It’s not often that I feel the urge to bake, but I did yesterday and want to share that recipe with you.
| Ingredients | Add-ins |
| 2 ¼ cups of all purpose flour | 1 package chocolate chips |
| 1 tsp salt (use half if you’re using salted butter) | 1 cup walnut pieces |
| 1 tsp baking soda | 1 cup pecan pieces |
| ½ cup granulated sugar | 1 cup dried cranberries |
| 1 cup packed brown sugar | |
| 2 tsp vanilla extract | |
| ½ cup butter, warmed to room temperature | |
| 2 eggs | |
| ½ cup almond flour (optional) | |
| ½ cup hemp seed hearts (optional) |
- Mix dry ingredients
- Mix the sugar, butter, vanilla until creamy (5 minutes or so)
- Add the almond flour & hemp seeds (turn oven on)
- Mix in the flour mixture
- Add in the chocolate chips, nuts, and cranberries
- Drop spoonfuls on a baking sheet
- Bake 10-12 minutes
- Let them cool
- Share with loved ones. Or not.
First, get everything ready. If you’re only using one kind of nut, then double the measurement. Pecans & walnuts usually come in halves or pieces, but they still should be broken up a little smaller. After all, they aren’t the main part of a cookie, just an addition to make them a bit tastier and healthier. I broke mine into pieces smaller than ½”, but it’s your choice on this. Once you get them all broken to your satisfaction, toss them into a bowl with the chocolate chips. You don’t really have to do this, I like to because I like the way they look in the bowl, especially with the cranberries tossed in. Plus I can reach over for a quick snack while I’m mixing the other things.
Since this recipe has less butter than several others, I like to grease the pan I’m using. You can also use parchment paper for easier release. If you have pans that are highly non-stick, you might be able to skip this part, but it’s been ages since I bought baking sheets so I’m not sure.
Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together. I use a whisk to stir gently and that makes me feel that it’s properly blended. I’m sure a spoon would do the same, though. Set these aside (I know, an extra bowl to wash.)
Pour your sugars, butter, and vanilla extract into your mixing bowl and mix with a hand mixer for at least 5 minutes. You want the blend to be creamy and this will give the sugars time to dissolve a little. Add in the eggs and continue to mix. Use a rubber/silicone spatula to clean the sides of the bowl and mix some more.
Now add in the almond flour and hemp seeds and mix just another minute or two to make sure they are well blended.
Now preheat the oven to 350°. Make sure you take anything out of the oven first (I might be the only one who uses the oven as a drying rack for larger pans and such.) Why did I wait so long? Because the oven doesn’t take long to heat up and I tend to take my time with each of these steps.
At this point, I put the mixer aside since I tend to make a mess if I use it in the next part. You’ll be adding the flour mixture now and I prefer to use a wooden spoon. A large metal spoon is fine, I just like the feel of the wooden ones. Carefully stir in the flour (too fast and you’ll end up with flour all over the kitchen) until you have all of it in the mixing bowl and mixed into the dough.
Mix in all the add-ins. I use my hands to do this. You don’t have to, but my mom did and I am pretty sure they tasted better because of it. Wash your hands first, of course, then rub a little butter over the palms and fingers to keep the dough from sticking to them. Once everything is thoroughly mixed, it’s time to make the cookies.
I use a spoon from my drawer. Yep, the same ones I eat cereal or soup with. For the most part this next step is “eyeballing” it. I make the spoonfuls of dough about the same size as a ping pong ball. I can usually get 16 balls of dough on the baking sheet since I don’t make them in straight lines, but you can put on 12 if that’s your preference. You can also fill the baking sheet with dough, patting it down smooth and make cookie bars. I like to do this so that I’m not running the oven longer and taking the extra steps for each batch of cookies.
Now bake them for 10-12 minutes. They will be soft, golden brown and slightly under-baked. Don’t worry about this part since the center of the cookies will have reached 165° which is what you need for the eggs to be safe. Let them cool on some cooling racks or slide the sheet of parchment paper off to your counter and let them cool there. Store them in a closed container to keep them moist.
Morrigan's Nest 