Dribbling Synapses

Oatmeal Cookies - First attempt

Another first try: oatmeal cookies were on the docket this time.

The recipe I used as a base called for shortening instead of butter and specified a cooking time of 15 minutes. I’m glad I didn’t listen there. After 12-13 minutes, these were cooked to perfection — crisp on the outside while still slightly chewy inside. The butter, vanilla, and walnuts also added their own signatures and put these head and shoulders over oatmeal cookies made without.

As with my sugar cookies, I used the following premium ingredients: Plugra unsalted european style butter (higher butter fat content than Land-O-Lakes); Watkins Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract; Domino pure cane sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter (Plugra if available), softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon genuine vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Yields 40 cookies

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Sift together the baking soda, salt and flour. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add eggs and mix thoroughly.
4. Gradually blend in the baking soda, salt and flour mixture.
5. Add oatmeal and walnuts and stir until well blended.
6. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-13 minutes.
7. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Notes

• Measure ingredients by weight when possible
• Allow butter to come to room temperature before starting
• Make sure the sugar you buy is labeled “cane sugar” — you don’t want beet sugar here
• Use oven thermometer to measure temperature, instead of relying on oven dial to be accurate
• A sieve works great for sifting. Just put dry ingredients together in sieve over bowl and tap side of sieve until empty.
• Cookies will continue to cook for a while after you remove them from the oven. Don’t wait until they look “done” before taking them out or they will end up dry and hard.

Sugar Cookies - First Attempt

This was my first attempt at baking sugar cookies. I opted for premium ingredients to stack the odds in my favor. The results were fantastic.

The premium ingredients I used specifically were: Plugra unsalted european style butter (higher butter fat content than Land-O-Lakes); Watkins Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract; Domino pure cane sugar. Any premium brand should work fine for these.

Ingredients

• 1-1/3 cups and 1 tablespoon (208g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup (4oz or 113g) butter (Plugra if available), softened
• 3/4 cup (180g) white cane sugar
• 1/2 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon genuine vanilla extract

Yields 24 cookies

Notes

• Measure ingredients by weight when possible
• Allow butter to come to room temperature before starting
• Make sure the sugar you buy is labeled “cane sugar” — you don’t want beet sugar here
• Use oven thermometer to measure temperature, instead of relying on oven dial to be accurate
• A sieve works great for sifting. Just put dry ingredients together in sieve over bowl and tap side of sieve until empty.
• Cookies will continue to cook for a while after you remove them from the oven. Don’t wait until they look “done” before taking them out or they will end up dry and hard.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. It is okay if the dough seems dry, as long as the dry and wet ingredients are well-mixed.
3. Roll 1” balls of dough, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets. (Lining pans with parchment paper is ideal.)
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.