Oat and Pecan Brittle Cookies

Are you a Dessert Person? If so, then you've come to the right place, because today's recipe is straight out of Claire Saffitz's cookbook called, fittingly, Dessert Person. If you're like wait, that name sounds familiar, where do I know that from -- Claire used to work for Bon Appetit, and hosted several YouTube series for them. Now, she's got her own series, where she makes recipes from her cookbook. One of the first episodes she did was actually for these cookies. And I can report that, after having made them twice now -- these cookies are legit.

These cookies are chewy, sweet, with a bit of crunch from the pecan brittle that's not only in the flour mixture, but also in bits throughout the cookies as well. They are definitely a labor of love -- these aren't cookies you can just decide you want to make and be eating in 30 minutes. Indeed, if you want to make these cookies the best they can be, then you're going to have to let the dough rest in the fridge for at least 12 hours. Again, labor of love, but honestly? Worth it.

Also? They have brown butter, and if you know me, you know I love brown butter. What's not to love? Any time I brown some butter, and that lovely, nutty aroma starts wafting up, it's amazing. Claire has said she struggles not to put brown butter in every recipe and, girl, I totally get it. It almost always makes things better. 

One thing I do want to mention is that you should not overcook these. If the very center of your cookies look a little underdone, but the edges are nice and brown after the first amount of baking time, take 'em out. The centers will continue cooking on the pan for the five more minutes you leave them on there, and if you overcooked them at all, they will turn out much crunchier in the end. Of course, if you prefer a crunchier cookie, then more power to you, go ahead, but I personally love it when you get a nice, soft center.

Another tip -- if you don't want to bake all of these cookies are once, then you can totally freeze the portioned dough to bake up some fresh cookies on another night when you're having a craving. Same oven temperature, close to the same amount of time. Frozen portioned cookie dough is something your future self with be grateful for, and I highly recommend it.

Oat and Pecan Brittle Cookies
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The…
Servings: 18 cookies
Prep time: 01:45
Cook time: 20:00
Total time: 02:30

Amazing sweet, salty, chewy, crunchy, delicious toffee-y oat and pecan cookies worth the effort.

Ingredients:

For the Brittle
• 1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans (5 oz / 142g)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (5.3 oz / 150g)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 oz / 57g)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal brand)
For the Cookies
• 2 sticks unsalted butter (8 oz / 227g), cut into tablespoons
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (6.1 oz / 173g)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (0.22 oz / 6g)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (0.21 oz / 6g)
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (7 oz / 200g)
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (5.3 oz / 150g)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (3.5 oz / 100g)
• 2 large eggs (3.5 oz / 100g), cold from the fridge
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

For the Brittle:
1. Arrange an oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 350F. Scatter the pecans on a small rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing halfway through, until they're golden and nutty smelling, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set aside to allow the pecans to cool.
2. Meanwhile, line a small rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside (I only have one small baking sheet, so I just put the pecans from above into a bowl and then used the same one). In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, butter, and 2 tablespoons of water (1 oz / 28g) and cook over medium-low heat, stirring gently with a heatproof spatula to dissolve the sugar. Increase the heat to medium and bring the syrup to a rapid simmer. Cook without stirring, swirling the pan often, until the syrup turns a deep amber color, 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the pecans. Once the pecans are well coated, add the baking soda and salt and stir quickly to incorporate -- the mixture will rapidly foam and sputter as the baking soda aerates the caramel. Quickly scrape the brittle out onto the prepared baking sheet, and spread into a thin layer, os possible, before it starts to harden (which happens very quickly). Set the baking sheet aside until the brittle is completely cooked, 5 to 10 minutes. Chop the brittle into pea-sized bits and set aside.
For the Cookies:
3. Measure out 4 ounces (113g) of the butter, place in the bowl of a stand mixer, and set aside. Place the other 4 ounces (113g) butter in a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until the butter comes to a boil. Continue to cook, scraping the bottom and sides of the pan constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the butter sputters, foams, and eventually you see browned bits floating about, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the browned butter to the stand mixer bowl, making sure you scrape in all the browned bits. Set the bowl aside to cool until the butter begins to resolidify, about 30 minutes.
4. In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda, then add half of the pecan brittle bits, and 1 cup (3.5 oz, 100g) of the oats. Blitz the mixture in long pulses until the oats and brittle are broken down and finely ground. Set side.
5. Set the bowl of cooled butter on the mixer and attach the paddle. Add the dark brown and granulated sugars and beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and smooth but not fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla, and continue to beat until you have a very light and satiny mixture, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour/oat/brittle mixture and beat on low until no dry spots remain and you have a soft, evenly mixed dough. Add the remaining pecan brittle bits and 1 cup (3.5 oz / 100g) oats and mix on low again just until dispersed. Fold the batter several times with a flexible spatula to ensure everything is evenly mixed.
6. Using a 2-ounce scoop or 1/4 cup measure, scoop level portions of dough and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet as close together as possible (you'll space them out before baking). Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 12 hours and up to 48. (If you're pressed for time, a couple of hours in the fridge will do. Just note the baked cookies won't be as chewy).
7. When you're ready to bake, arrange two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350F. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, or silicon sheets.
8. Place 6 pieces of chilled cookie dough on each of the prepared baking sheets, spacing so they're at least 3 inches apart. Bake the cookies on the upper and lower racks until they are dark golden brown around the edges, 16 to 20 minutes, switching racks and rotating the sheets front to back after 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
9. Carefully move one of the oven racks to the center position, place the remaining dough on one of the baking sheets (it's okay if it's still warm), and bake on the center rack (this last sheet might bake a bit faster than the first two).

