My brother John's Ginormous Double Chocolate Cookies

Over Labor Day weekend we had a family gathering at our house and my brother John promised he would bring his latest culinary invention -- 1/2 pound chocolate cookies. My brother is a perfectionist when is comes to cooking, so he tries a recipe and tries it again until he gets it perfect. These cookies are pretty near perfect if you ask me, but if you're not a chocaholic, they might be just a little too much cookie for you.

Am I baiting you? Maybe  ;-)

Really, I couldn't even eat a whole cookie at one sitting -- not even a half, so they really are a lot of cookie. But if you have the need, these cookies definitely fit the bill. One recipe would make a whole batch of cookies, but with this recipe you divide the dough up into six or seven giant balls and end up with six or seven half-pound cookies. The texture is wonderful -- soft and chewy but not gooey. They would be a great addition to a tailgate party or home football party -- even if you had to cut them in quarters to give them away.

My brother's notes are in italics.

John's Ginormous Double Chocolate Cookies

 3 cups flour

1/4 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1 T. corn starch
1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar (I use dark but it can be either)
2 eggs
1 cup butter
1 t. kahlua

2 cups quality chocolate chunks (I use Graeter's dark chocolate)

In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients.  (I didn't sift, just made sure they were well mixed)

In a separate bowl cream butter with the sugars.  Add eggs and kahlua, and mix.

Slowly mix in the flour mixture.  (I did it about a cup at a time).  This is a very heavy dough.

Stir in 2 cups of chocolate chunks.

Bake (on a parchment paper covered pan -- extra large cookie sheet) in preheated oven at 375 for 8 minutes.  

Without opening oven door turn temperature down to 325 and bake an additional 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on sheet for 10 minutes. 

NOTE: When placing the dough on the cookie sheet I go with 6 at a time.  I make them somewhere around tennis ball sized, maybe a touch smaller.  I've never weighed them but I would go with somewhere between 6 - 8oz each. 

Samoa Bars

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My family has, in the past, enjoyed quite a few of the cookies that start selling around this time of year by the Girl Scouts. This year, however, we have decided that we will honor our own family's policy of contributing only to Catholic charities when it comes to those cookie sales. Yes, a purchase of cookies is just that, a purchase, but it is also a donation, and many of the Girl Scout policies are not in line with our personal beliefs (which is why we limit our donations to Catholic charities only).

There are other shortbread and mint chocolate cookies on the market similar to the Girl Scout brand, and I can pick them up at the grocery store. One of our family's favorites, however, is that coconut chocolate treat, the Samoa cookie. Last weekend I came across a recipe for a cookie bar that has the same yummy taste and texture and I'll be hanging on to this recipe to make this an annual treat. While these bars don't look exactly like Samoas (like these do) they are easy to make and the taste and texture are right on.

The base is a bit crumbly and I had a difficult time trying to dip them, but I do think the chocolate on the bottom is crucial. I just used a small spatula and spread the chocolate on instead of dipping. The recipe calls for 12 oz. bag of caramels, but I used a 10 oz. bag of Werther's chewy caramels, because that's what was available at my grocer.

Samoa Cookie Bars

makes 30 bars

printer version

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 t. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 t. salt
3 T. milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (I used chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (I used a bench knife).

Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper (I had better luck spreading the chocolate on the bottoms with a small spatula). Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.

Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 bar cookies.

Source: bakingbites.com

Big Batch Oatmeal Cookies

Way back in mid-December, I made up care packages for my two favorite seminarians at the Josephinum up the road from us. One is my son's best friend from high school, who is in his second year of college, and the other is the deacon at our church, who is in his last year of theology school. They are both the most wonderful young men and I wanted to deliver a package for their finals week. I was running short on time, so I ended up only making one batch of cookies and filling the package with store-bought goodies like Fiddle Faddle, Goldfish cracker, mini candy bars and apples.

Both men were so appreciative and I was so happy to please them. The cookies were my standard oatmeal cookie, with dried cherry bits and chocolate chips. They were yummy. This recipe, as the name implies, makes a huge batch. I can barely mix it in my Kitchen Aid. I often split it up and put different add-ins in each part, or leave some plain. Or sometimes I just halve the recipe -- my kids don't eat homemade cookies two days after they are baked. Yes, they are brats.

I don't know how many cookies this makes, and it depends on how big you make them, but if I had to guess I'd say 7 dozen.

