Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

* 1 cup butter, softened
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons hot water
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Cream Cheese Cranberry Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, tossed with 1 Tbsp flour
Whipped cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray, coating well.

Beat butter and cream cheese until combined. Add sugar and turn mixer to med-high and cream for 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time until combined. Add lemon juice and zest, almond extract, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Turn mixer to low and add salt. Add the cake flour in two batches. Fold in the cranberries.

Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake 60-70 minutes, until the cake has browned and a skewer inserted in the center comes out with only moist crumbs attached. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a rack and cool completely. Cover tightly overnight (I put it in on a cake plate and cover with a glass dome) and enjoy the next day. (You can certainly eat it the same day but it gets better with an overnight resting period.)

Yields: 1 bundt cake, 8-12 servings depending on slice size

Recipe borrowed from Confections of a Foodie Bride.

Marina’s Ricotta Cookies

½ lb margarine (250g)

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

4 cups flour

1tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 container (450g) ricotta

Chocolate chips optional

If you want a sweeter version put an extra tsp or 1 of vanilla

Mix eggs, margarine & sugar add vanilla & ricotta.

In another bowl, mix flour, b.soda, b.powder & salt.

With a wooden spoon mix flour a little at a time in the batter.

Prepare icing sugar in a dish & scoop on bater with a spoon to place in sugar then role them into a ball.

Place them on a baking sheet 1 ½ “ apart

Bake at 350F for 10 to 15 min. (check colour)

Use tsp for smaller cookies and tbsp for larger cookies.

Spinach Alfredo Pizza

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
* 1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo Sauce
* 1 (6 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
* 1 (10 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
* 2 unbaked pizza crusts
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread pizza crusts out onto baking sheets or pizza pans.
2. Place the spinach and Alfredo sauce in a saucepan, and warm over medium heat. Stir occasionally. Spread 1tablespoon of olive oil onto each pizza crust. Spoon half of the Alfredo and spinach onto each crust, then arrange artichoke hearts over the sauce layer. Top each pizza with half of the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle mushrooms and black olives on top.
3. Bake pizzas one at a time for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bottom is nicely browned.

NEIMAN -MARCUS COOKIES

Got this recipe from some e-mail forward. Wonder if its any good? Doubt the e-mail story is true. Check Snopes...

(Recipe may be halved)

2 (500 ml) cups butter
24 oz. (680 g) chocolate chips
4 (1000 ml) cups flour
2 (500 ml) cups brown sugar
2 tsp. (10 ml) (Bicarb) soda
1 tsp. (5 ml) salt
2 (500 ml) cups sugar
18 oz (500 g) Hershey Bar (grated).
5 (1250 ml) cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. (10 ml) baking powder
2 tsp. (10 ml) vanilla
3 cups (375 ml) chopped nuts ( optional )

.....................................................


Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder.

Cream the butter and both sugars.

Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal,

Salt, baking powder, and Bicarb (soda).

Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar, and nuts.

Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes at (180 C ) 375 degrees F.