January 29, 2018

From the Bookshelf to the Kitchen: First-Week Cookies

The first time I read this book, I knew it was going to lead to a From the Bookshelf to the Kitchen post. It's been about a year since I read it but it's finally time to share the recipe.

"'The goods' appear to be two massive cookies. They're crammed full of chocolate chunks, oatmeal, some kind of nut--and that's only the ingredients I can decipher...
'Crumbled-up potato chips. Secret ingredient. Whelan calls them First-Week Cookies." (Emery Lord, The Names They Gave Us p. 75)

I actually had to combine two recipes to get one with oatmeal, chocolate, and potato chips. I left out the nuts, though, just because I don't like those in my cookies, but you could easily toss a few in as long as you cut the amount of chocolate chips and caramel bits so as not to overwhelm the dough (it won't hold together very well if there's too much in it).







First-Week Cookies

3/4 c. old-fashioned oats
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. crushed potato chips (regular salted chips are best)
1/2 c. caramel bits (I used Kraft caramel bits)
3/4 c. chocolate chips
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Combine the flour, oats, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir until combined, then set aside. Beat the butter, sugars, and vanilla with either a stand mixer or hand mixer. Beat until the mixture is lighter in color and you can no longer see any sugar granules. Add eggs; beat until they are fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture in thirds; blend well. Stir in the chips, caramel bits, and chocolate chips by hand. (It will be very thick by this point.)

Cover dough with plastic wrap; refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit once you're ready to bake the cookies. Scoop out large balls of dough (at least 1/4 cup in size) and place on a baking sheet, leaving plenty of space in between. Don't flatten them at all. Add more caramel bits to the top if you like.

Bake 13 minutes (this will vary, though, according to cookie size), until golden around the edges. Remove and allow to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack or a paper bag. Serve warm and store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.




Have a book and recipe suggestion for From the Bookshelf to the Kitchen? Leave it in the comments below!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...