Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup butter - softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg ('medium" or "large", not "extra large")
1 tablespoon milk or cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg OR 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour - scoop measured (use your measuring cup to scoop flour from the bag, then level)
Cream the butter and sugar together by hand or with a mixer set on the slowest speed until they are fluffy. Beat in the egg, then the milk or cream. Add vanilla at this point if your are using it. Mix the salt and nutmeg into the flour. Mix the flour into the dough. Knead briefly, then chill the dough for 20 minutes if your are planning to make molded cookies. Form the cookies as directed for the Molding or Tile Pressing Instructions.
Bake at 350º in the top third of your oven for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned.
Yield: 5 - 8 cookies (depending on the size of your mold), or 16 cookies pressed from cookie tiles.
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Double Chocolate Cookies
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg ("medium" or "large", not "extra large")
1-2 tablespoons cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour - scoop measured (used your measuring cup to scoop flour from the bag, then level)
Melt the unsweetened chocolate over very low heat and allow to cool slightly. Grate the semisweet chocolate and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together by hand or with a mixer set at the slowest speed. Stir in the egg, then the melted chocolate.
Mix the salt with the flour. Stir half of this mixture into the butter/chocolate mixture. Stir in the vanilla or almond extract, 1 tablespoon of cream, then the grated semisweet chocolate. Stir in the rest of the flour. The dough should be quite stiff, but it shouldn't appear dry or crumbly. If it does, knead in the other tablespoon of cream. DO NOT CHILL this dough. Use it to form cookies right away, or it will become crumbly and difficult to handle. (You can still make delicious rolled cookies with dough that has become crumbly). Form the cookies as directed in the Molding or Tile pressing Instructions.
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Instructions for Molding Cookies
Prepare your dough. Most doughs are easier to work with if they have been chilled, but some are not. Carefully, and very lightly, oil a cookie mold, using a little vegetable oil on a pastry brush. You want the thinnest possible film of oil. Flour the mold and tap one edge firmly to jar loose as much excess flour as you can. You will have to re-flour your mold before each cookie, but not re-oil it.
Now take a piece of the dough, and starting at one side, press it firmly into the mold adding more dough as needed. Keep your hands lightly floured and press with the heel of your hand. Be sure to level the back of the cookie. Hold the filled mold perpendicular to a cutting board and strike the edge sharply four or five times. Don't be afraid to rap the mold quite hard; it won't break if your are holding it at a right angle to the cutting board. Rotate and repeat.
The cookie should come right out. If the cookies does not release, you have used too much oil. Clean the mold with a stiff dry brush, re-flour, but don't re-oil, and try again.
Place the formed cookie on a baking sheet and bake on a rack in the top third of the oven.
Usually the cookies bake in 10 to 12 minutes, but times will vary depending on which cookie you make.
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Instructions for Pressing Cookies
Mix the batch of cookie dough, but do not chill it as you would when making molded cookies. Roll the dough into a fat log, about 2 1/2" in diameter. Cut off slices about 1/2" thick. Form these slices into oblong pancakes about 1/4" thick and place one in the corner of an ungreased cookie sheet.
carefully, and very lightly, oil a cookie tile, using a little vegetable oil on a pastry brush. You want the thinnest possible film of oil. Flour the tile and tap one edge firmly to jar loose as much excess flour as you can. you will have to re-flour your tile before each cookie, but not re-oil it.
Holding the tile by its edges, press down on the patty of dough on an ungreased regular cookie sheet, trying to press as evenly as possible. The dough will squeeze out from under the tile. DO NOT use a parchment lined, "Cushion Aire" or Teflon coated baking sheet. leaving the tile in place on top of the pressed cookie, take a knife and cut away the excess dough. Holding the cookie tile by its edges, life it off the cookie, vibrating it as you life to help the dough release. This will leave a narrow border around the cookie.
Place the next patty of dough on the baking sheet, making sure to allow space for the extra dough to squeeze out from under the tile, and proceed as above. Bake on a rack in the top third of the oven. This makes the top of the cookies brown nicely, highlighting the detail.
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Instructions for Stamping Cookies
Mix up a batch of cookie dough, but do not chill it as you would when making molded cookies. Roll the unchilled dough into 2" balls and place them 4" apart on an un-greased baking sheet. Stamp each ball with your cookie stamp, leveling the cookie as you press. You need not oil or flour the stamp before making cookies.
When stamping cookies, take special care to apply pressure to the handle only, not to the figures attached to it.
This process makes thin cookies. To make thicker cookies, start with a larger ball of dough and don't press as hard. For perfect round cookies, us a small knife and carefully cut away extra dough from around the stamp. Clean the ceramic cookie stamp base with soapy water and a brush. Clean the stamp handles with a damp cloth.
