Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (29 page)

12 ounces (2 cups) semisweet chocolate morsels

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil, or if you have the kind that have only one raised edge, just cut foil to fit the sheets and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger and set aside.

Cut the prunes (with scissors or a knife) into small pieces. You should have a generous 1½ cups, firmly packed, of cut prunes. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add both sugars and beat well. Beat in the egg, then on low speed add the sifted dry ingredients and beat only to mix; it will be a stiff mixture.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and, with a heavy wooden spatula, stir in the rolled oats, prunes, nuts, and chocolate morsels. (It will be stiff and you will need strength.)

To shape the cookies (which will be rolled between your hands) first place a long piece of wax paper on the counter next to the sink. Using a rounded tablespoonful (make these large) of the dough for each cookie, place the mounds any which way on the wax paper. You should have about 60 mounds.

Wet your hands and shake off the water; they should be damp but not dripping wet. Pick up a mound of the dough, roll it between your hands into a ball, and place it on the aluminum foil. These must be at least 2 inches apart (they spread during baking); you should not place more than 8 or 9 balls of dough on a piece of foil.

Then, with the back of a wet fork (keep the fork wet) flatten the cookies by pressing first in one direction and then another; they should be flattened to a scant ½-inch thickness.

If the foil is not on cookie sheets, slide sheets under it. Bake two sheets at a time, reversing the positions top to bottom and front to back as necessary during baking to insure even browning. They should be baked until they are well-colored all over; it will take about 17 or 18 minutes.

If you bake only one sheet at a time, slide an extra cookie sheet underneath; a single sheet has a tendency to burn on the bottom. Bake a single sheet on the higher rack. It will bake in a little less time, about 13 to 15 minutes.

With a wide metal spatula transfer the cookies to racks to cool. (These have a slight tendency to stick to the foil; usually it is a piece of prune. Press the spatula hard against the foil; if a few cookies still want to stick, leave them and remove the others. Then try the sticky ones again; the second time around they behave better.)

Chocolate Chip Wheat Germ Cookies

9
H
UGE
C
OOKIES

I am most grateful to Esther Starbuck, a veteran high-school teacher in Buena Vista, Colorado, for this great recipe. Mrs. Starbuck, who has a reputation for her baked goods, has been making these for many years—and I see why. If there were a Chocolate Chip Cookie Hall of Fame these would certainly be there.

They are huge, crisp, and chewy with a marvelously satisfying taste—and easy and fun to make, although they are not quick since they are so large that only three cookies can be baked on a sheet. The recipe may be multiplied by any number—just allow time for baking.

These are perfect for cookie jars (if they have a wide opening,), lunch boxes, picnics, etc. Or wrap them individually to fill a gift basket. Or whatever—they are just great!

¾ cup unsifted all-purpose flour (stir to aerate lightly before measuring)

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg (graded large or extra-large)

¼ cup quick-cooking (not “instant”) oatmeal

¾ cup untoasted wheat germ (natural, untreated, untoasted wheat germ is available at health-food stores)

1¾ ounces (⅔ cup, loosely packed) shredded coconut

6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate morsels

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Beat in the vanilla and both sugars. Add the egg and beat well. On low speed add the sifted dry ingredients, scraping the bowl and beating only until mixed. Mix in the oatmeal, wheat germ, and coconut. Then stir in the morsels.

Spread out a piece of wax paper. Use a ¼-cup metal or plastic measuring cup (made for dry ingredients) to measure the dough for each cookie. Form nine mounds of dough on the wax paper, each one a very slightly rounded ¼ cupful. A narrow rubber spatula (bottle scraper) is handy for removing the dough from the cup.

Wet your hands with cold water, shake the water off but do not dry your hands. Roll a mound of dough into a ball between your wet hands. These large balls of dough should be placed about 5 inches apart on the foil-lined sheets. The best way to do that is to place two on one long side of the sheet and one between them on the other long side. (That means only three on a 12 × 15½-inch sheet.)

With the back of the tines of a wet fork press the cookies in all directions to flatten them to ½-inch thickness. (If they crack on the edges use the fork to press them together.)

