Cupboard Cookies

I raided the freezer a couple of days ago for the raspberry pie.   Today I hit the pantry.

After the holidays, I found four partially full bags of baking chips in the cupboard—everything from expensive Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips to milk chocolate Hershey’s with a few white chocolate chips thrown in for good measure.    I decided to bake.

Now I am a butter baker.   I love to bake with butter.   Salted, unsalted, it doesn’t matter.

My husband doesn’t butt in too often in the kitchen, but he is adamant about one thing.

Cookies are better with Crisco.

He is so serious about this issue that he actually baked some to prove himself right.   (That was some years ago and it is just a vague memory now.)

I decided to give him benefit of the doubt and since I had Crisco in the cupboard from mom’s pie making during Thanksgiving, I thought I would bake him a treat, but only giving in half-way.

Here is my rendition of a clean-out-the-pantry-day cookie (based heavily on the old-standby recipe on the side of a chocolate chip bag!).   (I also found some sunflower seeds that I was afraid would go rancid if left for even one more day.)

Cupboard Cookies

3 1/4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. fine sea salt
1/2 c. softened butter
1/2 c. shortening
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1 t. pure vanilla
2 large farm fresh eggs
2 c. mixed baking chips (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate)
1 c. roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.   Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and shortening.   Add sugars and vanilla and continue to beat.   Beat in eggs one at a time.    Add chips and sunflower seeds and mix until just incorporated.

You can add whatever you want at this point---granola, dried fruit, pepitas---whatever you have in the pantry.

Using a cookie scoop, drop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets.   Place in oven and bake for around 10 minutes (give or take a few).   Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes then remove to wire racks.

I have to agree, these cookies turned out nice and fluffy with the substitution of half shortening, half butter.    I really liked the sunflower seeds, too.

This recipe made about three dozen cookies.

These cookies are also finding their way to the hospitality room!

Note:   Scarletta at Scarletta Bakes did another interesting “Clean Pantry Cookie” last week.    Please check it out.  Her cookies are lot more creative than mine!

19 comments to Cupboard Cookies

  • Crisco cookies, kind of makes sense, but I love me some butter! I think you were smart going 1/2 and 1/2 (like a good pie crust…not that I make those). I’m afraid of what my pantry might produce!

  • Add in cookies, sounds like a great idea. For some reason I have a bad habit of getting too much of something. I guess it is an underlying fear that I will not have enough. It has resulted in a drawer full of this and that for cookie add ins. I may delve into the clean out project like you did. I will have to say, your cookies look delicious and the addition of sunflower seeds does intrigue. Great post.

  • These look DELISH! And I love that you’re working your way through your kitchen, cleaning and cooking like a creative fiend. Bravo! 🙂

  • They look so perfect!! I’ve heard the shortening helps make cookies softer, and stay fresher longer, but I agree that it’s a better idea to do half and half so you get the benefits of both butter and Crisco. I trying not to hate you right now b/c I want cookies really bad (it’s all your fault) and there are none to be found, and I don’t plan on baking any either. Poo.

    • Eliot

      Thanks for the comments everyone! (Just got time to check.)

      Rhonda—I am sure your pantry is not as scary as you think!

      Tina—I am really going to experiment by adding sunflower seeds to other cookies—maybe a peanut butter based one. Thoughts?

      Meagan—Thanks for the inspiration to start cleaning! (And for the cookie idea!)

      Veronica—Don’t hate me! (If I could I would send you a cookie!)

  • Ha…love the name of the cookies. I need to clean out my stash of nuts and chips left over from the holidays and this is a good way to do it. A few of my favorite old recipes call for shortening instead of butter and I always like the results.

  • Great idea!

    My method of cleaning out my pantry after the holidays was to give all my opened baking supplies to my daughter who was returning to college and loves to bake for her suite-mates.

  • My goodness…I haven’t thought about Crisco in some time. Do you know I like to do this, go through cabinets and see what all I have hanging about. See what can be made from the bits and bags.
    Love the cookie name.

  • hee.hee, cupboard cookies – gotta love the practicality! Always have chocolate chips lying about… yum!

  • Ann

    YUM! Love the idea of cupboard cookies…and these are delicious!

  • The Cafe Sucre Farine

    I am a butter baker too but I have found that a bit of crisco adds a crispiness to cookies and a moistness to cakes that can’t be beat! These cookies look amazing!

    • Eliot

      It just dawned on me from some of your comments—when did Crisco get retro? (Interesting note: I did just read in our newspaper about a local entrepreneur who is marketing and selling “Grandma’s Bacon Drippings”. Is that genius or what?)

      Thanks for the comments Book Girl, Tina, Kelly, Ann, and Chris! Happy baking!

  • I do the same thing…raid the pantry for dinner, baking, blog post recipes, etc. Good job…that combo + the sunflower seeds is AMAZING!

    • Eliot

      Thanks Wendy. I probably need to clean out my pantry more often than I do. Maybe you will see some more “Cupboard Cleaning” posts.

  • I love how anything and everything can be chucked into a good cookie batter and taste absolutely fabulous 😀
    Yours look gorgeous!

  • Liz

    Now these are my kind of cookies!! Love that you added sunflower seeds…mmmmmmm. My family would think I had gone nuts if I did that…so I’d have to make only a few of those just for me 🙂