Just a few more days until Christmas, and you can tell by the infrequency of my posts that I am running a little behind. Read more…

A long time ago, I read an article in a magazine about one of my heroines, Katharine Hepburn.  Who didn’t admire her patrician good looks, her outspokenness, and her practical and adventurous spirit?  Read more…

My son’s class has a bake sale tomorrow.  I’ll admit that I’ve given serious thought to whether or not I should take the easy way and go to the grocery store bakery, pick up something and send it in or whether I should be SuperMom today and bake from scratch.   Thanks to a high-energy breakfast bar and a little too much coffee this morning, SuperMom wins.  Deciding that there will be plenty of chocolate choices—I’m opting for a neater, easier on the white shirt choice—that is still rich and gooey and appealing to both the kids and the grownups (for whom a couple of these will be reserved).  This makes a bake sale quantity, you can halve this recipe.

Three-Chip Blondie Cupcakes

Makes 24 cupcakes

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup toffee bits (or chopped Heath Bar)
1 cup butterscotch chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.  In a large bowl, beat or whisk the butter and sugars together until smooth.  Beat or whisk in the eggs and vanilla.  Gradually stir in the flour mixture.  Fold in the three cups of chips.  Divide the batter (which will be really thick) evenly among the muffin cups.  Bake until the centers are just set and a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 25 minutes.

This cookie is absolutely delicious—my new favorite cookie.  I adapted it from a Bon Appetit recipe I found in an old clip file of recipes I’ve been wanting to try, and today was the day.  The original recipe calls for the addition of walnuts, but my kids aren’t crazy about nutty cookies yet.  They are great looking, rich and totally comforting with a cup of tea or a glass of milk.

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

Makes 18 Large Cookies

Ingredients:

½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 lb semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ¾ cps golden brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 8 ounce bag Heath English Toffee bits (or if you can’t find these, just chop up Heath or any other English toffee bar

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and stir together.  In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and the butter together and stir until smooth.  Remove the mixture from the heat and cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs for about 5 minutes, until thick and smooth.  Add the chocolate and butter mixture, the vanilla extract and beat to blend.  Stir in the flour mixture and then the toffee bits.  Chill the batter until it firms up—about 45 minutes and up to a day.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  To avoid sticky pans, it’s best to line your baking sheets with parchment paper.  Using a ¼ cup scoop, drop scoops of the batter on the baking sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops look dry and cracked, but the insides are still soft to the touch and moist.  Remove from the oven, cool for 2 minutes in the pan and then transfer them to racks to finish cooling.

Optional addition:  1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

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One of the things I like best about being a Mom to two boys is the opportunity to make cookies without hesitation.  Obviously, I’m not making them for myself, I’m making them for the kids, right?  Riiiiiiight.  This one makes the house smell good and very cozy. On a summer, winter, spring or fall afternoon, we pour ourselves a glass of milk and relax with these.

Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 3 Dozen

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.  Beat the butter and both sugars together until well blended.  Add the eggs and beat until the mixture is fluffy and smooth.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the batter.  When the flour mixture is fully incorporated, add in the oats.  Drop by rounded teaspoonsful onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes, then transfer the individual cookies to cooling racks.