Double Trouble Chocolate Chip Cookies

The trouble part comes from the fact, they can be slightly addictive.

I know its getting too hot here to be baking cookies, but sometimes a girls gotta do, what a girls gotta do.  I was having a massive chocolate craving, and I was feeling that pang of guilt having not blogged anytime recently

This recipe is an extra chocolatey modification of a family recipe for chocolate chip cookies that my Grandma W. has been making as far back as I can remember.  At every family gathering, there would be the big plastic rectangle container filled to the very top with these cookies.  I perched on the edge of a kitchen chair helping Grandma make them more than a few times(she always set aside a bit of chocolate chips for me to munch on, it was my favourite part!). 

The original recipe is from a yellowed old paper clipping, Grandma can’t recall exactly where it was taken from(as she has a huge stash of recipes clipped just like it).  When I married and moved in with my husband (4 years ago Thursday!)  I asked for the recipe and she simply jotted it down from memory.  I love when I make them, as it brings me back to being perched on that chair sneaking chocolate chips while Grandma showed me how to measure ingredients.

My husband actually had a hand in this adaptation, adjusting some of the amounts of sugar to his liking, as this was the first thing I taught him to bake (sometimes I think he even makes them better than me, but shhh, don’t tell).  There is just nothing sexier than a man who bakes (okay so that might just be my opinion) but I’m so glad that he quickly learned that recipes are fun to play around with.

This variation is thick, dangerously chocolately and nice and soft on the inside without falling apart in your hands.

Double Trouble Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes approx 3 dozen or so cookies

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Butter
• ¾ Cup White Sugar
• ¾ Cup Brown sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Tsp Vanilla
• 2 Cup Flour
• 1 Tsp Baking soda
• ½ Tsp Salt
• 2/3 Cup Cocoa
• 2 Cup Chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats, set aside.
2. Cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well again, scraping bowl occasionally.
3. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in bowl. Sift in cocoa powder. Gradually add dry ingredients to sugar mixture, mix just until combined. Mix in chocolate chips.
4. Place by tablespoonfuls couple inches apart onto lined baking sheets. I like to leave mine heaped or rolled into a ball for a nice thick cookie.
5. Bake in oven for approximately 8 minutes or until edges and some of the middle is set…cookies will continue to bake as you take them out of the oven.  Wait a couple of minutes before transferring to racks to cool.
6. Once cool store in an airtight container.

The dough freezes well, as do the cookies themselves. If it’s very warm in your kitchen or you find the dough very soft, you can also chill the dough before baking.

You can add ½ cup chopped nuts when adding the chocolate chips. Feel free to change the flavour of chocolate chips, white or peanut butter would taste fantastic!

Oatmeal Cookies

 

Have you ever made a recipe, for the sole reason of using a certain ingredient that you have in abundance in your kitchen?  This was the case with raisins in my kitchen this week, especially for the fact that Mr. BotC does not like to eat them in anything (but on their own is fine…to each their own!).

Oatmeal cookies were never my favourite, I found them boring and more often than not, dry and rather tasteless.  Having so many raisins on hand though, oatmeal raisin cookies kept coming to mind since I just plain couldn’t think of anything else creative to use them in except raisin bread, and I haven’t had the time to devote to yeast bread this week.

These cookies really surprised me, in a really good way.  The aroma from the spices when they are baking wafts through the house, and they come out of the oven a lovely golden brown.  I tried one while still (very) warm and I thought I was in heaven.  I was so happy they were still just as delicious today.  They raisin variety is soft and chewy, with a spice flavour that doesn’t take over the cookie. 

Since Mr.BotC does not like raisins in anything, I made half raisin, and half chocolate chip.  I found when adding chocolate chips instead of raisins to this recipe they were not as soft and chewy(without the added moisture of the raisins) but my husband and his co-workers weren’t complaining.  I sent at least half the batch (both raisin and chocolate chip) with him to work, and they were devoured.  I’m so glad his work loves home baking, or I would really be in trouble!  (Since I’ll eat them all myself…The lack of will power when it comes to baked goods is almost embarrassing, I can’t be the only one right?).

I’ve included a note at the bottom of the recipe for the chocolate chip or if you too would like to do half of each. 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Makes approximately 36 cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins (or chocolate chips*)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place raisins in bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside.
3. In a mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. In large bowl combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture.
4. Drain raisins.  Stir the raisins and oats into the rest of the cookie dough.  Mixture may be very thick.  Resist the urge to add more liquid! 
5. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased parchment-lined cookie sheets.
6. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake.  Let them cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

*If adding chocolate chips, you may wish to omit the spices.  I added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon just for a bit of flavour.  This of course is up to you.

For half chocolate chip/half raisin:  Follow recipe as directed until step 3, except do not add cinnamon and cloves to flour mixture. Mix in oats.  Divide dough in half, adding 1/2 tsp ground cloves and 1/2 tsp cinnamon to one half, add raisins.  In other half, add chocolate chips and 1/4 of cinnamon.  As dough is very stiff, make sure to mix spices in very well, using a strong spoon or your clean hands.  Bake as directed. 

Recipe adapted from Beth's Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies submitted by Beth Sigworth to Allrecipes.com.

Ginger Cookies

 

I have loved watching Ina Garten’s show The Barefoot Contessa on the food network, but its become very hard to catch reruns now as it seems to air randomly.  One of my absolute favourite cookbooks is her Barefoot Contessa at Home.  The following  is my adaptation of her “Ultimate Ginger Cookie” recipe from the book. I found it was just too spicy for my husband and I, to the point our tongues were burning quite a bit after the cookie was gone.  Among the changes,  I cut the cloves down to a third, as I felt like it was overwhelming the other flavours.  I doubled the amount of ginger,  halved all the other spices, and cut the amount of flour.  It also  called for crystallized ginger, but its not something I usually have in the house, so I left it out.

One thing I love about these cookies is that the dough is really easy to work with and the ingredients are those you most likely have in your cupboard and spice cabinet.  Kids would love rolling the dough in the sugar and pressing them with the fork.  They also contain no dairy products which is great for those with lactose intolerance or milk allergies.

These cookies are thick and have a fabulous soft ‘chew’, with a delicious spicy flavour that is not overwhelming.  The smell when they are baking fills your house with the wonderful warm aroma of ginger and spice.

Ginger Cookies

Makes approx. 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 2       cups all-purpose flour 
• 1        teaspoon baking soda
• 1        teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2   teaspoon cloves
• 1/4   teaspoon nutmeg
• 1        teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4   teaspoon kosher salt
• 1         cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/4    cup vegetable oil
• 1/3    cup molasses
• 1          egg
• granulated white sugar for rolling cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and salt.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes.  Turn the mixture to low speed, add the egg, and beat for one minute.  Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, and beat for one more minute.  With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for two minutes.

Scoop the dough with two spoons or a small ice cream/cookie scoop.  With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4 – inch ball and then roll completely in sugar.  Place cookies on sheet pans and then flatten them lightly with the tines of a fork.

Bake for approximately 8 minutes*.  The cookies will be crackled on the top/sides and soft inside.  Let the cookies cool on the sheet pans for a minute or two, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container to prevent cookies from hardening.

*The original recipe calls for the cookies to be baked for exactly 13 minutes, but I found they were perfect at 8.  Times can vary according to your oven, watch for the crackling on the top, cookies will still be soft to the touch until cooled.