I am here today to talk to you about cookies. And yes, I say cookies because I like that word. I also say tater tots because it sounds funner than potato gems. Back to the cookies. Years ago I started making this recipe. Ruth’s recipe was the first biscuit recipe that ticked all the boxes for all my family & I have tried quite a few over the years of home baking! As the years have gone by I’ve tweaked & played with the original recipe many times so that I can make it no matter what I have in the pantry, hence, you choose your own adventure! I’m going to give you all the variations I make but feel free to do as you please, you choose your own cookie adventure! Oh, and before I give you the recipe, please don’t freak out over the amount of sugar used, this recipe makes HEAPS of cookies depending on how big you make them . I use a small ice cream scoop (which I think is actually sold as a cookie dough scoop in the kitchen shops) & can get over 60 cookies from one batch! If you use a regular size scoop, or ball it with your hands, you’ll obviously get less cookies but they’ll be bigger. Der. I’m not sure why I just had to explain that to you because you’re not dumb, you know how these things work. Anyway….. Here we go!
RECIPE
- 250g butter- you can melt it & mix it straight in or you can soften it & beat it into the sugar. I find when you use melted butter you get a softer cookie.
- 2 1/2 cups sugar- I always use a mix of brown & white caster sugar. More brown sugar will give a caramel-y flavour with a chewier crumb. Use more white sugar if you want a crisper cookie. My ratio is usually 1.5 cups brown & 1/2 cup castor. It results in a crisp edge with a chewy centre. The cookies will be fine no matter what combo you use so long as it’s 2.5 cups in total.
- 2 eggs,
- 2 tsp vanilla extract,
- 3 1/2 cups plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
Add ins- I could be annoying & say ” whatever you like!” & that would be true but here are some of the things I have added to mine over the years:
- Chocolate chips are classic & are my family’s fave. I add about 400grs
- A combo of white chips, chocolate chips AND chocolate melts
- Roll into balls & top with mini smarties
- A cup of sprinkles
- A mix of sprinkles & choc chips
- A mix of peanut butter chips & chocolate chips
- 1/2 cups chopped nuts & chocolate chips
- Add 2 tbs of cocoa powder, some mini marshmallows & choc chips
- Leave them plain for a basic vanilla cookie
- . Dried blueberries & white choc chips
- At Christmas time I add the christmas M&M’s & give them as gifts
METHOD
So this is super simple. If you’re going the melted butter route just add everything, EXCEPT your add-ins, to your bowl & mix until then combined. Then mix through whatever add-ins you’re using.
If you’re going the softened butter route, beat your butter & sugars until pale & creamy, add everything else, EXCEPT your add-ins, mix until combined & then mix through your add-ins.
Roll into whatever size ball you want & put them on lined baking trays.These bake in a 170 oven for about 12-15 minutes. Once they come out of the oven, & while they are still piping hot, I use a fork to press them down a little. I like flatter cookies because I think they taste better & they fit in my jars better. Cool on a wire rack.
Now, one more great thing about these cookies is that the dough freezes REALLY well & because it makes a heap of cookies I usually bake half & freeze half. I roll into balls, place them on a tray, freeze for an hour or so & then place the frozen balls into containers to pop into the freezer for another day. It means you can bake cookies whenever you need them straight from the freezer (they’ll just need a little longer in the oven) but it also means you have cookie dough to snack on whenever you want! To tell you the truth, I actually prefer cookie dough to baked cookies. In fact, I rarely eat them once they are cooked but I will eat at least 5 cookies worth of dough as I make it. I know people of the internet say you shouldn’t eat raw cookie dough, & maybe they are right, but I am not those people. Cookie dough is one of my favourite treats ever!
I hope this recipe finds its way into your kitchen because it really is the best one out there. And the fact that you can choose your own adventure with them just makes them so versatile & fun to play with. Let me know if you give them go or tag me on Instagram if you post of photo. Happy baking! Or cookie dough eating if you’re more like me 😉
xx
Hello friends. This morning I have come here to write about panic & how easily I have been swept up into it. I don’t even need to tell you what I’m panicked about because I am sure there is some part of you that also feels as though suddenly things have become very real, very quickly. Covid-19. The Coronavirus. It’s everywhere. It’s all that’s being talked about by everyone, including me. Early last week I was still ” I don’t feel like this is something I need to worry too much about.” but by Friday I was all ” OK, things are getting crazy real quick & suddenly I feel worried.”Did you feel that shift too? It was big yeah? So I’m just going to bang out all my thoughts real quick because I’m sure you’ve heard them all before. 
I thought I’d give you a quick recap of all the books I’ve read so far this year. I was planning to check in every 3 or 4 months but I read a lot & thought it might be too much for me to go back over so many books at once. I am aiming for a book a week & I did set myself 
