
Every week we’ll post a recipe that we both made. This week’s recipe was Mrs. Dooley’s Cookies. Printable recipe can be found at the bottom of this post. This recipe was submitted by reader Alexandra.
Robyn’s Take:
This week’s recipe was submitted by reader Alexandra, who said:
My mom used to make these cookies all the time when I was a kid, and now I make them whenever I feel the need for something other than chocolate chip cookies. I made a couple of batches when super-pregnant this past fall, ate one (batch, that is, not cookie) and took the other to the hospital to give to the staff. I find that the cookies are best after a day or two of “ripening.” They also freeze pretty well.
My mom got the recipe from a college friend who got it from her mother (the “Mrs. Dooley” of the recipe name). My guess is that it may have originally been an Eagle Brand recipe, but I couldn’t find it on their page, so who knows.
Also — no eggs! You can eat all the dough you want!
I’m going to add here that I Googled to the best of my abilities and didn’t find this recipe anywhere, not on the Eagle Brand site, not anywhere on the entire internet. We’re sticklers for giving credit where credit is due, so if you happen to know where the recipe originally came from, let us know. Otherwise, we’re declaring Mrs. Dooley the genius behind this.
Your ingredients:
Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (honestly, the brand doesn’t matter), chocolate chips, butter, vanilla, flour.
First, you’ve gotta melt your chocolate chips and butter together. I do have a double boiler, but if you don’t, then use a bowl (not a plastic one, dummy) over a pot of water. Alexandra says that her mother uses the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, at medium or medium-high power. That sounds like something I’d completely fuck up, so I opted to use my double boiler.
This step takes FOREVER, so I wandered through the house and snuggled sleeping kittens and occasionally returned to the kitchen to give the chocolate chips and butter a stir.
“Tired of your snuggling shit, lady.”
Then there are a few steps I completely didn’t take pictures of. Once the chocolate chips and butter are melted together, you remove it from the heat. I put it in a big bowl, dumped the sweetened, condensed milk in, and stirred it all together really well. AND THEN added the flour and vanilla, alternating. Basically I added half the flour, mixed it well, then half the vanilla, mixed it well, the rest of the flour, mixed it well, and the last of the vanilla. I did this all by hand, but I think a mixer would have been okay.
Then it’s got to sit for 15 minutes to let the dough “toughen.”
Grease your cookie sheets OR (this is what I did) line them with parchment paper. Parchment paper is THE BOMB, and makes cleanup so so easy. I always have a ton of the precut sheets on hand.
Drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto your cookie sheet. I used my beloved cookie scoop.
They don’t spread much at all. This is what they look like when they’re done.
Fred happened to arrive home from work just as I pulled the last pan of cookies from the oven. I opened my mouth to tell him that we were going to let them “age” for a couple of days, but before I could he ate one, declared it “really good” and then ate another. I gave one a try, and he was right – it was good! They’re fudgy and chewy and pretty small, so you can eat 75 of them without feeling guilty (ha, as if I ever feel guilty about eating FOOD).
This recipe makes a lot of cookies (I got 5 1/2 dozen, and I was generous with shoving uncooked dough in my face as I was making the cookies), so we were able to check them the next day and then the day after that. They start out good and they only improve with age. We still had so many left after two days that I put the rest in the freezer.
I do think that a sprinkle of sea salt across the top (do I sound all pretentious like Amanda? I hope not!) or a sprinkle of toasted pecans might be a nice addition. I’m definitely adding this recipe to the recipe box and will be making them again. A++, thanks for submitting, Alexandra!
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Nance’s Take:
My week was horrific (Maddy lost her battle with renal failure) and it never got any better by the time I had to make these cookies. My mother had surgery, Trey’s car blew a head-gasket, our riding lawn mower shit the bed, Rick had to go out of town for work, and we found out that the powder room toilet had been leaking. Leaking so bad that it went through the carpeting and soaked the wooden sub-floor beneath it.
I had been convinced that Felina was stealth-peeing on my mother’s bedroom carpeting (right outside the powder room). You don’t even want to know how many times I scrubbed that carpet, bitching the entire time about that googley-eyed ugly dog, while the real culprit was silently destroying my life not 3 feet away.
So yeah. It was the week from hell and all I have to show for it is a broke down Buick in the driveway and a toilet sitting on my back porch. It’s just a matter of time until I’m the star of a reality show called My White Trash Life. Be jealous.
You can probably figure out from reading the above that I was in absolutely no mood to bake fucking cookies, right? But I couldn’t let Robyn down so I busted out my fancy pans and went to work. This is my double boiler. I have never bothered to buy a real double boiler because this bowl/pan combo has always worked out for me.
Well, it works out for me until I get a steam burn when I’m trying to stir something. Maybe I should just break down and buy a damn double boiler. That’s a good name for a band. The Damn Double Boilers. Okay, maybe it’s not a good name for a band. How about The Scalded Skins? Somebody trademark that shit.
You’re welcome.
I pulled this out of the refrigerator. Can you even imagine what was going on with this butter that it is twist-wrapped on both ends? Who twist-wraps butter? And why would you be using both ends of a butter stick? Someone in my family is a weirdo. And no, it’s not me (shut-up).
This bag of Hershey’s chocolate chips had 2 cups in it and we need 3 cups for the recipe. Ugh, math.
I figured I would use 1 cup of these mini morsels that I had in my freezer for some reason. I honestly think they’re from the time we made some kind of diet cannoli/graham cracker frozen treat. Yes, I know I can search the site. But eh, too lazy. Just know that I’m assuming DCEP is the reason I have mini morsels in my freezer because I would never buy them on my own.
This is what happens when you try and balance chocolate chips on Sadie’s head and the damn cat gets directly in her face.
