[Cookie 015] Ne Plus Ultra Cookies

I got a very rude awakening today. First, though, I'll give you a little background to the story. My mom told me a few days ago about a charity event involving baking cookies for disabled veterans, for Memorial Day you know? Well, I thought this would be a great cause to get involved with, plus I would get to bake some cookies without having to consume them (yeah, sounds crazy, but those Pecan Bars nearly killed my family). So, today was the day, and my mom and I decided to try out the Ne Plus Ultra Cookies, thinking that they would be a good cookie for just about anyone, and be quick and easy to make (all of which were very true).

But here's where I get the rude awakening. Going to deliver said cookies to the "Operation Cookie" Headquarters, I immediately notice upon entering that I am by far the youngest person in sight by at least 50 years (barring my mom, of course!). My friends and I always joke about how I'm secretly a 75 year old woman on the inside, but this was ridiculous. We're talking grandmas baking cookies for charity. Yeah. I should probably start doing my knitting and embroidery on the sly from now on, or else the Woman's Club (the ladies in charge of this "Operation Cookie" business), will start banging on my door with their rolling pins and walkers.

Anyways, let's move on. I think I can secure my youth by proving my ability to keep up a blog, on the internet, at least. That's pretty new-fangled, right? Yeah. Right, the cookies. So, as I said earlier, I picked this recipe because it seemed like a very basic cookie that everyone would be partial to, and which we had all the ingredients for already in my pantry. Check, and check. With my mom at my side, we got to work.

The recipe is just about as easy as they come, and basically involves mixing the wet ingredients, then adding the dry, and then mixing in a huge amount of chocolate chips, raisins, and nuts. The cookies themselves are supposed to be made on the larger scale, but because we needed at least 2 dozen for "Operation Cookie" (can't you just imagine a couple of senior ladies, sitting in some Laz-E-Boys, eyeglasses hanging from beaded lanyards around their necks, coming up with that name?), we made them about half the size--thus shortening their baking time.

We did encounter a slight problem, or bump in the road more like it, regarding the dough. The recipe has you roll the dough into balls and then press them flat on the cookie sheet, but our dough was really sticky and wet, so it needed some more flour. It didn't affect the end result of the cookie, though, so all was fine.

In the end, though, I'd say the cookies were okay, not great though. They taste like exactly how'd you expect, but nothing special. Also, I think they need a bit more salt, or something to give it a special dimension flavor-wise, because they were a tad on the boring side.

Ne Plus Ultra Cookies
Makes about 1 dozen (or more, if you bake em smaller)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
• 2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs; mix until well combined.
2. Sift flour, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl; add to butter mixture on low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips, raisins, and pecans.
3. Roll dough into 2 1/2-inch balls, then flatten to 1-inch thick. Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake cookies until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

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{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 1/5 (so easy!)
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 3/5 (Meh)
Attractiveness: 3/5
Is it worth it?: I bet you can find a better recipe, but these aren't bad