Teddy Bear Cookies

Mir — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 00:06:08 +0000

It’s hard to make kids happy sometimes. The more effort I put into cooking, the less they tend to appreciate it. If I make really good homemade crispy chicken tenders, for instance, they’ll leave them on their plates. But if I buy the frozen processed ones and throw them on a baking sheet, my son will very nicely thank me for such a delicious dinner.

No, I’m not a lousy cook. But I don’t speak kid palate. Their likes and dislikes remain elusive to me.

That’s why I had to try these cookies. They are just so adorable. And I needed to know if their looks would trump everything else. Does a teddy bear-shaped cookie get eaten no matter what it tastes like? There’s your philosophical question of the day.

The answer is yes. By the way, these do taste nice, but if a chocolate chip cookie were right next to it, I’d head that way. These have a brownie-like flavor with a firmer cookie texture. After all, the dough has to hold up enough to be shaped into bears and then baked.

Speaking of which, refrigerate this dough for several hours at least (overnight is better) and work fast. As soon as it starts to get to room temperature, you won’t be able to form the bears anymore. It’s four separate dough balls: a big one for the head, medium-sized for the nose area, and two smaller for the ears. I used butterscotch chips for the nose and candy eyes for, yep, the eyes. But if you’re more handy than I am, try something else!

Also, I decided that these bears would be from the same family rather than identical. In other words, they look similar, but I didn’t sweat it out to make them all look just the same. They’re all cute. That’s what matters!

Butter up the kid nearest you with one of these. Or hey, eat one yourself. As long as there are no chocolate chip cookies nearby!

Ingredients

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 and 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
butterscotch chips (for the nose)
candy eyes

Instructions:

In a small bowl, mix the dry ingredients (except the sugar). Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, beating again. Gradually add the dry ingredients, beating until just incorporated.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at last 3 hours, but preferably overnight.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Shape the bear heads. Use one large ball (roll and then flatten with your hands) for the head, a medium-sized ball for the nose area, and two smaller rounds of dough for the ears. Once the head is shaped, place the butterscotch chip and candy eyes on the face and use a toothpick to draw the mouth.

Bake for 12 minutes. Allow to cool, and then serve to your favorite child (or grown-up kid!).

candy eyes – Just About Baked

Teddy Bear Cookies