Recipe from Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

From the pictures alone, you may not think these cookies look like much. Just a generic chocolate cookie with some chocolate chunks, what's to write home about here? Well, quite frankly, a lot! These cookies were an unexpected amazement when I was baking up some holiday cookie packages to send to my grandparents. I'm not always the hugest chocolate fan, particularly when it's chocolate on top of chocolate (I mean, give me a chocolate chip cookie any day, but I'd always choose that over a chocolate chocolate chip cookie, if you know what I mean). 

So what makes these so good? They are so soft! They don't appear soft from the outside or when you're just giving them a gander in these pictures. In fact, you might think they look dry or something. But they are NOT. They stayed delightfully chewy and soft on the inside for over a week in an airtight container! That's some lasting power, especially when a lot of cookies will start to be dry and blegh after just a couple days.

Now, in the original recipe they're going to tell you that you need a lot of fancy chocolate to make these cookies shine. I'm here to tell you that they're good even without going super fancy. Dutch processed cocoa powder? I used Trader Joe's. Callebaut Intense Dark L-60-40NV baking chocolate? Try some Guittard bittersweet chocolate picked up at your local grocery. I also did not want to buy dark corn syrup just for this recipe, so I used light corn syrup instead and - still delicious! The point is, while those extra fancy ingredients may make them taste better, they're still awesome without them.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The…
Servings: 16
Prep time: 00:45/
Cook time: 00:22
Total time: 01:30

Soft and oh-so-chocolatey cookies that last for days.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar (about 2.5 ounces), plus 1/2 cup for coating
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (7.5 ounces)
• 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
• 1 large egg white
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar (2.5 ounces)
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

Instructions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Place 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a shallow baking dish or pie plate. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Whisk corn syrup, egg white, and vanilla together in a small bowl.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low, add corn syrup mixture, and beat until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping bowl once with a rubber spatula. With mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture and chopped chocolate; mix until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl once. Give the dough a final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at the bottom. Chill dough 30 minutes to firm slightly (do not chill longer than 30 minutes).
3. Divide dough into 16 equal portions; roll between hands into balls about 1½ inches in diameter. Working in batches, drop 8 dough balls into baking dish with sugar and toss to coat. Set dough balls on prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.
4. Bake, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking, until cookies are puffed and cracked and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), 10 to 11 minutes. Do not over-bake.
5. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes, then use wide metal spatula to transfer cookies to wire rack; cool cookies to room temperature. Repeat with second batch of cookies.

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated

Outrageous Oatmeal Cookies

After taking my first bite of one of these cookies, I said to my boyfriend, "You know, I think these might be the best oatmeal cookies I've ever had." And seriously, I stand by that statement.

These are SO. GOOD.

Generally, I'm not a huge oatmeal cookie person. Give me a choice between a chocolate chip and an oatmeal, and I will always choose a chocolate chip. But if you told me that the oatmeal cookie was going to be one of these, I might just choose it instead.

