Wifey Wednesday

Every wife needs to have the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe up her sleeve - especially now that it's December 1: Baking Season has begun.

 I'll let you in on my little secret. It's been in the works for years, and is really the single recipe that made me fall in love with baking (and subsequently cooking). Starting back in high school, I got the itch to bake and a certain group of boys (future Hubby, cough, cough) made frequent trips to my parents home to see if by chance a fresh batch had been baked.

Many nights we I spent baking.... and we would eat... and eat... and eat the dough before the cookies were baked, and then eat the next batch before I could even get them onto plates. I would guess that if you went to high school with me, or knew me at that time, you have tasted this recipe first-hand. For the rest of you, I'll do my best to distribute the goods around, but in the meantime, you can try your hand at these: 

Hallie's Homemade Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/4 C flour
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C brown sugar (pack super tight and measure a heaping amount)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Kosher salt (heaping)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (another heaping amount here)
1 large egg
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I think too many makes the cookies hard to eat) 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt) into a large bowl
In a separate bowl, add granulated sugar and brown sugar
Melt butter in microwave-safe bowl
Whisk egg with hand-mixer or stand-mixer
Combine egg with  sugar mixture
Add melted butter and vanilla to sugar/egg mixture and combine thoroughly (I recommend a stand-mixer, but can be done by hand if very thorough)
Once smooth and mousse-like, add this mixture to the large bowl with the flour mixture
Combine thoroughly, careful to mix in all flour
Add chocolate chips and distribute evenly
Cover the dough bowl tightly with saran wrap and chill in the freezer for 10-15 minutes (can be overnight, too)
Once chilled, scoop into spoon-sized balls and place on Silpat on baking sheet (I can fit 16 cookies on a sheet) **It should be noted that a Silpat mat is one of the best baking investments you can make. It ensures an even, clean bake and allows you to get really soft edges and lovely texture, even on the bottom of your treats
Bake for 8 minutes, and rotate the tray 180 degrees at 4 minutes (to ensure even baking)
Remove cookies from oven promptly at first sign of cookedness (8 minutes... I guarantee you will not think they are done)
Let cookies cook ON baking sheet for another 10-15 minutes ** this is crucial out-of-oven bake time
Gently transfer cookies to cool china plate
Serve and enjoy!

Sending your cookies to-go?

I've developed a trusty packing method that will ensure they arrive intact and just as good as can be. First gather your supplies: a sturdy paper plate, aluminum foil, and wax paper.

Line your plate with foil and secure around the edges. Place one layer of cookies, flat and not overlapping, and then cover with a sized piece of wax paper. Repeat with another layer of cookies covered with wax paper. This can be repeated to make 3 layers with about 6 cookies per layer.

On the top layer, place wax paper and then a final foil covering, secured around the edges.

See, even the HBS kids like getting treats at school!

Good Linens Gone Bad

You will probably not surprised by my shock and horror when I show you what I found as I opened the dryer door on Saturday afternoon:

Yes. These are my lovely Sferra Bros. Hemstitched 20" monogrammed napkins warped in a wrinkly, un-ironed mess.

Thankfully, the weekend got better from here. I was glad to have time to get serious and take care of some much needed household TLC, as well as some over-due shopping (March Madness is the perfect time to plan shopping trips to girly stores).

Once back home, I began to tackle the necessities. I whipped out my iron:

Got busy with the folding:

And finally redeemed some of my linens back to a respectable state:

Next, I whipped up a quick batch of cookie dough (Recipe coming soon! I'll let you in on my secret to making perfect chocolate chip cookies every time- perhaps one of the wife-iest necessities of all time):

...and was able to yield some pleasing results, as I am told by our special Saturday night dinner guests. Hubby made some delish homemade pizza, which probably deserves its own post one day. He's got the technique down to a science, and it's always a crowd pleaser!

We spent Sunday afternoon celebrating a very special birthday for a very special niece:

enjoyed some Mediterranean take-out, and called it a weekend.

Next up, I've got some exciting and helpful things to share, so keep your eyes peeled for:

-Chronicles of our upcoming adventure to the Texas Hill Country
-A special Wifey Wednesday skill you won't want to miss
-Kitchen safety tips, unfortunately inspired by my sweet friend's knife boo-boo that landed her in the hospital:

Feel better soon, Miss Britches :)

Here's to a delightful last week of March and first week of April!