The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

A good chocolate chip cookie can change a person's mood in a second. It is a taste of your childhood, instantly transporting you back to a simpler time in life.

It is easy to make yourself the perfect chocolate chip cookie. There are countless recipes out there, suited to all the varying tastes that are specific to the individual. Nuts or not? Chewy or crispy?

A perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe should be able to meet the needs of all. This recipe, modified from America's Test Kitchen, can be adapted easily to please everybody.

Cannoli Stuffed French Toast

Let me tell you about this French toast I made this morning. This is breakfast-in-bed type of food you should be serving your mother for Mother's Day. That is if you're able to cook for your mother. And she's a breakfast-in-bed type of mother. My mother is too far away to cook for. And she is not a breakfast-in-bed type of mom. She's a cold-cereal-at-the-table-and-hot-cup-of-tea-while-watching-the-news type of person. But if she was here and she was, I would totally make this for my mom.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pie

I have a problem. When I walk into a grocery store, it is similar to a kid walking into a candy store.

I've gone grocery shopping with friends before. We walk along the isles and like the typical American, my friends will stop and stare at the 50 variety of cookies, trying to decide what it is that they want to munch on this week. I however by-pass the store bought cookies, breeze through the 25 flavors of Pop Tarts, and spend my time staring at the different spices and herbs.

I get weird looks from the people trying to grab the standard jar of cinnamon while I'm just standing there staring, trying to decide what I could make with this spice or that herb. I've been known to laugh at people who actually buy the pre-mixed cinnamon and sugar. (Really people, it's just cinnamon and sugar, you can make it at home and save a little money!)  My friends don't go to the grocery store with me much anymore.

To try to save time and to avoid the annoyed looks while I stand in the way of the typical American consumer who doesn't know what to do with all the things in the little glass jars, I discovered  Penzey's, a company that sells some amazing spices that are very hard to find, especially at such affordable prices.

As I was staring at the catalog, reading all the different variety of spices, I came across a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pie.

I love cookie dough, so much so when I set out to make chocolate chip cookies, it rarely results in cookies.

This pie turned out AMAZING. It is like eating cookie dough in pie crust.