Chocolate chip cookies

There are some dishes that you can always create in your kitchen with perfection and, seemingly, with no effort. A chocolate chip cookie is not one of them. It is one of those things where the end product can sometimes end up too soft and gooey, or too crisp or at times, brown so much that it starts to smell charred well done. There's no easy way around this one. You must try, try and try again until you have that perfect recipe. And once you do, you write it down so that you won't forget the measurements you used and then, you can recreate that perfect cookie any time you want to.
This recipe that I am sharing with you today is an adaptation of one such recipe that I came across in a book called Sensational Cookies by Linda Amendt. Following this recipe will yield cookies that are soft, chewy and just right.

What you need:

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Butter (softened, at room temperature) - 1/2 cup
Egg - 1
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
Chocolate chips - 1 cup

Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and beat well to mix. Mix in the vanilla. Then slowly add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix with a spatula until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the cookie sheet, leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie, as these cookies will expand while baking.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to turn a light brown.
Remove onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

This is my second recipe for Blogging Marathon #72 under the them Kids' Delight - Cakes & Cookies. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM
This recipe also goes to Kids' delight event hosted by Vidhya’s Vegetarian Kitchen and run by Srivalli – Spice Your Life!

Banana chocolate chip muffins

Making healthy snacks for kids is an art. Dodging requests for Maggi, Lays or Kurkure every evening and providing something healthy in its stead is definitely something that requires practice and a certain amount of sternness and will power. These muffins are easy to whip up, healthy and at the same time something that kids will love. In fact, my little one made this herself. She did the measuring, the mixing and the spooning into the muffin tin. Needless to say, she enjoyed eating what she made.

What you need: (Recipe adapted from Tarla Dalal's Healthy snacks for kids)
Bananas (mashed) - 1/2 cup(I used 3 small overripe ones)
Whole wheat flour - 4 tbsp
Oats - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Oil/butter - 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Chocolate chips - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1 tsp

Mash the bananas in a small mixing bowl. This is a task my little girl did very meticulously and with great enjoyment. Mix the vanilla essence and sugar into it.
Take the whole wheat flour, oats, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the banana mixture and oil to it. Mix well. Gently stir in the chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 150 degree centigrade.
Line/grease your muffin tin. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Enjoy!!!

This is my first post for Blogging Marathon #17 themed on Kids' Delight - Evening snacks/Tiffin. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 17
This post goes to Radhika's Let's cook - Kid's special