One Cookie, Many Ways

 

Ok, so I have to admit I LOVE cookies. In fact, I can usually have a cookie hot from

the oven within 15 minutes of deciding that I want one. For obvious health reasons, this is not always a good thing. I have to say I rarely bake cookies anymore unless I have someone to bake for. For those of you who can have just one cookie and then be done with it...I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU! It is actually easier for me not to have any at all. If I am going to have a cookie, then I most likely want three cookies. Are you beginning to see why it isn't always a good idea for me to make a batch of cookies?! I baked this batch for a group of students at my school a while ago and I have just gotten around to completing the post. Here it is...

Basic Cookie Dough Recipe

2 sticks of butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups white wheat(or all-purpose) flour

1/2 wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Your "add-ins"*

*For these cookies I added in 3/4 cup chopped pecans and 1 3/4 cups chopped dark chocolate.

Other combinations I have tried and liked: 

* milk chocolate chips and walnuts

* white chocolate hcips and macadamia nuts...indulge yourself

* chopped up Milky Way bars (the caramel melts and the cookies do spread a bit)

* chocolate chips and Heath Bar bits

Cream together butter and sugars, then beat in eggs and vanilla. In separate bowl mix together dry ingredients and then stir into butter mixture. Then stir in your add-ins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. I use heaping tablespoons of dough..I like bigger cookies.

I do "tester cookies" because I frequently try different add-ins. I typically put 4 cookies on a sheet and start baking. After 6 or so minutes I can tell if the cookies have spread too much that I need to add more flour to rest of the dough. 

For a chewy cookie you need to make a commitment to learning just when to take the cookies out. Remember that anything that has been baked has some residual heat when you take it out. So if your cookies don't quite look cooked, it might be a good time to take them out. The center will finish cooking on the cooling rack but will remain chewy. Obviously, for a crispier cookie, cook longer but remember to still look for G, B and D

(golden, brown and delicious!). And it is always a good idea to cool your cookies on a cooling rack.

Enjoy and please let me know of any new combinations you have tried!

yours in baking-

p