BEST COOKIE RECIPESMy best cookie recipes are now yours. You will find an assortment of easy recipes like - chocolate chip cookies, holiday cookies and many more at the end of the page.
Before you dive in to make my some of my best cookie recipes, I want to give you some tips that are worth reading by Dorie Greenspan. After reading these tips, you will have perfect cookies EVERY time. Cookie Baking Tips Cookie jar cookies are the chunky sweets of lunch boxes and afternoon snacks, the grab-’em cookies of kids on the run and the midnight snacks of just about anyone old enough to be up late. They are easy to prepare with children because, other than the measurements, there’s almost nothing precise about these sweets. They are either spooned out onto baking sheets or shaped into balls. What does count is how you bake them. Always start with a cool baking sheet - pull one that’s just out of the oven, and your dough will ooze and melt before it bakes. Choose sturdy baking sheets that won’t twist or warp under heat. Avoid insulated baking sheets - they bake more slowly than standard sheets and while they’ll never give you burnt bottoms, they usually won’t give you beautifully golden ones either. Always line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat, which will not only make clean-up easy, but will help the cookies to bake more evenly. Using the same amount of dough to shape each cookie will guarantee even baking of your cookies. You’ll also get cookies of roughly equal size, so you’ll avoid any arguments about who got the biggest one. Some cookies like to spread out in the oven, but even non-spreaders shouldn’t be crowded on the baking sheet; all cookies need space so the oven’s heat can bake their edges properly. When you are making one of my best cookie recipes, don’t be in too much of a rush when you bake them either, no matter how eager you are to eat them. Just as it’s important now to crowd the dough on the baking sheets, it’s also important not to crowd the oven in an attempt to reduce the number of batches. If you do, the heat won’t circulate evenly around the baking sheets. Some cookies do fine when you bake two sheets at a time and rotate them at the midway point, while others do best when they are baked one sheet at a time in the center of the oven. Finally, if the little (or big) monsters haven’t devoured your cookies straight off the cooling racks, you might actually have some to pack into a cookie jar. If that’s the case, here’s a word of advice: keep crunchy kinds in one jar and the soft, chewy ones in another - mix them up, and you’ll end up with a jar full of softies, since crisp cookies are defenseless against moisture from neighbors. When making my best cookie recipes - Use high quality ingredients and you will have the most flavorful cookies. Do NOT sift the flour, but lightly spoon it into a measuring cup and level it off with a butter knife. Please measure accurately. Use large eggs, unsalted butter and pure vanilla extracts; no imitations. When baking, use parchment paper (curl side down) on the baking sheets; no greasing and easy clean up. Space cookies two inches apart to they can spread without touching the next cookie. Chill the dough for at least two hours before doing cut-outs. Is your cookie dough too soft? Refrigerate it or add additional flour (1 tablespoon at a time), until dough is stiff enough to handle. Or is your cookie dough too dry? Mix in one to two tablespoons of milk. If you bake them a couple minutes less than the time specified, you will have a chewier cookie. Add two more minutes and your cookie will be crunchier. Cool cookies completely before frosting. Unbaked cookie dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen in an airtight container for 9 months. Thaw until soft enough to handle.
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FEATURED RECIPE:
HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY MUFFIN RECIPE
2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup milk or half-and-half
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp strawberry extract (optional)
1-1/2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered
Top the muffins with my Old-Fashioned Cream Cheese Frosting
(only make half of the recipe)
whole strawberries, halved (garnish)
powdered sugar (garnish)
PREHEAT oven to 400 degrees. Grease or use paper lined muffin tin; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine eggs, milk, oil and strawberry extract. Stir into the dry ingredients and mix JUST until incorporated (there will be lumps). Fold in quartered strawberries.
Spoon into greased muffin tins and sprinkle tops lightly with white sugar. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and top with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. Nestle a halved strawberry on top and smile. You just created a "good thing."
Strawberry Banana Muffins
add 3/4 cups strawberries and
3/4 cup chopped banana
Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins
add 1 cup strawberries and
1/2 cup chopped rhubarb
photo courtesy of *christine** at flickr.com