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Saturday, February 24, 2024

Bex Deluxe Triple C's (Chocolate Chip Cookies)

I've always disliked how inundated January is with weight-loss tips and must-have exercise equipment and fitness routines and recommended healthy snacks foods. I subscribe to mostly food/cooking magazines, and the hypocrisy of January's low-fat chickpea salads with lighter dressing is made all the more nefarious by the spate of December's best Christmas cookies EVER recipes, in close-up, full-color photos that essentially force me to don aprons daily and buy butter in bulk. Those marketeers have got my number.


But there's one cookie that I make year-round, never mind the delectable December duress. A cookie I have, in all the modesty I can muster, perfected. I've picked up a few tips here and there: Heather (who can go from zero to cookies in ten minutes) first introduced me to more-brown-than-white-sugar, Morgan and Carson shared an article with invaluable cookie-baking tips, and I picked up on Adriane and Tom's tendency to refer to this great American tradition as "CCC's." These things combined, with my own quest for the perfect see-see-see, have aided in the composition (and completion) of my masterpiece.

Here are the tips that make any CCC recipe even better:
  • Double the recipe. If you're going to take the time for homemade, go ahead and make a lot, because chocolate chip cookie dough freezes beautifully, and it's great to have on hand for unexpected company or a last-minute dessert. (I freeze a dozen dough-cookies per quart-sized Ziploc and feel the security that only chocolate prepearedness can bring).

  • Chill the dough--it keeps it from spreading too thin when it bakes, and is part of what makes the cookie crackle beautifully.
  • Lower the temperature and lengthen the time in the oven, for a softer, more chewy-gooey cookie. A good rule of thumb is to add two minutes for every 25 degrees lower.
  • Always use room temperature butter, and even room temperature eggs (if you remember to set them out in advance). They'll blend better and maximize the amount of air you can whip into the dough, which makes the cookie less dense and more moist.
  • Bake on aluminum, or something shiny--dark pans almost always burn the bottom of your cookies.
  • I change the sugar ratio (which is usually equal parts white and brown sugar) to one part white, two parts brown--makes it a little richer. Mmmmm.
  • I always add whole wheat flour, which gives the cookie some texture and substance, using the ratio one part whole wheat to two parts white (in this recipe, the whole wheat flour is slightly greater than that). Plus, (hello!) healthy!
  • Add more chocolate. Duh. To quote my chocolate-worshiping father-in-law, "I want a cookie with just enough dough to hold the chocolate together." Amen.
I was going to take a picture of myself eating a Bex Deluxe cookie, but candid eating photos never look good (I'm one step behind this Facebooking generation that has somehow mastered the art of photographing oneself flatteringly), so this low-light picture will have to suffice. I added the Lego R2-D2 as a point of reference. You're welcome.

Shout out to Shanna M. for this beautiful photo!!!


PS- If you are in the mood for my other favorite CCC, try Mrs Field's recipe.

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Super Soft Sugar Cookies

I just made these for the umpteenth time for Valentine's Day.  I took some plates around to my friends that I visit-teach, and made a huge batch for my kids' Valentine parties at school.  A double batch makes SEVEN DOZEN.  They go so quickly because I always forget how addictive they are: one bite and suddenly there's a pile of crumbs on my shirt and in my hair and a half dozen are missing . . .


Double batch: time to bring out the Bosch
Roll into balls just smaller than a golf ball--20 on each cookie sheet!

I think the pictures speak for themselves.  This is my go-to recipe when I need to take cookies to one of my kids' classes at school . . . or on holidays . . . or when I am craving something delectably sweet . . .


I got these pie/cupcake carriers at Wal-Mart and I LOVE them.
I use three blocks to hold up the second "tier" inside--perfect for
a second grader to carry into school.  Here is a similar product:
Cupcake / Pastry carrier



Sweet Mollie loves to help "clean up"
Sweet Calvin loves to help "clean up" . . . 

Friday, August 25, 2023

Naan Flatbread

This is definitely the best of the three naan recipes I have used over the years.  I also made it better, not to brag, by adding garlic to the melted butter.  Go big or go home.


My son Brigham asks for naan every week.  And gets it about once a month, which is a win for all of us.  I'll have to post my favorite Instant Pot curry recipe next, because naan is best enjoyed when you are sopping up some flavorful, spicy curry and chicken.

Put the dough in a greased bowl
and let it rise in a warm oven.

Until it doubles in size . . . 

Turn out on a floured surface

Cut into twelve equal pieces,
then shape into balls and roll out

I like to use my griddle so I can do three or four at a time

It smells even better than it looks . . .

There are never leftovers, y'all


Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Brown Sugar Muffins

You can go from zero to muffins in 25 minutes with this recipe. It's easy to whip up a batch of these before school, and my kids love them more than any other muffins I make. Every recipe I get from Cori is a keeper!

I love my muffin/cupcake stand . . . and Miss Mollie
loves brown sugar muffins the most.


My kids love it when I display muffins on the cupcake
stand--it makes breakfast seem special.


Sunday, August 6, 2023

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

This dessert is everything a brownie should be: moist, dense, rich, chocolatey . . . then multiply your dessert enjoyment by 10 when you add chunks of Reese's peanut butter cups.

This recipe card was one of the first ones I ever made, and what was I thinking with that font?  
Old card--do not use this one.
Scroll down to bottom for new card.

I found the recipe for Peanut Butter cup brownies in Wondertime magazine about five or six years ago (alas, Wondertime is no more).  They looked so good . . . but the first time I made them, they were far too sweet.  So, I reduced the sugar by half a cup, and eventually by 3/4 cup.  Then I added two more peanut butter cups to the recipe.  And a bit more salt.

