Sourdough Discard Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ Cups All-Purpose Flour
• ½ tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• ¾ Cup Butter (softened)
• ½ Cup Brown Sugar (packed)
• ½ Cup White Sugar
• 1 Egg
• ½ Cup Sourdough Discard
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 3 Cups of a Combination of Mix-ins
• (I use the following Mix-ins: 1 cup chocolate chips, ½ cup of coconut, ½ cup of rolled oats, 1 cup chopped pecans. You can use anything you like; craisins, walnuts, white chocolate chips, etc.)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Whisk dry ingredients together; flour, baking powder, salt, and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, cream softened butter with brown and white sugar until light and fluffy. I use my stand mixer.  
• Add egg, sourdough starter and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture, and mix thoroughly.
• Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients little by little until fully combined, being careful not to over mix or your cookies will be tough and rubbery.
• Add in your desired combination of mix-ins using a rubber spatula.
• Scoop out 1 ounce of dough mixture and roll into balls. The dough may be very soft, so sometimes it is easier to roll the dough balls if the bowl of dough is chilled for about 15 minutes first. 
• Place the cookie dough balls on a prepared cookie sheet and bake for 24 minutes, be careful not to over bake and dry out cookies.
• Place on wire rack to cool.

Note: This recipe will make about 36-40 cookies. We bake a dozen at at time, and freeze pre-formed balls of cookie dough on a tray. Once the dough is frozen I put them in a ziplock bag and bake as needed.

Original recipe modified from www.makeitdough.com

Sweet 'n Tart Lemon Bars

We still have lots of lemons on the tree from this year's harvest, and I'm still busy coming up with tasty recipes to use them. These lemons are so large and juicy, I only needed 2 of them to get enough juice for these delicious lemon bars.

Ingredients:
Crust
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) of very cold salted butter, cut up into small cubes

Filling
1½ cup sugar
¼ cup flour
4 large eggs
Zest of 2 or 3 large lemons
¾ cup of fresh lemon juice
Powdered Sugar, for sifting on top

Directions:
Crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan generously with butter. More is better here.

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Add in the cubes of cold butter and use a pastry cutter to mix it until it's the consistency of coarse sand. Press the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until golden around the edges, about 20 to 25 minutes. Allow the crust to cool for about 10 minutes.

Filling: Stir together the sugar and flour. Add the eggs, one at at time and whisk until totally combined with the sugar and flour. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix thoroughly. Pour the filling over the cooled crust and bake an additional 20-25 minutes until set.

Allow to cool for 30 minutes and then refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

I find it much easier to cut them into squares when using a dough scraper/chopper like this, or a spatula with a sharp edge. I dip the edge into warm water before each cut, and this helps keep the crust from crumbling along the edges.

Cut the bars into 1½" to 2" squares, and then sift confectioner's powdered sugar over the top before serving.

Yield: 24 to 30 depending on the way you cut them

Santa's Thumbprint Cookies ~ Galletas de Huellas Digitales de Santa

Every year the community hosts a Christmas Party for the poor children in Atenas. A Christmas tree is put up and decorated with paper Angels. The back of each Angel lists an age and what the child wants for Christmas. This year there were over 300 angels on the tree and folks in the community took Angels off the tree to buy presents. Tomorrow is the annual Angel Party for all the children. There will be pizza and refreshments and Santa will be on hand to pass out present to everyone. I volunteered to make cookies for the event this year. I decided to make Santa's Thumbprint cookies, but I wanted the filling to be something special that Latin Children love. So, instead of Raspberry or Strawberry jam, I used Guayaba (guava jelly); a staple here everyone enjoys.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup guayaba (guava) jam or jelly

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter 2 large baking sheets.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to blend.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 2 additions and beat just until moist clumps form. Gather the dough together into a ball.

Pinch off the dough to form 1-inch balls. Place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing 1-inch apart. Use your floured index finger or 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon to create depressions in the center of each ball. Fill each indentation with nearly 1/2 teaspoon of the jam mixture. Bake until golden brown, about 20-22 minutes.

Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Yield: About 2½ dozen cookies

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe has been a family favorite cookie recipe since back in the 50's. It's so easy to change these up, by just changing the type of nuts. They are always a big hit.

Ingredients:
¾ cup brown sugar, well packed
¾ cup white sugar
1 cup butter softened (2 sticks)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole rolled oats
1 cup chopped nuts – almonds, pecans, walnuts, or macadamia (optional)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a small bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt and set it aside. I use a fork to blend the dry ingredients.  Cream the sugars and the butter until well mixed. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and mix well. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in, by hand, the oatmeal, chocolate chips and nuts until well blended.  Drop rounded tablespoons full of cookie dough on a cookie sheet. If you have a melon ball scoop, this will work very well. Bake the cookies 15 minutes for chewy cookies and 17-18 minutes for crispy cookies. Between batches, I store the dough in the refrigerator. I think the cold dough cooks better than when kept at room temperature.

You can also roll the dough into balls to store them in the freezer until you are ready to bake. When you are ready to bake, you will need to add an extra minute or two to compensate for the frozen dough.

Yield:  approximately 6 dozen

Updated 3-December-2016

Variation:  If you want some yummy Chocolate Chip Coconut Oatmeal Cookies, reduce the white sugar to a ½ cup, and add 1 cup of shredded coconut in place of the nuts.

