This recipe makes only two cookies.

Albeit, two big, beautiful cookies. When I found this recipe, I liked the convenience factor of only five minutes prep time, and I loved the notion that I wouldn’t end up with a whole batch of cookies tempting me at every turn. However, I was skeptical. Would they be as good as my favorite Tollhouse? As it turned out, this is an awesome recipe, and those two cookies are every bit as good as their big batch buddies!

I’ve made these twice. The first time around the cookies turned out great, but they didn’t have that ooey-gooey factor that I was hoping for. I made some changes for the second batch, which totally did the trick.

If you like cookies that rise and then don’t deflate too much, follow the recipe exactly. If you want cookies that look mine pictured, use 1/4 cup flour minus 1 teaspoon. After you form the cookies, refrigerate them until cold, then remove from refrigerator and bring back up to almost room temperature before you bake.

A clever recipe from No. 2 Pencil.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons room temperature butter
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 heaping tablespoons of semisweet chocolate chips (I chopped mine)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Blend softened butter, sugars, salt, and vanilla together by hand. Add egg yolk and stir again. Add baking soda and flour and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Form cookie dough into two balls and place on baking sheet. The cookies will spread during baking, so make sure they are several inches apart. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.

Remove baking sheet from oven and give the baking sheet a firm, but careful bang on the counter top. This will deflate the cookie and give it a perfect wrinkly appearance. (I found this doesn’t always work, but I banged the baking sheet anyway.)

Harry Potter Treats

Yer a wizard Amanda. The four words that were never once said to me *sadness*. However, we can make up for that! Imagine my immense joy at having found recipes straight from Hogwarts, Hogsmeade and Honeydukes. I might have squealed a bit. From Acid Pops to Chocolate Frogs to Licorice Wands to Cockroach Clusters to Butterbeer and BUTTERBEER CUPCAKES. Wut. And as an added bonus some Caldron Cakes if you ever feel like taking a Potions class. It’s okay to cry; I know how you feel. I’m dying to make these too. You can thank me later.

Recipe for sweets here. And for Butterbeer, Butterbeer Cupcakes, and Cauldron Cakes.

Lembas Bread (Lord of the Rings “authentic” Elvish bread)

Ingredients: 

 2 ½ cups of flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
¼ teaspoon of salt
½ cup of butter
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon honey
2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
½ teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and mix with a well till fine granules (easiest way is with an electric mixer). Then add the sugar and cinnamon, and mix them thoroughly.

Finally add the cream, honey, and vanilla and stir them in with a fork until a nice, thick dough forms.

Roll the dough out about 1/2 in thickness. Cut out 3-inch squares and transfer the dough to a cookie sheet.Criss-cross each square from corner-to-corner with a knife, lightly (not cutting through the dough).

Bake for about 12 minutes or more (depending on the thickness of the bread) until it is set and lightly golden.

***Let cool completely before eating, this bread tastes better room temperature and dry. Also for more flavor you can add more cinnamon or other spices***