The Nifty Foodie

Amy

Microwave Queso Blanco

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Microwave Queso Blanco

Whenever I cook any mexican cuisine in our home, it’s really hard not to grab some chips and queso to go along with it. It just feels right. Of course, whenever we go to our favorite mexican restaurant, we snack on chips and queso. Bonus points if the restaurant serves queso blanco. That’s my absolute favorite.

We’ve always wanted to recreate the queso blanco that we love in our own home, and while we LOVE this recipe, I was curious about this particular recipe that I saw, since it seemed so much quicker to throw together. You just throw the ingredients in a bowl and nuke it. And for those of you who aren’t fans of Velveeta, no worries…there’s no Velveeta in this recipe!

Microwave Queso Blanco
Source: Pennies on a Platter

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 lb. block White American Cheese (commonly found at the deli counter), cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1/4 cup diced green chiles
  • 2 pickled jalapenos, chopped
  • 1 oz. pickled jalapeno juice
  • 2/3 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • pinch of cumin (optional)

Directions:

  1. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl, that is safe for the microwave. Microwave the mixture for 5 minutes, stopping to stir the cheese every minute. Don’t worry if the mixture doesn’t look like it’s going to come together at first. Eventually, it will.
  2. Stir the cheese well again and serve. If you have leftover queso, just stick it in the fridge and reheat in 30 second intervals in the microwave until the cheese is hot again.

 

 

 

Keepin’ On

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I can’t believe that it’s been 7 months since I started my weight loss journey. I hate to admit this, but every year I’ve told myself my resolution was to lose weight, only to fail within the month. I’m so glad that I’ve been able to keep this up for 7 months. I can’t say that this is all because of me, because it really isn’t. My husband has been unbelievably supportive of me, as well as my family and friends.

I also can’t forget y’all. All of your wonderful comments, tweets, and emails have definitely been amazing. If it wasn’t for the support I’ve gotten, I don’t think I would be where I’m at right now. Thank you so much.

If you’re wondering about progress, as of this morning, I’m 2 lbs. away from 10%. I’ve never gotten this far before. Even for the wedding, I lost 24 lbs., and now that I’ve surpassed that number, I’m driven even more than ever to reach my goal weight. 🙂 Once I hit 10%, I’ll do another progress picture post.

As far as work-outs go, I just finished week 2 of C25K. I didn’t think I’d be able to run outside in this crazy hot weather, but so far, my body is surprising me and I’m doing pretty well. It’s so exciting to feel my body getting stronger every day. The biggest deal to me will be the end of week 5. A 20 minute run. I’ve NEVER been able to run 20 minutes in a row. How crazy will that be??! I’m also doing the 30 Day Shred on some in-between days. I will admit that Day 1 was terrible. TERRIBLE. I could barely do 3 girly push-ups, jumping jacks were a joke and the weight exercises that involved my shoulders just weren’t happening. Just like with running, it’s amazing to see how much my body can do now vs. day 1. Your body changes fast, y’all!

Diet wise, I’m still calorie counting. I found that at 1600 calories (2 lbs. lost/week according to MyFitnessPal), my body wasn’t responding well (I had a plateau for quite a while), so I upped my calories to about 1800 (1.5 lbs. lost/week according to MyFitnessPal). Once I did that, the scale started moving again…slowly, but surely. Eep! 🙂

Thanks again to y’all for your amazing support! This is such a big change for me, and your support is definitely motivating me to keep on keepin’ on. 🙂

BTW, if any of y’all on MyFitnessPal, I’m “niftyfoodie” on there if you’d like a friend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet

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Strawberry Sherbet

I’m always the gal looking for a deal. It makes me cringe to go shopping and pay full price for something. While you won’t find me on Extreme Couponers, I do tend to stalk the deal sites, like Slick Deals and Fat Wallet. It’s a good day when I find an item at Target for 75% off or 90% off, too. Even for my weight loss rewards, I fully intend on getting the most out of those rewards, like finding that ::99 lbs. lost:: designer handbag on sale.

