…I {Heart} Kitchen Aid & Cookies

Guess what…I’m back!  It’s been several months since I’ve left the stamping world, and I have to say that it has been such a relief.  I’ve been spending quite a bit of my time in the kitchen testing and writing recipes for my very own cookbook (thanks for the idea, Jessica Diedrich).  I have been dreaming of getting a stand mixer for several months, and I finally took the plunge and purchased a black Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer yesterday!  WOOHOO!!!

My youngest son and I were dying to break that puppy in, so we decided to make some homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies…and it worked FABULOUSLY!  I’m totally in love.  No more mixing by hand or using my small mixer that wanted to burn up every time I made a thick batter!  It’s all an effortless process now.  Check out the completed cookie dough that’s ready to go into the oven:

I always use my medium scoop from Pampered Chef (it measures about 2 Tbsp.) to achieve perfectly sized and uniform cookies.  I also bake my cookies on a parchment paper-lined metal baking sheet.  It’s so much easier to transfer the cookies to a cooling rack by simply pulling the entire piece of parchment paper off of the baking sheet straight onto the cooling rack (plus it makes for easy cleanup). I also try to space out my cookie dough scoops about 2 inches away from each other…nothing’s worse than having your 12 cookies spread out during the baking process to create one large one!  And it’s SO hard, but I never open the oven door to check the cookies as they melt into their gooey goodness either…that just lets all of the heat out, and that effects your cooking time and cooking consistency.  Here’s what they looked like when we pulled them out of the oven:

I like for my cookies to have a lightly crisp edge and a soft and chewy center…and these definitely delivered!  What on Earth is better than having your home smell like fresh baked cookies?  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!  Interested in sharing some of this yummy goodness with your family?  Try them out!

Mercy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups semi-sweet (or milk chocolate) chips

1. Preheat oven 375 degrees F.

2. Sift together flour, soda and salt into medium mixing bowl.

3. In large mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and white sugar. Beat again until light and fluffy.

4. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat well until just blended.

5. Add dry ingredients in 3 stages while beating until well blended.

6. Stir in chips until evenly distributed throughout dough.

7. Drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheet in 2 Tbsp. scoops, spacing each 2 inches apart.

8. Bake for 12-15 minutes and remove to wire rack to cool. Makes approx. 6 dozen.

That’s it for me today!  After 6 dozen cookies, a homemade chili dinner, and a long day or running around with my hubby it’s finally time to grab my book and head to bed!  It feels so wonderful to be back in blog land sharing my love for new things with you all.  Let me know what you think of the recipe and I’ll see you back here later!  ENJOY!