Perfect and Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

I have loved chocolate chip cookies for as long as I can remember (like many people I assume), however since the thick and soft ones are my favorites, I hunted for a long time to find the perfect recipe for me. I found it through Sally's Baking Addiction and now it's my go-to! I do make them a bit differently than she does but the recipe is hers.

| Ingredients |

• 2+1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1+1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter)
• 3/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, cold
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract (or 1+1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp vanilla, butter, nut flavoring) 
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

| Directions |

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, corn starch, and salt and set aside.
3. In a medium microwave safe bowl, heat the butter for 15-20 second intervals until it's about half melted. Using a whisk, stir until it is entirely liquid but still opaque yellow.
4. Whisk in the brown and white sugar.
5. Whisk in the whole egg first, followed by the yolk, and lastly the vanilla. The cold eggs and partially melted butter will create a thick wet dough that can bypass the refrigerating step!
6. Using a rubber spatula, add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until almost combined but small ribbons of flour remain. Add the chocolate chips and stir completely.
7. Using a cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper) about two inches apart. Using a few extra chocolate chips, place them on top of bare areas on the cookies before baking (it makes them look super cute and fancy)
8. Bake for 13-15 minutes. The bottom of the cookies should not be much darker than the tops. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes on the tray to finish baking, unless the bottoms are golden and the cookies hold together well!

I love these cookies so much. They're soft but they hold up really well in cookie jar or in a lunch box ;) This recipe is also a really good base for other flavored cookies as well! I've used it to make banana chocolate chip ones, black forest, and double chocolate. Let me know if you give it a shot!

Thanks for reading! xo

Hannah 

P.S. Follow my blog with Bloglovin!

Chickpea Salad Sandwich Recipe

The amount of recipes I post isn't particularly representative of how much I bake and cook, however whenever I make a recipe I think other people might enjoy I try to share it! Yesterday I made a chicken salad sandwich for my dad and had forgotten how much I enjoy them. Using chickpeas I created a similar alternative that tastes great and is still a good source of protein. While this is a good alternative to chicken salad for vegetarians, it's actually pretty healthy for everyone! Here's a link to some dietary info on chickpeas. The gist is that one cup of chickpeas has 4g of fat, 12g of dietary fiber, and 15g of protein. This recipe makes at most two sandwiches or one sandwich and some cracker spread ;)

| Ingredients |

•  1 cup chickpeas, cooked and rinsed
• 2 tbsp diced tomato
• 1-2 slices of bread
• 2 tbsp grated cheese 
• 1 tbsp dill or sweet pickle relish
• 1/4 cup chopped spinach
• 1-2 tbsp light mayonnaise (less if you're using regular mayo!)
• salt and pepper
• optional: 1 tbsp diced sweet onion

 | Directions |

1. In a food processor, pulse the peas until they're about 75% smooth. This can also be done with a potato masher, fork, or mixer if that's more convenient.
2. In a bowl, add rest of the ingredients (besides bread slices) to the chickpeas and stir until combined. Sometimes I add a little garlic and onion powder as well to add a bit more flavor.
3. Spread a bit of mayonnaise (or flavored cream cheese!) on a slice of bread and pile on the chickpea salad. Finish off with the other slice or leave it off for an open faced sandwich.

This would also be tasty with some diced bell pepper, cucumber, avocado, or any other veggies.
I've also posted an avocado chicken salad sandwich recipe!

Thanks for reading!
xo Follow my blog with Bloglovin

"Ratatouille" Inspired Ratatouille Recipe

I absolutely love the Disney Ratatouille movie. It's not only really cute, but the food looks so good. How do they do that to you with animated movies?! When it came out in theaters I was young enough that my mom had to drop us off and pick us up again. I watched it again about a year ago and I so badly wanted to eat the Ratatouille that Remy prepares. I went immediately to Google and searched all over and some of the recipes looked nothing like Ratatouille's and were almost more like a soup. I eventually stumbled on Smitten Kitchen's "Ratatouille's Ratatouille" recipe that's supposed to be like Remy's. Not only does it actually look like the movie's, but it's so darn good. It's become a staple for a dinner side dish. This is my recreation/slightly altered version of Smitten Kitchen's!

| Ingredients |

-1 eggplant (I use the Italian ones since they're skinny)

-1 large yellow squash

-1 cup tomato puree 

-1 large zucchini

-1/2 an onion

-2-3 cloves garlic (I use 3)

-1 bell pepper

-2 tbsp. olive oil

-Salt and pepper

-Fresh thyme

-Parchment pepper

-Goat cheese (optional topping)

| Directions |

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Cut off the ends of the eggplant, yellow squash, and zucchini. Using a thin blade on a mandolin slicer (not to be confused with the instrument), slice all of them and set them aside. Cut off the top and bottom of the bell pepper and clean out the middle to make it like a tube. Also slice this on the mandolin then cut in half.
3. Finely chop the half onion and mince the garlic.
4. In a 2 and a half quart oval Pyrex dish, add the tomato puree, onion, garlic, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Heavily salt and pepper.
5. In whatever order, layer the yellow squash, eggplant, zucchini, and bell pepper in an oval around the outside. Sometimes if I don't get a lot of pepper I'll layer them every other vegetable pattern instead. I always fill in the middle with a small row.
6. On top of the ratatouille, drizzle the other tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle more salt and pepper. Holding the sprig of thyme at the top, strip off the leaves and add them onto the ratatouille as well.
7. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit right on top of the ratatouille to avoid any burning. 
8. Bake for 45-55 minutes. When done, the vegetables should be mostly translucent and the tomato mixture should be bubbling.
9. Serve with a dollop of goat cheese and more salt and pepper if desired. 

Let me know if you guys try this out! Also, be really careful with mandolin slicers because when I was putting my blade in my new one I cut completely through my thumbnail and into my nail bed. Yikes! I couldn't wear nail polish for about two months..

Thanks for reading! xo