Editors of Adams Media - The 50 best cookies and brownies recipes: tasty, fresh, and easy to make!

Avon, Massachusetts The cookie has had a long and assorted history. The earliest record of cookie-type treats were small cakes that were made in seventh-century Persia. These small cakes spread to Europe during the Crusades, and by the fourteenth century cookies were well known in Italy and France, and their popularity had begun to spread to the rest of Europe. In the 1600s, immigrants brought cookies to America. The word cookie actually came from koekje , the Dutch word for small cake. Cookies were saved for holidays and special occasions because it was difficult and expensive to get the ingredients to make them.

There werent many varieties of cookies, but many of them are still popular today, including gingerbread and macaroons. In the late 1800s, technology was creating new ways to make and process foods. Sugar and certain spices were easier to find, and women had a bit more leisure time. With the ability to more accurately regulate the temperature of their ovens, bakers were able to create different textures, shapes, and varieties of cookies. Bar cookies became popular among busy farm women in the early twentieth century as a way to make the family a treat quickly. During the depression, no-bake cookies allowed families to satisfy sweet cravings with readily available dried fruits and nuts.

The popularity of these cookies increased during the 1940s as rationing limited the availability of ingredients like sugar and chocolate. Today, baking is often associated with holidays, celebrations, or special times with family and friends. Your first baking experience may have been with some sort of cookie. Making a habit of baking cookies and brownies with your children is an excellent way to create memories and build relationships. And in this cookbook, youll find fifty great cookies and brownies to choose from, from classic chocolate chip to decadent Triple Layer Peanut Butter-Chocolate Bars. Dont wait for a rainy day to make some cookies and brownies.

Choose a recipe, gather your family together, and enjoy some quality time while creating a mouthwatering treat. White Chocolate Chip-Macadamia Cookies Macadamia nuts are incredibly rich and lend an unmistakable flavor to these decadent cookies. The creamy sweetness of white chocolate pairs perfectly with the nuts so substituting with semi-sweet chips will change the flavor substantially. Makes 36 cookies Ingredients 1 cup unsalted butter 1 cup light brown sugar, packed cup sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda teaspoon salt 1 cup macadamia nuts 1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease baking sheets.
2. Cream together butter and sugars.

   Add eggs and vanilla. Scrape insides of vanilla bean into butter mixture; set aside 30 minutes so flavors blend.

3. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; blend into butter mixture.
4. Fold in macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips.
5. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 810 minutes.

   Cool 10 minutes before removing from baking sheets.

Chocolate Chip Cookies This belongs in every bakers repertoire. For a cakier consistency, add more flour and eggs. For a chewier consistency, add more butter and brown sugar. Makes 24 cookies Ingredients cup unsalted butter cup vegetable shortening cup sugar cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.
3. Cream butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.

   Add eggs one at a time; beat well after each egg is added. Beat in vanilla.

4. Combine flour and baking soda; stir into butter mixture.
5. Carefully fold in chocolate chips.
6. Drop by teaspoonfuls about 2" apart on cookie sheets. Bake 810 minutes.

   Allow to cool on cookie sheets 10 minutes before removing.

Chocolate Chip History The chocolate chip cookie was created by accident by Ruth Wakefield, who ran the Toll House Inn with her husband near Whitman, Massachusetts. While hurriedly trying to bake a chocolate butter cookie, she chopped up a chocolate bar hoping that it would melt and produce a chocolate cookie. It did not, but the result was so good that Nestle cut a deal with her to provide her with chocolate for her inn in exchange for the rights to the recipe. Chocolate-Peanut Butter Chip Cookies If salty-sweet flavors make you happy, these are the cookies for you. In this lush chocolate cookie, you find an abundance of peanut butter chips.

Delicious when warm right out of the oven get your glass of milk ready for dipping! Makes 30 cookies Ingredients cup butter cup vegetable shortening 1 cups sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 eggs 2 cups all-purpose flour cup cocoa powder teaspoon baking soda teaspoon salt 2 cups peanut butter chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, shortening, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs.
3. Combine dry ingredients; blend into butter mixture.
4. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets.
5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto baking sheets.

   Bake 1012 minutes, or until just set.

6. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets 5 minutes before removing to finish cooling.

A Passion for Peanut Butter Peanut butter was first introduced to the general public at the 1904 Worlds Fair. It quickly gained fans, and by 1915 it was being featured in cookies. It is so popular today that over half of the peanut crop in the United States is made into peanut butter. Oatmeal Cookies The great thing about oatmeal cookies is that they serve as a great backdrop to all sorts of add-ins.

Traditional cookies feature raisins, but in this recipe you add coconut and pecans as well! Theres no reason you couldnt also add chocolate chips. Makes 60 cookies Ingredients cup vegetable shortening 1 cup packed brown sugar cup sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla cup water 3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal, uncooked 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon salt teaspoon baking soda 1 cup coconut, optional 1 cup raisins, optional 1 cup pecans or walnuts, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
2. Beat together shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, and water.
3. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture.

   Add any optional ingredients at this time.

4. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 1215 minutes.
5. Allow to cool 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.

Old-Fashioned Date Hermits Hermits feature the moist, chewy sweetness of dates, and can be found at almost all bakeries. Now you can make your own! These hold up well to freezing and make a delicious special treat for breakfast.

Makes 60 cookies

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