Cookies

There are a few things I really love about these Jumbo Red White and Blue Cookies! They are so delicious first and foremost! Who doesn’t love a great big M&M cookie? Second they are fabulous looking and perfect for all of those summer parties and get togethers coming up in the next few months. When choosing what to take to a party I always try to keep things simple because they more elaborate I go, the more food I come home with. I’ve noticed people really gravitate toward the simple stuff so this recipe is a crowd pleaser. Last, they are so easy and only take a few minutes to put together.

Today we are also talking about the big cookie debate: Do you need to chill your dough? This question has really made me go hmmmm?? So I decided to do some experimenting and show you the results. I have to stress, this experiment is only true to this cookie recipe or chocolate chip based recipes that are similar. 🙂

So to answer the big question, do you need to chill your cookie dough, I baked one batch immediately after making the dough and I chilled the other for 30 minutes AFTER rolling the cookies into balls. If I do chill dough I always roll it first if I can (sometimes sticky dough requires chilling before rolling).

The Results

NOT CHILLED DOUGH: I noticed immediately the dough the was not chilled spread a lot quicker and reminded me of the cookies in the clear bins in grocery stores that look like they aren’t even baked! As far as texture, the cookies were really chewy and were the same throughout. The dough that was not chilled was lighter in color and did not brown at all around the edges. The cookies did not puff up much in the oven either. The results were really delicious though, making me wonder if chilling is even necessary. If you are a raw cookie dough lover, I’d say you may prefer baking your dough without chilling it first because you get a cookie that is true to cookie dough taste! I loved them!

CHILLED DOUGH: After making the dough I rolled it into balls, placed the balls on my sheet tray, and chilled them for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. I know some recipes call for chilling dough over night, however I wanted this experiment to be relatable to someone looking to make a batch of cookies the same day, which is really what I prefer to do most of the time. The dough that was chilled did not produce as large of a cookie, and really baked up to be quite the “perfect” looking cookie! Crispy and lightly browned around the edges, and perfectly chewy in the middle. These cookies were baked for an additional 2 minutes because they were just not baked throughout at 12 minutes. The texture of the cookies was almost identical to the cookies baked with the dough that was not chilled, the only notable texture difference was they were not crispy at all around the edges. If you love a little bit of crisp in your cookies, or are taking your cookies to an event, I’d say to chill your dough before baking. The results are beautiful and you can’t beat a delicious LOOKING and TASTING cookie!

If you have been following along here at WB&L, then you might know that I’m a former pastry chef. I’m also the blogger behind www.3boysunprocessed.com, and obviously those two things do not go hand in hand. Bakeries are known to be some of the worst offenders when it comes to using horrendous ingredients, like trans fats and highly refined oils.

My first job in a real life bakery was at a little place in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania that shall remain nameless (it was since gone out of business). The owner was notorious for being a horrible person to work for, and let’s just say he lived up to all the hype. I still wonder from time to time how I even made it through my internship there because he was just a downright cold-hearted, nasty man (I promised myself I would never discuss this here but I may still be upset about my experience there). It has been almost 10 years and I still have nightmares about him! HA Time to let it go maybe?

The point of me sharing that tidbit was just to back up the fact that bakeries are known to use a lot of hidden trans fats and highly refined fats in their products, and I saw it there first hand! The whole idea of a bakery to me is that you are getting something handmade, however when a bakery becomes so successful that they have to start cutting corners for time management purposes, they may start bringing in ready made ingredients to use instead of making things from scratch. They also may start experimenting with cheaper products which almost always results in the use of hidden trans fats.

At this particular bakery that we will just call Dingel’s for now, we used to slather cool whip and margarine all over cakes and boy that was just the beginning! They also used bagged cake mix (I know right, bagged cake mix!?!?!) for all of their cakes. At the time I had no idea the kind of debotchery I was partaking in because I was 19 and had never read an ingredient list in my life! I was also too busy crying in the parking lot because the owner was a jerk to even notice the ingredients they used were pure crap! When I started reading ingredient labels I realized how horrible of a product they were passing off as “homemade.” To think they were charging customers an arm and a leg for their cheaply made product laden with trans fats in many different forms and bagged cake mix just makes me shutter because there is a better way!

Today, I’m sharing a secret little substitution I came up with that is pure cookie heaven without the use of highly refined vegetable/soybean/canola oil/shortening (aka trans fat) because I really don’t use those ingredients in my home, therefore I won’t write recipes with them. I’ve been told time and time again by true professionals that you MUST start with quality ingredients if you want a quality end product and I have found this to be so very true in my own kitchen.

Time and time again I’ve tried to make softbatch sugar cookies without using the recommended vegetable oil and I could never get them quite right. I’ve tried subbing butter and in doing that I lost the texture I was looking for (and added a ton of fat). So I began wondering what I could use that was creamy, contained some fat, and was a liquid. I’m a huge fan of coconut milk (the canned kind, not the dairy substitute), and I just so happened to have a can already open in my refrigerator from a smoothie the day before. I knew I had nothing to loose by giving it a try, and coconut milk has never let me down before!

When I realized how amazing the cookies were with the coconut milk I knew I had to share this secret ingredient swap! The cookies do not carry even a hint of coconut flavor, but have the pillowy texture of soft batch sugar cookies, and are just oh-so-PERFECT. I mean, so perfect my husband (who sometimes doesn’t even take a second glance at the desserts I make) scarfed down 5 of them and declared them his favorite cookie of all time.

The cookies were really nostalgic for me because growing up I had a favorite sugar cookie from a local grocery store and nothing I’ve ever made even came close. I was longing for the same taste and texture every time I made sugar cookies and always, always failed. The grocery store is smack dab in the middle of central Pennsylvania and is pure Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish Country inspired. These cookies are SPOT ON. SPOT ON. I literally felt like a 5 year old little girl again every time I took a bite. I know in my heart the PA Dutch women probably weren’t putting coconut milk in their sugar cookies, but baby this is a damn good substitute and a solid sugar cookie recipe. These Secret Ingredient Softbatch Sugar Cookies will not let you down, I promise!

Hand model creds: The husband!

A Few Secret Ingredient Softbatch Sugar Cookie Recipe Notes

• I used light coconut milk and had no coconut flavor. You can certainly use regular coconut milk (canned). The only difference is the fat content.
• I used King Arthur’s unbleached all-purpose flour as I do with almost all of my recipes. I highly recommend this flour over any other.
• I used pure vanilla extract for the best vanilla taste.
• I always use India Tree sprinkles as they are all natural. You can find all of these products below. 🙂

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Magazine’s Amish Sugar Cookie Recipe.