Cookie Recipes

All recipes tested in the TFB kitchen and fully approved by all taste testers. Wherein “taste testers” = me, the boys, co-workers, neighbors and visiting family and friends brave enough to try things out!

If I know the original source, I will credit always, but sometimes these come from old emails and cut outs of magazines so the sources are long forgotten. 

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Source = Silver Palate Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons *unsalted* butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Melt butter; add sugar and molasses and mix thoroughly (I used the low setting on my Kitchen-aid through the whole process). Lightly beat egg and add to butter mixture – blend well. Sift flour with spices, salt & baking soda. Add to first mixture and blend well. Lay a sheet of parchment paper over a cookie sheet and drop a tablespoon of batter at a time, 3 inches apart. The dough WILL spread so try to keep to the 3 inch rule! Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven while still soft and immediately remove parchment sheet with cookies on it to the counter to cool. Makes at least 24 large, flat cookies that are moist in the middle.

They are delicious! A little crunchy, a little chewy, with a lovely warm, spicy flavor blend.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Courtesy of Blue Flowers and Folly it is apparently a family recipe and it is a must have for any chocoholic. Not too sweet at all. And if you are sensitive to the caffeine in chocolate? (ahem, as I found out the hard way) don’t eat these after dinner! Rolling them in sugar/sprinkles gives them a nice thin crunchy outer layer and the center is gooey heaven.

• 4 Squares (4-oz) Bakers Unsweetened Dark Chocolate
• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1+ tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• additional sugar and colorful sprinkles to coat

1. Use a large microwavable bowl from start to finish. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Microwave chocolate with butter on high for 2+ minutes or until butter is melted. Keep stirring the butter/chocolate mix until the chocolate is fully melted.

2. Stir in 1 cup sugar until well blended (note: I just use a wooden spoon for these cookies – no mixer, but I assume a mixer on low for all steps would be fine. No whipping is needed).

3. Stir in egg and vanilla.

4. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt and stir until a nice dough is created.

5. Chill dough in refrigerator for 30 mins. Shape into 1″ balls and roll in extra sugar/sprinkles. Place on parchment paper on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes. Remove and cool. Makes close to 2-3 dozen depending on how you roll them!

Ricotta Cheese Cookies

Originally shared with me by an August mom with a dormant blog so I cannot link, BUT, when I lost the original I did a search and the closest that I found on the innertubes was from Good Housekeeping – yep, that old standby!

A HUGE hit with peeps at work and with the Teen (ok, I kinda like them too!)  Again, these are not overly sweet. The ricotta cuts the sugar and makes this a ridiculously moist cookie. Add sugar sprinkles or frosting to sweeten if desired.

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter – softened
• 1 15oz container ricotta cheese
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups flour
• 2 tbl baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• sprinkles & cream cheese frosting (we like Pillsbury vanilla or basic white)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl with mixer at low speed, beat sugar & butter until blended. Increase speed to high and beat until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). At medium speed, beat in ricotta, vanilla and eggs until well combined.

2. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour, baking powder & salt and beat until a dough forms. It will be a gooey dough.

3. Drop dough by level tablespoons about 2 inches apart on parchment paper on an ungreased cookie sheet. They don’t spread too much and you can easily fit 12 on a large cookie sheet. Use a butter knife or thin spatula to scoop dough out of spoon then use spatula to gently smooth the surface edges of the dough on the sheet. Sprinkle with colored sugar sprinkles if using them. Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden. Cookies will be SOFT. If frosting them, let them cool first. Makes up to 4 dozen.

Beware! This is some of the best raw dough ever 😉 The Teen stands over me and waits until he can lick the bowl. I know we always say that about dough, but really…I’ve shared it with a few other friends and they agree that it is HARD not to just bypass the baking entirely.

Jello Spritz Cookies

These came from my August mom friend in PA. I tried black cherry and grape one year. The Teen did not like the cherry, but we should have suspected he would not since he generally doesn’t like cherry flavoring. I liked the cherry plenty fine, BUT, I must say that the grape is even better! Strawberry and blue raspberry were also quite good. The jello flavor does come through quite strong so do make sure and pick a flavor you will like. The problem is that the recipe calls for a small, 3oz pack of jello mix but my store only had the larger 6 oz packets which you can split in half but that means you still have to make another batch which is fine if you love them, but otherwise you might start hunting around for a good jello shooter recipe (cough cough – who would do THAT?!)

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups butter – softened
• 1 (3 oz) package of fruit flavored jello mix
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• additional sugar and/or sugar sprinkles

1. Cream butter, sugar and jello mix. Add egg & vanilla. Beat well. Gradually add flour and baking powder. Blend at low speed until smooth.

2. Refrigerate for 30 mins or until dough is firm. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

3. Roll into balls, then roll the balls into sugar/sprinkles. Place on parchment paper on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 8 minutes. Makes 4 dozen easily!

You’ll notice I’m addicted to parchment paper 🙂 Makes cleanup so easy AND since I only have one really nice cookie sheet it allows me to just remove the paper with cookies fresh out of the oven onto the counter to cool and then lay another piece on the sheet and get right back into dropping cookies on the pan.