Grown Up Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know, "grown up" cookies sound like they'd be penis-shaped, but I'm really referencing the flavor... although, I suppose you could make them wang-shaped if you really had to. These are less sweet and more rich than the standard Tollhouse cookie.


1 cup (2 sticks) butter (not margarine, not Crisco, butter)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
the scrapings of 1 or 2 vanilla beans (I say 1 or 2 because they can be spendy unless you buy in bulk, but if you buy in bulk off of eBay, you'll find that you use them in everrrrything)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
a little over 2 cups All-Purpose flour
1 bag of Ghiradelli 60% cacao bittersweet chips (I don't know of any other company that makes a chip with such high cacao content - I guess you could cut up a super good chocolate bar for the same effect)


In a microwave-safe bowl, melt down the butter (or if you're really in a mood to go crazy, brown the butter in a sauce pan - it takes a bit longer, but it gives the butter a nutty flavor.)

Mix in the sugars, egg, vanilla bean scrapings, salt and baking soda. Mix in the first 2 cups of flour, one cup at a time, then add a little extra until the dough has a perfect texture. Fold in the chips (I usually only use a little over half a bag of the chips, in your standard chocolate chip cookie, the cookie part really exists just to hold the chips together, but in these, the cookie part can stand on it's own).

Refrigerate the dough for 2 - 4 hours.

(after 2 - 4 hours) Preheat the oven to 375, lay out lumps of the cold dough on parchment paper and bake for about 14 minutes (could be a few minutes more or less, depending on your oven, the day of the week, the phases of the moon, the marital status of your favorite Kardashian) until the cookies are dark golden brown around the edges.

(not pictured: cookies, seriously, you've been eating them your whole life, you know what they look like)

Easier-Than-Doing-Dishes Dough

I wish I could say I was joking, but there have been more times than I can count that I have chosen to make homemade pizza for dinner instead of washing dishes. I mean, really, how easy is pizza? A bowl to mix the dough, then a can to cook it and you're done - you can even eat it on paper towels, no silverware, no plates.

1 packet of yeast (for thinner, crispier crust, only use half a packet)
about a tablespoon of honey
a couple tablespoons of olive oil or melted butter (or bacon fat if you have it because... YUM!) 
1 cup of warm water or milk (warm, not hot)
3 - 4 cups of flour (I generally use All Purpose flour, but you can use bread flour. Also, I like to add in about half a cup of whole wheat flour with the mix, but don't try to use all whole wheat flour or the dough will be dense and non-yummy
salt and/or any other spices you might like to add

Mix yeast with about 2 cups of flour and some salt and/or any spices you'd like (maybe a little garlic or onion powder or some dried Italian spices). Stir in water (or milk), olive oil and honey. Add more flour, about a half a cup at a time until the dough is no longer sticky.

Knead the dough on a floured surface until it's smooth and soft. Toss it into an olive oil-coated bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for at least an hour (or stick it in the refrigerator for 8 - 10 hours)

After the dough has risen to about double it's original size, take it out, toss it onto an oiled pizza pan (or cookie sheet), poke it all over with a fork and let it sit for another hour (you can skip this step and top it and bake it right away, but letting it rise again will get it puffier and a bit softer)

After at least an hour, poke it again with forks, top it with whatever you want on your pizza (or cut it up into strips and make breadsticks) and bake it for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melty and brown and the edges of the dough are golden brown and starting to pull away from the pan.

(not pictured: pizza dough, seriously it's a big white lump, not much to see)

Thanksgiving in August

Okay, I'll say it - I love Thanksgiving. It's like the Super Bowl of cooking for me, I plan for weeks and cook for days. I love and hate that it's only one day a year.

This was yet another of my what-was-cheap-at-the-grocery-store recipes.


1 pound of ground turkey or chicken
1 box of stuffing, prepared and cooled off
hamburger buns
hamburger toppings of your choice

In a big bowl, mix the ground turkey with the cold stuffing, form into 4 - 6 patties and grill or fry until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 (or until it's done). These are best served with cranberry sauce on top and a side of mashed potatoes.

(not pictured: - a burger, one that doesn't especially look all that good, but it's yummy, I swear)