Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Laura

I'm crazy about chocolate chip cookies and I'm always looking for a new recipe to top my favorites. Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond has crafted a wonderful recipe that features an ingredient I never considered in a cookie...Malted Milk! The malted milk added a lovely chewy texture and the equal parts brown and granulated sugar gave the cookie a rich golden color to this buttery thin cookie. This recipe will definitely be made again...possibly tomorrow! ha!

Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup golden brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (rounded) malted milk powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• One 12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 330 degrees F. (Laura's note: the original recipe calls for 375 degrees F- I found the lower temp worked better for me!)

Cream the butter, then add both sugars and cream until fluffy. Add the eggs and beat slightly, then add the vanilla and beat until combined. Add the malted milk powder and beat until combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture, beating gently until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir in gently.

Drop by teaspoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving plenty of space between the cookies (they spread out quite a bit). Bake for 9 to 11 minutes.(Laura's Note: Don't forget to turn the cookie sheet half-way through the baking time. Also in my oven 9 minutes was too long and burned the bottoms of the first batch.) The cookies will be very flat and very chewy. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan with a spatula.

Optional: Allow to cool completely, then use 2 cookies to make an ice cream sandwich. Add sprinkles to the sides of the ice cream, then wrap individually in plastic wrap. 

Happy baking while the cool weather is still here! 

I Want To Marry You Cookies

by Laura

So, I already have my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe memorized and probably could make it with my eyes closed, but these I Want To Marry You Cookies are game changers. (Scroll down to the Cook's note  if you want to know the story behind the name.)

I found the recipe on Cooking Channel, but adapted the directions a bit based on my baking preferences.

Ingredients 
1 cup butter (Laura's Note: unsalted butter)
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Salt (Laura's Note: I suggest Kosher)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup chocolate chips (Laura's Note: I did a mix of dark and milk chocolate)


Directions
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until melted. Remove from the heat. 


Add the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar and stir until sugars are incorporated and smooth. Chill the mixture for 10 minutes. (Laura's Note: Swith all the ingredients into a heatsafe mixing bowl large enough to mix all the ingredients)


Remove from the refrigerator and stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. 


Add the flour, oats, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cinnamon and mix together. (Laura's Note: I stirred all the dry ingredients together first and added it to the sugar/butter mixture a third at a time.)


Stir in the white chocolate chips and chocolate chips. 


Roll by hand into 24 medium-size balls or use a scoop, and place on a light-colored cookie sheet. (Laura's Note: Use two cookies sheets if possible. I only had one light-colored cookie sheet so I put half the cookie dough balls on a plate and half on the sheet.)


Chill for 30 minutes. 


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and bake for 12 to 14 minutes. (Laura's Note: You'll need to bake the cookies in two batches as the cookies will spread significantly so space them out. Also turn them half way through the baking time.)


Cook's Note: About the name. These cookies are the surefire way to get someone to fall in love with you...or at the very least gain a serious addiction to cookies. By giving these cookies away, you may need to be prepared for a marriage proposal on the spot. I have been baking since I was a little one. I was the only girl in a house full of brothers (5 to be exact), so I quickly found my spot in the kitchen. My love affair with baking started with cookies and it is how I won dates in high school by delivering them every Sunday nigh to my "friends." Love would usually ensue. Now I find joy in baking them for my own 4 little ones and they are my ultimate taste testers in the quest for the perfect cookie. They say we got it years ago so it is about time to share it. Everyone can make a chocolate chip cookie and it is usually involves some type of creaming of the butter and sugars. This is what makes mine unique (and ridiculously sinful). Everything is done in one glorious pan - the saucepan. You melt the butter completely and then add the sugars. The aroma that comes from the sugars as they dissolve into the butter is heavenly. It adds a rich, toffee flavor to the cookies that you don't get from creaming and creates a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture.


I made these last night and basically I have a new recipe to memorize. Make these and I'm sure you'll agree.