When it was strawberry season here, there were trucks lined up all along a major highway every weekend selling flats of strawberries. In my opinion they were asking way too much since the season was in its prime, so I tried to talk them down a couple of dollars. (Always after a deal…ha!) I was surprised to see that it worked, but they explained since it was the end of the weekend, they were more than happy to give a deal just to get rid of them. 🙂

So, I happily took those strawberries home and made multiple recipes using them. This was the last recipe from that flat (boo…). I usually make a sorbet, but this year, I wanted to give sherbet a try. Like sorbet, this is a great refreshing dessert. Oh, and best of all, this is an extremely simple recipe to throw together!

Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet
Source: Southern Living

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups fresh strawberries
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor, for about 30 seconds until the berry puree looks smooth. If you don’t prefer seeds, pour the puree through a strainer into a large bowl, pressing down the puree to make sure you’re just straining the seeds out.
  2. Add the buttermilk, sugar and extract to the bowl and mix everything (you can just use a spoon or a whisk) until everything is well-mixed. Then, cover the sherbet mixture and chill in the fridge for an hour.
  3. After the mixture has chilled, pour the mixture into your ice cream maker (at least 1 1/2 quart capacity) and freeze according to the ice cream maker’s directions. You can enjoy this right out of the ice cream maker (for more of a soft serve consistency) or freeze the sherbet in the freezer for a few hours to enjoy at a scoop-able consistency.

Red Velvet Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Red Velvet Bundt Cake

“Thank you. What is it?”

“It’s a bundt.”

“Bunn-t?”

“Bundt.”

“Bonn—bonnk??”

Name that movie. 😛

I can’t help it. Anytime I bake or eat a bundt cake, that scene pops in my head. As I was mixing this cake, I had the scene playing on YouTube at the same time. I’m a weirdo. I know.

Bundt cakes, to me, are a bake and pray type of cake. I say pray, because you know that moment where you’re holding a plate against the bundt pan getting ready for the infamous flipping of the pan? Yeah, I totally pray that the sucker comes out in one piece. It’s a huge bummer when you’ve worked so hard to bake a cake and the darn thing just sticks to the bottom of the pan. Of course the solution is to make a trifle, but a perfect, pretty bundt cake is so much more of a baking ego boost. 😛

I wanted to make a fun patriotic cake, and instead of making the red, white and blue cupcakes that I made a couple of years ago, I decided that this would be the perfect time to make a red velvet cake. Red velvet is one of my favorites. I actually think it’s sort of a requirement to love a red velvet cake as a southern gal. 😛 This recipe was moist, had the perfect crumb and the icing was a perfect mix between a glaze and a frosting, which was great to just drizzle all over the cake to make the fun patriotic look happen.

Just a note: If you make any red velvet cake, I highly recommend Wilton’s No Taste Red. When making red velvet cake, you usually need a good bit of food coloring to make the cake red, and sometimes regular red dyes can add a bitter after taste to your cake if you add too much.

Red Velvet Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Source: Kiss My Bundt Bakery (via LA Times)

Ingredients:

For the cake:

  • 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp. red food coloring
  • 1 tsp. white vinegar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp. fine salt
  • 1 tbsp. cocoa powder

For the frosting:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar (sift after measuring)
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. To make the cake, in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla. Mix on medium speed using the paddle attachment for about a minute.
  3. In another large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
  4. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time to the wet ingredients. Make sure to do this slowly so that the batter doesn’t develop clumps.
  5. Pour the batter into a 10-12 cup bundt cake pan that has been greased and floured (or you can use simple baking spray…just make sure it’s meant for baking, since those contain flour). Bake the cake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  6. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes. Then, (say a small prayer ha!) invert the pan onto a plate. (If the cake doesn’t feel like it’s going to come out of the pan, just let it cool for an additional 15 minutes.) Allow the cake to cool completely (about an hour) before frosting.
  7. To decorate the cake, I ended up just placing the frosting (one color at a time) in a ziploc bag and cutting the tip off. Then, drizzle the frosting over the cake and add sprinkles. Enjoy!

