This is something the kids would probably just love to help you bake. 

1 tube of refrigerated cookie dough (16 ½ ounces)

1/3 cup cocoa powder (not sweetened)

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Chocolate icing to dip cookie in:

¼ cup water

1 ½ cup powdered sugar

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix to consistency that will stick on cookies when dipped.

White icing dip:

¼ cup water

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Roll heaping teaspoons of dough one at a time into a ball.  On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 9 inch rope.  Form into pretzel right on an ungreased cookies sheet.  Place cookies two inches apart.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheet for one minute.  Move cookies to wire rack to cool.  Out a piece of waxed paper under the wire rack so when you are dipping and putting the cookies back on the rack to firm up, the excess icing will fall on the waxed paper.  Decorate with nonpareils, coconut, ground nuts or whatever you choose. 

Enjoy,

Gogi

PART 4

FLOUR

FLOUR is the foundation of the cookie, but the flavor should never be apparent when you taste the baked cookie.  Cookies with too much flour have a pasty taste and a tough dry texture

Most recipes call for all-purpose flour, which is a mixture of soft, low-gluten wheat and hard, high-gluten wheat.  The combination gives the flour just enough gluten to produce light, tender cookies without making them elastic, like bread. 

Some recipes specify using other types of flour, such as whole wheat or cake flour.  Whole wheat is more nutritious and nutty-tasting than all purpose flour because it includes bran and germ.  But too much bran and germ can make the cookies heavy and dry; even whole wheat cookies should contain at least ¼ cup of all purpose flour.  If the recipe doesn’t call for ¼ cup of all purpose flour plus the wheat flour, then subtract ¼ cup wheat flour and add ¼ cup of all purpose in its place.

CAKE FLOUR is made from very finely milled, low gluten wheat.  It produces the lightest, most tender results.  Cake flour is appropriate to use in cookies that undergo a lot of handling, such as those formed by pressing or rolling the dough.

Regardless of type of flour used, it should be added last and mixed as little as possible.  Overmixing the flour forces air out of the dough and created tough, hard cookies.

Few cookie recipes call for sifting the flour, but it should be carefully measured.  For accuracy, spoon flour lightly into the appropriate-sized measuring cup and scrape away the excess with the back of a knife.

Gluten- water soluble sticky protein- gives strength, structure, and cohesiveness to dough

Part four of six

                    PART 3                             

 Eggs

The protein in the eggs binds the dough together, and the moisture adds liquid.  Cookies that don’t contain any egg, such as shortbread, tend to be fragile and crumbly.  Cookies that contain lots of eggs, such as brownies and bars, tend to be puffy and cake-like. 

When recipes call for eggs, they usually mean the grade-A large variety.  The eggs are beaten into the butter and sugar mixture one at a time to keep the creamed mixture fluffy and to beat in the air.  Adding them all at once cuts down on beating time and makes the creamed mixture heavy.  Fresh eggs at room temperature hold the most air.  Eggs seldom need to be beaten before they are added to cookies.

Part three of six     

BUTTER, MARGARINE, OR SHORTENING

Most people don’t have a clue what makes a cookie crumble.  People love to eat them, but all too often their ideas about why one cookie is crisp and another is dry are pretty half-baked.  `All cookies begin with dough with the exception of macaroons, meringues, madelines, unbaked cookies or cake-like cookies. They begin with batters.

Understanding how each ingredient affects the dough is the first defense against cookie catastrophes.  It is also the best guarantee that your cookies will emerge like a county fair winner.

Butter, margarine, unsalted butter, solid shortening or lard is generally called for in a cookie recipe.  Usually they are interchangeable but each produces slightly different results.  Butter improves a cookie’s flavor, and margarine improves its texture.  Solid shortening creates soft, spongy cookies that stay soft for a long time but have little taste.  Lard creates flaky, slightly dry-texture cookies.  Butter cookies tend to burn easier and have a crisper texture.  If they are baked at too high a temperature they will develop a greasy film on the bottom.  

Many cookies have a combination of both butter and margarine which produces the best of both worlds.  Margarine makes the cookie hold its shape, and butter gives it that distinctive flavor.

Most recipes tell you to cream the butter, margarine or shortening.  This softens it and beats in air so that the cookie is lighter and fluffier.

There is a danger of overbeating, however — especially in warm, humid weather.  If the fat becomes too warm and soft, the dough loses its airiness and becomes greasy. The baked cookies are flat and flabby.

To avoid overbeating, the fat should be chilled before beginning to mix the dough.  Chilling the dough before the cookies are formed and baked also helps them retain their shape.

Avoid baking with shipped or diet margarine and whipped butter because they contain a high amount of water. Never substitute liquid fat for solid fat.  It just doesn’t work!!! 

Part one of 6

Watch for next tip!Gogi 

How do SUGAR and other SWEETENERS affect the way your cookies turn out?

Granulated sugar not only sweetens your dough but makes it soft if correct amounts are used.  If you use more than the recipe calls for, it can make your cookies brittle and glassy around the edges.

Brown sugar contains molasses.  It makes cookies darker, richer, and moist.  It can be substituted in most recipes.

Corn syrup produces a chewy cookie with a crisp exterior.

Molasses has a strong flavor, which is usually better tempered with other sweeteners.  Gingerbread cookies tend to be tough, hard, and dark.  This is an example of cookies made with molasses as a sweetener.

Honey (or molasses) can be used by themselves or with white or brown sugar.  Honey has a distinctive flavor and creates a chewy, moist texture.  When you substitute honey for sugar, use one third less honey and cut back on other liquids in the recipe.

1. ALL SWEETENERS should be added with the fat.  Creaming dissolves the sugar.  When mixture is fluffy, the begin adding the eggs and other liquids.