Festive Swirl Cookies

What began as a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, was transformed into a holiday cookie by substituting red and green swirl morsels for the chocolate chips.  They still offer the crunch and chewiness of a chocolate chip cookie, but with a festive, dressed up appearance.

This could be one of the first cookies you bake, as they are good keepers.  They will stay fresh for 1 week or more in an air-tight container, and they also ship well if you are sending a “care” package any distance.

They may not be as fancy a cookie as some that make their appearance at this time of year, but they are a favorite non-the-less, one that you can count on to always be good.  The cookie dough may be frozen so you can have some ready to bake if unexpected visitors drop by, or the baked cookies may be frozen, and pulled out in a “cookie emergency”.

FESTIVE SWIRL COOKIES

Yield:  2 1/2 – 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 2  1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup swirl morsels, green and red, mixed
• cooking spray

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350*F.  Coat baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper and set aside.

2.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk to blend.

3.  In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugars and butter.  Beat at medium speed until well combined.  Add vanilla extract and egg whites; beat for 1 minute.

4.  Add flour mixture and mix to incorporate, you may need to stir in part of the flour mixture.  Fold in the chips.

Folding in the chips.

5.  Drop dough by tablespoons, 2-inches apart, onto prepared baking sheets.   Bake at 350*F.  for 10 minutes or until lightly browned, but still soft.  They will firm up as they cool.

6.  Cool on pans for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.  Store in an air-tight container.

SOURCE:   Cooking Light