Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

They look delicious don’t they. It has great texture. Should eat while hot. Especially delicious, and sweet when freshly baked, just brought out from the oven smell. What great aroma!!! Yummy!

3/4 c Firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c Sugar
1/2 c Margarine or butter,softened
1/2 c Shortening
1 1/2 ts Vanilla
1 Egg
1 3/4 c All purpose flour
1 ts Baking soda
1/2 ts Salt
1 c Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c Chopped nuts or shelled
Sunflower seeds (opt)

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl, combine brown sugar, sugar, margarine and shortening; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; blend well. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Spread in ungreased 13 x 9-inch pan. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Cut into bars. Cool completely (don’t pay attention, eat while warm).

tags: chocolate chip, chocolate, brown sugar, vanilla

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brownie oatmeal cookies, a twist on the original oatmeal cookies. If you liked oatmeal cookies, you’ll love Brownie oatmeal cookies. Considering if you are a chocaholic like I am.

Ingredients:
2/3 c Whole wheat flour
1/3 c Sugar
1 c Quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 c Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ts Baking powder
1/4 ts Salt, (optional)
1 ea Powdered egg substitute, (1 1/2 tsp mixed with 3Tbs Water)
1/3 c Corn syrup, light or dark (or substitute honey)
1 ts Vanilla

Directions:
Mix egg replacer, vanilla and syrup. In separate bowl, mix dry ingredients, make a well, add liquid and stir till moistened. On a spritzed baking sheet, form approx. 2 dozen cookies. Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes Cool on sheet/wire rack for 5/5 minutes.

tags: brownie oatmeal cookies, cocoa, chocaholics

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Why do those delicious chocolates almost never melt in your hand? You pop them in your mouth, and they transform into soft, gooey liquid. This is surely a mystery. What is behind this phenomenon?Chocolate factories have developed various processes for manufacturing chocolate. These processes have differ greatly from the initial process of manufacturing chocolate. Initially, chocolate was made with cocoa butter, which was derived from cocoa beans. Cocoa butter naturally melts at the temperature in your mouth. Your mouth is as hot as a tropical jungle! Over time, the price of cocoa butter rose. The supply became unstable. Therefore, chocolate manufacturers turned to other cocoa butter alternatives such as those derived from coconut oil, palm oil, and shea oil.

However, these butters do not have the same melting point as cocoa butter. A science, called “hydrogenation“, is required to alter its properties. Hydrogenation is the process of injecting hydrogen gas into hot oil, at scalding temperatures between 120ºC and 210ºC. After the process is complete, the butter has new solidifying and melting points.

Hydrogen is a versatile element that appears as a gas, liquid or solid. This element is the secret behind the chocolate’s melting properties.

Research now indicates that hydrogenated oils produce “trans fats� which can lead to obesity, clogged arteries and other diseases.

tags: chocolates, Chocolate factories, hydrogenation, cocoa,`Cocoa butter

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