Kids Will Always Eat Cookies

I have to be away from my family for 3 full days. I really dislike being away. I miss them terribly. Even the screaming hugs they attack me with when I get home don't make up for the time away. So tonight I made their favorite cookies for them to enjoy while I'm gone. Those cookies buffer times that the kids are missing me - especially bedtime when I'm not their to make their beds over the top of them as I tuck them in. And for Arnie, after the kids are in bed, when he has no one to talk to, he can have a cookie and think about me.

This chocolate chip cookie recipe is amazing. It is packed with chips and cooks crisp on the outside, but stays soft on the inside. I collect recipes from all over the place. The backs of packages, the internet, magazines, friends...this chocolate chip recipe is from a spice catalog. Penzeys Spices, Summer 2009. I ate a dessert at my mother-in-law's during the summer of 09 and complimented the spiciness. She pulled out Penzeys Spices Catalog to show me where she had ordered the spice used in the cake. This awesome catalog has wonderful recipes in it. The cookies we like are called white chocolate chip cookies, but we use so many kinds of chocolate chips, that we just call them "those yummy cookies".

Once, I thought I had lost the catalog. After searching the house and the internet, I wanted to cry. I couldn't find it anywhere. Happily, I found the catalog one night while searching in another cookbook for a chicken recipe - somehow it had gotten stuck inside. I celebrated by making 4 dozen cookies.

Penzeys Spices White Chocolate Chip Cookies
6 oz. white chocolate chips
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 oz. milk chocolate chips
6 oz. various chocolate bars, chopped (hmm. We actually put another 6 ounces of chips - whatever we have left over. One time I had some of those 60% cocoa chips - wow. Yummy.)
4 oz. toffee baking bits (Good. But we add caramel bits instead - creamy and melty.)

2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour, sifted (I use 1 cup of wheat, 1 1/4 cups of unbleached white flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 lb. butter (2 sticks)
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium size bowl, combine all the chips and candy pieces. In another medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and brown sugar and mix gently. Add the butter (I usually cut the butter into pieces to help it incorporate better) to the sugar mixture and mix well. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until thoroughly blended. Scrape the sides of the bowl and the beaters so the batter is well mixed. Fold in the chip mixture and stir gently until blended. Drop by the rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 48 cookies