When the Chips are Down, We should make Cookies

     Fridays are a gamble, it can go either two ways. We can be totally unprepared or fighting each other to sweep the floor.  Hmm, thinking about that last statement, I would have to say no... Alex, for $200 dollars. When the parking lot is not paved, and the snow is up around your eyeballs, we are NOT and I repeat not fighting each other to sweep the floor.

     The highlight of my day, was my turkeys!!!! I started at this bakery almost 5 years ago in June. Since then I have gotten rid of all bacon already cooked. By this I mean, pre-shaped and strips. Threw out ham that tasted like it took a bath in cloves. Braised corned beef rounds for a killer Reuben, roasted pork for a almost authentic Cuban, all the way up in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, and the piece de resistance~ I threw out Deli turkey, that by all accounts tasted good, but.......what if? I roasted my own turkeys?, and what if?, I brined my own turkeys and then roasted them?

     But that was not the only highlight of my day. My secret highlight was that someone just might perhaps be pregnant. We all joked about it, and shared the what if, you can do that when it's not you, that is potentially pregnant. If it is you, you just want everyone to shut up!

     Alas, I must wait...LONGER for a little baby to annoy and spoil. I know two people tonight that are going to sleep soundly.  So during the "cliffhanger", I prepped some gorgeous, beautiful cookies, that are just out of this world. Cookies in my opinion lack the "WOW" factor. You eat it and ho~hum, get another one. Cookies have a anti-climatic flavor to them. I want a cookie to punch me in the face. Like all food, I want the "WOW" factor.

     When one eats a chocolate chip cookie, what happens? In my world, I want another one, bigger than the last one. I want to warm it up, and chase it with an ice cold glass of milk, and share it with my sweetheart of 15 years. He is responsible for Senor Mohawk.

     The walnuts need to left alone, don't crush we need to remember that big is good here, and little is for tea parties. The chocolate chips can be mixed up if you want, there are three cups, so you can go one dark, one light and one white. The possibilities are endless. Just remember, that you are not the pregnant one, and have fun. I say this only because, kids are EXPENSIVE. The money when out the window, in 2010. Just sayin....

     Do you see the photo of this cookie!!? I wish that my diet compensated for one of these "Moon Pies", and believe me you, it is a pie. The cookie is just CRAZY. Regular cookies are done and eaten in three maybe four bites. This cookie, it is a meal. The way a cookie should be. I experimented with my boys all fall long.

     They still torment me to bring them home, but the Gould's need to practice patience and restraint. If I brought one of these rocks home every night, Ugh, I only would worry about the ramifications of such a outlandish idea.

Vanilla Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

8ozs of softened butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3 1/2  cups of cake flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tablespoon corn starch

3 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups whole walnuts (or any nuts that you might like better)

In a bowl combine all dry ingredients and whisk with a whisk. In a standing mixer, beat the sugars, vanilla and butter until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix. Add the dry ingredients, the dough will be stiff, it is OK! You are still doing great. Add the walnuts and chocolate chips and only mix till it is incorporated. We don't want any heat friction from the mixer, this melts the chocolate resulting in a dark cookie. Turn the dough out on a working surface and knead the remainder of chips and nuts in. I scale (weigh) these cookies to 6 1/2 to 6 5/8 ounces. Bake in a 350F oven for 14 to 15 minutes. The cookie should be slightly undone in the center. That is what makes it KILLER.

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~Author Unknown