Naughty to Nice Cookies

This has been a slow blogging month for me as the Hubs and I cram in some time together before his upcoming deployment (you can check out some of our Christmas photos here). I'm hoping to be back in the swing of things soon, but I couldn't let Christmas pass by without even one recipe post.

The Hubs and I don't normally exchange gifts. Instead, we like to create memories. You know the stuff I'm talking about... driving around to see the lights, taking the dog to visit Santa (yes, we are those people!), and watching Christmas movies while drinking hot cocoa. 

Another of our traditions is eating like pigs, then groaning about the weight gain. We like to spread the love around by delivering cookies to all our friends too! This also provides the Hubs with an excuse to "taste-test" all the cookies. After all, we wouldn't want to deliver a poor quality product, now would we?

Because I appreciate your readership so much, I'm going to let you in on my extra-secret, extra-AWESOME chocolate chip cookie recipe. Take these to any gathering, Christmas-time or not, and I guarantee you'll be the hit of the party. These are also the best way to get yourself off of the 'naughty' list and back on Santa's good side... even the big guy in the red suit can't resist my chocolate chip cookies! 

Mmmmmm..... cooooookieeeeessss. I know you can buy the pre-made cookie dough and have baked goodness in minutes, but trust me... these babies are worth a little extra effort. I usually make a double (even triple!) batch, they go that fast. Try the recipe just once. You will never go back to the pre-made junk.

Here's your ingredients:

All the basics: Flour, sugar (brown and white), vanilla, butter, baking soda, salt, eggs, walnuts, cream of tartar (that's my secret ingredient!), and...

... zee chocolate chips! I use three different kinds: regular-sized semi-sweet morsels, chocolate chunks, and mini chips. You can pick just one if you really want to, but I have to warn you...

The cookies won't be the same.

I could lie and say it's no big deal, but the truth is the chocolate chip variety is part of what makes this cookie special. Don't screw it up people!

Let's start simple. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Easy, right?

Next, you're going to cream together a cup of softened butter with 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar (packed). This step is VERY important to a light and fluffy cookie. There is a handy video tutorial on YouTube if you'd like to watch, but basically: beat the softened butter until fluffy, then slowly add in your sugars. Continue to beat until completely incorporated, being careful not to overmix. I really meant to take photos for you, but...

I forgot. I blame it on the cookie madness. I was too anxious for warm, ooey, gooey, yummy deliciousness!

Next, beat two eggs into your mix one at a time, then add in 2 teaspoons of vanilla. This recipe does contain nuts (later), but I know many people don't like the texture. If you're one of those, you could leave out the nuts altogether and substitute 1 teaspoon of your vanilla for a teaspoon of almond extract instead. That way, you get a light nutty flavor without the actual nuts.

Now, mix together 1 teaspoon of baking soda with 2 teaspoons of hot water. I don't know why we do this technically, but I do know it's some sort of chemical reaction necessary for good cookies. Yours will look a little something like this (though not exactly like this since mine settled a bit while I fumbled with the camera):

Add this mixture to your batter along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and beat to combine.

At this point, I put my mixer down. I don't know if this makes a difference in the cookies, but I like to work the rest by hand. You do what you gotta do folks, but don't blame me if you continue with the mixer and your cookies turn into mutants, kay?

Stir 3 cups of all-purpose flour, along with 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, into your batter.

If you don't have the cream of tartar on hand, no worries. It doesn't change the flavor of your cookies at all. However, it does make them all puffy like those cool cookies you see at fancy bakeries. I like being fancy once in a while. Plus, I look like a genius to all my friends, when the cream of tartar really did all the work.

Now, we get to add the good stuff. Use a combination of chocolate chips (remember: semi-sweet morsels, chunks, and mini chips), about 2 cups. If you're going to add walnuts (I always do), use about 1 cup.

As you can see, I pretty much pulverize the walnuts. This would be a whole lot easier if I had a food processor, but I don't (not yet anyway!). I like some of the nuts to be powder-like, and the rest to be itsy, bitsy pieces. This adds great flavor without all the crunchiness larger pieces can add. You can chop yours however you like, but try this method once and see what you think.

About now, your dough should look something like this:

Try not to eat all of it before baking, ok?

