Chocolate Snow Tracks Cookies

It took me a long time -- a lot of experimenting and Internet searching -- to find out the secret to big, soft cookies. No matter what I did, my cookies would melt down and come out crispy and flat. Then I looked at the expiration date on my baking powder (yes, that was problem #1). Here are a combination of measures that together help cookies keep their shape in the oven:

1. Make sure your baking powder is fresh. You also might increase slightly the amount of baking powder. Here is a quick summary of the difference between baking soda and powder.  Note that the soda and powder react with acidic ingredients such as lemon juice, honey or buttermilk, which you can use as a substitute for part of the other sugars and oils in the recipe.
2. Start the recipe with the egg(s) and make sure they are well beaten before adding anything else. This brings air into the batter. Add the flour last, but fold it in rather than using a mixer.
3. Make sure the dough is cold when it goes into the oven (give it a few minutes in the freezer). The dough is also easier to work with when it's chilled.
4. Make sure the oven is hot enough -- 350 or 375 for most cookies.
5. To make cookies softer, add a small amount of milk. I've found that other oil and sugar substitutes such as honey, jam, yogurt and fruit juice also result in soft, chewy cookies.

...Finally, here's a recipe I made up for chocolate cookies with white chocolate and semi-sweet chips in the center:

Chocolate Snow Tracks

2 eggs
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 T milk or unsweetened soymilk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
dash of nutmeg
2 1/2 cups flour

white chocolate chips
semi-sweet chocolate chips
powdered sugar, vanilla and water for icing

Beat eggs, mix in other ingredients, fold in flour. Chill dough until easy to shape without sticking. Place a small scoop of dough on greased cookie sheet. Make a thumbprint in the center and fill with a few of the white and semi-sweet chips (I used three of each). Cover the chips with another piece of dough and pinch sides together. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes, remove and place on cooling rack. When the cookies have cooled for a few minutes, brush over top an icing mixture of powdered sugar, a few drops of vanilla and just enough water to dissolve the sugar and spread over cookies.

(Recipe by H. Farrell)