Me Like Cookies...

The Results of the Cookie Survey are in and while there are some surprises, I think we can all guess that the chocolate chip cookie was the all time favorite.



I think there are so many variations of this cookie than we can even count. Yes, Mrs. Fields, and Famous Amos had it right, America has a love affair with the chocolate chip cookie ever since Ruth Wakefield invented the cookie in 1924.

Ruth was a dietician and she lectured on foods, and then she and her husband bought the Toll House Inn. She was making her famous butter cookies and the recipe called for Baker's Chocolate. She had run out and only had a semi-sweet chocolate bar instead. She chopped it up and put it in the batter. It didn't melt completely, but it became soft.

The word of these delicious cookies spread. Ruth struck a deal with the Nestle's company allowing them to print her recipe on every bag of cookies and in exchange, she received a lifetime supply of chocolate chips. Remember, this was in the day before attorneys, publists, and agents.

Today, if that deal were struck, she'd get a licensing fee, royalties, rights to the tee shirts, etc...

Poor, poor Ruth!!!! She should have been rich, rich, Ruth!!!!!

The Oreo cookie was introduced in 1912 by the Nabisco Company. It was a very simple design, a dab or cream between two chocolate disks. From 1912 to 1975, the Oreo was virtually unchanged. In 1975, Nabisco introduced the Double Stuf version, the first significant change.

Then Halloween and Christmas Oreos were introduced, Flavored Oreos, Chocolate Covered Oreos, Vanilla Oreos, and Mini Oreos have followed.


No one is sure how the Oreo got its name. Some suggested it was from the Spanish word for gold (oro), since the first package features a lot of gold on it. Some thought it was from the two O's represeting the chocolate sides, and re for the cream. There are other theories as well.

There have been over 362 Oreos sold since 1912 making it the most popular (according to Nabisco, but not our survey) in America.

Peanut Butter Cookies have been attributed to George Washington Carver, an African-American botanist who promoted the peanut crop using it to replace the cotton crop. He wrote several recipes using peanuts, among them were three recipes for cookies, calling for the peanuts to be chopped up into the cookies. In 1931, Pillsbury's Balanced Recipes, listed a recipe for peanut butter cookies and the tradional fork tine marks were including in the directions.


Oatmeal Cookies appeared in the late 1800's. The largest consumption of oatmeal in the United States is in the form of a cookie. We even celebrate National Oatmeal Cookie Day on April 30.
The first recipe for Oatmeal Cookies appears in Fannie Merritt Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cookbook in 1896. In 1906, the QUaker Oat Company put a recipe for Oatmeal Cookies on their packaging bringing it into the mainstream.


The Shortbread Cookie made it's debut in Scotland in Medievel times. It was probably because butter was a staple ingredient as a result of the dairy farming industry. The first known recipe can be traced back to Elizabethan times. It is defined as a "biscuit rich in butter", eaten primarily during Christmas and New Years. It migrated across the ocean, where we Americans enjoy it everyday, although some of the best shortbread cookies are imports from England, known as Walker Shotbread Cookies


As for the something else, there are millions of cookie recipes out there, and thousands of cookies sold in stores throughout the country. I myself fell into the"other" category when I voted as my favorite cookie is a Pepperidge Farm Tahiti (coconut and chocolate, laced with butter), but that was before I baked up all those ketchup cookies :)





Here is the breakdown of our cookie survey, when asked to name their favorite cookie,
5% voted for Oreos, 44% voted for Chocolate Chips, 10% voted for Oatmeal, 11% voted for peanut butter, 16% for shortbread and 11% for something else...you are what you eat

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am already failing blogging 101, as I promised to post everyday...

Unfortunately, life has gotten in the way as usual. I was traveling with my son and could not get internet access even with my wireless, go figure. Before we left on our trip to New Jersey for his interview, I did do a little cooking.

There are so many blog sites posting gourmet recipes, so I've decided to stick to what I cook at home, or as my father used to say, "Things cooked with love..." Whenever my kids come home, they are always requesting the things they miss, so of course, I had to make David his favorite Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you take a deep breath, you can smell them baking. My kind of aroma-therapy!!!!

Here is the recipe:

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1½ cups all-purpose flour (Gold Medal®)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable shortening
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups Quaker® Instant Rolled Oats
1 (12 ounce) package Nestles® mini chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375°. Butter 2 baking sheets unless you are using non stick cookie sheets. Mix flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In a bowl with mixer at medium speed beat shortening until smooth, 1 minute. Beat in sugars, ½ cup at a time, until fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Beat in eggs one at a time, until just combined. Beat in hot water, and then add the flour mixture, until just combined. Add vanilla. Beat in chips and oatmeal until combined. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2-inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake in batches 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool on pans on rack 1 minute. Remove from sheets, and cool on racks. Makes 5 dozen very small cookies or 2 dozen jumbo cookies. I use a large cookie scoop to make the cookies uniform size and bake them 14 minutes, 7 on the top rack, 7 minutes on the bottom rack, they come out soft in the center and crisp in the middle. They may not look cooked but they will crisp up as they sit.

What you will need for the cookies

When I make all of my baked goods, I always use Mexican Vanilla. It is the best, even if it is hard to find. When I can get it, I always keep it in stock and it is available on my website at Cooking with Love















I like to use my Kitchen-Aid for these cookies so I usually mix my dry ingredients in a paper plate so you can fold it and easily add it to the bowl. Don't forget to preheat your oven.


1. Place the flour on a paper plate, then add the baking soda












2. Add the salt to the flour












3. Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside














4. Place the shortening in the bowl of the Kitchen-Aid (I use butter flavored Crisco for these cookies)















5. Add the brown sugar (I use the brownulated, but regular brown sugar works just as well) and mix well













6. Add the granulated sugar













7. Add the eggs, one at a time













8. Add in the hot water.













9. Then add in the vanilla.













10. The mixture will be loose.













11. Add in your dry ingredients. You will see that the paper plate makes it much easier. I find a paper towel too flimsy for this job.














You will see the mixture start to thicken














12. Add in the chocolate chips (I usually use the mini chips).













Give it just a quick mix to combine the ingredients.













13. Add the oatmeal (I usually use a tad less when measuring each cup so the cookies won't be too dry)













The mix will look fairly thick at this point.












14. Spray your cookie sheet with PAM or the cooking spray of your choice. I use the disposable aluminum cookie sheets and find they work well for these cookies. I rinse and reuse them several times before discarding them.


15. Scoop the cookies depending on the size you want. I find when you drop them in large teaspoonfuls, the cookies are too crisp. I use a cookie scoop, which is available at most stores from Wal-Mart to Bed Bath and Beyond. I make very generous scoops and bake one half to one dozen to a sheet. This makes about 2 dozen large cookies. Always check your oven temperature for accuracy. I rotate the cookies from top to bottom shelf, as well as turning the trays around from front to back to get a nice evenly cooked cookie. I find seven minutes, then turn the trays, and cook an additional seven minutes, and you get perfect cookies all the time.













Place about 2 inches apart on all sides if you are making jumbo cookies.














16. Let cool on the cookie sheets for about 4-5 minutes.















17. Then remove to a rack and let cool, until either your children are home and they all get devoured or...












18. You are ready to move them to a serving plate! Enjoy...