Big Batch Oatmeal Cookies

2 c. shortening
2 c. brown sugar
2 c. white sugar
4 eggs
2 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
2 ½ c. flour
6 c. oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream shortening with sugars. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients. Add chocolate chips, raisins, coconut or nuts to taste, if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 14 minutes.

Christmas Cookies

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The kitchen in my home may be feeling a little neglected these days. I think it's mostly due to Advent getting away from me, but may be also due to some necessary detachment from food for me. I know my kids are sorely missing dessert these days, but mostly that's due to just plain busyness -- it's hard to bake dessert from the minivan.

I'm ready to get down to business and start baking some Christmas cookies. I normally go way over the top with Christmas cookies and we end up giving them away to any warm body that visits. This year, I decided that I'll do every one a favor and cut back. Then we won't be eating cookies simply because they exist. Each child gets to pick his or her favorite, and I'll make my (new-because-it's-low-fat) favorite and Doug's favorite.

The line-up is:

Frosting Sugar Cookies -- Peach's pick

Icing Thumbprints - Noah's pick

Gingersnaps -- Geoff's (college boy) pick

Chocolate Chip Biscotti - Joshua's pick

Macaroons -- my pick (not yet tried)

Pizzelles -- Doug's pick

If none of these float your boat, here are some other tried-and-true recipes:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Nieman Marcus Chocolate Chip

Pumpkin with Browned Butter Icing

Fudge Cocoa Cookies

Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Bars

Frosted Lemon Cookies

Sunbutter Cookies (can also be made with peanut butter)

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Raspberry Shortbread Thumbprints

Or click here to see all the cookie recipes posted on my blog.

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"Nieman Marcus" Cookies

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The Brown-Eyed Baker posted the recipe for the famed "Nieman Marcus" Chocolate Chip Cookie this week and she got me thinking about a recipe I haven't used in quite a while. I'm sure you've read the urban legend about the Nieman Marcus cookie recipe (if not, click over to her post and read the tale). The story is, to the best of my knowledge, completely fictitious, but it's a really good recipe for chocolate chip cookies anyway. Yesterday I was taking some supplies down to college boy and decided to make these to take some to him.


My version of the recipe is a little bit different from the Brown-Eyed Baker's. It calls for milk chocolate to be grated and added to the dough for a soft thread of chocolate throughout the cookie. My recipe also makes double what hers does, but I halved it. It makes more dough than my Kitchen Aid can even handle. As it is, half is plenty -- it was plenty to fill my cookie jar and take a couple dozen to college boy. If you don't have a food processor, this recipe is not quite as easy to make as with one, but still possible. Blend the oats in your blender and grate the milk chocolate by hand.

I omitted the nuts for allergy reasons.

Nieman Marcus Cookies
makes about 5 dozen

1 c. butter, softened
1 c. white sugar
2 c. brown sugar
2 c. flour
1 t. soda
2 1/2 c. oatmeal, processed into a fine powder
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 oz. Hershey milk chocolate, grated (that's half a giant bar)
1/2 t. salt
2 eggs
1 t. baking powder
1 1/2 c. nuts (optional)
1 t. vanilla

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips and grated Hershey bar (and nuts, if desired). Roll into balls (smaller than golf balls) and place two inches apart on baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes at 375.


Plenty of cookies.

Printer Version

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Chocolate Revel Bars

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Margaret, a very dear long-distance friend, recently sent me a lovely cookbook for my birthday. I have said before that "collection" cookbooks are some of my favorites because each person who contributes always gives their best, their favorite. I just love spending time looking through them because they reveal so much about the community that contributes to them. This one is especially lovely to look through because many of the dishes appear to be regional favorites. The book was published by St. Anthony Catholic Church in Mooretown, North Dakota, and many of the recipes, at first glance, appear to be ethnic -- German, French and Polish is my guess. I also noticed that a full third of the book is desserts -- those are my kind of people!

The first recipe that I chose to make, mostly because of ingredient availability (and a hankerin' for something chocolate) were the Chocolate Revel Bars. They also happen to be Margaret's sister's recipe! They were fabulous. I admit that I was somewhat stumped about halfway through the recipe, when I couldn't figure out what to do with the filling (I'm lost without pictures, folks!). But I remembered that I had seen this same recipe in one of my older Betty Crocker cookbooks. I checked and saw that I was supposed to melt them all together -- I'm a little thick sometimes.

