Chewy Gingersnaps

The first 700 gingersnap recipes I tried were always rock hard by the next day. And that's gross. These stay soft and chewy forever and ever. 

Also, the recipe says to dip the cookie in white chocolate. I find white chocolate to be abhorrent, so I skip this step. Unless I'm giving them out, because people seem to like that stuff. And it's pretty. You can even sprinkle the white chocolate with silver sprinkles. People really go gaga over sprinkles. So do it if you want your neighbors to like you. 

4 tsp           baking soda

1 tsp           salt

2 tsp           ginger

1 tsp           cinnamon

1 tsp           cloves

1 ½ cups     butter

2 cups         brown sugar

½ cup         molasses

2                  eggs

4½ cups      sifted flour

Cream butter, sugar, molasses & eggs.  Sift dry ingredients together.  Blend with wet mixture. Scoop into balls and roll in sugar.  

Bake 10 minutes @ 350° (6 minutes convection).

Dip half the cookie into melted white chocolate.

Frosted Brownies

Kids' rating: 5 stars

My rating: 4.5 stars

Brownie

2 cubes butter, melted

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 t vanilla

Add sugar to melted butter and beat until thick and creamy. Add eggs, one and a time, then vanilla and cocoa. Add flour and mix until just combined. Pour in a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350° for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting

1 cube butter, melted

2 c powdered sugar

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

Add all ingredients to melted butter and beat until smooth. Pour frosting over warm brownies.

I like them best warm, but they're good anyway you slice them. Literally. They're also really good to take to a family when you're bringing dinner. You can do a whole pan, but if you're selfish like me, you can bake it in two 9x9 pans (I'll do one in a throw-away pan for the other family) and take one and keep one.

Recipe adapted from Katie Nydegger, Hyde Park ward cookbook

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Kids rating: 5 stars
Me: 4.5 stars

Here's my company-is-coming-over chocolate chip cookie.

1 cup of room-temperature unsalted butter (not too hard, not too soft!)
1 cup DARK brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 TB vanilla
2 1/2 cups plus 2 TB of flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
2-3 cups chocolate chips (Guittard milk chocolate chips are the bees knees)

(If cooking immediately, preheat oven to 350. I highly recommend chilling your dough though!)  Cream together butter and the sugars.  Mix until everything is well-whipped. Add the egg and egg yolk to the wet ingredients in the mixer, mixing well in between.  Scrape down.  Add vanilla. Add your dry ingredients and mix until just barely combined, then chocolate chips.  Chill your dough (1 hour - 24 hours) OR freeze your dough into 1 1/2 - 2 TB balls on a cookie sheet.  When ready to cook, make sure your oven is properly pre-heated to 350°.  Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes if dough is at room temperature.  Bake cookies for 8-10minutes, if frozen.Don't over bake!

Toll House Pie

Kids rating: 5 stars

Me: 5 stars

First, you must have a handsome assistant. I've tried without, and it just doesn't work out quite as well. 

The bigger he smiles while making it, the better it will taste.

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie shell*

2 large eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

sweetened whipped cream or ice cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. If you have a convection oven, I'd go ahead and use that here. 

Beat eggs in mixer on high speed until foamy, about 3-4 minutes. Beat in sugars and flour. Beat in butter. Make sure your butter is soft, almost to the point of melted, or it will be clumpy. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into the pie shell.

Bake for 55-60 minutes. This is the important part. You DO NOT WANT TO UNDERBAKE. Trust me on this. I've cooked mine for over 75 minutes before. Give the pie a little shake, and if it feels soupy, it's not done. When done, there will be a little jiggle, but it will not have that soupy feel. The top will be very brown, not a golden brown like you would think.

Let cool at least 30 minutes, so it has time to set. Otherwise, it will all goo out when you cut into it. In my humble opinion, it's best with fresh whipped cream on top. Some people like ice cream, and those people are wrong. 

Also, served as breakfast the next morning, after the kids have gone to school, is a close second to the warm goodness of the fresh version.

*If you use a frozen pie crust, make sure it's completely defrosted before you start, or you'll be baking this thing till the cows come home.

Enjoy!

Peach Cobbler

My rating: 4.5 stars

Kids' rating: 4.5 stars

Peach Mixture:

5 cups peaches, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toss all ingredients together and pour in 8x8-inch pan.

Topping:

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 t salt

1/2 t nutmeg

Mix together, and then add 1 beaten egg to the mixture.

Pour flour/egg mixture over peaches. Then pour one cube melted butter over flour mixture. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

This can be doubled, and baked in a 9x13-inch pan. But it doesn't reheat well, so unless you're feeding a large group, I wouldn't do it. But if you are, go for it. This is a serious crowd-pleaser!

Recipe from Aunt Carolyn

Sugar Cookies

My rating: 5 stars
Kids' rating: 5 stars

There's a pound of butter in these cookies. 

I don't think I really need to say anything else about them.

2 cups butter, softened

2 eggs

5 cups flour
2 c sugar

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 3 tablespoons milk

Mix all ingredients in mixer, until dough is formed. Shape into a ball and refrigerate. Roll out and cut into shapes. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. No amount of handling seems to bother this dough- great for children.

Recipe stolen from Mom.

Gooey Butter Cake

My rating: 4 stars
Kids' rating: 4 stars

It's for those very few occasions when you're not in the mood for chocolate, but you want something rich. And easy.

Ingredients

Cake

1 package yellow cake mix

1 egg

8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 tablespoons butter, melted

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the cake ingredients and mix well. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 pan.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. Slowly add the powdered sugar until well mixed. Spread over cake batter and bake for 40-50 minutes. Be sure not to over bake, as the center should remain a little gooey.

Recipe courtesy of the queen of butter, Paula Deen