Why are they so good, you wonder? I could tell just from the dough they were going to be good, but  I think why they're so good is a combination of the browned butter, and said browned butter being swirled around with the cinnamon while it's still hot. That just really opened up the flavors.

Now, they do have a tendency to get crumbly, but heck, if that's the case, get yourself some good vanilla ice cream and sprinkle those crumbles on top! Or even make yourself an oatmeal cookie ice cream sandwich. I didn't have any vanilla ice cream, but man that sounds amazing.

They also aren't going to stay moist for very long, but that's probably not going to be a problem, right? They're going to get eaten pretty quickly, duh.

Outrageous Oatmeal Cookies
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The…
Servings: 20 Cookies
Prep time: 00:15

Cook time: 00:20

Total time: 00:45

The best oatmeal cookies you'll ever have? You be the judge. For me, that's a yes.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups (9 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats

Instructions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
2. Melt butter in 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat, swirling pan occasionally, until foaming subsides. Continue to cook, stirring and scraping bottom of pan with heat-resistant spatula, until milk solids are dark golden brown and butter has nutty aroma, 1 to 2 minutes. Immediately transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl, scraping skillet with spatula. Stir in cinnamon.
3. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, and oil to bowl with butter and whisk until combined. Add egg and yolk and vanilla and whisk until mixture is smooth. Using wooden spoon or spatula, stir in flour mixture until fully combined, about 1 minute. Add oats and stir until evenly distributed (mixture will be stiff).
4. Divide dough into 20 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared sheets, 10 dough balls per sheet. Using your damp hand, press each ball into 2 1/2-inch disk.
5. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until cookie edges are set and lightly browned and centers are still soft but not wet, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet on wire rack for 5 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely.

Recipe via Cook's Illustrated

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Chai Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies

Living in Southern California, fall doesn't really start to feel like fall for some time. October has begun, and it's still sunny and in the 70s here. You get so used to it, that when you hear a "shhhhh" noise one night that you can't quite figure out the source of, it takes a few minutes to figure out that, oh, it's actual rain!

Because, yeah, these cookies are great for rainy days.

First, I have to confess that I wasn't very sure about these cookies at first. The chai spices are strong, and if you're not into those, then you probably won't like these. What I found most interesting, though, was that I enjoyed them more after I had frozen the dough and then baked them, rather than just after the refrigerating step. I'm not sure if it just gave the flavors more time to meld, or if it affected how they baked up slightly to change them just a touch, but I definitely enjoyed them more then.

Answer: it's probably just me having a weird palate or something?

If you're looking to spice up (hyuck hyuck) your chocolate chip cookie game, give these a go, especially if you enjoy yourself some chai tea. They're full of spice and very nice!

Chai Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The…
Servings: 24 cookies
Prep time: 00:15

Cook time: 00:25

Total time: 00:40

Perfect for the fall with a cup of chai tea.

Ingredients:

• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, allspice, black pepper, and salt. Set aside for now.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat together until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating until combined. Pour in the vanilla extract and beat one more time.
3. Dump all of the flour mixture into the standing mixer and turn it on low speed. Mix until the flour is mostly combined, then increase the speed until there are no more specks of flour. Pour in the chocolate chunks and mix on low on more time. Transfer the dough to the fridge to chill for an hour or up to 2 days. At this stage, you can scoop out individual cookies, stick them in a bag, and freeze them for later use.
4. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or a silpat liner. Or if you just have one baking sheet, that's fine too.
5. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough onto prepared sheets, about 6 or 7 to a sheet, spaced apart a bit to allow for spread. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes. If the dough is very chilled or frozen you may need closer to 10 minutes. Once they are goldena light to medium golden brown, take them out. You can sprinkle with some salt at this point if you like.

Recipe via A Cozy Kitchen

Huge Chocolate Chip Cookies

What is it about chocolate chip cookies that make them so irresistible? I don't know about you, but they are by far my favorite cookie out there...as you can tell from the many times I have made different variations on the blog! So, when I got a new cookbook for my birthday, I decided I had to give the ones in it a try!

Typically, I don't make huge cookies, bakery-style cookies at home very often. It's just easier to eat a cookie in a few bites rather than eating one the size of my entire hand. Granted, I do have small hands, but still. But, I wanted to stick straight to the recipe to see how they turned out the way the author intended them, so huge they are, though it's very hard to judge the size of things without a reference, so you probably can't even tell how big they are from my photos. Trust, they are big.

