Soft Molasses Cookies Friday, Dec 16 2022 

Baking and Everyday Life and Midwest , , Mary K. Doyle 9:34 am

Cookies are my dessert of choice and the one I bake the most. I’m always trying new recipes while also counting on the old family favorites. One of those favorites is Soft Molasses Cookies.

This is an easy cookie recipe because it is a mix, scoop, and drop. So many of the other favorites are cookies that require individual care such as my rich, gooey brownie balls which require multiple steps and take most of a day to make.

Try these easy, rich, tasty molasses cookies for yourself. They’re great with milk, coffee, and tea.

*

Soft Molasses Cookies

Ingredients

¾ cup butter, softened

½ cup white sugar, plus more for topping

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup dark molasses

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon cardamom

½ teaspoon cloves

½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and beat until combined. Add the egg and beat well. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

In another bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt together. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time to the creamed mixture.

Form dough into small balls. Roll into sugar. Place balls on ungreased baking sheet about three inches apart.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned and appear set. Let cool for five minutes on baking sheet before transferring.

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Quality Ingredients Wednesday, Jun 1 2022 

Baking and Everyday Life and Recipe , , , , Mary K. Doyle 10:35 am

A favorite cookie in my family is a simple twist on the famous Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie. Everyone asks for my version. They say it is special.

I follow the regular recipe with one exception. Well, actually, two. I use chunks of both white and semi-sweet chocolate. I also omit the nuts.

I believe these cookies are so delicious partially because of the two types of chocolate, but mostly, it’s due to the quality of the ingredients. I use sea salt, pure vanilla, and organic sugar, butter, eggs, and flour and chocolate from a specialty chocolate shop (Graham’s Fine Chocolates and Ice Cream) in my town. The cookie is delectable because of the decadent ingredients.

That is the way with life. Exceptional details raise the ordinary to extraordinary.

Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Salt

1 cup Butter (Softened)

3/4 cup Granulated Sugar

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 Large Eggs

2 cups Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup Nuts (chopped)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

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Cookie Diet and Exercise Program Friday, Dec 18 2015 

Baking and Cooking and Everyday Life and Family and Recreation , , , , Mary K. Doyle 4:06 pm

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I’ve been on a cookie diet. Since the middle of November, I’ve baked and eaten cookies day and night. I use only the finest ingredients—hormone-free butter, unbleached flour, organic eggs, fresh nuts, and—lots of chocolate.

Everyone has their favorites. I try to make them all and test frequently to ensure top-quality. The cookie sheets haven’t been put away in weeks. Double-dipped, shortbread, spritz with white chocolate, chocolate covered chocolate, sesame seed, candy cane, almond, pizzelles, and white and semi-sweet chocolate chip. There are many more I have yet to make.

There’s a considerable amount time and fine ingredients in these cookies. And all that mixing and lifting of heavy cookie trays takes a lot of energy, so I know I’m burning more calories than taking in. Right? I ask you, can this program be wrong?

So many cookies. So little time.

***

Here’s Grandma Roses “S” Cookie recipe, a family favorite. It’s a fragile cookie, and a little tricky to make, but melts in your mouth.

Grandma Rose’s “S” Cookies
2 Sticks Sweet Cream Unsalted Butter (I use 1 1/2 sticks butter and 1/2 stick margarine for a little firmer cookie.)
¼ Cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 Cups Flour
1 Egg Yolk

Mix ingredients. Mold into “S” shapes. Bake at 325 until set(not brown). Remove from oven. Cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar until fully coated.

©2015, Mary K. Doyle

 

Edible Paper Cookie Decorations Tuesday, Dec 17 2013 

Baking and Everyday Life and Holiday and Product Review and Recipe , , Mary K. Doyle 5:29 pm

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I love a good cookie and enjoy baking but I am not very patient when it comes to decorating. My solution this holiday season was to decorate with edible wafer paper made from potato starch, vegetable oil, and USDA approved food colorings. I wanted to see how easy applying the paper would be to dress up an otherwise plain cookie.

I purchased the papers from Fancy Flours, Inc (www.fancyflours.com, 406-587-0118). Their site offers a number of products for baking and decorating as well as excellent recipes for gingerbread and sugar cookies. I chose three of their many different designs. The square and rectangular shaped ones are the easiest to cut out and also the easiest to cut cookie dough to size.

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Use of the wafer paper requires several steps. The directions are as follows: Make the cookie dough ahead and allow it to stiffen in the refrigerator. Roll out the dough and cut to accommodate the shapes of the paper.

