Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

 10minutes @ 350F on parchment lined cookie sheet. about 50 cookies

Preblend dry ingredients

• 3 c flour
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt

Then mix in and set aside

• 1 c. chocolate chips
• 1 c. chopped nuts

Cream together

• 3/4 c. sugar (need this amount or not very sweet)
• 3/4 c. brown sugar (need this amount or not very sweet)

Then mix in

• 2 lightly beaten eggs
• 1 t. vanilla

Then mix in dry ingredients. Drop small spoonfuls onto cookie sheet to make about 1" cookies. Bigger cookies take longer to bake.

Gingerbread Cookies, soft, delicious!

12minutes@350F. Parchment lined cookie sheet. About 60-80 one-inch cookies

Pre-blend dry ingredients

• 3 c. flour (I increased the flour because I like soft cookies)
• 2 t. baking soda
• 1 t. cinnamon
• ½ t. dried ginger
• ½ t. salt

Cream together

• ¾ c. soft butter
• ½ c. brown sugar
• ½ c. white sugar

Then mix in

• ¼ c. molasses
• 2 T. water (might try adding as molasses next time but the flavor balance is very nice.)

Then mix in dry ingredients

Put in refrigerator overnight. Then shape into one-inch discs before baking.

ref: https://www.lovefromtheoven.com/wprm_print/gingerbread-cookies

Peppernuts (Pfeffernusse) delicate flavor with a slight bite. Soft cookie

Parchment covered cookie sheet. 10-15 minutes @350F. About 80 one-inch cookies

Preblend dry ingredients

• ·      3 c. flour
• ·        1.5 t. baking soda
• ·        1.5 t. cinnamon
• ·        1 t. ground ginger
• ·        ½ t. ground anise (I grind the whole seeds before measuring and adding)
• ·        ½ t. ground cardamom
• ·        ½ t. ground clove
• ·        ½ t. nutmeg
• ·        ½ t. white pepper (my other recipe used black pepper)

Then mix in and set aside

• ·        2 c. chopped walnuts

Cream together

• ·        1 c. soft butter
• ·        1.5 c. brown sugar (Some recipes use molasses but not this one)

Then mix in

• ·        2 lightly beaten eggs
• ·        1 t. lemon zest

Then mix in dry ingredients. Pretty sticky. Put in fridge and let it sit overnight.

Then shape into flat about 1” discs and bake. Let cool and set up on parchment covered cookies sheet.

 

Ref: https://bakerbettie.com/wp-json/mv-create/v1/creations/98/print plus other recipes

(Our internet was down so typed recipe in on offline program and now I have crazy double dots.)

 

Spicy Oatmeal Raisin -

12 minutes@ 350F, let sit on parchment lined cookie sheet till cool so they firm up.

Preblend dry ingredients

• 1.5 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Then mix into dry ingredients and set aside

• 3 c. rolled oats
• 1-2 c. raisins  (I just added the whole box so I wouldn't have it sitting around.)

Cream together

• 1 c. soft butter 
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. white sugar

Then add

• 2 lightly beaten eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix in dry ingredients, then use teaspoon to drop dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet to make about 1 inch or so cookies. Bigger ones will take longer to bake.

Nicely flavored, chewy cookie.

ref: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/10497/beths-spicy-oatmeal-raisin-cookies

2024 Christmas Cookies

 Here's a list of this year's Christmas Cookies

• Spicy Oatmeal Raisin 
• Peppernuts (Pfeffernusse)
• Gingerbread
• Chocolate Chip
• Lemon Meltaway 
• Mexican Wedding 
• Snickerdoodles
• Peanut butter
• Coconut macaroons
• Chocolate covered peanut butter balls
• Rice Krispie treats

Clove Cough drops (not yet fine tuned)

Prep cookie sheet that has a lip by lining with parchment paper.

Put about 1/4"-1/2" layer of

• Powdered sugar or cornstarch (Can reuse multiple times to make drops)

Pat smooth, then make indentations about 1/2" x 3/4". I used then handle of a kitchen tool. Small cough drops are nicer than big ones. Then set aside.

