Potato Chip Cookies

I actually got this recipe from the Martha Stewart Living magazine but you can find it on her website as well. I forgot to put the nuts in and I didn't buy a big enough bag of chips so I had to use some tortilla chips as well.

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

4 cups coarsely crushed salted potato chips (about 10 ounces), divided

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375.
Mix flour, b soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugars in the mixer for about 2 minutes then add vanilla and eggs one at a time until just mixed.
Add the flour mix to the butter in 2 additions while mixer is off and get ready for flour to spray everywhere.
Add about half of the chips and mix just til combined.
Take tablespoon-sized balls of dough and roll them in the other half of the crushed potato chips and spread them between 3 baking sheets.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until brown.

I also put chocolate chips on one of the trays just to see how that would taste. Next time I want to put sea salt in the chips that you roll the dough in to make them extra salty.

Salted Black Sesame Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I've been meaning to try this recipe for weeks now. I found it via Taste Spotting on Joy The Baker's Blog. Soy sauce in a cookie? With black sesame seeds? Yes please!!

Next time I'm going to use a full tsp of soy sauce- at least- because I really didn't taste anything with just 3/4 tsp. The black sesame seeds are fun- something a little unusual. Marie found them at Whole Foods in the International isle. For the chocolate I cut up the body of a medium-sized dark chocolate bunny that my aunt Barbie gave me for Easter, but I saved the head for later. Thanks Barb!! This dough was supposed to be fridged for 45 mins before baking- in my world that means in the freezer for about 10 mins while I wash the dishes. Same difference. And mine took more like 15-18 mins to bake, we liked them more golden.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 to 1 teaspoon soy sauce (don’t be scared)
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
1 cup dark chocolate chips

about 1/4 cup black sesame seeds for rolling and a few of shakes of coarse sea salt for topping

Method:

Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside and we’ll preheat the oven after we chill the dough.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the butter mixture with a spatula. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat on medium speed until mixture is fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and soy sauce. Stop the mixer and add the dry ingredients, all at once to the butter mixture. Beat on low speed until just combined. Stop the mixer, add the sesame seeds and chocolate chunks, and fold together with a spatula until well combined. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes. (Or 15 mins in the freezer like the impatient baker that you are).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place about 1/4 cup black sesame seeds in a small bowl with some sea salt.

Scoop cookie dough by the heaping tablespoonful into your hand. Roll into a ball, and toss around in the black sesame seeds. The dough balls don’t need to be completely covered in seeds, just coated well. Place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for about 12 minutes (or longer if you want them more golden), until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven, allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container. Cookies will last for a day or two. The oils on the seeds can tend to go rancid. These cookies are best eaten within a few days. That shouldn’t be much trouble!

America's Test Kitchen: Salty Oatmeal Cookies

So these are some of the best cookies I've ever made. Of course it's an America's Test Kitchen recipe, they pretty much always have the best recipes. They don't put any raisins in these but I actually think they would be really good with raisins, golden raisins, or currants.

INGREDIENTS

1 C unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces)
3/4 Tsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp baking soda
1/4 Tsp table salt
14 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks), softened but still cool, about 65 degrees
1 C granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1/4 C packed light brown sugar (1 3/4 ounces)
1 large egg
1 Tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 C old-fashioned rolled oats (see note)
1/2 Tsp coarse sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

2. In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars at medium-low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute longer. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. Add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl again. With mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated and smooth, 10 seconds. With mixer still running on low, gradually add oats and mix until well incorporated, 20 seconds. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.

3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons (or use #30 cookie scoop), then roll between palms into balls. Place cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 1/2 inches apart, 8 dough balls per sheet (see note above). Using fingertips, gently press each dough ball to 3/4-inch thickness. Lightly sprinkle sea salt evenly over flattened dough balls before baking.

4. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are deep golden brown, edges are crisp, and centers yield to slight pressure when pressed, 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely on sheet.