Come winter, stocking homemade cookie dough in your freezer is a game-changer for folks with a sweet tooth. Those times when you were craving something sweet, but the thought of schlepping down to Wawa was giving you frostbite? In the past! A hot, fresh chocolate chip cookie straight out of the oven is basically the best thing you can ask for on a cold wintry night.
There’s just one teensy thing that makes it hard. Instead of doing this:
You have to do this:
Take a whole sheet of cookies, that could be plate of warm, gooey cookies in just 10 minutes, and stick them in your freezer instead. I won’t lie. It is hard. Consider making a double batch. Or you may end up with a mutiny on your hands.
The sad face of someone who knows that sometimes he has to sacrifice today’s cookies for tomorrow’s? Or the devious look of a hardened cookie dough poacher? You’ll find out which one you live with if that bag of frozen dough balls runs out in 3 days or less.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is a slightly oversalted variant of the Toll House recipe. Most any cookie recipe will freeze, though, so use the one you like best! (and … tell me what it is!)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla together until creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a second bowl, then gradually incorporate the mixture into the first bowl. When fully combined, stir in chocolate chips.
Prepare a level spot for a baking sheet in your freezer. I use the top of my ice maker to hold up one side, and just stack to the same level on the other side. (This is much easier to do without your dough balls on the sheet.) Then cover the baking sheet with parchment or wax paper, because the frozen dough will stick a bit without it. Scoop out your dough balls. Remember, you’re not going to bake these, so you can cram your dough balls really tightly on the sheet. Freeze for at least an hour, then dump the frozen balls into a ziploc bag or airtight container.
When you’re ready to eat them, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, then put the dough balls on a baking sheet and into the oven. You can bake them straight from the freezer; they should be done in about 15 minutes.
Winter is here, and I’ve been laying in provisions almost instinctually. (bda has accused me of stocking the freezer so I know he will eat while I am traveling, but that’s not true. I know he’ll just order Domino’s.) I’ve made chili, I’ve made curry, and now it is time to tackle the mountain of meatballs.
When I was a kid, I thought meatballs were gross. That is because I was eating spheres of baked ground beef, with nothing else added. And that is gross.
A good meatball should have lots of flavor elements, starting with some nice fat. (I was not very surprised on the burger tour to learn that all of the burgers were 80% meat, 20% fat.) I get 85%/15% ground beef at Whole Foods. Would I get 80%/20% if they sold it? Probably.
To that, I add bread crumbs, eggs, onion and plenty of salt and pepper.
Having a sack of homemade meatballs in the freezer is a beautiful thing. Babies love them. You can pretend you went to the super-tasty version of IKEA. Throwing in some meatballs even makes jar sauce feel more special. (You should stop eating jar sauce. Really. But if you still do, at least you can give yourself some homemade meatballs.)
Traditional Beef Meatballs
2 lbs. 85/15 ground beef
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1 small onion, minced
salt to taste (at least 2 teaspoons)
pepper to taste
1 tablespoon canola oil
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and knead until well combined. Roll into balls roughly 2 inches in diameter.
Heat the canola oil on medim-high heat in a large frying pan, just enough to keep the meatballs from sticking. When the pan is hot, arrange the meatballs in the pan. Squeeze them in tight enough that they will hold each other in place, but loosely enough that you can still turn them.
After one side has browned (about 2-3 minutes), begin turning the meatballs. Turn every couple of minutes until they are browned all over. Remove from heat; they are ready to eat.
Makes approximately 40 small meatballs. Can be frozen for up to 6 months.
I love cheese in all its forms. I definitely consider a cheese board and baguette to be a valid dinner. But, I acknowledge that a hunk of brie is maybe not the most flexible cheese for a beginner cook.
Enter mozzarella.
Mozzarella balls, the kind they sell in water, are a beginning cook’s best friend. They will last a week or two in your fridge, with no significant decline in flavor. This mozzarella, you cook with.
Have a George Forman grill? Slice it up, and add salt, pepper, and olive oil. Then put it and tomato slices between bread, and make yourself the tastiest grilled cheese ever.
Or cube it up, and throw it on top of pasta. (Totally did this 3 days ago, but forgot to take you guys a pic.) Deep fry it, and make your own mozzarella sticks (easier than it looks.) Make your own pizza (I used pizza dough, but french bread style is totally valid, too.)
Going further: Some day, you owe it to yourself to find a cheese shop that makes fresh mozzarella onsite. They will wrap it up for you, in plastic or in paper. It will still be drippy, but not in water. Do NOT refrigerate it. On that day, get a tomato, and a fresh loaf of bread; eat them immediately, and taste heaven.
Stock up. Because those little extras you keep in your fridge, freezer and cupboard can go a long way towards making dinner go from a chore to a darn impressive showing.
