Cookies...

One of my favorite things to bake, and eat, is cookies!  My Mom's most used cookie recipe was this one:

I used to stick pretty closely to this recipe, but over the years I have changed up what I do a bit. 

Incidentally, Mom once told me she would add the word "cowboy" to any recipe to make sure my older siblings would eat it if it had dodgy ingredients.  "Cowboy Delight" is mac and cheese with tomato sauce and hamburger.  I guess my siblings disliked the tomato sauce.  And "Cowboy Chocolate Chip Cookies" contain dreaded oatmeal.  

Always cream the sugar and fat a lot before you mix in the eggs, and then mix a lot more with the eggs.  This advice was given to me by Jerry, the head pastry chef at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building when I worked as a gardener at Temple Square, and we would sneak down to the kitchens so he could give us chunks of frozen cookie dough...  He said the fluffier the better for cookies, but only up through the eggs.

I have an old flour sifter that I scoop up the flour in, then add the salt, baking powder, and baking soda so the sifter mixes them together.  If you don't have a sifter mix the dry ingredients together with a whisk in a separate bowl.  You don't want to get all the salt in one cookie...

Mom's COWBOY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 3/4 c sugar
1 3/4 c brown sugar
2 c shortening
4 eggs
1 t vanilla
4 1/2 c flour
1 t baking powder
2 t salt
2 t baking soda
2 c quick oats (must use quick oats!)
1 bag chocolate chips
1 bag butterscotch chips
-Mix it up!  Drop onto cookie sheets.  Bake at 350 for 7 to 10 minutes.  Makes about 100 cookies.

-When I make this version, I use a cup and a half of shortening, and about a half cup of vanilla or plain yogurt.  And I don't use the full two cups of quick oats, only about three handfuls.

-I always use 2 teaspoons of vanilla.  I don't know where I got that, because Mom's written recipe only has one, but it's been working well so, whatever.

Here are my variations:

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1 3/4 c sugar

1 3/4 brown sugar

1 c shortening

1 c peanut butter (I use creamy because I don't like nuts)

4 eggs

2 t vanilla

~3 1/2 c flour

2 t salt

2 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1 bag peanut butter chips

1 bag chocolate chips

-sometimes I add Reese's Pieces as well

"HEALTHY" COOKIES
-use 1 c shortening and 4-6 ounces vanilla yogurt
-use wheat flour instead of white
-add about a half cup almond meal

-add some flax seeds
-use chocolate and white chocolate chips
-add dried cherries and dried cranberries

APPLE COOKIES
-use 1 c shortening and 1/2 c applesauce and one small container (4 oz) plain Greek yogurt
-omit all chocolate chips, instead dice up about 4 apples and put in
-add 2 t cinnamon and 1 t cardamom to dry ingredients

NEW BUTTERSCOTCH COOKIES

-Make the basic cookie recipe, but use either 1 cup butter, very soft, or 1/2 cup butter very soft, with about 1/2 cup vanilla or plain yogurt.

-Don't add oatmeal.

-You might need to add a bit more flour, but not too much.

RASPBERRY COOKIES (My new favorite...)

-Use 1 cup shortening

-Add 1/2 cup butter, very soft, and a heaping half cup of vanilla yogurt.

-Use 1 bag white chocolate chips and 1 bag milk chocolate chips.

-Scrunch up (slightly) a 1.2 oz bag of freeze dried raspberries.  I get mine at Trader Joes.  Add them with the chocolate chips.

-This is my new favorite variation, because they have an amazing real raspberry flavor without being overwhelmingly sweet.  So good!