Our favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

The title says it all.  These are our favorite!

2 sticks butter

13 ounces white sugar

2 ounces raw sugar

1 ounce molasses (maybe a tablespoon)

2  eggs 

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp Baking soda 

3/4 tsp salt 

1 pound All Purpose flour

1 lb. chocolate (cut into small chunks or a better chocolate chip brand) 

Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and the sugars until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Add eggs. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Add the baking soda and salt. Mix well.  Add the flour and mix just till barely incorporated.  Add chocolate chunks/chips and fold in.

Bake at 360* for 12 minutes till lightly golden on the outside but soft on the inside.  

Earl Grey Cookies

 CHEWY EARL GREY SUGAR COOKIES

from NYT

AH-Mazing!  The original suggested adding chocolate chips and swapping the tea bags for chamomile or chai but I think they are just perfection with Earl grey.

1 1/4 cups/250 grams granulated sugar, divided

14 tablespoons/198 grams unsalted butter

1 tablespoon finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves, from about 3 tea bags  (we used just 2 teabags and didnt measure)

1/2 cup/100 grams light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal) use less if you're using salted butter

1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest, we skipped

1 large egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups/320 grams all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with silpats. Put 1/2 cup/100 grams granulated sugar in small bowl, and set aside.

Combine the butter and tea leaves in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Melt the butter, stirring occasionally, until it just begins to sizzle around the edges. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Add the tea butter to a large bowl, then add brown sugar, salt, orange zest and remaining 3/4 cup/150 grams granulated sugar. Use an electric mixer on medium speed or a whisk (we used a wooden spoon) to combine for about 30 seconds; the mixture will be grainy and separated. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds.

Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda to the bowl, and mix on low speed or with a rubber spatula until just combined (again, we used a wooden spoon). Use the spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure the dough is evenly mixed.

Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the cookies. Alternatively, measure 2 tablespoons of dough with a measuring spoon. Roll each dough ball in the reserved granulated sugar, then place on the baking sheets 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies until set, light golden at the edges and crackled on top, 16 to 19 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back in the oven halfway through the baking time. Remove Cookies from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets. Store extra cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or for a few weeks in the freezer.

Halvah Cookies (aka tahini cookies)

These were originally checkerboard style with half chocolate and half tahini but we loved the tahini bits the best.  This recipe is just for tahini cookies.  They taste like a less sweet halvah. So good!

Halvah Cookies

Makes about 1 dozen cookies, would double nicely

Ingredients

83g powdered sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp, reduce salt if using salted butter

1/3 cup well stirred tahini, room temp

1 1/2 tsp Diamond or 1 tsp Morton kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extra

188g flour

cup raw white and/or black sesame seeds

Preparation

Step 1

Whisk powdered sugar, unsalted butter, tahini, room temperature, kosher salt, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Mix in flour with a rubber spatula until no pockets of dry flour remain. 

Form into a log and wrap with parchment.  

Chill for 2 hours or longer (you can freeze it). 

Optional, brush with water and cover with sesame seeds or sprinkles before cutting. Let sit at room temp for 15 minutes for easy slicing.  Slice 1/2 inch thick slices. Place on parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. They don't spread much so you can place them an inch apart.

Bake at 325 for 25 minutes until lightly browned.

Let cool before serving.  They are better cool.

Softbatch school cookies

I always have this dough in the freezer as it keeps well in preformed balls and it bakes up fast (for cookie emergencies).  They are perfect for packing for school lunches since they stay fresh and soft.

Softbatch Cookies

(make a lot of tiny cookies)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup creamy chevre or cream cheese

1 Tablespoon molasses

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

2 cups of add-ins (we like mini m&ms for mini cookies, but use anything here)

In a stand mixer, mix butter, chevre or cream cheese, molasses, sugar, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping midway to scrape down the sides.

Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and mix until barely combined.  Add your add-ins and mix briefly.