Now they are perfect.
I actually only had 8 cups this time, but it's better
with ten.  Or even twelve.  Is there any kitchen
chore more delightful than shucking PB cups?
Cut each cup into fourths.  (A few times I have used a package of
bite-size Reese's instead and the brownies have been delightful)
Use real butter to grease the pan---no substitutions.
This is how it looks before you put it in the oven . . . 
This is how it looks before you put it in YOUR MOUTH
Mmmmmmm . . . brownies.  With Reese's . . . 

Sunday, July 9, 2023

Strawberry Shortcake

This recipe has been in my cards-to-do list for a long time.  It is a Martha Stewart recipe and so scrumptious.  I made shortcake last weekend (in a fit of defying the two feet of snow in my yard) and remembered why I love it so much--the cake is crumbly and biscuit-like, and complemented perfectly by the sweet strawberries and soft cream.

It takes a more time to make individual shortcakes, but I think it's a little more special.


  This photo above I made one big shortcake in my deep-dish pizza stone, which is 10" in diameter.  I baked it for about 30 minutes and it turned out perfectly.


You might also like my heritage shortcake recipe from my husband's maternal grandmother.

Saturday, April 1, 2023

Conference Crepes!


I make crepes three times a year: Christmas morning (continuing my dad's family tradition: he used to make them for our family of eight kids growing up--he was in the kitchen all Christmas morning), and during the April and October General Conference sessions.  I have been making these crepes long enough that it is time for me to retire the old recipe card.

Old recipe card / scroll down for new one
This is a pretty rich crepe batter. As far as my kids are concerned, crepes is the most special food I can possibly make, which is why I save them for special occasions.  They look forward to any time they get to indulge in this delicious French pastry.

My kids, April 2015 on Easter morning.  Mollie set up all her
Littlest Pet Shops, Calvin played with cars and trucks, and
Truman and Brigham organized Brigham's Harry Potter cards
while we listened to and watched the amazing conference addresses.
My favorite crepes from the April 2015 General Conference.
It was hard to choose favorites talks from this conference, but I
really loved "We'll Ascend Together" by Linda K. Burton, and


Monday, February 6, 2023

Cream Cheese Lasagna



This is my mother-in-law's recipe, and I've never had a better lasagna.  Hello, cream cheese.  The Mrs. Dash also adds such a lovely zip to the dish.  Everyone I have ever made this for loves it!


This is what my kids ask me to make for birthday dinners. I add a pint of Ricotta cheese instead of sour cream, and sometimes swap out hamburger for Italian sausage.  My sister-in-law Savanah taught me to add add two teaspoons of brown sugar to the tomato sauce and browned hamburger, which is also amazing. 

The birthday dinner was complemented by garlic bread and an incredible fresh salad from the garden.  The reason you don't see those other foods in this photo is because I made the lasagna in the morning before it got too hot (Truman's birthday is at the end of August).  So I had the above piece of lasagna for lunch while kids were at school and hubby was at work.  Then we all had lasagna for dinner.  It's that good.

Also, just my personal opinion, there is no such thing as "oven-ready" lasagna.  You have to boil the noodles, people.  There's no escaping it.

In the oven and ready to make my house smell like love . . .


Sunday, December 18, 2022

Chocolate Truffle Cookies

I am going to add photos of the finished cookies next time I make them. I don't have photos because WE EAT THEM ALL.



This is how they look rolled in cocoa and ready to bake

The original recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe says to dip the cookies in powdered sugar, but I think they are much prettier (not to mention more rich and less sugary) when you dust them with powdered sugar instead.  But maybe it's because I love any excuse to use my OXO powdered sugar wand.  It's the most fun kitchen gadget you can own.  




Friday, December 2, 2022

Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies

Last year, Allen's parents stayed with us for Christmas, and his mom asked me before they arrived if I had molasses and ground ginger on hand.  I did.  But I never guessed that these two pungent ingredients could combine to make the most heavenly Christmas confection known to man.

They are beautiful and crackly and festive.  They are soft and rich.  They are so fragrant and chewy and sweet, with the perfect hint of spice.  They may have actually TIED WITH CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (gasp!) as my favorite cookies of all time.  In fact, these ginger molasses cookies differ specifically from CCCs in that, once I have eaten one, all I can think about is having another.  I can limit other kinds of cookies to one or two, but I feel like I never want to stop eating these.

This particular holiday treat comes with a pretty sweet story, too.  My mother-in-law clipped this recipe from her local paper years ago and everyone raved about the cookies . . . but then she somehow lost the clipping. Years later (tortured years of pining for the most-perfect-holiday-cookie-ever, no doubt) she went to the library and used the microfilm machine to look through years' worth of the Northwest Arkansas Times until she found it again.  The librarian copied it for her, and the rest is Renfroe family holiday history!
I love how Mom wrote out the triple-batch
amount to the side, which is what I put on the
recipe card below.  Go big or go home, people.

Mollie and I had so much fun making the cookies with Mom last year, made more fun by the adorable, matching, chicken-print aprons she sewed for each of us as an early Christmas present.

She gave me the recipe while she stayed with us, but then history repeated itself and I misplaced it.  Fortunately, I didn't have to use a microfilm machine--Mom just used her telephonics machine (read: iPhone 6) to snap a picture of her well-used recipe and send it to me via electronic mail . . . all taking about three seconds and zero research trips to the library.

I have made this tripled-recipe twice this December and am going for a third time tomorrow.  If you're going to make 24 dozen of any cookie during Christmas, this is the one . . .

My cookie helpers!
Brer Rabbit never tasted so good . . .
I hope we'll have some left for Santa--he might have to settle
for Oreos if we scarf through all seven dozen in the next four
days.  
I wish I was kidding . . .
My house smells like Christmasy heaven . . .
Perfect cookies for large family / social / holiday functions!