Guild Goodies...

We saw so many lovely quilts during Show & Tell last night. I just want to let you see a few of my favorites. Jamie S. made this bright and happy quilt.

Janice H. took a paper piecing class. She said the teacher said it was "supposed to be fun". I think she was taking issue with that, but she finished a gorgeous quilt!

Pauline B. has been a guild member since its inception over twenty five years ago. She's very prolific, too. She brought a whole tote filled with quilts, but I'm going to share two of them.

This one had a cute story. It was a guild project where you paid ten dollars for the first two blocks, and when you brought those back to the guild, you got the next blocks at no charge. She made all the blocks for only ten dollars! She said the rest of the fabric was half price (when Sandy's Quilt Shop went out of business last year), so it was a pretty and inexpensive quilt to make.

Her second quilt was mostly hand appliqued'. She told us that there are embellishments to add (buttons and such), but she won't attach those until after this quilt top comes back from the longarm.

This smiling face belongs to Rosemary. She brought chocolate chip cookies for our after-meeting reception...and everyone raved about them. For one thing, they're really chunky and big! I made a batch last week that were (again) disappointingly flat!

We had a long conversation about her technique and what she's done differently since moving to Florida from up north. I learned a lot and can't wait to try out her version of the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe! I've made the original recipe since I was twelve, and I just won't settle until they look like the ones I used to make in Wisconsin.

Just look at what's left of them! They're really beautiful! Of course, they were delicious, too. I can say one thing is certain. Handsome doesn't mind my multiple attempts to make a perfect Florida cookie. He is happy to eat my experiments. 

I'll let you know when mine finally turn out like Rosemary's. I can't try this morning. We have another showing and have to be out of the house (with Tag and Bella). Maybe after we get back home...

The Frustrating Cookies...

Handsome came home from rehearsal last week and asked me to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies this week. Seems he wanted to share with the other musicians Monday and Tuesday to celebrate his Birthday. Who could refuse?

I have been making Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies (with a few of my own adjustments) since I was about ten years old. I've always been proud to share them - and happy with the way they looked nearly all this time. Then, "Florida Happened".

Even on days with less humidity, I get these pathetic (albeit tasty), flat cookies. A double batch of pathetic, flat cookies. They look like an amateur made them. Honestly! What to do? Well, complain to my pals on FaceBook, of course! (snort)

Image from Handle The Heat.com

My BFF, Lee came to the rescue with a link to Handle The Heat blog's experimental kitchen cookie tests. This is the link Lee shared with me. I'm not going to go through all the test results, because Tessa covered those herself. If you're interested, please click on the link above.

I sat down, took a deep breath and read through all her results. I decided to add twice as much brown sugar as white, and a 2:1 ratio of bread flour to all-purpose flour. (The cookies from my second attempt are noted in the picture.)

You can see that the second attempt cookies are browner (from the additional brown sugar), and slightly "taller". Still not the way I really wanted them to look, but better. I prefer chewy cookies over crunchy ones, and that was no problem here. Ugly or not, they were both chewy, which made me happy (-ier).

One of my Florida girlfriends said she gave up on making cookies years ago and now makes cookie bars instead. I think she may be on to something. Another (Susie M.), shared her cookie tips with me (Silpat mat, keeping the dough cool in the freezer between trays, and only one tray - on the middle rack in the oven - at a time), which I also incorporated in the second batch. Thanks, Anne and Susie!

I made two double batches of cookies between Sunday and Monday nights. I've had enough of Toll House for now. Good thing most of those cookies went out the door, too. I'd hate to be sitting wallowing over a plate of cookies and milk!