Let's Make Chocolate Chip Cookies for National Cookie Month!

While chocolate chip cookies are a treat to enjoy any day - especially fresh from the oven, October is National Cookie Month, it seems like a perfect time to make these tasty treats. Of course this means I need to share a recipe or two with you, so I chose the first one from when my oldest grand was young and we were going to make cookies, so I asked what kind of cookies we should make. The answer was, "Chocolate, chocolate-chip!" So, we sat down with my computer to find a recipe. I found one and read the ingredients to him but heard, "That's not the one we want." I thought it could work, but read the next one. This time I heard, "Yes! This is the one. It has cocoa and the other one didn't. We need cocoa to make chocolate, chocolate-chip cookies!" My grand was right! We made the recipe with just a couple "tweaks" which I'm sharing with you. The cookies turned out quite delightful - after all, they have cocoa, chocolate-chips, peanut butter, and sour cream in them, so how could they be anything but delicious and delightful? 

I "cut" the white baking chips, "halved" the butter called for in the recipe and substituted peanut butter plus I substituted 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour for 3/4 cup of flour. I also added 1/3 cup of  oatmeal - these substitutions are an effort to make my cooking - even my baking of cookies - slightly "better" for you. Yes, they are still cookies and yes, they do have butter, sugar and sour cream in them, but the cocoa, semi-sweet chocolate chips, peanut butter, white whole wheat flour, and oatmeal are all good for you - plus I reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup, so when it comes to cookies, since these substitutions only make the cookies taste better, I say, "why not?!!!" Have fun making these with your grandchildren!

Ingredients - 

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate-chips

1. Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars
2. Add egg, sour cream, and vanilla and mix until even more "creamy"
3. Add flours, oatmeal, cocoa, and remaining ingredients
4. Drop by spoonful onto greased pans
5. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for about 9 minutes
6. Allow to sit on pans for another minute then put on racks to cool
7. Enjoy!

Of course if where you live is going to be toasty warm - or flat out hot - you may want a recipe which doesn't require baking - so how about Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles! Okay, if you are like me, just reading the title of this recipe is enough to send you gathering ingredients to make these treats! After all, what isn't there to love about Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and when you add in Truffles, well it is sure to be a hit!

When my grands were younger, whenever we made Chocolate Chip Cookies . . . they, of course, became cookie dough "snatchers". They believed the dough was the best part! So, when I saw the recipe for these truffles on Pinterest, well, they had to go on my list of fun things to do with the grands - and is a fun recipe to share with you, too! Just follow the link and you'll find the recipe for these egg-less Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles.

And, since it is National Cookie Month how about some chocolate chip cookie fun facts - did you know . . .

• 38,000 – the weight of the world’s largest chocolate chip cookie.
• 102 feet – the diameter of the world’s largest chocolate chip cookie.
• 30,000 – the number of eggs used in the world’s largest chocolate chip cookie.
• 53% – the percentage of Americans who prefer chocolate chip cookies to other cookies.
• 13.5% – the percentage of American adults who admitted to having eaten at least 20 chocolate chip cookies in one sitting.
• 10% – the percentage increase in consumption of chocolate chip cookies after the introduction of detailed Nutrition Facts labels.
• 50 – the number of chocolate chips that can be held in a normal tablespoon of cookie dough.
• 1970s – the period in which John Kerry opened a cookie store out of boredom.
• 104–113℉ – the ideal temperature for chocolate chips to melt when baking cookies.
• 35,000 – the number of cookies the average person consumes in a lifetime.

Enjoy National Cookie Month with the people you love - it is a tasty day to celebrate for sure! Enjoy!