In very large, flat-bottomed mixing bowl place and stir to blend

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 t. honey
• 1 t. lemon zest
• 1/4 t. ground cloves

Start microwaving in short hits. Microwave to hard crack stage. Usually happens very quickly after small ball forms when a drop is dropped in ice water. Try to catch it before mixture starts to darken. Watch for foaming. Can foam 10-20 times it original height. Honey seems to foam higher than sugar/water combo. Mix and scrape down sides with silicone high temperature scraper or metal spoon. My microwave times for this batch.

• 1'
• 2' (stirred to dissolve sugar)
• 2' (thicker, bubbles)
• 1' (double size foam)
• 1' (soft ball, thicker. - takes forever for heat to leave drop, may drop on ice next time?)
• 30" (started to crystallize, so I cooked it a little too far.)

Tilt bowl on side so you have a nice puddle of liquid. Scrape down sides into puddle or stuff will harden on sides of bowl. Careful. It's hot! Use a smaller teaspoon/dessert spoon to spoon mixture into powdered sugar indentations on cookie sheet. Let cool. I stick it in the freezer.

This variation melted in the mouth like sugar cubes. 

Soaking in hot water cleans equipment relatively easily

Objective:

I wanted a simple recipe with few ingredients so started out with just using honey, lemon juice, and cloves. Cough drops were very sticky and stuck to my teeth. I also wanted to cook it in the microwave and I don't have a candy thermometer. It appears that more honey results in a very sticky cough drop. 

My next variation I plan to not use lemon zest because I don't like the little bits. Instead I will substitute lemon juice for the water. Eventually I want to find the optimum combination of honey/sugar. Sugar melts in your mouth like a sugar cube and is not sticky. I'd also like to try a bit of oil to see if it adds smoothness to the cough drop.

ref:

• https://www.tastyeverafter.com/honey-lemon-ginger-cough-drops/
• https://www.mrrl.org/blog-entry/diy-cough-drops

Sourdough FlatBread with active starter or discard

In a larger flat bottom bowl with cover

Cut in

• 1.5 T. butter into
• 1 C. white flour 

Then mix in

• 1/2 C. Sourdough starter or discard
• 1/4 C. liquid
• 1 t. salt

Knead till it feels right. Add some flour if it's too sticky. 

Then let sit till it doubles or you have time to get around to it. Sometimes I mix in the morning, then bake either at night or the next day.

Divide into 10 balls. Pat into flattish discs. (Can flour hands to keep dough from sticking to hands if it is sticky.) Then roll each disc out to about a small plate/ saucer size on floured surface. Any bigger and they are hard to put into hot pan. It's ok if they have flour on them because it keeps them from sticking together before you bake them.

Use a cast iron pan or griddle and heat up past the point where water drops dance on it. (Hotter than the  temperature that you cook pancakes.) Do not use any other type of pan besides cast iron. Temperature is very high and could wreck other pans. Try not to burn youself.

Most recipes say to oil your pan. However I think it might work without oiling pan due to the flour on the rolled out flatbread. 

Place 1 raw flatbread onto/into cast iron pan/griddle. Watch for bubbles to appear on surface. It will start to set up and look dry. Maybe 30 seconds to a minute depending on how hot your pan is. Flip over and cook other side. Doesn't take long. Cook all flat breads till done.

At this point I put in one layer on pans in freezer. Once frozen, I put in a bag to take out and heat as needed.

In the past I've also used this recipe to make 4 small dense biscuits. They were tasty but I use flatbread more.

Recipes I used to come up with this one:

• https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/easy-sourdough-flatbread/
• https://documentingsimpleliving.com/sourdough-flatbread-recipe/
• https://www.melskitchencafe.com/easy-sourdough-flatbread/
• https://simplicityandastarter.com/sourdough-flatbread-recipe/
• https://simplicityandastarter.com/sourdough-flatbread-recipe/