walk with us

my cookie baking tips

If you haven't noticed, I'm a little obsessed with cookie baking. It started when Dan gave me a KitchenAid mixer for our 18th anniversary, and I've just kept on baking.

About six weeks into my baking odyssey, I thought I'd share some tips I've picked up along the way. It's getting close to holiday baking season, and maybe you can use one or two of them this year.

First, use quality ingredients. I always use real butter. I'm picky that way. Buy it now while it's on sale. It will keep.

Vanilla. I love vanilla. Currently I'm using Mexican vanilla (I bought it on ebay. I can find anything on ebay.), but Watkins vanilla is great, too. When the recipe says 1 teaspoon, I use 1 tablespoon. It seriously makes such a difference. It's the secret to good cookies. Real butter and extra vanilla. It's worth the splurge.

The baking process -- I always chill my dough. OK, not for the very first pan in the oven because I'm impatient and can't wait for it to chill, but as soon as one tray goes into the oven, the rest of the dough goes into the fridge.

I use 3 cookie sheets when I'm baking. One goes in the oven. One for cookies that are cooling. And a cooled sheet to scoop dough onto for the next trip into the oven. Oh, and speaking of scoops, I really use a cookie dough scoop to be sure my cookies are fairly uniform in size. I looked at mine in preparation for writing this, and discovered it's Pampered Chef brand. That means it was a gift from my mom, because I would not buy a PC cookie scoop. Until six weeks ago, the only way I baked cookies was if we bought some premeasured dough from a fund raiser. Now, that cookie scoop is a necessity. I also spray my cookie sheets with Baker's Joy spray (nonstick spray with flour) before I put the first round of cookies on them.

I clean up as I go. I put paper towels under the mixer and for a good perimeter around the mixer before I start. After the dough is mixed, I just roll up the paper towels and throw away all those bits of flour and sugar that get all over. Wipe down the mixer and I'm done with that piece of clean up.

Unless a recipe says differently, I let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the sheet before putting them onto some aluminum foil to finish cooling. I do the 3 sheet method with the aluminum foil, too. When all 3 sheets are full, the cookies from the first sheet I filled go into a freezer bag (if I'm freezing them) or some type of air-tight container.

One last tip -- know your oven. I know mine runs a little hot, so I usually put my temp 5 degrees lower than the recipe states (so 345 degrees for a recipe that says 350). This gives me cookies that are perfectly done. I know my oven through years of experimenting with it, but if you don't you can buy an oven thermometer to check the actual temperature in your oven.

I'd love to hear your baking tips! Hope these helped some of you. Happy baking!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wherever you are, I hope you have a blessed day!

For laughs, here's Chesney's Top 10 Favorite Thanksgiving foods:

1. Corn

2. Turkey

3. Mashed Potatoes

4. Green Beans

5. Stuffing

6. Pumpkin Pie

7. Cherry Pie

8. Chocolate Pie

9. Gravy

10. Olives

Anyone else have olives on their list of Thanksgiving foods? Yup, that's my kid.

Recipe: Large Batch Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I baked 2 batches of cookies this past weekend. I'm about to take a little trip, and during that trip, I'll be attending a get-together with some friends. I'll be bringing cookies. Because that's what I do.

One member of our group can't have dairy, so I set about finding the perfect dairy free chocolate chip cookie recipe. Harder than it sounds. I figured out how to get dairy free chocolate chips, and then realized I couldn't use butter. That's OK, I live in the heartland of our country. I've made many a batch of cookies in my youth using Crisco. What a miracle when they came out with Crisco in sticks! I remember how excited I was.

So here's the recipe I ended up using. For chocolate chips, Baker's semi-sweet chocolate chunks are dairy free/vegan. The recipe called for shortening, so I was OK there (although I was prepared to substitute Crisco for butter -- here's how). Again, this makes a huge batch of cookies, so be ready to freeze some for later (the directions also include information regarding freezing the dough, if you prefer that).

