Category: Cookies

Cookies

Ginger Snaps

Becca Bakes

It’s Christmas cookie season! Last year, I embarked on a journey to taste test dozens of cookie recipes to figure out which ones I would want to make for Christmas each year. Every family seems to have their own recipes that are traditionally made each year, and I wanted to start figuring out mine.

While testing out pecan clouds and chocolate sugar cookies, I had this memory of stuffing my face with ginger cookies in my Aunt Margie’s basement during our family Christmas parties. I realized I hadn’t had these ginger cookies in years. I flipped open my family recipe book (thanks mom!) and there they were! I’ve made these cookies for two years in a row now and each time they have been a hit. Crunchy and spicy, these cookies really balance out the dessert table.

Tips and Tricks

  • Yes, molasses is supposed to smell like that. No, your cookies aren’t ruined.
  • These cookies will harden a bit as the cool because of the molasses, don’t expect them to look crisp the second they come out of the oven
  • You technically can substitute butter for the shortening, but why mess with a classic family recipe?
  • Pop the dough into the fridge for an hour or so so that it is easier to roll the dough balls into sugar

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white sugar (plus more to roll cookie dough in)
  • 1/2 cup salted butter
  • 1/4 cup shortening (I use Crisco)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup light molasses
  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. allspice

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Cream together softened butter, sugar, and shortening
  3. Add in egg and molasses until well combined
  4. Add in dry ingredients (bread flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and allspice) and stir until well combined
  5. Form into balls and roll in sugar
  6. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart, cookies will flatten
  7. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the top cracks
  8. Enjoy!

Happy baking!

-R

Cookies

Pumpkin White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Becca Bakes

What a mouthful.

Happy fall, y’all! Yesterday was October 1st and I was really in the mood to make something pumpkin-y to celebrate. Now honestly, when you put pumpkin in any baked good, it’s a slam dunk. Pumpkin keeps everything moist! But I wanted more of a challenge, so I added a little extra crunch and a little chocolate and voila! The ultimate fall cookie was born! One of my coworkers described the cookie as more of a “pumpkin pie bite” – with the pumpkin cookie acting as the pumpkin filling, the macadamia nuts giving the crunch of the crust, and white chocolate chips as the whipped cream topping. It’s the perfect description for the perfect cookie, I only wish I would have thought of it myself.

Tips and Tricks

  • Pumpkin will make your cookie dough very wet, which means that it’s hard to shape the dough into balls by hand because it sticks to your hand. To avoid this mess, I used a cookie scooper, which eliminates the use of your hands to shape the dough. Alternatively, you can use an ice cream scooper and spoon, or refrigerate the dough for 2+ hours to make it more firm.
  • Watch your macadamia nuts closely – it’s easy for them to burn!
  • Don’t chop the macadamia nuts until after you have toasted them, chopping makes it even easier for those babies to burn.
  • When storing these cookies, you have to use parchment paper between layers. Otherwise, all of your cookies will just stick together and you’ll have one giant cookie clump in your tin.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) of softened butter
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup pure pumpkin (I always use Libby’s!)
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup toasted macadamia nuts
  • 2+ cups of white chocolate chips (add as many as your little heart desires!)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. On a lined cookie sheet, spread out macadamia nuts and toast for 10 minutes, or until golden brown
  3. After the macadamia nuts have cooled, use a chopper to chop into small pieces
  4. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, cloves, and baking soda
  5. In a large mixing bowl, beat softened butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together until creamy
  6. In the large mixing bowl, add the egg, vanilla, and pumpkin to the wet mixture. Whisk until well combined
  7. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat or whisk until well combined
  8. Fold in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts
  9. On a lined cookie sheet, place 1 inch balls of dough about 2 inches apart
  10. Bake for 10-12 minutes
  11. Put on Hocus Pocus, and enjoy!

Happy (spooky!) baking,

-R

Cookies

Grandma’s Oatmeal Cookies

Becca Bakes

The day I accidentally made 300 cookies.