Make your cookie balls.  A tablespoon makes for a small cookie or use a 2inch cookie scoop to make a large cookie or anything in between.  Chill the cookie dough balls or freeze them before baking (I like to freeze them on a cookie sheet, crowded full, and then put them in a ziplock to bake later).

Preheat oven to 350.  Place cookie on silpat (or parchment paper) and space them to allow for a little bit of spread.  Bake for 8 to 9 minutes but not a second longer.  You're looking for set edges.  Let cool for 5 minutes on the sheet to set up.

Gingerbread house (aka How to Host a Gingerbread House making party)

In previous years we went to a wonderful inn for a gingerbread house making workshop.  Last year, we felt rushed and limited by the fast-dwindling supply of candy so this year we made our own.  In short, it was amazing.  It was a ton of effort but so worth it!  I'll post my recipes and tips below.  The gingerbread makes a full flavored and spicy gingerbread.  Reduce the ginger by half if you are concerned, especially if you're using a better brand (we love Penzey's Spices!).

Tips: 

Start a few days to a week ahead and depending on the number of houses, ask a friend to make a few.

Cover your table with a tablecloth for construction for super easy cleanup.

Shop with a few kids for candy.  How often do kids get to buy $50 of candy?!  And dont just shop in the candy aisle.  You'll want ice cream cones for trees and pretzel sticks too.  A gumdrop assortment (with red and green candy corn) is really popular.  Dont forget sprinkles.

Assemble your houses the day before so the "glue" has time to set firm.

Make lemon curd with all the leftover egg yolks (from the glue).

Buy 12 inch white cardboard rounds

Spicy Gingerbread

This gingerbread house recipe is enough to make 2-3 reasonably sized houses plus a few gingerpeople.  I made my own templates so the houses would fit nicely on a 12 inch round with room to spare for front walkways and trees (I stored my templates in with my holiday items so I can easily find them for next year).  We made 8 houses out of a triple recipe plus a few extra sides for any mistakes.  WARNING: this recipe makes a monster amount.  You might want to split it in half to avoid stressing your machine but I never do.

6 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2-3 tablespoons ground ginger

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon cardamom

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

3/4 cup molasses (blackstrap really is best, but any kind works)

1 roll kitchen parchment and/or silicone mats

Using electric mixer (or food processor), beat butter and sugar in large bowl.  Beat in eggs. Add molasses and beat on high speed until well blended. Add dry ingredients in a few additions, beating at low speed until dough forms. Divide dough into 3-6 equal pieces. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 6 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Roll out 1 dough piece (keep remaining dough refrigerated) between two 15-inch-long sheets of parchment to scant 1/4-inch rectangle (or use your silicone mat for the bottom and parchment for the top), turning over dough and parchment occasionally. If parchment wrinkles, peel off, smooth wrinkle and reposition parchment over dough; continue to roll out dough to required thickness.

Remove the top layer of parchment.  Put your template on the rolled out parchment paper and cut around it.  Peel away the excess dough.  If it moves easily, then move it to a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat and continue adding shapes to the cookie sheet.  If it doesnt move easily then leave it on the parchment or silicone mat and slide it onto the baking sheet to bake.  Gather the scraps to chill again while you work on another section of dough.

Bake for about 13 minutes until dry looking and just beginning to darken around the edges  Keep the shape on the parchment and slide it onto a cooking rack to cool completely.  Let the baking sheet cool before using it again or run it under water to cool it faster.

Make 2 sides, a front and back, and 2 roof sections for each house.  Make one or two extra of each in case you break one.  Make a few other shapes with the scraps.

All gingerbread can be prepared 2-5 days ahead.  Just keep it in a safe place away from hungry kids (or dogs!).  Assemble the houses the day before so the glue has time to set before decorating.  Assemble all 4 walls first and wait a few minutes before adding on the roof.

