Tasty Thursday: Paul's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

My Dad passed away 3 years ago, about a week before his birthday, which is today.  Every year since then on his birthday  I have made his cookies to honor his memory. I also make them for our Christmas Eve visit to his grave. And of course whenever I feel like eating some.

He spent a lot of time perfecting this cookie recipe over the years. We in my family think this is a really fantastic classic chocolate chip cookie.
Big, thick, sometimes somewhat doughy bakery style cookies are all the rage right now, made with a ball of dough the size of a baseball.
These cookies are not those cookies. These are lightly crispy, and golden on the outside and chewy on the inside.
I thought I had put this recipe on here already but apparently not.
Every time I post about these cookies elsewhere, I get requests for the recipe.
So here it is.

Paul’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Paul Bartholomew)

Preheat oven to 350

Cream together:

 4 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups white sugar 

1 ½ cups shortening

Slowly mix in:

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

4 cups flour (put in ½ cup at a time)

1 TBSP vanilla

Add 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Roll into walnut size balls. Place on un-greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake @ 350 for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will be just light golden around the edges and may look slightly raw in the middle when it’s time to take them out. Cool on the cookie sheet. Makes about 4 to 6 dozen cookies.

Tasty Thursday: Auntie's Sugar Cookies

I am sharing this again because I am making these again for my kids for Valentine's Day. They are my very favorite Sugar Cookie (although Otis Spunkmeyer's Butter Sugar Cookies are a close second). This recipe is halved from the original (shared here) and I added vanilla and butter.

Here is a recipe card you can download.

 Amy’s Auntie’s Sugar Cookies – Famous Mormon Recipes - Adapted by Amy W

3 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter (room temp.)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
    Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter. Stir in sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix milk, eggs and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture. (If dough is too dry, add milk 1 TBSP at a time.)
    Roll dough onto floured surface and cut out shapes (1/4” thick dough works best). Place on un-greased cookie sheet (or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper) and sprinkle with sugar, (omit this step if decorating with frosting). Bake 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
 *These bake up soft and light at 1/4" thick.
The thinner you roll them, the crispier they will be.


I use the Wilton's Buttercream Frosting Recipe when I frost these cookies.

 

Tasty Tuesday: An Oldie but a Goodie; Peanut Butter Blossoms

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/peanut-butter-blossoms/

As a kid I never liked peanut butter anything. Peanut butter was totally gross. But as I get older my tastes seem to change and I eat many things that I didn't like as a kid.  Not long after I got married, my mother in law made these when we lived near them and I tried them and was hooked. I have since added lots of peanut butter "things" to my list of likes. I made these the other night for my husband. (Peanut butter cookies in just about any form are some of his favorites). I ate WAY too many of them. :) It makes about 50 cookies.

The recipe I use is from my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. They have conveniently provided the recipe HERE on their website (which, FYI,  is a great resource for lots of cooking and baking tips and recipes!)

Enjoy!

 

Tasty Tuesday: Sugar Cookies Revisited

Tomorrow is the playgroup Valentine Party, for which I am responsible for providing cookies for the kids to decorate. In initially we only had 6 kids coming, so I started out making them a giant heart to decorate. But then I got another RSVP so I had to abort that and switch to regular sized cookies, because there weren't going to be enough to go around. I had already used 10 and a half cups of flour. My kids will get the ginormous ones. :) I am sure they will appreciate that.

To make the huge hearts, I used the heart shape from my spring-form pan that I never use because I don't know how. :) It is about 8 inches tall and 7.5 inches wide at the widest part. What kid would not love a cookie that big!

 I used my go-to sugar cookie recipe, Aunties Sugar Cookies, but I changed it up a little bit. I replaced half the shortening with butter, and added some vanilla for a little flavor. Don't get me wrong, I love these cookies as I usually make them but they don't stand alone well. They need the frosting. :) But now, I can totally munch on one with nothing on it. Just a little sweet, and ever so slightly buttery. YUM!
The dough turns out a little wetter and not as stiff, but I was still able to work with it just fine to roll them out. You can always add a little flour if you like. And as you can see in the photos, I used parchment paper on my cookie sheets.
I had to roll out the big ones directly on the floured parchment, cut them out, and then lift the parchment onto the cookie sheet. It worked beautifully. The big cookies baked about 7 minutes longer than the regular ones.


And 'cause I love you, here is the new and (I think) improved Auntie's Sugar Cookies recipe. (This is half of the original recipe.)

Auntie’s Sugar Cookies – Famous Mormon Recipes - Adapted by Amy W

3 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup shortening
½ cup butter (room temp.)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs beaten
1 ½ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
    Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter. Stir in sugar. In a separate bowl, mix milk, eggs and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture. (If dough is too dry, add milk 1 TBSP at a time.)
    Roll dough onto floured surface and cut out shapes (1/4” thick dough works best). Place on un-greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar, (omit this step if decorating with frosting). Bake 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
 *These bake up soft and light at 1/4". The thinner you roll them, the crispier they will be.

Happy Valentines Day!

 

Treats for today: Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispies Cookies

Pin It

I have shared this recipe before, but I made these for my husband last night so I thought I would re-post for newer followers and with a recipe card.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispies Cookies
Recipe found at myplumpudding.blogspot.com
* I  measure everything ahead and have it set out to make the process quick and easy.

1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup

Combine in large pot and heat until just beginning to boil. (Really, just as you detect a simmer. Cooking too long makes them hard and way too chewy). Remove from heat and add:

1 cup peanut butter
4-5 cups Rice Krispies cereal (I like about 4 1/2 cups)

Stir gently to combine. Spread into 9x13 pan. (I use my cookie sheet for thinner bars. We found the thick ones harder to bite into.)
Melt and stir:

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Spread over Rice Krispies mixture. Cool at room temp or in refrigerator.

Digital Elements, Jeni Hopewell