Recipes To Share

There are many traditions that every family has that make them unique. Through my years of working with families through a social services agency I came to realize that no matter how dysfunctional a family is there are still some sorts of traditions that bond them together. My husband’s family is quite close. Most of their traditions involve hunting, fishing and food.

My husband had three brothers and a sister. The brothers get together several times a year to go fishing and hunting. These hunting and fishing trips always involve meals and snacks.

[Do you love chocoloate chip cookies]

Throughout the years, they each settled on a favorite that they want to repeat each year. My sister-in-law bakes coffee cake that they want to have with them for each trip and I bake chili and chocolate chip cookies. As for the chili, they always want it with extra spice and loaded with several kinds of beans.

The chocolate chip cookies are loaded with oatmeal, shelled sunflower nuts, peanut butter chips and of course chocolate pieces. I have tried different recipes over the years, and I always throw something new into the mix, but I finally found a combination that they love and request for each outing.

The chocolate chip cookies taste more than just good. For the additional fiber that your body needs, they contain oatmeal and nuts, plus the peanut butter and the chocolate chips provide energy. I also experimented a bit on some ingredients in the chocolate chip cookies like using shortening, oil, or butter.

I have found that the oil produces a harder crunchy cookie, the butter cookies are very soft the blend of half butter and half solid shortening produces a cookie that packs well and remains soft. I have also experimented with the oatmeal. I use quick cooking oatmeal in which I process half of the amount used in the chocolate chip cookies in the food processor so that it has a finer texture.

This allows the cookie to become moister. Adding shelled sunflower seeds adds to the saltiness and it goes well with the sweet taste of the chocolate.

Several times a year I make huge batches of the chocolate chip cookies I bake some of them and freeze the rest of the dough in an ice cream pail. This way there are fresh cookies readily available for the planned or impromptu fishing or hunting trip.

It feels great that I have added a touch to the great family tradition. Whenever my husband smells chili simmering or cookies baking, he always starts talking about hunting and fishing stories.

Article by: [Mike B.]

Find out more about him [Here]

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