Bfth's Bonkers: Baking, Baking...

 So it's Dick Van Dyke's 100th birthday.  Hallelujah that this treasure is still around to bring us joy.  (If you can't find joy in The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Poppins or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang there is something wrong with you.)  Although I never got into Diagnosis Murder (it's never too late though, right?  There is a Pluto channel that seems to be dedicated to it) and Mr. Van Dyke's episode of Columbo is not one of my faves (he's a really good bad guy, but who wants him to be a bad guy?), I'm still a huge fan.  (How could you not be?)  I've seen The Runner Stumbles and think it's a really good film.  (Though I haven't seen it in a long time...I need to try and find it.  It's not your "typical" Dick Van Dyke film, although is ANYTHING about Dick Van Dyke typical?)

So what does Mr. Van Dyke's 100th celebration have to do with today's (supposed) blog post topic?  Nothing really or maybe it does.  This centenarian always seems to have a positive outlook and brings joy to others.  I'm not 100, but I do try to have a positive outlook and I do like to make others happy.  (Although I can't do it through song and dance like he does, but then again nobody can!)   Dick Van Dyke brings so many people joy and last week's success with the biscotti brought me joy so...

(Just in case you missed it:  https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2025/12/bfth-bakes-biscotti.html)

So after last Sunday wonderful experience of making biscotti with cranberry (no eggs), I thought I'd try this week with the mini chocolate chips that I had left over from the not so wonderful attempt at the chocolate covered cranberry sauce. (https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2025/11/bfth-makes-mess-dessert-edition.html)  I mean the chocolate chips are not going to eat themselves (especially since they are mini).  And let's not forget that I had to buy a BIG yogurt and a 4 sticks of butter when I really only need 4 tablespoons of yogurt and one stick of butter.  I can't just leave them sitting around, can I?

So after an early morning trek to get groceries (because what else would you do on a cold December morning?), and after a cup of coffee in front of the fireplace (yes, I am really using it this year and I'm liking it!), I gathered everything up and made the biscotti.  


I TRIED to do everything exactly as I did last Sunday, but...maybe my measuring was a little off.  Or maybe the chocolate chips make it a little "runny".  They didn't cut as easily.  They seemed a light doughy.  But when I took them out...well they weren't perfect, but they still tasted darned good.  (Of course I still don't know if what I've made tastes like "real" biscotti, but does that really matter?)  I mean it's nice when things look good outside, but isn't it what it really is on the inside that counts?  (Especially with the inside is butter chocolatey delicious?)


But making chocolate chip biscotti is not enough to celebrate Mr. Van Dyke.  With the grumpy, cranky awfulness of the world, we need some more sweet.  And I still had plenty of chocolate chips so...

A couple of years ago I found a very easy and egg free chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I still have it somewhere.  I KNOW I have it somewhere.  I just don't know exactly where.  I suspect it's still in NJ along with my "photo album" of recipes that I've cut out over the years. (No one uses photo albums with magnetic pages anymore, right?  I do.  I used to clip recipes and put them in.  Then I started printing them and putting them in.)  So I had to go in search of a new recipe.  This seemed the simplest.  (And I had all the ingredients I needed in house, although I am running very short on vanilla extract.)

So while the biscotti was baking, I was trying out this new recipe.  Only one problem; the recipe called for a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I only had 3/4 cup of mini semi-sweets left.  What to do?  Fill in the remaining 1/4 cup with regular sized milk chocolate chips.  Dick Van Dyke is 100 today and I am going wild!

The chocolate chip cookie dough chilled while the biscotti baked.   When the biscotti was done, the chocolate chip cookies could go in. (Although I had to wait about a minute to raise the temperature of the over 25 degrees.)


Just before noon I had a dozen biscotti and 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies done.  Now I faced a true dilemma, I had no room for all of this in my cookie jar (aka the disembodied head of Santa Claus).  So I had to resort to putting most of the chocolate chip cookies in a faux Tupperware container. (Who is Mr. Fresh?)  Not ideal, but...


None of these baked goods came out looking perfect, but I don't make cookies to admire them.  And I'm sure that cookie jar and container will be empty sooner than I know it.  However, I still have plenty of butter and yogurt to use up.  Maybe just "plain" biscotti should be up next?  Or maybe a mix of cranberry and chocolate?  Of course, with Christmas less than 2 weeks away, I still haven't made any of the chocolate cinnamon sugar cookies! (They require egg, so I'll be using the up egg replacer that I have and making not so great looking, but delicious tasting, cookies.)

For now it's time to go turn on TCM and enjoy an afternoon of movies starring the birthday boy!  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang definitely requires chocolate chips!

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