Are any of you superstitious? Do you have certain socks you have to wear when you are watching or playing a sport or you are convinced that your team won’t win? When you spill salt, do you toss it over your left shoulder to ward off evil things from happening to you? Do you keep your fires roaring on New Years Eve so that you will have good luck in the new year? How about this one… do you cut your hair on Good Friday to prevent headaches in the coming year?
I have never been very superstitious. I have had black cats cross my path. I have spilled salt and forgotten to toss. I am sure I have walked under my share of ladders and have opened umbrellas indoors. Overall, I would say I haven’t had an unlucky life. Maybe I have had some unlucky things happen once or twice, but nothing horrible has crossed my path yet. Hopefully writing about my lack of misfortune won’t bring me misfortune!
I do have one minor superstition and it has to do with baking. I have a cookie sheet that is very, very old. It is a clean cookie sheet, but it does not look clean. It is discolored, warped and not pretty at all. The thing is, this cookie sheet… I’m sure of it… is the reason my cookies always turn out so good. I think it is seasoned just perfectly, which results in the most perfectly baked cookies every time I use it. My husband, who apparently was disgusted with the cookie sheet, went to Bed Bath and Beyond awhile back and purchased the exact same cookie sheet for me, yet in a new version. I refuse to use it. I know that my beloved cookie sheet works wonders and I know that the new cookie sheet couldn’t possibly achieve the same results!
Take these yummy Soft & Chewy Vanilla Butter Cookies for example. They are the simplest of cookies, but having them baked through for the perfect amount of time is why they are so delicious. One minute over or one minute under…or using the wrong cookie sheet… and you have a cookie that did not live up to its fullest potential. I tried these on a different cookie sheet one time and I got crispy, crunchy cookies instead of the soft and chewy cookies this recipe typically yields. See? My superstition is true.
Grab your favorite cookie sheet and give these deliciously simple cookies a try. They can’t promise to bring good luck, but share them with others and good fortune is sure to come your way.
| 1 | cup Butter Flavor Crisco |
| 1 | cup sugar |
| 1/2 | cup brown sugar |
| 2 | eggs |
| 1 1/2 | tablespoons water |
| 1 | teaspoon vanilla |
| 1 | teaspoon butter flavor extract (optional) |
| 3 | cups flour |
| 1 | teaspoon baking soda |
| 1/2 | teaspoon salt |
- Preheat oven to 375°F. (You will have to chill the dough for 30 minutes, so you may want to do this when you put the dough in the fridge to chill).
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together Crisco, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, water, vanilla and butter-flavored extract until well mixed.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt to the mixing bowl and mix well.
- Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
- Roll dough into 1 inch balls; slightly flatten and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
- Place in preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until very light brown. (I always take my cookies out right before they look like they are done. I then allow them to sit on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes to firm up.)
I’m not souperstitious but I certainly hesitate to vary after I’ve done a recipe a certain way and it turned out good. I then feel that if I changed any variable, it wouldn’t taste the same 🙂
I meant superstitious….but I guess soup is on my mind 😉
I’d say that’s a fun superstition and you should keep it! Those cookies look lovely!
I agree with you- I bought a fancy, new cookie sheet after rust finally formed on my old one, and the cookies just don’t turn out as well! They’re flatter and crispier. (I actually did a comparison with the same batch, and the old baking sheet turned out wonderfully puffy, soft cookies, while the new one turned out rocks.)
I completely understand.
I totally know what you mean about the right cookie sheet!! I am the same way. And these cookies sound fabulous!
I’m VERY superstitious. If a black cat walks across the road in front of my car, I will stop in the road, get out, spit and mark an "X".
Sadly, I’m not joking.
Is your cookie sheet a metal baking tray, a silicone sheet or some other wonder?
I didn’t think I was superstitious, but I spilled salt the other day and had to ask Graham which shoulder to throw it over, he didn’t have a clue so I gave up at that point. But, now I know!
Sweetie, what a fun post!
And these cookies… Wow! The photo is so beautiful, Kristen!
I don’t know whether certain kitchen equipment is lucky or not, but I do know that once I make something in a pan or pot and it comes out great, I always use the same pan or pot to make it again.
I prefer using my baking stones but have found that a silpat sheet works well. My mom’s best friend won’t use anything but her air-bake pans.
my favorite cookie, yum! I hope all is well with you
I love this post! First off, the cookies look wonderful, I can’t wait to try them (you had me at vanilla). Second, I totally agree with you about the cookie sheets, mine are horrible looking but I line them with parchment paper so it’s not so bad. I wonder how these would turn out with a vanilla bean scraped into the mix instead of vanilla extract? I might just have to try…
yum……what a lovely cookie recipe.
My mother had a cookie sheet like yours! It was practically black, and I would have tossed it, but now I have my own favorite cookie sheets, though none quite so bad as the one she loved. Must be something to the cookie sheet "superstition."
I wish these cookies would jump off the screen.
I’m going to make these tonight, maybe sprinkle them with a little orange, red and yellow sugar to fit the season… I don’t have any butter extract though, and I know it says it’s optional, but would you say it adds enough flavor to make it worth a grocery store stop?
I made these last night (minus the butter extract, thank’s for the email) and they came out really good. I made them as written and sprinkled the tops with a bit of colored sugar. So easy, and such an economical recipe.
The cookies look gorgeous, Kristen. 🙂