Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mint Chocolate Chip cookies fresh from the oven

Want a delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe for the holidays? It's been awhile since I posted a recipe but "tis the season" and I'm a baking cookies celebrating the holidays. Tonight I made a fabulous batch of mint chocolate chip cookies with black walnuts.  Yes,  you read it right... BLACK WALNUTS with MINT CHOCOLATE CHIPS!

Doesn't sound like it goes together does it?  Give the recipe a try, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Here is the recipe:

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 bag Hershey's Mint Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup black walnuts

Heat the oven to 375 degrees
In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt with electric mixer until creamy.
Add eggs, beat well.
Stir together flow our baking soda; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well mixed.
Stir in mint chocolate chips.
Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set.
Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
Try to eat JUST ONE (bet you can't)

Mint Chocolate Chip cookies cooling on the rack

This recipe differs slightly form the Original Toll House cookie recipe in that it takes 1 cup of white sugar instead of the 3/4 cup.  Also there is only 1/2 teaspoon salt instead of 1 teaspoon salt.  And finally there is 2 teaspoons vanilla instead of the 1 teaspoon vanilla that the Original Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe.

I like the texture and subtle taste if this version of chocolate chip cookies better than the Original Toll House cookie recipe that we all grew up with and feel is the only legitimate chocolate chip cookie recipe.  The minty coolness contrasted with the musky flavor of North American black walnuts challenges your taste buds to a new adventure.

There is only one problem with this cookie recipe that I can find...they are very addictive!  You absolutely cannot eat just one.  So if you're on some foolhardy Christmas Diet, DON'T BAKE THESE COOKIES!

But if you do decide to take the Chocolate Plunge, enjoy!

This is the Mint Chocolate Chip bag you look for in your local grocery store - this works!

A Guaranteed Pickup

Hey guys, if you ever want a guaranteed pickup here it is: 

 Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I just made a batch a few minutes ago.  Just out of the oven, they're still warm.  Is there anything better than almost melted chocolate meeting your tongue taste buds  like a lava flow down the side of a Hawaiian mountain?  Hmmmm good!


It's been at least two years since I made chocolate chip cookies.  The only problem when I make them (with black English walnuts by the way for that special 'smokey' nut flavor), is that I EAT THEM.  


Those cookies that you see in the picture on this blog?  They will be 'down the hatch' by Tuesday. 

 Gone baby gone!

Egg Nog Rum Cake

Egg Nog Rum Cake

Okay folks, here we go on this snowy day in southern Delaware.  Yes, ANOTHER SNOW DAY.  Can you believe it?  I can't.  This is the third snow storm since Christmas.  WTF?  Oh well, I don't have to go anywhere today.  In fact, I don't have to go anywhere until next Wednesday, when I go back to work at the hotel.  I'm hoping this white stuff is ALL GONE then.  

Pretty? YES.  To travel in?  NO.

So you ask what is this pictured at the top of my blog?  That my friends is an Egg Nog Rum cake.  This recipe has been making the rounds the past couple of weeks through some of my blogger friends. I think the recipe started with Mark in Delaware ("Tales of the Sissy.")  

His recipe looks so good that it was next on my indulgent cooking list right after egg nog pie.  Another "in fact" was that I made THREE egg nog pies.  Yep, Significant Other and I fast tracked those pies right down out pie hole.  They are gone my friends.....GONE!  

So yesterday I used up the last of the famous, hard to get, Lewes Dairy Egg Nog and made this scrumptious Egg Nog Cake.  I took Mark's recipe and put a few "enhancements" to it.  The recipe is as follows (using a bundt cake pan): 

• 1 box white cake mix (I use Duncan Hines but you can also use Betty Crocker)
• use 3 whole eggs instead of three egg whites as called for in the box recipe
• substitute egg nog for the vegetable oil called for in the recipe
• 1 teaspoon rum extract

After removing the cake from the oven and cooling off, drizzle about a 1/4 cup of 100% rum over the top of the cake, letting a puddle of rum form on the bottom of the cake dish. The cake will absorb the excess rum like a sponge.

For the glaze icing, instead of confectioner's sugar and water I used confectioner's sugar and egg nog (use as much or little as the consistency that you want your icing.)

Drizzle the glaze icing over the rum soaked cake.  

Then try to keep your hands off of the cake.  

As you can see below, this is what happens to a cake when it is too good.  Yes, that big slice (actually multiple slices) was what I ate last night after I returned from the Friday Night Dine Out Group at Ruby Tuesday's in Rehoboth Beach.  

One would think I didn't get enough to eat at Ruby Tuesdays.  One would think.  

When Significant Other got up this morning he wanted to know what happened to the cake.

I told him a pig got in the house last night.  

Eggplant Parmesan - Ron Style

Eggplant Parmesan is just about my favorite dish of all time.  Here is my version (after many tries) that I find suites my taste of crispy eggplant that is not grease soaked and the tomatoey taste of fresh tomatoes.

In the past I've hesitated making Eggplant Parmesan because of all the preparation involved.  Salting the eggplant slices to draw out the so called "bitter" taste of the eggplant.  I don't know about you, but I like that "edgy" or "sharp" taste of eggplant.  To me that's what makes it eggplant.  Plus, when you salted the eggplant, you had to use paper towels to draw the excess water out.  That was just too much trouble for me to achieve what results?  Because the cookbook said it or some other cook didn't like the taste of eggplant? 

My recipe is much easier than the standard preparation of eggplant.  I just wash the eggplant, slice off the top, and then slice the eggplant into about 16 pieces. 

