Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

These are really, really good sugar cookies.  Kind of fluffy and ooey on the inside, but buttery crispy on the outside.  They don’t need any frosting- they’re great as is.  This recipe suggests rolling them in sugar before baking, which is great, but I think this recipe would also make a fantastic snickerdoodle, if you added cinnamon to the rolling mixture. 

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar (additional for rolling)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.  Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.  Add the egg and mix until well combined.  Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is well combined.

It will be thick and shouldn’t be sticky. Do not over mix. Once it’s well combined, use a rubber spatula to help it come together to form a more cohesive ball.  Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Gently roll into a ball, then roll each ball in the additional sugar to coat. Set the balls on the baking sheet.

Bake cookies for 7-8 minutes. The cookies will spread and the centers will look soft, but should look done. Remove just before the edges begin to turn golden. Don’t over bake. The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven but will fall a bit as they cool.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Original recipe came from this site: https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/best-soft-and-chewy-sugar-cookies/

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Believe it or not, I have found myself bored of the Nestle Toll House recipe.  Total first world problem, right?  This recognition led me to search for a new chocolate chip cookie recipe, and this one was fantastic.  The cookies really held their shape and were that perfect mix of buttery crispy on the outside, but ooey goodness in the middle.  This will be my new go-to recipe.  Enjoy! 

Best Chip Cookie Recipe Ever

1 cup salted butter* softened
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
1 cup light brown sugar packed
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt***
2 cups chocolate chips (or chunks, or chopped chocolate)

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.  In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder. Set aside.  Cream together butter and sugars until combined.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until fluffy.  Mix in the dry ingredients until combined.  Add 12 oz package of chocolate chips and mix well.

I used my large scoop to size them and then rolled the dough, this helped them to be even prettier and I think was worth the effort.  (I also froze a few of them at this point!) 

Bake for 8-10 minutes, and take them out when they are just BARELY starting to brown at the edges.  When you remove the cookies from the oven, they will still look doughy. THIS is the secret that makes these cookies so absolutely amazing! Please, I beg you, do NOT over-bake!

Let them sit on the baking pan for 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Peasant Bread

Jason learned how to make this at the fire house recently, and now, it is pretty common that he comes home from a tour and makes this on his first day back.  It is delicious fresh out of the oven and the next day too, though I don't know that ours usually lasts that long.

Peasant Bread
3.5 cups flourheaping tsp yeastheaping tsp salt1 Tbsp Sugar2 Cups warm water, divided.

Mix dry ingredients, then add in 1.5 C of warm water.  Then add in the rest of the water until all the mix is wet. Let sit in the mixing bowl for one hour in microwave (off) with a cup of hot water.

Put in bread pan (coated with butter), then put it back in the microwave (with a cup of hot water) for  25 minutes.  Preheat oven to 425, then cook for 15 minutes, then turn down to 375 and cook for 15 more minutes, brushing with melted butter when there are 5-10 minutes left.  Keep an eye on it and if it appears to start to burn, cover with foil.  Flip out of pan, slice and enjoy!