I adore baking.  I love creating something wonderful, sharing goodies with other people, and (let’s be real) eating baked goods.  I attribute my disdain of “baking from a box” to my dear paternal grandmother, Marcella, who provided our family with many lovely meals and desserts all from scratch.  And she managed to do this with seemingly little effort.

I am starting out slow today with a very simple recipe that takes less than 30 minutes from pulling out the flour to shoving a cookie in your mouth.  I am confident anyone can successfully bake these cookies.  It’s perfect for lazy Sundays when you just have to have something chocolate immediately yet actually doing work sounds miserable.  These cookies are based off of a Williams-Sonoma recipe (with my own additions, obviously).

Ingredients:

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1 2/3 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

One stick unsalted butter at room temperature

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup flavored chips (Today I used peanut butter chips however have also enjoyed mint and white chocolate chips)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy (about three minutes…and yes, it really does take the entire three minutes). Add one egg and beat on medium speed until blended. Add the other egg and vanilla and beat until blended.

Combine the dry and wet ingredients.  Blend well (the dough will be thick).

Add the chips and stir just until blended evenly. 

Using a spoon or your hand scoop up a tablespoon full of dough, roll into a ball, and roll in the confectioners sugar.  Place on the cookie sheet.

Cook one batch for 12-13 minutes, let cool for a few minutes and then remove from the cookie sheet.  

I trust you now know what to do.  The answer is to eat those cookies!  My husband certainly will be.