Riding out the Storm: Bake & Create

Hello again! Tropical storm Sandy's rain has already reached us and the winds are kicking up but I'm settled in and enjoying this lazy Saturday tremendously. I was so inspired this morning by a blog I found -  I can hardly wait to share it with you! Amy Moss, creator of Eat Drink Chic has an absolutely lovely blog that will inspire you to create, entertain, collect, and well, want to be her. She's absolutely lovely. So, while the wind is whistling outside and rain is pounding the roof, I've decided to bake, create and clean out my pantry. Huh? What? Clean out the Pantry? That's not much fun, right? Wrong! The Clean the Pantry Cookies recipe below is not only "oh my gosh these are so good!" amazing, but it is designed to use up small amounts of baking chips and left overs from other recipes. You can substitute whatever you have in your pantry, just make sure that you include approximately 1 cup baking chips and 1/2 cup nuts.

Next I'm going to sew some aprons, and several potholders from the book Pretty Little Potholders for Christmas gifts; I'll try to post pictures tomorrow if I can fit it in.

Clean the Pantry Cookies

1 cup butter-flavored shortening
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chunks
1/3 cup white chocolate morsels
1/3 cup toffee bits
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, beat shortening and sugars at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.

3. In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. With mixer on lowest speed, add flour mixture to shortening mixture in three batches, beating well between each addition. Fold in chocolate chunks, white chocolate morsels, toffee buts, and walnuts. Drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets, placing cookies 2 inches apart.

5. Bake until edges are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies cool on pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Kitchen Tip: These cookies are designed to use up small amounts of baking chips and left overs from other recipes. You can substitute whatever you have in your pantry, just make sure that you include approximately 1 cup baking chips and 1/2 cup nuts.