White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

I got this recipe out of Bon Appetit years ago....they are wonderfully chewy on the inside with a slight crisp on the outside...not overly sweet yet, perfect for that hounding sweet tooth. 

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter - softened

1 cup (packed) light brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups white chocolate chips

1 1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted salted macadamia nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.

Beat the butter until fluffy, add the both the white and brown sugar.  Mix until well blended.   Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time.  Mix until smooth.

Mix in the  dry ingredients and beat just until blended.

Carefully mix in the nuts and chips. and nuts.

For large cookies, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing 21/2 inches apart. For small cookies, drop dough by level tablespoonfuls onto sheets, spacing 11/2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until just golden, about 18 minutes for large cookies and about 15 minutes for small cookies. Cool on sheets.

Enjoy!

Mom's Favorite Cookie

This weekend I decided to do some favorites of my parents. My mom absolutely loves cookies, but these melt her heart. In her words, they are perfect blend of sugary shortbread and an earthy nutty flavor. I wish I had known the secret in my teen years...I could have swindled so much. LOL

1 1/2 cups sugar (+plus for rolling dough)

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

 

Cream together sugar and butter in mixing bowl until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Stir together remaining ingredients, then chill for an hour. Then form into walnut size balls and roll into sugar and cover completely. Place on well greased cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden. Let cool on wire rack.

What to devour first... Husband or cookies?

Today was another day of testing my patience with Mr. Kendra. As much as I try to be understanding, it infuriates me when he makes large purchases without having a conversation with me first...or at least forewarn me. Although he swears he told me months ago he wanted a new truck...I for some reason didn't translate that to "Hey hun, I'm going to buy a truck today"...this morning he leaves to run errands and returns 5 hours later with a truck and nice new payment...ONE WEEK before Christmas. I wanted to pelt him with my waffle iron, but since I'm not a violent person by nature....I refrained from beating, choking, or throttling him with large kitchenware... and stepped away. This is TWICE he has come home with a new vehicle without so much as hint to me. I often wonder if this rash purchases aren't prelude to a premature midlife crisis. Or if this is it. Guess bringing home a truck is better than bringing home a cute little perky 20 year old. 

But yes, Mr. Kendra still lives. 

I decided to transfer my anger to my mixer and pounded out some cookies. These are our neighbor son's ULTIMATE favorite cookie. His mother bakes them every year to give as gifts. After years of devouring these perfect nibbles I finally stalked her enough where she relented and gave me the recipe. At first when I started making these I couldn't get them quite as nice and chewy as she does. It took me time to tweak them to perfection.

You really should try these cookies. They are so wonderful. 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

1  1/2 cups flour 

1  1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup shortening

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp hot water

1 tsp vanilla

1  1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 (12 oz) package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups dry rolled oats

Shift together soda, flour and salt. I separate bowl, cream shortening and sugar (both brown and white). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in hot water, vanilla, and flour mixture. Add all remaining ingredients, mixing well. Let cookie dough rest for 5 minutes before dropping onto a well greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden in color. 

Baking Bliss...

Don't get me wrong. I love baking with the kids. There is something about their drooly grins and sneaky fingers...but the mess and noise sometimes get to much when you have large projects. This afternoon I got a chance to bake all by my lonesome. Peace and quiet to test out new recipes, perfect the old standbys and play around with the camera...ahhhh...baking bliss.

Dark chocolate and french vanilla Pinwheels

Chocolate Sniderdoodle drops

Mint Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Cranberry, orange and walnut scones