Seriously The Best Cookie Recipe Ever

It is not often I can say without a shadow of a doubt I know something to be completely true. I blame that on being an overthinker and Catholic school. Without a shadow of a doubt, the following is seriously the best cookie recipe ever. I've baked and ate my fair share of cookies, so I can tell you this is easy-peasy and totally delicious—complete crowd favorite at my house.

I got this recipe via my darling and fantastic baker-mentor, my mother, when I was in college. She's been making these cookies since the 1980s. I have no idea how it crossed her path, but my god, I am so glad it did.

Typically, she used to make them at Christmas, and so we called them Santa's Cookies. Now though, we both make them at any/all times of year so I call them Momma's Cookies. Who cares what you call them, they are DELICIOUS. #trust

Previous to this post, the recipe is a print out from my college email address, that she sent me in 2008. I wanted to make them to impress a boy, go figure.

Momma's Cookies

Ingredients

• ¼ cup coconut 
• ½ cup chocolate chips 
• ½ plus 1/3 cup oatmeal 
• ½ cup cornflakes 
• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup brown sugar 
• ½ cup white sugar 
• ¼ tsp baking powder 
• ½ tsp baking soda 
• ¼ tsp salt 
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted 
• 1 egg 
• ¼ tsp vanilla 

Directions
Combine melted butter, egg and vanilla, beating well. Add all dry ingredients, mixing well. Once mixed, flatten dough onto piece of plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a few hours to let butter set. Once butter has set, I usually leave mine in for about an hour and a half, form into quarter-sized/small balls. Bake at 350° for approximately 10 minutes, longer if balls are larger or you like a crisper cookie.  

Bursting Blueberry-Chocolate Bundt Cake

Usually, I can't stop making cupcakes and their breakfast counterpart, muffins. But lately I just haven't been in the mood to. I really have no idea why. Maybe it's the thought of adding more heat when it's already 7000° outside and about 1000° inside.

Then I went to the Montgomery Curb Market and got more blueberries than I knew what to do with. After about four days of just snacking on them out of the fridge, Mark and I were bored. And I was craving chocolate.

So I took a tried and true Southern Living blueberry muffin recipe, added mini chocolate chips, dumped it in a bundt pan and went back to watching White Collar.

OMG, the result was out of this world. It's incredible as a dessert, served warm with vanilla ice cream. But, it's also a very acceptable coffee cake for an on the go breakfast filled with bursting blueberries and a hint of chocolate. #winning

Bursting Blueberry-Chocolate Bundt Cake

Ingredients
3 ½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups milk
½ cup softened butter
2 cups blueberries
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions
Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together eggs, milk and butter. Pour wet mixture into dry, stirring well. Fold blueberries and chocolate chips into the batter softly. Pour into greased bundt pan. Bake at 450° for about 15 to 20 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean of vanilla batter when inserted.

Homemade Bread: Another Pinterest Fail

So Pinterest failed me again. Though, unlike last time, this was a complete and total failure at all angles. This bread was completely inedible. Honestly, I have no idea why. It never rose properly at any of the steps, so that might be was probably the problem. But again, I followed the steps exactly. I’m literally at a loss.

When it first came out of the oven the crust was good but some of the inside was mushy. It stated like baked salted sugar. It was really weird.

Then it caved in on itself.

I was really excited to have some fresh homemade bread. I guess I might be adding “bread machine” to my birthday list if I want that dream to come true.

Am I the only one that Pinterest keeps failing? I thought I was doing so well actually making the things I was pinning! Apparently not! 

Pinterest Fail

People never really talk about disasters. I mean when was the last time you saw a blog that was like, “I dyed my hair black at home and I was little inebriated and now it’s KINDA streaky…” (guilty.) No, instead you see, “I dyed my hair at home and it looks so perfect, better than the salon version!” or “my family absolutely loved this quinoa and asparagus tofu health bar thing!” Not, “this bar tasted like cardboard with shit smears.” (guilty again.) Well, this morning I got up at 6am to make “Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes” for the HB 12 Days of Eating Party. Mexican was the Editorial department’s theme as it required minimal effort. I mean how hard is it to buy chips and salsa Bossman? Not very and he came through with three bags.

It’s well known that I am the baker of the bunch. So when I found these on Pinterest, I knew it would be a perfect dessert to our rotel cheese dip, salsa and chili lunch spread. Apparently I was right: only two went uneaten. However, I had one and thought it tasted like absolute dog doo. I LOVE dark chocolate so, I thought adding a little heat might be a fun addition. I was wrong. I think next time I need to up the ante on the cinnamon or cut down on the chili powder. Or I might just say screw it and not make them again.

I'm steps away from my $3,000 work camera and instead use the iPhone. Whoops.

I pretty much followed this recipe exactly, though because of a time crunch I used canned frosting and slapped those puppies down with a butter knife instead of using a piping bag. In way of decorations I dusted them with the remainder of my cinnamon and hit the road. I feel like my Momma would not be proud of me, but I’m on the beginning leg of a cold and frankly I was late.

“Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes” from The Dough Will Rise Again

(She claims they make 18-20. I got about 14 sizable cupcakes.)

Bake at 325 for a little under/about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, softened slightly
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp chili powder

Steps:

1. Cream together butter and both sugars. Once well mixed add egg and vanilla.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, salt, cayenne, cinnamon, and chili powder. Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk to wet ingredients until just combined.  I did about half and half each time.

3. Scoop into your lined cupcake pan and bake for 18-20 minutes. Mine were in for about 19 minutes. The toothpick, when inserted in the middle, should come out clean with a few moist crumbs—that gives it a “chocolate bomb” flavored center a coworker described.