Cookie of the week!

When I was younger, my dad used to sing "If moon was cookie" from Sesame Street to me when he put me to bed. When the cookie monster took a bite out of the moon, My dad would mimic a mouth with his hands and "bite" in all of my ticklish spots. He called me his little cookie monster. He was right. I love cookies, but I want to do more than just get those pre-made chips ahoy or oreos. I wanted to bake.

So I'm starting a cookie of the week goal. Every week, I am going to make a different kind of cookie. There are 52 weeks in a year, so that means by the end of the year I will have made 52 different kinds of cookies, that is unless the Mayans were right, then it'd be 51. So we are now in the third week of of the year, and I have made 3 different types of cookies. Going along swimmingly!


Week 1: Chewy Gooey Flourless Chocolate Cookies

 These were awesome! They were a brownie like mixture and very chewy. I got this recipe from www.recipegirl.com (as usual)

You'll need:

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 to 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper (or silpat mats). If you use parchment paper, give it a light swoosh of nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar with cocoa powder and salt. Whisk in egg whites (start w/ just two) and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened. You're looking for a brownie-like, thick and fudgy batter consistency. If it seems too thick, add another egg white-- then a 4th one if it still seems too thick. Gently stir in chocolate chips.
3. Spoon batter onto the prepared baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds per cookie sheet. I like to use a spring-release cookie scoop. Bake about 14 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked. Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto wire racks. Let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Tips:

*If you're baking this as a "gluten-free" recipe, just make sure that the brand of chocolate chips you are using is gluten free.
*Let the cookies cool completely before you attempt to remove them from the mat or the parchment. They're delicate, so gently peeling the paper away from the cookie works best.

It makes A LOT of cookies, as does all three of these recipes. but they are gooooooood.

Week 2: Chocolate-swirled Peanut Butter Cookies

Once again, I definitely patted myself on the back for these. SO AWESOME

I mean they just look epic, right? And really, who can complain with the peanut butter and chocolate combo. These were super easy and made a lot of cookies. Once again www.recipegirl.com is a genius!

You'll need:

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 Tablespoon shortening

What to do:

1. In a large bowl with electric mixer, cream butter, peanut butter, sugars and eggs.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix in to wet mixture and blend together until combined.
3. Divide dough into 2 parts. Pat into balls, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until more firm (about an hour should be perfect).
4. Roll out 1 ball of dough into a large rectangle (about 11x15-inches... not too thin) on a thin floured towel. (Dough will be soft-ish, so roll gently).
5. In a medium bowl, melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and shortening in the microwave. Set for a minute, stir, then 30 seconds more, stir... continue until melted and smooth.
6. Spoon dollops of the chocolate mixture onto the rolled out dough (using about half of the chocolate), then spread carefully to cover most of the rectangle.
7. Using the towel as a guide, carefully lift the towel to help roll the rectangle into a log. Wrap the "log" in the paper towel and place into the freezer for about 20 minutes, or until the log has had a chance to firm up slightly. It's okay to leave it in the freezer longer than 20 minutes. It's easier to cut when firm.
8. While first batch is in the freezer, roll out the second ball of dough. If chocolate mixture has firmed up a bit, just stick it back in the microwave to melt again. Stir until smooth and spread remaining chocolate on the rolled out dough. Roll up into a log and freeze until ready to bake.
9. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (or grease cookie sheets).
10. Remove firmed up cookie log from the freezer and cut into 1/4-inch slices.
11. Bake on prepared cookie sheets 13 to 15 minutes, or until cookies no longer look or feel gooey.

Tips:

*Do not use natural peanut butter for this recipe- you won't have good results.

I actually kept the second roll of dough in the freezer until the first batch of cookies had been depleted a little. It was 3 days later when I baked them, same time and temperature, and they turned out even better. Just dont forget to let them thaw a little before you start slicing.

Week 3: Snickerdoodles

Wowza. They turned out great. They actually just came out of the oven an hour ago. My house smells like sweet cinnamon sugar. It's great.

In the background is the other batch of chocolate-swirled peanut butter cookies. So basically I have over 75 freshly baked cookies in my house. Be jealous. This recipe once again came from www.recipegirl.com She just always has the best sweets. And I have a sweet tooth.

You'll need:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

What to do:

1. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together shortening, sugar and eggs.
2. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together and stir into wet mixture. Chill dough in refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
4. In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon/sugar. Use your hands to roll cookie dough into small balls (about 1 1/2 Tablespoons each). Roll balls in the cinnamon/sugar, and place on ungreased baking sheet- about 2 inches apart
5. Bake 8-10 minutes until cookies are flattened and look crinkly. Let cool on cookie sheets at least 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips:

*For the rolling sugar: You'll have leftover sugar to throw away after rolling. I call for more than needed because I like to have a good puddle to roll them around in. Use less sugar if you don't want the waste.

And the cream of tartar sounds a little weird, but it makes a huge difference.

Thats it from me, happy baking!