Autumn: The Happy Season

Eggless Chocolate chip cookies


Fall is in the air. I can feel it. Today, the sun is shining and the horizon is a crisp, bright blue. There is a definite bite of cold in the air and my cheeks look a shade rosier every time I go outside. Although it isn't technically Autumn until September 21st, I'm just going to pretend that it's already here. I can't get enough of this time of year. September is usually when I finally come out of my lazy-days-of-summer heat coma. I re-connect with my inner housewife and thus begin a new season of baking, sewing, knitting, and curling up on the couch with a blanket and reading. (okay, so I read all year-round. Whatever.)Life outside of the home slows down but indoors, I feel like I'm just waking up.

To celebrate the changing season, I baked cookies today. I have wanted to make some eggless chocolate chip cookies for a long time. I found a good base recipe and tweaked it. It make a pretty good cookie. I also experimented and added oatmeal to half of the dough and baked them in a mini-muffin tin instead of a cookie sheet and I actually liked them more than the basic cookies.

It was very fun to be able to allow Gemma to eat cookies and not be worried about them making her sick. They were the first home-made chocolate chip cookies that she has ever eaten. It was pretty special. I took some pictures and have put up the recipe as well.

First bite, not so sure about this "warm cookie" business.

Hey! That's good!

Seasoned cookie connoisseur trying out the new recipe

It passed inspection.


INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup vanilla nonfat yogurt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar, margarine and shortening until light and fluffy. Stir in yogurt and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until incorporated, then mix in chocolate chips.

3. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges begin to brown. Cool for a minute on the cookie sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

To make oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bites:
Add 1 cup of rolled quick-oats with dry ingredients. Spoon dough into greased mini-muffin tin and bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees on top rack.

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bites