Lizzard Loves homemade cookies.
 |
Lizzard Loves the pools of melty chocolate
these cookies are filled with! |
I mean, who doesn't?!? Is there anything better than a plate of fresh baked,
homemade cookies? I would argue there is not. Cookies are my favorite sweet
treat, I like them in (almost) every form: chubby, chewy, crunchy, soft, plain
& chock full of extras.
Store bought cookies for SURE have their place; they can be
abundantly delicious. This brand is
my top notch favorite for store bought. A good bakery cookie is hard to beat;
if you live in the Chicagoland area; this
bakery is worth a pilgrimage as is this
one (get the Florentines & smiley face cookies at the first, the bulk
cookies by the pound at the second). This post isn’t about store bought cookies
though. Store bought cookies don’t take thought, time, or effort. They also
don’t make your house smell like heaven.
Homemade cookies matter because they communicate so much
goodness in their perfect little smash up of flour, butter & sugar.
Homemade cookies tell people you care about them. Homemade cookies tell people
they are worth your time. Homemade cookies convey a sense of comfort few other
foods do.
“But Liz”, you say, “I don’t have the time to make a batch
of cookies every time someone needs a pick me up, congratulations, birthday
treat” and I would agree with you. You are busy, you have a job, a family, obligations
at church, perhaps you go to school, you volunteer, you blog, you create art,
you watch shows, go on dates, plan
playdates, make lunches, have adventures. All these things are wonderful &
meaningful uses for your time!
My challenge to you is; find a chunk of time, early in the
morning, late at night, whenever. It doesn’t matter. Prepare a double or triple
batch of cookie dough and FREEZE it! I’ve included links to some of my favorite
recipes below. Once you’ve made the dough, stretch a long piece of plastic wrap
out on your counter (leave it attached to the box – don’t tear it off yet – its
sooooo hard to handle a loose piece of plastic wrap. That stuff sticks to
everything) & thwap a big hunk of dough onto it. Fold the plastic wrap over
the mound of dough & use it to flatten it and shape it into a rough disk
shape. Tear the plastic wrap from the box & wrap the dough tightly. Now
wrap it again. Repeat 4 times for a double batch, or 6 times for a triple batch
of dough. These disks do not need to be uniform; they do not need to be
perfect. They do need to be double wrapped tightly in plastic. Using a
permanent marker, write out the baking instructions for the cookies on the
outside of a zip top freezer bag (oven temperature & baking time at least)
so when you come back to the dough you don’t need to go searching for the
cookie recipe to remember what to do with it. To prevent your future cookies
from tasting like your freezer, slide the entire bag into another freezer bag.
If you find yourself with extra time on your dough making
day (extra time for the first time since you got the job, had the baby, started your
business), feel free to shape the dough into balls and freeze on a cookie
sheet. After a few hours they are frozen enough to dump into a zip top bag
(that you still should label with baking instructions……..do yourself that
favor!). It is just a question of, do you have those extra minutes on dough
making day or on baking day. 110% up to you.
Now the fun part; it is your friend’s birthday & you
want to make her a treat. You don’t have time to drag out all the ingredients
& tools necessary to make a batch of cookies. You might just have the time
to pull one of your dough disks out of the freezer, let it sit on the counter
for 20-40 minutes (until it is soft enough to form into balls) and bake. I use
a mini ice cream scoop for the most uniform size/shape cookies. If you line
your cookie sheets with parchment paper, you will only need to wash the ice
cream scoop – no sink full of dishes, no countertop covered in flour, no muss,
no fuss. I’ll give you extra points if you let your dough defrost overnight in
the fridge so it feels like less waiting.
So dear friends. Get that mixer out & dust
it off. Make an epic batch of cookie dough every now & again to be prepared
to bring homemade awesomeness wherever you go. You won’t be sorry. I promise.
Oh, also, this method provides you with the steady supply of frozen cookie
dough you’ve always wanted. Maybe that’s just me. But just in case it’s not;
you’re welcome.
This recipe has, over the course of the past 5ish years, become my absolute, hands down favorite. I have, in that time, tweaked it, adjusted it & in my humble opinion, perfected it! I hope you make and enjoy these as much as I do!
Salted
Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Adapted from Real Simple
Makes
approximately 50 cookies (enough to stock your freezer for future use!)
Ingredients
4 cups old
fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
2 cups bread
flour (or all purpose if you don’t have bread)
1 ½ teaspoons
baking soda
½ teaspoon
ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons
flaky sea salt (Maldon works well, sub in Kosher if you don’t have anything
flaky)
1 cup (2 sticks)
salted butter
½ cup coconut
oil (warmed to a very soft state, liquid is fine but let it cool to room temp
so you don’t melt your butter!)
½ cup turbinado
sugar* (raw sugar)
½ cup coconut
sugar*
1 cup packed
brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons
vanilla extract
12 ounces dark
chocolate, coarsely chopped
Directions
1. Preheat oven
to 375 degrees and line 2 large air bake baking sheets with parchment paper
2. In a large
bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of the
salt. Set aside.
3. Beat the butter,
coconut oil & all 3 sugars with an electric mixer (or stand mixer with the
paddle attachment) on medium high for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs
one at a time and then the vanilla.
5. Reduce your
mixer speed to low and gradually add your flour mixture, mixing until just
combined. Don’t overmix or you risk your cookies being tough, not chewy.
6. Stir in the
chopped chocolate.
7. Using a mini
ice cream scoop, drop rounded mounds of dough onto the lined baking sheets,
spacing them approximately 2 inches apart. I fit 16 cookies per sheet on my
baking sheets. This dough does not spread too much.
8. Sprinkle the dough
balls with the remaining 2 teaspoons of flaky salt.
9. Bake for 8-10
minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets
before sliding the cookies (on the parchment) onto cooling racks.
*If you don’t
have these types of sugar in your pantry, you can substitute granulated white
sugar. I like the taste/texture the raw sugar/coconut sugar combination gives
the cookies. I’ve made them many times with granulated sugar & they are quite
delicious as well!
