Chocolate Chip Orange Blossom Clove Cookies

Today I got a baking need and so I thought I would share what I made with you lovely people. Due to a lack of vanilla extract, I had to find some other fragrant potion to make my cookies have a little pizzaz, so I kicked them up a notch by adding ground clove and orange blossom water. These cookies would be great to make with kids because everything is mixed at room temp in bowls and then put in the oven, so they get to work on their math skills and hand-eye coordination. Enjoy.

Chocolate Chip Orange Blossom Clove Cookies
Makes 60 cookies (if you use a perfect Tbs ball for each one and don't eat any dough, but when does that ever happen?)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 9-11 minutes per batch
Level: Easy

Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 1 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbs honey
- 1 Tbs orange blossom water
- 2 eggs
- 4 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate roughly chopped (I used the whole ar of baking chocolate)

Tools:
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- 1 wooden spoon
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 cookie sheet (though more would be quicker)
- 1 oven
- a timer

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cloves. Set aside.
3. In a medium sized bowl, cream together butter, sugars, honey, and orange blossom water with a sturdy spoon (wooden spoons work best for this because butter is stubborn and the whole thing needs to be lump free).
4. To the butter mixture add eggs and mix until combined (be careful to not slosh any of the egg out of the bowl because at first it won't want to mix).
5. Add the dry ingredients into the wet a bit at a time, mixing in between each addition.
6. Once the dry and wet have all been combined, add the chocolate and stir it around until the chocolate is evenly distributed.
7. Use a tablespoon (or just a regular spoon you might eat cereal with) and scoop dollops of dough onto the cookie sheet approximately every 1.5 to 2 inches apart, so that you get individual cookies instead of one large cookie.
8. Bake for 9-11 minutes until golden brown (cooking time will vary depending on altitude, humidity, your stove, and how crispy you like your cookies, so keep an eye on those puppies).
9. Transfer to a plate and wait until cookies are no longer hot like lava before consuming. The waiting will be the most difficult part.

Store any uneaten cookies in a ziplock baggie or tupperware (or cookie jar) on the counter overnight, in the fridge for up to a week, or the freezer for up to 2 months. Uncooked dough can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months or fridge for up to a week. Raw eggs can cause food poisoning, but cookie dough is amazing, so eat raw cookie dough at your own risk because we both know that it's well worth it.

Sandwiches, Raspberry Salad, and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Since I'm going to be out of town tomorrow, I have prepared lunch early and left the items for a lovely sandwich bar in the fridge. the cookies turned out a bit more *ahem* crispy than I intended, so I have altered the recipe below to reflect the changes I would have made. There are gluten free cookies in a box in the fridge.

Sandwichs
Serves 8-12

Ingredients:
Bread (there is also gluten free bread in the fridge too)
Mayo
Mustard
Lettuce (there is a small box with the rest of the sandwich fixings)
Tomato (these will need to be sliced)
Cucumber (this will need to be sliced)
Red onion (this will need to be sliced, remember to cut from the top and to peel away the papery skin on the outside)
Sliced meat (there are 3 kinds, go nuts)
Sliced cheese (there are 3 kinds, mix and match)

Preparation:
1. It's a sandwich, just layer the stuff inside making sure that the condiments are on the bread and the tomato isn't touching the bread and you'll be fine.
2. Stuff your gob with deliciousness.

Raspberry Salad
Serves 8-12

Ingredients:
1 large box of herb salad mix
2 containers of raspberries
1 bag of mixed seeds
raspberry salad dressing

Preparation:
1. Place a bit of each of the ingredients on your plate so that you get a good amount of each yummy thing. Feel free to use some of sandwich items to make your salad even better.


Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yields 60 small cookies or fewer large cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
3/4 cups evaporated cane juice (or regular sugar if you must)
3/4 cups brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups chocolate chips (I like the mini ones)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, cream together butter, sugars, and vanilla until everything is combined.
4. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until thoroughly incorporated before adding the next egg.
5. Add the flour mixture a bit at a time to insure that there isn't flour all over your kitchen.
6. Once all of the dough is combine, add the chocolate chips (this is where you would also add other goodies if altering the recipe, like nuts or dried fruit or other candy).
7. Drop cookie dough onto an ungreased baking sheet using a spoon, spacing them to try to avoid them merging together.
8. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until golden brown. If wanting to have extra crispy cookies, bake for 20 minutes or until darker brown. Remove cookies to cool on a wire rack.