When completely cool, frost the cookies with buttercream, royal icing, or fondant. I used fondant on a few of the gingerbread cookies, but I’m not a fan of it. Although it is very smooth, I think it is too thick, too sweet, and not very tasty. The remainder of the cookies I frosted with a mix of confectioners’ sugar and whipping cream. The simple recipe allowed the frosting to remain white and covered the cookies without too much thickness. Once frosted, I froze the cookies until the frosting was completely set.

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After carefully cutting the wafer paper designs, the directions said to brush a light coat of corn syrup on the back of the papers. I found it easier to dab the corn syrup on the cookie, slide the paper over it, brush the edges, and press down gently.

Turn the cookies face down on parchment paper for about 30 minutes to set.

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Turn them over and allow to  completely dry.

Embellish the cookies with piping and sprinkles as desired. The paper is somewhat fragile and requires careful handling but easy enough that I will try them again. My cookies look a bit sloppy, but with a little more patience, next time they could be quite beautiful.

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©2013, Mary K. Doyle

 

It’s Cookie Time Tuesday, Dec 10 2013 

Baking and Everyday Life and Recipe , , , , Mary K. Doyle 5:00 pm

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Cookies are one of my go-to treats, and I love homemade ones best of all. Each year I try one or two new recipes, but there are a few I’ve baked for decades. Pecanettes and Chocolate and Oat Bars are two of my tried-and-true old-time favorites.

Pecanettes are my compromise to pecan pie. I love pecan pie – my family not so much. If I bake a pie, I end up eating the whole thing myself. These little cookies have a pecan pie taste, and a little of the texture. For some reason, even people who don’t like the pie do enjoy these cookies. (The last batch I made was a bit salty. I used sea salt which may be why, but you may want to cut back on the salt.)

The Chocolate and Oat Bars are so healthy you can eat them for breakfast. At least that’s my story. The recipe calls for oatmeal, nuts, and (condensed) milk, so how can that be bad for you? And then you add the chocolate, which we know is a “happy” ingredient. MMMMM, good.

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Pecanettes

Pastry:
½ cup butter
3 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 cup sifted flour

Filling:
1 egg well-beaten
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ – 1 cup chopped pecans

Cream butter and cheese with mixer until light and fluffy. Add flour and beat until blended. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the mixture in each of 2, 24 miniature cupcake pans. Press around.

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Mix filling and spoon into each shell.

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Bake 350 for 18-20 minutes.

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Chocolate and Oat Bars

1 cup unsifted flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup butter, softened
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand Milk
1 cup chopped nuts
6 oz. of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 (325 for glass dish). In a bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and butter. Mix well. Reserve ½ cup.

Press remaining oat mixture in the bottom of a 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Bake 10 minutes.

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Pour Eagle Brand Milk evenly over crust. Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate chips. Top with remaining oat mixture; press down. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

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Store covered at room temperature.

©Mary K. Doyle

 

Pat Doyle’s Pizzelles Thursday, Dec 13 2012 

Baking and Everyday Life and Holiday , , , , Mary K. Doyle 11:29 am

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My mother was an excellent cook and baker. Many of her dishes were Italian. Mom was German and Irish but made them for our father, who was half Italian. We especially loved her pizzelles.

For those who do not know, pizzelles are a thin waffle-like Italian cookie. Traditionally, they are made with anise. Today you can find them in a number of flavors including vanilla, almond, chocolate, and orange. Mom made hers with vanilla and it is what my family continues to prefer.

I make the pizzelles for special events using my mother’s old pizzelle maker (which looks like a waffle iron) and her recipe. There probably are better makers on the market today but Mom’s works and I use it in her honor. This is one more way she remains in the middle of our celebrations.

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Following is my mother’s recipe. I use half butter and half margarine for the shortening and soften rather than melt it. This makes the batter a bit thicker. For a thinner pizzelle, it is best to melt the shortening. I also add a touch of almond extract.

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Pat Doyle’s Pizzelles

½ cup shortening, melted and cooled
1 ¾ cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar

Preheat the pizzelle maker. Blend ingredients. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls in the center of each side of the pizzelle maker. Cover. Cook 30-60 seconds.

Remove pizzelles with a fork. Cool on wire rack or tray covered in paper towels. Sprinkle powdered sugar over both sides of the pizzelles.

©Mary K. Doyle

 

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