Saturday, December 17, 2011

Last Minute Cookies and a Story About Butter

I had the brilliant idea to make some cookies last minute. And while they tasted wonderful, I learned a valuable lesson about softened butter versus melted butter. Follow along with me...
Here are the simple ingredients- sugar cookie mix, crushed peppermint (now sold in some grocery stores), and dipping chocolate.
The sugar cookie mix called for a stick of softened butter and 1 egg. I had forgotten to lay out butter, so I just microwaved it about 20 seconds. It was softened in places and liquid in others. No big deal. I made my dough balls and rolled them in peppermints.
I knew there was a problem about 5 minutes into baking them. They were flat and the outer edges were liquid and cooking very quickly. I immediately tweeted Paula Deen and posted my picture on Facebook asking what went wrong? Butter seemed to be the answer that made the most sense, according to my Facebook friends. I am still awaiting an answer from Paula!
We melted the chocolate and dipped half the cookie in it. Cooled them on wax paper and have munched on them every night.
These cookies were super easy and if you follow the directions and only soften your butter, they'll look great and much more sophisticated than a simple mix!