Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Chip Cookies

Unfortunately I just can't get my cookies to be as thick as what my mom made for me growing up.  Maybe cookies just turn out better when made in the midwest.  I made half of this recipe and added 1/4 cup more flour and then chilled the dough for 15 minutes before cooking and that seemed to improve the thickness a bit.

I altered the recipe a bit by adding 1/2 cup peanut butter chips which only took these chocolate goodies to the next level (who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter, except those who are allergic?!).  My sister-in-law quickly stopped by our place the day after I made these cookies and she took one on her way out the door and right when she got to her car she texted me and said that these were her favorite cookies I've ever made!  It was a great compliment and just shows you how delicious they are! ;)

Suggestions:
-Don't over cook!  I only cook mine 8 minutes and mine were still soft and chewy the second and third day but I'm not sure about the forth... they were too irresistible to last that long in our home.
-Only cook one pan of cookies and save the dough already formed into balls in the fridge so that you can have fresh cookies in a few days after you eat (devour?) the first batch.
-You can also easily make pizookies by putting a ball of dough straight from the fridge into a custard cup and then onto a pan and cook for about 14 minutes.  When done let cool for a few minutes and then use a hot pad to place the custard up on a plate and then top with ice cream and serve immediately.  Nick and I really enjoy these! :)

INGREDIENTS
1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 c granulated sugar
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 c flour
1/3 c cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a medium bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  In a large bowl or mixer beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy.  Add eggs and beat well.  Add flour mixture a little at a time and mix well.  Add in chocolate chips and drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet using a cookie scoop.

Bake 8-10 minutes.  Let cookie cool for a few minutes on the pan and then remove onto a wire rack.

Yield: 4 dozen

–Melanie

Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

This post is a day late (my bad).  I've been spending all my free time creating my food/nutrition website that I hope to launch in March.  I never realized how much work goes into building a site (I'm building it from scratch so I'm learning a bunch of computer languages).  

This cookie recipe is already on the blog under Soft Sugar Cookies but I just had to post these heart shaped ones!  I've said it before and I'll say it again, these are The Best sugar cookies!  They are super soft (not hard and dry like most sugar cookies) and the frosting is so creamy.  I shared these with my co-works and from the looks of how many they each ate they would second my declaration.  One asked for the recipe and another said "they look professional but taste homemade!" (homemade=really good).  I love sharing the joy of food with others!  For those of you who I couldn't share with, feast with your eyes... and then go make em!  (I only made a half recipe and got 3-4 dozen cookies but that will depend on the size of cookie cutter you're using.)

–Melanie

Peanut Butter Chocolate Heart Cookies

I'm trying to take better pictures so I've read up on food photography and also got photo shop on the ipad.  Sometimes it is hard to capture the deliciousness with a camera but hopefully my developing photography and editing skills will help.

This is the Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie but made with Hershey's heart shape chocolates (made for Valentine's day) instead of Hershey's kisses.  This different shape of chocolate has taken these five stars cookies to 6 stars.  Really??  Yeah... I know.  Way good!  I still think the kisses make the cookies look super cute but that tall point always made it a little difficult to bite into.  The flat chocolate heart makes savoring this cookie with as many bites as one can take a cinch!  (and I think the size of the heart is bigger than the kiss so more chocolate!)  After valentines day Hershey's will only have its kisses so I'll try Dove chocolates.

Now the key to making these cookies super good is to not over cook them.  Baking time depending on your oven and how big you roll the balls of dough.  I set my timer for 8 minutes and then check them.  I usually end up cooking them 9 minutes total.  You know when they are done when they begin to slightly crack (the large cracking you see in the pictures happens when you push the chocolate in).  It is also important that you press the chocolates in the cookies right away while the cookies are still on the baking sheet.  Remove cookies onto a wire rack a few minutes later.  (If you press the chocolate in while on the wire rack you'll push the cookie into the rack making a grid impression on the bottom of the cookies.)

–Melanie

Monster Cookies

I altered this recipe to make it a bit smaller and altered the candy in it to use what I had on hand. To give a little more crunch use raw sugar instead of white.