This recipe makes a buttload of bars (pardon me, but it really is a unit of measure -- it's a lot). You may be tempted to hide them in the pantry and eat them for breakfast before the kids get up (even though they have three cups of oatmeal in them, they are not breakfast food). They are very rich, and I'm sure very fattening. So make sure you have someplace to take them. I wrapped a good half of the pan and sent them with Doug to work. I cut mine into 30 large bars, but you could easily get more than 50 if you cut them smaller.

Chocolate Revel Bars

1 c. butter or margarine (I used butter)
2 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
3 c. oatmeal (I used quick-cooking rolled oats)
15 oz. sweetened condensed milk (my can was 14 oz.)
12-oz. package chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
2 T. butter
1/2 t. vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Mix in eggs and first measure of vanilla. Add flour, soda and salt. Stir in oatmeal and mix to combine.

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine 2 T. butter, sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate chips. Heat on high in microwave for a minute, remove and stir. Heat again, for 30 seconds at a time, until completely melted. (This step could also be done over low heat on the stove). Stir in second measure of vanilla.

Press two-thirds of the oat mixture into the bottom of a greased and floured 15 x 10 jelly roll pan. Spread chocolate mixture over the oat mixture. Using your fingers, dot remaining oat mixture over the chocolate (I think I probably used less than 2/3 on the bottom and I had an abundance of topping -- it was all good).
Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 20-25 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

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Double Chocolate Chippers

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Yesterday afternoon I put some Chocolate Banana Bread in the oven, and then I asked the kids what kind of cookies they wanted. One said Chocolate Chip and the other said Chocolate. We compromised by combining. These are really chocolaty. I used milk chocolate chips, but you can use semi-sweet for an extra chocolaty taste, or white for something different altogether. This recipe has lots of cocoa in it so you can get your daily supply of antioxidants today. You can also make this recipe without the chips for a brownie-style cookie.

Double Chocolate Chippers

1/2 cup butter, softened *
1/2 cup shortening (or butter-flavored shortening)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
¾ c. cocoa
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 cup chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In bowl of mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend until batter is soft and fluffy. Add cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt.
Stir the dough until it is thick and well formed (if dough is too thick you may add a tablespoon or so of water until it is the right consistency). Add chocolate chips.
Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cook for one minute and cool on a rack.


* 1 cup of margarine can be substituted for the butter and shortening.

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One Bowl Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies

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I'm a nut for coconut. So much so, that I'm not even going to apologize for that awful play on words. I can remember loving coconut even farther back than I have a memory (which isn't all that far -- I have an awful memory). I know when I was a little girl that Mounds candy bars were in my Top Five Favorites. And my brothers always passed off their coconut nests to me at Easter. I always seem to be the only one in the family who loves it. Which is why I almost didn't make these blondies. My kids are very lukewarm on coconut, and I just don't get it. It's not really a texture thing, and how could it possibly be a flavor thing? I'm stumped. They were definitely not lukewarm on these blondies, however. They were all over them.

Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/8 t. salt
1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 c. light brown sugar
1 large egg
11⁄2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. flaked coconut
1 c. chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350° degrees F.
Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with baking spray.
In a medium bowl,
stir together the melted butter
and brown sugar until smooth;
beat in egg and vanilla extract until well blended.
Slowly add flour and salt until blended,
then stir in the coconut and chocolate chips.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan
and smooth even with a rubber spatula.




Bake blondies for 25-30 minutes,
or until set in the center but still soft.
Do not overbake.
Cool completely before cutting into squares.


Use a bench knife for cutting --
straight down and straight up --
you'll get much better edges.

Source: Brown-Eyed Baker

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Spring Snow Cake and Quick Lemon Mousse

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This past week presented itself with the opportunity to have a couple of little celebrations with dessert, one of which was this beautiful cake. Mid-week we had a visitor for dinner. College boy brought a "girl" friend for dinner. He says they're just friends, but she is a girl and she is a friend, so she's a girlfriend in my eyes. Irregardless of their relationship, she was a guest and so I prepared a special dessert, which also resulted in a take-off dessert the next night for The Feast of the Annunciation. Both desserts were a little bit Martha, a little bit Sandra Lee. In other words, a little bit scratch, a little bit short-cut. But the cake was awesome tasting and gorgeous, so I will most definitely be making it again.

