German Chocolate Cookies

My mom and I baked a variety of cookies last night. Every single cookies is now gone (thankfully) because were were baking them for someone else. We baked some classics--chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal raisin. We also baked a more "unique" cookie since my mom wanted to try something new, so we made German Chocolate cookies, inspired by German Chocolate cake.

The cookies were two fudge cookies sandwiching the traditional icing on a German chocolate cake--a combination of coconut, pecans, and caramelized sugar. These cookies were soooo incredible. I actually cut one sandwich cookie into fourths, because I had already ate a couple of chocolate chip cookies by the time these were done.

These cookies will definitely be added to our current cookie rotation!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A few years ago, after a day of blueberry picking with Grace and Angela, Grace shared her blueberry cobbler recipe with me. That recipe is now a favorite among several people in my family. I think baking with friends is very important because you can share--not only recipes--but also ideas on how to bake or anything, really.

Sophia and Amber came over for a night of cookie baking.

We used the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of the semi-sweet Toll House chocolate chip bag. The cookies came out really great, and most importantly, we had a good time.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 7-9 minutes per sheet of cookies
Difficulty Level: Easy

Yields 5 dozen cookies. (I pretty much always half this recipe. Lucy likes to take some cookie dough, shape it, and put it in freezer bags. That way, if she just wants to bake one or two cookies, they're already prepared.)

Recipe- Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies (also found on the back of the Toll House chocolate chips bag)

2 and 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels (chocolate chips)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.
2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts.
4. Drop into round balls, about a tablespoon, onto ungreased cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown (more or less time depending on your oven!)