the migraine to prove it.  I am having house guests next week, so if any of these make it until then I am sure someone else will be more than happy to help me eat them! 

I found this recipe years ago on www.allrecipes.com, where it reportedly won a blue ribbon at some state fair or other.  If you try them, you'll see why they deserve those accolades.

Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe makes a lot, so you can either (1) make a lot of cookies, (2) make monster cookies like I did, or (3) make half the batch and freeze the remaining dough--it comes back good as new when you defrost it.  When I've gone traditional size, I get about four dozen cookies.  Monster size, you'll get a couple dozen huge cookies.

You'll need:  4 1/2 cups of flour; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 2 cups of soft butter or shortening, or one cup of each depending on your texture preference (shortening makes things a little crispy); 1 1/2 cups brown sugar; 1/2 cup white sugar; 2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix (go find some at the bulk store, where you can buy a whole ton for about $2, versus spending $2 per teeny package); 4 eggs; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 4 cups chocolate chips; 2 cups chopped walnuts (which can be left out if you don't like them).

Cream together the butter/shortening and sugars.  Beat in pudding mix, then eggs and vanilla.  Slowly add the flour and baking soda.  Fold in chips and nuts.  You can either drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets, or go hog-wild like I did and scoop out cookies with an old fashioned ice cream scoop.  Don't overcrowd your cookie sheet if making the big boys, as they will melt and merge together.  Monster cookie mating, eeek!!

What is the point of a teeny cookie?  If you're going to have "just one", make it a big one, dang it!!

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown and flattened out nicely.  Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to finish.

Try very hard not to eat all of them.