Chocolate Chip Cookies

Typically I just get those tubes of Toll House cookies and bake those, but one day I figured... what the heck... my daughter and I can make homemade cookies. I found this recipe for chocolate chip cookies from my Amish cookbook and they are AMAZING! So much better than those refrigerated tubes. Plus, I can add extra chocolate chips, peanut butter, whatever to them. They are wonderful!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (or 1 stick)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg. of chocolate chips (7 oz)
1 tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
vanilla

Directions:
1. Mix together butter and sugar in a large bowl

2. Add the egg, hot water, and some vanilla to taste (I usually put a cap full of vanilla in and I microwave the water in a cup so it's nice and hot when I add it) and mix with butter and sugar.

3. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to the mixture and beat until smooth

4. Add chocolate chips and blend into the mixture

5. Scoop out spoonfuls of cookie dough and put on cookie sheet

6. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until light brown

See how simple this is? And my daughter LOVED them. She kept begging for more! The store bought kind have her done when she is halfway through a cookie.

Sunflower Cake

This would be the perfect cake to make on Kansas Day (January 29)! It's really simple.

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix

Everything necessary to make the above chocolate cake mix (i.e. water, oil, eggs)

1 container of chocolate icing

About 15 or 16 Peeps (the yellow chicks)

And less than a bag of chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Follow the directions and make the cake mix. Make sure you put the cake mix in a round pan.

2. Frost the cake once it has cooled

3. Place the Peeps on the edge of the cake (butts facing out... just think... "butt out")

4. Then in the center place your chocolate chips with the top part up.

5. Have fun doing this. Since it was Easter time I couldn't help having a little fun with the eggs before I broke them.

Brian's Favorite- No Bake Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 stick of butter
- 1/2 c. milk
- 2 c. sugar
- 1 c. chocolate chips
- 3-4 Tbsp. peanut butter
- 3 c. oats
- 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Place chocolate chips, peanut butter, oats, and vanilla in a large bowl.

2. Place butter, milk, and sugar in a saucepan and have boil for a minute. Continue stirring so sugar doesn't burn at the bottom.

3. Combine with dry ingredients and stir.

4. Drop on wax paper and let sit for about 30 minutes.

5. EAT!

Sopapillas

My mother in law cut out this recipe for me and let me tell you the end result is FANTASTIC! Oh.. it is so yummy. And while it isn't healthy, it does allow me to use the remaining flour tortillas that I had leftover from making enchiladas!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
4 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions:
- Heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil in skillet over medium-low heat
- Cut each tortilla into 8 pieces.
- Place in skillet and fry until light brown
- Drain on paper towel
- Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon while hot
- Repeat with remaining tortillas, adding more oil as needed.

* This is PERFECT with ice cream! It's as close to making fried ice cream as you can get without it actually being fried ice cream!*