Time for Christmas Cookies…

Because the holiday season is coming up I have been thinking about making cookies for Christmas. Back when I was in college I used to make cookies for my friends and family. I would often get requests for my cookies at various events. I only had a mixing bowl at the time and then upgraded to a cheap stand mixer that wobbled and shook but it took much less work on my arms to stir the tasty batter. And with my cookies in high demand I would have to make batch after batch of them.

If I had a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer at that time I would have been able to mix up a batch for up to 9 dozen cookies. Can you imagine having to mix that many by hand or with an inferior stand mixer. Nope, no thanks, I’ve done it and am not going back. Using an Eclectrics® Mixer is so much smarter because they have more power and great features. One feature that I really like hearing about is the 12 settings for precise mixing control. The inferior stand mixer that I had didn’t beat the dough as smoothly as I did by hand and the cookies tasted somewhat different. With 12 mixing speed settings I will be able to find the precise setting speed to mimic my hand mixing and produce quality cookies.

And have you seen the colors of the Hamilton Beach® Mixer? There are six modern and classic colors like Apple (light green), Pineapple (light yellow), Licorice (black), Sterling (silver), UltraMarine (navy blue) and Sugar (White). These colors are great compliments to your kitchen decor whether you are going for an all stainless steel kitchen or looking for kitchen with a retro feel.

And in case you want to make my special cookies that were the hit of the college campus here is the recipe.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar – And here is the secret, add an extra 1/4 cup of brown sugar to make this 1 cup in total.

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 Cup semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1 Cup White Chocolate Chips

1 Cup Peanut Butter chips.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Once completely combined mix an additional two minutes. Then stir in chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and then peanut butter chips. The order of the chips is critical. Make sure that each cup is stirred in before adding the next one.

Use a small ice cream scoop to make rounded drops of dough. Place onto ungreased baking sheets or silicone cookie mats (these work great.)

BAKE in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

What is really special about these cookies is that the extra brown sugar and extra beating make the cookies crispy on the outside and very chewy on the inside. The mixture of chips gives the cookie a distinct taste that is hard to describe but easy to enjoy.