Friday, January 29, 2010

How to make my mum's chocolate chip cookies

When I was a kid, everybody went to Walsh's house for Kool-Aid and Keenan's for chocolate chip cookies. Since this is a Friday in January and I'm sure we could all use a lift, I thought I'd share the recipe that explains why.

The secret ingredient: coffee. (maybe we loved them because we got hooked on the caffeine?) You could probably use liquid but mum found this recipe in the 1950s so naturally it calls for instant:


Evidently I will be making quite a lot of these cookies this winter, since I seldom drink coffee and never drink instant.

The first thing is to haul out your mixing gear. I particularly enjoy my bucket of ludicrously expensive measuring cups - they've paid for themselves three times over in the two years since I got them just by making flour-scooping a therapeutic experience.


Another indulgence: vintage Pyrex mixing bowls like mum always used. Took a while to track down all the sizes but I love them and use them all the time.


And now that we're set up, it's time to cream the butter and brown sugar.


I let the mixer take care of that while I crush the coffee with the back of a spoon,


and then add it to the flour mixture.


It looks like a real mess by the time you get all the ingredients together but the aroma? Pure heaven.


You just drop them with a couple of teaspoons onto a cookie sheet.


Then let most of them cool while you do taste tests on the lucky remainder.


Mum's cookie tin is pretty battered now and she was actually about to throw it out when I snagged it for myself. Which means I could take a picture of it for you if I wasn't so lazy (sorry!)

I don't use it though, because I found my own special tin about twenty years ago. I tuck the cookies up in that,



And then I close the lid.


Isn't this a breathtaking image? I keep thinking I'll get so distracted by staring at it I'll forget there are cookies inside, but so far - no.


Mrs. Keenan's Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes 6 dozen)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp instant coffee, crushed to a powder

Cream
1 cup of butter

Blend in
1 cup lightly-packed brown sugar

Add
1 egg and beat in thoroughly

Stir in
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Add the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture by spoonfuls, mixing well each time.

Drop batter by teaspoonfuls onto greased (or nonstick) cookie sheets, then bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you. We're expecting a huge (for us) snowstorm this weekend and these will be wonderful for my kids to eat when they come in from the cold!

Kathleen Taylor said...

the coffee thing is interesting. I don't do caffeine on a regular basis, though I do indulge once in awhile (a lot more often than I make cookies anyway). I may have to give this a try.