Large Batch Chocolate Chunk Cookies

    * 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
    * 1 1/2 cups white sugar
    * 2 cups shortening (No substitutes)
    * 7 cups flour
    * 2 teaspoons baking powder
    * 2 teaspoons salt
    * 6 eggs, gently beaten
    * 2 teaspoons baking soda
    * 4 tablespoons hot water
    * 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    * 2 lbs walnuts or pecans, chopped
    * 3 lbs semisweet chocolate chunks

   1. Preheat Oven to 325°F.
   2. In a VERY large mixing bowl or largest bowl of your Stand Mixer, add brown sugar, white sugar, and shortening. Cream together very well.
   3. In another large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set Aside.
   4. Add flour mixture and eggs alternately to the creamed mixture, mix well, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
   5. Dissolve baking soda in the 4 tbs of HOT water. Add baking soda mixture and vanilla to dough and mix well.
   6. Stir in nuts and chocolate chunks.
   7. Drop by heaping tablespoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 325° for 15-17 minutes. I get 12 cookies to a standard sized cookie sheet.

Freezing tip from the original poster: When I freeze the dough, I do use my food saver machine. I fill the food saver bag with desired amount of dough and flatten out slightly before vacuum sealing. This way the dough lays flat in the freezer to save space, and thaws more quickly. I take the dough out of the freezer and put in the fridge the day before I plan on baking.

Notes from me: Of the two recipes I made this weekend, I strongly prefer this one. Both recipes are essentially big batches of cookie dough, to which you can add your own combination of chips and nuts. I think this one will be the one I end up using to fill cookie trays this Christmas. This recipe makes a very thick, cake-like cookie. Exactly the kind I like.

To download this recipe in printable form, click here: Download Jennscookies

recipe: Desperation Cookies

I don't just bake the cookies, I read about the cookies. :) I'm a huge fan of Joanne Fluke's Murder She Baked series. Last week, I read Peach Cobbler Murder and in that book, I found one of the recipes I baked this weekend.

In the book, Hannah's cookie shop gets so busy, so fast that she has to make a huge batch of cookies quickly. In desperation, she makes a basic cookie recipe and throws in a little bit of all the ingredients she has in her kitchen. 

When I made them, I used some vanilla chips, some semisweet chips, and a handful of butterscotch chips for the chips. For nuts, I used some silvered almonds, some pecan pieces and finished up with walnuts. These cookies spread a lot (which I don't like) but are extremely yummy. It's a huge batch, and I really recommend them. They's yummy.

Desperation Cookies

• 2 cups melted butter
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 teaspoons
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 beaten eggs
• 5 cups flour (you don't need to sift it)
• 3 cups baking chips (whatever you feel like or have on hand....dried fruit works well)
• 4 cups chopped nuts (optional, & again whatever you feel like or have)

1. Melt the butter.
2. Mix in the white and brown sugar.
3. Add the vanilla, baking soda, salt and mix.
4. Add the eggs and stir it all up.
5. Then, add half the flour and all the chips and nuts.
6. Stir well.
7. Add the other half of the flour and mix.
8. Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes.
10. Allow them to cool for two minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

To download this recipe in printable form, click here: Download Anythinggoescookies

Bad Friday Blogger

I keep writing posts for Monday through Thursday, then wake up on Friday morning and realize I got nothing.

It's been a different week around here. Dan worked late 3 of the last 4 nights, so it's just been me and the kids hanging out. We used to do this years ago, when working late was the norm for Dan, but it's sure a lot different to have him gone when the kids are teenagers than it was when I had 3 kids 7 and under. The kids have been great with helping out. They've helped with dinner, take care of their chores without much complaint, and delighting in having control of the big fancy TV with dad gone. Watching the Top Model finale on the big TV -- so fun.

