Thursday, October 11, 2007

Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaway and Cookies

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. 5 Minutes for Mom is giving away a pink camera to help spread the awareness of this disease. Take a minute and hop over to their site and enter the drawing. Be sure and tell them I sent you!

Now for a completely unrelated topic: COOKIES! The dinner dishes were done. We were waiting for Kenny to get home from work. God Bless him and the OT hours he puts in. Jesse was on the couch watching Pokemon or Hanna Montana or The Suite Life of Zach and Cody or who knows really. Austin was trying desperately to get him to play Uno. He's not a big fan of watching TV. And he's not allowed on his Play Station or Gameboy or the computer due to his progress report in English. So while he sulked upstairs a brilliant idea came to mind. Let's make cookies! I called him down to see if he wanted to help and he of course said yes. Anything is better than watching TV in his eyes. We made Three Chocolate Cookies from Paula Deen. Dear Lord are they good. We've made them before but each time it still amazes me. If you have gimpy hands like me I strongly suggest that you have someone help you. Mixing in all of that chocolate is pretty hard. We all took turns stirring in the chocolate, even Jesse who managed to pull himself away from the TV for 5 minutes. When the cookies were done, we ALL played Uno (I kicked teenage butt!) and waited for Kenny while enjoying one of these gargantuan cookies. Nice thing about them is you only need one! Since the weather appears to be changing now for a lot of us and turning the oven on isn't killing us anymore, why don't you try this recipe. Believe me - you will not be sorry!!

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1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco)
3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 (12-oz bag) semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup milk chocolate morsels
3 (1-oz) squares bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup almond brickle chips (I actually used half of a bag of Heath bar pieces)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets.

With an electric mixer, beat butter and shortening at meedium speed until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.

In a small bowl, combine flour baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in chocolate morsels and almond brickle chips (or Heath pieces.) Drop cookies by 1/4 cupfuls (I used an icecream scoop because that's what she did when I saw her make it on the show) about 3 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for 2 minutes on sheet. Remove to wire racks to cool.


38 comments:

Heidi said...

I entered the give~away but never win things. You never know though do you! It would be a fun camera for blogging.

The cookies look so yummy!

~~ Heidi ~~

Anita said...

Oh, man! Cookies! MMM!! They look so good... I think I just gained 5 pounds looking at that picture! lol

I will check out the camera give away!

Anita said...

BTW - Aretha is one of my idola... isn't she fabulous!?
Great song... :)

lori said...

ok...first the sauce NOW cookies...are you trying to kill us all off??? OH my, paula deen, what does she make that does NOT taste good....
we should get done with school early and MAYBE, just maybe....I will get everyone involved in a chemistry lesson..that will go right to my hips...oh well, I walked this morning;)

Love this place!!
have a great one!
(oh and we just ordered that camera for my oldest for Christmas...she is going to die!!)

Sandy said...

Julie,
This is my first visit to your attic and I love it here! I has a little time to read sown as far as your post Not Quite What We Planned and my heart just melted! This is such an illustration of the Scripture that says In his heart a man makes His plans, but it is God who directs his steps. That day you took God steps and those are the very best steps to take. Thanks for the faith lift.
Miss Sandy

Kristen said...

YUMMMMMM..... I so don't need them, but guess what, I will eat them anyways! :) I will enter the giveaway, but then I don't win anything very often.

FarmHouse Style said...

Oh those look super yummy! My little man and I love to make cookies together. Maybe we will surprise Dad with a batch this evening, he is also working late tonight.

Thanks,
Rhonda

Mary said...

OK, now I'm drooling all over the keyboard! :)
xoxo,
Mary

mayberry said...

Yummy! I saw her make these on TV too! Wish I was there to enjoy but I have my own batch of Snicker cookies to avoid right now!! =)

Esther Sunday said...

Yummy...please thank your boys for making them for me.

Alice said...

I had looked at that recipe last week when it was too hot to bake. It's great to see your photo of the cookies and to know that the recipe is tasty. I'm just not convinced though, Julie, that one of those babies is enough. :)

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

YUM.

BellaColle said...

Oh my, meatballs...and now desert! They look delicious! I'll definatly try those.
Oh, got two on restriction my self! lol! no, t.v and no X-box! nice and quiet here.

Rosemary said...

I will go an enter the contest.
Your cookies look great, even though I don't eat chocolate chip cookies.
Rosemary

Sophie Honeysuckle said...

They look yummy Julie!! And I love the new photo of you and your husband on the left-hand side of your blog-you both look so happy together!xx

PAT said...

