Chocolate Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

I know, I bake a lot of cookies!  When the snow keeps falling, I can't resist.  It's also my answer to, "How do I get rid of that smell of roast chicken/grilled fish/curry in the house?"

These chocolate goodies might just be my biggest cookie weakness.  It's really hard for me to have a box of these in the kitchen, taunting me as I wash dishes or get the next meal ready.  I may have eaten 4 yesterday.  Maybe.

These are pretty much Ina Garten's cookies but without as much sugar.  They still came out a little too sweet, so I will cut the sugar even more next time.








Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Ina Garten's recipe in Barefoot Contessa Parties!



1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2/3 cup good unsweetened cocoa
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 12 oz bag of white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the chocolate with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chopped white chocolate.

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). (This time and temperature still works at high altitude).  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Homemade Gnocchi - Fast Enough for a Weekday!

My friend Roshni had this great quote while we were eating at an Italian restaurant in San Francisco, "You just can't go wrong with gnocchi!!"  (This was exclaimed after she took a rather large bite out of Vinnie's gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce).  I beg to differ.  Ordering gnocchi at a restaurant is a HUGE gamble.  Those little dumplings often come up dense, and many times I've been stuck with a large plate of miniature door stops.  As a general rule, I don't like to roll the dice like that, but I will sometimes go for it because if the gnocchi are good, then I get to eat an entire plate of little heavenly pillows.  Mmmm.  Incidentally, one place that never ceases to disappoint me is Mangia Mangia, my childhood Italian restaurant in Huntington Beach, California.  Those gnocchi are scrumptious.And what if you can't find your own pillow dealer?  As Bacon dryly says, "Then just make it yourself."  I don't know about you, but I've always found the notion of making my own gnocchi extremely daunting.  Then I saw this video and recipe on Food52.  Now, these are not the lightest I've ever come across, but given that it doesn't take much time makes up for that.  Weekday gnocchi?  Hooray!!!  Italian Ricotta Gnocchi - cdilauraServes 4

• 1 pound fresh whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• freshly grated nutmeg to taste
• 2 cups flour, sifted, plus extra for rolling dough

1. Add egg to ricotta cheese and oil and mix thoroughly.
2. Add grated parmesan cheese to mixture and sprinkle with nutmeg to taste.
3. Add sifted flour a little at a time and continue to mix thoroughly until dough comes together.
4. Dump onto generously floured surface and work with hands to bring together into a smooth ball. Add more flour as necessary until dough is smooth and no longer sticks to your hands.
5. Cut off slices of dough like cutting a loaf of bread and roll into ropes thumb size thick by spreading hands and fingers and rolling from center out to each edge of the rope.
6. Line one rope parallel to another and cut 2 at a time into 1-inch pieces. Roll each piece off the back of a fork to make imprints that will help hold the sauce.
7. Transfer gnocchi pieces to a lightly floured or non-stick baking sheet so they don’t stick together and put in the freezer while making the rest of batch. If you plan to save any gnocchi for future use, allow them to freeze entirely on the baking sheet before storing in a ziplock bag to prevent sticking together.
8. When ready to prepare, bring a large stockpot of generously salted water to a boil.
9. Add gnocchi to boiling water and gently stir once with a wooden spoon to create movement and prevent gnocchi from sticking to the bottom. As gnocchi rise to the top {a sign they are done cooking} scoop them out with a mesh strainer or a bamboo wire skimmer and immediately place in serving bowl shaking off excess water.
10. Scoop some sauce on top of each layer of gnocchi as they are placed in the bowl to eliminate the need to stir them with sauce in the end and risk damaging or smashing the pasta. Generously grate parmesan over the top and serve.