ROYAL ICING

This is the "glue" recipe.  One batch makes enough for gluing together 8 houses.  Be prepared to make at least 3 more batches on the day of decorating (we used 5 total for 8 houses).  This is a raw egg icing.  There are options out there for pasteurizing the icing if you prefer.

2 egg whites

4 generous cups of confectioners sugar

a few splashes of lemon juice

a few splashes of water

vanilla, optional

a big pinch of salt

In a large bowl, whip the egg whites until they are frothy.  Add in sugar and liquid plus salt.  Mix.  Check for consistency and add more of the liquids.  Mix again.  You're looking for a fairly thick icing for most of the decorating.  You might need a super thick icing for some tricky things (like adding a chimney).  Scoop a little into a small bowl to thicken up with more sugar.  Spoon the rest into ziplock bags for decorating.  You can make it ahead of time by just a few hours.

DECORATING

Have the assembled houses and one batch of "glue" ready to go.  Start making another batch right away.  You can re-fill the bags as you go... and you can use a bench scraper to push down the glue inside for the bags.

Aggression Cookies in a bag (aka Cooking with toddlers)

This was a favorite recipe when the kids were little.  They could help without any mess and the cookies were always delicious.  I would let them shape them on the cookie sheet in any shape they liked, knowing that they would look like blobs in the end.  They were always so proud of their work.  And since the batter doesnt have eggs in it, they can safely eat it raw.  This recipe is really easy to double or triple!

Aggression Cookies
makes 12-18 cookies

1 cups oats (old-fashioned)
1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour (try a mix of wheat and white)
1 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
a few shakes of cinnamon, if you like
dash of vanilla, if you like

Put all the ingredients in a ziplock bag (if you've doubled or tripled the recipe then you'll need more bags and more kids).  Hand it to a child and tell them to squeeze and punch and push... the more, the better.  You can also use a large bowl if you're not working with children.

Prepare a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.  Roll the dough into small, walnut-sized balls and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared sheet(s).  They will S P R E A D.  Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges brown.  Remove to a cooling rack.

Molasses Cookies

My kids LOVE molasses cookies.  It's the most requested cookie recipe in our house, after chocolate chip, of course!  They mix up super fast and make a pretty big batch... and they only need one egg (a plus when our hens arent laying enough eggs).

Molasses Cookies
makes 3 dozen

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar

1/4 cup molasses
1 egg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (we like 1 cup white, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt

Sugar - I like raw sugar


In food process, cream butter and sugar.  Add molasses and egg.  Then add in remaining ingredients (except raw sugar).  Chill until firm.

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar.  Place 2 inches apart on silpat lined cookie sheets.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  Cool 1 minute before removing from cookie sheets.

Peanut Butter Cookies

3 ingredients.

1 bowl.

This is the recipe seen all over with just 3 ingredients, it's not only easy to make but also gluten free... and incredibly addictive.  You can dip them in chocolate after they cool to dress them up a bit, but we prefer them plain with a tall glass of raw milk

Peanut Butter Cookies

makes 24 small cookies

1 cup peanut butter (I like natural, unsweetened)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

optional - nuts, choc chips

Mix together everything in a bowl.  The cookies just barely spread so you dont need to space them far apart on the cookie sheet (either greased or use a silpat).  Bake at 350 for maybe 8-10mins.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

These are light and bright cookies, perfect for a snowy day or a hot summer day.  We just love the fresh lemon taste.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies
makes about 20 small  - double it if you're bringing it somewhere (perfect picnic food!)

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup powdered sugar
1 stick butter, room temp
Zest from one lemon (or even 2!)
Splash of lemon juice
1 cup flour (I use a mix of whole wheat and white)
Salt

Cream together sugar and butter with lemon zest and lemon juice.  Blend in salt and flour.  Transfer mixture to wax paper, roll into a log, chill in fridge for at least an hour (or in the super freezer for 10 mins).  If you double it, form 2 logs.

Preheat oven to 325.  Slice and bake.  I like slice it thin, so they bake in 12 mins, but they could take as long as 25 min for thick cookies.

