Small Cookie Sunday: Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies
Small cookies #4
August
CHOCOLATE CHIP BLONDE BROWNIES
These cookies bring back fond memories of my childhood on Hillview Avenue in what was then the small town of Redwood City, California. My mother would make these for my brothers and me, and we would bring them to school in our lunch boxes. It’s just an everyday cookie, but the reason it has been popular for all these years is because it’s just downright yummy. And very easy to make. It’s simple as can be; no sifting flour, no beating butter till it’s fluffy. Just throw together the ingredients, bake, cool and cut.
The extra zing comes with the packaging. The cookies look super special and professional when they are enclosed in cellophane bags and sealed with a foldover card. Use an adorable or interesting photo of the baker on the labels, and you just about have your own established bake shop! Use the same packaging technique for all your cookie varieties, and your baker will look like they have hit the big time!
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- [url href=”https://bdn.evermine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_3190.jpg”][img src=”https://bdn.evermine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IMG_3190.jpg” width=”780″ height=”1170″ class=”alignnone size-full” title=”Small Cookie Sunday: Chocolate Chip Blonde Brownies”][/url]
- Butter the bottom and sides of an 8×8 pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Melt the butter, allow to cool for a minute, then add egg and vanilla and beat with a fork until smooth. Stir in the brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips.
- Toast walnuts at 350° for about ten minutes or until just beginning to turn brown. Remove walnuts from oven, wrap them in a tea towel and rub gently to remove skins. Discard skins. Chop the walnuts coarsely, measure out 1/2 cup and add to flour mixture. Then add the butter mixture and stir just until incorporated. Spread the batter into prepared 8×8 pan. The batter will be stiff; press into the corners and make it coat the pan as evenly as possible. Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake. You want these to be soft and chewy.
- Allow to cool completely in pan. Remove from pan and place on cutting board. Measure carefully and mark with toothpicks, or nick the cookie block with a knife at 1 – 1/2 inch intervals. Cut into squares using the toothpicks as a guide.
Items needed for packaging:
• large cellophane bags 3.5″ x 2.25″ x 9.75″
• label shape #16 – 3.5” x 3.25”. The style used here is Jules Veneer.
• foldover card for label, 7 – 3/4” x 4”, scored in the middle and folded to 3 – 7/8” x 4”
• backing cards for inside the cellophane bags: Use milk cartons; they are plastic coated and will not absorb fats from the cookies. Rinse and dry milk cartons, then cut to the desired size (for this size of cellophane bag, cut to 3.25” x length of row of four cookies – about 6” ). Use two cards in each package, with the printing facing towards each other so the front and back are white.
• stapler
Packaging instructions:
• Open the cellophane bags and press open the bottom gussets to make it easier to load the cookies. Place the backing cards in the bags. Using an offset spatula, slide all the cookies at one time into the bags. Carefully slide the spatula out of the bag. Fold the bag at the top and staple closed.
• Make foldover cards of kraft paper or other stiff, decorative paper. Fold card over the opening of the cellophane bag and staple once at the base.
• Place the label carefully over the foldover card; when in the right position, press gently to secure. Add a text label on the back if you want to add more information or tell a story.
Jeanne and her husband David launched My Own Labels in January of 2000. It was a spin-off of their successful graphic design firm, plus it allowed Jeanne to incorporate her love of baking, making, sewing and creating. Today David and Jeanne continue to be the heart of the operation both creatively and practically.