Category: Cookies

Recipes for cookies.

I ‘Congo’ on and on about these great cookie bars

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date February 6, 2020

Congo bars combine brown sugar, chocolate chips and pecans into a delicious, soft cookie bar.

I’m always on the hunt for easy recipes to feed a crowd, and as I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I found a great cookie bar recipe that fit the bill.

And then I forgot to take a photo before my crowd inhaled every last one.

So, with the Super Bowl in my sights, I whipped up this recipe once again and made sure that I snapped a photo long before they hit the snack table.

With the added experience of baking these a second time, I can say with absolute confidence that not only are these incredibly easy to make, but they’re definitely a crowd pleaser, as well.

I suppose you could say the outcome of the game and the full bellies leaving our house afterwards were a win-win.

This awesome recipe comes from the blog “Six Sisters Stuff.” If you haven’t heard of their site, I highly recommend it. It’s written by six sisters who now live in various parts of the country. They co-write the site as a way to keep in touch, which I think is a fantastic idea. You can find the original post at https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/congo-bars-recipe/. I doubled the vanilla in my version.

Congo Bars

Congo bars combine brown sugar, chocolate chips and pecans into a delicious, soft cookie bar.

Course Dessert

Keyword bars, chocolate, pecans

Ingredients

2/3 cup butter softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 9×13-inch baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray and set it aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until it’s light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla, and then beat in the flour, baking powder and salt.
Once everything is well incorporated, mix in the chocolate chips and pecans.
Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is nicely browned. (You don’t need to do the toothpick test on this one. The bars will finish setting up as they cool.)
Let the bars cool completely and slice for serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

I told Joey that I don’t remember making cookie bars that used 100-percent brown sugar and no granulated sugar before this recipe. I think that addition is what made these really soft and chewy.

This particular recipe is getting its own card in my recipe box, which is my way of giving a gold star to a dish.

This time, after our friends exited and we started cleaning up, I actually had a few bars left over, but those were easily taken care of the next morning for breakfast along with a nice cup of coffee.

And really, I don’t think it would have mattered what dessert landed on our table for the Super Bowl last weekend. The victory was already sweet enough.

This piece first appeared in print on Feb. 6, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Tags bars, brown sugar, chocolate, pecans, soft

Cookies Dessert

Sugar cookies had me at ‘Jell-O’

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date January 2, 2020

Jell-O sugar cookies with Jell-O frosting can be made in every color of the rainbow.

A few months ago, Joey and I moved into a new house, and I must confess that my pantry is still an absolute mess.

I often reference my pantry in this column, but up until we moved, my “pantry” has always been a large, open bookshelf in my kitchen, so a lot of my food items are tucked into containers and baskets to give it all the semblance of organization.

Now I have an entire, floor-to-ceiling cabinet, and I haven’t quite figured out how to get it into a state I’m proud of yet.

While digging for some rarely used Christmas spices, I came across a stash of gelatin, which I totally forgot existed. I added it to another stack of Jell-O I already had, wondering how and why I had so many boxes of the stuff, when I don’t really use it all that often.

(If someone understands the finer points of gelatin reproduction, you might enlighten me.)

But, in following with my new resolve to rid my pantry of its overabundance, I found a recipe that let me use up two whole boxes of gelatin, which I was pretty excited about.

I found a cookie recipe on the blog “Family Cookie Recipes.” You can find it at https://familycookierecipes.com/jello-sugar-cookies/ .The author suggests a frosting recipe, too, but I decided to go a different direction. The frosting recipe I used came from “Little Delights Cakes.” You can find that one at http://littledelightscakes.com/jello-frosting/. The recipe author notes that sugar-free Jell-O shouldn’t be used for making this. My only changes were to add a bit more vanilla to the frosting and bring these two great recipes together.

Jell-O Sugar Cookies

Jell-O sugar cookies with Jell-O frosting can be made in every color of the rainbow.

