The Best Cookies Ever!

Here is a recipe we have recently acquired that instantly became our favorite recipe.  Aubrey insisted this was a no brainer post and she could take it from here...

Hello folks!  Anybody there? ... Oh well, if anyone out there is interested here goes... I am Miss Aubrey Jean!  I'm here today to introduce to you the most FABULOUS Cookie you have ever tasted! The kind you can't stop eating even if you wanted to.  But trust me, you WON'T want to. If you are one of those people, like me, that chubby looks good on, you'll thank me for the rest of your days!  If you're one of those people who is constantly fighting the battle of the bulge you should stop reading right here, right now, and forget you ever saw this post. I really don't want to be hated by anyone. If you fall into the latter category and choose to continue reading, just remember, YOU BEEN WARNED!

Oh wait, this here is a special occasion and calls for some added props.

 First let me slip my tiara on...

 like so.  

Okay, now, lets see...where's my  glasses? 

Now we're talkin' !  I know you're thinkin' "Is this really necessary? Can't we just get on with it already?" or something to that effect.  Well, I assure you it is!  This recipe is fit for kings and queens, princes and princesses, celebrities and superstars...you get the picture. Now please don't interupt me with unintelligent questions. Thank you.

Okay, so ya'all ready for this!?

Off to my right , or your left, (however you want to look at it) we have our bowl of dry ingredients, which is very simple:

2 1/2 cups of flour

2 tsp. soda

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 tsp. salt

Pretty basic. Nothing fancy here. Well, to be honest there isn't anything fancy in the recipe at all, it just somehow tastes like more. So now we're gonna put 

2 sticks of softened butter

 into the kitchenaid mixer and beat it around in there with

 1 cup of brown sugar

 and a 1/2 cup of white sugar.

  Then add 1 egg

 and 2 tsp. vanilla to that.

 Now turn your mixer to low speed and add that bowl of dry ingredients that's a sittin' there. Unless you feel the need to powder your face, then go right ahead and crank it up!

Okay, ya still with me?  It's kinda dark behind these glasses. I think I'm gonna go ahead and forego my stylishness and ditch 'em.

 So next up is the last step for what we call Macadamia Nut Cookies. If you consider yourself the Macadamia Nut type then you'll be supremely happy with these.

Just add

 1/2 cup finely chopped Macadamia Nuts (unsalted) 

 and 

1 pkg white chocolate chips. 

These are Uh-Mazing! Even folks who aren't fond of Macadamia Nuts love them.

 We liked them so well we decided they should be chocolate chip cookies, because everything is better with chocolate, you know. So if you want them as Chocolate Chip Cookies here are the few small changes you will need to make.  Use only half as much of the cream of tartar, (just in case math isn't your best subject, that would be 1 tsp.) and leave out the nuts and white chocolate. Instead, put in a package of the real deal. Rich, luscious, smooth, decadent CHOCOLATE. Done!

 So there you have it folks! If you've never tried this recipe before, and you love a cookie that's crispy on the outside and ooey gooey yummy on the inside, then give it a try and tell us if you think its all that we cracked it up to be. :D

 Bake 'em for 7-9 minutes @ 350. Pull 'em out when they're starting to crack on the surface and have touches of golden brown.

 Cool 'em on the rack for a minute...

and have at 'em with your best judges face.

You'll probably need to eat at least 2

...

 or 3...

 or 4...

 or 5...

 or maybe even the whole panful to give a proper assessment. 

So go ahead!

 Betcha can't eat just ONE.

Enjoy!

Notes: 

1.  For best results chop your Macadamia Nuts in a high powered chopper thing, even if they're already chopped. It adds to the excitement. 

2. When you measure out the flour, be particular. If you like to fudge it and eyeball your ingredients, like my mom, you will find that a surprisingly small bit extra can mess up this recipe.  This dough is already fairly thick so if you want 'em perfect, FOLLOW IT. DON'T FAKE IT.

