Milk and Cookies

One of the many magazines I miss terribly is Cottage Living.  It always displayed comfortable, cozy interiors and gardens that you just wanted to stroll through until you found a place to sit amongst the seemingly overgrown flower beds and read a book.

Thankfully, I have saved as many copies as I purchased and even tore out some of the recipes that looked like something I needed to try.  Well, I tried one of the comfort food recipes, and I was blown away!  You will most certainly need a cup of milk handy while you’re enjoying this cookie.

Tips/Ideas:

*Don’t want to take in so many calories?  Just make the oatmeal cookie recipe without the cream.  The difference in this recipe that makes it more memorable is that you have twice as much brown sugar as granulated.  Typically the opposite is true.

*Don’t like vanilla, or don’t have it in your cupboard? Try maple flavoring – just as delicious and reminds me of those lovely maple bars my mother used to make for Halloween.

*If you’re making cream pies, wait until the cookies are completely cooled before putting the dollop of cream in the middle.

Oatmeal Cream Pies

Yield: 3 dozen oatmeal cookies or 18 cream pies

Ingredients:

Cookie Dough

*1 1/4 cups butter, softened

*1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

*1/2 cup granulated sugar

*1 large egg

*2 teaspoons vanilla extract

*1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

*1/2 teaspoon salt

*1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*3 cups uncooked oats (quick or old-fashion)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed until creamy. Add egg and vanilla, beating well.

3. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. Add oats; stir well. Add to butter mixture, stir until well blended. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Cook on pan 2 to 3 minutes. Remove cookies from pan to cool on wire racks.

Ingredients

Cream Filling

*1/2 cup butter, softened

* 2 cups powdered sugar

*1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

*1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1.Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until scraping bowl. Beat on high until light and fluffy.

2. Spread 1 tablespoon Cream Filling over each bottom side of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, right side up.

Grab a glass of cold milk and enjoy!

 

Images: (1) Fashionising (2) Simply Luxurious (3) Cottage Living

Lovely Decadence

Friday has arrived and with it hopefully something sweet for you to enjoy – a date, time to unwind and relax, a quick weekend getaway, spending time with family, or dressing up for a special gathering.  Rest assured, if you don’t know where your “sweet” is coming from this weekend, I have just that certain something for you.

After all, it is Foodie Friday, and while chocolate chip cookies seem to be the most favored of all cookies, I thought I’d share something different with you that takes it up a notch.  How does a decadent cookie with not two, not three, but four different chocolates sound to your ever weakening sweet tooth?

Last year, while flipping through The Oregonian, I came across this recipe in Tuesday’s FOODday section. It originates from Sara Perry’s cookbook Deep Dark Chocolate: Decadent Recipes for the Serious Chocolate Lover, and it immediately became one of my favorite cookies.  These particular cookies are so rich that I honestly can only have one, but one is enough because you will savor each lush bite of chocolate upon chocolate as it overwhelms your palate.


Chocolate Cookies With All the Chips

Ingredients

• ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
• ¾ cup white chocolate chips
• ¾ cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ t. baking soda
• ¼ t. salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 t. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or leave it ungreased.
2. In a small bowl, mix semisweet, white and milk chocolate chips, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt until well blended.
3. In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer set on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy. Add brown and granulated sugars an beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg until well blended, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla until blended.
4. On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and beat until just blended, again scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat or fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
5. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake until set and the tops have lost their sheen, about 12 minutes. (Because the dough is dark, the first batch will be the key to when the cookies are done.)
6. Let the cookies firm and cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

You must be warned.  This is a special cookie.  Meant to be savored, relished and, if you’re feeling generous, shared with someone special. 

But you must have on hand either cold milk . . .

. . . or something warm.

To my readers, thank you for coming by.  Your comments this week have been very much enjoyed and seeing simple reactions to each posts says just as much. I hope each of you is able to find something sweet in your every day life.  Because if these treasures can be found, the extraordinary events will be all the more special. 

Images:  (1) We Heart It (2) We Heart It