Avocado On Toast

Avocado lovers need no explanation. You really don't need much else besides lots of avocado on some whole grain toast, although it's also great to have this with some egg, or rotisserie chicken or carved turkey breast, or roast beef?

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the standard chocolate chip cookies I make on occasion. A friend in college introduced me to them (my first time baking cookies from scratch!) and I was really impressed by the cake-like texture, slightly eggy taste, and how they weren't too sweet or oily. This is pretty much my "go to" recipe for a cookie base, where I vary the mix-ins. I've done it with white chocolate and macadamia nuts, peanut butter chips, chocolate mint, and some others I can't remember. Anyway, here you have it (I usually end up making a bigger batch by adding a third of everything... makes the measurements easier. And for some reason they usually take longer than 10-12 minutes to bake... maybe my cookie dough balls are too big...):

3/4 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 c. flour
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped (optional)

Cream together butter and brown sugar until well mixed. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl  mix together flour, salt and baking soda. Add to butter mixture and stir thoroughly. If a little dry add a few drops of water. Mix in chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

Triple Chocolate Espresso Bean Cookies

I had these dark chocolate covered espresso beans from Peet's and wanted to use them up without actually eating them all, so I thought of making cookies with them. Googling around, I found this recipe and just went for it. My only complaint was that the texture of the espresso beans was a little too much like egg shells =(. The flavor was fantastic though!