Bake two sheets at a time for 18 to 20 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back as necessary during baking to insure even browning. When they are done, the cookies will be lightly colored and the tops will spring back when lightly pressed with a fingertip. Time these carefully—do not underbake—to be sure they will be crisp on the edges and the bottoms when cool. The cookies will have spread out to 4½ inches in diameter when done. (If you bake only one sheet at a time, bake it on the upper rack.)

Let cool on the foil briefly only until the cookies are firm enough to be transferred. With a wide metal spatula transfer to racks to cool. Such large cookies must be cooled on racks that are raised to give more room for air to circulate underneath—just place each rack on any right side-up mixing bowl or cake pan.

When cool, store airtight.

VARIATION
:
These can also be made with the above ingredients plus 1 cup of walnuts, cut into medium-size pieces. Due to the extra volume, you will make 11 cookies instead of 9.

Chocolate Chip Honey Cookies

32 TO 36
C
OOKIES

These are plain, old-fashioned, homey drop cookies. They are light, soft, full of chocolate chips and nuts, quick and easy to make, and they keep well in a cookie jar.

1¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup honey

1 egg (graded large or extra-large)

4 ounces (generous 1 cup) pecans or walnuts, cut into medium-size pieces

6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate morsels

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the vanilla and honey and beat to mix. Add the egg and beat to mix; the mixture will look curdled now—it is O.K., don’t worry.

On low speed add the sifted dry ingredients and, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula, beat only until incorporated.

Remove from the mixer and stir in the nuts and chocolate morsels.

Use a slightly rounded teaspoonful of the dough for each cookie. Place them about 2 inches apart on the foil-lined sheets.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back as necessary during baking to insure even browning. Bake until the cookies are nicely colored all over and spring back firmly when lightly pressed with a fingertip. (If you bake only one sheet at a time bake it on the higher rack.)

With a wide metal spatula transfer the cookies to racks to cool.

When cool, store airtight.

Chocolate Chip Whole-Wheat Cookies

52
C
OOKIES

These are easy-to-make drop cookies—they are marvelous. Thick and yummy, crisp on the outside, semi-soft in the middle, not too sweet. They have that deliciously satisfying and natural flavor of whole-wheat flour. Especially good for cookie jars, lunch boxes, picnics, or for mailing. The recipe comes from a ski lodge in Colorado where these were served with afternoon tea in front of a roaring fireplace. Huge wooden bowls of them disappeared in no time, most of the guests stashing away a few for a late-night snack.

½ pound (2 sticks) sweet butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed

3 eggs (graded large or extra-large)

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

⅓ cup dry instant powdered skimmed milk

2½ cups strained all-purpose whole-wheat flour (see Note)

6 ounces (1½ cups) walnuts or pecans, coarsely cut or broken

12 ounces (2 cups) semisweet chocolate morsels

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the vanilla and sugar and beat well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then beat briefly until slightly lighter in color. Beat in the salt, baking soda, and then the dry powdered skimmed milk. On low speed gradually add the flour, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula and beating only until incorporated. It will be a thick mixture. Remove it from the mixer and, with a heavy wooden spatula, stir in the nuts and then the chocolate morsels.

Use a rounded teaspoonful of the dough for each cookie (use another teaspoon to push it off) and place them in neat mounds about 1½ inches apart on the foil-lined sheets. (These do not spread out much in baking; you can place three rows, four cookies in each row, on a 12 × 15½-inch cookie sheet.)

Bake two sheets at a time for 12 to 14 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking to insure even browning. Bake until the cookies feel semi-firm to the touch and are slightly darkened—they should be well-baked but watch them for burning. (If you bake only one sheet at a time, bake it on the higher rack—and one sheet bakes in less time than two.)

With a wide metal spatula transfer the cookies to racks to cool.

Store airtight with wax paper between the layers.

NOTE
:
Whole-wheat flour has little particles of whole wheat in it, so before measuring you should press it through a large mesh strainer because it is too coarse to go through a sifter. Stir any bits of wheat back into the measured flour.

VARIATION
:
Shredded coconut and/or raisins may be used in place of all or part of the nuts.