Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Not only are these cookies delicious, but this marks the first batch of cookies that I have made that look NORMAL. Follow these directions to a tee and you will hopefully have the same result as me.

I found this recipe at Completely Delicious. The title of this blog is VERY fitting.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups (1 pound) semi-sweet chocolate chips

How to Brown Your Butter:
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, continue to cook until it turns golden brown. Swirl the pan occasionally if needed so that it browns evenly. Watch it fairly closely, as it can go from brown to burned quickly. When the color has turned golden, small flecks speckle the butter, and it has a nutty aroma, remove from heat and poor into a shallow dish. Chill in the fridge until it becomes solid. You want it to be soft, but not melted. If it cool too hard, let it come back to room temperature before using.

Cookie Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2.Beat the brown butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium high speed with an electric mixer until light and creamy, about 4 minutes. Really beat for about 4 minutes... I never did this in the past and it was one of my reasons for flat cookies.

3.Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each.
4.Add the vanilla.
5.Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined on medium speed.
6.Add the chocolate chips and mix until incorporated.
7. Spoon by the tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches in between each cookie.
8.Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.
9.Cool on a wire rack.

And marvel at your tasty cookies!

Tips I have learned about how to make non-flat cookies:

1. Make sure you're using butter and not margarine. The margarine is just a ton of oil and it won't bake up nice... and fluffy. And we all know that butter is better anyhow.
2. You may need to add a little more flour than the recipe calls for. I would test the recipe out first before you do this one.
3. Bake them at a high temp (about 350) for a short period of time. 
4. Really cream the butter and sugar, let it get super fluffy. Like I said before, this really works. I never knew how fluffy butter and sugar could get.
5. I had a roommate who used to make a little indent in the bottom of her doughball before she put it on the cookie sheet... I have had positive results when I do this as well, but it's not necessary.

Homemade Samoas

So I found this recipe at Once Upon a Plate. They are delicious. I decided to make mine into small heart shapes for V-day.... but I wouldn't recommend you do this unless you have a lot of time on your hands.

FYI: By three cups of coconut they mean three cups of shredded coconut not tightly packed.

Servings: 3 1/2 - 4 dozen cookies 

The Cookie:1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
up to 2 tablespoons milk 

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2..Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl.
3. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, next, the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk only as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (you may not need any at all).
4. The dough should come together into a soft, pliable ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough seems sticky.
5. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness - It's easiest to roll the dough out in 2 or 3 batches between pieces of wax or parchment paper.
6. Cut out in 2-21/2 inch circle and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat until the dough is used up (it's okay to re-roll, this dough is shortbread-like and very forgiving.)
7.Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are very lightly golden brown around the edges.
8.Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, to allow them to firm up slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

The Really Tasty Part
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-ounces good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
8 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips will do)
If you prefer milk chocolate, then that works too. 

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 300 degrees (F)
2. Spread coconut evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Watch carefully, especially near the end of toasting time; the coconut toasts very quickly once it begins to become golden.
3.Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
4.Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
5.Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 teaspoons per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it begins to firm up, to make it soft and spreadable once again. (This part was somewhat frustrating as the caramel is a little sticky, but it is worth it.)

6.While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl on High in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. OR you can use a double broiler, which I did.
7.Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper (I used silicone baking mats instead).
8.Transfer all remaining chocolate into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.
9. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Final Step... PIG OUT

No Fail Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love these cookies. There are delicious. I am not great at baking, and these are one of the few cookies that have never failed me. Everyone who has tried them loves them (I rarely get praise for my cookies). So go ahead. Try them out. You won't regret it!

I found the recipe here, and they got the recipe from the Frog Commissary Cookbook.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
 Makes about 4 dozen

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups oats (rolled or "quick," but not "instant")
2 cups chocolate chips (about 12-oz.)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until mixture is light in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the milk and the vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Either by hand or with the mixer on low speed, gradually beat the flour in to the sugar mixture until just incorporated.
Stir in the oats and chocolate chips by hand.
Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, placing about 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to spread.
Bake at 350F for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown at the edges and light golden at the center.
Cool on baking sheet for at least 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.