Cookies - A great Way to Spend the Day

My wife, Sandy, says she does not bake and for the most part she is correct. For some reason, even following the recipe, she just doesn’t have a feel for baking. A friend of ours and a really good baker (he was a professional before he opted out to Jamba Juice or something like that) says that baking is as much art and a sense of things as it is a set of ingredients.

So today I came home from my morning workout to a crises – the need to have a a house packed with cookies by the end of the day. Oatmeal, ginger molasses, finger-prints, and chocolate chip needed to be pilled high in chewy splendor. However, after a long day in the kitchen is there anything better than having a house full of warm baked goods wafting throughout? But don’t say anything about the dirty bakeware.

On the other hand, I like to mix and match and roll and plop cookie dough. I just do not have the incentive most of the time. Today she was knighted with the task of baking an assortment of cookies for a school parent’s night. A friend had volunteered but got to the point where it was not going to get done and asked for the favor at the last minute. So who came to the rescue?

First in the line up: Oatmeal with raisons, Almond sugar cookies, and Butterscotch. Ding! Ding! We have a winner! These cookies aren’t only great, they have the best texture. The crunchy almonds, chewy oats, and gooey butterscotch makes these dangerously addictive, and worth every bite. Why do we have to give these away???

Finger prints are always fun because of all the different fillings that go inside. My favorites are raspberry and caramel. And the can be made early and baked late. Sandy does a little trick before baking them. After the shortbread style dough is made and formed into fat little cookies, she finger prints them on the baking sheet. Then she sticks them in the freezer. When they are chilled and hard, she fills them and sticks them in the oven at the last minute. This way the finger print stays deep and there is no spilling of the filling. What a smart cookie!

Then awaits the good old Chocolate Chipper! Always a favorite among the cookie clan, Who can ever have just one as proven by Famous Amos and Mrs. Fields. The semi-sweet jumbo chips freckle the warm golden face and glisten with gooey goodness.

Next: Ginger Molasses. A holiday favorite for many, they make me think of Christmas trees and family. These are made with the perfect crisp exterior and moist interior. Biting them is like cracking the Crème Brule shell to get to the soft middle.

Near the end are some freshly baked biscuits. These go with flavored honey and are targeted at those who think the cookies are out of bounds. Who could ever think that?

As we got toward the last batch, we felt we definitely needed to test these warm cookies before they were schlepped off to the teacher’s and parents. “We have to make sure they taste alright,” I insisted. Besides, who can prepare all of this without getting the urge to try the fruits of labor.

We did good! While not all of the recipes were followed exactly and a secret ingredient was tossed in as needed, there have been few times where we made anything that has tasted this heavenly. Maybe it was smelling everything all day long that added to the flavor but something was sure went right.

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Almond-Oat-Scotch

1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 cups oats
½ cup almonds
½ cup butterscotch chips
(add more if desired)

How-to:
Preheat oven to 350*. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Use electric mixer to beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and mix until combined. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir dry ingredients into wet with spatula. Stir in oats, almonds, and chips.

Roll 2 inch balls and place them on the baking sheets about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until golden at edges. Let cool. Enjoy!

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Chocolate Chippers

2 Sticks butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
5 cups flour
3 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet are best!)

How-to:

Preheat oven to 350*. With electric mixer cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and combine. In separate bowl mix together flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to combine. Add chocolate chips and mix.

With an ice cream scoop, scoop the dough and place them on baking sheet about 3 inches apart.

Bake on middle rack for 15 minutes, or until gold on the edges. Let cool! Pour a glass of milk and dig in!