Do not immerse your cookie stamp in water, place in the dishwashers, or in microwave oven.
2007-02-10 07:07:26
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answer #1
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answered by caligurl2729 3
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2016-05-12 20:33:39
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answer #2
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answered by ? 3
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This recipe is perfect for storing just the dough. get an empty ice cream tub and make the dough, then store it in the tub in the freezer. It will last up to a month, I think. They are soooo good
Here’s a basic Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that bakes up perfect every time. This is basically the same as the Hershey's® recipe, and only differs slightly from the Original Nestle's® Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
2 ¼ c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt (okay to omit if using salted butter)
1 c. unsalted butter
¾ c. granulated sugar
¾ c. light brown sugar, packed
1 t. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, fresh
1 12-ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips (any brand)
Directions:
Heat oven to 350-375 degrees, depending on how hot your oven runs.
* In a small bowl, combine flour, soda and salt. Set aside.
* In a larger bowl, beat butter until soft. Then add sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth.
* Add eggs, one at a time, and beat just until blended.
* Gradually add flour mixture and blend well.
* Stir in chips and drop dough onto cool, ungreased cookie sheets, using a Tablespoon or large dinner spoon.
* Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned, do not over bake.
* Cool on wire racks and store in an airtight container
2007-02-10 05:50:39
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answer #3
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answered by Monkey_girl 1
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If you are not much of a baker I recommend using bagged cookie mixes. There are brands such as Duncan Heins and Betty Crocker that offer extremely close to homemade cookie mixes. All you add is veggie oil and an egg. You can also jazz up the cookies any way you like. For example...I always add chocolate chunks and coconut to the Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix. Give them a try. I promise that they will turn out perfect and no one will know they are store bought unless you tell them.
2007-02-10 06:26:26
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answer #4
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answered by ? 6
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Basic Butter Cookie Dough Recipe
Source: Fine Cooking - Issue No. 12
Yields about 6 dozen 2-inch cookies
This dough works great for a marathon cookie-baking session because it allows for variations of shape and flavor.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
8 oz. (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted after measuring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
RECIPE METHOD
Cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer or a wooden spoon until well blended. Add the vanilla and almond extracts. Sift the flour with the salt; gradually add the flour to the butter mixture until you have a firm but silky dough that does not stick to your hands. If necessary, add more flour a little at a time until you’ve reached the right consistency. Chill the dough for at least an hour before rolling and shaping.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Divide the dough in half. Roll each piece between sheets of waxed paper to about 1/4-inch thick. Lightly dust the dough with flour. If the dough becomes sticky, chill it for about 10 minutes. Press the dough with cookie cutters. (If mailing, keep the shapes simple.) Reroll the scraps and cut more shapes. Repeat the process with the second half of the dough.
Bake the cookies until they turn light brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet immediately and cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, decorate with royal icing (recipe opposite) or other decorations, if desired.
FOR SANDWICH COOKIES: Make the dough as directed but roll it to about 1/8-inch thick. Press cookies with a 2-inch circular cutter. Using a smaller cookie cutter of the same or a different shape, cut holes in half of the 2-inch circles. (Use scraps from the holes to make a few more cookies.) Bake as directed above. When the cookies are cool, spread about 1 teaspoon ganache (see recipe) or fruit preserves on one side of a whole cookie. Press on a cookie with a cut-out center. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. Yields about 30 sandwich cookies.
FOR BAR COOKIES: Shape dough into a brick about 3-inches wide, 9 1/2 inches long, and 1 1/4-inches thick. Chill the dough for at least an hour. Cut the brick into 1/4-inch slices. Bake in a 350 degrees F oven until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Yields about 40 cookies.
VARIATIONS:
For a nutty flavor, omit the almond extract and add 1 cup of toasted chopped hazelnuts to the dough.
For a cardamom-flavored cookie, omit the almond extract and add 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom to the dough. This tastes great paired with orange marmalade in a cookie sandwich (as described above).
2007-02-10 12:08:20
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answer #5
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answered by chainz_82 2
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If you want soft cookies I would consider using the cookie recipes with the Butter Crisco. I use their Ultimate recipes and my cookies are soft every time. And it is supposed to be a trans fat free product pretty soon, so it will be healthier to use. The butter hardens the cookies and the sugar is what makes them brown. They have recipes for most of their cookies at www.crisco.com. You need to use the butter flavor crisco though.
2007-02-10 05:25:16
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answer #6
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answered by otisisstumpy 7
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Honestly, no one can beat Toll House cookie dough packages, those are bomb. But if you really want to make good cookie dough go to www.mrsfields.com and look at any of her recipes, they're easy and the cookies are super tasty.
2007-02-10 05:15:31
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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Try these old fashion snickerdoodles. They are great.
2007-02-10 06:25:33
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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