 

Spinach, Strawberry, Pecan and Feta Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

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Spinach Strawberry Salad with Feta

I started really getting into spinach salads a couple of years ago. I actually prefer to purchase baby spinach at the store vs. lettuce, because I know if I don’t feel like eating a spinach salad, I can cook or bake with it as well to avoid wasting it/letting it go bad. Cooked lettuce isn’t quite so appealing. 🙂

A while back, I was invited to Hotel Indigo with a few other local bloggers to sample their restaurant’s menu, and they brought out this salad that had me absolutely smitten. It had spinach, local strawberries, feta cheese and pecans tossed in a strawberry vinaigrette. It was DIVINE. I knew one day I’d have to remake this for when we had company, and I actually made this a while ago. Like…Easter. I took pictures of this salad back in April and completely forgot about it. Oops!

Easter is smack dab in the middle of our strawberry season here, so I knew that this would be the perfect occasion to make this salad. It was ridiculously easy to throw together, and the salad was a hit. It tasted pretty darn close to the salad I enjoyed at the hotel, and I was thrilled about that. In fact, since I made this salad in April, I’ve made this vinaigrette multiple times. It’s just that good, y’all. I haven’t made the salad in quite a while, though, since I’m a strawberry snob and the season is long gone. 🙁 I envy those of you who still have fresh strawberries at your local fruit stands!

Just to note: I realize that the pecans weren’t pictured here. I served them on the side though, since quite a few people in my family aren’t fans of pecans. 🙂

Spinach, Strawberry, Pecan and Feta Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
Source: salad inspired by King Bar & Bistro, dressing from Rachael Ray

Salad Ingredients:

  • 5 cups baby spinach
  • 1 pint sliced fresh strawberries
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/2 cup pecans

Dressing Ingredients:

  • 2 tsp. strawberry jam (I used this freezer jam)
  • 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. To make the vinaigrette, place the strawberry jam in a large bowl and whisk in the vinegar until everything is well-mixed. Keep whisking the mixture and slowly add in the olive oil. Whisk until the dressing doesn’t look like it’s separating. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
  2. Add the spinach, strawberries, feta cheese and pecans to the bowl and toss the ingredients together until everything is coated with the dressing. Serve immediately, or if you’re serving at a later time, just make the dressing separately and serve it on the side (make some extra dressing, just in case you have some dressing lovers) instead of tossing it with the salad ingredients.

 

Shredding things up..

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It’s been almost a month since I started calorie counting again, and I’m finding that I absolutely love this healthier lifestyle, especially the exercise part. Lately, I’ve been working out about 3-4 days/week for 30 minutes. It’s not much, but for me, it has been a drastic change.

About two weeks ago, I dusted off Jillian’s 30 Day Shred. The last time I started the Shred was before our wedding, which was 3 years ago. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I could barely do 5 girly push-ups and jumping jacks? Yeah, those definitely weren’t happening. I felt a bit defeated after the workout, and thought that I just really messed up my body. Can’t do a jumping jack? What was WRONG with me? 🙁

The next day, I was surprised to feel sore. I thought that I didn’t do much, but apparently, I did enough to make my (lack of) muscles scream at me. It was also a pretty darn terrible day for my allergies, so every sneeze went like this…”AH-CHOO!! ow..”…and yeah, I’d really say ow. It hurt. I wasn’t looking forward to day two at all that evening, but I pushed through it. It was still just as hard as day 1, with the wonderful addition of soreness. I didn’t want to have to do that again, so I decided after day 2 to take a rest day and see if that would help with the soreness.

I will say that on day 3 of the workout (after the rest day), I noticed a much bigger difference in how much I could workout. The strength components still were difficult, as well as some of the cardio (jumping jacks and just regular jumping), but I was noticing that my body was able to do the workouts a little longer than before without stopping. I decided that a rest day between Shred workouts was just what I needed, so I kept going with that idea.