Course Dessert

Keyword colorful, cookies, frosting, gelatin, Jell-O

Ingredients

Cookie Ingredients

1 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
3 ounces Jell-O any flavor
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting Ingredients

3 ounces Jell-O any flavor
2/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg white
1/2 cup boiling water

Instructions

For the cookies, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth, and then beat in the Jell-O.
Beat the eggs in until the mixture is smooth, and then finish out by beating in the dry ingredients.
When everything is well-incorporated, scoop the dough by the tablespoon onto a prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about two inches apart.
Bake for 8 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.
Let the cookies cool completely before frosting them.
For the frosting, combine the Jell-O, sugar, vanilla and egg white in a mixing bowl and beat together until they’re well combined.
Add in the boiling water and beat the mixture for about 7 minutes to get the frosting nice and fluffy. To make it easier to spread on the cookies, refrigerate it for about 30 minutes to let it set up a bit.
Spread or pipe the frosting onto the finished cookies and store them in an airtight container. (Fair warning: this frosting is more like a whipped cream, so it won’t harden, and you won’t be able to stack the finished cookies.)

These were really good. I had an overabundance of strawberry gelatin, so that’s what I used for both the cookies and the frosting, but you could use any flavor combination that sounds good to you.

I also wondered if you could make two different colors and swirl the dough together to get a fun look.

It felt nice to get a couple items cleaned out of the pantry, but I’m still going to need to get to work on my food organization. There may be even more surprises just waiting to be discovered.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 2, 2020.

Tags colorful, frosting, gelatin, Jell-O, sugar cookies

Cookies Dessert

Here’s a dessert that’s perfect for crunch time

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date October 3, 2019

No-bake chocolate crunch bars are a perfect recipe for beginning cooks, those who are in a hurry, or anyone wanting a nice, sweet treat.

When we were kids, my mom would give my sister and I each a quarter a day for snacks at the Haven pool when we’d go swimming with our babysitter.

That quarter could get you some licorice or Now and Laters, but I would often hoard my coins for several sessions until I had enough to get a cold Twix from the pool’s freezer. It was always worth going a few days without a treat to bite into that icy candy bar.

I still like to toss candy into the fridge or freezer at home. I’m not sure what it is about a cold chocolate bar that’s so appealing, but I always love them.

That was part of what I liked about this week’s recipe, because these no-bake bars are chewy and crunchy and chilly right out of the fridge—a perfect combination.

This recipe comes from the blog “Barefeet in the Kitchen” by Mary Younkin. You can find the original at https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/no-bake-chocolate-cereal-bars-recipe/. Because this was such a simple recipe, my only change was swapping in crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy.

No-Bake Chocolate Crunch Bars

No-bake chocolate crunch bars are a perfect recipe for beginning cooks, those who are in a hurry, or anyone wanting a nice, sweet treat.

Course Dessert

Keyword chocolate, crunchy, no bake, peanut butter

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups cornflakes

Instructions

Line a 8-by-3-inch bread pan or a 6-by-6-inch square pan with parchment or waxed paper (hang it over the sides to help remove the bars later) and set aside.
In a large, microwave-safe bowl, combine the sugar, honey and peanut butter and heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until everything is smooth. Add in the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted.
Dump the mixture into the prepared pan and press it down evenly.
Place the bars in the refrigerator for two or three hours to set up. Pull the bars out of the pan using the paper and transfer to a cutting board.
Cut into bars the size of your choosing and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

I’m not often as big of a fan of no-bake cookies as many people are, but these were a slam dunk. Using honey for part of the sweetener gave these a richness that I really liked, and the crunch of both the cornflakes and crunchy peanut butter was excellent.

It’s probably a good thing this recipe makes a smaller batch of bars, since we managed to eat all of them in pretty short order.

I would say you could get away with using a normal 8-by-8-inch pan, too, but part of these bars’ appeal is how nice and thick they are.

They were also a nice, cool treat out of the fridge for a few days, which I really appreciated on some warm evenings. And, as a bonus, I didn’t even have to put on a swimming suit to enjoy them.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 3, 2019.

Tags chocolate, crunchy, honey, no-bake, peanut butter

Cookies Dessert

These cookies are a ‘cream’ come true

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date August 29, 2019

Boston cream pie cookie bites are creamy, delicious and slightly addictive.

Early on in our marriage, Joey told me he loves Boston cream pie, and I kept that in the back of my mind for a long time as a recipe I should try to make for him.

But then I didn’t.

I think it’s probably because I often balk at making layer cakes, as though they’re somehow supremely more difficult than making one with a single layer.

