Cowboy Cookies

When I was looking up the Silo Cookies recipe, I came across a few comments from people saying it reminded them of Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies, which remind me of Ranger Cookies that my Aunt Barbara's mother used to make. Cowboy Cookies have rolled oats and cinnamon and Ranger cookies have Wheaties. I don't like buying a box of Wheaties just to make the cookies since you only need 2 cups, and then the rest of it goes to waste in my house. I'm much more likely to have rolled oats on hand, so I wanted to give these a try.

The original recipe makes a lot of cookies, so I only made a half recipe. In order to do this, I had to split 3 eggs to get 1.5 eggs. I took 2 eggs, beat them together and then removed 2 Tablespoons. You could also weigh an egg and split it according to weight.

Like the Silo cookie recipe, I mixed the chocolate chips, rolled oats, coconut and pecans together in a bowl first before adding them all to the cookie batter, to ensure they were mixed in well.

I used my large cookie scoop (that I usually use for muffin batter) and got 25 cookies out of this recipe. I put 8 on a cookie sheet at a time to give them room to spread since they are big cookies. This dough does not say it needs refrigerated, but while the first tray was in the oven, I put the other 2 trays in the fridge until it was time to bake them. If you have the time, I suggest letting each tray chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking, as it helps prevent the batter from spreading like it did on the first tray that I did not refrigerate.

I baked them for 15 minutes, until they were a little brown around the edges but still looked undercooked on top. I took them out of the oven and then let them sit in the pans for about 10 minutes before touching them. They finished baking that way and then looked perfect! These cookies were really good and I'm glad I gave them a try.

Cowboy Cookies

Adapted from the Washington Post's version of Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookie Recipe

 

This recipe is a half recipe of the original, which calls for 3 eggs. To get half of 3 eggs, you can either just use only one egg, or beat two eggs and remove about 2 tablespoons.

The bigger the cookie, the more chewy it can be. So if you like chewy cookies, make them big.  If you want a chewy cookie, cook them until the edges are browned, but not the whole cookie. If you cook the cookie until it is all nicely browned, it will be more crisp.

 

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1½ teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons (6 ounces) butter, at room temperature

¾ cup white sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

1½ large eggs, beaten (See Recipe Note)

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut (we used shredded)

1 cup chopped pecans

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F: Place racks in upper and lower third of oven. Line two large baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.

 

Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

 

Make the cookie dough: Place butter in a standing electric mixer and beat on medium speed until smooth and light, about 1 minute. Slowly add in the white sugar and brown sugar, and beat to combine, about 2 more minutes. Add half the eggs, beat, and then add the other half and beat again. Add the vanilla extract and beat again. Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture, until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, oats, coconut, and pecans, mixing until just combined.

 

Scoop out the cookies: If you want large cookies, drop about ¼ cup lumps of the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, separated by 3 inches to allow for enough room for the cookies to spread as they cook. For smaller cookies, use about 2 tablespoons of the cookie dough per cookie.

 

Bake the cookies: Bake at 350°F for 14 to 18 minutes for large cookies, or 13 to 16 minutes for small cookies. Rotate the pan halfway through baking, front to bake and top to bottom.

 

Simple Tip! If you are using a dark baking sheet, it will absorb more heat, and you won't need as much baking time. Also, the top rack will bake more quickly because heat rises.

 

Cool the cookies: Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Then remove the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

 

You'll likely need to work in batches, depending on the size of your oven and your baking sheets.

 

Yield: 25-36 cookies.

Credit: White House Archives

Silo Cookies

I recently saw a reel on the Magnolia Network Instagram page about Silo Cookies. I've been wanting to make them and finally did today. I followed the recipe exactly, other than using a 1.5-ounce cookie scoop since that's the biggest size I have (it was plenty big - I usually use it for muffin batter). The recipe says this makes 18 cookies but I got 28 cookies out of 1 recipe, and they took a few minutes longer to bake (15-16 minutes or so).

Note that the cookies need to be refrigerated for at least 30 minutes before baking. I originally put 12 cookies on each baking sheet, but then realized how much they might spread, so I ended up baking only 8 on a cookie sheet at a time, which worked well.

These cookies were really good and I love that they have so many different things in them. Even my picky eater who usually only likes chocolate chips in his cookies loved them! The only things I might try different next time is using Crisco in place of butter (like I do when I make chocolate chip cookies), or using half Crisco and half butter, and maybe increasing the walnuts to 1 cup.

