Christmas cookies~~ part 2!!!

yes...we are still baking! only now, it is for the upcoming weekend of girlfriends. what do girlfriends like in their baked goods?? why, chocolate of course! girlfriends on holiday *need* their chocolate sweet treats. there's that & the fact that someone has eaten all the chocolate chip cookies that were baked last week. i wonder who did that?? not one single chocolate chip-smeared face will fess up to it.

on the agenda for this week...chocolate chip cookies (toll house cookies) & my personal favorite from this year's selections...parma chocolate cookies from michelle scicolone's la dolce vita cookbook. i'll direct you here for that famous toll house cookie recipe...& i'll share my slightly modified version of ms. scicolone's cookies for what's cooking wednesday.

PARMA CHOCOLATE COOKIES

preheat oven to 350 & butter your baking sheets.

melt & cool 3 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate...i used valhrona 72%...oooohhhhh

beat 12 T. butter, 1/2 c. sugar & 1/2 t. salt with a mixer til light & fluffy

add the cooled, melted chocolate, beating til well blended

gradually stir in 2 c. flour

cool dough if necessary for better handling...then shape into 1 inch balls

now here is where ms. scicolone & i differ...she rolls them in finely chopped hazelnuts...my children would declare anarchy if i were to do that, so i don't...not yet!

place cookies 1-1/2 inches apart on cookie sheets

poke a hole in each cookie & fill with jam of your choice (i love me some seedless raspberry!), being careful not to over fill them (the jam will run over if you do)

bake 18-20 min...then cool on a wire rack

try not to eat all of them at once!