Day 4, 5 and 6 were MUCH easier. Day 6 was last night, and OMG y’all, I was able to do ALL of the jumping jacks. Most of y’all are probably like, I can do jumping jacks while cooking dinner, but for me? Doing those jumping jacks just showed me that my body is definitely changing….way more quickly than I thought, too! It’s motivating me to keep this up. In fact, I’m thinking about buying another Jillian DVD just to mix things up a bit, since we really don’t have good gym choices out where I live.

Do y’all have any recommendations for a second video of hers to get? Or heck, I’m open to ANY workout video ideas. Just keep in mind, I’m a beginner and not super fit, so P90X probably isn’t the best choice for me at this time.

Baked Oatmeal

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Baked Oatmeal

I started calorie counting again a few weeks ago, and I quickly realized that the scrambled egg sandwiches at the cafeteria probably weren’t the healthiest things to start the day off with. Given how much oil they spray on the griddle, and the fact that their eggs look orangey out of the carton, I knew I could do better. My only obstacle was that I don’t have time to cook in the morning.

Yes, I know. I could wake up earlier and that would give me time but honestly, I’m not a morning person. I press snooze 5-6 times every morning. It drives my husband batty, I’m sure. So yeah…I definitely want something that I could grab out of the fridge and eat at work.

I’ve been curious about the baked oatmeal that has gotten popular on the blogs in the past year. My only issue of concern was that I HATE hot standard oatmeal. It’s way too mushy to me. However, in pictures, this recipe looked a little more dry and possibly something I could like. So, I decided to give it a try this weekend. If it worked out, I could scoop out a piece for work every day. At 180 calories a serving (since I omitted nuts), this would be the perfect foundation for breakfast. 🙂

The verdict? This baked oatmeal is awesome, y’all. It’s even better the next day, in my opinion, because it dries up a good bit, almost to a cake or bread pudding-like consistency. (I’m not saying it tastes like bread pudding…that would be a lie.) I think for this particular recipe, the cinnamon and bananas really make this dish. 🙂 If you hate mushy oatmeal like me, but WANT to like oatmeal (really, you do), give this baked oatmeal a try. It comes together super quickly, contains no refined sugar and it’s calorie friendly!

Baked Oatmeal
Source: Skinny Taste

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium ripe bananas, sliced into 1/2″ pieces
  • 1 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 1/4 cup honey (or agave…I used honey)
  • 1 cup uncooked quick oats
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray an 8×8 inch ceramic baking dish with baking spray.
  2. Arrange the bananas in one layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Add half of the blueberries on top. Then, sprinkle 1/4 tsp. of the cinnamon and drizzle 1 tbsp. of honey on the fruit. Cover the baking pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
  3. While the fruit is baking, in a medium sized bowl, combine the oats, baking powder, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and salt. Stir the dry ingredients together until well-mixed. In another bowl, add the honey, milk, egg and vanilla extract and whisk together until the mixture well-combined.
  4. Take the fruit out of the oven. Pour the dry oat mixture over the fruit and spread it to an even layer. Then, add the milk mixture over the oats, making sure to distribute the liquid evenly.
  5. Bake the oatmeal for 30 minutes (uncovered), or until the oats on top are a golden brown color and the oatmeal is set. Let the oatmeal cool for a few minutes before serving. If you are eating leftover baked oatmeal, just heat it in the microwave for about a minute. Add a splash of skim milk if desired.

 

 

 

 

BlogHer Review: Michelob ULTRA Light Cider

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As the summer is starting to rear it’s ugly head around here, I can’t help but think of all of the ways that we cool off around here. The pool, ice cold watermelon, NOLA style snowballs, air conditioning….those are a few that come to mind. I also think about fun, light (adult) beverages to enjoy when it heats up around here. Beer is the usual thing that comes to mind for a lot of people, but y’all….beer really isn’t my thing. Wine isn’t my thing either actually. Don’t freak out….I’m learning. My friends are trying to teach me. Haha! I can drink a riesling or moscato, but I’m no expert at all. For example, I found myself texting my best friend when a pot roast recipe called for a red wine. Uh yeah, when a whole WALL is nothing but red wines, it can be overwhelming.

