Just For Fun

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This week at the grocery store I found the Christmas Cookie special interest publication from Better Homes & Gardens. This is the one cookie magazine I buy every year because it never disappoints. There are several promising looking recipes this year, and I decided to make one up the other day, just because it looked like fun.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dunkers are not biscotti, but they look like it. They are baked in a bar form, sliced, and then baked again. It's a fairly basic chocolate chip cookie dough recipe, and I'm sure you could play with the proportions a bit if you'd like. One thing I would do next time is add a pinch of salt. I'm not usually one for salty/sweet, but it really needed the salt to balance out the sweetness. They were easy enough to bake up though. Essentially, a cookie dough is mixed together, baked in a pan, allowed to cool, and then sliced and baked up one more time. The result is a very crispy cookie stick that resembles biscotti. They're fun! I baked mine up in an 11x7 pan and got 14 cookies, so I'm not sure where BH&G got 18 out of a 9x9 pan. I cut the slices as thin as I dared, and had a few try to break on my when I flipped them during baking.

I will be making these again. They're fun to look at- especially drizzled in chocolate, and they're a huge hit with the kids. I could see these placed in a glass like little soldiers and dressing up a table at a dinner party. Next time I may cut each stick in half, so I'd have 28 cookie sticks that are 3 1/2 inches long instead of 7 inches. Seven inches of cookie is quite a bit, and I found my sweet tooth satisfied about halfway through. With a glass of milk, these are the perfect little pick-me-up and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dunkers will thrill adults and kids alike.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dunkers
from Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Cookies- 2007

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon shortening

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan; set pan aside.

Beat butter and 1/4 cup shortening in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, and baking soda. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir any remaining flour. Stir in miniature semisweet chips and if desired, nuts.

Press dough evenly on bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until evenly golden brown and center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack for 1 hour. Reduce oven temperature to 325ºF.

Use foil to lift baked mixture out of pan and to a cutting board. Remove foil. Cut baked mixture into 9x1/2-inch slices using a serrated knife. Place slices, cut side down, 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until crisp, turning carefully halfway through baking time. Cool completely on the cookie sheet on a wire rack. Trim ends if desired.

Microwave chopped chocolate and 1 tablespoon shortening in a small microwave-safe bowl on 50% power for 2 to 3 minutes or until chocolate is melted and smooth, stirring twice. Brush or spread one end of each cookie stick with melted chocolate mixture; let excess drip down sides of cookie. Place cookies on parchment paper or waxed paper; let stand about 1 hour, or until set. Makes 18. Posted by Erika W.