I did manage to do one layout in the last week. I had fun playing with this.
I have huge plans for the weekend. Tonight, Dan gets off early, so I think we're run over to the Walmarts and do some shopping. Tomorrow, Dan works all day so I plan to do the laundry, bake a couple of batches of cookies (including one that makes 10 dozen cookies!), and run the pupper to his Gramps for the holidays.

Sunday will be my day. Dan just announced that we are having a family meeting to review how to properly close plastic bags. Exciting as that may be, my big plans involve the laptop, Photoshop Elements, and NCIS. I'm taking the day off.

Hope everyone has a great day, and relaxing, refreshing weekend!

My Dan

Dan wanted me to take this photo to share with you:

If you can't decipher it, Dan is sitting on our sofa, surrounded by animals. 2 cats and my dog. I'm not sure why my dog was near Dan. Probably Dan had hidden milker bones to lure the dog in his area.

Dan's job is about to change in huge ways that will impact our family. I am not nearly as upset about this as Dan is, but then again, I'm not the one who is going to be working 4 12-hour days a week rather than the 5 9-hour days he works now. I really think it's going to be OK, but the next few months are going to be rough as we try to get into a routine.

The cats will probably miss him. And pup is going to miss his bones.

I'm pretty sure the kids and I will be fine.

Happy Thursday all!

recipe: Easy Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter
• 8 ounces cream cheese (slightly softened)
• 1 egg
• 1 (18 1/4 ounce) package yellow cake mix (unprepared)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (12 ounce) bag chocolate chips

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Drop by tablespoon on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minute.
4. Color should only change slightly golden, easy to over bake.

Notes: Credit for recipe is here. I actually baked this the full 12 minutes (which I usually don't do... my oven runs hot). The cookies don't spread at all. The resulting product is a bit tart, and yet sweet. They are almost too sweet for Dan. I like them just fine. I thought this recipe might be fun to try for those who don't have a high powered mixer and want something quick and easy. These are definitely different, and easy. I don't know if I'll make them again, but it was a nice experiment.

To download this recipe in printable form, click here: Download Creamcheesechochip

One of my children

We'll call her RaLiah, has decided that she doesn't like me splashing her entire life across my blog. I was planning to use this blog post to share with you about the fun project she's doing in home ec, but she got quite upset with me when I took photos. Instead, she grabbed a camera and decided to record a video of me that she thinks is hilarious. It's not. It's just a video of me in my evening attire, sitting in front of my computer. It's boring. So I'll see you tomorrow with a cookie recipes, OK?

Arsenic and Old Lace

My sister is a high school counselor, who also directs the high school plays. I've never been to see one (although the kids have), so this weekend we went up to see the final night of "Arsenic and Old Lace." Pretty good play. More fun to be with family.

Oh, and just a disclaimer here... I forgot my camera, so all photos are from my phone. Not the best quality or composition, but at least I captured some memories.

We arrived in town mid-afternoon. Brady and Mykiah had actually gone down the night before with my parents, so that Mykiah could help pass out programs at the show. We stayed in a little house on Main Street which had been converted into a rental. Yes, my sister lives in a town so small there is no hotel, so you rent a house with 3 beds and a pull-out sofa. It's actually kind of fun. Until Mykiah wakes up cranky.

So where was I? Oh, for dinner, we went to a Mexican restaurant that has the best salsa. Here's some shots from that experience:

If you can't read the menu, it says, "It is absolutely correct to eat tacos, tostadas and tortillas with your fingers." Is there a rash of people trying to a eat a taco with a fork there? Actually, this was good information because they sort of forgot to bring us any silverware. Mykiah tried to pick up her taco salad and eat it with her hands. We did get silverware (which helps in eating a chile relleno) and my dad did not eat a Chihuahua, which was a really funny joke I made, but he missed.

Here's one of the girls being program passer-outers:

And Brady with his pet rock. He's a strange child.

It was a fun weekend. And Dan needs to tell me when a show ends badly so I don't watch it and get depressed. That's all. Have a happy Monday.