HOW TO MAKE COOKIES

There's nothing like a batch of homemade cookies to lift your spirits and make your house smell wonderful. Homemade cookies aren't much more difficult to make than the slice and bake kind, but they taste a lot better. Read on to learn how to make a variety of popular cookies.

Ingredients

Chocolate Chip Cookies

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 ounces chocolate chips
2 ¼ cups plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

1 ¾ cups white sugar
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup peanut butter
3 cups quick oatmeal
½ teaspoon salt

Ginger Cookies

¾ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups plain flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cloves

Method 1
Method 1 of 5:
Making Chocolate Chip Cookies

1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2
Mix and sift the dry ingredients. Put the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and whisk them together.
3
Cream the butter and sugars in a separate bowl. Place them in a large bowl and use a hand mixer to beat them together until the butter and sugars are fully combined and the mixture has turned light and fluffy.
4
Add the eggs and vanilla. Keep beating the mixture until the eggs and vanilla are completely blended in.
5
Stir in the flour mixture. Use a long-handled spoon to stir the dry ingredients in with the wet; keep stirring until you can't see any white specks of flour.
6
Mix in the chocolate chips. Pour them into the bowl and use the spoon to mix them in with the batter.
7
Drop spoonfuls of batter onto a baking sheet. Use a spoon or a small ice cream scoop to scoop even amounts of batter onto a baking sheet. Space them an inch or two apart so they'll have room to spread while baking.
- To keep the cookies from sticking to the baking sheet, you can line it with parchment paper before placing the cookies on it.
- For perfectly even cookies, use a 1/8 measuring cup to scoop the batter.
8
Bake the cookies. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until they turn golden brown on top and the edges look slightly crisp.
9
Remove the cookies from the oven to cool. Place them on a cooling rack or move them to a plate and let them cool until they aren't too hot to eat.
10
Finished. Enjoy!