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January 27, 2010

Wonderful Wednesday Recipe: Spiced Apple Cinnamon Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Yesterday, brushing my ever-present shyness aside, I posted a few fairly recent photographs of myself here on Chronically Vintage, and in response was met with an outpouring of the most thoughtfully kind comments imaginable.

I mean it with the utmost sincerity when I say that you, my amazing readers, have the ability to undo a lifetime of self-esteem and negative body image issues with your heartfelt, caring, supportive words. I read through all of your comments, trying to keep my tears at bay, this morning and honestly wished I could reach out and hug every one of you.

I know that there are many out there who haven’t the slightest qualm about sharing their photos publicly, but for those of us who struggle for whatever reason with showing our faces (in photographic form) to the world, positive, caring feedback can truly make an astronomical difference in terms of how our ability to develop better self-confidence, but also to help our self-esteem levels on a day-to-day basis.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who left a comment on yesterday’s post, this recipe – a little something sweet for some of the sweetest people on earth - is dedicated to all of you.



~ Spiced Apple Cinnamon Butterscotch Chip Cookies ~


Bursting with the heady, soothing scent of warm spices, these cookies are just the thing to have on hand for lunch boxes, desserts and serving to company with mugs of hot tea, warm milk or even eggnog during the holiday season.



{Making cookies is such a fun (and deliciously rewarding!) activity that usually requires less time than many other forms of baking, making it the perfect for those days when you want a homemade treat but aren’t able to devote ages to hanging out with your oven. Vintage photo of a woman dropping spoonfuls of cookie batter onto a baking tray from the Life Magazine archives.}


Cinnamon is my favourite of all the spices and I constant try to track down, or create my own, recipes that include this aromatic, zingy flavour. This particular cookie recipe is one I whipped up a few years back – during the fall, naturally (no other season calls to mind the pairing of apples and cinnamon quite like autumn) – and continue to make each year when the mercury starts dropping and you’re suddenly hit with the feeling that you want every morsel of food you eat to be wholly comforting in terms both of taste and aroma.


Ingredients

• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening or butter (or a 50/50 ratio of the two combined, which is a favourite cookie baking approach of mine as I find it helps to yield a really nice crumb), softened (room temperature, not melted)

• ½ cup homemade or store bought sweetened applesauce (you want a fine textured apple sauce, so if yours is on the chunky side, you may want to run it through a food mill or food processor before including in the cookie batter)

• 1 extra large egg (or equal amounts of egg whites, I’ve made these cookies with egg white many times and they turns out just as well)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 ¼ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup white sugar

• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• ¼ tsp nutmeg (optional)

• 1 cup butterscotch baking chips (such as Hershey’s “Chipits”)



Directions

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C/gas mark 4).

In a large mixing bowl thoroughly cream the white and brown sugars and butter (or shortening) together with a mixing spoon or electric beater. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and continue to beat until well combined with the sugar and butter; once those ingredients have mixed together well, stir in the apple sauce and beat until amalgamated with the other moist ingredients.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir well, ensuring that the spices are evenly distributed through the dry ingredients.

Next stir one third of the dry mixture to the wet ingredients at a time, stirring (or beating, if using an electric mixer) well after each addition. If the mixture seems slightly dry to you (it should be pretty moist thanks to the apple sauce), add a tablespoon or two of lukewarm water, milk or more apple sauce, if you have extra on hand. Now pour in the butterscotch chips and blend well to ensure even distribution throughout the batter.

Grease or line two baking trays (cookie sheets) with parchment paper (or a non-slip silicon baking liners) and drop cookie mixture onto the trays in rounded teaspoon portions, leaving a bit of space between each cookie (I usually put about 12 cookies per tray). (Note, if – like mine – your oven tends to cook things unevenly based on what height the tray is placed at, you can either bake one try of cookies at time or rotate the racks that the trays are placed on half way through baking.)

Bake cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the bottoms are firm and the tops are lightly golden brown. Allow warm cookies to rest on their baking trays for a couple of minutes and then transfer them to wire cooling racks.

