Monster Cookies

I’ve fallen off the wagon.  The sugar wagon that is.  As I’ve mentioned before, I gave up unrefined sugar for Lent.  Well, Lent is over, and so is the fast!

Have you heard the news about the toxicity of sugar?  Or this research that it is more addictive than cocaine?  I believe them both.  Oddly, I gave up sugar for the month of January as well, but the extra two weeks of Lent made a big difference.  When I had my first bite of sugar on February 1, I felt no different than on I did on January 31 with no sugar in my system.  However when I had sugar the first time after Lent, I felt horrible.  I felt nauseous, anxious, and got a horrible headache.  And then I wanted more, and I felt better, for an hour.  So, I believe the research that it is more addictive than cocaine.

And yet here I am posting a cookie recipe!  What can I say, I’m an addict!  And these cookies are my cocaine!

Have you had this trail mix from Target?

It may very well be cocaine packaged up and sold on the shelves at your local Target!  It’s M&Ms, peanuts, raisins, peanut butter chips, and chocolate chips.  I could eat the entire container in a day if I didn’t exercise any self-restraint.  So to keep my self from eating handful after handful, I decided to make Monster Cookies using the mix!  It was a good idea, except I still ate the whole container, wrapped up in my favorite chocolate chip cookie dough from Milk & Cookies.

MONSTER COOKIES (Makes about 3 dozen cookies)

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 TBS vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups Monster Trail Mix

Preheat oven to 350.

Put oats in a food processor and process until finely ground.  Transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In another large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter on low to soften.  Increase speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes, until light and creamy.  Gradually add the sugars, beating until light and creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, scraping sides after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, until almost mixed.  When dough is still streaky with dry ingredients, stir in chocolate chips and trail mix with a spoon.

Drop cookies onto cookie sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes, until edges are barely turning golden.  The center will seem to be undercooked, but this is important to retain chewiness.  DO NOT OVERBAKE!!!  Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Betty Crocker: Chocolate Sour Cream Drop Cookies

I tried my hand at my first recipe from my grandmother’s cookbook.  Let me just say, I love this cookbook!

The cookie section of this cookbook is genius!  It gives you a “key” recipe and then several variations for that recipe.  Today I tried out the sour cream drop cookies, in a chocolate variety, because everything is better in chocolate!

I should warn you that there is a learning curve to cooking out of a cookbook from 1950.  The recipe is called “Sour Cream Cookies” and therefore, sour cream is obviously an important ingredient.  I figured that since it’s an important ingredient, I wouldn’t do my usual swap for the light version, and I used whole fat sour cream.  After I had the batter all mixed and was scooping the cookies onto a baking sheet, I noticed this in the corner of the page.

If you bake a lot, you probably know this is the typical substitution for buttermilk.  Not sour cream.  Buttermilk and sour cream are pretty different ingredients.  One goes great on a taco, the other, not so much.  I have used both in cake recipes before, so I hadn’t completely lost hope, but I’m not quite sure these cookies turned out as they were supposed to!  I’ll give them another shot with buttermilk someday.

The orignial recipe also called for a baking temperature of 425!  The first batch came out black on the bottom!  So I adjusted the baking temperature to 375 and the following batches came out perfectly.

These soft cake-like cookies were just begging for a little frosting, so I topped them with a chocolate ganache, which is pretty rich, so grab a glass a milk for these!

CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM DROP COOKIES (yield approximately 4 dozen cookies)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1 cup sour cream (or buttermilk)
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix together butter, sugar, and eggs.  Add melted chocolate and stir until thoroughly combined.  Stir in sour cream (or buttermilk) and vanilla.

Sift together the remaining dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips) and gradually stir into the chocolate mixture.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

If using the buttermilk, chill at least one hour.  Drop by by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool and top with ganache.

GANACHE

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 – 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 – 1 cup powdered sugar

Melt chocolate with 1/3 cup of cream in the microwave in 30 second increments until chocolate begins to melt.  Stir until smooth.  Add 1/2 cup sugar and stir until smooth.  Continue adding cream and sugar by tablespoon until desired consistency and sweetness.