But then I was gifted a mini muffin tin very recently, and I finally knew how I could give Joey a taste of Boston cream pie without making a large dessert.

I found a recipe for some Boston cream pie cookie bites not long ago on the blog “Practically Homemade.” You can find the post at https://practicallyhomemade.com/boston-cream-pie-cookie-bites/. The only thing I changed was a bit of the procedure, and I highly recommend using dark chocolate chips for the ganache rather than semi-sweet if you have it available.

Boston Cream Pie Cookie Bites

Boston cream pie cookie bites are creamy, delicious and slightly addictive.

Course Dessert

Keyword boston cream pie, cake mix, chocolate, cookies

Ingredients

1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1 stick butter softened
3.25- ounce instant vanilla pudding
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup milk I used skim
2 tablespoon chocolate chips I used dark chocolate
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray the cups of a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and set it aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs and butter until smooth.
Use a small scoop to evenly distribute the batter into all the cups (about a tablespoon or dough or so). Pat each cup down so that it has a smooth, flat top, and then bake for seven to eight minutes or until the edges are browned slightly.
Set the cookies aside to cool for about five minutes, and then use a tart shaper or a similarly shaped spoon handle to press down the middle of each cookie and create an indentation.
Let the cookies cool completely before going on to the next step, and remove them from the muffin tin.
For the filling, beat the pudding mix, cup of heavy cream and milk until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
Using the same scoop as before, evenly distribute the filling into all of the cups.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and two tablespoons heavy cream and microwave 10 seconds at a time, stirring between each heating, until the mixture is smooth. Spoon a little of the ganache over each of the cookies, and then refrigerate them until the ganache is set.
Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

These were a huge hit. So much so that when I took the last few cookies over to dinner at my sister and brother-in-law’s house, they announced I wasn’t allowed back without making them another batch (I think they were joking…). And then, when I returned home, Joey was a bit perturbed that his last few cookies ended up disappearing from the fridge.

I guess you can’t win them all.

I probably should still try making a real Boston cream pie, but I’m now obligated to make another batch of cookies for my sister and for Joey, so it still might be awhile before I get that recipe checked off my bucket list.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 29, 2019.

Tags Boston cream pie, cake mix recipe, chocolate

Cookies Dessert

You’ll love these caramel apple cookies to bits

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date July 25, 2019

Caramel apple oatmeal cookies have bits of caramel and fresh apple sprinkled throughout a soft oatmeal cookie dough.

While hunting for something in the freezer recently, I caused a bit of an avalanche of frozen food and discovered a bag of caramel bits tucked away on the bottom that I was gifted a few weeks ago by someone cleaning out their pantry.

I’ve never used caramel bits in baking before, and although I was tempted to just open the bag and eat them like candy, I decided it might be better to transform them into something so I could share the caloric wealth with family and friends.

From what I can tell, Kraft might be the only vendor that sells something called “caramel bits,” but the recipe I found for some caramel apple oatmeal cookies could also be achieved by buying normal-sized caramels and chopping them up.

I will also admit that this is clearly more of a fall recipe, but I’ll eat caramel any time of the year.

This recipe comes from the blog “Brownie Bites” by Erin Browne. You can find the original post at http://www.browniebites.net/caramel-apple-oatmeal-cookies/. I doubled the vanilla in my version.

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

Caramel apple oatmeal cookies have bits of caramel and fresh apple sprinkled throughout a soft oatmeal cookie dough.

Course Dessert

Keyword apple, cookies, oatmeal, salted caramel

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned or quick oats
11 ounces caramel bits
2 small Gala apples peeled, cored and diced

Instructions

(You’re going to refrigerate your dough, so no need to preheat your oven yet.)
Beat the butter and sugars until fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and oats until everything is well combined.
Stir in the caramel bits and diced apples.
Refrigerate your dough for about three hours or overnight. (I sped this up by putting mine in the freezer for an hour instead.)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
Scoop the dough in about two-tablespoon-size scoops and place them about two inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.
Refrigerate the rest of the dough while the first batch bakes.
Let the cookies cool before placing them in a container. If they’re too warm, the caramel bits will want to melt out of the bottom of the cookies.
Using two baking sheets will let you keep going with the rest of the dough while each batch cools.

