I think blogging is contributing to my ADD.

OK, I don’t actually have ADD (at least I’ve never been diagnosed), but I do seem to have a hard time sitting still for too long.  If I’m watching TV, I don’t want to just watch TV.  This sometimes leads to eating just to eat.  Or messing with my cuticles.  Or doing push-ups or other random exercises.  But more recently, it’s lead to jumping on the computer (again) to either write a blog post or read someone else’s blog.

I’m not sure if this is good or bad, but I’m running with it (pun intended) for the time being.

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A lazy gal’s way of popping healthier popcorn

Yesterday afternoon I was in the mood for a little snack.  So I decided to pop some popcorn.  I recently decided to stop buying the microwavable bags because I heard they had a lot of chemicals in them (and I realize that this statement is ironic, given my opinions on this article yesterday).

Instead, Brandon and I have discovered a neat little trick.  Just buy a bag of unpopped kernels and some brown paper bags.

Put a few tablespoons of kernels in the brown bag and fold the top over 2-3 times to keep it closed.

Throw the bag in the microwave for a couple of minutes.  Similar to the store-bought bags, you have to listen carefully and make sure that you pull the bag out when there’s a few seconds of quiet between “pops.”

And that’s it!  Add butter or your favorite seasoning and your set!  I used some nacho cheese seasoning that I bought at the store, but next time I’ll probably just stick to plain salt or (my favorite) hot sauce.

If you limit the butter, this can be a really healthy snack.  Popcorn has a lot of fiber, and we always hear about the importance of fiber!

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Toffee Chip Cookies

Then last night, my “ADD” struck again.  I had been trying to think of what I wanted to do with the extra toffee bits I had leftover after making this recipe the other day.  I wanted to make some type of cookies, but I didn’t have any eggs in the house.  And I really didn’t want to go get any, because… well, I was lazy.

So I did a little research online, and I found a couple of sites that said you can substitute 1/4 c. applesauce for 1 egg (I also heard cornstarch and water, 1/2 of a mashed banana, and some other things).

I then decided to experiment a bit.  I used my favorite chocolate chip recipe, cut the ingredients in half (I didn’t want to make a full batch), substituted toffee bits for chocolate chips, and substituted applesauce for eggs.  Whew.

Click here to view the original recipe at allrecipes.com.

If you use the original recipe linked above, I just have a couple of recommendations that I got from the reviews of the recipe, and they seemed to really help:

1. Egg and egg yolk at room temperature
2. After you mix up the dough with the chocolate chips, refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.  This is an important step.
3. When you bake the cookies, start looking around 14-15 minutes.  Take the cookies out before they look completely done!  The inside will still be pale, but the edges will be lightly browned.

So those tips are for the original recipe, but they will also apply to my adapted recipe (except for #1 because I didn’t use eggs).

And let me tell you, the original recipe is DELICIOUS.  I have made these many times and they are always a HUGE hit at parties.  I have had many people request the recipe.

OK, moving on (there’s that ADD again…).

Toffee Chip Cookies

(Adapted from allrecipes.com recipe)

Makes 6-7 big cookies

Ingredients

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• ½ c. packed brown sugar
• ¼ c. white sugar (use a little less if using applesauce)
• ½ tbsp vanilla
• ¼ c. applesauce
• toffee bits (about ¾ c.)

The directions are basically identical to the original recipe, with my added tips that I listed above.

So first I sifted my dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt).

Then I creamed the melted butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together, before adding my vanilla and applesauce.

After mixing in my dry ingredients (being careful not to overmix), I stirred in my toffee bits.

I chilled the dough in the refrigerator for an hour.  Then normally, I would put them in the oven.  But instead, I put huge spoonfuls of the dough onto a cookie sheet and stuck it in the freezer for about an hour.

Then I put the balls of dough in a ziplock bag.

Today, I took a few cookies out and put them in an oven preheated to 325 degrees.  Typically they only take about 15 minutes to bake, but it was more like 17 minutes today because the dough had been in the freezer.

Finished product:

My thoughts: They were really tasty, but they were really really (really) thin.

Do you think it was the applesauce? Or is it just a bad idea to cut a cookie recipe in half?

Final conclusion: Try the original recipe, with the few tips I listed earlier.  Then if you want to add toffee bits or other add-ins (like nuts!), go for it!  But to be safe, I would use eggs, as the original recipe stated.

Question for ya:

What is your favorite kind of cookie?