There's an interesting step in the instructions for these cookies, where you take the baking sheet and lift the side up while it's in the oven, then kind of gently bang it as you set it down. This apparently gives you those crispy edges with kind of multiple striations, or whatever you might call them. It was something I'd never heard of before, but heck, the cookies turned out just as she said they should!

Now, confession time. My first batch in the oven turned out perfect, just like they were supposed to. The second batch turned out like the below photo. Yes, my friends, I am not perfect when it comes to baking either! Four cookies turned into 1 giant one and two semi-attached ones all in one huge mass in the middle of the baking sheet. The baking sheet is to blame here, I'm afraid. I was using an older one for this batch that has kind of bowed in the center, and apparently the cookies all sort of rolled into each other when they started baking in the oven. Whoops! Oh well, they still taste good, and that's really all that matters, right?

Honestly, I share this because I feel like so much of the time everyone tries to present themselves in the most perfect light online, when perfection is just not the case in daily life. Sometimes you have warped baking sheets and get almost one giant cookie instead of four individual ones, and that's okay.

Joe Frogger Cookies

Fall is in the air. Sort of. Here it's still hitting the upper 80s and 90s during the day, so it's not feeling exactly fall-ish. Nonetheless, pumpkin everything is all up in the stores, so the fall flavors are definitely in full effect. These cookies fit right into that mold, plus they've got a little extra kick to them.

What's that kick? Rum! Yep, these cookies have some rum baked right up in there, giving them a nice little punch. Add in some molasses and fall spices (ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves), and you know what I'm talking about. Another interesting fact? These don't have any eggs in them! What?! I know. Instead, the dough is extremely sticky thanks to a heaping amount of molasses, so you have to refrigerate it for at least 8 hours, then actually roll it out and cut out the cookies.

I admit, the extra amount of work required to make these cookies usually isn't my thing. I typically prefer recipes that are easy peasy and rolling stuff out multiple times while having to make sure a ton of flour is out there is usually something I would give up on. But I decided to give these a go anyway! The real question is - did I like them?

I'll admit, I wasn't so sure at first. But then, after they had sat out for a while and I tried them again, they had definitely become more addictive. They end up being pretty soft despite their thinness, with perhaps a little crunch at the edges. They also really retain their shape, so if you plop some extra dough on top of one, it'll look weird and misshapen rather than if it's nice and flat and rolled out. Also, in the pictures that white dusting is the flour from when I rolled them out, not some extra powdered sugar or anything. Yes, you really do need that much flour!

So if you're in the mood for something a little different this fall, give these a go! I'm told they originate in Massachusetts over 200 years ago, which maybe explains why I'd never heard of them before, being from the west coast. Oh also! You should totally get some pumpkin ice cream and make a sandwich with these cookies! Perfect combo, am I right?

Joe Frogger Cookies
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The…
Servings: 2-3 dozen cookies
Prep time: 08:20

Cook time: 00:08

Total time: 08:45

Molasses and rum combined with spices for a perfect fall cookie.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup dark rum (such as Myers)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out dough
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool
• 1 cup granulated sugar

Instructions:

1. Stir rum, water, and salt in small bowl until salt dissolves. Whisk flour, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves in medium bowl. Stir molasses and baking soda in large measuring cup (mixture will begin to bubble) and let sit until doubled in volume, about 15 minutes.
2. With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually beat in rum mixture. Add one-third of flour mixture, beating on medium-low until just incorporated, followed by half of molasses mixture, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add half of remaining flour mixture, followed by remaining molasses mixture, and finally remaining flour mixture. Using rubber spatula, give dough final stir (dough will be extremely sticky). Cover bowl containing dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate until stiff, at least 8 hours or up to 3 days.
3. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with half of dough at a time on a heavily floured work surface, roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out 12 cookies. Transfer 6 cookies to each baking sheet, spacing cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are set and just beginning to crack, about 8 minutes, rotating rack position and direction of baking sheets halfway through baking time. Cool cookies on sheets 10 minutes, then transfer cookies to rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. (Cookies may be stored in airtight container for up to 1 week.)

