Showing posts with label Cookies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cookies. Show all posts

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Yogurt-Cheese Snickerdoodles

I created this recipe to bring to my sister's baby shower, and it has since become a favorite! The yogurt cheese works wonders here. It lends moisture and tenderness to the crumb and adds to the distinctive tang found in these well-loved cinnamon-and-sugar cookies. Amy tried out the recipe last week and her teenage son said, "These are the best cookies I've ever had!".



Yogurt Cheese Snickerdoodles
1 C whole wheat flour
1 2/3 c all purpouse flour
2 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
5 Tbs butter
¾ C plain nonfat yogurt
1 ½ c sugar
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla

3 tbs sugar
1 Tbs Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Make the yogurt cheese:
Spread out yogurt on top of layered paper towels on your counter. Put a few paper-towels on top as well. Let the liquid from the yogurt soak into the paper towels until the yogurt turns into a thicker, more cheese like consistency. It will resemble a soft cream cheese that you can peel away from the paper towels. Replace the wet towels with dry ones as needed until the consistancy is achieved.

Make the cookies:
Whisk together the dry ingredients (flours-salt) in a medium bowl, set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, yogurt cheese, and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and egg whites, one at a time beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually mix in the flour mixture. DO NOT OVERMIX. Chill dough in the freezer for 30 mins. Ball up the dough and coat each cookie in cinnamon-and-sugar, place on a cookie sheet, coated with cooking spray, and flatten with the palm of your hand. Bake for 10 mins or until done. Becareful not to over-cook them!




Additional Tips:
Reduced-fat cookie doughs are more delicate then their fattier counterparts, so you need to take some precautions when mixing. If you over mix, the gluten will develop and the cookies will be tough instead of tender. When it comes time to add the dry ingredients, I usually put the mixer aside, and mix it with a big wooden spoon.

Do not over bake... or your cookies will have a tough outer crust!

I like to double the recipe and freeze the dough in a large zip-lock bag. Then, when we have a craving for some of these yummy morsels-- it's a sinch! Take it out of the freezer, ball it up, coat it with cinnamon and sugar, place them on the cookie sheet, flatten and bake! Yum! (You could also freeze the dough unbaked, pre-rolled, and flattened on a cookie sheet. Then scoop them up and put them in a zip-lock bag and return them to the freezer until that craving comes again.)

My beautiful daughter enjoying a snickerdoodle.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Oatmeal Cookies

I love a good oatmeal cookie! MMMMMMMM..... Are they healthy? Well, adding oats to full-fat, sugar-laden cookies doesn't exactly qualify them as health food.... but they are sooooo GOOD! If you want "healthier" cookies, I'll have to post my oat bran chocolate chippers or my yogurt snickerdoodles!


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies


Simply Oatmeal Cookies


Oatmeal Cookies
1 3/4 C packed brown sugar
14 Tbs butter (1 Cup minus 2 TBS)
2 lightly beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 C old fassioned oats
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in oats. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add dry ingrediants to wet ingredients, mix until combined. Bake about 10 minutes @ 350 degrees. This recipe is delicious as written, but for variety, try adding chocolate chips or cinnamon and/or raisins.