Ginger Snaps

So, yesterday a friend called saying she couldn't find any ginger in our local grocery stores. I had stock piled lots of herbs and spices in vacuumed sealed bags to bring with us when we moved to Costa Rica. Consequently, I have a better collection of fine herbs and spices than can be found locally. I located the ground ginger for my friend and when I opened it to get some for her, it made me hungry for Ginger Snaps.

I searched online until I found a recipe listing ingredients I had on hand, but knew the dark molasses was going to be a challenge. Here in Costa Rica, they sell unrefined brown sugar cakes called "Tapa de Dulce". This is crude sugar cane juice that is cooked down until it caramelizes. Then it's poured into wooden molds and left to cool and setup into brown sugar cakes. I decided the "Tapa de Dulce" would be perfect for making molasses. I melted the "Tapa de Dulce" with an equal part of water and let it simmer until it reached the consistency of syrup. The flavor is amazing. I let this cool and stored it in the refrigerator overnight and today I made Ginger Snaps with the following recipe:


INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup homemade or store bought molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar for decoration

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt and baking soda into a medium bowl. Run a fork through the mixture to make sure the ingredients are well blended and sift it a second time.

3. In another medium bowl, cream together the shortening and butter. Add the cup of sugar and beat it until smooth. Beat in the egg and molasses until it's well blended. Gradually add in the sifted flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda and salt to the mixture of shortening, butter, sugar, eggs and molasses until you have a smooth soft dough. Roll 1 inch balls of dough between you hands and dip each ball into the remaining cinnamon sugar. Place the coated dough balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

4. Bake about 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool for a couple of minutes on the cookies sheet and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: Reduce the cooking time for chewy cookies or increase the time for crispy cookies.

This recipe will yield about 3 dozen 3" cookies.

Oatmeal Raisin Spice Cookies in a Jar (Healthier Version)

This was originally a high calorie "Cookie Mix in a Jar" which I modified for a healthier alternative.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup Splenda
3/4 cup raisins
2 cups oats, rolled (raw)
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Smart Balance Buttery Spread, very soft, not melted
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla, optional
1 tablespoon honey, optional

Directions:
If this is not a gift, use your hands to thoroughly mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

* If this is a gift, see the instructions at the end of the recipe.

Add the remaining ingredients in the order listed and mix until completely blended. You will need to finish mixing with your hands.

Shape into balls the size of large walnuts. Place 2" apart on a sprayed baking sheets.

Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. Cool 3 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to racks to finish cooling.

Store cooled cookies in a air tight container. The cookies don't contain sufficient natural preservatives to keep them fresh for much more than a day or two. They can be wrapped tightly and frozen to preserve them longer. They are delicious and crispy cold from the freezer.

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* If this is for a "Cookie Mix in a Jar" gift, mix the cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt with the flour. Then, layer all the dry ingredients in the order given in a 1 quart "wide mouth" canning jar. It will be a tight fit. Press each layer firmly in place before adding next ingredient.

Create a label for the jar with the following instructions:

1. Empty jar of cookie mix into a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to thoroughly blend mix.

2. Add the following:

• - 3/4 cup of very soft Smart Balanced buttery spread.
• - 1 egg, slightly beaten
• - 1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
• - 1 tbsp. honey (optional)

3. Mix until completely blended. You will need to finish mixing with your hands.

4. Shape into balls the size of large walnuts. Place 2" apart on a sprayed baking sheets.

5. Bake at 350 for 9 to 11 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. Cool 3 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to racks to finish cooling.

6. Store cooled cookies in a air tight container. The cookies don't contain sufficient natural preservatives to keep them fresh for more than a day or two. They can wrapped tightly and frozen to preserve them longer. They are delicious and crispy cold from the freezer.

Yield: 2 dozen

Nutritional Info:
* Fat: 7.1g
* Carbohydrates: 18.5g
* Calories: 138.5
* Protein: 2.2g

Originally posted 11/22/07

Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies

This recipe was demonstrated on the Paula Deen show on the Food Network. These cookies can be made, start to finish, in about 15 minutes and they almost melt in your mouth.

Ingredients:
1 cup Peanut Butter (creamy or chunky)
1 cup Splenda sweetner
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla


Directions:
Mix the four ingredients together. (Notice no flour is used in this recipe.) Roll them into balls about the size of a walnut and place them on a cookie sheet. Use a fork to press them down a bit an leave the decorative imprint of the fork tines. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes until they start to turn golden brown.

Yield: 1 dozen cookies

Nutritional Information: Per Cookie: 167 Calories; 11g Fat (59.5% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 18mg Cholesterol; 138mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.


Originally posted 1/14/09

Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients:
2/3 Cup flour (exactly)
1/4 tsp salt
14 ounces sweetened flaked coconut, 1 bag
1 can sweetened condensed milk (do not use evaporated milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Mix flour salt and coconut well. Pour entire can of sweetend condensed milk (scraping the inside well) over this with the vanilla extract. Mix well until no flour can be seen. Drop by teaspoon full onto parchment teaspoon full onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Make minutes at 350 degrees. Make sure to use parchment paper as the cookies will stick to wax paper and/or the plain cookie sheet.

Originally posted 1/08/08

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies

Ingredients:
16 ounces cream cheese
1 egg
3 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
2 packages premade chocolate chip cookie dough

Directions:
Cut up 1 package of premade cookies in 1/2" pieces and press into bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Mix egg, sugar, vanilla and cream cheese together. Spread cream cheese mixture over chocolate chip cookie dough. Cut up the other chocolate chip cookie dough and cover cream cheese mixture, to form a top.

Bake at 350* for 1/2 hour

Originally posted 1/08/08