Cookie Satisfaction

There is something oddly satisfying about making a batch of cookies and getting the exact cookie count the recipe says it will make. It's like fate came down and shined upon my cookies or something when I fill up the pans in exact multiples of 12. I made two batches of cookies last night and had 24 oatmeal raisin and I was so close but only came out with 46 mocha chunk cookies. Cookie scoops are one of the best inventions ever.

I was on a cookie spree. Right after dinner I got up and start cleaning the kitchen. I went through my baking supplies cabinets and pulled out all my dried fruit/baking chips/extras. I either need to bake a lot more or stop buying stuff when it goes on sale. I have a bunch of chips from King Arthur Flour that I have been wanting to use so I put those on the top of the pile, and I have some "baking raisins" that go along perfectly with my oatmeal cookie craving.
 
I started with the oatmeal cookie dough in my mixer because it needed to chill before baking. This is my first time trying this recipe, and even with all the supplies I had, I was missing honey. I ran out the other day after adding some to an olive oil and sugar hand scrub. So I took the recipe's advice and added some light corn syrup instead. Molasses was the other option but I don't like molasses-y cookies that much. I don't love using corn syrup for things either but if I want to make marshmallows or really chewy cookies I give in to its gooey, stickiness. And boy do are they soft and chewy cookies. I was worried I baked them for too long because they were a little dark but eating them the next day they are still fall apart soft.

While the oatmeal cookies were in the freezer I mixed up a batch of chocolate espresso cookies. I decided to do these by hand. I was "pleasantly" surprised at how much hand strength that needed, since I haven't mixed a batch of cookies by hand in a while. These smelled fantastic! The dough is flavored with espresso powder and between the cappuccino  semi-sweet chocolate and cinnamon chips I used it smelled like a heavenly mocha latte. They do taste wonderful but I think my brown sugar was a little dry or a cooked them a minute too long because they are little crisp. Which isn't bad but it's not my thing. Maybe I will add a little corn syrup next time and cheat.

The Perfect Cookie

Inspiration has finally hit and I'm back to the blog. It's been a while and now Blogger has a completely different look, guess I should check in more often. I've made a lot of cookies, cookies are my general go to for baking, potlucks, general love sharing, random acts of sugar. I think I have found the perfect cookie recipe. Usually when I make a recipe I can think of a few things I would do differently afterwards. When I made peanut butter chocolate bacon cookies for my birthday I knew I needed to cook the bacon longer and maybe add a pinch of Cardamom. Or a cookie that was a hassle to make would just get an "eh" response. And what fun is that? Like knitting once a pattern is completed doing it a second time is more of a chore then fun and there are so many new things out there to try, so recipes are repeated infrequently. But this cookie is something I will definitely keep making and always in a double batch to share. These are easy, a little different, loved by all and just plain fun for any occasion. Maybe the secret to a perfect cookie is to use an universally loved base. The perfect cookie starts with the perfect, fool proof sugar cookie recipe. It's America's Test Kitchen sugar cookie recipe. By using melted butter and a great ratio of ingredients this recipe creates the perfect chewy cookie with great flavor (I used good vanilla too - Pure Vanilla from King Arthur's). Their secret ingredient is cream cheese. My secret ingredients are raspberry bits and white chocolate chips. Throw in about a handful of each at the end of mixing and you have now created a Raspberry Cheesecake cookie. I love cookies that start from something basic but become interesting with a few little tweaks and this is definitely it. I think my next cookie adventure will have to include the cinnamon or cappuccino chips I got from King Arthur's. Maybe I will have to search out the perfect chocolate cookie base, to keep with the basic + interesting formula. Once I find the perfect chocolate cookie base, yin/yang cookies might also be in my future. O the possibilities with cookies.