I’m so glad I’m getting this off of my chest, y’all.

While I’m not a fan of the ever-so-popular beer, I am a fan of another bottled beverage: hard cider. Back in college, I remember going to a pizza joint with friends where they were known for having 3908490396 things on draft, give or take a few. 😛 It was then that one of the gals I went with ordered a hard cider. I had to find out about this drink, since this gal swore up and down that this particular drink tasted nothing like beer. It tasted like carbonated apple awesomeness. Uhm, WHAT??! So yeah, I had to order one for myself. Yeah…I was pretty much hooked, y’all!

So, when I heard that Michelob was coming out with their own lightened version of a hard cider, I was very excited. Since I’m currently calorie counting, I find that often times I have to say “no” to adult beverages since alcohol tends to hog the calories. A bottle of this is only 120 calories, which is about 1/3 less calories than the average hard ciders out there.

Here’s a little bit of information about Michelob ULTRA Light Cider:

Anheuser-Busch’s Michelob ULTRA announced the newest addition to its portfolio, Michelob ULTRA Light Cider, a naturally sweetened and gluten-free cider made from crisp apples. Featuring one-third fewer calories (120) and a more mellowed sweetness than traditional ciders, Michelob ULTRA Light Cider is ideal for year-round enjoyment and provides a light, refreshing alternative to white wine, champagne and heavier ciders.

“As more people continue to discover cider, we’ve found that many view traditional ciders as either too heavy, too sweet or both,”” said Ryan Moore, vice president of premium lights, Anheuser-Busch. “”This perception has often times limited ciders to a seasonal beverage during fall and winter, but we saw an untapped potential to expand the category as a year-round option. Michelob ULTRA Light Cider fills this void with a lower calorie cider with a milder, but distinct, sweetness that can be enjoyed straight or over ice.””

Hard Cider Review 2

Now, it’s been a while since I’ve had a drink like this, but after trying it, I have to say this one is my new favorite. I’m used to drinking a pretty sweet hard cider, which in the Summer, just isn’t that appealing. It was refreshing to drink Michelob ULTRA’s Light Cider since it had a much more mellow sweetness (due to it being naturally sweetened) and just had a great, crisp apple flavor (since it’s made from hand picked apples). With the weather warming up like crazy around here, I really like that I can enjoy this with a ton of ice to keep it cold outside or of course, just drink it straight out of the bottle. Another plus? This drink is gluten-free!

Michelob Ultra Light Cider

Since the summer is here, I really would love to know which favorite summer meal or activity do you think would go best with Michelob ULTRA Cider?

Personally, I think this would be the perfect drink to enjoy after taking care of the garden and just relaxing on the patio with a super cold bottle of this in hand.

Check out the sponsor’s site or the Michelob ULTRA Light Cider page on BlogHer.com for more information. They’re available NOW nationwide (excluding CO, UT, WY and OK) in six-packs of 12 oz. clear glass bottles.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a six pack of Michelob ULTRA Light Cider, as well as compensation, in exchange for an honest review.

A bunch of randoms

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  • I have a slight problem with lip gloss. I probably have about 5-6 lip glosses in my purse, and probably 10 more in my make-up organizer. It’s a bit crazy, but I love gloss much more than lipstick. I recently bought this lip gloss (Buxom is seriously my favorite brand of gloss, y’all) in Clair. Yeah, it’s crazy sparkly in the tube, but on my lips, it looks fab. I don’t look like I made out with a jar of glitter, I swear.  Please don’t tell me I’m alone here…there has to be other lip gloss lovers, right?!

 

  • Ok, so this is something silly about dogs. Do you ever do work-outs at home with your dog right there? My dog will just sit and chill for most of the work-outs until it’s floor exercise time. The minute my back hits the ground, Millie will run to me, get in my face and lick me like crazy. Does your dog do this? It’s adorable, but dangit, how am I supposed to do a crunch like that?!

