Lately I've been finding it harder and harder to make time to bake, especially things like cookies for lunch boxes and snacks. I'm trying not to eat a lot of sweets myself, but I'd rather bake things to have on hand for others and not have to resort to buying them at the store.
It's sort of neat (okay, really neat) how the Lord will often bring things to mind to help with even little dilemmas like this. It's a small thing, but it never fails to encourage me to think about how God cares about even the tiny details of our lives.
In this case, He brought back to my mind some simple, quick cookie recipes from a little old cookbook I had used years ago. Each one of them makes about 5 dozen cookies in just a few minutes of actual work. I'm going to share the recipes here for three different varieties of cookie sticks.
GINGERSNAP COOKIE STICKS
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
Cinnamon-sugar for top of cookies
Heat oven to 375º. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, molasses, and egg. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices into the sugar mixture and mix together thoroughly. Cut the dough in half. Work with one half at a time. Take the first half and divide it into two pieces. Form each piece into a strip about 3 inches wide and 15 inches long on a lightly greased baking sheet. Sprinkle each strip with cinnamon-sugar (or plain sugar if preferred). Bake until the edges are lightly browned and the tops appear crackled, about 8 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then cut each strip into 1-inch slices (a pizza cutter works beautifully for this). Remove them to racks to cool completely.
Repeat with the second half of the dough.
Store baked cookies in a tin or plastic box. Makes about 5 dozen.
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE STICKS
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Granulated sugar for tops of cookies
Heat oven to 375º. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, peanut butter, egg, and vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the sugar mixture and mix together thoroughly. Cut the dough in half. Work with one half at a time. Take the first half and divide it into two pieces. Form each piece into a strip about 1 1/2 inches wide and 15 inches long on a lightly greased baking sheet. Flatten strips to 3 inches wide using a fork dipped in granulated sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then cut each strip into 1-inch slices (a pizza cutter works beautifully for this). Remove them to racks to cool completely.
Repeat with the second half of the dough.
Store baked cookies in a tin or plastic box. Makes about 5 dozen.
CHIP COOKIE STICKS
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup baking chips -- use chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, or a combination
1/2 cup chopped nuts (or use toffee baking bits)
Heat oven to 375º. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, egg, and vanilla. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into the sugar mixture and mix together thoroughly. Cut the dough in half. Work with one half at a time. Take the first half and divide it into two pieces. Form each piece into a strip about 3 inches wide and 15 inches long on a lightly greased baking sheet. Sprinkle each strip with chips of your choice and nuts. Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then cut each strip into 1-inch slices (a pizza cutter works beautifully for this). Remove them to racks to cool completely.
Repeat with the second half of the dough.
Store baked cookies in a tin or plastic box. Makes about 5 dozen.
Hope these recipes will be fun for someone else to try!
Are these cookies hard to form into sticks or do you feel it is faster than regular cookies? I'm trying to decide what kind of cookies to make.
ReplyDeleteI think these are a lot faster. You just put 2 strips at a time on a cookie sheet, and the strips are 3 inches wide by 15 inches long. It takes a few minutes (maybe 3 at the most) to pat the dough out into this rectangle and have it relatively neat and even looking. Then when they are baked and have cooled 2 minutes, you just slice them up in 1-inch sticks with a pizza cutter. Quick and easy! The baking time is also less than for regular cookies, making these a good cookie to make in summer when you don't want to heat up the house.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy these if you try them!
God bless,
Mrs.T
Thanks so much for sharing these recipes - I have been requested t bake tomorrow, so I shall give these a whirl.
ReplyDeleteAfter nearly 2 months with huge broadband problems it is nearly time for the line to be fixed properly - meanwhile I am enjoying my temporary connection and looking up my old friends. It's GOOD to be back. Jennie xx
Jennie,
ReplyDeleteSo good to see you here!! I so miss seeing everyone at Seasonal Delights. I am glad you made your way here to my kitchen table even on a temporary connection.
I hope the cookie sticks come out well for you and that your family enjoys them!
God bless,
Mrs.T
I've missed everyone too - been going CRAZY without broadband. Still have a connection today. Wow! Off to try your cookies now. Will report back.
ReplyDeleteGreat! Let me know how you like them! Gail, I hope you will report in with your thoughts on these as well if you try these cookies.
ReplyDelete