Cooking With Gogi » cookies

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CRACKERS

Cooking With Gogi — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:05:32 +0000

WOW! Here is an easy snack! I was just talking to my friend Barb in Georgia and she gave me this recipe. Just follow the simple directions.

box of Ritz crackers

jar of peanut butter

chocolate chips

Melt chocolate chips in double boiler VERY CAREFULLY. While melting chocolate spread peanut butter between Ritz crackers making little sandwiches/cookies.

Dip each little sandwich/cookie into melted chocolate. Remove and let cool on waxed paper.

This is sure to be a hit with both the young and old!!!! Thanks Barb for this quick and easy recipe.

You all enjoy,

Gogi

COOKIE PIZZA

Cooking With Gogi — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:28:10 +0000

I just finished making the crust for a cookie pizza. I took a package of sugar cookie mix from the cupboard, mixed as directed and spread it on an ungreased round pizza pan and baked according to directions. It is cooling now and later I will put the topping on it.

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts

Mix together first 3 ingredients and spread on cooled crust. Sprnkle peanuts over top. Take chocolate ice cream or carmel topping and drizzle across the top. Makes a great snack or dessert for family or company. Refrigerate leftovers.

If you are going to eat this right away, slice some granny apples, dip in lemon juice and scatter across the top of pizza before adding the topping. I prefer not to unless I know it is going to be used right away because the apples might not look so great after a while even if you dipped them.

Enjoy,

Gogi

QUICK OATIES

Cooking With Gogi — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:20:48 +0000

Combine 1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cuup brown ssugar

2 unbeaten eggs

Sift together

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Add to creamed mixture above.

Then add to that mixture

1 cup coconut

1 cup oats

i tsp. vanilla

Drop from a spoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

This is a really quick and inexpensive recipe to make. You can add raisins, nuts, cranraisins, or any other cut up dried fruits or just leave it plain.

LIKE I ALWAYS SAY- BE CREATIVE!!!

Gogi

MOLASSES BUTTERBALL COOKIES

Cooking With Gogi — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:07:53 +0000

1 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup molasses

2 cup flour

2 cup chopped walnuts

powdered sugar

Bake 325 degrees for 20 minutes.

Roll into approx 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Remove from oven to rack and cool. Roll in powdered sugar.

I do not know where this recipe came from but I have had it for a very loooooooooong time!. It is great.

Gogi

EASY MACAROONS

Cooking With Gogi — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:35:00 +0000

2 8 ounce pkgs. shredded coconut

1 15 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp. vanilla

Mix ingedients. Drop from teaspoon onto well greased cookie sheet (or use brown paper liner). Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly and remove from pan to rack. Bake at 350 degrees. Makes about 4 dozen.

This is certainly an easy recipe and very, very good. This was given to me by a friend, Judy Boyd, who moved away a few years ago to North Carolina. We miss her but still get to taste her wonderful recipe.

Thanks Judy.

Enjoy

Gogi

PEANUT BUTTER CRISPIES

Cooking With Gogi — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:21:14 +0000

Here is a quick recipe for you to fix for the kids or the kids to fix for themselves!!

1 cup sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

Cook above for 4 minutes.

Stir in 6 cups corn flakes.

Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.

Cool and serve!!

You could add gumdrops, candy corn, marshmallows or whatever to this mixture.

Have fun

Gogi

AUNT HELEN'S BANANA OATMEAL COOKIES

Cooking With Gogi — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:37:05 +0000

This recipe was given to me by my Aunt Helen Childress. She was one who took a lot after my grandmother Mary Ann when it came to baking. She made some of the most scrumptious caramel rolls and cream pies. After my husband and I went shopping on a Friday night, he would say I do believe I smell cream pies in the air. Aunt Helen probably has pies in the kitchen just waiting for us to come. Sure enough, we would turn the car in that direction and head toward her house. When we arrived at her doorstep, we were not disappointed. She would have the most beautiful, big, wonderful pies you ever laid your eyes on setting there on the table. She would also have a great plate of homemade cookies. What a treat!

One of her good recipes I want to share with you is her banana oatmeal date cookies.

2-3 bananas

1 cup chopped dates

1/3 cup oil

½ cup chopped nuts

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg beaten

2 cups oatmeal

Mash bananas, add oil and eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls (your choice of size) and bake at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy just like we used to when we made a visit to Aunt Helen’s kitchen!

Look for Aunt Helen’s chocolate pie recipe to follow soon.

Gogi

BAKED PRETZEL COOKIES

Cooking With Gogi — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:00:46 +0000

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

HOW DOES YOUR COOKIE CRUMBLE? Part 6 of 6

Cooking With Gogi — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:57:39 +0000

PART 6

Congratulations!!! You have just read 5 of the series of 6 tips on how to become the COOKIE QUEEN. Once you have put them in your memory bank, they will just automatically pop up when you pull the recipe/s out to make cookies.

LEAVENING. The last part of this series, #6, like all the rest is of major importance. In most cookie recipes, baking powder or baking soda provide puffiness. Without this leavening, the cookies would be hard and dry instead or light and flaky. Adding leavening is another way of incorporating air in the dough.

Baking powder and baking soda contain an alkaline and an acid that react when they get wet. The reaction forms carbon dioxide gas, which expands in the hot oven and fills the cookie with tiny air pockets. The pockets remain after the cookies are baked, creating light, tender cookies.

Double-acting baking powder is the most common leavening. It contains cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda and salt. It starts to react as soon as it comes in contact with moisture, though the majority of the leavening occurs in heat. This double action ensures that baking powder is effective even if the cookies aren’t baked immediately. BAKING POWDER DOUGHS CAN BE REFRIGERATED OR FROZEN.

Some recipes call for a small amount of baking soda in addition to baking powder. In most cases, baking powder is used in recipes that contain an additional acid such as buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt or molasses. However, baking soda starts to produce gas as soon as it is wet, so BAKING SODA COOKIES SHOULD BE BAKED IMMEDIATELY AFTER MIXIING.

Remember to follow directions EXACTLY!! Do not add a little bit more of this or that because you think it will enhance the cookie. It just doesn’t work. The only place I have added a little bit more of this or that is in the nuts and other goodie parts of the recipe. I like whatever I am adding to the dough to be very visible and exciting.

Please continue to watch my blog. I will continue to have some tried and true everyday recipes for you to master as well as enjoy. There is nothing more satisfying than to be able to prepare food for family and friends and watch them enjoy it.

Gogi

HOW DOES YOUR COOKIE CRUMBLE? Part 4 of 6

Cooking With Gogi — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:46:24 +0000

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