Cream Cheese Bars

We're not big cheesecake lovers in this household so there's a good chance you'll never see a recipe for anything too cheesecakey(?) on this blog. But when I came across this recipe for cream cheese bars they really sounded good. They're light, not too sweet with a light lemony flavor. A kind of refreshing dessert for this awful hot weather we've been having.

And they are quick and easy to make...again, perfect for a hot day in my non-airconditioned kitchen!

First make the crust by creaming the butter and brown sugar, then adding in the flour and walnuts.
Save a cupful for the topping, then press the remainder into your 8" square pan.
Bake for 12 minutes.

While the crust is baking, make the filling by beating the cream cheese, gradually adding in the sugar, egg, milk, lemon juice and vanilla.

Then take the crust out of the oven and pour the filling over top.
Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over that and bake again for 25 minutes.
Keep chilled, once set, in the fridge.

Cream Cheese Bars ("from Farm Journal's Complete Home Baking Book", 1979)
Makes 16 squares

1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 (8 oz.) pgk. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest ( my addition)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
*****************
Preheat oven to 350. Butter lightly an 8" square pan.

1. Cream butter and sugar til light and fluffy.
2. Stir in flour and chopped walnuts, mixing til crumbly. Remove 1 cup of mixture and reserve for topping.
3. Press remaining mixture into bottom of prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes, or til golden brown.
4. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese til smooth, gradually adding sugar, egg, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla, beating well.
5. Spread cream cheese mixture over baked crust, then sprinkle the top with remaining crust mixture.
6. Bake for 25 minutes, or til set.
7. Cool in pan on rack. Store in fridge. Cut when cool into 2" squares.

Cranberry Almond Bars with White Chocolate

I couldn't wait to try another recipe from this book "Rustic Fruit Desserts" since the other recipe was so delicious. So I decided on this one...with a few changes, that is.
In the book this is really called Cherry Almond Bars but I didn't have any cherries so I switched out and used another red fruit, cranberries.

Since cranberries are tart I had a feeling I should be adding more sugar to the fruit filling but I decided to leave it with the original amount called for. I did switch lemon for orange, since I love the combo of cranberries and orange.

The bars came out great, although there was a half cup of crust dough left over that I didn't use ( pop any extra into the freezer to use as a crumble topping for something else later). I think if I had made this in a little bit larger pan I would have used all the dough...next time!

If you notice the photo below, it doesn't have the white chocolate drizzle. After I cut and tasted the bar, I realized I should have increased the sugar amount to compensate for the tartness of the cranberries. But...I fixed the sweetness problem with melting and drizzling the white chocolate over the top. It added just enough sweetness.

So you can use the half cup sugar amount given and drizzle the white chocolate or increase the sugar and skip the drizzle...or do both! Can't be bad...right?

Begin by making the fruit filling by combining the cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, salt, orange zest and orange juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
Once it boils, stir the mixture and let it cook a few minutes til the cranberries pop and cook down a bit.
Then transfer the mixture to a bowl to cool.

For the crust, combine the flour, brown sugar, almonds and salt in a food processor.
Add in the cold butter pieces and process til crumbly.
Then add the egg and vanilla and pulse ...

Til the mixture comes together.

Press two-thirds of the crust mixture into the bottom of the pan and pour the filling over top.
Press clumps of the remaining crust mixture over the filling.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes.

Cranberry Almond Bars with White Chocolate Drizzle (adapted from "Rustic Fruit Desserts")
Serves 12

Fruit Filling:
3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup sugar (or add more, up to 3/4 cup, for a sweeter filling)
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
zest of half orange
juice of half an orange

Crust and Topping:
2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 ozs.) AP flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used light)
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
3/4 cup (6 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 oz. white chocolate ( melted over hot water for drizzling), optional
***********************
Preheat oven to 350. Butter bottom of 9" pan.

1. To make the fruit filling: Combine the cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, salt, orange zest and orange juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil a few minutes til the cranberries pop and the mixture begins to thicken.
2. Transfer the mixture to a bowl to cool and set aside.
3. To make the crust and topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar, almonds and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and process til crumbly.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse just til the mixture comes together.
5. Press two-thirds of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, then pour the filling over top.
6. Press clumps of the remaining  crumb mixture over the fruit filling.
7. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or til light golden brown and bubbling.
8. Cool one hour before cutting into serving pieces. Drizzle with the melted white chocolate if you like.

