(lazy mom) Halloween Cookies

Cookies. You love them.  I love them.  Everyone loves them.  If you don't love cookies, you may as well stop reading right now.  Growing up my mom was a stay at home mom- my brother and I were lucky.  (I never realized how much so until I became a mom.)  And that mother of mine, she loves cookies- let me adjust that- she loves making cookies. Every holiday, every celebration, she'd whip up a batch of homemade cookies to send to school with us.  I remember her driving us to school with the big old rectangular Tupperware full of her treats.

Now my mom, she wasn't a lazy mom.  No sirree.  She made sugar cookies.  She made the dough, chilled the dough, rolled the dough, cut out the shapes, baked the cookies AND she decorated those suckers.  I still love those cookies. (She still makes them at Christmas, but my dad has horned in on the decoration duty)  

I have made special ones like that for my kids- like these


via

and these



via

But this year, I'm feeling a little..... lazy.  Ok, maybe not lazy.  If I was truly lazy, I wouldn't have made anything.  But the Mr does not like "shortbread" cookies- he's a die hard chocolate chip guy. So that means I have to eat the cookies.  And I do not need to eat the cookies.  So what to do.

Well, you buy these.

Oooh, eyeballs.  Gotta love it.  

I was inspired by these

via

But wanted to have my own twist.  
I grabbed my favorite baking book- Flour by Joanne Chang

Grabbed the ingredients

And away we went.

Butter, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking soda, chocolate chips.

Oh did I forget to mention the cute helper.  You really need one of those.

***if you have a problem with raw eggs please avert your eyes*****

I followed the instructions for the cookies (the recipe is at the end of this post) but pulled them out when they will still slightly underbaked.

Then we took the eyeballs (you can't bake them, they will melt and won't be eyeballs, they'll just be yuck)and pressed them into the soft-ish cookie.

Lazy mom cookies or not.  I think they're pretty awesome.

Maybe not as snazzy as mom's cookies, but she made more than cookies for us, she made memories. And that my friends, is exactly what I want to do too.

~l

Flour Bakery's Chocolate Chunk (or Chip) Cookies 

From the Flour cookbook, recipe also available here

- Makes approximately 24 large or 5 dozen small cookies - 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract  (I always do a big splash)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate, chopped (with 62% to 70% cacao recommended)
2 1/2 ounces (70 grams; scant 1/2 cup) milk chocolate, finely chopped
or
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat together until thoroughly combined, 2-3 minutes.  

In a medium bowl, whisk flours, baking soda, and salt together.  Add chocolates and stir together.  On low speed, gradually add the flour-chocolate mixture and mix until evenly incorporated.  

Scrape the cookie dough to an airtight container, cover and refrigerator overnight (or at least 3-4 hours), or up to a week.  

To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and set a rack in the center of the oven.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.

Drop 1/4-cup dough rounds onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing each about 2 inches apart. Lightly press down on each round with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly.  Bake until edges are golden brown and the center is set but still slightly soft, about 15 to 18 minutes.  Let cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.  Repeat with remaining cookie dough.

***If you are making smaller cookies- drop tablespoon size cookies onto the lined sheet.  Baking time is less 10-12 minutes, depending on your oven and how well done you like your cookies.****Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.  The cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.