The Chocolate Chip Cookie Craze Recipe

Chocolate chip cookie bars are regarded as the most, sought-after baked products. This is simply because they are easy to make, and cookies, unlike other baked foods, have a longer shelf life. They could also come in handy whenever you need energy since they are considered as carbohydrate-rich foods. There is also an array of flavors for cookies.

The methods of preparation for cookies are classified into molded, drop, rolled, and pressed. The most common type of cookies is the drop cookies. It is also the simplest method of preparation. You would just drop the uncooked cookie dough onto a baking sheet. Next, is the molded cookie method wherein each piece of a cookie is shaped or molded manually. Next is the rolled cookie method.

In this method, the cookie dough is shaped into a log and then placed inside the freezer or chilled. When the cookie log hardens, it is then divided into equal portions. Lastly is the pressed-cookie method. This method of making cookies involves rolling out the dough by a rolling pin and then cutting out shapes by using various kinds of cookie cutters. After the pressed cookies are baked, designing them with frosting or sugar icing can be the most fun part of making them.

My favorite cookie recipe is a delicious chocolate chip cookie bars. This can be baked in an oven toaster for 7 minutes or in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 10 minutes. The ingredients can be found in a pantry. For two dozens of cookies weighing five grams each, you will need:

1 bar (225 grams) unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 and one-half cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sifted, all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup chocolate chips
2 medium-sized eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the KitchenAid electric mixer, place a paddle attachment. Cut the butter into cubes and place them in the mixer. Beat for three minutes and add in the sugar. Mix in the sugar before beating for another three minutes until the mixture becomes fluffy. Add in the eggs one a time beating well after each addition.

Mix in the vanilla extract. Add in the baking soda, salt, all-purpose flour, and rolled oats. Fold in the chocolate chips. Arrange the cookies on a lined and greased baking sheet. Make sure that the cookies are well spaced to allow some space for rising. The cookies are done when the cookies turn golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.

Let the cookies cool on a wire rack. To prolong their freshness, store the cookies on a tightly covered cookie jar. They can last for up to seven days.

This version of chocolate chip oatmeal cookie is healthier as compared to the regular chocolate chip cookie bars. The addition of oatmeal will add more fiber and will make it chewier. You can also, add a tablespoon or two of peanut butter to the above-mentioned recipe. Some will also mix in some cashews or walnuts. Others might prefer to add raisins or cinnamon for a more aromatic version.

How to Make the Best Chocolate Cake

We all know that chocolate cake isone of the easiest cakes to prepare but not everyone can make it deliciously, just like the ones that we have in pastry shops and restaurants. For you to bake chocolate cake that you and your family will surely love here is a chocolate cake recipe for you.

With a history that dates back to 1764, chocolate indeed goes a long way, proving that it is a favorite food among most people. It was first made when chocolate was first discovered, using ground cocoa beans using two circular millstones. It was further improved in 1879 when conching was introduced by Swiss Rodolphe. Conching is the process of making chocolate smoother and silkier which then made it better for baking since it mixes with batters completely. In 1930, there were chocolate cake mixes sold by the Duff Company in Pittsburgh. Chocolate cake became very popular during the 1980s and the 1990s wherein there can be other ingredients added aside from the chocolate such as tea, champagne, red pepper, and a lot more. To this date, there are a lot of chocolate cake variants such as layer cakes, black forest cake, soufflé cake, fudge cake, snowball cake, and a lot more.

One of the best chocolate cakevariations is the black forest cake, which you can serve for both children and adults. For this delicious recipe, what you will need are 1/2 cup of softened butter, 1 1/4 cups of sugar, two eggs, 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon each of baking soda and vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 3/4 cup of buttermilk. For the filling, you will need 2 cans of cherry pie filling, 3 cups of heavy whipped cream, 1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar. Should you choose to have garnish, you can have milk chocolate curls or sweet cherries or other garnishes that you prefer.

