Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

"There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love chocolate, and communists." - Leslie Moak Murray

I can't help but love that quote. When I was a kid, my grandpa always called any store bought cookies that somehow made it into the house "Commie cookies." For him, it was Grandma's homemade cookies or none at all.

There's just something special about homemade cookies, especially chocolate chip cookies, so far as I'm concerned. It's a great family activity, something even children can help with, and everyone loves eating the results.

Here's an easy recipe for chocolate chip cookies I think you'll enjoy:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 package butter pecan, chocolate chip, chocolate fudge, devil's food, German, chocolate or yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup  butter or margarine -- softened
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup  chopped nuts
• 1 (6 ounce) package  semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)

Heat oven to 350º. Combine half of the dry cake mix , butter, vanilla and eggs in large bowl and mix until smooth. Stir in remaining cake mix, nuts and chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set (centers will be soft). Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Bake Up Some Cookies For Family Fun

There's lots of reasons parents are baking with their kids these days. The delicious result is of course on the list. But more importantly, baking with children is a great way to spend time with them and to teach them things at the same time you're all having fun. 

Baking cookies with any or all of your children is a naturally fun activity. Cookies are portable, sweet and fun to make. They can be made in stages if time is tight-prepare the dough in the evening and bake them the next morning. Older children can read the recipe and direct adults on what steps to take. Small children can roll the dough into balls and flatten it with a fork, similar to making peanut butter cookies. There's enough fun to go around for everyone. 

What makes your cookies even better is to add corn starch to the dough. In fact, many recipes for baked goods from the early 20th century used corn starch in conjunction with flour. Bakers found very early on that corn starch gave biscuits, muffins, cakes, shortcakes, pie crusts and most notably cookies a finer texture and more tender crumb when compared to recipes using flour alone. Recipe books produced then by the experts at Argo and Kingsford's Corn Starch bear this out. In fact, Argo, established in 1892, has offered their customers cookie recipes since its very early years.

Here's a recipe for Lemon Shortbread Cookies that's simple and delicious and should make for a batch of family fun.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

11/3 cups Argo or Kingsford's Corn Starch

2 cups butter or margarine

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

Makes six dozen

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat butter until softened. Add powdered sugar, beat until well combined. Add lemon peel and vanilla; beat well. In a medium bowl, stir together flour and corn starch; add to mixture and beat well.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls (kids will love this). Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Press tines of a fork atop each ball to make subtle design. Bake about 15 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

An Easy Christmas Cookie Recipe For Kids

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

DIRECTIONS:

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and extracts. Combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Chill for at least 1 hour. On a surface lightly sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, roll out the dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake at 350 degrees F for 7-8 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown.

You can sprinkle cookies before or after baking with colored sugar to add a bit more holiday!

This recipe is used with permission from Best Christmas Cookie Recipes. For more yummy Christmas cookie recipes, please visit today.

Low-Sodium Chocolate Drop Cookies Recipe

I kid you not-these cookies are addictive!!

Cream together:

• 2-sticks of no-salt butter (softened)
• 1 1/2 cups of Brown Sugar
• 2-egg whites
• 1/8 cup of decaffeinated coffee (it enhances the chocolate)
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla
• 1/3 cup coco powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of No Sodium Baking Powder
• 1-teaspoon of No Sodium Baking Soda

Instruction:

• I use a hand mixer and blend all of this together until it is creamy. Slowly begin to add
• 2 3/4 cup of all purpose flour
• When everything is mixed together real good stir in 1/2 cup of semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
• Use a 1 inch scoop and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Pre-heat the oven on 350 degrees and cook 15 minutes.
• If you try this recipe, PLEASE leave a note in the guest book telling if your liked them or not. Enjoy!!

Sugar Cookies Recipe

I purchased a container of Creme Brule sugar from a local store that has four different flavors-one including a buttered rum sugar. That is one I used for my recipe.

