(from l to r: oatmeal chocolate chip, gingerbread, chocolate)
'tis the season to be baking! well, at least in my kitchen. and there is nothing i like baking better than cookies. large batches of cookies come from my kitchen two times a year - christmas & valentine's day. so, let's take a look at who made this year's christmas cookie "nice" list!
first, (and everyone's favorite) aunt jean's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies...
what you need:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup sweet butter
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups of old fashioned oats and chocolate chips (walnuts are a tasty option too!)
how you do it:
first, beat the sugars & butter until smooth and fluffy. once everything looks fluffy, add eggs, milk, & vanilla. in a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder. then gradually beat that mixture into the batter. finally, stir in the oats & chocolate chips (and walnuts) by hand. drop spoonfulls of dough on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
next up, steph's chocolate gooey butter cookies...
what you need:
1 (8oz) brick cream cheese, room temp
1 stick butter, room temp
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18oz) box moist chocolate cake mix
confectioners sugar, for dusting
how you do it:
in a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. beat in the egg. then beat in the vanilla extract. beat in the cake mix. cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner’s sugar. (the batter is still really sticky after 2 hours but the powder sugar will help form the balls). place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 for 12 min. the cookies will remain soft and “gooey”. cool Completely and sprinkle with more confectioners sugar, if desired.
and the newest addition to the list, gingerbread(!)...
adapted from food network magazine, december 2009
what you need:
1 3/4 cups of dark brown sugar
1 stick butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
large pinch of ground cinnamon & cloves
how you do it:
beat sugar and butter until fluffy, then beat in egg, vanilla, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. in a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, and soda together; stir into butter mixture. drop by the spoonful, sprinkle with coarse sugar and bake 8-12 minutes at 350.
thanks to all my friends & family who pass along their recipes for all to share! season's eatins!!
