It’s Thursday night and that means Fast & Furious has their weekly softball game. I didn’t get a chance to make cookies for the team last week, so I promised Dennis that I would make them for tonight’s game. I love making cookies for the guys, it brings me so much joy. As I’ve mentioned, it’s my goal to come up with as many variations as I can for cookies, that starts with my basic cookie recipe. Tonight, I made Malted Milk Ball Cookies. The reason I chose to make Malted Milk Ball Cookies is because Dennis loves malted milk balls! He enjoys eating them when we go to the movies, so I try to always make sure to have a box on hand. If, for some reason, I don’t have a box in the pantry (mostly because he’s found where I’ve hidden it), it’s just a quick stop at the market on the way out.

I bought malted milk balls in bulk at Sprout’s when I grocery shopped on Sunday. I knew I’d want 2 cups for my recipe, and added another cup to the bag for Dennis … to have as a little treat, maybe to bring to the movies tomorrow night :). I did hide these in the pantry – where they couldn’t be found, because if they were found, I know I’d find myself running back to Sprouts to buy some more.

I started with the two cups of malted milk balls. I placed them in a large, gallon sized ziplock bag and used a mallet to crush them into small pieces.

Once I smashed the milk balls, I placed the ziplock bag into the freezer. I wanted them to be really cold when I added them to my dough.

In a medium sized bowl, I whisked together 2-1/4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1 tablespoon of malted milk powder.

In the bowl of my electric mixer, I creamed one cup (1 stick) of Crisco Butter Flavored Baking sticks. Once that was creamy, I added 1 cup of dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, and 1-1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Once those ingredients were combined, I beat in two extra large eggs, one at a time. I then added the dry mixture to the wet mixture, pulled the crushed malted milk balls out of the freezer and added them to the dough as well. I placed the bowl into the refrigerator for 3 hours, while I went about some other tasks.

When I was ready to bake the cookies, I preheated the oven to 375 degrees. I used a cookie scoop to drop the dough onto my ungreased baking sheets. I baked the cookies for 14 minutes.

Dennis really loved these cookies and I hope the team did as well!

Ingredients

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon malted milk powder

1 cup Crisco Butter Flavor Baking Sticks (1 stick)

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1-1/2 vanilla extract

2 extra large eggs

2 cups malted milk balls, crushed

Directions

1. Place milk balls in a large ziplock bag. Seal the bag and crush the milk balls with a mallet or wooden spoon. Place the bag in the freezer.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and malted milk powder. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream Crisco butter stick. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla and cream together. Add eggs, one at a time and beat.
4. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix together.
5. Add malted milk balls and mix together.
6. Place bowl in refrigerator for 3 hours.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
8. Place dough, by rounded teaspoonful (or cookie scoop) onto an uncreased baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris