Serving This Week 7-6 To 7-10-2020
Come and see what I will be cooking up on Marilyns Treats this week!
This is what I featured the week of 7-6 to 7-10 on my blog. On Tuesday were Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Wednesday saw Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies. Thursday was Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies. And winding up this Cookie Week was my post, Tip Friday Freezing Cookie Dough. Enjoy!
If you missed what I served up last week please click Serving This Week 6-29 to 7-3-2020
Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies
These Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies are the best!
They are soft and light but yet maintain that bit of crunch around the edges.
The cookies do not fall apart. Even when you indulge yourself to dunk in a cold glass of water.
I use Nestle Toll House brand cocoa because it goes so well with their semi-sweet chocolate chunks. The coca flavors don’t compete or give off a bitter after taste.
The rest of this recipe is simply their famous Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.
I have been making these Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies for years now right along side my traditional chocolate chip cookies.
The image of the chocolate cookies intertwined with the chocolate chip cookie makes for a beautiful display on your dessert table.
Just imagine. A tall plate of mixed fudges on top. Then surrounding that platter, the table filled with all your Holiday baking favorites.
Cookies, bars, slices of pie and these cookies overflow the table. Enough to brighten anyones day.
Strategically place beverage containers of your favorite hot and cold selections sit on the corners of the display.
And there they are. Next to the milk your Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies are waiting to be chosen.
The only dilemma is this. Which do you choose first?
Well, in my home the answer is obvious. The Chocolate Chunk Cookies!
The image of the chocolate cookies intertwined with the chocolate chip cookie makes for a beautiful display on your dessert table. Just imagine. A tall plate of mixed fudges on top. Then surrounding that platter, the table filled with all your Holiday baking favorites.
Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
I have always loved to make Peanut Butter cookies but never actually ate them myself.
Until I found this recipe!
The recipe from my mother was dry and crumbly and tasted less like peanut butter and more like lard.
As a kid I often wondered if the criss cross fork marks made them dry.
But as I got older I realized it was indeed her recipe.
Now fast forward to now. I not only love to make the peanut butter cookies but I also love them. Especially with a glass of milk.
The soft and chewy texture of the cookie allows for the flavor of the peanut butter to shine through.
I sometimes use cocoa with a portion of the flour for a fresh and delicious taste.
The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is well received. My family loves it.
And they know when I walk through the door with an extra gallon of milk that it soon will be “cookie time!”
When holiday cookie baking turn around these Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter cookies are always included.
When ever you open a tin of cookies in my home the top three layers involve peanut butter in one way or form. Not only the plain cookies, but the chocolate battered peanut butter as well as the classic blossom batch.
And sometimes for a burst of extra flavor, I use a peanut butter Hershey’s kiss or dark chocolate dove candy.
You never know what to expect when you eat one of my peanut butter cookie varieties.
And these cookies are so easy to make that I have been baking with my granddaughter since she was 4!
She knows me so well. When I was recuperating from knee surgery she made them for me and brought me warm cookies and cold milk on a tray.
Start a family tradition next time you bake cookies. Just try using this recipe and I guarantee you will keep it front and center in your recipe box!!
The soft and chewy texture of these Peanut Butter Cookies allows for the flavor of the peanut butter to shine through.
Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
Who doesn’t love Chocolate Chip Cookies?
That dark chocolate mixed into just about the best batter on earth can’t be topped when you are baking these cookies.
I know you all have your own style of making chocolate chip cookies.
In my home we love a warm, soft and chewy cookie with just that perfect crispness around the edges.
I can’t believe I have never put these classic cookies on my blog!
Sometimes I even get volunteers to lick the bowl.
And the process of baking with my granddaughter teaches her all types of skills she can use as she has her own kitchen to cook in.
I guess since they are just such a classic cookie I never thought about mine being special enough to post.
Well today, after going through my recipe box I realized I needed to correct this omission.
When I am baking cookies my family perks up.
Once the aroma wafts through the kitchen and out into other areas of my home I know the family is coming to check out if there is a cooled batch on the counter.
I know them so well. I have already put glasses and a carton of ice cold milk at all their chairs.
I think this is one of the few times the kids are off their devices.
My son and daughter-in-law do much of their off site work from home.
And my granddaughter has discovered Facetime and Zoom.
She has to pick what she will spend her 2 hour daily screen time on, so she splits between HGTV for home rehabs and cooking. And then the rest of the time with her friends.
None of her classmates live close enough to have many play dates. And now with the fact we need to stay at home more she is thrilled to be allowed to visit them.
At her age we don’t allow her a phone. Maybe when she gets in high school.
While the family “tests” my first batch of warm chocolate chip cookies I get to carry on a real conversation.
It is amazing how good food can keep the family at the table and interacting.
And of course getting to eat a special treat doesn’t hurt.
This second batch of cookies cookies I incorporated walnuts. For those with nut allergies of course just skip that addition and choose another.
Nuts, especially those omega-3 heart-healthy walnuts (remember to store your walnuts in the refrigerator to maintain freshness) are a healthy way to make these chocolate chip cookies a bit more diet friendly.
And sometimes I use a chocolate batter. I have been known to mix up the chips between peanut butter, white chocolate or butterscotch.
All that is needed is to stir 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder into cookie dough and substitute white chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips.
I don’t recommend mixing them all together. That went a bit overboard and took away from the flavor of the individual chips.
I wonder what additions other cooks use when changing up their own classic recipe.
Any suggestions for me?
Tip Friday Freezing Cookie Dough
Did you know? Cookie dough can be made in advance of baking and frozen for up to three months.
An effective way to do this is to form it into logs for slice-and-bake cookies.
Form the dough into a log with the help of parchment or waxed paper, and store the logs in a large zip-top plastic bag before freezing.
Don’t thaw the cookie dough before baking, simply use a bench knife or sharp knife to cut as few or as many as you like. Place them on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet, and let them thaw while the oven is heating.
Rolled cookie dough keeps well when stored inside a zip-top freezer bag. Use a drinking straw to suck the air out of the bag before closing.
Once the cookies are frozen, they can be dropped into a zip-top storage bag and put back in the freezer. Take as few or as many as you like out of the freezer and let them thaw while your oven heats. This is a nice way to have more than one type of cookie on hand whenever you’d like a warm treat from the oven.
HOW LONG TO STORE COOKIES IN THE FREEZER
If you want to bake ahead but have limited storage space, the freezer can be a backup option! Check out our tips for freezing and storing options before you get too busy.
With proper storage, most cookies can be kept in the freezer for up to three months. The best way to store cookies depends on the type of cookie you’re baking. For example, chewy bars should be stored in a single layer in a covered airtight container. Most cookies, however, can be stored by stacking them in layers separated by wax paper and sealing them in a covered airtight container.
GREAT COOKIES FOR FREEZING
Bake ahead! Way ahead. Baked cookies and dough last two months in the freezer.
FREEZE STURDY COOKIES
If your cookies bake up sturdy and will stand up to being frozen, place the baked, unfrosted cookies in a freezer bag.
FREEZE SLICE AND BAKE COOKIES
For perfect slice-and-bake cookies anytime, wrap dough logs in plastic wrap and then foil.
FREEZE ROLLED COOKIES
Freezing perfectly portioned cookie dough is easy. Simply freeze dough balls on a cookie sheet. For storage, place frozen balls in a freezer bag.
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