Chocolate Peanut Cookie Bars

I have lost track of where this recipe came from. When I write down a recipe I like I usually jot down where the recipe came from under the title, but on this one I didn't, so..I can't give credit to anywhere.
Although this cookie bar bar came out great, I did make a few changes and I did mess up one thing...kind of!
The first change was the name. I am calling this a Chocolate Peanut Cookie Bar but I wrote it down as a Peanut Butter Cookie Bar...but it's not made with peanut butter so I changed it.

Next, I increase the amount of chocolate called for in the original recipe and I think it could have even used more and I coarsely chopped the peanuts for the topping, rather than leaving them whole.
And lastly, I kind of messed up the caramel topping..well, kind of! I'm still not sure if I made it correctly, but it came out fine, so..who knows!
It calls for making a caramel topping but I'm not sure how long I should have boiled the sugar mixture, so it didn't come out as dark as I think it should have..but it still worked.

The bars are a kind of sweet and salty combination and they came out with a nice crumbly crust and crunchy nutty top.





So, make the crust first, then bake it for 30 minutes.

I chopped up the topping peanuts a little bit. I didn't want large whole pieces on top.

Chop up the chocolate and sprinkle over the top of the cooled crust.

Make the caramel by combining the sugar, salt and water in a pan...

And bring it to a boil over medium heat, stirring til sugar is dissolved.

Then, don't stir it anymore, just swirl the pan occasionally til it turns a golden brown. ( You can see in my photo that the caramel isn't really a golden brown.)

Take it off the heat and add in the cream and vanilla carefully.

Stir til smooth.

Add in the peanuts and stir to combine.

Pour this mixture over the chopped chocolate and spread with the back of a spoon.

I actually had to pop it back in the oven for just one minute to help melt the chocolate.

You can speed up the cooling process by placing it in the fridge. It will help firm it up and make cutting easier.

Chocolate Peanut Cookie Bars


Crust:

1/2 cup unsalted peanuts, roasted

1 cup AP flour

1/2 cup sugar

Scant 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

8 tbsp. unsalted cold butter, cut into pieces

Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

Scant 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided. (scant 1/2 tsp. reserved to sprinkle on top of finished bar.)
2 tbsp. water

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup finely chopped bittersweet chocolate ( I used 1/2 cup and would use a little more next time.)
1 1/2 cups unsalted roasted peanuts
*************************************

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a small baking pan ( I used my 7" x 11" pan).

1. Place the peanuts ( 2 cups total) in a single layer in a medium sized baking sheet and roast in a 350 oven for

about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes.

To make crust:

2. Combine 1/2 cup of peanuts, flour, sugar and the kosher salt in a food processor and pulse til nuts are ground and mixture is well blended.

3. Add butter pieces and pulse til mixture resembles cornmeal.

4. Press mixture into pan and bake for 30 minutes or til slightly golden brown.

5. Cool completely on wire rack.

To make topping:

1. Sprinkle the crust with the chopped chocolate.

2. Combine sugar, scant 1/2 tsp. the kosher salt and water in pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring til sugar is dissolved. Continue boiling, swirling pan occasionally til it turns a caramel color. Do not stir!

3. Remove pan from heat and carefully stir in cream and vanilla.

4. Stir nuts into the caramel mixture and pour over the chocolate. Spread with the back of a spoon.

5. Sprinkle scant 1/2 tsp. of the kosher salt over nuts. (I had to pop back into the oven for just a minute to melt the chocolate a little.)

6. Cool completely before cuuting. (Place into fridge to speed up cooling.)

Mocha Toffee Bars

I was going through my stack of handwritten recipes the other day, trying to choose some Holiday appropriate ones and I came across this cookie bar recipe. It's from Gourmet Magazine but I'm not sure what year. I love the flavor of mocha and if you do too, you'll really love these bar cookies.
There's a whole three tablespoons of espresso powder in the crust so that's a pretty decent jolt of caffeine! The original recipe called for salted cashews for the top but I didn't have any on hand, so I used pecans instead. I really think the cashews would have been a better choice. The pecans didn't have a distinct enough taste. They were kind of overpowered from the mocha crust flavor so next time..definitely salted cashews it is.
Another thing, I would use some good quality dark chocolate on top rather than the chocolate chips I used, but it's a great bar cookie and the flavor gets better the next day.

After the crust comes out of the oven, you sprinkle the chocolate on top and let them melt a minute, then spread them around with a knife of offset spatula.

Then sprinkle on the chopped nuts. Pop the whole thing into the fridge to set the chocolate a bit.

Then take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature just enough so that you can cut into the size pieces you want.

