Baking Bonanza!

Basically all I did on Sunday was bake! And here is what I ended up with:



1. One of my proudest kitchen moments: you can call it challah, braided egg bread, or as we call it at my house-- "Judy Bread." Every Thanksgiving we are blessed to visit with a family whose mother makes the most amazing bread I've ever tasted. Now, don't worry, I certainly wouldn't presume to call mine "Judy Bread", since I pulled a challah recipe from the internet, and it didn't quite live up to the fabulous standard to which we're accustomed. It was slightly less dense and less sweet than Judy's version, but that did not stop my husband and I from eating almost the entire loaf in 24 hours! It really was a great loaf of bread, and I will not hesitate to make it again.

2. BBFCCC: translation: BEST BIG FAT CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. I've been hearing for this recipe almost as long as I've been hanging out on thenest.com cooking boards, so I had to give it a try with the new stand mixer. They turned out great! They definitely live up to everything their name says they are. I think I may prefer a crispier cookie, so I'm not going to make this my always-and-forever chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I'll definitely keep it in the box and use it every now and then.

Now for the recipes!

Challah
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 cup hot milk
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 2-1/2 eggs (crack the last egg in a bowl, beat, and use half. save the other half for the last step before baking)
  
• 5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 egg
• 2 teaspoons honey

DIRECTIONS

1. Proof yeast and 1/4 cup warm water in a large mixing bowl.
2. Combine hot milk, honey, butter, salt, and 1/4 cup water in a medium bowl. Cool to 110 degrees (lukewarm).
3. In small bowl, slightly beat 2.5 eggs, then add to cooled milk mixture. Add milk mixture to yeast mixture. Add 1 cup flour and beat until smooth. Slowly add remaining flour until it forms a stiff dough. Knead on a floured board for 10 minutes (5 minutes with a bread hook). Place in a large glass or plastic bowl lightly greased. Turn dough over to grease both sides. Cover and let rise in a warm, dark place until doubled in volume, approximately 60 minutes.
4. Punch down, cover, and let rise again until double, approximately 30 minutes.
5. Punch again, and form into three parts. Form each part into a 20-inch roll. Braid rolls on a large, greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled.
6. Lightly beat remaining egg with 2 tsp honey and brush loaf. Bake in preheated 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven for about 40 minutes until nicely browned.

This made one very large loaf of bread. We were going to eat half and freeze the other half, but James was up all night playing games at had almost eaten the half loaf I left out before I got up for work!


Best Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.