I normally advocate for putting warm cookies into an airtight container pretty quickly after coming out of the oven, but in this case, these are such soft cookies that they hold up better if you let them cool down before storing them.

I really liked the flavor of these, and while I thought at first I should add in a little cinnamon, too, these didn’t need it. They were great the way they were.

This is probably a good sign that I should clean out my freezer more often. Who knows what kinds of treasures are hidden away in there? More likely, who knows what kinds of strange, freezer-burned mysteries may be concealed beneath bags of frozen vegetables?

This piece first appeared in print on July 25, 2019.

Tags apple, caramel, oatmeal

Cookies Dessert

Sprinkle in some fun this Fourth

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date July 4, 2019

Cheesecake sprinkle cookies come together quickly and add lots of color to your dessert table.

For July 4th this year, Joey and I were invited to spend the afternoon and evening with my sister and brother-in-law, and of course, my wonderful niece.

She’s quickly approaching 2 years old, and although she probably won’t stay up long enough to see any fireworks this year, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of fun playing in the backyard before it’s time for bed.

I’m also going to bring along a little treat to spoil her just a bit, since that’s what aunts are for (at least that’s what I decided long ago).

So, when I was looking online for a recipe to use a box of cheesecake flavored instant pudding, I found in the back of my pantry, I discovered the perfect Fourth of July treat to share: cheesecake sprinkle cookies.

They’re perfect for the Fourth because there’s no frosting to melt, they don’t require refrigeration, and they’re full of bursts of color, just like Fourth of July fireworks.

The recipe I found came from the blog “Simple Sweet Recipes.” You can find the original post at http://simplesweetrecipes.com/sprinkles-cookies/. I doubled the vanilla in my version.

Cheesecake Sprinkle Cookies

Cheesecake sprinkle cookies come together quickly and add lots of color to your dessert table.

Course Dessert

Keyword cheesecake, cookies, instant pudding, sprinkles

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
3.4 ounces cheesecake instant pudding mix
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sprinkles plus more for topping cookies

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Add the baking soda, pudding mix, and one cup of flour and mix until combined. Add the other cup of flour.
Once everything is combined, mix in the sprinkles.
Roll the dough into about one-inch balls and place them about one inch apart on a baking sheet. Press a few extra sprinkles into the top of each cookie.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies are set (they won’t really brown on top). Let them cool for a bit on the cookie sheet before transferring them to an airtight container.

I didn’t think there was anything that screamed “cheesecake” about the flavor of these cookies. Really, they’re just excellent, soft sugar cookies that look super fun.

The recipe author suggests that you could use other types of instant pudding, too, so you could easily toss in some vanilla or even lemon with these if you don’t want to use the cheesecake flavor. I’m tempted to try using chocolate, but then again, I’m always tempted to use chocolate.

After I finished this batch, I couldn’t wait to get them over to share with my family, but since I decided to bake several days early, I’ll just have to let them sit in their container on the counter until then.

But, since I also believe in sampling my own baking, I’m just hoping they last that long.

This piece first appeared in print on July 4, 2019.

Tags cheesecake, instant pudding, sprinkles, sugar cookies

Cookies Dessert

Do ‘nut’ miss out on some delicious cookies

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date April 4, 2019

These classic white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies are a real crowd pleaser.

According to the “New World Encyclopedia,” the macadamia nut hails from Australia originally, but once the Europeans discovered them in 1828, the evergreen trees they grow on eventually made their way to Hawaii in 1881.

It wasn’t long before they became a commodity, and while the United States produces quite a few, Australia is still the leader in growing them.

The website “Australian Macadamias” notes that the nuts were considered a delicacy by Aboriginal people and were used in trade and ceremonies for a long, long time. They even had a special legend for how macadamia nuts came to be.

I’ve always loved macadamia nuts. I will sometimes pick them first out of a bowl of mixed nuts, and every time I was ever approached over the years to buy cookie dough from my students, I opted for white chocolate chip macadamia nut dough.

To be honest, most of that dough ended up as a snack out of the freezer, but I really like the baked cookies, too, so I decided to whip up a batch this week—avoiding the temptation to polish off the dough before it made it into the oven.

