Tuesday, March 27, 2018

DISHPAN COOKIES

I have seen recipes for Dishpan Cookies in several of my Amish cookbooks. The problem is I never remember which ones and will just give up trying to find the recipe after going through a bunch of the cookbooks when I think about trying them. I don't know if the recipes are exactly alike or not. I do remember they usually make a lot. (I can picture mixing them up in a dishpan.) When I found the recipe the other day, I decided that it was time to make them.

As I said, the recipes usually make a lot of cookies and unless I am making them to take somewhere or to give to, I am always interested in whether I can cut the recipe in half, etc. This recipe I found in Abe and Edna Miller's From the Rolling Hills of Holmes County Down Home Cookin' didn't indicate how many cookies it made, but all I had to do was look at the ingredient amounts to know it was going to make a bunch. But it called for 4 eggs (that's the ingredient I usually look at first to determine if I can reduce the recipe) so I was a "go".

I don't know why they are called Dishpan Cookies. Do you? I have a friend in CA who makes brownies that she calls Everything But the Kitchen Sink Brownies. That's because she adds whatever extra ingredients she wants to her basic recipe. I don't think she ever makes them exactly the same two times in a row. I couldn't help but wonder if that is why the Amish call them "Dishpan", aka "kitchen sink"? What do you think? Sound reasonable? It is like a chocolate chip cookie recipe with oats and coconut added. I don't care what they are called - they are the best!

Since I knew we were going to be eating most of these cookies, I substituted some of my sugar-free or reduced sugar ingredients to reduce the amount of sugar. You can certainly choose not to. My version made about 3-1/2 dozen cookies. If you want to make more, just double the ingredient amounts.



DISHPAN COOKIES

1         cups butter, at room temperature
1         cup white sugar (I used 1/2 cup stevia/sugar blend)
1         cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup stevia/brown sugar blend)
2         eggs
1/2      tablespoon vanilla
1         teaspoon baking soda
1/2      teaspoon salt
2-1/2   cups quick rolled oats
1/2      cup fine coconut (I used organic sugar-free coconut)
1         teaspoon baking powder
1-3/4   cups all-purpose flour
1         package chocolate chips (I like lots of chocolate chips so I used 2 cups 60% cacao chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


Beat together butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.
(I let it beat while I measured the dry ingredients and mixed them together in another bowl.)


Measure dry ingredients (except the chips) and mix with a whisk in a large mixing bowl.
Add all at once to creamed mixture.



Add chocolate chips.


I measured cookie dough using a cookie scoop that holds 1 tablespoon water.
Flatten using your fingers. (The recipe said to then dip top in powdered sugar. I didn't do this.)


Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. (I baked mine about 11.)


Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack.


2 comments:

  1. kitchen sink means other things not in ingredent list is added. Dishpan means it was MADE in the dishpan that washed the dishes at that time because it would have been the biggest pan they had.

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    Replies
    1. Wow. Thanks so much. I didnt think about that, but it makes sense since the recipe made so many cookies you would need a big bowl to mix them in.
      Patricia

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