Baking For A Good Cause

Yesterday, I sent off my care package to the soldiers in Iraq. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I'll rewind a week. I was blog-surfing and ran across a posting called Operation Baking Gals. It was a call to action asking bloggers to put their baking skills to good use and send some yummy desserts to our soldiers overseas. I immediately signed up and made some cookies last night. I have no idea if they will make it to Iraq, or heck, if they will be good by the time they arrive. Regardless, at least our soldiers know that we are supporting them.

I kept a few for the family and I finished the last one tonight. I decided to test out a new recipe from A Peek in Priscilla's Kitchen, the blog of an amazing 16-year old who loves to cook. She is quite talented and my skills pale in comparison. The cookies were delish and very easy to make. I'll definitely break these out again.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. hot water
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans. Bake for about 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.