cookies! August 10, 2010

we have lovely friends, who we spend more than half our sunday evenings with. in the summer, we barbecue and cottage with them. in the fall and winter, we watch football and eat pizza. there are always board games, card games and children to entertain us. lovely, consistent friends.

these friends also host a cookie exchange each december, before christmas. i’m not going to talk about christmas (yet), but rather the cookies. when i first exchange cookies with these friends, i made chocolate chip cream cheese cookies. i have made other cookies since, but only in addition to, not instead of.

when asked what we could bring to dinner, the response from these friends is the cookies. so, in a pinch, on a budget, what did i make for one of these friends? 35 cookies. all for him. his son was not impressed and as such, i promised more cookies. i’m sure i can deliver on that one.

cream cheese chocolate chip cookies
adapted from oprah
makes 54

5 ounces cream cheese
4 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup brown
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract (or a third teaspoon of vanilla)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons grated orange zest (optional)

preheat oven to 350°F.
in a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and sugar on high speed until well blended.
beat in eggs and vanilla/almond until smooth.
reduce speed to low; beat in flour and salt until just combined.
stir in chocolate chips and orange zest.

chill the dough for at least ten minutes in the fridge.
drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets;
space dough about 1 1/2 inches apart.
bake 12-14 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned around the edges.
with a spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.