After work I went for a 5 mile run down and around Jamaica Pond. It was so warm that it felt like a Spring day! Its always nice to have a few warm days mixed in with chilly fall days.
I raced home because today I had a mission: to make lots and lots of cookies! I'd promised Pat that I would make cookies for him to bring to hang out with his friends, since apparently several other guys had brought some baked treats recently and he hadn't brought any. Its also been a while since I made cookies from scratch, and I'm excited to bake. So I set out to make two kinds of cookies - lots for Pat's friends, and also some for my friends and to bring to my dad!
Cookie #1 - Chewy Chocolate Chip
I found this recipe while blog hopping a couple weeks ago. It is Jenna's recipe, and I'd never been to her blog before, but it is funny because her blog name is very close to mine! Check it out! My blog is just in the toddler stages, but her blog is quite large and impressive.
Makes about 75 cookies.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt (or sea salt if you have it!)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 bag chocolate chips (about 1 3/4 cups)
Before you get started:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Let butter sit at room temperature for a good while to soften (or if you're making these last-minute, you can soften in microwave)
Cream together the sugar and butter using a wooden spoon.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each one. Then add the Vanilla extract and mix together.
Add the flour to the dough, mix to combine. Then carefully stir in the chocolate chips.
Put cookies on baking sheet. If non-stick sheet you can use as-is, otherwise use cooking spray or parchment paper to prevent from sticking. Cookies before:
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden.
Cookie up close:
Pile of cookies:
What I learned halfway through this batch of cookies...they look much more appealing if you roll the dough into little balls rather than just slapping a spoonful of batter onto the cookie sheet.
This batch yielded 71 cookies...my estimate is that I would have had 75 cookies if I hadn't eaten a ton of dough while belting out "I'm so excited" - I got pretty into these cookies. And I'm happy to report that they were beyond delicious! Pat couldn't believe how good they were, neither could his friends or my friends. All that remains of the 71 cookies are 2 that I set aside for Pat to have with lunch today. So these were definitely a hit!
Cookie #2 - Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cherry Cranberry
I found this recipe in the January/February 2010 issue of Cooking Light. I ripped it out of the magazine months ago, excited to make them, but it didn't happen until now. The magazine's name for the cookies are Chocolate-Cherry Heart Smart Cookies because these are actually better for you than a typical cookie...you wouldn't be able to tell by tasting them though!
Makes about 35 cookies.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup dried cherries (I used half dried cherries and half dried cranberries)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used 2/3 cup chocolate chips, because that's what I had at home)
- Cooking Spray
Combine flours, oats, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Stir with a whisk:
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat (or in the microwave). Remove from heat and add brown sugar, stirring until smooth. Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture. Mix until well blended.
Add cherries, cranberries, egg and vanilla, then mix until combined. (I forgot to beat my egg before mixing in).
Fold in the chocolate. Here's the dough:
This dough is much different from the dough of my Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies. This almost looks like granola, and instead of spooning it onto the cookie sheet, you need to form dough balls with your hands and roll so they stay together.
Ready to go in:
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (the recipe calls for 12 but mine were done by 10 minutes and were nice and chewy). Allow to cool on pans for a couple minutes before moving them to plates or wire racks.
These cookies wanted their own fashion shoot. See how cute and yummy these look! Irresistible! The cherries and cranberries gave a nice bite which was perfectly paired with the earthy oat flavor and sweet chocolate. A lot of these went to Pat's friends as well, but I was able to save a dozen to bring to dinner with my dad and Jim!
While my cookies were baking, I also had some food on the grill for dinner...
Potatoes:
I sliced 3 small potatoes and covered them with garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Transfer potatoes to a piece of tin foil and wrap up, making sure seams are closed.
Grill on medium for about an hour.
And the rest of my dinner was grilled chicken and steamed broccoli.
Now all I can think about is cookies, and what other kinds I can make!
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