Mocha Toffee Bars

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 tbsp. espresso powder dissolved in 2 tbsp. boiling water

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups AP flour

8 ozs. semisweet chocolate

3/4 cup salted, roasted cashews, chopped

Preheat oven to 350.

1. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar til light and creamy.

2. Beat in egg yolk, then add vanilla, then espresso mixture, a little at a time, beating til well incorporated.

3. Add the flour and salt, beating til well blended.

4. Spread the mixture into a 15 1/2" x 10 1/2" jelly roll pan . ( I used a 13 x 9" pan and baked the extra in a muffin top pan).

5. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or til it pulls away from edge. ( Mine took the full 20 minutes.)

6. Sprinkle chocolate on top while the crust is still hot and spread over the crust. Then sprinkle the cashews on top. Let it cool in the pan, refridgerating to help set the chocolate. Then cut into serving size pieces.

Raspberry Jams Bars

Another hectic weekend is behind me, (which is why I don't have any step by step photos for making this recipe. Sorry).
This raspberry bar is similar to this one I made the other day but without the chocolate. It also uses oatmeal and almonds. The only change I made was to use more raspberry jam than the original recipe called for. It just didn't look like enough when I spread it over the crust base.
It came out really good. The almonds and oatmeal in the base gave it nice texture.
I was thinking that maybe the addition of a little peanut butter with the raspberry jam might morph it into peanut butter and jelly bars..hmm. Maybe next time!


Raspberry Jam Bars

1 cup AP flour
Pinch salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
8 tbsp. unsalted butter- room temp.
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
1/2 cup old fashioned oats not instant)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
4 heaping tbsp. seedless raspberry jam ( I used a little more)




Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8" square pan with foil, extending enough for an overhang.

1.Cream butter and sugar together til light and fluffy.
2. Stir in the vanilla or almond extract.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, salt and baking soda and stir into the creamed mixture.
4. Stir in the oats and almonds.
5. Set aside 1 cup of this mixture and press the remaining onto the bottom of your prepared pan.
6. Dollop the jam over the top and spread to within 1/2" of the sides.
7. Crumble the reserved oat mixture over the top.
7. Bake 35 - 40 minutes or til the top is golden and the jam is lightly bubbling.
8. Place pan onto a wire rack to cool, then lift out of the pan and cool completely before cutting.

Red Raspberry Chocolate Bars

I was searching for a quick and easy recipe using one of my favorite combinations the other day and came across this one. I love raspberry and chocolate and this bar cookie can really be made in no time.
The shortbread type of crust makes a delicious base and using a good quality jam ( I used Smucker's) is important since that's the dominant flavor. I didn't put in the nuts but next time? Yes!
I halved the recipe, using an 8" square pan, but next time I'm making the full version. I'll also use a better quality chocolate, rather than just Toll House semisweet chocolate chips, I think a good quality Belgian chocolate would really be indulgent!

To begin, stir flour, sugar, nuts, ( if using), and butter in a medium bowl. I started with a fork, then switched to using my fingers. You could use a pastry knife. too.

Once that's crumbly, add the egg and stir in with a fork til nicely moist.

Reserve 2 cups of the mixture, then dump the remaining mixture into your prepared pan and press evenly.

Spread the jam over top, keeping the jam within 1/2" from the edge. Then sprinkle the chocolate chips over the jam.

Sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture over this and bake. That's it!

I allowed it to cool completely, then placed into the fridge to chill more before cutting into squares. You may need to loosen the jam from the sides before cutting as it tends to stick to the pan.

Red Raspberry Chocolate Bars

2 1/2 cups AP flour

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup finely chopped nuts ( optional)
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 egg

1 jar ( 12 oz.) red raspberry jam ( I used seedless)

1 2/3 cup chocolate chips ( I used semisweet)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 13" x 9" pan.

1. In a medium bowl, stir flour, sugar, nuts ( if using), and butter til crumbly. ( I used my fingers ).

2. Add the egg and stir with a fork til moist and crumbly.

3. Set aside 2 cups of the mixture ( for topping).

4. Place remaining mixture into your prepared pan and press evenly onto the bottom.

5. Spread jam over this mixture, (keeping the jam within 1/2" from the edge to prevent it from spreading and sticking too much at the sides when baked), then sprinkle with the chocolate chips.

6. Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the chips.

7. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or til light brown on top.

