Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies and Special News!

I have been MIA from my blog and I'm sorry for this. The first half of June was filled with rehearsals and performances of an opera in NYC. Then, I left my office for a 7 week leave of absence and went to Lubbock,TX for the weekend after which I had a road trip to Colorado.

Because (drum roll please)...I am singing at a music festival for 6 weeks in Colorado! It's quite a change from NYC. (Understatement of the year.)

So, I've been busy getting ready for the festival and then acclimating to the new schedule AND new altitude.

While I haven't felt too out of breath singing, I HAVE while running. Whew! Hills are hard enough, but when at 9,000 feet elevation, they are just plain mean. At least the view is amazing. Here's a pic I snapped while running the second day in CO.

I haven't baked yet, but plan to this week. I need to read up on the differences for baking in altitude. I'm rather excited!

In the meantime, here are some cookies I made for the opera cast in NYC in the middle of June. (And I hope to blog again soon!)

Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

(I made this up. It's quite easy. Take your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and add sea salt to the top of the cookies after they've been in the oven for half the bake time.)

1 stick of margarine/butter (I find that margarine will make them softer. Yum!)
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 egg well beaten
1 cup and 2 Tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla (use the real thing....imitation vanilla is a poser!)
1/4 teaspoon of warm water (DO IT! TRUST ME!)
6 oz of semi sweet chocolate chip morsels (Personally, I'm a Nestle girl.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix margarine, sugars, and egg together until margarine chunks are quite small and well beaten. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together and then stir until well mixed. Add vanilla and then mix. Water and then mix. And then add in the chocolate chips last. Place dollops of dough on cookie sheet with plenty of room between each dollop. Bake 8-10 minutes. At the 5 minute point, pull them out and sprinkle sea salt on top.
Erika's Extra Notes: To get very lovely and soft cookies, take out of oven when they are still fluffy/slightly uncooked looking. They will cook more while cooling. If baking two sheets at once, make sure to switch the top to the bottom and vice-versa half way through baking.

 Bake well and prosper!