3. If you are not a cookie dough fan this recipe makes exactly 3 pans of cookies, with 16 cookies per pan, for a total of 4 dozen. However, I'll be honest with you and tell you that at our house this recipe always makes one row shy of three panfuls. ;D

4.The recipe these cookies are based on is actually called "Crack Cookies". I haven't decided yet if it is because of their addictive quality, or because of the cracks that form across the top when they are cooked to perfection.  We'll go with the latter just to keep it kosher on here. ;D

The Chocolate Lovers Post

Just thought I'd post the recipe for these truffles that I showed in the last post, just because they are so easy ... I plan to post the recipe for the snicker bars (the ones around the outside edge) also, because I have had many requests for the recipe and haven't ever given it out, but they are much more complicated so that will have to wait.The Truffles

(that aren't really truffles I just call them that because thats what they look like)

1 pkg regular or reduced fat Oreos

1 pkg reg. or Fat free spreadable cream cheese

indefinite amount of chocolate. :)

In high powered mixer with a blade ( I have a hand mixer called a Braun with a knife blade that I use because I found that the oreos just get all gummed up in my blender and it didn't work very well) blend the oreos until they are just fine crumbs. Add the cream cheese and beat until well mixed. (it will just be a pasty dark brown mixture) roll into one inch balls and freeze overnight.

When you have a couple hours of free time ;) melt a few cups of chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat. Once it is all melted and smooth you can begin dipping the frozen balls of filling.

I just poke them on the end of a fork and dip them in all but the bottom (the side the fork is poked into). Gently twist them in a twirling motion with the side against the wooden spoon or spatula to get off the extra choc. ending by tipping up and letting the cupie of chocolate come off the top to give it a swirled look. Then carefully pinch the fork below the truffle and slide smoothly off the fork. (it will be balancing on your thumb and index finder pinched together) Now slip it onto the fork (just so it is sitting flat on the prongs not poked onto them) and then set the fork down against the plate and tilt until the truffle slides off. It may need a cautious wiggle to ease it off without tipping the fork so high that it just rolls off. It sounds complicated but it is really quite simple...just hard to explain. I do the dipping one plateful at a time and leave the rest in the freezer to keep them good and frozen as that makes for easier dipping. The softer they get the harder it is as they start to squish around and stick to your fingers and the fork more. Once I have completed the tops I go back and dip the bottom. Just hold them from the top and dip in the choc. making sure that all the bottom is covered. I sort of do it in a twisting motion to make it look neater (without all the little pokey strings of chocolate sticking off) and then just set it on the plate to harden. If you wish to add the 'squiggle' for decoration, just add a little bit of white chocolate chips to your leftover melted chocolate to make it lighter and once they're melted and blended in put it into a ziploc baggy and snip a very tiny bit of corner off (it always puts out a bigger squiggle than you think so cut small and you can always cut bigger if you need to. I think the smaller looks daintier, the ones in the picture have a pretty thick squiggle. Use the bag like a frosting decorator and pipe on the little sqiggles. Then you can store in the freezer for as long as you need to. I don't know exactly how long they last because they are allways eaten in plenty of time...but they are fine for a couple of months. :)

Makes about 60 depending on how big you make the balls.

Tip: with the leftover melted choc. (and there always is some since I don't measure) just add approx. equal amounts of heavy whipping cream to choc. and stir until smooth and silky. Makes the most wonderful hot fudge you can imagine over ice cream. If you don't want it to harden to chewy over your ice cream just add even more cream until it is as syrupy as you want it. I store it in the fridge and just heat it for about 20-30 seconds in a bowl and then add the ice cream to the top ...like upside down hot fudge sundae.

If you just do the equal parts choc. and cream. the chocolate will harden to a fudge consistency in the fridge overnight. when you eat it straight out of the fridge it is just like silky melt in your mouth fudge. Sooo good!!! :)

Enjoy! and don't plan on starting a diet any time soon with this stuff around. ;)

P.S. If you don't want to do the whole truffle thing and just want the fudge you can just melt choc. chips and add cream. its just the same in case you hadn't allready figured that out. :D
Even better...I like to do it with dove dark chocolate. The key to getting it smooth is not to overheat it. Just let it melt slowly on low heat, stirring every now and then.