Silo Cookies

Recipe courtesy Joanna Gaines

 

“The credit for this recipe really belongs to Chip and the kids. They each have a different favorite cookie, so one day, I dumped in everyone's must-have ingredient: nuts for Chip, peanut butter for the girls, and chocolate for the boys. It was a complete win across the board. So it became our family's signature cookie, and the first item on the menu when we opened Silos Baking Co.”—Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Table, Volume 2

 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1 cup packed light brown sugar

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1½ cups rolled oats

1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

1½ cups peanut butter chips

½ cup chopped walnuts

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

 

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the eggs one at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until well incorporated. 

 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add the flour mixture to the mixer and beat until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low, add the oats, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and walnuts and beat until incorporated, 15 to 20 seconds.

 

Using a 2-ounce cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto one of the prepared baking sheets, placing the scoops side by side. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 

 

Baking in batches, and leaving the dough balls in the refrigerator until needed, set the dough balls 3 inches apart on the second prepared baking sheet and bake until browned, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining cookies. 

 

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

 

Yield: 18-28 cookies.

Waffles

Tonight I tried a different waffle recipe than the one my husband recently made. The two recipes are very similar with slightly different ingredient amounts. The only thing I changed is that I used 2 tablespoons of sugar instead of 1/4 cup, since we were eating these for dinner. I paired them with Kerrygold butter, maple syrup, fresh fruit and bacon and everyone loved them!

I weighed my flour instead of measuring it, so I left the grams measurements in this recipe. You can use either butter or oil (I recommend light olive oil over vegetable oil) in this recipe, or half of each. Using oil instead of butter will make the waffles more crispy. I used butter and they were delicious, but I will definitely experiment with the other two ways and see what we like best. It's also recommended to heat up the milk a little bit to room temperature because cold milk and melted butter don't mix well - the butter will solidify and clump up.

This made 6 waffles, which was just enough for my family of 4. The only other thing I will do differently next time is make a double recipe so we can freeze some.

Tip: Do not use sprays like Pam on your waffle maker! They make a mess and they cause more harm to the appliance than good. They leave a sticky residue that is very difficult to get off. Instead, don't use anything at all - the nonstick waffle maker shouldn't need anything other than the oil or butter that is already in the batter.

Waffles

Recipe courtesy “Preppy Kitchen” Blog

 

Try the best waffle recipe ever! Throw the no-fuss batter together in mere minutes, and then load up your perfectly crisp, tender waffles with your favorite toppings.

 

2¼ cups all-purpose flour (270g)

¼ cup granulated sugar (50g) – or as little as 2 Tablespoons

1 tablespoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

2 cups milk (480ml), room temperature

½ cup unsalted butter, melted (113g) or ½ cup light olive oil or ¼ cup of each

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Preheat the waffle iron. (If you can choose settings, I recommend a darker or higher heat setting for a crispier waffle.)

 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir together just until combined – do not over mix.

 

Add about 1/3 cup of batter for each waffle to the hot waffle iron. (The amount will depend on the size of your waffle maker so feel free to experiment with how much you add.)

 

Cook until golden brown. Place on a wire rack until ready to serve so they stay crisp. Serve hot with maple syrup and butter or your favorite toppings.

 

 

Yield: This recipe yields approximately 6-10 waffles, depending on the size of waffle maker used.

 

Notes:

Sugar. I use ¼ cup of granulated sugar, but if you want less sweetness, you can use as little as 2 tablespoons.

Use room temperature eggs if possible. This is not a make-or-break situation! If you are making this waffle recipe first thing in the morning and need to use eggs straight out of the refrigerator, your waffles will still turn out delicious! But if you have the time, set the eggs out 30 minutes to 1 hour before you start the waffles.

Weigh the flour. If you don’t feel like whipping out the kitchen scale at breakfast time, you can measure the flour right out of the bag, but give it a light fluff and spoon it into the measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. Never scoop directly into the bag. For this method, use 2 cups of flour. If you do use a kitchen scale, measure 270 grams, which is actually 2¼ cups of flour. I’ve tested this recipe countless times, and both of these methods of measuring flour yield perfect waffles.

Don’t over-mix the batter. Once the wet and dry ingredients are just incorporated, the batter is ready. It might be a little lumpy, and that’s okay! Those lumps will actually help with the fluffy texture.

For waffles that stay crisp: Place the cooked waffles on a wire rack when they’re ready. If you pile them up on a platter, they release steam and soften up. You can also warm the oven to 200°F and place the wire rack in the oven to keep the waffles warm.

Between waffles, let the waffle iron heat up again. A warm waffle maker will not give you crisp waffles: You need it screaming hot, so give it at least 30 seconds between each waffle to heat back up.