The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies For the Best Kids

My great-grandmother was an imprecise, messy cook. She didn't measure things. She just made good food. One of the things she did very, very well was to bake chocolate chip cookies. I opt for measuring things, for my readers' benefit. I used to be a tosser just like my great-grandmother. Her chocolate chip cookies have been made for four generations now. Everyone loves them. They're not gourmet. They're not loaded with several types of chocolate. But when you want a great cookie, this is your go-to recipe.

My daughters started school today, so I'm baking these as a special after-school snack. They'll be thrilled. I hope they've had a great first day. All throughout my day, I've been thinking of them and wondering what they were doing, what they were feeling, and if they made any new friends. First days are tough sometimes, especially when you're starting middle school.

Here they are on their first day of school.

Bayberry started middle school this morning -- 6th grade.

Picky Eater started 2nd grade.

Want to follow my journey as I pack both kids' lunches all year? I have a blog for that. Want some yummy cookies? Read on!

Great-Grandmother's Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies

What You Need:

• 
  
  1 cup butter at room temperature
• 
  
  1 cup brown sugar
• 
  
  1 cup granulated sugar
• 
  
  2 tsp vanilla extract
• 
  
  3 large eggs
• 
  
  1 tsp sea salt
• 
  
  2 tsp baking soda
• 
  
  4 cups all-purpose flour
• 
  
  at least 12 oz but up to 18 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

How it's Done:

1. 
   
   Preheat your oven to 375 and have a few ungreased cookie sheets ready to go.
2. 
   
   Cream the butter at medium-high speed for 30 seconds or so, to make it fluffier. Add the sugars and beat until creamy and smooth. One at a time, add the eggs, beating well between additions. Then, add the vanilla extract.
3. 
   
   Stir together the salt, flour, and baking soda. Add it to the batter slowly. Your batter's going to be so thick that you'll doubt the listed amount at first. Keep going. Four cups is not a typo.Scrape the sides as needed.
4. 
   
   Stir in, by hand, the chocolate chips. You're going to need a solid wooden spoon or something of similar strength for this task.
5. 
   
   Roll the dough out into big, thick, 2 to 2 1/2" thick balls. Place them 3" apart on the cookie sheets. Don't flatten them.
6. 
   
   Bake for 15 minutes or so, until the cookies are lightly browned. Try your best not to burn your mouth on the freshly baked cookies. As if I'd try to tell you to let them cool. Ha!

Fond Memories of Food and Family

Day 110.

The first cookbook ever given to me was Kids Cooking for Kids. I still have it, with all of my own notes and recipe written in my own penmanship.

Every time I look through the cookbook, it brings a smile to my face. Now, my own children look through it and choose recipes to try on their own.

My breakfast "recipes" from childhood

One of the very first recipes I made by myself. From Kids Cooking for Kids.

The two leading influences on my love of cooking are my mother and my grandmother.  Growing up, I was always served fresh, wholesome, cooked from scratch meals by my mother. We'd have garden-fresh vegetables, backyard-raised beef, homemade breads, and homemade desserts. Thanksgivings were mostly spent at my grandmother's house, where a feast would await us. Grammy spent weeks preparing for Thanksgiving, and would be up cooking and cleaning all night before the big day. But it never showed. She was always so loving and fun to be around.

For many years, the Army kept us away from Grammy's at Thanksgiving. This year, however, my family and I got to visit for Thanksgiving and my own children got to experience their very first Grammy Thanksgiving. Now, it wasn't the feast of Thanksgivings past... it was smaller, and partially catered. But a few favorite dishes graced us with their presence, and just being at Grammy's made it special.

One side dish that Grammy makes is turnips & carrots. It's very simple to do, but it's so delicious. Only five of us like it: My Grammy, my mother, my two children, and me. Maybe we can add you to that list.

Turnips & Carrots

What You Need:

• 3 turnips, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut up
• 1/4 cup butter
• splash of milk
• salt to taste

How it's Done:

1. Boil turnips and carrots together until soft, about 20 to 30 minutes, then drain.
2. Move to a mixing bowl and add milk, salt, and butter. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.

My Grammy's Blueberry Coffee Cake

This is so good. I had this coffee cake growing up and called my Grammy today to get the recipe. She also made it with cranberries -- equally delicious. This is at least its third generation. My mother made it, and now I'm making it.

And NOW, you can make it too. When you make it, and people ooh and ahh over it and ask where you got the recipe, tell them it's Home Cookin' Michelle's Grammy's recipe.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

makes a 10" square cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour


• 1 cup granulated sugar


• 1 Tbsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp sea salt (Grammy never uses salt)


• 1/4 cup shortening


• 3/4 cup milk


• 2 eggs, beaten


• 2 cups blueberries (I used frozen)
  
  

For the crumb topping:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar


• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour


• 1/2 tsp cinnamon


• 1/4 cup softened butter

For the glaze:

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar


• 2 Tbsp melted butter


• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract


• water

How it's Done:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10" square baking pan.


2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.


3. Cut in shortening until the flour mixture resembles a baking mix (like Bisquick).


4. Add milk and eggs. Stir well. Mixture will be thick!


5. Fold in blueberries. Hint: If you're using frozen berries, toss them with flour before folding into batter. This will prevent your batter from turning purple!


6. Pour into prepared pan. It will look lumpy. That's okay. Good, in fact.


7. Make crumb topping: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for crumb topping. Sprinkle evenly over top of cake.


8. Bake for about 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.


9. Let the cake cool completely.


10. Prepare the glaze by combining all the glaze ingredients. Add water, a tablespoonful at a time, until the glaze is a good drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cake. Let the glaze set before serving. Cake freezes well.