Made By Melissa

This months Tasty Tools is all about the scoop. What to make with a scoop? I have 3 different size scoops, all perfect for there own little jobs, so my options were pretty much endless. I ended up choosing this recipe for snickerdoodles for a couple of reasons. Number one, I love snickerdoodles. These classic cinnamon-sugar cookies are delicious, and it’s fun to say “snickerdoodle.” Reason number two, there was a recipe for them in my new Sweet Melissa Baking Book, by Melissa Murphy, that I have been dying to use.

Snickerdoodles

• For the Dough:
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tarter
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• For the Cinnamon Sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined. The dough will be soft and too sticky to roll. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Position a rack in the top and bottom thirds of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

For the cinnamon sugar: Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.

Using a 1-ounce cookie scoop, or a tablespoon, shape the dough into balls and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar.

Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten them slightly with your fingertips so that they stay put. Bake for about 12 to 13 minutes, or until the bottoms are slightly golden in color. These cookies are supposed to be chewy, so do not overbake. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Snickerdoodles keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Do not uncover before defrosting.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. I used my Pampered Chef medium scoop (2 tablespoons) and got about 20 cookies.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I made these sugar cookies for Nate to take to work today. The recipe for the cookie is the same one I used for Valentines Day sugar cookies and comes from Blonde Ambition in the Kitchen. The frosting is royal icing from the Wilton Meringue Powder can. I added almond extract to the cookie and icing to add a subtle almond flavor.

Famous Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup butter (VERY soft)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

These classic cookies are courtesy of the Quaker Oatmeal container. They always come out perfect- dense and chewy with just the right amount of raisins.

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flower
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1 cup raisins

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat margarine/butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes (I baked mine for exactly 9 minutes) or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Not really my first ever sugar cookies, but my first sugar cookies that did not come from a box and tasted good! It was also my first time using royal icing as well and the flood icing technique. The recipe for the cookies comes from Blonde Ambition In the Kitchen, you should definitely check out her blog next time you are looking for something yummy to bake! The best thing about these cookies is that they stayed soft for more than 5 minutes! I took them out of the oven as soon as they started to turn golden brown around the edges- about 6 minutes.

The use of royal icing is something that I think will take some practice, but has the potential to produce beautiful cookies. For some examples, visit Bake at 350, she also has some helpful hints that came in handy for me. My cookies looked ok, but I wanted to post them anyway because I put a lot of time and effort into them! Like I said, I think with practice, my next batch will come out better. I used the royal icing recipe from the Wilton meringue powder container.

Famous Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup butter (VERY soft)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

I made these cookies to use up the left-over raspberry filling I had from my raspberry filled cupcakes. I had made these at Christmas time as well to give out in cookie tins. They are very good and very pretty cookies! The recipe comes from allrecipes.com

Raspberry and Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam (or raspberry filling)

• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon milk (I use 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until smooth. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Mix in flour until dough comes together. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a small indent in the center of each ball, using your thumb and finger, and fill the hole with preserves.

Bake for 14 to 18 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet, transfer to cooling rack.

In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners sugar, 3/4 teaspoon almond extract, and milk until smooth. Drizzle lightly over warm cookies. (I wait until they have cooled off so the glaze doesn’t melt)

I was inspired to make these cookies after seeing this recipe over at Good Things Catered. While Katie’s cookies looked fabulous with their chocolate chips, I was in the mood for something cinnamony. So I went on a hunt for cinnamon chips. Well 4 stores and no cinnamon chips later, I decided that toffee bits sounded pretty good as well. If you happen to know where to find cinnamon chips, please let me know! I am writing this recipe with my modifications, but please visit Katie’s blog (link above) to see the original!

Apple-Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled until warm
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup toffee bits
• 1 large apple, peeled and diced, about 1 cup

Adjust oven racks to upper & lower -middle positions & heat oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.Whisk dry ingredients together; set aside.

With electric mixer, or by hand, mix butter & sugars until thoroughly combined. Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients & beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in chips and apple. Scoop cookies onto baking sheet ( I use a silicone mat lightly sprayed with cooking spray)

Bake until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft & puffy, about 12-15 minutes.Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking and place on wire rack to cool.

This is my “go to” recipe for the best chocolate chip cookie. People are always searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, but what does that  mean to you? There are those that prefer fluffy, cake type cookies, or cookies with a little crisp to them. For me, it is a dense, soft, chewy cookie and these Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies fit the bill. Another recipe, very similar to this one, is the America’s Test Kitchen Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie, which can be found over at Good Things Catered.  Or check out Good Eats ‘n Sweet Treats for her take on these cookies, as well as soft cookies with pudding in the recipe.

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. I bake mine on silicone baking mats sprayed with cooking spray.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended (do not over-mix). Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. I refrigerate the dough for a couple hours before baking. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. I prefer smaller cookies, so I use my cookie scoop.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes (about 12 minutes if using cookie scoop size) in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Watch closely and pull out of the oven as soon as edges start to turn golden! Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container and these cookies should stay soft for a couple of days, if they last that long! If cookies do start to become hard, add a piece of bread to the container.