Every summer as a child we would embark on a family road trip to Cedar Point. I didn’t love roller coasters or the 6+ hours in the car each way, but I did love the tin of oatmeal cookies each car got. So when I had to go on a road-trip of my own, it only made sense to make each car a tin of oatmeal cookies. I called my grandma for her recipe which she happily shared and I started making the oatmeal cookies.

Now there were two cars going on our trip so I figured I would double the recipe. One for each car, right? Well I think my grandma already gave me the doubled recipe she used for our road trip. 4 hours and 10 batches in the oven later, I had over 300 cookies cooling across my kitchen, living room, bedroom…

There are worse problems to have.

Now because I had so many cookies, I figured I would make a test batch. There’s no beating my grandmother’s recipe, but I figured adding cinnamon, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips couldn’t result in a bad cookie. If it did, I would still have 200 good cookies! The add-ins did not disappoint, and if you try this recipe, I encourage you to play around with it yourself!

Tips and Tricks

  • These oatmeal cookies will be thin and crunchy. If you want a thick, chewy oatmeal cookie, this is not the recipe for you
  • Be creative with the mix-ins! My dad likes raisins, while I prefer chocolate chips. You could also add in chopped pecans or walnuts, shredded coconut, or even butterscotch chips.
  • These cookies will spread and become very flat in the oven. Use small, 1 tsp sized balls of dough and place cookies at least 2 inches apart on cookie sheet

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter (or shortening)
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Recipe #1: Grandma’s Classic Oatmeal Cookies

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Place parchment paper on cookie sheet and grease
  3. Melt the 1 cup of butter
  4. Mix all ingredients in one bowl! Easy peasy!
  5. Place small spoonfuls of cookies on sheet at least 2 inches apart
  6. Bake for 8-10 minutes

Recipe #2: Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

  1. Follow steps 1-4 of Grandma’s Classic Oatmeal cookies
  2. Add 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips (or more if you’re like me!)
  3. Add 1 tsp of cinnamon
  4. Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  5. Follow steps 5&6 of Grandma’s Classic Oatmeal cookies

I hope you love these cookies as much as I did! If you tried a different mix-in or added an extra spice, drop a comment below and let me know how it was!

-R

Cookies

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Becca Bakes

“Oh my god. Holy sh*t. Oh. My. God” – Direct quote from Papa Rach.

But seriously, these may have been the best cookies I have ever made. I mean, just look at them. This weekend I made over 200 cookies for Mother’s Day weekend (more recipes to come later!), but these were the mack daddys. Soft, chewy, chocolaty, rich.

Makes approximately 18 cookies.

Tips & Tricks:

  • Do not over heat the chocolate, it will burn and ruin the cookies
  • The dough will be thinner than a traditional cookie dough. It should look more like a brownie batter. This is okay! No need to refrigerate the dough, this may result in dried out cookies.
  • If you like sea salt, sprinkle a little on top. It’s a great way to break up the intense sweetness of this cookie.
  • If you are like me and you do not have a cookie scoop yet *hint, hint, Matty*, use a small ice cream scoop to make your cookies round and equally sized.
  • I almost always under-cook my cookies because it keeps them moist for days!

Ingredients:

  • 2 – 3.5 oz bars of 72% dark chocolate
  • 1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chunks
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 3/4 packed dark-brown sugar
  • 4 tbsp of salted butter
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Combine 2 bars of chopped chocolate, 1/4 cup of chocolate chunks, and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate is mostly melted (about 60 seconds total)
  3. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla with a hand mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy
  4. Mix in the melted chocolate
  5. Mix in the flour and baking powder until just combined
  6. Stir in as many chocolate chunks as desired, I used about 1 1/2 cups
  7. Line baking sheet with parchment paper
  8. Scoop heaping spoons of dough on to the baking sheet 2 inches apart
  9. Bake 12 minutes until cookies are crackly and soft
  10. Remove from cookie sheet immediately to cool

I hope you enjoy these as much as my family and I did! Happy baking!

-R