Recipe via Cook's Country

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you've been following my blog for long, you may think that this recipe sounds familiar. Well, that's because it is! I made this some years ago (OMG over 5 years ago! How does time fly?). I decided to give it a post update, because I can tell you that this is my favorite easy recipe for chocolate chip cookies. While the Jacques Torres ones might be better, technically, they are also more complicated. These cookies are decidedly uncomplicated. No need for refrigeration or anything!

I've made these cookies a great number of times throughout the years, and it was kind of sad to me that I never actually took some nice photos of them! Seriously, the old post is pretty sad when it comes to the photos. It was before I had access to a nice camera, so I was using one of those old digital point and shoots that doesn't let you get very close or choose where you want to focus. Yeah. Not great! But the recipe itself IS great! So here we are.

Notice how in the below picture that goop of chocolate in the middle looks like a heart? That was purely coincidence! These are made with love! Ha, sorry.

This time around I decided to try putting in some fancy chocolate discs along with some semi-sweet chips. I did about half and half of both, and while they're good, I would suggest either chopping up the discs in half, or to make larger cookies than the typical size. I did a couple sizes, and the discs worked better in the larger cookies. That said, you absolutely don't need to use fancy chocolate, you can just as well use all regular semi-sweet chocolate chips and they'll be just as tasty. Also, if you really like your cookies chock full of chocolate, you may want to add in another 1/4 cup of chocolate chips. Personally, I prefer less, so this 1 cup is the perfect amount.

All of that being said, lately at my office we sometimes get lunch from this one place, and they bring in a plate of cookies, and my god I think they are my favorite chocolate chip cookies EVER. They're huge, have lots of chocolate throughout, in small bits and large bits, soft with just a tiny bit of hardness to the edges, and almost a slightly caramel-ness to them. I would tell you to go get them, but they only are available with the catering options, not just on the dessert menu, so I really have no idea if they make them themselves or not! So frustrating, because I'd looove to buy more of these. Anyway, enough babbling about chocolate chip cookies. Go make these if you enjoy a quick and easy and very soft chocolate chip cookie.

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The...
Servings: 2 Dozen
Prep time: 00:10

Cook time: 00:10

Total time: 00:20

Perfectly soft cookies great for a weeknight treat - no refrigeration needed.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In your mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla and blend until well mixed.
3. Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Place tablespoon-sized drops of dough on your cookie sheet (or use a cookie scooper like me, it's much easier) about an inch and a half apart and bake for 8-10 minutes until barely golden brown around the edges. These will not get brown, so don't overcook them.
5. Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. For me this made about 2 dozen.

Natural Peanut Butter Cookies

You know how in most baking recipes involving peanut butter, they require you to get something like Skippy or Jif? Lately I don't frequent the "regular" grocery stores so much as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, so going out of my way to pick up the, while delicious, unhealthy, unnatural peanut butter is not something that's going to happen very often.

So what about using natural peanut butter? What's so bad about it? It's just a lot more oily than the other peanut butter, and typically a bit more runny.

But guess what? I found a peanut butter cookie recipe that actually works well with the natural peanut butter! They're not overly sweet, just peanut butter-y enough. Well, if you want it more peanut butter-y, then you could probably add some more. Because they're certainly not blasting out of your mouth with peanut butter flavor. Still, the consistency is nice. I would make them again, so that's always a good sign!

Now, you can certainly do the typical peanut butter cookie thing and criss cross them with your fork, but.. meh. I don't really care about all that! They turn out just as good without going to the trouble. I didn't even smush them down or anything, just used my cookie scoop and plopped them right down on there, and they spread enough for my taste.

You can also use either crunchy or creamy peanut butter here. I only had crunchy on hand, so that's what I used. The crunch I had doesn't really have a ton of nuts in it, so that could also make a difference. I wouldn't use one with too many nuts in it, or the consistency wouldn't be as great.

So get out and make these if you'd like some yummy natural peanut butter cookies!