You'll also notice there is a large proportion of chips to dough. This is a good thing! After all, it's called a chocolate chip cookie, right? Right.

At this point, most recipes will tell you to drop the dough by rounded tablespoon onto a cookie sheet.

I'm not going to tell you that.

Instead, I'm going to tell you to make great, heaping balls of dough, easily two tablespoons. They should look a bit like this:

If you want to make the smaller kind, that's ok too. But I like 'em big, like the bakery, remember?

Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes (depending on size) until the edges are lightly browned.

Remember: Your cookies continue to bake after they leave the oven. Don't overbake!

Cool 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to a wire rack.

Eat half a dozen cookies, then feel guilty and bake more.

Ok, you don't have to follow that last instruction, but it's usually what happens in this house! Your cookies should look a little something like this when they're done:

NOM NOM NOM NOM... oh boy, now I want cookies!!

To store, place your cooled cookies in the container of your choice and cover with a bit of plastic wrap. On top of the plastic wrap, place a piece of bread torn into pieces.

I KNOW this sounds weird, but it works! The bread will keep your cookies moist and delicious, I promise. When the bread is dried out, you know it's time to replace it. Of course, the cookies never last long enough to actually need the bread replaced, but it's good to know anyway. This trick works with all kinds of baked goods. Just be sure not to place the bread in direct contact with your goods, or they could become soggy.

Viola, you have naughty to nice cookies ready for Santa's visit! These are also great for bribing husbands and kids. Or taking to a neighbor as a homemade gift. Or to a party. Or you could hoard them all for yourself, you wouldn't be the first to do it!

I love the versatility, seriously.

I hope all of my readers have a fabulous Christmas this year. Bake cookies with your kids, snuggle on the couch with your significant other, love just hanging out with the family... soak up every minute! We military spouses know that each second is precious, because you never know when your loved one will be called away to do his (or her) duty.

I appreciate each and every one of you, thanks for reading and keeping up with my crazy life. Happy cooking and merry Christmas! As always, I've included the standard recipe for you at the end of the post.

Busted, kissing Santa Claus! I told ya these cookies would get you on the nice list ;)

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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The Standard Form:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups semi-sweet chips (use a mix of chips, chunks, and minis)

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water, then add this mixture to the batter along with the salt. Combine completely.

Stir in the flour, cream of tartar, chocolate chips, and walnuts.

Drop the dough by the heaping tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling racks.

Something Sweet (Wannabe Tagalongs)

Today I'm going to let you in on another one of my secrets.... I have a slight addiction to Girl Scout cookies. Lucky me, they only come around once a year!

It seems everyone has a favorite Girl Scout cookie. I'm torn between two... Tagalongs and Samoas. Oh, and Thin Mints. And the Shortbread. And Do-Si-Dos. Plus my new favorite, Lemonades (shortbread with lemon icing, nom...)

This is the first year I've bought Girl Scout cookies somewhere other than the East Coast. I'm probably the only person in America not to know, but there is more than one baker of Girl Scout cookies. What does that mean? Well, out here in the wild west, Samoas are not Samoas, they are Caramel Delites. Tagalongs are not Tagalongs, they are Peanut Butter Patties.

Uhn. Not cool.

The troop leader outside our local Walmart assured me that the cookies all tasted the same. Either she's never tasted a real Samoa, or she flat-out lied to me. Totally not the same. AT ALL.

So, what can I do about this travesty? The way I see it, I have three choices:
                1. Eat the dang cookies and let it go. For anyone that knows me well, we know that is        
                    unlikely to ever happen.
                2. Persuade someone to ship me cookies from the real cookie factory. Now, this idea has
                    merit. All I have to do is bribe my kid sister and have her ship me boxes of cookies. This
                    will likely cost me three times as much as the cookies are worth, since sibling child labor
                    doesn't come cheap.
                3.  Find a way to make my own. BINGO! Best idea yet. Not only will I (hopefully) have
                     great tasting cookies, but I can have them whenever I want. Year round. No more Girl Scout
                     pushers taking away my fix after they get me hooked.

The only decision left to make... what cookie do I test out first?

I naturally wanted to begin with Samoas, but I was a little intimidated. Then, during Christmas, I tasted a scrumptious holiday treat which could easily pass as a Tagalong. I immediately wanted to re-create the confection.

And that's what I did.

Wannabe Tagalongs

This is my version of a 'fake' Tagalong. Only four ingredients are necessary. For the price of one box of Girl Scout cookies, you can make dozens of these little babies. The only downside? You can also eat dozens of these babies!

Which I also did. But that's besides the point.

The ingredients are so simple, you probably already have them in your pantry. Go ahead, you can run and check if you want. Here they are:

The Ingredients 

I'm obviously making very, ahem... "healthy" cookies, since I'm using whole wheat crackers. The regular ones work just as well, but this is what I had on hand. How much of each ingredient you have determines how many cookies you'll consume (Trust me, you will eat them all. Don't delude yourself). I used about 2 sleeves of the Ritz crackers.

Ready for the really hard part? You sure? Ok, here it is... spread peanut butter on one cracker and then top it with another one.

Whew! That was rough, huh? Repeat until you've made as many 'cookies' as you want.

Alright, let's face it, right now these are not cookies. They're peanut butter sandwiches. Soon, they will be cookies. The most wonderful, magical cookies you've ever tasted. Well, maybe not magical. But you get the idea. 

Only one secret applies to this all-important, peanut-butter-spreading step: Make sure the peanut butter doesn't squish out the sides. This is very, very important for only one reason.

It bugs me.

Ok, so that's not true. You don't want the peanut butter squishing out, because in a minute you're going to dip these babies in chocolate. If there's too much peanut butter squishing around, then it mixes with the chocolate, and total chaos ensues. You need to trust me on this.

You can melt your chocolate in one of two ways:
        1. In a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 20-30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the  
            chocolate and shortening are combined and smooth.
        
        2. Use a double-boiler or create one. This is my preferred method. I don't own a double-boiler.
            You can make one by placing a bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Add the chocolate
             and shortening to the bowl, stirring constantly until melted and smooth.

In this case, I used about 18 ounces of semi-sweet chips to 2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening. Why the shortening? The consistency of the chocolate is nicer with the addition of shortening, plus it makes the chocolate all shiny and smooth. All good things.

While your chocolate is melting, get out a couple of cookie sheets and cover them with waxed paper. We don't want our cookies to stick to the pan. Then, the rest is simple. Dip each cracker into the chocolate and cover it completely. I use a fork for this, but you can also buy special, handy dandy 'dipping tools'. Waste of money if you ask me, but whatever floats your boat.

After the glorious dipping, resist the urge to stuff your face with the chocolate and peanut butter confection. This will be very messy. Instead, gently tap your fork (or fancy dipping tool) against the side of the bowl to help remove any excess chocolate. Then, place the cookie onto the wax paper.

It should look a little something like this:

Repeat this step until all the sandwiches or chocolate is gone. Feel free to lick the bowl. I won't tell anyone.

The rest is easy. Just place the cookie sheets into the fridge, wait impatiently, hop from foot to foot, maybe whine a little bit... and at the end of thirty minutes, viola! You've got Wannabe Tagalongs.

Try not to eat them all at once.

You can store these in any covered container, either on the counter or in the fridge. I like mine chilled, so I keep them in the fridge. If your house is a little warm, I'd be careful leaving them on the counter in case the chocolate begins to melt.

One day soon, I'm going to tackle the Samoa. For all my fellow Girl Scout cookie addicted friends: Don't worry, help is on the way!

So, what is your favorite Girl Scout cookie? Which ones do you wish you could make at home, and which ones could you do without? Inquiring minds want to know!


The Standard Form:

Wannabe Tagalongs

Ingredients:

2 sleeves of Ritz crackers

Creamy peanut butter

18 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons shortening, like Crisco

Optional: Sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

With the Ritz crackers and peanut butter, create sandwiches. Spread a bit of peanut butter on one cracker, then top with another one. Be careful that the peanut butter does not squish out from the edges.

Line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt together the chocolate chips and the shortening, stirring often. Once melted, dip each cracker sandwich in the chocolate to coat completely. Let the excess chocolate drip off. Remove to the wax paper. If desired, sprinkle each chocolate dipped peanut butter sandwich with some salt before the chocolate sets.

Place the cookie sheets in the refrigerator to help set quickly, about 30 minutes. Enjoy!