Wednesday, February 29, 2012

How to be an awesome hostess | no big deal chocolate chip cookies

I absolutely love it when people drop by at my place for A Cup of Joe and a chat. 
As I live close by the city center and my love for a good cup of coffee is common knowledge among friends and family this luckily happens quite often.
When there is a coffee-related surprise visit there are some basics that need to be covered;

No big deal chocolate chip cookies



1. Have a clean house. 

As this is seldom the case around here you can always use
option B. excuse yourself for the mess and explain. For example: I'm so sorry for the mess, I was having fun/ a life or I'm so sorry for the mess, I like sleeping way more than cleaning.
If they are your friends they'll understand.
If they are your mother; you're in trouble. Move as fast as possible to step 4

2. Always have coffee at home

3. Take your time to greet guests personally

Unless they are your mother; in that case - stop all your current activities and start cleaning!

4. Have something 'no big deal' home made to enjoy

This is where today's recipe comes in. Don't go baking 6 layer-cakes with vanilla-meringue frosting when people arrive. {Yes, Captain obvious is on duty.} Put something in the oven that requires 2 minutes of your time - no more! My usual go-to for this kind of circumstance is this banana bread but last week I made these easy chocolate chip cookies and they were divine!
When you make the dough in advance you just have to
 take it out of the refrigerator when ~ the guests ring the doorbell,
form little balls of dough {2´} when ~ they're putting their coats away and
put them for approximately 10 to 15 minutes into the oven ~ while you're preparing the coffee.


Cookies on a messy table 

No big deal chocolate chip cookies
source: donna hay
yields: 12 cookies


180 g butter, softened
120 g packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
300 g plain flour {sifted}
1 tsp baking powder
150 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
100 g hazelnuts, roughly chopped




one: preheat oven to 180°c.
two: place the butter, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. {I used my hands to knead the dough; everyting went smooth too.}
three: gradually add the eggs; keep beating until completely incorporated.
three: add the flour and baking powder and beat until a smooth dough forms. You know things are going great when you don't see any lumps anymore.
four: stir the rough pieces of chocolate and hazelnut in by hand using a wooden spoon.
five: scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon (5cm) balls and place 12 balls, spaced 10cm apart, on the baking sheets. Flatten them. {If you're really fancy use a stamp to finish them off.}
six: Bake for 12–15 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool on the trays. 




Music to pair a cup of coffee and these cookies with: Boris Smile - Mother Hen


Enjoy!





5 comments:

Julie E said...

The home*made stamp is great. it completely excuses any mess there could be in the room.

Maja said...

Lookin' good!

Eva {not your mama's dinner} said...

@Julie: I can only hope my mom thinks just like you. :) Thanks!
@Maja: Thank you so much!

blogresipi.com said...

If I have such cookies and a cup of my favorite vanilla coffee, I could definitely pretend not to see any mess around me :D

Bytheway, good luck for your 46 days without meat challenge :)

BR

Eva {not your mama's dinner} said...

In that case, you're welcome for a coffee anytime, BR!
Thank you!

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