The recipe I used comes from the blog “Back for Seconds” by Stephanie Brubaker. You can find the original at https://backforseconds.com/the-best-chewy-white-chocolate-macadamia-nut-cookies/2/. I doubled the vanilla in my version.

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

These classic white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies are a real crowd pleaser.

Course Dessert

Keyword cookies, macadamia nuts, white chocolate

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until very well combined.
Beat in the vanilla and eggs until smooth.
Beat in the salt, corn starch, baking soda, baking powder and flour. Stir in the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
Drop the dough about two inches apart in about two to three tablespoon scoops onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown around the edges.
Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for about five minutes and them place them into an airtight container to keep them soft.

I wish I could say more of these cookies made it out of the house to be shared with others than they did, but we thoroughly enjoyed them over the course of the week.

They were a nice change from my normal inclination to make something with darker chocolate or oatmeal, and the taste of macadamia nuts always makes me think about summer, too.

It also makes me thankful to those folks in Australia thousands of years ago who first started harvesting those little treasures so that they made it to my kitchen in 2019.

This piece first appeared in print on April 4, 2019.

Tags macadamia nuts, white chocolate

Cookies Dessert

Simple oatmeal cookies are ‘raisin’ the stakes

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date February 14, 2019

There is nothing remarkable about these classic oatmeal raisin cookies outside of being a good, old-fashioned recipe.

A friend of mine recently posted on social media, “Raisin oatmeal cookies that look like chocolate chip cookies are the main reason I have trust issues.”

I chuckled a bit, although I am a lover of both raisin-filled and chocolate-chip-filled oatmeal cookies. But then I started thinking about how good an old-fashioned, chewy oatmeal raisin cookie sounded.

With this column, I often try to get out of my comfort zone and try recipes I’ve never made before and sometimes with ingredients I haven’t ever used in my kitchen.

But the classics are classics for a reason.

So I pulled out my canister of oats and bag of raisins and whipped up a batch of just plain, delicious oatmeal raisin cookies. The recipe I used only adds nutmeg for spices, which I liked. While I love a good cinnamon-flavored oatmeal cookie, this lets the raisins be the star in the middle of the comforting flavor of oats and brown sugar.

The recipe I used is from the blog “Brown-Eyed Baker.” You can find it at https://www.browneyedbaker.com/chewy-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/#recipe. I doubled the nutmeg in my version.

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Course Dessert

Keyword cookies, oatmeal, raisin

Ingredients

2 sticks butter softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats I used quick oats instead
1 1/2 cups raisins

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or greasing them with cooking spray and set aside.
Beat the butter on medium speed until it’s creamy. Beat in the sugars for about three minutes until the mixture is fluffy. Beat in the eggs
Dump in the rest of the ingredients except the oats and raisins and beat on low until everything is well combined. Stir in the oats and raisins.
Roll the dough into about two-inch balls and place them about two inches apart on the baking sheets. Place both sheets in the oven.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are browned. Rotate the sheets (both front to back and top to bottom) halfway through baking to get an even bake.
Let the cookies cool for a couple minutes and then transfer them to an airtight container to keep them soft and chewy.

Once my cookies were done, I enjoyed a couple with a big glass of milk, and it was the perfect treat. I had to take the Tupperware to work to make sure I didn’t finish off the whole batch—it was completely what I was in the mood for.

I’m sure it wasn’t my friend’s intention to bring more oatmeal raisin cookies into the world with her social media post, but I appreciated the inspiration, no matter how it came my way.

And you could definitely swap out the raisins for some chocolate chips, if you’re not a fan—just don’t try to trick anyone. You don’t want to be the reason for someone’s trust issues.

This piece first appeared in print on Feb. 14, 2020.

Tags oatmeal, raisin

Cookies Dessert

Baking Mom’s cookies makes me a chip off the old block

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 28, 2018

Sometimes all you want is a classic, delicious chocolate chip cookie, just like Mom used to make.

Every time it was our family’s turn to bring snacks for any event—youth group, school functions, you name it—my friends would immediately ask, “Is your mom going to make cookies?”

When my sister or I would announce that we needed to bring something yummy to share, Mom didn’t need to ask us what we wanted her to whip up. The default was her chocolate chip cookies, and we rarely brought any home at the end of the evening.

