Guess who finally bought the Zoku Quick Pop Maker? I did, and I am super happy with it! I have been playing with it since I got it. So far I have made four different pop flavors. The first one I tried was the orange pop mix that I bought from Williams-Sonoma. Instead of using milk, I thought, why not yogurt? Boy, was it good! Then there was grape (Welch’s juice concentrate), with milk and heavy cream. That one was good, too. I also tried the other mix from Williams-Sonoma, the chocolate fudge. It was okay. At the moment, I have berry punch (Minute Maid juice concentrate) in my freezer. This flavor, I’m telling you, is the bomb! Then again, I am partial to anything berry flavored.

The thing with the pop maker is, you can make three batches once the pop maker is ready. However, some recipes, depending on the consistency and ingredients, may require longer freezing time, which may result to refreezing the pop maker sooner than you expect. What I found helpful with the freezing process was to put the pop maker in the freezer while waiting. It not only keeps the pop maker frozen, but it also speeds up the freezing time of the pops. Smart, eh? Another smart thing I did was I bought an extra set of the pop sticks, that way I can make lots and lots of ice pops! (And eat them too!)

On another yummy note, I baked some chocolate chip cookies last week, and they’re REALLY good. Trust me. Instead of using semi-sweet chocolate chips that the recipe called for, I used a combination of milk and white chocolate chip. Oh, and one more thing, instead of using a small ice cream scoop to drop the cookie dough, I used a quarter cup, which yielded these huge cookies. Winner.

Don’t just sit there, go bake some. Now.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

(makes 2 dozens)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2. In a bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and the sugars in a large mixing bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, and vanilla.

4. Add flour mixture gradually, until combined.

5. Stir in chocolate chips.

6. Use a mini ice cream scoop to drop cookie dough on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.