Tuesday, May 24, 2005

mmmmm....cooooookie.....

Yes, I've been watching a little too much Sesame Street--which reminds me to gripe a bit about how they plan to change Cookie Monster because he doesn't promote healthy eating habits. What will he be replaced with--a Broccoli Monster? (come on, sing along with me: "B is for Broccoli, that's good enough for me...")

Yesterday it was raining and I felt in need of a little chocolate therapy, so I decided to follow Ami's recommendation and try the urban-legend-Neiman-Marcus cookie recipe. They are fantastic cookies--there is a bit of instant espresso powder in the dough which gives it a richer flavor. Following Annie's question about brands of chocolate chips to use in the Healthy Banana Muffin recipe, I decided to branch out and try Ghirardelli chips and see if there was any difference--there is. The extra $1 or so is worth it--these chips were bigger, richer and didn't have that burn-the-back-of-the-throat quality that the Nestle or store-brand chips have.

A plate of cookie-goodness

Lest you think I'm only cooking these days, I show a progress report on my second sock:

knitpics merino sock yarn in color: flower power
I'm making this one in 2 x 2 rib which I like a lot for its stretchability. The knitpics yarn is also softer and springier than the Elann yarn I used for pair #1. I also like how the colors of the yarn are swirling around the sock, sort of like a barber pole.

7 comments:

Supercords said...

Those cookies look delicious.

Shane

freddyknits said...

I just started my knitpicks merino socks too! Sooooo soft and snuggly. I am getting more of a basic stripe look, vs. a barbershop pole.

Anonymous said...

Ghirardelli chips, yum. And the cookies look delicious. Do they bake up crispy or chewy (I prefer chewy)?

Socks! Those are great colors. I read a good review of Knitpicks' new cotton blend (Shine) and am planning to pick up a few balls for a sweater for Camila; have you tried it?

Kate said...

Nope, I haven't tried the Shine yet. The sock yarn is gorgeous both in color and softness and I have some of the incredibly affordable Wool of the Andes which is pretty soft. I also fondled a friend's skein (oooh how kinky! skein fondleage!)of Andean Silk and it was luscious and had a beautiful sheen.

Susan W said...

gorgeous colors Kate! They look to be beautiful socks...how fun.

Kate said...

Oh yea, and the cookies are definitely chewy at the recommended baking time (I even had to increase the baking time a bit since mine were still on the raw side). The nice thing about the recipe is they acknowledge the two camps of cookie eaters and list cook times for chewy or crispy cookies.

Anonymous said...

Myra gets the credit for introducing me to this cookie recipe. I made a batch on Sunday and took your advice to freeze what we didn't want to eat that night. So we baked six cookies, shaped the rest of the dough into discs and froze them. We've been enjoying a couple of fresh baked cookies all week--an additional five, six minutes of baking time works just fine with the frozen dough. Thanks for the great suggestion!