Magical Marvelous Memorable Cookies

By [e-mail]

There is a lot to love about this recipe. First of all, it is not bossy. DrBabs gives us the ratios, and then she tells us to pick a salty snack, some candies, some cereal, some sort of nut, and cinnamon or other spices if we are so inclined. I like that. I like that these are pantry cookies because you are sure to have enough this and that to be able to make cookies without a trip to the store. My version had the following; crushed pretzel dipping sticks, a handful of leftover Reeses Pieces, some Ghiardelli semi sweet chips, two granola sample boxes from our last race expo (we don’t really eat granola but they were free!), cinnamon and walnuts. Out of the oven they are chewy with a great sweet and salt combination. After they cool they become the perfect crispy friend to an ice cold glass of milk. The only direction that I flat ignored is in step 3: Restrain yourself from eating the raw cookie dough—that’s just crazy talk. - aargersi

Makes 24-30 cookies

(If you don't use nuts, you may want to add more cereal, snacks or chocolate to compensate.)

You may want to add a little cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, or whatever you fancy. We didn't because we wanted the taste of the granola to come through.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 3/4 sticks (7 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup granola (or other cereal)
• 1/2 cup crushed salted pretzel pieces (or other salty snack food)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped chocolate candies, or a small bar of good dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or other nuts, optional
• (If you don't use nuts, you may want to add more cereal, snacks or chocolate to compensate.)
• You may want to add a little cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, or whatever you fancy. We didn't because we wanted the taste of the granola to come through.

Details

Servings 24
Adapted from food52.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 345 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

2. In another bowl, beat butter and sugars at medium-low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute longer. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. Add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl again.

3. (For this step you can use a wooden spoon or your mixer on slow speed.) Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add granola, pretzels, chocolate and nuts, and mix until well incorporated, ensuring that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed. Restrain yourself from eating the raw cookie dough.

4. Scoop dough into balls, each about 1 1/2 tablespoons, then roll between palms into balls. Place cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 1/2 inches apart, 9 per sheet. Freeze at least 20 minutes, or refrigerate at least one hour before baking. (They will still spread a lot.)

5. Bake one sheet at a time until cookies are deep golden brown, 12 to 13 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Let cool completely before gently moving cookies to wire rack. They will be fragile, especially on the edges.