Gabi’s Cooking Column
By Gabi Heigel
Hi, readers! I am new to the Bulldog Jr. and I have created this cooking column just for you! I will write recipes, restaurant reviews, and much more! I know you will enjoy reading this column just as much as I enjoy writing it. Enjoy!!
To start off my cooking column, I will write a basic recipe that is loved by all! Can you guess what it is? I’ll give you a hint: It’s a type of cookie. Do you know it know? I’ll tell you. It’s chocolate chip cookies! Here is the recipe:
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 5 dozen cookies.
Ingredients:
- 2-¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375℉
- Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer until creamy. Add eggs; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completly.
Yum! I love chocolate chip cookies. The fun thing about chocolate chip cookies, is you can make it a lot of different ways! Here are some ways you can change up this recipe:
- You can replace the chocolate chips with m&m’s. If you do this, you will create a delicious confetti cookie. It’s a fun cookie that you will definitely enjoy.
- You can replace the chocolate chips with chocolate chunks. This will create a wonderful chocolate chunk cookie. This cookie has extra chocolate! I am a huge chocolate fan.
- You can add white chocolate chips to make black and white chip cookies. It’s a terrific combination.
- Do you like Reese’s Pieces? I know I do. If you’d like, you can replace the chocolate chips with Reese’s Pieces.
- If you really love chocolate, you can add ⅓ cup cocoa powder to the recipe. This will make a double chocolate cookie. Yum!!
- Do you like ice cream sandwiches? If you want, you can take two of the cookies and put a scoop of ice cream in between them to form an ice cream sandwich.
Now, here is a fun fact:
Did you know that 80 percent of cocoa beans are grown in Africa? In case you didn’t know, cocoa beans are the first step to making chocolate. Here is a system of how Hershey chocolate is made:
- Cocoa beans grow in pods.
- People take down the pods from the trees. Then, the pods are cut open.
- The beans are left outside to dry under the hot sun.
- The beans are put in bags after drying. Then, the bags are shipped to Hershey.
- At Hershey, the beans will be roasted.
- The beans will then be crushed into liquid. The liquid is a thin paste called, chocolate liquor. The chocolate liquor is then pressed to separate cocoa butter from cocoa solids.
- Sugar and milk are mixed together. Then, any extra water will be taken out.
- The sugar and milk mix is combined with the cocoa butter. The mixture is then conched and tempered.
- The chocolate mixture is poured into the mold. (The mold is usually the shape of a regular chocolate bar)
- The chocolate freezes and hardens.
- The chocolate is wrapped up.
- Trucks ship the chocolate to the stores.
- The chocolate is bought, eaten, and enjoyed by many!
That’s all for my cooking column this week!