Crunch Cookies

Yum!  Have you tried Crunch yet?  Rex's Outrageous Road Crew Crunch?  You can buy it online or in great stores in Vermont.  It's highly addictive and such a fun treat.  We love cookies so it was only a matter of time before we added Crunch to our cookies.  Try it.  You'll want to try it again and again with each Crunch flavor.  We chose "Mud" and an oatmeal cookie base, but you can choose any flavor of Crunch and any kind of cookie.  I think Crunch would be an interesting contrast in a sandy shortbread cookie.  Next time!

This is my favorite cookie recipe to use a basic recipe.

Here's my recipe:

Crunch Cookies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and
Katy Sparks and Andrea Strong

Makes about 3 dozen cookies
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
 1 3/4 cup sugar
1-2 T molasses
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour (I like a 50-50 mix of whole wheat and white)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2-4 cups of crushed Crunch (if you like more "stuff" in your cookies, add lots of Crunch, you could also use the bottom of a bag of cereal)
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (if you added 4 cups of Crunch then you probably wont need the chips, but that's up to you)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment or a Silpat (nonstick baking mat). Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla, and beat until well mixed, about three minutes. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove in a separate bowl. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter with the mixer on low speed. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the second half. Stir in the oats, Crunch, and chocolate chips (if using). Drop the dough, by the tablespoon, onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on a rack. Store at room temperature in a cookie jar or other airtight container.

Nutella Cookies

We secretly love Nutella over here, ok maybe not so secretly.  I sent my son to school in Kindergarten with a bagel nutella sandwich almost every day.  I was just happy that we was eating something, anything at school.  Now, he's in first grade and we've moved on to healthier options, but we still love Nutella.  So, when a friend shared this recipe, we had to make it.  And they are awesome... and surprisingly not too sweet.  It's a little more fuss than my usual scoop and bake cookies, but really, they're simple... and yum!

Check out the original recipe here from King Arthur.

Or I'll paste it below.  I didnt make any changes, well I skipped the sea salt and espresso.

Nutella Cookies
from King Arthur Flour
makes 12 cookies

Filling
1/2 cup Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread

Cookie dough
1 cup Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread
1 cup King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour or Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional; for enhanced flavor

Topping
Fleur de Sel coarse sea salt

1) To make the filling: Scoop small balls of Nutella (chestnut-sized, about 1" diameter) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. A teaspoon cookie scoop, filled level, is the perfect tool for this job; your goal is about 2 level measuring teaspoons of Nutella. You should have about 12 small balls.
2) Place the baking sheet into the freezer (uncovered is fine), and freeze until the balls are completely frozen, about 3 hours; or up to overnight.
3) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.
4) To make the dough: Mix together all of the dough ingredients; the mixture will be cohesive, fairly soft, but not sticky; think modeling clay.
5) Scoop out heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough; a slightly heaped tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.
6) Flatten a ball of dough. Place one of the frozen Nutella balls in the center. Wrap the dough around the Nutella like a dumpling, enclosing it completely. Roll the ball of dough between your palms to seal any cracks and round it out. Repeat with the remaining dough and frozen Nutella balls.
7) Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet; they won't spread much, so should all fit on one sheet. Sprinkle very lightly with a bit of coarse sea salt.
8) Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes; when done, they will have lost much of their shine, and you may see a very faint lightening of color around the bottom third of each cookie.
9) Remove the cookies from the oven; serve warm, or at room temperature. For the full melting-center, lava-like effect, serve warm; if they're at room temperature, the centers will be solid. Reheat very briefly in the microwave to liquefy the centers, if desired.

Brown Butter Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies

We discovered brown butter and we're hooked.  These are awesome cookies.  We made some of them with chocolate chips in them, but I like them plain even better... and of course, I subbed in whole wheat flour.  They do take a while to make, since after you brown the butter, you have to chill it, then make the batter, then chill it.  So, the hands on time is short, but the overall time is a few hours... so worth the wait!

