1. Place sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater to an electric mixer. Turn to a low speed and mix for 30 seconds. Stop and scrape the bowl. Turn to a medium speed and beat for 30 seconds.

2. In a separate bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking soda together. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture on the mixer’s stir speed (the slowest setting) in intervals and mix for 2 additional minutes after both are combined. Increase speed to the second slowest setting and beat for 30 seconds. Add chocolate chips on stir speed and mix for 15 seconds.

3. Remove bowl from mixer and scoop teaspoonfuls of cookie batter on greased baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake 375°F for 10-12 minutes. Serve warm or seal airtight in a medium to large container.

I’ve had a soft spot for chocolate chip cookies my entire life. The process for making these is as straightforward as it gets, apart from the necessity of having a stand mixer and flat beater attachment to blend the ingredients together properly.

One tip of supreme importance is that when mixing cookie batter, or mixing in general, you should avoid suddenly cranking the speed from standstill to a high setting. This more often than not results in a huge mess, especially when dealing with dry ingredients such as baking powder or flour. Dry ingredients are stubborn in that they can unfortunately puff into a giant cloud when introduced to a fast-moving mixture. Explosions and baking are two very separate things that should remain as such; that’s why a slower addition of the flour mixture was needed in this recipe.

Even when there are no dry ingredients on hand, avoiding abrupt speed change will help prevent spills. Keep a steady hand on the controls, as well as timing when to pour the flour mixture in, and there shouldn’t be any major concerns here. The beater will likely get stuck at some point, and rather large portions of the cookie dough should be sticking to it. This would be a good time to check and make sure the mixer is securely fastened and locked! From past experience, it’s always a good idea to double check that everything is secure. If that’s the case, scrape any lingering dough off with a rubber spatula and continue on. The chocolate chips are added after the dry ingredients are mixed for a sufficient amount of time.

Once the mixing is done, hopefully without any dry ingredient catastrophe, it’s time to move on to transfer the dough to the cookie sheet. Be careful not to place the cookies too close; otherwise, you run the risk of creating one gigantic and asymmetrical cookie. 2 inches apart for each cookie is usually the magic number, as it provides an appropriate amount of space for the dough to expand in the oven.

There exist tools specifically designed for cookie dough scooping, but as this recipe is somewhat interchangeable, any scoop would reasonably work as long as it meets the correct size. While I’ve never actually experienced this problem, it would seem that going over the given scoop size would run the risk of cookies touching. To make a long and unnecessary explanation short, just go with common sense and try to stay on track with the teaspoonful size.

One of the few non-negotiables of this process is to have the cookie sheet and pan matching. There’s not much else to say other than to just do it. The sheet should lay flat instead of leaning up against the sides of the pan. After that, bake 10 to 12 minutes in the oven at 375° or until the cookies look golden brown. Take out the batch right away if the golden brown hue is clearly visible, or the batch could turn a tad bit crunchy. If crunchy cookies are desired, then feel free to bake for 12 minutes. For a sweet, chewy creation, 11 minutes seems to be about right. Serve warm and enjoy!

The process of making mashed potatoes is a joyful and rather painless one, despite it taking up to about an hour from start to finish. Even then, most of that hour is spent carefully watching over the cooking potatoes in anticipation of the next step.

There may be differences in this recipe compared to others, but one process they all have in common is the peeling, one of my favorite steps. Make sure to have a potato peeler on hand, as I can imagine how hard it would be to try peeling a whole potato with other tools. But before that step even takes place, it’s necessary to properly wash the potatoes. The very last thing your family wants in their mashed potatoes are tiny dirt chunks. Any and all vegetables need to be washed thoroughly before preparation.

With the peeler, press firmly forward and down to remove strips of the outer skin. A well-peeled potato should retain its general shape while having all spots removed. Some spots like to hide under the potato; cut from underneath or dig in with the peeler to remove them. Remember to be careful with the tools, as these are sharp objects, after all. Keeping the ends of the fingers tucked inwards while gripping the underside of the potato with your knuckles can prevent any nasty cuts with the sharp end of the blade, even if it seems silly and unimportant. The likelihood of cutting your finger is not that high, but this technique is sure to further reduce the risk.

After lots of strenuous peeling, the potatoes should now be ready for cooking! Place the potatoes in a boiling pot of water, making sure each potato is fully submerged. If there are a few extra inches of water in the pot, carefully pour the extra bit out to leave the potatoes just barely under the surface. Nothing shocking will happen with a little bit more water than usual, but boiling hot water could overflow if left unattended for an extended period of time.

The cooking time varies depending on the type of stovetop intensity. For me, this was the most time-consuming step. To test how done the potatoes are, prod some with a fork. If the fork meets some resistance, then leave them boiling for a few more minutes. If the fork barely has any stiff resistance and slides in rather comfortably, the potatoes are completely cooked. Potatoes should be regularly checked, especially towards the end of the cooking process. If left to sit for too long, then there won’t be many potatoes left to work with — they can disintegrate.

Dispose of the boiling water; be careful that the potatoes don’t fall out. Grab a potato ricer or any mashing tool if materials are a bit shorthanded. Both work fine, but I’ve noticed that the ricer seems to distribute the potato residue more evenly without as much sticking. Most potato ricers should have a slot to place the potatoes. Simply flip the lever on top of the potato and push until the potato is forced out as thin strips.

If the term “electric mixer” rings a bell from the previous recipe in this article, then get ready for another spin as the potatoes enter the final step of the process! Once the potatoes are completely riced or mashed, it’s time to add the rest of the ingredients, which include most of the flavor and spices. Stir in the cream cheese, sour cream, onion salt, salt, pepper, and butter. After that, it’s very straightforward: simply turn on the electric mixer to a slow speed and gradually increase it by perhaps one setting, but be very cautious when doing so. Mix until the ingredients are just combined; if overmixed, the texture can become mushy. The ideal texture is fluffy, so always be watching how the potato mixture looks. Serve right away for a great dinner or store refrigerated in a sealable container for up to two weeks. Enjoy!

Cooking and baking should be fun, whether someone has supreme confidence in their abilities or not, and it makes for an excellent family activity, too. So, the next time you find yourself struggling to choose what to eat, try making your own food — that way, you won’t need to call a restaurant 30 minutes in advance. If any of these recipes sounds fun, just go for it! No one ever knows for sure how things will turn out, and therein lies the true joy of baking and cooking: the anticipation regarding how exactly the final product will look and hopefully taste. If you follow the instructions well, you should be rewarded with a flavorful meal; there’s hardly any major skill or level of dexterity required in this particular hobby.

Make 2021 your year of self-improvement; since getting out of the house is risky these days, why not get into the kitchen instead?

DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the various authors in this paper do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Kamiak High School or The Gauntlet.