Picture the scene… it is late in the night on May 1st, 2011. You and a group of friends are sitting around, watching groundbreaking news unfold. Osama Bin Laden has been killed. It is a historic moment, most likely not to be forgotten during your lifetime.

Deep in conversation, you are all expressing your gratitude for our US Soldiers. Some are expressing concerns over the safety of our troops and the retaliation that is certain to come from Bin Laden’s death. Additionally, many are aghast at the celebrations taking place in the streets, remembering back to 9/11 when “they” were celebrating in the face of our tragedy. The conversations are deep, meaningful, thought provoking. Then, all of a sudden, one of the friends present says “Hey… look at these cookies I made for Mother’s Day. Pretty awesome aren’t they?”

Everyone looks at the person like they are insane. Did they just talk about Mother’s Day cookies in a time like this? Do they not know what just happened?

This is basically the scene last night. Twitter and Facebook were a buzz with the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death. Among the news, tweets that were previously scheduled (or at least I hope they were pre-scheduled tweets) were interrupting this historic moment in awkward abundance. Scheduled tweets, my friends, were seen as irreverent and completely out of place and frankly, a bit ridiculous. As Stefania tweeted “Beyond strange, it’s a social media fail.”

I know this type of event doesn’t happen everyday… it is a brief moment in history, but consider the moments your scheduled tweets might be interrupting and decide for yourself if it is truly worth that extra few seconds you gain by scheduling your blog post tweets.

Just something to think about… do you want to be talking about your latest unrelated blog post when groundbreaking history is made?

The post Why You Shouldn’t Schedule Your Blog Post Tweets appeared first on Dine and Dish.

Sometimes as food bloggers, we try so hard to do something original or out of the ordinary with our recipes that the plain recipes… the classic recipes… get overlooked. As much as I love a touch of special, I also have to admit that some of the most basic and simple recipes are my favorite.

These chocolate cookies, for example, won’t stand out to anyone as being unique. It is a chewy, chocolate cookie. Delicious and extraordinary in flavor, but there is nothing special about this recipe. This cookie won’t make it on a list of most interesting cookies. It won’t win awards for the most unique blend of flavors, but I can guarantee you that it will win smiles from each and every chocolate lover who tastes them.

Sure, I could have added a sprinkle of sea salt on the top to make them stand out. I could have sandwiched a layer of french vanilla caramel in between them for that extra ounce of ooomph. Even better… I could have drizzled salted french vanilla caramel on top of them for the biggest punch of wow, but I didn’t. You see, these cookies… these tender, soft, chewy, chocolaty cookies, don’t need help from a fancier supporting cast. They, my friends, can handle the spotlight quite well on their very own. Take a taste and see… sometimes plain can be the most extraordinary flavor of all.

The recipe is after this  short, fun video with Linda Stahl, baking authority for Hershey’s test kitchens. Linda personally answered some of my most pressing questions about the ins and outs of Cookie Exchanges. This chocolate cookie is one of my contributions to an upcoming cookie exchange with friends…listen to Linda’s advice on how else to make a cookie exchange successful!

Extra Special Chewy Chocolate Cookies

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Plain & Extraordinary Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Author Dine & Dish

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups butter softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened Hershey cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs then add the vanilla
• In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; gradually mix into the creamed mixture.
• Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheets
• Bake 9 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies will be soft and still look slightly doughy
• Let set and cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then remove from sheet onto wire rack to cool completely

The post Opposite of Fancy {Recipe: Plain & Extraordinary Chewy Chocolate Cookies} appeared first on Dine and Dish.