National Cookie Day Cookies

Today is National Cookie Day! What better way to celebrate National Cookie Day than with the original cookie - the chocolate chip cookie? This was actually one of my first recipes, but I have been waiting to share it with you until just the right time. Today seems like the perfect day. 

I have to be honest. I didn't know it was National Cookie Day until this morning. I had already written my post on Parmesan Breaded Chicken, and had planned to publish it this morning. (Don't worry. That will be a post later this week.) However, plans changed when I woke up and my husband informed me of this national holiday. He said I HAD to post my famous chocolate chip cookies. 

No problem, except that meant I had to find the time to make the batter, chill it, bake the cookies, and write the post. AND I can never leave well enough alone. After all, it is National Cookie Day. One kind of cookie doesn't seem like celebration enough, even if those cookies are my famous chocolate chip cookies. So, I mixed up a batch of butterscotch cookies as well.

Somehow I found the time to mix up two batches of cookies in the morning before the kids and I headed off to the beach. It was a scorcher here in Michigan today. I left the two doughs in the fridge to chill while we chilled in the lake. When we had finally had enough, we headed home, and the oven hasn't been off since.

I like fluffy, chewy cookies more than dry, crisp cookies. I also think that bigger cookies are better than little ones. I especially like my cookies to be thick, and to hold their shape. It took me a while to figure out how to consistently get them to do that. The secret is corn starch. Try it, you will see it works like a charm.

Whether you love the original chocolate chip cookie or you like to switch things up with butterscotch, I guarantee you will love this recipe. Make these cookies to celebrate National Cookie Day or any other day. You won't regret it.

What You Will Need:
KitchenAid Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Medium Scoop
Baking Sheet(s)
Silicone Mat (s) - This is optional, but since I started using them, I won't bake cookies without them.
Cooling Racks

Ingredients:
1 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
3/4 cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup Sugar
2 Large Eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup Soy Flour
3/4 cup Potato Starch
3/4 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/4 cup Corn Starch
1 1/2 teaspoons Xanthum Gum
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 cups Chips (Flavor of your choice: chocolate, butterscotch, white chocolate, etc.)

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together soy flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, corn starch, xanthum gum, baking soda & salt. Set aside.

In the KitchenAid Mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugars with paddle attachment. Be patient. This can take a few minutes.

  
Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg.

Add vanilla. Mix well.

Add dry ingredients with mixer on low. Mix well on medium.

Add chips and blend until just mixed in.

No, you don't need glasses. This is a picture of
the butterscotch dough, not the chocolate
chip dough.

Refrigerate dough for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Use medium scoop to scoop dough onto silicone mat lined baking sheet.

Bake for 16 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on baking sheet for two minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. They are also really good eaten warm.

Don't forget to serve them with a tall glass of cold milk.

"One of the things I learned in Kindergarten: warm cookies and cold milk are good for you." ~Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

I can't argue with that!

Sheryl

Red, White & Blue Cookies

I can't believe it is already July. It seems like it was just Memorial Day, and I was writing about how excited I was that summer was here. Now summer is well under way, and we are about to celebrate Independence Day, the Fourth of July. 

We'll be celebrating our freedom at the beach with friends and family. I thought it would be nice to have some red, white & blue treats to share for the celebration. My original thought was red, white and blue tie-dyed cupcakes with red, white and blue sprinkles. I still plan to make them, and I promise I will post the recipe on Friday, providing they turn out the way I envision them.

But I was thinking we really need something with chocolate too. After I gave it some thought, I remembered the red, white and blue M&M's. I figured they would be perfect in place of chocolate chips in a cookie. So, I got to work perfecting my cookie recipe. 

I think they turned out great, but don't take my word for it. You can take somebody else's word for a change. My friend, Janet, her teenage daughter, Maya, and Maya's friend, Autumn tried them when we went to the movie together the other day. They loved them so much they were fighting over them. Autumn took half of the last cookie from Maya as she was eating it. She was surprised to learn that they were gluten-free.

Aren't you dying to learn how to make these cookies? OK, I won't make you wait any longer for the recipe.

What You Will Need:
KitchenAid Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Cookie Sheet(s)
Silicone Mat (optional) - I highly recommend using one of these. I love how evenly cookies bake with it.
Teaspoon Sized Cookie Scoop
Cooling Rack(s)

Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
3/4 cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup Sugar
2 Large Eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup Soy Flour
3/4 cup Potato Starch
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/4 cup Corn Starch
1/4 cup Ground Flax Meal (optional) - (If you choose not to use flax, you can substitute with 1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons Xanthum Gum
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 medium bag of M&M's

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together soy flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, corn starch, flax, xanthum gum, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

This picture was taken before I whisked them
together.

In your KitchenAid Mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugars. 

After I firmly pack my brown sugar, I crumble it
into the bowl to make it easier to mix. This picture
is before they are creamed together.

Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.

I always crack my eggs into a separate bowl
to ensure that I don't get any shells in my baked
goods. I also crack my eggs on a flat surface,
as opposed to the edge of a bowl, to reduce
the likelihood of shells.

This is after the eggs have been added and mixed.

Add vanilla and mix well.

Add dry ingredients and mix well.

Add M&M's and mix well.

Don't be tempted. I know it looks good. Trust me,
I am a lover of raw cookie dough, but this dough
only tastes good as cookies. Yes, I speak from
experience. You can also ask my son.

Chill dough for at least an hour. (I chilled mine overnight.) Preheat oven to 350° F.

Use scoop to drop balls of dough on silicone mat lined cookie sheet or ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes, then let cool on pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Store in an air tight container.

Yum! Don't they look festive? I know you will love them as much as Janet, Maya and Autumn do.

I hope you enjoy celebrating the Fourth of July. Remember to be grateful for the amazing freedom we are privileged to have in this great country. Of course, the greatest freedom we have is our freedom through Jesus. 

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36 (NIV)

Sheryl