Sweet Repeats

In addition to trying out a fair number of new recipes, or new spins on old ones, we also cook a fair amount of "standard" things.  These tried-and-true, dependable, favorite recipes make up a fair bit of what comes out of our kitchen.    This past weekend, for example, I made two batches of cookies and some blueberry muffins.  All three of these recipes are from Cook's Illustrated, and I've written previously about all three.  You can access the recipes with either a paid or a free trial membership to the CI website.

For Saturday breakfast, I made up a double-batch of Best Blueberry Muffins (two dozen), with the intention of keeping several to warm up for quick breakfasts throughout the week and sharing the rest with my coworkers.  This was the third time I've made these muffins, which are still the best blueberry muffins I've ever had.  They turned out great, as usual, and were a huge hit at work.   Several people raved about them, and they were all gone by noon. 

I also made up a batch of Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies this weekend.  Browned butter is one of the keys to this recipe, as it gives the cookies a rich, butterscotch flavor.   That touch in combination with ample amounts of chocolate and toasted walnuts elevates these cookies above the classic Toll House recipe in terms of great chocolate chip cookies.  I've made these a couple times before, with somewhat variable results, as this is among the more finicky recipes I regularly make.  This time around I made the mistake of trying to cook two sheets at once, rather than doing them one at a time as the recipe recommends, and the texture of the cookies suffered a bit for it, with some of them being a bit puffy and others a bit on the dense side.   The third batch, pictured above, came out perfect, though, and they all taste great. 

Finally, I made up another batch of Thin and Crispy Coconut-Oatmeal Cookies this past weekend.   This is one of Juli's and my favorite cookie recipes.    This is probably the fourth or fifth time I've made these reliably excellent cookies, and they turned out great, with a light, crispy texture and lots of coconut flavor. 

I enjoy trying out and developing new recipes, but there's definitely also something to be said for revisiting familiar favorites.   After all, part of why we try new recipes is to find more favorites to enjoy going back to again and again.