Clear the Cupboard Cookies (Crispy AND Chewy!)

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Clear the Cupboard Cookies are seriously addictive with crispy edges and a chewy middle. I baked a batch for our weekly B.Y.O.C. (Bring Your Own Chair) gathering with our neighbors and the cookies disappeared faster than a turkey in November! Let your imagination run wild with your favorite salty and sweet optional ingredients. Did I mention that this dough freezes beautifully?

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Favorite Cookie Recipes

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How to make Clear the Cupboard Cookies

Food preparation is must easier when you have the right kitchen equipment. I use these items on a regular basis and can attest to their durability and functionality.

Equipment Used

• Mixing Bowl – used for mixing
• Hand Held Mixer – used for blending ingredients
• Baking Sheet – used for baking the cookies
• Cooling Rack – used to cool the baked cookies

Ingredient List

• Dough – Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract
• Yummy Additions – uncooked regular oats, sweetened flaked coconut, rice cereal
• Optional Additions – nuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips

Clear the Cupboard Cookies can look intimidating due to the number of ingredients, but trust me, it is so worth the effort. And putting your ingredients together is where the fun begins. This cookie is irresistible as is, or add your favorite candies and nuts to the batter. You can also replace the coconut, rice cereal, and/or oats with replacements of your choice. Just be sure to stay within the same measurements during the swap.

Recipe Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. If you are using a non-stick baking sheet, parchment paper is not necessary. I use the parchment because they allow the cookies to bake perfectly golden on the bottom every time.

• In a medium mixing bowl, beat the shortening with a hand held mixer until fluffy. Next, add the granulated and light brown sugars and beat until well combined. Add eggs, beating until fully incorporated.

• In a separate large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and oats. Helpful Tip: If you do a lot of baking, you’ll want to get a large lidded container to keep your flours and sugars readily available. This saves a lot of hassle when measuring and scooping out ingredients for your recipes. Make sure your containers are large enough to fit at least one full bag of flour. I use my measuring cups as a scoop.
• Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating well after each addition. Helpful Tip: Have you ever added flour to your bowl, turned the beater on, and suddenly your kitchen looks like a blanket of powdery snow? Me too! To solve this, gently move the beaters around by hand after each addition to “stir” in the flour prior to turning on the beaters.

• Using a wooden spoon stir in coconut, cereal, vanilla extract, and optional ingredients. Make sure to use a bowl large enough to accommodate all ingredients, while leaving room to stir. You’ll need to stir well, but gently.
• Now you can have fun thinking of creative add-ins. Chocolate chips, butterscotch, toffee, or nuts are amazing in this recipe. Keep in mind that adding too many optional ingredients could impact your baking time and cookie results as there will be less dough to hold everything together.

• Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. I use my measuring spoon to do this step. No need to buy a special dough-release spoon.
• Leave plenty of room for hot air to flow between cookies. This ensures evenly baked cookies with perfectly crisp edges. I like to leave about 3 inches between each drop of dough.
• Place baking sheet into preheated oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are a light golden color, and bottoms are a light golden brown. Oven times can vary depending on many factors. I suggest keeping a close eye on the cookies at the 10 minute mark. Nothing ruins a day like having your sweet tooth craving burnt to a blackened crisp!

• Remove Clear the Cupboard Cookies from oven. Let sit for about a minute prior to transferring to a cooling rack. Cookies will be delicate and very soft until they have had time to cool.

How to know when cookies are ready to come out of the oven

• As we’ve discussed, baking times can vary. You can use your oven light to peek through the glass door during baking, however; I find that this makes it difficult to see how the bottoms are browning. Depending upon your recipe, start paying close attention to the dough edges and bottoms when they are about three-quarters through their baking time.
• The shade of the bottom of the cookies will be darker than the shade of the edges. If the cookie edges are a light golden color, then the bottoms should be just right at a light golden “brown.”

How to freeze cookie dough for quick and easy treats!

Did you know that you can freeze these cookies very easily so you’re always just minutes away from delicious fresh baked goodness? Imagine a busy holiday season where all you have to do is pull out a bag of homemade cookie dough from the freezer and you’re all set! Well, you’re welcome!

• Clear the Cupboard Cookies freeze in shape so you won’t have to spoon out globs of dough to form into little balls when you’re already short on time.

• Before freezing, go ahead spoon out all of the dough by tablespoonfuls and place the little mounds of yumminess into a ziplock freezer bag.

• Using a Sharpie marker write the name of your cookie dough, the date, and a brief summary of baking instructions on the ziplock bag. Place bag in the freezer for up to 6 months. Like those cookies are going to last that long!