It has been too long since I made Cookies

I used to make cookies every couple of months and freeze them. I would make multiple batches in one day. I would be in the kitchen for hours and when I was finally done I wouldn't even want a cookie. The last time I made cookies I decided to freeze the dough instead of baked cookies. It made for a much less timely adventure that way. Since I have been pregnant I have not had the desire to bake. Which is not like me. I even bought store bought cookies one day to take to a friend's cabin. I just didn't want to do it. But I decided that for my first Baby Shower coming up in September that I would thank the guests with homemade cookies. So today I didn't have much going on so I made 3 types of cookies and froze most of the dough. I had to bake some for my husband though, he has a major sweet tooth and that would have been mean. I chose three types of cookies.

I have a convection oven and have found that baking all my cookies at 325 on the convection setting leads to perfect cookies. I follow the time suggestions of the recipes, but just keep an eye on them.

I used my cookie scoop from pampered chef to make balls. I stored all the cookie balls in gallon ziplocks and put in the freezer. They are ready and waiting to be baked whenever I decide to do so.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

(this recipe is adapted from Coconut Toffee Chews from Bakingblonde)

I made two batches today.

2 1/2 Cups Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

(Sift or wisk dry ingredients together and set aside)

1 Cup Brown Sugar (Firmly Packed)

1 Cup Butter (Softened)

1 Cup Sugar

2 Large Eggs

1/2 TBS Vanilla

2 1/4 Cups Flaked Coconut

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until mixed. Add the dry ingredients and blend until just mixed. Stir in the Coconut and Chocolate Chips.

Bake 350 for 8-12 minutes (until tops are lightly toasted) try not to overbake.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe has been mentioned numerous times on "What's Cooking" message board on the nest.com. I wanted to find the original recipe instead of back tracking through various blogs. This is a "Cook's Illustrated" Recipe.

I made 2 batches today.

2 1/8 Cup Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 1/2 Stick of Butter (melted and cooled)

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Large Egg

1 Large Egg Yolk

2 tsp Vanilla

1-2 Cups Chocolate Chips (or Chunks)

Bake 325 for 15-18 minutes (Check at 13 minutes)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This is a recipe from Ina Garten. I found it on a random website. I should have read the directions more clearly because I didn't press the cookies down before baking as suggested. So I ended up with more of a round cookie. Oh well they still tasted great! I also made two batches of these too.

1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

1-1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 extra-large eggs at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup good smooth peanut butter

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 pound good semisweet chocolate chunks

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and peanut butter, and mix. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and add to the batter, mixing only until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using either a 1-3/4-inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands, flatten the dough lightly, then press the tines of a wet fork in both directions. Bake for exactly 17 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.