Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring...not even a mouse...therefore, the logical thing to do was to make cookies...to wake up the fam and even the mouse! The result was two of my favorite cookies...great at any time of the year!
BONUS: Check out the randomized, controlled study on cookie freshness at the end of this post!
Cookie #1: Oatmeal Raisin
Ingredients (About 4 dozen cookies)
*1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
*1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
*1/2 cup granulated sugar
*2 eggs
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
*1 teaspoon baking soda
*1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
*About 2 cups raisins (I like to mix golden and black raisins)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat together butter and sugar until creamy (mixer or by hand, but if doing by hand, make sure the butter is soft).
3. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
5. Add the combined flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well.
6. Stir in oats and dried fruit until well combined.
7. Drop tablespoonfuls of the batter onto a cookie sheet (you could line it with parchment paper for easy clean-up).
8. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Store in an airtight container.*
*Check out the controlled experiment at the end of this post about how to keep cookies fresh!
Cookie #2: White Chocolate Cranberry
This recipe was passed on from my Aunt Joan and they are delicious!
Ingredients (About 3 dozen cookies)
*2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
*1 teaspoon baking powder
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1/8 teaspoon baking soda
*1/2 cup butter, softened
*1 1/3 cups sugar
*2 large eggs
*1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
*About 1 1/2 cups sweetened, dried cranberries ( we added half dried cranberries and half dried cherries)
Directions
1. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the butter at a medium speed with an electric mixer or by hand until creamy. Stir in sugar slowly and beat well.
3. Add the eggs, 1 at a time.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture gradually and beat until just blended. Stir in the white chocolate and dried fruit.
5. Drop tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or cooking spray.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom. (Note: The tops of the cookies remain white). Cool and enjoy! :)
Topic: Cookie Freshness
Independent Variable: Lemon Peel
Dependent Variable: Cookie Freshness
Hypothesis: Lemon peel placed in an airtight container with cookies will keep cookies moist and fresh without adding a lemon taste longer than control cookies.
Methods: 2 standard size, tupperware containers were filled with oatmeal raisin cookies. In 1 container, the peel of 1/3 of a lemon was placed. Cookies were allowed to sit several days (note possible confound: most cookies were eaten before experimenters could test results).
Subjects: 48 unsuspecting oatmeal raisin cookies
Results: Pending...
Conclusion:
Notes: Cookie freshness was evaluated by our expert panel pictured below.
*1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
*1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
*1/2 cup granulated sugar
*2 eggs
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
*1 teaspoon baking soda
*1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
*About 2 cups raisins (I like to mix golden and black raisins)
Directions1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat together butter and sugar until creamy (mixer or by hand, but if doing by hand, make sure the butter is soft).
3. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
5. Add the combined flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well.
6. Stir in oats and dried fruit until well combined.
7. Drop tablespoonfuls of the batter onto a cookie sheet (you could line it with parchment paper for easy clean-up).
8. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Store in an airtight container.*
*Check out the controlled experiment at the end of this post about how to keep cookies fresh!
This recipe was passed on from my Aunt Joan and they are delicious!
Ingredients (About 3 dozen cookies)
*2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
*1 teaspoon baking powder
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1/8 teaspoon baking soda
*1/2 cup butter, softened
*1 1/3 cups sugar
*2 large eggs
*1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
*About 1 1/2 cups sweetened, dried cranberries ( we added half dried cranberries and half dried cherries)
Directions1. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the butter at a medium speed with an electric mixer or by hand until creamy. Stir in sugar slowly and beat well.
3. Add the eggs, 1 at a time.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture gradually and beat until just blended. Stir in the white chocolate and dried fruit.
5. Drop tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or cooking spray.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom. (Note: The tops of the cookies remain white). Cool and enjoy! :)
*EXPERIMENT: COOKIE FRESHNESS: A Randomized Clinical Trial by 51 Porter (note: experimenters were not blinded)
Independent Variable: Lemon Peel
Dependent Variable: Cookie Freshness
Hypothesis: Lemon peel placed in an airtight container with cookies will keep cookies moist and fresh without adding a lemon taste longer than control cookies.
Methods: 2 standard size, tupperware containers were filled with oatmeal raisin cookies. In 1 container, the peel of 1/3 of a lemon was placed. Cookies were allowed to sit several days (note possible confound: most cookies were eaten before experimenters could test results).
Subjects: 48 unsuspecting oatmeal raisin cookies
Results: Pending...
Conclusion:
Notes: Cookie freshness was evaluated by our expert panel pictured below.
for now, i will say that i am excited to see the results of the freshness experiment...but what i'd really like to see is video commentary by Dragon and Nighthawk...kthnxbye
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