I had a hankerin' for something lemon, and a pretty cake is always a nice dessert for guests, so I pulled together a beautiful scratch cake, used Jell-o Cook 'n' Serve lemon pudding for filling, and frosted it with real whipped cream. It looked like a gorgeous spring daffodil covered with a fluffy spring snow, hence the name. It would be a beautiful cake for Easter, and would also be a lovely addition to many a feast day celebration -- at the very least, the angel feasts.

I frequently use Jell-o Cook 'n' Serve Lemon Pudding in cooking. Though the base comes from a box, it calls for the addition of real eggs, and I always add a bit of lemon extract at the end to boost the flavor. It's a quick way to get a lemon curd without squeezing all those lemons. If you just can't bring yourself to using a boxed pudding, make a real lemon curd. I'm sure you can find a recipe at Martha's.

I borrowed the Lemon Cake recipe from the ladies at Mennonite Girls Can Cook. It didn't disappoint. I baked two 8-inch cakes and split them in half for four layers.

Spring Snow Cake

4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup whole milk
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. grated lemon peel
2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled

1 sm. box Jell-O Cook 'n' Serve Lemon Pudding,
prepared according to package
(you will need more eggs and water)
1/2 t. lemon extract

2 cups whipping cream
1/3 c. powdered sugar
2 T. Jell-O instant vanilla pudding

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray two 8-inch-diameter cake pans with baking spray.
Line bottom of pans with parchment paper; spray again.

Whisk eggs, yolks, milk, lemon juice, and lemon peel in medium bowl to blend.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl to blend.
Whisk oil and butter into flour mixture.
Add egg mixture and whisk until smooth.
Divide batter between prepared pans.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Cool cakes on racks 10 minutes.
Run knife around edge of pans to loosen cakes.
Turn cakes out onto racks. Cool completely.


Prepare lemon pudding as directed on package.
After pudding has come to a boil, turn off heat and add the lemon extract.
Stir and cover with plastic wrap.
Cool in the refrigerator until room temperature, but not cold.

When cakes are cool and pudding is room temp.,
split both cakes horizontally with a serrated knife.
Place one layer on a cake plate and spread with one third of the lemon pudding.
Repeat with two more layers and the pudding and top with a top layer of cake.

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar and instant pudding,
until you achieve stiff peaks.
Frost the entire cake with the whipped cream.
Refrigerate until ready to serve and refrigerate any leftovers.



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The day after we had our Spring Snow Cake, which I also shared with our neighbors so we could avoid having leftovers, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation with some delicious Lemon Mousse and Angel Cookies. I had made a double batch of lemon pudding and had a full half of it left over. I also had two cups of whipping cream left in the carton. In order to use up my leftovers, I created a quick, but yummy, Lemon Mousse to go with the Angel Cookies I made for the feast. I don't know why these are called angel cookies, but their official name, as published in Midwest Living magazine is Ohio Angel Cookies -- the perfect cookie for us. They were a yummy, crispy sugar cookie, and the mix of granulated and brown sugar gives them a good flavor. They were easy to make and all the kids really enjoyed them, as did I. They are a nice tea-time cookie and went well with the mousse, and would go well with a bowl of ice cream or sherbet, too.

Lemon Mousse

1 sm box Jell-O Cook 'n' Serve Lemon Pudding,
prepared as directed (requires eggs and water)
2 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla

When lemon pudding comes to a boil, pour into a glass bowl
and cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate until cold and set.
When pudding is chilled,
whip cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until you achieve stiff peaks.
Whisk lemon pudding into whipped cream,
just until pudding is completely incorporated.
Pour into individual dishes or one large bowl and cover with wrap.
Chill until ready to serve.
To , with additional whipping cream, if desired,
and a raspberry, strawberry or mint leaf for garnish, if desired.

Ohio Angel Cookies

1 c. shortening
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cream of tartar
1/4 t. salt
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees; grease cookie sheets.
In a mixing bowl,
beat the shortening with an electric mixer on medium high speed
for 30seconds.
Add the brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, baking soda,
cream of tartar and salt; beat until mixed.
Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until combined.
Add the flour and mix until combined.
Shape the dough into 1-inch balls; roll in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.
Place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove the cookies and cool completely on a wire rack.