Ingredients

Cream Together:

• 1 stick butter
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 1 Tablespoon of vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2-egg whites

Add:

• 1 teaspoon No-Sodium Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon No-Sodium Baking Powder
• 2 3/4 cup of All-Purpose Flour

Instructions

By using a hand-mixer be sure to mix this stiff dough until creamy. Use a 1 inch scoop and place the ball on a lined cookie sheet with parchment paper. Flatten and sprinkle with a flavored sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Bredele Recipe

Traditional Christmas cookies from regional France

Ingredients:

• 500 grams of flour
• 500 grams caster sugar
• 150 grams of crystallised orange peel finely chopped
• 250 grams finely ground almonds
• 250 grams of unsalted butter
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Method:

1. Sift the flour into a bowl
2. Soften the butter and add to the the other ingredients [not yet into the flour]
3. Mix it all well until the sugar and butter are smooth
4. Now add it into the flour
5. Mix all this until a smooth consistency but do not over mix!
6. The cookie dough will be quite firm now
7. If the dough seems too dry add a little more egg yolk
8. Let it sit in the refrigerator until quite firm but keep it covered so that it does not dry out.
9. After the dough has rested for a couple of hours [leave it overnight but wrap it in Clingfilm] bring it onto a clean and very lightly floured bench and roll it out to about 3 or 4 millimeters.
10. Cut out the shapes with Christmas cookie cutters
11. Lay the shapes onto a lightly buttered cookie tray
12. Brush the cookies with egg to make them golden and shiny.
13. Bake in a medium oven at about 180 degrees
14. Bring them out to cool as soon as they are a golden colour.
15. Try not to eat them all at once!

Rose Cranberry Drop Cookies Recipe

I called the original recipe "Fairy Rose Cookies" because one day while I was making one of my Inspirational Faeries, this recipe came to me. I have altered it for Christmas and to be honest these cookies will melt in your mouth. They have become one of my favorite cookies. Enjoy!

Soak ¼ cup of Rose Petals in a ½ cup of warm water for 30 minutes.
Soak ¼ cup of Craisins (sweetened dried cranberries) in ½ cup of water for 30 minutes.

Chop the craisins in a coffee grater until they are real fine, set aside
Strain the Rose Petals, set water aside and again in the coffee grater chop the rose petals real fine.

Cream together:

• 1 stick of unsalted margarine (softened at room temperature)
• 1 stick of regular margarine (softened at room temperature)
• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 tablespoons of Rose Water

Mix in:

• Chopped Craisins
• Chopped Rose Petals
• ¼ cup of Mini Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Slowly Add:

2 cups of all purpose flour to mixture

Blend all of the ingredients together. Use a 1 inch cookie scoop and drop the cookie mix onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes until cookies are a light golden brown. Let them completely cool.

Make a Glaze: (optional)

½ cup of Powder sugar
1 to 1 ½ teaspoon of Rose Water
(You may have to add a few more drops of Rose Water, but start out with the smallest amount)

Put glaze into a zip lock baggie, snip a corner and drizzle over cooled cookies.

Save the rest of your Rose Water in the refrigerator, it will keep for a few days. Try adding it to noodles for a delicious taste.

Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This is our families secret chocolate chip recipe. We have a large family so this one makes over 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies. You can experiment with most cookie recipes to adjust to your own taste. Remenmber the more brown sugar you use the more chewy type cookie you create. I don't think this one needs much adjusting. First we will start with ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
• 1cup butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups yellow cake mix
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4cup sour cream
• 3 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions to cookie recipe.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate together.

3. Sift cake mix, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

4. In a large bowl, beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

5. Stir the chocolate mixture into the eggs.

6. Stir in the sifted ingredients with sour cream.

7. Mix in chocolate chips. 

8. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls cookie sheets.

9. Bake for until edges are starting to turn dark brown.

Enjoy these wonderful cookies at any occasion. They disappear very quickly at family events. You might notice my secret ingredient. It is the boxed yellow cake mix. Cake flour gives the cookie a little more body than the regular unbleached flour.You may use any of your favorite brands. If you are making smaller cookies don't forget that the baking time goes down. Many ovens produce heat from the bottom of the oven, so as not burn the bottom of the cookies many times I will double pan the cookies before I bake them. Baking is similar to a gigantic chemistry experiment. The best way to get the experiment right is to keep experimenting. Once you have found the best combinations of ingredients and procedures, stick with it. Enjoy!