So this is a recipe from back in St. Louis and this one along with any other cookie I made growing up always turns out flat when I make them here in Utah! So frustrating! I always end up adding more flour after I take out the first batch of flat cookies. :( It's pretty amazing how much altitude can make a difference.

INGREDIENTS
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup Quaker oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup heath bar chips
1/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS
Mix butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add oats, flour, salt and soda and mix again. Fold in the candy and scoop onto a cookie sheet. Bake @ 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes.

–Melanie

Gingersnaps Dipped in White Chocolate

My mom made these when we visited for Thanksgiving and pretty  much everyone (except my niece Elizabeth) LOVED them!  

Funny story: So my mom sent me and my siblings this recipe in an e-mail and a few days later sent an update e-mail because she forgot to list an ingredient.  It made me laugh that the title of the e-mail was "Recipe Alert!!!".  Isn't my mom so cute!?!  I love her and that I have developed the same passion for cooking... now I need to develop all her skills!

Awesome news: My mom and I are getting a recipe organizing software (thank you groupon!) in a few short days that will make it really easy to organize all of our recipes and share them with others (YOU)!  We are both super excited!!!!  And it makes it super easy to make a cookbook!  I have wanted to make a cookbook for the longest time so hopefully this will get me to hunker down and get it done.

(This cookie was made by my mom.  Everything she makes turns out beautiful!)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sugar

1½ cups canola oil

2 eggs – room temperature

½ cup molasses

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice
3 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. salt

Additional sugar for rolling balls of dough

2 pkgs. white Ghirardelli chocolate chips

2 Tbsp. Crisco shortening

DIRECTIONS:

In mixer, combine sugar and oil.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Add molasses and mix on low speed. Combine the flour, soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. 

Shape into ¾ inch balls and rolling sugar.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until cookie springs back when touched lightly. (I baked 325 degrees convection for 9 minutes.)  Remove and place on wire racks to cool.

In a microwave, melt chips until smooth.  (Check and stir after 60 seconds and then heat in 30 second increments until melted.)  Stir in 1 Tbsp shortening to each bag of melted chips.  Dip cookies halfway into the melted chips; allow excess to drip off.  Place on waxed paper; let stand until set.  

*Ghirardelli chocolate can be pricey but you can get it the cheapest at Walmart
–Melanie

White chocolate and Craisin Cookies

So I was planning on making white chocolate macadamia cookies but the nuts were bad. My mom moved a few months ago and if you have ever been in our basement (or small market) you would see that there was no way she was going to move all that food storage so I offered to take a small load, mainly just the macadamia nuts. I don't know when or where my mom got them and I couldn't find the expiration date on them but they were defiantly bad. They didn't look bad just tasted almost rancid. I guess it is lucky that I tasted a nut before cutting and adding them to my cookie dough.  I instead added craisins to the mix and the cookies turned out delish and lower in fat since if you didn't already know, macadamia nuts are basically the highest fat nut (21g per 1/4 cup). I combined a few different recipes and gave and took a few ingredients so I claim this masterpiece as my own.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c butter, softened
1/3 c shortening
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c oats
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 c craisins
3/4 c white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening, and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and eggs and blend well. Blend 1 cup of oats in blender or food processor to make oat flour.  In a separate bowl combine oat flour, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and baking soda.  Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and blend.  Fold in the last 1/2 cup oats, chocolate chips, and craisins. Place 12 balls of dough onto cookie sheet using a cookie scoop and bake for 10-13 minutes. (I put a second pan under the pan with the cookies to prevent the bottoms from cooking too fast.)
~Makes about 3 dozen

–Melanie

Magic in the Middle Cookies

This recipe is from melskitchencafe.com.  Rebecca told me about it awhile ago and I finally tried it and wish I would have sooner!  Chocolate and peanut butter is the best combination (sorry to those who are allergic to peanut butter)!  These take a little longer to make but are so worth it!  They remind me of the peanut butter blossom cookies but reversed.

INGREDIENTS

Chocolate Dough:
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar (plus extra for covering)
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c butter, softened
1/4 c peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk

Peanut Butter Filling:
3/4 c peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
3/4 c powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Dough: Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.  In another bowl beat sugars, butter, and p until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat to combine.  Add dry mixture to sugar mixture and blend well.