 

  • So, this stuff is addictive. I’ve seen is all around the food blogs, and thought that perhaps Biscoff was just paying a bunch of bloggers to say nice things about their cookie butter. I decided to buy a jar and try a spoonful. OMG…don’t buy this if you’re on a diet y’all. It’s just so good. SO good. I prefer the crunchy (with cookie bits)  over the creamy, personally. They sell it at World Market, in case you’re curious. 

  • Supposedly, New Orleans is having some unseasonably impossible weather. Chance of snow in JUNE? 😛 Womp wah..

 

  • So, I took Millie to the groomer last week. I got her pretty shaved down for the summer, but I kept her tail long (typical Border Collie grooming, I think). This is the first time a groomer has ever put fuzzy PONYTAIL HOLDERS on my dog’s tail. Do you guys remember those things from childhood? So hilarious…I had to take those things off since Millie was biting at them. She looked so 80s. 😛 (Don’t mind the vacuum cord in the background there…)

  • Does anyone love Figment as much as I do? When I was super young, my parents brought the family to Disney World, and they took video. I was infatuated with Figment apparently. My grandma even told me I used to cuddle with a stuffed Figment all the time. So, when my good friend went to Disney, she got me this. How thoughtful is that? IMAAAAAAAAAAGINATIONNN! 😀

  • This weekend is going to be one of those weekends where I hope to pass time, because I’m secretly jealous. BlogHer Food is this weekend. Couldn’t go last year, because my little sister was graduating that weekend, and this year, well…Seattle is just way too far. Please BlogHer Food planners, have BlogHer Food in the South again next year? 🙂

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’m not usually a fan of shopping. My goal is to get what I need, and get out as quickly as possible. I’ve been like this since I was a kid. You can ask my Mom. A trip to the mall was agonizing. I remember most Sundays after church, there was a decision to make. Shop with Mom or shop with Dad. I usually opted for shopping with Dad. It’s not that I have issues with my Mom. Heck, I feel super blessed to have an amazing relationship with my Mom. However, my method of operation was to go on the shopping trip that would be the shortest, and usually, that was with Dad (with the exception of his trips to the sportsmen stores).

Now, as an adult, shopping trips are still quick for me. It’s very rare that I linger around a store for a while. Take the grocery store, for instance. I can usually do the weekly shopping for H and I within 20 minutes (unless the lines are crazy). This usually means that I have to stick to my list. The only time I stray away from the list is when I’m starving, which I try to avoid, but well, a few weeks ago, I went to the store starving. The chocolate chips were definitely calling me….and they were on sale. So yeah, some chocolate chips went home with me that day. 🙂

I decided that the best way to handle this situation was to make cookies, of course. 😛 I’ve had this recipe pinned for quite a while, since they went viral on Pinterest, so I wanted to see what the fuss was about. The cool thing about these cookies is that cornstarch is involved. I was really intrigued to see how cornstarch affected the taste and texture of the cookies, so I really wanted to finally give these a try.

These end up making mini cookies (with a tbsp sized scoop), so they bake up fairly quickly. I found that these were a nice, fluffy texture, and they were very chewy as well. I prefer a more butterscotch-y flavor cookie, like these cookies, but I will say these cookies were still really good. This recipe made a few dozen mini cookies too, so this recipe was perfect to make just one batch to the office so everyone could give them a try.

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Kelsey’s Apple a Day, originally from Anna Olson

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. cornstarch
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter and sugars together with the paddle attachment for a couple of minutes, until the mixture if fluffy and light. Scrap the sides of the bowl with a spatula, add the egg and vanilla and mix.
  2. Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl and add to the wet mixture, mixing until everything is just combined. Using a spatula, stir in the chocolate chunks.
  3. Using a small tablespoon sized scoop, drop dough onto a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are barely golden brown around the edges. You don’t want to cook these cookies for longer than 10 minutes (that will overdo it), and just as a note, the tops of the cookies will not brown during baking.
  4. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for five minutes. Then, move the cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.