COOKIES - ENOUGH SAID

I know this is supposed to be about dinner, but I just came across all of these recipes for my favorite simple cookies in one document and it just seemed natural to put it in here.  In fact, what's dinner without dessert?  A desert, that's what.  (Don't ponder that too much.)

Gingersnaps (courtesy of Sari's brother-in-law's mother)

2/3 cp. vegetable oil

1 cp. dark brown sugar

1 egg (size large)

4 TB molasses

2 cps. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

Pinch salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. powdered ginger

1/2 cp. white sugar - or better yet, that turbinado sugar you can get sometimes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the first 4 ingredients together in a large bowl.  Stir in the next 5 ingredients, until well blended.  Roll the dough into 1” balls, coat with the white/turbinado sugar, and place about 2” apart on a baking sheet.  Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, until cracked on top and just golden brown.  Remove, and cool on a rack.

Shortbread Cookies

2 sticks butter, softened

½ cp. powdered sugar

2 cps. flour

Pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Stir all of these ingredients together until well blended.  (If it is crumbly, add a few drops of milk until it holds together.)  Roll the dough out 1/4 “ thick, and cut into any shapes you like. 

Transfer with a spatula to a cookie sheet, and bake for about 15 - 18 minutes until golden.

Espresso biscuits

2 sticks butter, softened

¾ cp. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ½ cps. flour

½ cp. unsweetened cocoa

1 TB very finely ground dark roast coffee

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Stir all of these ingredients together until well blended.  (If it is crumbly, add a few drops of milk until it holds together.)  Roll the dough into cylinders, about an inch in diameter- then roll in waxed paper and put in the refrigerator for as long as you need to. (These are better if they are small.)  When you're ready to bake, cut in fairly thick slices - about 1/2" - and put on parchment paper on a cookie sheet an inch apart. Bake for about 12 minutes.  When cool, dust with powdered sugar for a nice touch.

Chocolate chips (have been made about a billion times)

Preheat oven to 350.
In mixer:
2 sticks room temperature unsalted butter
1 cp. white sugar
1 cp. brown sugar Mix until blended

Add:
2 "large" eggs
1 tsp. baking soda (sifted)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. finely ground coffee
Mix some more until blended
Add:
3 cps. flour, fluff it up first so it's not very dense. 
Mix it some more until blended.
Add:
2 1/2 cps. chocolate chips
Mix those in.

Try to refrigerate the dough an hour or more - they will turn out somewhat better.  But waiting can be too hard.
Drop in about a tablespoon size on cookie sheet.  Bake about 12 minutes until golden brownish.  (Times will differ depending on your oven.)  Transfer to a rack and cool, but eat at least a few while the chocolate is still melted.