Those cookies look amazingly mouthwateringly delicious. What else could they be....my goodness...Paula Deen!!

Pat

Dena said...

I need something sweet now! Julie, between the yummy pasta and the cookies I'm dying over here :)

Hugs,
Dena

Anonymous said...

The weather changed here last nite Julie. Actually had to wear long sleeves today and it was deeeelightful. Those cookies look out of this world and reminds me that now that we have had a break in the weather and it's not hot I can use the automatic thing to clean my oven tonite. xo Lynn

Terri Steffes said...

I entered, too, and never win, but always like to try! Those cookies are AWESOME. Wish I lived closer...

Kari (GrannySkywalker) said...

Gosh, I'm such a worthless cook. As I was reading your recipe, I was thinking to myself "what the heck is AP flour?". Yeah, I finally got it..."all purpose". I feel like a dork.

Anonymous said...

My mother, who passed away 13 years ago from breast cancer, would have celebrated her 63rd birthday in just 4 days. I'll be posting about it and eating your virtual cookies when I do!

Anonymous said...

Also...I am having deja vu really frikkin bad right now for some reason...man! Wudd'ya put IN these cookies?

Emily said...

You and I must think alike, because I'm going to bake chocolate chip cookies, too! These sound really great. I have some leftover Heath Bar pieces that I need to use up.
What is the texture like? Are they chewy, soft, crisp, cakey? I bet the addition of shortening makes more of a crisp cookie.

Nice picture of you and your hubby. Like the shirt he's wearing.

Nancy said...

Hi Julie:
Your cookies look so yummy. I don't
know if I could eat just one.
You asked a question on my blog. I just mean I will be using buttons on the quilt rather than hand or machine stitching it. I could use yarn ties, but my hands don't like pushing them through. I found that out trying to help Eric with his. I will just sew buttons on in places around it. I will put it on the blog when I finish it.
Nancy

From the Doghouse said...

I've seen your posts on other blogs and have wandered this direction ...

I don't need a camera to remind me; just the picture of my mom on our bookshelf, the person that cancer took from me.

Considering my son and I like to cook together, those cookies may be made soon - thanks for the recipe!

Distant Timbers Echo said...

You know... I love Paula. But have you seen Paula's Party on Food Network? It's basically watching Paula flirt and manhandle several guys in the studio and make very steamy sexual inuendos the entire time with various peices of raw food, and having muscle-bound brutes feed her grapes and things... oh, with a little cooking thrown in here and there.

I don't really like it! Strange for me to say something like that, but this is Paula we're talking about! Sweet li'l ol' Paula that we've all grown to love all these years!

Okay, everyone's staring at me strangely so I'll just go... over here... and... munch on a cookie.

Supermom said...

I agree with redneck nerd.

Cats~Goats~Quotes said...

Thanks for the camera give away link, and I left you as my source!

Your cookies look wonderful :)

Nunnie's Attic said...

Emilie - I think that it's the shortening that makes them chewy. When I make a cookie with just butter they're flat and crispy. But when I use shortening they're plump and chewy - just like me! These are nice big chewy cookies.

Sophie and Emilie - thanks for the compliment on the pic! It's one of my faves.

Jason - I like Paula's Home Cooking much better than Paula's Party but I just love listening to her giggle.

Hat - oh a little of this and a little of that. No oregano!

Bethany said...

Wow... you are the Paula Deen of Pittsburgh...there I just dubbed you!!! I'm coming over tonight!

(thanks for your kind words...you are one of those with a good heart!)

Flea Market Queen said...

Yum...I love Paula!
I bet those cookies are delish...
Priscilla

Anonymous said...

What a great mom.Spending time with you im sure is as good as the cookies. Love to have one.

kari and kijsa said...

Okay....seriously...those cookies look really good! I just made the yummiest cake from a Paula Deen recipe...."Green Tomato Cake." So good!

Have a blessed day!

kari and kijsa

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Oh my gosh! Those cookies sound sinfully delicious! I am reading this at almost 11PM and it is too late to bake cookies....or is it? :-)
Penny

Meggie said...

Gosh oh Gee those cookies look fabulous. I'll bet there are no calories in them...right? Thanks for the recipe, Julie.

BittersweetPunkin said...

Julie...the cookies look yummy....I want some!
Blessings,
Robin

Justabeachkat said...

It's almost midnight and now I'll be dreaming about these cookies! Thank you very much! :-)

Hugs!
Kat

Anonymous said...

...my mouth is watering over these cookies...but I am making the meatballs today! :)