8. Cool completely, then transfer to the refridgerator to chill to make cutting easier.

Graham Cracker Chewies

We have a table set up at our Saturday Farmer's Market filled with books that people donate. The books are free to anyone and, of course, I always check out the available cookbooks.
This recipe came from a charming book that I was fortunate to find, "Nantucket Open-House Cookbook" by Sarah Leah Chase.
I was looking for a quick dessert recipe and this one sounded quick and easy..and it was!
The crust is basically made from graham cracker crumbs and butter which you bake first, then pour the filling over top and bake for a little longer.
I found the crust to be a bit too buttery but still a delicious bar cookie. The pecans give a great crunch and the bars are chewy.
After I baked the bars I saw another version of this recipe online and it was for double this recipe size, (13" by 9" pan). I noticed that the butter amount for this doubled size was 1 1/2 sticks to 3 cups of graham cracker crumbs.
This recipe in the book calls for 1 1/3 cups of crumbs to 1 stick of butter so I think that's why the book version has too much butter. ( Hope this makes sense to you).
So making the changes in the butter amount should give a perfect chewy bar cookie. Let me know if you try it and how it works for you.

Start by making the crust by placing the crackers in a food processor. Give them a good spin to get nice fine crumbs.


Then place the crumbs, sugar, butter and flour in a mixing bowl and mix til moist and crumbly.

Dump the crust mixture into an 9" square pan...

And press the mixture evenly over the bottom.

Bake it for 20 minutes.

While it's baking, make the topping by placing all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir til blended.

Once the crust is baked, pour the topping over the crust and bake for another 20 minutes.

It should still be a little jiggly, not too set because it firms up as it cools.

I found it was easier to cut into pieces after chilling in the fridge for about an hour.

Graham Cracker Chewies ( adapted from" Nantucket Open-House Cookbook" by Sarah Leah Chase)

Crust:

1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs ( about 9 whole crackers)

1 tbsp. sugar

1 stick ( I'd cut down to 3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp. AP flour

Topping:

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar ( I used light brown)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs ( about 2 1/2 crackers)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350.

To make crust:

1. Place the crackers in a food processor and pulse to make fine crumbs.

2. Mix the crumbs, sugar, butter and flour in a mixing bowl til moist and crumbly.

3. Press the mixture evenly and firmly into the bottom of a 9" square pan.

4. Bake til lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

To make topping:

1. Stir all the ingredients together til blended.

2. Spread the topping over the baked crust and bake for 20 minutes or til just slightly jiggly still.

3. Let it cool completely, then cut into the size pieces you'd like. ( Refridgerating helps make cutting the bars easier.)

Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chunk Bars

Today I chose another recipe from Nick Malgieri's book, "The Modern Baker". I decided to go with a bar recipe this time. This cookie bar is gooey, chewy and really quite rich! It wasn't the smartest choice for a hot summer day but as long as you keep it in the fridge, it will stay firm. In this heat, everything melts so fast! Guess by now you can figure out I don't have an air conditioned kitchen! The chocolate in the bars starts to melt the second I take it out of the fridge. I actually had to pop the bars in the freezer to get them hard enough to photograph them..quickly!
If you don't like coconut, I think just leaving it out would be fine.
The original recipe also called for bittersweet chocolate chunks, which I didn't have so I just used bittersweet chips and that worked out fine, too.
The bar has a nice kind of shortbread cookie base and using the bittersweet chocolate helps to cut down the sweetness. (I halved the recipe and used an 8"x8" pan.)

To start, make the dough for the base by combining the dry ingredients and set aside.

Then in a mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar 2-3 minutes.

Then with the mixer on low speed, beat in the dry ingredients til the dough is smooth.

Scoop the dough into your prepared pan and spread it out evenly with a knife, then use your fingers to smooth it out and get it in the corners. ( He says to press the dough down using the palms of your hands! I say ?? I don't quite get how you could do this!).

Anyway, then bake it for about 15 to 18 minutes.

While the base is baking, make the topping by placing the brown sugar in a medium bowl and mix in the eggs with a rubber spatula.

Then stir in the granulated sugar and vanilla.

Fold in the coconut, pecans and chopped chocolate ( or chocolate chips).

Once the base comes out of the oven, set it on a wire rack. Let it cool about 10 minutes.

Spoon the topping on and spread it out over the base.

Then pop it back into the oven for another 20 - 25 minutes.

Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chunk Bars (from "The Modern Baker" by Nick Malgieri)

Dough:

1 1/2 cups AP flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

6 oz.(1 1/2 sticks)unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

Topping:

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed

4 large eggs

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 2/3 cups (7 oz.) sweetened shredded coconut

2 cups pecan pieces, coarsely chopped

12 oz. bittersweet ( not unsweetened) chocolate, cut into 1/4" to 1/2" pieces

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan with parchment or foil and butter bottom and sides. Allow extra foil for overhang to lift out bars once baked.

