One Dough Different Cookies

I love baking cookies but considering there are only two people in our house right now who can actually enjoy cookies (baby Prisha will have to wait till she grows her teeth!) baking a big batch of same flavor or type is pretty boring. I mean how many times can you actually enjoy the same flavor? So, this time I decided to make a base cookie dough and then add different flavors and toppings in it to bake different types of cookies. It turned out so good‼ Needless to say having a different type of cookie every time is so much fun‼ Since Christmas is coming I thought this is the perfect time to share this recipe. Try it then post your photos and comments using my hashtag #lifewithoutalu

Ingredients:

For the base cookie dough:

• Unsalted Butter - 1 cup, at room temperature
• Brown Sugar - 1¼ cups
• White Sugar - ½ cup 
• Eggs - 2 large 
• Vanilla Extract - 2 teaspoons 
• All Purpose Flour - 2½ cups 
• Baking Soda - 1 teaspoon 
• Salt - 1 teaspoon 

For the Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookie:

• Peppermint Extract - ½ teaspoon 
• Chocolate Chips - ¼ cup 

For the Double Chocolate Cookie:

• Cocoa Powder – 1 ½ tablespoons 
• Chocolate Chips - ¼ cup 

For the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie:

• Old Fashioned Oats - ¼ cup, chopped
• Raisins - ¼ cup 

For the Peanut Butter and Jam Cookie:

• Peanut Butter - 2 tablespoons 
• Raspberry Jam - 2 tablespoons 

Directions:

To make the base cookie dough:

• In a large bowl/ stand mixer bowl, add the Butter, Brown and White Sugar, Eggs and Vanilla Extract and whisk together until combined.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the Flour, Baking Soda and Salt.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir with a spatula/ metal spoon to form the cookie dough. 
• Divide into 4 parts.

For the Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookie:

• Add the Peppermint Extract and Chocolate Chips in one of the portions of cookie dough.
• Fold the cookie dough over itself to make sure the add-ins are distributed throughout.

For the Double Chocolate Cookie:

• In the 2nd portion, make a well in the center of the dough with your hand. Add in the Cocoa Powder and the Chocolate Chips. 
• Fold the cookie dough over itself to make sure the add-ins are distributed throughout.

For the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie:

• In the 3rd portion, make a well in the center of the dough with your hand. Add in the Oats and the Raisins. 
• Fold the cookie dough over itself to make sure the add-ins are distributed throughout.

For the Peanut Butter and Jam Cookie:

• Take the 4th portion and chill it for at least an hour before mixing the add-ins otherwise it will turn too gooey and stick everywhere.
• Make a well in the center of the dough with your hand. Add in the Peanut Butter and the Raspberry Jam (make sure both are cold as well).
• Fold the cookie dough over itself to make sure the add-ins are distributed throughout.

Once all the add-ins have been added to the base dough, cover them with plastic wrap (cling wrap) and transfer to the fridge.

Let them chill for at least two hours.

To bake the cookies:

• Arrange the oven racks in the center of the oven.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Line a large baking tray with parchment paper.

• Now you can roll the cookies with your hand in a round shape or roll them in a cylindrical shape with the help of the glad wrap. Then cut them up neatly with a sharp knife. 
• Lay them on the baking sheet about 4 inches apart. Do not press or flatten the cookies. Leave them to bake as a rounded scoop/ cut of dough. This will ensure your cookies don't spread out too much.

• Bake for roughly 10-11 minutes or until you can still see it doughy in the center but browning around the edge. Resist the urge to bake for longer as you will over bake it and lose that gooey center. The Peanut Butter and Jam cookies may take another minute or two to bake because of higher moisture content in them so keep an eye on them.
• Let cool on the sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to cooling racks. 
• Cool completely about 10 minutes then store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

In other news, we had a rice ceremony for baby Prisha. This is a function to celebrate and welcome the baby in the world of solid foods. So although baby Prisha has been enjoying fruit and vegetable purees for sometime, we didn’t give her any type of grain. However, after this ceremony she can officially start eating grains. That is, when she grows her teeth she will be able to enjoy more and more regular food that we normally cook and eat in our house. Right now we have started her on rice cereal and she quite likes it.

We also got a lot of decoration stuff for baby Prisha’s rice ceremony. Artificial floral garlands being one of them. Once the ceremony was done and I started packing up the decoration items, I realized that a lot of that floral stuff can be used as Christmas decoration. For example, our old Christmas wreath was falling apart so I decided to make a wreath using the garlands. 

Making this wreath is quite simple, you can also use a ring to provide a sturdier shape. I just tied it up at a couple of places so that all the loose leaves and branches came together. Then I tied a bow on it and voila wreath was ready. I think it looks pretty good for a quick DIY project. What do you think?

Try the cookies and spread the Christmas cheer‼ If you want some more cookie recipes try these:

• Mixed Nuts Cookies
• Mathri (Savory Indian Cookies)
• Vanilla Biscotti
• Colorful Biscotti (with Cranberries, Pepitas and Pecans)
• Boozy Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
• Martha Stewart's Rugelach
• Loaded Nuts Cookies
• Fork Pressed Chocolate Chip Cookies
• My Scrumptious Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
• Easy Peasy Peppermint Cookies
• Shortbread Cookies with a hint of Carom Seeds