Supreme Sugar Cookies

I have been asked many times about how to bake a great cookie, everytime.  Cookies, as simple as they seem are a lesson in patience and obedience. There are several components to a great cookie, I will try to highlight them here. 

1. Almost all cookies start with butter, and or shortening.  This means real butter in a stick, not a tub and not margarine, no butter substitute, artificial spread in a plastic tub or 'butter flavored' shortening. It is important that the butter be softened at room temperature.  There is only one way to do this....take it out of the fridge and wait. (about 1 hour)  You can't put it in the microwave. a warm bowl of water, melt it, or set it in the sun.  

If it calls for both make certain that you mix them well before continuing on to the next step.

2. Sugar.  Use the sugar the recipe calls for, if it calls for both brown and granulated sugar...do it.  Substituting all of one kind because you don't have both will not produce the desired cookie. When you mix the sugar(s) into the butter/shortening mixture, have some patience.  On a good mixer on medium speed this will take a minimum of 5 minutes.  Scrape the bowl down a couple of times during this process.

3. Eggs, do yourself a favor and dont use egg substitute or egg whites only.  When you mix this and any extracts that the recipe calls for into your mixture, get ready to hurry up and wait.  This needs to mix until the color of the mixture lightens several shades, in most cases almost white and looks like fluffy frosting, roughly 10 min.

5. Dry ingredients, when you are ready to mix these in, do so lightly.  If you are still using the mixer, mix until just incorporated.  I prefer to do this step by hand. If you overmix at this point your cookies will get tough.

6. Several cookie types need refrigeration.  Do not skip this step or scimp on the time.  It makes a huge difference.

4. Baking times.  Bake the cookies on the instructed temperature for the time stated in the recipe.  I don't care if you 'think' they look done or not. Now, after you remove the cookies from the oven, leave the cookies on the sheet for 1 minute before removing them to a flat surface or wire rack and wait at least five minutes for the cookies to set. Test your cookie and if it is a little underdone increase the time by 1 min.  If it is a little overdone, decrease the time by 1 min. 

With all that said, I realize the biggest complaint I will get is, people have dietary needs and substitutions are neccesary.  To that I reply, actually portion control, (1 or 2 cookies, not the whole batch) is the key to everything yummy. Almost without exception, any and all substitutions are bad for you and filled with chemicals, you really aren't doing yourself any favors. But, if you must substitute some of the ingredients, do not come back to me complaining that the recipe didn't work out, or that they didn't 'taste' like mine.    

Now without further ranting :) With the holidays coming up, here is my recipe for sugar cookies. Happy baking!! 

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup salted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of bowl, then add the flour mixture. Blend on low speed, or mix in by hand, just until combined. Do not over mix. Gather dough into a ball. Refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.

On a floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut dough into desired shapes and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9 minutes, being careful not to brown. Let rest one minute then, transfer cookies with a spatula to cool on a flat surface.

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Cookies-by Tami Powers

After Steve and I were first married I would bake desserts and treats that Steve could take in his lunches.  He insisted  that he wanted Oatmeal cookies but, this is not something I had a recipe for.  I started with a recipe from the back of the Oatmeal box but, they were too dry, then I tried a recipe from a standard cookbook but, they were too bland.  I tried to combine the two recipes one day but, I ran short of butter.  I had read that people were adding applesauce in the place of oil/butter in some dessert recipes to make them more health conscience.  I had a little applesauce so, I gave it a try and Voila, they were exactly they right texture, a lot of flavor, and they stayed moist for days.  OK, not days, cookies never lasts for days around here but, they were moist to the very last cookie.  

These Oatmeal Cookies are soft and chewy, the applesauce adds flavor and keeps them so moist. They are absolutely perfect with walnuts and/or raisins.

Ingredients

¾ cups shortening

¼ cup butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs
1tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup applesauce
1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp soda

3 cups uncooked oats

1 ½  cups walnuts and/or raisins to your liking

Cream together shortening and butter, add brown and granulated sugar and beat until it turns light in color.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy.

Add applesauce and Oats beat just until incorporated.

Mix together flour, salt soda, and cinnamon. Add to creamed butter/eggs and mix lightly.

Remove from mixture and add nuts and /or raisins.

Chill in refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight

Bake 8 mins at 350 degree oven.  

Do not overbake, let sit on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool.

Peanut Butter Cookies-by Gertrude Bliss Rooks

So excited to find this recipe in my Mom's recipe box. I can remember a few occasions where my Dad made peanut butter cookies, I was enlisted to help during these times.  At one point I asked, 'why always peanut butter' , he said it was one of his few memories of his mother as, she died when he was very young. Having never met my Grandma Rooks, I consider this a rare find and a blessing.

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 well beaten eggs
2 tsp vanila

Cream together, butter and sugars.  Add eggs, beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and peanut butter, mix well. In a separte bowl combine- Flour, soda, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture and beat just until combined.  Chill dough overnight.  Roll into balls the size of walnuts, mash eash ball with a fork in a criss-cross patern.  Place on cookie sheet 1 1/2 inches apart, bake at 300 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until just lightly browned.*

*For months now I have been on a quest to bake the perfect Peanut Butter cookie, upon finding this recipe I decided to give them a try.  This is it!! Who knew it was right in my kitchen the whole time.... I did have to mess with the baking times but, I found that 12 minutes was perfect if, I let them set on the sheet for a couple of minutes before, moving to the wire rack.  My biggest issue with this is keeping Nikki from burning her fingers on the hot pan because, she wouldn't wait....

**I did alter the recipe ever so slightly, for the 1 cup of peanut butter I used 1/4 cup crunchy, 3/4 creamy (Steve likes the occasional peanut in his cookie)

Brown Butter Snickerdoodles-by Tami Powers

I LOVE snickerdoodle cookies.  My mom used to make them when I was little and she would divide the dough and color the batches with food coloring.  I remember those yummy pink, green, yellow, and blue cookies like it was yesterday.

However, I tried her recipe and found them to be crunchier than I like. (I just prefer softer cookies) So I combined her recipe with a couple of tricks I picked up along the way and, eureka!! Amazingly soft and tasty Snickerdoodles.

I don't use the food coloring, I try to avoid that stuff these days but, these can still evoke those powerful childhood memories.

Yeilds 16-18 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup browned butter (1 stick), cooled
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
For rolling:
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.
4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees while you let the dough rest for 30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator.
5. In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon for the topping.
6. Take about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a ball. Roll this dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and press it onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining cookies.
7. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes and no more. The cookies may seem undercooked, but will continue to develop after they are removed from the oven. When the cookies have cooled they should be soft and chewy in the middle.