I prepare two bowls (or pie plates if you prefer) for dipping the eggplant slices into:

First - the egg mixture
Second - the Panko breaded mixture

Place all the breaded slices in a 21 x 13 x 1 1/2 tin foil pan which has been sprayed with olive oil and place in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake about 45 minutes, or until eggplants slices are browned and tender.  You can turn over the eggplants slices once during the baking cycle if you prefer to achieve browning of both sides of the eggplant. 

Take out of the oven and top with the crushed tomatoes and mozzarella cheese and return to the oven and bak another 10 minutes until the cheese begins to brown on top.

Ron’s Eggplant Parmesan

1 ½ cups Panko Crispy Bread Crumbs-Italian Style (Progresso brand)
½ cup Parmesan cheese
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
5 eggs
2 28 oz cans Chunky Crushed tomatoes with basil, garlic & oregano (Furmano’s brand)
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 large eggplant, about 1 ½ lbs cut into ½ inch slices (about 16 slices)



1) Heat oven to 400 degrees
2) Spray 21 X 13 X 1 1/12 aluminum pan with olive oil
3) In a large bowl, mix together Panko, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper.
4) In another bowl beat the 5 eggs
5) Dip each slice of eggplant into egg mixture, then into Panko mixture, coating both sides
6) Place eggplant in prepared baking pan
7) Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, turning once, until brown and tender


After baking, take out of oven and spoon crush tomatoes over slices and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes until mozzarella cheese is browned.

Note: Do not cover pan or else the eggplant slices will get soggy. The individual eggplant patties freeze well. Place in separate Zip-Loc bags. Leftover eggplant patties that are not frozen also reheat well in the microwave. Enjoy!

Note:  when reheating in microwave, can top with a tomato sauce.  This will not make the eggplant patty soggy reheated this way.

Serve with oven baked potatoe slices (recipe below)

5 large baking potatoes
olive oil to coat baking pan
garlic sea salt (fresh ground)
garlic pepper (fresh ground)

1) Scrub the potatoes with a potato scrub brush
2) Dry with paper towels
3) Slice potatoes on cutting board in broad slices to suite your taste
4) Place sliced potatoes in a large bowl (the larger the better)
5) Drizzle the olive oil over all and mix with spoon
6) Dump the potatoes into a 21 x 13 x 1 1/2 pan
7) Arrange the potatoes flesh side up
8) Grind the garlic salt and garlic pepper evenly over all
9) Bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the flesh of the potatoes is browned
10) Take out of the oven and eat immediately.  Delicious!

Carrot Cake

“You haven’t made carrot cake in quite a while. The Cracker Barrel doesn’t serve it any more. I miss it.” by friend and neighbor Barbara says as we celebrated my birthday lunch at the Summerhouse in Rehoboth Beach on Monday.


“You’re right, I haven’t. I think I it is time to make one.” I replied to Barbara.

Yesterday I did my shopping to make sure I had all the ingredients for make the Cracker Barrel version of carrot cake, the best carrot cake I’ve ever eaten. I even shopped at Barbara’s favorite store, Safeway (instead of Food Lion where I usually shop. Barb hates that store.)


Last night, armed with all my ingredients and my TV turned on to my MSNBC rooster of early evening lefty political discussion TV shows ("Hardball" with Chris Matthews, "The Ed Show", "Countdown" with Keith Olberman" and "The Rachel Maddow Show"), I prepared and baked the Cracker Barrel carrot cake.

A look at the ingredients and you can see why this is such a scrumptious recipe. The cake recipe contains lots of sugar and oil (for moistness) and a panoply of spices in addition to the shredded carrots, raisins, walnuts, pecans, and crushed pineapple. The perfect topping is the cream cheese icing which consists of cream cheese, butter, vanilla and confectioner’s sugar. This is not a low calorie confection. Try it once and you will come back for more. Delicious!

After removing a sample of the completed carrot cake this morning (I had to make sure I didn’t miss anything in the long list of ingredients and it passed the Ron Taste Test), I delivered the cake to my neighbor Barbara. Now I don’t have a carrot cake in the house. Well……on this rainy Wednesday morning, I’m not about to go out shopping. I think I’ll stay in and MAKE ANOTHER ONE! Yum, yum.

Below is the recipe. I give all credit to Cracker Barrel it is their recipe. I only copied it. I’m good at copying. I’m also good at baking cakes. Enjoy!

Cracker Barrel Carrot Cake

Ingredients:


3/4 cup finely chopped English walnuts


2 cups finely shredded carrots


1 (8 oz. with juice) can crushed pineapple


1/2 cup coconut


1/2 cup raisins that have been soaked in water until plump and drained


1 1/4 cup vegetable oil


1 1/2 cup sugar


1/2 cup brown sugar


3 eggs


3 cups flour


2 teaspoons baking powder


2 teaspoons baking soda


2 teaspoons vanilla


2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


1 teaspoon ground nutmeg


1/2 teaspoon ground cloves


1/2 teaspoon salt


***Cream Cheese Frosting:***


8 ozs. cream cheese,softened at room temperature


8 tablespoons butter, softened at room temperature


1 teaspoon vanilla


2 cups powdered sugar


1/2 cup chopped pecans for garnish



Directions:


Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. In large bowl mix with beater oil, sugars, vanilla and eggs until smooth and fluffy. Add pineapple, walnuts, coconut, carrots and raisins and blend well. Gradually add dry ingredients half at a time until blended through. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9"x13"" pan and bake at 350 F for about 40-50 minutes (do the toothpick test). When cool, frost with cream cheese frosting.



Cream Cheese Frosting:



Blend cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and a little powdered sugar at a time until frosting is light and fluffy. Spread over cooled cake and sprinkle with pecans.


This recipe from for Cracker Barrel Carrot Cake serves/makes 10