Filling: In a small bowl mix peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth.  Flour hands and roll filling into 26 balls.

To make cookies: take 1 Tbsp of dough and make an indent with your thumb.  Place peanut butter ball into indentation and bring cookie dough up over it and press edges together.  Roll the cookie in hands to smooth out.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.  Roll cookies in granulated sugar and place on baking sheet leaving 2 inches between cookies.  With the bottom of a greased drinking glass flatten each cookie to 1/2 inch thick.  Bake for 7-9 minutes, remove from oven, and cool on a rack.
–Melanie

No Bake Cookies

Nick loves these cookies, I love these cookies, my family loves these cookies... who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter?!

INGREDIENTS
1 cube butter
2 c. sugar
¼ c. cocoa
½ c. milk
¼ tsp. salt

½ c. peanut butter
3c. oatmeal
1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in pan and add in sugar, cocoa, and milk.  Bring to boil and let it boil one minute (not any longer or else your cookies will be dry and crumbly). Remove from heat and add peanut butter, oatmeal, and vanilla.  Using a teaspoon (or cookie scoop), drop on waxed paper to set.  I always like to leave a little in the pan to eat warm.  My mom would even let us put some in a little Dixie cup and eat it with a spoon.  So good!

Cooling and setting up on wax paper

–Melanie

Soft Sugar Cookies

These are the best sugar cookies in the world! They are great to make for any holiday! Just make sure you don't cook them too long. That is why most sugar cookies aren't soft.

Cookies:

INGREDIENTS
1 c. butter (soft)
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. sour cream
6 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp soda

DIRECTIONS
Cream butter and sugar; add eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Add in dry ingredients, about 1 cup at a time, and beat well. Refrigerate for about an hour and then roll out 1/3 inch think on lightly floured surface. Cute with cookie cutters and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. When cookies are cooled, you may decorate as desired.ting:


Frosting:

INGREDIENTS*
6 Tbsp. butter
1 (1lb) pkg powdered sugar (4 ¾ c.)
½ c. cream
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
Food coloring

DIRECTIONS
Cream butter; gradually add about half the sugar, blending well. Beat in 2 T. cream and vanilla. Gradually blend in remaining sugar. Add remaining cream to make spreading consistency. Add food coloring and mix.  Frost the cookies (frosting the bottom/flat side is a lot easier).

*I usually double the amount of frosting when I make a full batch of the cookies.

 (You can make any shape so I made these for my husband)

–Melanie

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

The are the best cookies ever! Peanut butter and chocolate, who wouldn't want to eat one...five of these?1c. butter

1c. brown sugar, firmly packed

1c. sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. peanut butter

3 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp milk

1/2 c. sugar (for dipping)

1 (14 oz) pkg. chocolate kisses (unwrapped)

Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and peanut butter. Add flour, soda, and salt into creamed mixture. Add milk and mix well. Shape in 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls with hands; dip in the 1/2 cup sugar and arrange 2-3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and press a candy kiss in the center of each cookie. Makes 7 dozen cookies.

–Melanie

Grandma’s Toll House Cookies

This recipe is Nestle's Toll House Cookie recipe but were know to me as "grandma's cookies". They are so soft! I love the walnuts in it!


1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 t. vanilla
1 t. soda
1 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
3 ½ cups flour
1 cup nuts
1 small pkg chocolate chips (2 ½ cups)

Bake 350 degrees for 10 minuets

–Melanie

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my mom's chocolate chip cookie recipe. It is probably my favorite. I mean look at the recipe! 2 cups of butter!

INGREDIENTS

2 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
4 eggs
5 c. flour
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. chocolate chips
1 ½ c. chopped nuts (optional)


DIRECTIONS

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients and beat. Mix in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop onto cookie sheet with a tablespoon and bake 12-15 minutes at 350. Makes 5 dozen You can also bake it in a jelly roll pan for about 50 minutes and then cut it into squares.

–Melanie

Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. If you are looking for really soft cookies...these are them!

INGREDIENTS
4 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups butter, softened
1 ½ cups brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 (3.4oz) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts




DIRECTIONS


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

–Melanie