GREY MATTER LIFE

COOKIES!

Tomorrow is Tucker’s teachers birthday and he insisted we bake cookies, so we did. Lucky her, since my new

What are you going to make now? How about… (insert plethora of culinary delights suggested by Paul)

…mixer arrived yesterday! Thank you FedEx!!!!

I am sure you’ve already gathered this from previous posts, but just in case you missed one of my glaring personality flaws, let me fill you in. I am totally incapable of doing anything by the book, which of course includes cooking.

It just didn’t seem right to make basic chocolate chip cookies. So, I made a bold attempt at reinventing them and I now have a happy husband and two boys who are all smiles. I even wrote down what I was doing so that I would have a record of what I put into them just in case they worked out. I’m glad I did.

After packaging up a pile for Tucker’s teacher, sending a zip lock bag down the street to our neighbors, only four lonely cookies remain. Paul, who loves the smell of coffee but will not drink it, can’t stop eating them; even suggesting that they would be good for breakfast. As a newly inducted member of our food pyramid, that means these cookies will be gone before 7AM tomorrow.

Here is our little creation and the recipe follows.

Coffee, Toffee, Chocolate Chip Cookies

1.25 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 Stick Butter – Softened

1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Sugar

1 Large Egg

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

3/4 or 1 Teaspoon Almond Extract (I used 1, but Paul suggested a little less)

1 Cup Sliced Almonds

3/4 – 1 Cup Chocolate Chips

2 Tablespoons Very Finely Ground Dark Coffee

• Preheat oven to 375.  In small food processor, pulse coffee a few times with the almonds and set aside.
• Mix dry ingredients (flour, salt & baking soda) together and set aside.
• Beat together in a mixer the softened butter and sugars until creamy. Add the egg and the vanilla and almond extracts.
• Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add the almond/coffee mixture and the chocolate chips until combined.
• Spoon out portions on an un-greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a drying rack to cool.

Enjoy and don’t even think about asking if these are good for you. Of course they are… It is all about living to eat, not eating to live! My pants still fit and so will yours. Eat up.