Serve warm or at room temperature, storing leftovers in an airtight container for up to five days (these cookies can also be frozen for at least two months in a freezer safe container).

For an extra special treat, serve the cookies while they’re still toasty from the oven with bowls of French vanilla or caramel ice cream, or with dishes of sweetened whipped or clotted cream for dipping.

Makes approximately two dozen cookies


Bon appétit!


20 comments:

  1. YUM!!! Now those are truly my kind of cookie! I love cinnamon everything. I can smell the sweet aroma of these baking now!!

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  2. Yep - the smell of cinnamon is a real 'mood lifter' for me :-)
    Way too hot still for baking here though :-( The furtherest thing on my mind is switching on the oven!
    Have a great day, and glad you are feeling all good!

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  3. Your welcome honey! Can't wait to try this recipe! Kori xoxo

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  4. Oh! I'm copying this recipe now! I love butterscotch sooo much and these sound amazing. Thank you so much for posting this!

    iamemmamusic.blogspot.com

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  5. oh yummmmm! these sound amazing. totally trying them.

    i didn't comment on your last post, but wanted to say i loved your pictures. also, i totally get what you mean about it being scary to post pictures of yourself...you are very brave (and i want your wardrobe! :p) xx

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  6. Jessica, I am terribly behind in catching up with my list of blog posts so have just been delighted with the most beautiful images of you . How envious am I of your confidence. Nearing 50, I still find it difficult to allow photos of myself public. You look so happy and deservedly so! You are beautiful!!
    Thankyou for the recipie, I will try it out with my favourite 5 y.o. assistant on the weekend :)
    Irene x

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  7. Well how do you do?? This looks delicious, perfect recipe for my 4 children who return to school (we start the school year in Australia January/ February) next Tuesday. Love a bit of home baking & 1950's wifery. Love Posie

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  8. Mmmm they look yummy! As soon as i'm off this diet i'm gonna make all the delish recipes you have posted!
    xx

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  9. Sounds delicious!

    Best wishes,
    Amanda

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  10. Oh, these cookies sounds so good. I love cinnamon so much too, and I am a huge fan of butterscotch chips too, so these cookies sound pretty much like a perfect cookie to me ;)
    Thanks so much for sharing this.

    I'm so happy to hear that you got some many lovely comments on your pictures post and that it has helped. As someone who understands where you're coming from, it very nice to hear.
    Happy Thursday :)

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  11. Anytime, dear :)
    I was just thinking I woudl ilke to make cookies, and these sound delicious! Thanks for sharing this!

    Hope you're having a wonderful day!!

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  12. That sounds llike a delicious recipe, Jessica! Thanks for sharing.

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  13. This really sound very delicious, sweet!
    I didn't comment in the last post, but I have to say that you're ABSOLUTELY gorgeous, Jess. Soooo pretty!

    XOXO,
    Marina G.

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  14. ohhh Jessica, you kill me with these amazing recipes! I always bookmark these specific blog entries, and have been meaning to try so many of your recipes....maybe that is what I will do this weekend! :)

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  15. This recipe looks scrumptious! It must be fate that you've posted this - I have a afternoon tea on Sunday and I've been pondering what to make - you've just provided the solution for me. Many thanks! xx

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  16. This recipe looks scrumptious! It must be fate that you've posted this - I have a afternoon tea on Sunday and I've been pondering what to make - you've just provided the solution for me. Many thanks! xx

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  17. Oooh! I have left over Butterscotch chips, and cinnamon is my honey's favorite too. I will give these a try this weekend. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Also, you have such a classicly beautiful face and I just adore your style. :) Have a wonderful weekend Jessica!

    P.S. I've lost a few inches being gluten minimal and it's amazing how much better you feel.

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  18. I so know what you mean about it being scary to post pictures of yourself online - hitting that "publish" button is nervewracking! You have absolutely nothing to worry about, you're simply gorgeous! :)

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  19. One can't have enough cookie recipes. Thanks for sharing this tempting one.
    Maureen

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  20. Hi Jessica,
    Just made these from your recipe.
    They tasted amazing!
    BTW, I love your online vintage clothing blog.

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