Who's Baking Today!?!
Ain't no merrier time than the instant hot cookies exit the oven
Oh, the weather outside is frightful if you were dreaming of white Christmas this year, but that doesn’t change Santa’s dietary restrictions.
All cookies.
I started baking yesterday and haven’t stopped since I woke up this morning. Here’s a look at what’s poppin’ out of my lovin’ oven this year. This Santa has Oklahoma in his sights this holiday season and refuses to arrive empty-handed.
If you’re baking like me today, you’ll want a soundtrack. Whether in Oklahoma, the high desert or the North Pole, J.D. McPherson and his band are your elves.
Merry Christmas to all and to all as good a night as can be had with a bellyful of cookies.
Peanut Butter Blossom Cups
•1 cup all-purpose flour
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1/8 teaspoon salt
•1/2 cup sugar
•1/3 cup crunchy baking peanut butter
•1/4 cup butter, softened
•1 egg
•2 tablespoons whipping cream
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•1 12-ounce bag of Hershey’s Kisses of Reese’s peanut butter cups miniatures, unwrapped
Preheat oven to 350 F and grease 36 mini muffin cups or a mini muffin tray with cooking spray. Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a small bowl and set aside.
In medium mixing bowl, use a hand-mixer set on medium for about two minutes to cream together the sugar, butter and peanut butter.
Beat in the egg, whipping cream and vanilla then lower the speed to low and add flour mixture.
Once the dough forms, make 36 1-inch balls and place each into cups or pan.
Bake 12 minutes, remove and press a peanut butter cup into each cookie. Bake 2 more minutes then remove and cool in pan on a rack.
SOURCE: Lila Cathey
Chocolate Cocoa Butterscotch Chip Cookies
•2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
•1 1/2 cups golden or light brown sugar
•1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
•2 tablespoons milk, half and half or cream
•2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1/2 cup premium baking cocoa
•1 teaspoon salt
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 teaspoon baking powder
•12 ounces butterscotch chips
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a medium bowl.
Whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla in a small bowl.
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a hand-mixer on medium speed until fluffy and light, 2 to 3 minutes.
Beat in the egg mixture, another 2 minutes.
Gradually add the flour mixture, and mix at lower speed.
Fold in the butterscotch chips until evenly distributed.
Use an ice cream scooper to portion cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheets. Wrap sheets in plastic and refrigerate or freeze at least 1 hour. I froze some dough for about three days with no ill effects.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Unwrap one sheet at a time and bake cookies 15 to 17 minutes. Remove and cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes; slide parchment onto a wire rack and cool to room temperature before eating with cold milk.
SOURCE: Dave Cathey
QUADRUPLE-CHOCOLATE KNUCKLE-SANDWICH COOKIES
Makes 2 dozen cookies
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
¾ stick unsalted butter, cubed
¾ cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons Medaglia D’Oro instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips
1½ cups toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, then vanilla and espresso, and beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
• On low speed, stir in the melted chocolate mixture until just combined.
• Remove bowl from mixer and fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined.
• Stir in the chips and pecans.
• Place batter in the refrigerator while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mine takes 6 minutes 30 seconds to heat up, which allows enough time for the butter in the batter to firm up just enough so the cookies don’t spread thin.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop the batter onto the parchment-lined sheet. There should have room for eight cookies.
• Bake for 10 to11 minutes.
• While the first batch is cooking, return batter to the fridge and line a second cookie sheet with parchment paper. Just before the first batch is done, prepare another batch on the second cookie sheet.
• Once the first batch is done, slide the parchment off the cookie sheet and let cool on the counter. Return remaining batter to fridge. By the time the second batch is nearly done, the first cookie sheet should be cool enough to prepare for the third and final batch.
• Wrap leftovers well in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container.
• Source: Dave Cathey