Click here for the original recipe from Smitten Kitchen (a favorite of mine!) or read my ever so slightly modified version below.

Brown Butter Brown Sugar Shorties
Adapted by Smitten Kitchen from Gourmet and ever so slightly further adapted by me

Makes about 32 cookies (if you dont eat the batter!)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (preferably dark)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (mix of white and whole)
1/4 teaspoon salt (flaky salt would be great in these)
a few handful of chocolate chips

Cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it has a nutty fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn a light brown, anywhere from 4 to 7 minutes. It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Transfer butter to a bowl and chill until just firm, about 1 hour.
Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, then mix in flour and salt at low speed until almost combined.  Add in chocolate chips till combined. Transfer dough to a sheet of wax paper or parchment and form into a 12-inch log, 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Chill, wrapped in wax paper, until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Unwrap dough and slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, arranging 1 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet (I use a siplat). Bake until surface is dry and edges are slightly darker, 10 to 12 minutes. Let sit on sheet for a minute before transferring to a rack to cool. (Cookies will be quite fragile at first, but will firm up as they cool.)

Yummy Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

After reading countless recipes involving browned butter, I finally had to try it.  In cookies.  Serious Eats had a serious recipe, so I used that as a starting point.  With kids though, waiting 2 days for the batter to rest just wasnt going to work, so we baked them right away.  I do think that I over-browned the butter (it was dark brown) and of course, I subbed in half whole wheat flour (as I do for most recipes).  I used plain old chocolate chips instead of chopping up chocolate as the recipe suggested.

cookie meet hand (hand and photo credit: Delilah Kramer)

We LOVE these cookies with hints of caramel, toffee, and buttery goodness; they just might replace our favorite from Not Without Salt.  Check out the browned butter recipe from Serious Eats and you can alter it as you like:

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

Makes about 28 cookies, active time 30 minutes, total time 1 day

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 standard ice cube (about 2 tablespoons frozen water)
• 10 ounces (about 2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
• 5 ounces (about 3/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 ounces (about 1/2 tightly packed cup plus 2 tablespoons) dark brown sugar
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped with a knife into 1/2- to 1/4-inch chunks
• Coarse sea salt for ganish

Procedures

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, gently swirling pan constantly, until particles begin to turn golden brown and butter smells nutty, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and continue swirling the pan until the butter is a rich brown, about 15 seconds longer. Transfer to a medium bowl, whisk in ice cube, transfer to refrigerator, and allow to cool completely, about 20 minutes, whisking occasionally. (Alternatively, whisk over an ice bath to hasten process).
2. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Place granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium high speed until mixture is pale brownish-yellow and falls off the whisk in thick ribbons when lifted, about 5 minutes.
3. Fit paddle attachment onto mixer. When brown butter mixture has cooled (it should be just starting to turn opaque again and firm around the edges), Add brown sugar and cooled brown butter to egg mixture in stand mixer. Mix on medium speed to combine, about 15 seconds. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until just barely combined but some dry flour still remains, about 15 seconds. Add chocolate and mix on low until dough comes together, about 15 seconds longer. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate dough at least overnight and up to three days.
4. When ready to bake, adjust oven racks to upper and lower middle positions and preheat oven to 325°F. Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or a spoon, place scoops of cookie dough onto a non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheet. Each ball should measure approximately 3 tablespoons in volume and you should be able to fit 6 to 8 balls on each sheet. Transfer to oven and bake until golden brown around edges but still soft, 13 to 16 minutes, rotating pans back to front and top and bottom half way through baking.
5. Remove baking sheets from oven. While cookies are still hot, sprinkle very lightly with coarse salt and gently press it down to embed. Let cool for 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for remaining cookie dough. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container, plastic bag, or cookie jar at room temperature for up to 5 days.

from http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/12/the-food-lab-best-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe.html

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