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Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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This recipe is the fraternal twin of another favorite cookie in my house, Cookie Brittle. The flavor, though, is slightly different and I love it. It's a cross between a shortbread cookie, one of my favorites, and chocolate chip. They are very buttery, and so I don't make them very often. But, if the cookie jar is empty and you're short on time, this recipe is perfect. I don't ever substitute margarine for butter, simply because I don't use fake food when I can avoid it, but in this recipe it's really important to use real butter to retain the texture and flavor. I think the recipe came from allrecipes.com, but I can't recall if I altered it.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
24 square bars

1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 t. vanilla
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 pinch salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
¾ cup pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, vanilla, and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the salt and flour and mix.
Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts, if desired.
Mix until well blended.
Press batter into 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan.
Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool five minutes and then cut into bars
with a bench knife or very sharp chef's knife.
Cool completely before removing from pan.

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In the Cookie Jar -- Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers

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This cookie recipe is an old standby at our house. When we want a gooey chocolate chipper, it's usually the one I turn to. They are crispy on the outside and chewy, gooey on the inside. The fact that it's an oatmeal cookie makes it better in my book, but the kids just know they taste great. The chocolate chips can be switched out with part butterscotch or peanut butter chips for a different kid-friendly flavor, or you can substitute a half cup of raisins or, my favorite, dried cherries, for a half cup of the chocolate chips.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers

1 - ½ cup flour
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 cup Crisco
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups uncooked oats
12 oz chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, salt and soda and reserve.
Beat together Crisco, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Add oats, then stir in chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoons on baking sheets.
Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool 2 minutes before removing to racks.

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In the Cookie Jar: Lemon Polish Sugar Cookies

This morning, when I realized I had not planned ahead for a treat for the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe, I went hunting on the Internet for a recipe that was neither to taxing on my already taxed brain, or my partially empty cupboards. I thought I found the perfect recipe -- a sugar cookie -- but, at the moment when I already had my butter and sugar creaming, and went to the cupboard for my vanilla, I realized I had run out. What self-respecting baker runs out of vanilla? Well, none. I guess I lost my self-respect. Anyway, necessity is the mother of invention, right? So, my perfectly lovely Polish Sugar Cookies became perfectly lovely (maybe lovelier) Lemon Polish Sugar Cookies.

These are a crisp, light cookie (think lemon snickerdoodle), and they would be a perfect tea time treat, as well as a perfect companion to some lemon sherbet or vanilla ice cream for dessert. I think they would also be wonderful made with the vanilla extract, as the original recipe stated, so I'll hang on to this recipe for another day (and another Polish saint).

Lemon Polish Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 t. lemon extract (or 1 t. vanilla)
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream sugar and butter.
Add egg yolks and vanilla.
Add flour, baking soda and cream of tartar.
Mix until well combined -- dough will be stiff.
Pinch off dough and roll into 1-inch balls.
Roll in granulated sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake until set, not brown, for 10-12 minutes.

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In the Cookie Jar -- Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle

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In all my years of parenting (o.k., I'm not a grandma, but I have raised one to adulthood), I have never used a cookie jar. Gasp! In fact, if I delved way down deep into my subconscious (which I usually avoid doing at all cost), I would say that I probably thought that having a cookie jar would actually encouraged the consumption of cookies. Frankly, my kids eat enough cookies without putting a jar full of them in plain sight.

But recently, (in my old age) I parked a cookie jar on my kitchen counter (a clear one no less where you can actually see the contents), and I believe that it has had the reverse effect. I believe (and I could be totally off here, because this is no scientific experiment) that because they can see the cookies, and know that they are still there, they do not feel compelled to stuff them in their mouths all at once.

And since I have, for the past few weeks, kept that cookie jar filled with homemade cookies, for at least the majority of the time, I thought I'd make "In the Cookie Jar" a regular sort of thing around here. After all, it is my blog. :o)

My first edition is Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle. I found this recipe a few years ago in a copy of Every Day Food magazine. I think it was fairly new magazine back then, and this is one recipe that I found there that I have really used quite a bit. My kids love cookie brittle. Really, who wouldn't -- butter, sugar, chocolate? And it's such a cinch to make that if you have the ingredients, you'll have "cookies" in no time at all. But, this is one cookie that breaks my rule (no pun intended), the baker does not get to eat all the broken ones!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle

¾ c. unsalted butter, room temp.
1 c.sugar
½ t. salt
½ t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a 10x15 pan with parchment.
With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in salt and vanilla.
Reduce speed to low and mix in flour (dough will be crumbly).
Stir in chocolate chips.

See? Very crumbly.





Press mixture evenly onto prepared sheet.


Before baking.


Bake until golden brown about 20 minutes.
Cool in pan 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack.
When completely cool, break into pieces.

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