You will first need to prepare the cake which you start by doing the basics - preheating your oven to 350 0F and lining a cake pan with greaseproof paper. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and the sugar using an electric mixer until it is fluffy and white. While beating the butter, add one egg at a time while mixing it well. Add the other ingredients - the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda, buttermilk , and vanilla extract and continue mixing until the mixture is already smooth. Afterward, place the mixture into the cake pan and then bake for about 45 minutes. When it is already cooked, allow it to cool then cut into three layers horizontally.

For the filling, you will first need to drain the cherry pie so that the juices will be removed. In a mixing bowl, beat the whipped cream and the confectioner's sugar until it is already thick. Shave the chocolate using a vegetable peeler and then refrigerate the mixture while waiting for the cake to be baked. When the cake is ready and the filling is prepared, you are now ready to assemble your black forest chocolate cake. You will first need to put one layer of the cake on a serving plate and then spread some of the whipped cream on top and then adding the cherry pie. Add the next layer of the cake and then do the same process. For the last layer, spread the whipped cream and spread the remaining on the sides. Add the garnish of your choice and your black forest easy chocolate cake is now ready to be served.

Do this chocolate cake recipe and you will surely be delighted by the result if you follow the instructions carefully. You and your companions will certainly be looking forward to having more chocolate cakes from you.

Chocolate - Loved Around the World and Great For Chocolate-Almond Crinkle Cookies

You know chocolate comes from cacao beans. Do you know it has been eaten for centuries? Around 1100 BC Central American Indians were making beer from the pulp of cacao seedpods. The seeds were discarded.

Some 300 years later, according to a National Geographic Website article, "Chocolate Origins Traced to Beer Makers 3,000 Years Ago," beer-makers were using the seeds to make a non-alcoholic drink -- the origin of the cocoa we drink today. "The drink was poured form special pitchers that created high froth in the drinking cups," the article notes.

The Nibble Website has a detailed history of chocolate. From 600 AD -- 1,000 AD the Mayans were farming cacao plantations. In 1570 cocoa, as we now spell it, was used as a medicine and aphrodisiac. By 1674 chocolate was eaten in solid form. The Cadbury brothers sold candy at a British exhibition in 1849. The Ghiradelli company began production in 1860.

According to the timeline, the "first-known" recipe for brownies appeared in "The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book," by Fannie Merritt Farmer, published in 1896. After my mother-in-law died, I received her 1936 version of the cookbook. I found the recipe and it contains the same ingredients we use today: eggs, butter, sugar (brown, not white), flour, vanilla, melted chocolate, and walnuts.

In 2000 fusion cuisine found its way to the chocolate industry and extra spices, such as saffron, curry, and lemongrass were added to products. While grocery stores carry thousands of products, including cookies, but no cookies taste as good as homemade. Baking squares and chips need to be stored properly for the best baking results.

Improperly stored, the square and chips can "bloom," according to the "Hershey's Chocolate and Cocoa Cookbook." This happens "when condensation forms on the surface of semi-sweet or milk chocolate." When it is stored correctly, chocolate will stay fresh for more than a year. So store it in a cool, dry place at 70 degrees. If it gets really hot, store squares and chips in the refrigerator.

If you bake cookies, you probably bake chocolate chip, but other cookies are equally as good. These Chocolate-Almond lemon Crinkle Cookies are almost candy. Here is the recipe, just in time for summer picnics and barbecues. These cookies are fragile, so pack them carefully if you're bringing them to a picnic. Serve them plain or stick one or two in vanilla ice cream. Yum.

Ingredients

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
5 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups regular flour
1 teaspoon low sodium salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Method

Combine margarine, butter, sugar, and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in chocolate chips, vanilla, eggs, flour, salt, and baking soda. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes. Work in the sliced almonds. Drop dough onto prepared baking pans. These cookies spread, so leave an inch between each one. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool lemon crinkle cookies for several minutes before you remove them from the pan. Makes about 5 dozen.