Natural Peanut Butter Cookies
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The…
Servings: 2 Dozen Cookies

Prep time: 01:05

Cook time: 00:10

Total time: 01:15

A classic peanut butter cookie recipe featuring natural, organic peanut butter.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions:

1. Beat butter and peanut butter together until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add the sugars, baking soda, and baking powder and beat until combined. Add the vanilla and egg and beat again until combined.
2. Stir in the flour slowly on the lowest speed until just incorporated. The dough will be quite thick. If you want, you can add chocolate chips at this time.
3. Chill the dough for an hour or up to a few days.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
5. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place about an inch apart on a silicon or parchment-lined cookie sheet. You can make a fork design on top if you want. I didn't bother.
6. Bake for 10 minutes until the edges are just starting to brown. Let cookies rest on the pan for a couple minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Blueberry & Cream Cookies

I've made a few recipes from the Milk Bar cookbook in the past (Crack Pie, Corn Cookies, Cornflake Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies), and decided it was time to bust it out once again to make some more! One of my friends had mentioned that she really liked the blueberry cookies, and being that they are fairly simple when it comes to a Christina Tosi recipe, I thought sure, this one we can give a go. Still, you do have to make one thing ahead of time before getting started on the cookies in earnest, so just keep that in mind if you want to make these.

Like all of the Milk Bar cookies, these are LARGE. Like almost the size of my hand large. I admit, I do not have huge hands, but still. They aren't your typical little cookie you usually make at home. I haven't tried making her cookies smaller, but as I've said before, it seems like they might not be as good because the whole point of them being so large is to get the edges slightly brown while keeping the middle nice and soft.

Anyway, what about these cookies? The milk crumb definitely gives them an interesting flavor. I bet the quality of your white chocolate can make a big difference here, and mine sure wasn't the highest quality, so they did have a little bit of that white chocolate-ness once baked, but only just. If you like blueberries, they are also a nice switch up from a typical cookie that normally has some chocolate or butterscotch instead.

Definitely yummy, though my boyfriend thought they were a little too sweet. I'm not sure it really needs that extra glucose in there, or perhaps just the granulated sugar itself could be brought down a little bit so they're not quite as sweet. In general, the recipes in this cookbook are quite sweet, so just keep that in mind if you're ever going to make them!

Blueberry & Cream Cookies
Author: Jen @ Fresh From The…
Servings: 12 Cookies

Prep time: 01:30

Cook time:00:17

Total time: 02:00

Christina Tosi’s Blueberry & Cream Cookies from the Milk Bar Cookbook.


Ingredients:

• 225 g (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 50 g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 150 g (2/3 cup packed) light brown sugar
• 100 g (1/4 cup) glucose
• 2 large eggs
• 320 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 2 g (1/2 teaspoon) baking powder
• 1.5 g (1/4 teaspoon) baking soda
• 6 g (1 ½ teaspoons) kosher salt
• 1/2 recipe Milk Crumb (see below)
• 130 g (3/4 cup) dried blueberries

Instructions:

1. Combine the butter, sugars, and glucose in a stand mixer and cream on medium-high for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add in the eggs, and beat for another 7-8 minutes.
2. Reduce to low and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until it just comes together. No longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Still on low, add in the milk crumbs and mix until incorporated, no more than 30 seconds. Next add in the blueberries and mix them for another 30 seconds.
4. Using a 2 3/4 ounce scoop (or 1/3 cup measure), portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of them down flat. Wrap with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to a week).
5. Heat the oven to 350°F.
6. Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on a parchment or silpat-lined sheet pan. Bake for 18 minutes. They should be faintly brown on the edges while still yellow in the center. Mine worked better at 17 minutes than 18, which got them a little too brown.
7. Cool completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or airtight container to store. They will stay fresh for 5 days at room temperature or you can put them in the freezer for a month.

Milk Crumb

Ingredients

• 40 g (1/2 cup) milk powder
• 40 g (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
• 12 g (2 Tbsp) cornstarch
• 25 g (2 Tbsp) granulated sugar
• 2 g (1/2 tsp) kosher salt
• 55 g (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 20 g (1/4 cup) milk powder
• 90 g (3 ounces) white chocolate, melted

Cooking Directions

1. Heat oven to 250F.
2. Combine the 40g milk powder, the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Toss to mix. Add in the melted butter and toss, using a spatula, until it starts to come together and form small clusters.
3. Spread those clusters onto a parchment or silpat-linted sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. They should look sandy when finished. Cool completely.
4. Crumble any clusters that are larger than 1/2 inch in diameter and put all of the crumbs into a medium bowl. Add in the 20g milk powder and toss together until evenly distributed.
5. Pour in the white chocolate and toss until the clusters are all covered. Toss every 5 minutes following until the chocolate has hardened and the clusters are no longer sticky. They will keep in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for a month.

Recipe from Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook