Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

     Okay, so everyone has some sort of relationship with chocolate chip cookies. Mine is "Grammie Cookies" in which she would put all different kinds of chips (dark and white chocolate, raspberry, butterscotch and peanut butter) and they always came out golden brown and crispy. I didn't have said recipe in my repertoire, so I decided to find one and make it my own. Oh and by the way; it's incredible.

1 cup butter or margarine

¾ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup white sugar

1 package vanilla instant pudding mix

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2¼ cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups chocolate chips (use whatever you like, but my favourite is half dark, half semisweet)

     In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugars and pudding mix until it's smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add vanilla.

     In a medium bowl, combine the flour and making soda. Add slowly to the creamed mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips (the dough should be stiff).

     I then used my hands to mold the cookie dough into round, flat shapes, placing twelve on an ungreased baking sheet. The cookies don't splay out or rise much, so the shape you make them is roughly the shape they will have when cooked.

     Bake at 350º. Here's the tricky part... Cookies are good for nothing if they are even one second overcooked. I hate crunchy cookies, so these instructions are for chewy ones. Put the timer on for 8 minutes, and when it goes off, sit on the floor and stare into the oven until the edges just start to brown. Depending on your oven, this could take between one and four more minutes. Take them out immediately and remove them from the cookie sheet onto a metal rack to cool, or else they will continue to cook, and they will suck.

     Makes 3 - 4 dozen cookies.

Oreo Truffles

     These were an amazing discovery, and I must thank Brinny for sharing this recipe with me. I'm sure it's been printed in various places, but it is definitely worthy to share with you now.

1 box Oreos (any type of chocolate ones are fine)

1 tub plain cream cheese (fat free is a good choice)

1 box of Baker's Semi Sweet chocolate squares

     Break up the Oreo cookies into chunks with your hands, then put them in a food processor and grind until the cookie pieces are more or less crumbs. (I'm sure you could leave some chunks if you'd like, but I never have.) Mix with the cream cheese so you have a chocolatey-creamy-cheesey-pastey.

     Here is where I pretty much just did whatever; I'm no candymaker so I have no clue how to do this part properly. Feel free to comment and tell me your tricks/tips.

     Scoop out the paste with a tablespoon and make a ball, dropping them all onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. (You may have to just use a spatula to get the paste out of the spoon and drop it in a clump.) Refrigerate or freeze for half an hour so the paste is less moist.

     Meanwhile, melt the chocolate with some butter or oil in a double boiler. (If you know how, you can temper the chocolate). When the chocolate is nice and smooth, pour it into a small, deep bowl. While it's still liquidy, you want to drop the truffle balls in one at a time. I scooped them out with a fork, and held it over the bowl for a few seconds to let the extra chocolate drip off, and then carefully tip/slide them off the fork back onto the wax paper. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Keep refrigerated (or they will melt. Unless you like truffle soup, then feel free to leave them out).

     Makes about 24 truffles