My go-to Cookie

I love cookies.

I come by it totally honestly.  My mom is the 'Cookie Lady'.  When my dad worked for the "City" she would bake every Wednesday in December for the staff.  Those were days of "Don't eat that, I may not have enough of that kind" and other awesome gems that go along with a woman who has to make 20 dozen cookies in a day and a half.  Just kidding mom you were always lovely...

But seriously I have always been ridiculously spoiled when it comes to cookies.  I remember on a high school band trip my mom packed me a huge bag of chocolate chip cookies to share with my friends and me and my girlfriends were a floor above our guy friends and could see into their window because we were at the corner of the building.  Well the totally fantastic move the chaperones pull is.  We are putting tape on the outside of your door and if the tape is broken, you're in big trouble so stay in your rooms.  It's funny to think about being scared of a piece of tape but let's face it, a bunch of bandies are more on the goody two shoes side than the rebel side of things so we listened.

So me and my friends ate those chocolate chips cookies while a floor down those boys sat at the window and salivated and cursed and gestured at us.  THAT'S how good my mom's cookies are.  No lie.

So when I got all weird and started substituting flours, milks, egg replacements, I thought for sure I would never make a cookie my mom would like.  But I did it, I truly did.

My recipe is adapted from this one:
http://southernfood.about.com/od/chocchipcookies/r/r90110a.htm

So thank you Southern Food for the basics!

But theses are my Cowboy cookies.  I know the recipe so well I actually try and race the oven.  I try and get them made before my oven gets up to temperature.  I haven't done it yet but I was so close once.  If my applesauce hadn't been moldy and I had to substitute my substitute I would have been fine.

My best tips for cookies come from my mom:
1. If you are making her Chocolate chip cookie recipe you MUST use Fluffo shortening, nothing else will do.
2. Drop cookies (like chocolate chip and oatmeal) should look a little under when you take them out, they cook a little longer on the pan once out and they sit they are perfect.
3.  Always go a little over with baking powder and baking soda, it never hurts, only helps.
4.  Always go a little under with the salt.
5.  Cookies are best enjoyed hot out of the oven and falling apart.  Ok maybe I made this one up, mom really doesn't approve of this one.

I also cut the sugar considerably in most recipes I make.  I usually experiment by taking out a 1/4 cup at a time until I actually notice them not as sweet but generally I get to about half the called for sugar.  Then I feel better adding LOTS of chocolate chips.

Cowboy Cookies:  

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper
Makes 24-30 cookies

Dry:
3/4 cup gluten flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Wet:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup of sugar (with a drizzle of molasses to make it brown sugar)
1/4 cup applesauce (my favorite egg replacer)
1 tsp vanilla

Fixings:
1 cup oats
1 cup chocolate chips (or partial choc. chips and partial m & m's - Mr. E's fave!)
1/2 cup raisins

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls and then add together.
Stir in fixings.
Drop (and I like to flatten) 12 to a pan on parchment lined pans.

Cook for about 8-9 minutes (depending on your oven).

Mmmm....I may have to go make cookies now....