2 weeks Ago By ANDREA MCCOY Yakima Magazine
With the holidays approaching, it seems like almost every week a new event or invitation pops up. Whether its an end-of-season sports banquet, employee potluck or corporate holiday party, dinner invitation from the neighbor down the street, book club; the events are darn near endless and my list doesn’t even touch the half of it. And it would be easy to feel a little overwhelmed at what to bring as a small gift to many of these events.
Whether its a hostess gift or white elephant gift exchange or a neighbor brings over a holiday gift and you are left scrambling trying to think of what to offer in return; I’ve got just the idea. I call it my ‘back pocket recipe,’ where I have a couple tried and true recipes I feel confident making and sharing. Everyone needs a couple recipes (I’m talking no more than the fingers on your hand) that you can haphazardly make with your eyes closed.
Your back pocket recipes are the things you make time and time again for family and friends that they love and request. These recipes don’t need to be fancy. I’ve fallen for the trap of Pinterest overwhelm way too many times, feeling frustrated and a little defeated when the recipe I attempted ended up nothing like the photo.
I’m a big believer in leaning on those back pocket recipes, especially during the holidays. If you don’t have a back pocket cookie recipe, maybe this is the one for you this year. Butter is browned in a sauce pan until it smells a little like caramel.
This small and easy extra step gives the cookies a rich almost nutty flavor, well worth the little bit of extra effort. Once the butter browns, the dough is a quick mix of sugars, vanilla, eggs, flour and oats. The dark chocolate makes the cookies feel a little extra special as does the sprinkle of flaky salt garnishing the top.
Once baked, these cookies are the most decadent and special treat. Packaged up in a pretty jar and tied with a festive ribbon and not only do you have a beautiful gift to give, but its a thoughtful and beautiful one at that. Anyone receiving a gorgeous batch of these special cookies is going to be delighted.
I love how unassuming the cookies are and how surprisingly decadent and special they become once you bite into them. I can just about guarantee, once you’ve made a batch, they’ll be your go-to back pocket cookie recipe for years to come. There’s something so special about a homemade gift, it’s such a lovely way to gift at the holidays.
Maybe oatmeal cookies aren’t what you had in mind this year but you still want something homemade. The Yakima Herald has lots of fun The Salt and Stone holiday recipes in the archives. There’s a sweet and savory nut mix, trays of cinnamon rolls, no-knead artisan bread, rhubarb simple syrup, chocolate molasses cake and probably a dozen different cookie recipes from over the years.
My website, thesaltandstone.com has a library of recipes to poke around on as well. • 1 cup softened salted butter • 1 cup packed brown sugar • 1/2 cup granulated sugar • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract • 2 large eggs, room temperature • 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 1 1/3 cups oats • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 1 teaspoon baking soda • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt • 2 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips • Flaky sea salt for garnish In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat until it simmers.
Stir occasionally, keeping a close eye on it until the butter turns a caramel color and the milk solids begin to separate, about 6 to 8 minutes usually. Once the butter starts to turn brown, turn the heat off to the pan and remove from the stove. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before starting the dough.
In a stand mixer, combine the brown butter and sugars. Mix on medium until the butter and sugar are smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, one at a time, mixing after each addition.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder and baking soda along with the salt. Mix to combine before adding the flour mixture to the butter mixture in two batches, mixing on low until just combined. Gently stir in the dark chocolate until its incorporated into the dough but don’t over mix! Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour or up to a day ahead.
Cooling the dough after its made, but before baking helps the cookie keep its shape and improves the flavor. When its time to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Scoop out heaping spoonfuls of dough (about 3 tablespoons each) and line them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet leaving about 2 inches space between each cookie.
Tuck a chocolate chip into the top of each cookie and sprinkle the whole tray with flaky sea salt. Bake in the oven for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown. Immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, use a bowl slightly larger than the cookies and swirl it around and over each cookie to make them a little more circular and uniform.
Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Once the cookies have completely cooled, layer them in a pretty glass jar with a lid. Tie a pretty ribbon around the jar and garnish with a sprig of rosemary, dried orange slices, a small ornament or a handmade card.
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