Crazy Cookie Dough One Cookie Recipe With Endless Flavor Variations Food

ONE COOKIE DOUGH, SEVEN POSSIBLE FLAVORS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the 1 and 1/2 cups butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
• With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour, baking soda and salt until combined.
• Follow directions for how many different cookie flavors you would like to bake to get the correct mix-in measurements based on number of flavors to equally divided dough ratios. Stir together cookie dough and mix-ins until well combined.
• For all 7 cookie flavors, divide the dough base evenly into seven bowls (1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon per bowl). Then mix one flavor's mix-ins into each bowl. For the snickerdoodle cookies, combine sugar and cinnamon, stir half into the dough and use the rest to roll the cookie dough balls in before placing them on the baking sheet.
• Use a cookie scoop and scoop dough onto the parchment-lined cookie sheets a few inches apart. For small cookies, scoop 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie (84 small cookies). For medium cookies, scoop 2 tablespoons dough per cookie. (42 medium cookies). For large cookies, scoop 3 tablespoons dough per cookie (21 large cookies).
• Garnish each cookie dough scoop with additional toppings for that flavor, if desired.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through, until cookies are starting to crisp around the edges are just set on top. Try not to over-bake them if you want them to be chewy.
• Remove cookies from the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to let cool completely.

CRAZY COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
• In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter together with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until it's nice and combined. Add the eggs, peanut butter and vanilla and beat until smooth, scraping the bowl if necessary to make sure everything is incorporated.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, coffee granules, baking soda and salt. Stir together, then add it to the mixer in 3 increments, mixing on low until it's totally incorporated. Scrape the bowl and beat for a few more seconds. Stir in the chocolate candies, rice cereal and pecans (if using) by hand.
• With an ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate the scooped cookies for 15 minutes, then bake until golden brown, 9 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and repeat with the remaining dough.

THE MOTHER OF ALL BUTTER COOKIES (WITH ENDLESS VARIATIONS)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt in a food processor, and pulse once or twice. Add butter, and pulse 10 or 20 times, until butter and flour are well combined. Add vanilla and egg and pulse 3 or 4 times. Add about half the milk and pulse 2 or 3 times. Add the remaining milk a little at a time, pulsing once or twice after each addition, until the dough holds together in a sticky mass.
• Remove the dough from the machine to one or more bowls. Make cookies as described in Step 3, or make any of the variations below.
• To make cookies, drop rounded teaspoons of dough (you can make the cookies larger or smaller, if you like) onto a nonstick baking sheet, a sheet lined with parchment paper or a lightly buttered sheet. If you want flat cookies, press the balls down a bit with your fingers or the back of a spatula or wooden spoon. Bake 11 minutes, or until the cookies are done as you like them. Cool on a rack, then store, if necessary, in a covered container.
• VARIATIONS on the flavor of these butter cookies are limitless. Here are a few suggestions:.
• Butterscotch cookies: Substitute brown sugar for half or more of the white sugar, or simply add 1 tablespoon of molasses along with the egg.
• Citrus cookies: Omit the vanilla, and add 1 tablespoon of lemon or orange juice and 2 teaspoons grated lemon or orange rind along with the egg. A couple of tablespoons of poppy seeds can also be added.
• Chocolate chip cookies: Stir in about 1 cup of chocolate chips. (The butterscotch variation is good with chocolate chips.).
• Other chunky cookies: To the finished batter, add about 1 cup of M& M's (or similar candy), roughly chopped walnuts, pecans or cashews, slivered almonds, raisins, coconut, dried cherries or cranberries. Or combine any chunky ingredients you like.
• Ginger cookies: Add 1 tablespoon ground dried ginger to the dry ingredients. For even better flavor, add 1/4 cup minced crystallized ginger to the batter by hand (this works well in addition to or in place of the ground ginger).
• Spice cookies: Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon each ground allspice and ground ginger and 1 pinch ground cloves and mace or nutmeg to the dry ingredients.
• Or you can make rolled cookies by freezing the dough for 15 minutes or refrigerating it for at least 1 hour. Working half the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface; the dough will absorb some flour at first but will soon become less sticky. Do not add more flour than necessary. Roll about 1/4 inch thick, and cut with cookie cutters; decorate as you like. Bake as above, reducing the cooking time to 8 to 10 minutes.