She would sometimes shake her head in disbelief when people would ask for her secret recipe, saying she just got it off the back of a bag of chocolate chips at some point, but though she’ll probably still deny it, there was always something special about those cookies.

Last week, I needed to make cookies for an event, and rather than do my normal thing and try out a new recipe, I pulled out my recipe box and decided to make Mom’s chocolate chip cookies.

As in the days of my childhood, they were the first cookies to disappear from the snack table.

I don’t have an official source for you for these cookies other than to say that the recipe once appeared on a chocolate chip bag somewhere, but if I know my mother as well as I think I do, I’m guessing the vanilla was doubled at some point in its history.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes all you want is a classic, delicious chocolate chip cookie, just like Mom used to make.

Course Dessert

Keyword chocolate chips, cookies

Ingredients

1 cup shortening
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon water
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375.
Beat together the shortening, sugars, vanilla, water and eggs until well combined. Beat the flour, baking soda and salt into the mix, and then mix in the chocolate chips.
Drop by the spoonful about two inches apart on a baking sheet.
Bake for eight to 10 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned. Let them cool for a bit and then transfer them to a sealed container while still a little warm to keep them a little chewier.

There’s nothing Earth-shattering about these cookies, but they are definitely one of the tastes of my childhood. It’s funny that those cookies were the background for so many of my favorite memories growing up—spending time with friends in the church fellowship hall, dipping them in milk with my sister, sharing them with classmates between taking final exams in high school.

It was nice to share a batch with some of my adult friends, too. It’s amazing how relationships can form around something as simple as a chocolate chip cookie.

This piece first appeared in print on June 28, 2018.

Tags chocolate chips, cookies

Cookies Dessert Snack

Make cookies almost too cute to bear

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date April 12, 2018

Bear paw cookies are cute but also have a rich flavor with a touch of coffee paired with chocolate.

It might be a side effect of becoming an aunt, but my eyes seem to be drawn to all kinds of cute things lately.

The cookie recipe I’m sharing with you this week was one of those cute items I found online and just had to try. I then immediately messaged my sister with a photo, noting that they’d be good child’s birthday party fare.

Considering my niece is only five months old, I might be jumping the gun a bit, but luckily, my sister never stifles my unbridled, “I’m going to spoil the stuffing out of you” attitude.

Of course, aside from being cute, these cookies were also super delicious, so even though I still have over six months to wait for my niece’s first birthday party, they were still worth making in the meantime.

This comes from the blog “Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons.” You can find the original at https://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com/bear-paw-cookies/. I didn’t change the amounts on the ingredients, although I do think I ended up with a bit more than a teaspoon of instant coffee in mine.

Bear Paw Cookies

Bear paw cookies are cute but also have a rich flavor with a touch of coffee paired with chocolate.

Course Dessert

Keyword bear paws, chocolate, coffee, cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg and 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee I used a single serving of Via from Starbucks
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 bag dark chocolate melting wafers
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cream the butter, brown sugar and sugar for a couple minutes until smooth and creamy.
Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
Beat in the instant coffee, baking soda, cornstarch, salt and flour.
Scoop the dough by about a teaspoon-size onto the prepared cookie sheets, placing them about an inch apart (I started with much larger scoops—probably about tablespoon size—but my cookies spread quite a bit and were a lot larger than I wanted. You might need to experiment.).
Bake each batch for about 10 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned.
After pulling the cookies from the oven, lightly press a melting wafer in the middle of each and then place three chocolate chips in a semi-circle along to the top of the wafer to create “claws.”
Let the cookies cool completely (the chocolate will need to set back up) before placing them into an airtight container.

If you’re not into coffee flavor, it does come through a decent amount in the finished cookies, so this may not be the recipe for you. But this same technique should work with any cookie dough that you wouldn’t mind having chocolate chips added into, so you’re not completely out of luck.

I’ve also seen white melting wafers, so if you would rather make polar bear paw prints instead, it would be easy to substitute in some white chocolate, too.

To be fair, I’m not sure if my little niece will be into bears at any point in her childhood, but since she’s related to me, I can guarantee she’ll be into cookies, so I think I’ll probably be able to talk her into eating a few either way. Of course, first I’ll have to wait on that set of teeth to come in.

This piece first appeared in print on April 12, 2018.

Tags bear paws, chocolate, coffee