Set rack in the lowest level of the oven.

1. Dough: Stir together flour, baking powder, salt and set aside.

2. In a mixer bowl, beat butter with the sugar on medium speed til soft and light, 2-3 minutes.

3. On the lowest speed, beat in the flour mixture, scraping the bowl, til the dough is smooth.

4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife or spatula, then press very lightly with your fingers to get into the corners.

5. Bake approx. 15 minutes, ( mine took a few minutes longer), til puffed and set and beginning to color.

6. Set the pan on a rack and let it cool while you make the topping ( if you've already made the topping, still let it cool about 10 minutes. Do the dishes..or something!).

Topping:

1.Place the brown sugar in a large bowl and use a large rubber spatula to work in the eggs, one at a time, stirring til smooth after each.

2. Stir in the granulated sugar and vanilla, then fold in the coconut and pecans.

3. Fold the chocolate chunks into the topping, using a small strainer to sift away any dust formed by the chocolate ( although I don't think chocolate dust is a bad thing!). (I used chocolate chips.)

4. Spoon the topping onto the prebaked dough and spread evenly over the top.

5. Bake til the filling is set and nicely colored, about 20 to 25 minutes. ( Mine took a little longer).

6. Cool in the pan on a rack. Lift the bar onto a cutting board before it has cooled completely.

7. Cut into 2" squares..oops! I cut mine way bigger! Because it's so rich, 2" squares is really a good idea!

As I stated above, I kept mine in the fridge. The book says to keep at room temp. if your serving them within a day. If not, wrap and freeze and bring to room temp. before serving them (which would take about 2 minutes in my kitchen!) Enjoy!

Breakfast Cookie

You know how frustrating it is when you try to make something and it just doesn't turn out the way you'd like. Well, that happened to me this morning. Actually, truth be told, I did make this cookie and it came out fine but I wasn't paying attention, I guess, and I couldn't remember what I did right! More frustration!
So 4 batches later..I finally got it right!
I wanted to make a kind of breakfast cookie. You know, a healthy cookie you could grab in the morning if you're in a hurry, like a granola bar. And because I wanted to make it kind of on the healthy side I needed to include some healthy stuff! Like ground flax, wheat germ and sesame seeds ( are they considered healthy?)hmm.
I based the cookie from this one and tweeked from there, adding some of this and omitting some of that. And I can honestly say I'm happy with the results. The cookie is nice and thick and hefty and it's soft but I added walnuts to give it some crunch. I also included spices that I think should go into an oatmeal cookie.
As for the add ins. You could use or not use whatever you like. If you don't like raisins, you could use some chopped dried apricots. If you don't like walnuts ( but there again, they are the healthy nut), you could use pecans or even almonds.
I even kind of lost count as to how many the recipe actually makes. I made each cookie 2.9 oz.. so they're big. I think I got about 16 cookies but, obviously, if you make them smaller you'll get more! But I think they should be big. It's breakfast, after all!


See this photo below? I took the picture before I had my epiphany! I figured out if you use a large cookie scoop they're too formed and they'll come out looking like hockey pucks so... just scoop them out with a large spoon and plop them onto your baking sheet, gently forming them with your fingers.

Breakfast Cookies

1 cup AP flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Pinch cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
2 tbsp. ground flax seeds
2 tbsp. wheat germ
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
14 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts ( or any other nut you like)
1/2 cup raisins ( or dried chopped apricots)
Maybe some chocolate chips??

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. In a medium bowl, combine the first 12 ingredients ( from the flour up to and including the wheat germ). Set aside.
2. In small bowl, beat eggs and vanilla.
3. In mixer bowl, mix melted butter, oil and both sugars.
4. On low speed, stir egg mixture into butter/sugar mixture til smooth.
5. Stir in flour mixture.
6. Stir in the nuts, dried cranberries and raisins ( or whatever you choose to use).
7. Drop dough by well rounded tablespoonfuls and form gently with your fingers if they don't stay together. If you want them a little less thick, you can very gently flatten each one just a little but they will spread on their own.
8. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or til they begin to darken around the edges. The centers should still be slightly moist, but the baking times depend on the size of your cookie. Start checking after about 13 minutes.
9. Cool on the baking sheet about 10 minutes, then gently move to cool completely on wire rack.