It was too damn hot in the kitchen for me, but Lynnafred got a jones for cookies, and when that happens she becomes a baking demon, unstoppable until several batches of cookies spill from the oven and the dining room table becomes covered with racks of cooling cookies.
She's come up with a very good "cookie base" - an all-purpose mixture that is highly adaptable to the type of cookie she want to produce.
Lynnafred's Cookies
Makes about 6 dozen
Basic Mix:
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups of "mix-ins" (chips, nuts, dried fruits, etc.)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cream butter and sugars together and beat eggs in one at a time. Add vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Whisk dry ingredients together in a bowl until well-combined. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and beat until a batter forms. Fold in the "mix ins." Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment-covered cookie sheet and bake 8 to 10 minutes. Remove with a spatula to racks to cool. Cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven and will firm up somewhat as they cool.
Variations:
- For chocolate cookies, substitute 1 cup of cocoa powder and 1¾ cups of flour for the 2½ cups of flour.
- Try "mix in" combos that work well together, using any proportion you like that adds up to the two cups required. Some of Lynnafred's favorites are cinnamon chips + chocolate chips, white chocolate chips + dried blueberries, and dark chocolate chunks + butterscotch chips.
- Use different kinds of brown sugar for variations in flavor. The darker the brown sugar, the more intense the molasses flavor will be in the sugar.
- Try interesting "mix-ins" that you wouldn't normally associate with cookies. Chocolate-covered dried cranberries are awesome in cookies.
Cinnamon cookies are one of Lynnafred's faves. Unfortunately, we were running a little low on cinnamon chips tonight, so she made these combo chocolate chip-cinnamon chip cookies.
These cookies feature dried blueberries and white chocolate chips. They're totally more-ish.
3 comments:
Damn you, now I REALLY want some cookies....
And, by the way -- Lynnafred has one of the coolest names I know of. I've always thought so, but never bothered to say anything until now.
I tried this recipe with oat flour. (my kids and I are wheat intolerant and I'm always looking for good cookie recipes)- one-to-one replaces They were yummy...but a little grainy. I'm going to get some xanthum gum and try again - everyone says that this will fix the grainy feel to them.
Thank you, Lynnafred!
if you want to soften up those cookies that have gotten hard
put the cookies in a sealed container or cookie jar and add a slice of bread and close it up
wait about 12 hours and the cookies will be fresh from the oven soft this even works for store bought cookies like ginger snaps
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