Everything-good-about-fall cookies & Cure Violence
What if we treated violence like a disease?
That is the approach of Cure Violence, an NGO that stops the spread of violence in communities by using the methods and strategies associated with disease control. They developed this model after their scientists discovered that violence has the 3 characteristics of an epidemic disease: violence clusters like disease; violence spreads like disease; and, violence is transmitted like disease. Their model of detecting and interrupting conflict, identifying and treating high-risk individuals, and changing social norms has been tested in various sites and has been very successful in reducing violence. In Chicago, for example, there was a 41%-73% reduction in shootings over 8 years in the 3 sites being evaluated. You can see more of Cure Violence's success stories here.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Mmmmm cookies. I've gotten in the habit of making more cookies since I moved home because they're so portable. My parents are vegan, so most of my creations get wrapped up and put in containers, and taken with me to work or to the city when I visit friends. Cookies are the easiest dessert to transport and they're perfect because you can put anything in them.
For Friendsgiving this year, I decided to put a spin on the classic chocolate chip cookie. To be honest, I usually feel like you shouldn't really touch a classic (why ruin something so perfect?) but at the same time, when you have lots of leftover fall flavors in your pantry, it can't hurt to throw them in. Feel free to modify this to better suit your tastes! I hope you enjoy :)
Everything-good-about-fall cookies
Yield: About 32 cookies
Adapted from Marc Forgione's 10-min. Cookies
You'll need:
16 oz. unsalted butter (do not be alarmed... it makes a lot of cookies!)
1 1/2 c. light brown sugar (you could use dark too. whatever you have in the kitchen!)
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
5 cinnamon graham crackers crushed into crumbs
4 tbsp. pumpkin puree or pumpkin butter
1 c. chopped pecans
Anywhere from a pinch to a couple teaspoons of cinnamon -- depending on your taste :)
Let's Get Cookin!
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a non-stick mat like Silpat.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with the sugars and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. This can take 8-10 minutes. As the perfect Alex Guarnaschelli of Butter and Chopped fame said, the key to a good cookie is in creaming the butter and sugars! Alex knows.
3. Add the eggs to the creamed mixture and continue to beat until fully incorporated. Do the same with vanilla extract and beat until fully incorporated.
4. Add the pumpkin puree or pumpkin butter and beat until fully incorporated.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and graham cracker crumbs together. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, 1 cup at a time, beating until fully incorporated.
6. At this point, you can fold in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
7. The dough will be super sticky, so if you want, you can cover your bowl in plastic wrap and rerigerate it for up to 2 days, but you could also just go for it.
8. Using a spoon (or if you're super fancy- a 1 1/2 - to 2-inch diameter cookie scoop) spoon balls of the cookie dough onto the lined baking sheet. Leave them enough room to spread out a bit.
9. Stick your cookies in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, turning the pan halfway through.
10. PRAY TO THE BAKING GODS!
11. Take the cookies out after 10 mins or when the edges are golden brown. It's better to slightly underbake cookies if you prefer cookies with soft centers... who doesn't let's be honest.
Good Luck & Enjoy