Chapter 5

The Cookie Jar

Be a smart cookie, and bake up sweet treats from scratch!

Crispy Gingersnaps

Chocolate Chip Cookie Factory

Makes 2 dozen

Learn how to make this classic cookie so you can pack it in your lunchbox all week long. Be sure to bring extras to share with friends at the lunch table!

Here’s What You Need

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Here's What You Do

  1. 1. Stir the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
  2. 2. In a separate large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars with an electric mixer.
  3. 3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.
  4. 4. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  5. 5. Drop the batter by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets, using a cookie scoop or spoon. (Line the baking sheets with parchment paper for easier cleanup.)
  6. 6. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the cookies are just turning golden brown. Let them sit for 2 minutes, and then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Kitchen Creativity

Cookie Creativity

Awesome Oatmeal Cookies

Makes about 16 large cookies

Fill your cookie jar with these crispy, chewy, oh-so-delicious cookies. They are made with old-fashioned rolled oats, making them a healthy whole-grain treat!

Here’s What You Need

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Here's What You Do

  1. 1. Stir the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
  2. 2. In a separate large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Beat in the egg. Then mix in the vanilla.
  3. 3. Blend in the flour mixture, and then stir in the raisins and oats.
  4. 4. Drop the batter by tablespoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Leave at least 2 inches between the cookies because they will spread while baking.
  5. 5. Slightly flatten each cookie with the bottom of a wet glass.
  6. 6. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the cookies turn a golden brown on the edges. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes to set, and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Kitchen Creativity

Super Stir-Ins

Switch up the flavor of your Awesome Oatmeal Cookies by skipping the raisins and adding any of these instead. Try a couple of them together for an extra delicious treat.

Sweet & Simple Sugar Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen

This basic recipe can be rolled out and cut into lots of different shapes with cookie cutters. They taste best with cookie frosting and are lots of fun to decorate. Mix up the cookie dough, and then check out Mix & Match Cookie Craft for creative ways to shape and design your cookies.

Here’s What You Need

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Here's What You Do

  1. 1. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in the egg. Then mix in vanilla.
  2. 2. Slowly mix in the flour, and continue mixing until a soft dough forms.
  3. 3. Turn the dough out onto the countertop, and pat into two balls. Flatten each into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1⁄2 hour (or up to 4 days).
  4. 4. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Working with one disk at a time, roll out the dough about 1⁄8 inch thick.
  5. 5. Cut out cookies with cookie cutters, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
  6. 6. Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack. Store cooled cookies in a sealed container for up to 1 week.

Craving Cocoa?

Make chocolate cookies by adding 1⁄2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder in step 2.

Sugar Cookie Tricks

Use cold dough. For best results, cut shapes from cold cookie dough. If the dough is too soft, it will be hard to roll out and will stick to your cutters, and the cookies won’t hold their shape. If it starts to feel too soft as you’re working, pop it in the fridge for a few minutes.

Freeze the dough. Have too much dough? Store it in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake, just defrost, roll out, and cut into shapes.

Smooth rolling. Put the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper so it doesn’t stick while you roll it out. To flatten the dough evenly, roll the rolling pin back and forth a couple of times, then from side to side. The disk of dough should be not too thick or too thin — about 1⁄8 inch is just right.

Cutting shapes. Use the sharper side of the cutters to cut out your cookie shapes. Dip the cutters in flour if the dough sticks.

Give cookie dough enough space. When you put cookie dough on your cookie sheets, leave at least an inch or two between them. As the cookies bake, they will spread out.

Trace a template. Instead of cookie cutters, use the templates from the back of the book or cut your own out of cardstock. Place the template on the flattened dough, and trace around it with a paring knife.

Sweeten with a glaze! Place 1 cup confectioners’ sugar in a bowl, and stir in 2 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is thick but spreadable. Tint with a few drops of food coloring, if you’d like, and frost away! (Tip: For a thicker frosting, mix up a half batch of the Buttercream Frosting.)

Decorate! Once you’ve frosted or glazed your cookies, you can add rainbow or chocolate sprinkles or nonpareils. Or dust frosted cookies with colored sugar.

Toothpick trick. For a fun design, spread white glaze over a cookie, then add a few drops of colored glaze and drag a toothpick through the drops, as shown on the tree cookie above.

String ’em up! To make a hanging ornament out of your cookies, poke a small hole in the dough with a chopstick or toothpick before baking.