Enough choices to fill a cookie jar

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, May 28, 2006

Getting back to baking cookies again, Sultan contributor Anita Esser starts us off with a chocolate chipper enhanced with oatmeal.

“I have not tried these,” she says, “but they might be what the gals wanted.”

Next, a chocolate cookie recipe comes to us courtesy of Forum helper-outer Nancy Rambo of Oso. This one gives us a choice of adding either peanut butter chips or chocolate chips.

And our “pink ribbon” lady, Holly Schmidt of Everett, shares the last of the sour cream sugar cookie possibilities.

Incidentally, she took the time and trouble to hand-copy this for us while coping with the aftermath of emergency hip-replacement surgery. (“The first week, I wondered if I’d ever walk again!” she says.)

She found the recipe in a 1963 “Betty Crocker Cooky Cookbook,” and mentions, “If you don’t have time to cut the dough into fancy shapes, just cut it into squares. These cookies are puffy and a little soft.”

Famous department store cookies

2cups butter, softened

2cups each granulated sugar and brown sugar

4eggs

2teaspoons vanilla

4cups flour

5cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder)

1teaspoon salt

2teaspoons each baking soda and baking powder

2packages (12 ounces each) chocolate chips

1(8 ounce) Hershey chocolate bar, grated

3cups chopped nuts (your choice)

In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars; add eggs and vanilla. Add flour, blended oatmeal, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir in chocolate chips, grated chocolate and nuts, mixing well. Roll into balls and place 2-inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Makes 112 cookies. Recipe may be halved.

Chewy chocolate cookies

11/4cups butter or margarine, softened

2cups sugar

2eggs

2teaspoons vanilla

2cups flour

3/4cup Hershey’s cocoa

1teaspoon baking soda

1/2teaspoon salt

1cup finely chopped nuts

2cups peanut butter chips or chocolate chips (optional)

In large mixing bowl, cream butter or margarine and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and blend well. Combine flour and cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually blend into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts and/or chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 or 9 minutes. (Do not overbake. Cookies will be soft. They will puff and then flatten on cooling.) Cool on cookie sheet until set, about 1 minute, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 41/2 dozen cookies.

Old-fashioned sour cream cookies

1/2cup shortening (part butter or margarine)

1cup sugar, plus extra for tops of cookies

1egg

1teaspoon vanilla

22/3cups flour

1teaspoon baking powder

1/2teaspoon each baking soda and salt

1/4teaspoon nutmeg

1/2cup commercial sour cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In large mixing bowl, cream shortening mixture and sugar; add egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Blend together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Divide into portions; roll out to 1/4-inch thick on well floured pastry cloth. Cut with 2-inch cutter; place on greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with sugar and bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly brown.

The next Forum will appear in Wednesday’s Food section.