Nita's Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have a sweet friend who thinks that all cookies should be crunchy. Well, I'm someone who likes soft cookies and that's usually what I make. Except Nita wanted Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies for her birthday. Seriously. It's all she asked for. Well, that and a card.

So I got busy searching. Do you have any idea how many Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes there are out there in cookie recipe land? The recipe I finally settled on comes from the folks who make Ghirardelli chocolate. It was a winner. She loved the cookies!!!

Here's the recipe. Well, my version of the recipe. I didn't add nuts. And I didn't shift the baking pans around. That's way too much trouble. I baked them like I always do and they turned out fine. If you like crunchy cookies, you'll probably really love it. If you don't, I've got plenty of other recipes you can choose from.

 

Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 1/3 all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly greased and flour two making sheets.

Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine the butter, both sugars, corn syrup, milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. (Add nuts at this time if you want to.) The dough will be very soft.

Divide the dough in half. Divide one half of the dough into 10 equal pieces (each a scant 1/4 cup). Place 5 pieces of dough at least 3 inches apart on each baking sheet. Use your fingers covered with a piece of plastic wrap to flatten each scoop until it is 3 inches in diameter. (Cookies will spread even more as they bake.)

Bake about 15 minutes, watching closely, until the cookies are evenly dark golden brown all over. (Pale cookies will not be crispy). Let cool on pan for 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Makes about 16 4-inch cookies.

Mud Hens

Last fall my aunt had ankle surgery and ended up spending some time in rehab. Her friend brought a dessert for her to enjoy and share with visitors. Of course, I had to try it. The bar cookies were really good. I wanted to know what they were. Mud Hens, my aunt replied. I figured either the pain medication was messing up her mind or I had totally misunderstood. I decided to be polite and not saying anything. Just in case.

After we left, I asked my Mother what she’d understood the dessert was called. She’d heard the same thing. Okay. So I started searching. Every recipe I found was basically the same. And no one knows where the name came from. Hey, I’ll have you know I am not the only one who has tried to find out.

I could just make something up. Really. I’m a writer. Fiction is fun. The chocolate chips could be the mud. The eggs -- hello -- come from hens. Or I could play off the brown sugar and egg whites. Maybe that’s where the name comes from.

But I won’t do that to you. I’ll just tell you the truth. I don’t know where the name comes from and nobody else seems to either. I just know that this is a wonderful dessert. Or snack. Or take-off-from-home dish. Whatever. Just sit down with the whole pan and refuse to share. Yeah. Yummy. Enjoy!

Mud Hens

¼ cup shortening
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 whole egg
2 eggs, separated (egg whites at room temperature)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup mini marshmallows
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. If you’re a traditionalist you can use butter.

In a large bowl, cream the shortening, butter and sugar. Beat in the egg yolks and whole egg.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Combine the flour mixture with the creamed mixture. Blend thoroughly.

Spread the batter into the baking pan. Sprinkle the nuts, marshmallows and chocolate chips over the batter.

In a large bowl, beat the two egg whites until stiff. I find this works best if the egg whites are room temperature. I hope you have a mixture with that whisk beater. Just turn the mixer on HIGH and watch those peaks form. Or, you could use a hand beater. Either way, when the egg whites are stiff, fold in the brown sugar. Spread this over the batter.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.

Cool completely before cutting. You’ll just be so much happier if you do.

M and M Party Cookies

I've been baking these cookies for longer than I care to admit. They're one of my Mother's favorites. They're good to eat any time of the year but I love to use the red and green M & M's that come out during Christmas. It just makes them extra special. And who can resist M & M's? Not me for sure.

M & M Party Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups M & M plain candies

Using a mixer, blend the shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar together. Mix thoroughly. Beat in vanilla and eggs.

Mix together flour, salt and baking soda. The original recipe called for sifting the flour and then sifting the salt and baking soda with it. I've never done the sifting part. It works just fine without that step.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar/shortening mixture. Blend thoroughly. Using a spoon or spatula, stir in 3/4 cup of the M & M candies.

Use a teaspoon to drop the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate the tops with the remaining candies. I always try to make sure I have a mixture of red and green candies on top.

Bake at 375 degrees to about 10 minutes. The cookies should be golden brown. Remove the cookies with a spatula and cool completely on a wire rack.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay. Let's get a count of how many people love Chocolate Chip Cookies. Those who love them raise your hand. Now, those don't can raise your hand. That's what I thought. Everyone loves Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I've tried numerous recipes over the years. These include those on the chocolate chip packages and in special chocolate cookbooks. You probably have a few of those cookbooks devoted to everything chocolate.

Still, the best recipe ever in this one I'm about to share. Shhh...don't tell anyone.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 12-oz. package semisweet chocolate chips

Let the margarine or butter stand until room temperature. I use Blue Bonnet margarine. I also take the foil paper off, put it in a bowl and heat it in the microwave to soften it up. It takes less time that way.

Mix the margarine, shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar together with your mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well.

In a separate bowl, stir the flour, baking soda and salt together. Remember to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with the back side of a knife. Never scoop it into the measuring cup.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the creamy mixture. Blend well.

Stir the chocolate chips into that mixture.

Use a teaspoon to drop small amounts of the mixture on to an ungreased cookie sheet. Obviously, the amount you drop will determine the size of your cookies.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly brown on the bottom. The cookies won't be too brown on the top. Of course, you could cook them a little longer if you want. That makes a harder cookie. I like my chocolate chip cookies soft.

Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and place them on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy. Then hide the rest. Cookie monsters are everywhere.