Too bad we don’t have Scratch ‘N Sniff because this melted chocolate smelled fabulous.
Action shot! I had already stirred the hell out of the melted chocolate and sweetened condensed milk. Adding the flour just meant lots more stirring. If you have old lady hands like me, it’s a good idea to have someone around to help you out. Between arthritis and carpal tunnel I was ready for a heating pad by the time I was done with this recipe. No lie.
This is what it looked like after I let it sit for 15 minutes like the recipe said to do. You can tell I was done with all the stirring just by looking at the sides of the bowl. Normally I would have had a spatula out and made sure the sides were scraped clean. I was so over it by the time I was done stirring that I had, as they say on the Internet, no more shits to give.
I used parchment paper and dropped the dough on it with tablespoons. Julie was unimpressed with the outcome.
When I was growing up there was no way in hell I would have gotten away with sniffing my food. That was a serious rule at our house. No sniffing your food and absolutely no licking your butter knife!
I went back and rolled the dough into balls and then flattened them slightly with my fingers. As you can see, it made for a much prettier cookie.
The cookies ended up tasting great! Imagine a cookie with a brownie flavor and texture because that’s exactly what these were like. They were even better the next day. After all my bitching it turned out that these are definitely a keeper!
- 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 2 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand or not. Doesn't matter!)
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF
- Melt the chocolate chips and butter together in a double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler, use a heatproof bowl over a pan of water. You could try microwaving it in 30-second bursts at medium or medium-high heat. But don't come crying to me if you mess it up!)
- Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat when it's completely melted and add the sweetened, condensed milk. Mix well. (I transferred the chocolate mixture to a big bowl before this step, as my double boiler isn't that big.)
- Mix in the flour and vanilla, alternating between the two.
- Let the dough sit for 15 minutes to "toughen."
- Grease cookie pans or line with parchment paper.
- Drop dough onto cookie sheets by heaping tablespoons.
- Bake for 10 minutes. (Since there are no eggs in the dough you don't need to be too worried about undercooking them, but you don't want to overcook them; I baked mine for exactly 10 minutes, and that turned out to be the perfect time.)
- Remove to a wire rack to cool.
- (Cookies are good when they're freshly baked, but even better after aging for a couple of days. They freeze well, too!)
mmmm – great, now I’m hungry (and stuck at work all day) 🙂
Eventually they have to let you out – you can make these as soon as you get home instead of dinner! 😉
Sorry to hear about Maddy, Nance.
Thanks, Oldcat. Every time a pet passes it takes a piece of our hearts with them, but Maddy ripped a huge chunk out of mine. Pets will get you every time. Every damn one of them. But what would we do without them? 🙂
🙁 Oh Maddy. I am so sorry Nance and family. And Robyn. Wow – way too young! The cookies look great but my heart is a bit too sad to think about them much now. Maybe later. Rest in peace little Maddy.
Gina
Thanks, Gina. She was too young, but I keep reminding myself that we (Robyn included) were lucky to have known her at all. And it’s another reason why I don’t understand why there are people out there that choose to not like pets. What kind of life can that possibly be? Although you know I wouldn’t be saying that the next time I step on a hairball, right?
I am thinking these might be awesome wrapped around a miniature Reeses cup, snickers, rolo….
YOU GET OUTTA MY HEAD, PATRICIA.
I told Rick that I should have used one of those Nestle “Chunks” that I had in my freezer and put it in the center right when they came out of the oven.
Just enough to take it over the pretty good cookie edge right into totally awesome!
Teehee.
On a side note, have been thinking of you all and Maddy the last few days and sending good thoughts your way. I also hope Shirley is back in the kitchen in her tube top soon, even though she may discover your shameless use of her whisk!
I really could use a cookie.. grief has a way of doing that to me.. *sends recipe to husband*
Maybe that’s why people serve food after a funeral? Eating is definitely a good way to push through the sads.
Although I would never send a recipe to Rick, better that I send a take-out menu with his mad cooking skills. I hope your husband makes them for you! 😀
Nance-so sorry to hear about the Madster. Robyn- Amanda that told me that “one should only use “fleur de sel” on chocolate as it intensifies the flavor of said chocolate”. Then she flipped her tastefully streaked hair at me and stormed off in her Stuart Weitzman shoes. Apparently Amanda doesn’t like to be questioned by mere peons like myself. Probably because I wear crocs. OMG, the horror. My very existence seems to offend her on some level.
I like the fact that Crocs are trying to “hide” their ugliness. Rick has a pair of canvas ones that he wears all the time and I’m not embarrassed. Heh.
And Amanda uses this special double boiler (NOT an affiliate link)…
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/560961/?catalogId=18&bnrid=3120901&cm_ven=Google_PLA&cm_cat=Cookware&cm_pla=Stock%2C_Soup_&_Multipots&cm_ite=Mauviel_Copper_1_3/4-Qt%2E_Double_Boiler_%7C_Williams-Sonoma&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=33-153494927-2
$365 for a double boiler. AS IF.
Dear God, do you know how many starving babies you could feed for the price of that bitch? I’m sure it would look very attractive in Amanda’s kitchen but it would probably look embarassed in mine.
Insane, right? I can’t even fathom walking into a store and buying that with a straight face. I can’t help thinking that it’s people from The Real Housewives that buy those types of things. Certainly not normal people!
Wouldn’t it be hysterical if it turned out that Amanda was on one of the Real Housewives show?
That fucker would run from my house! Hell, my couch is from the 70s. Literally. We’re too damn broke to afford better.
Pink Pyrex alert! These cookies look so good, and I’m def going to add that sprinkle of coarse salt! Yum! Yum! Yum!
Pink Pyrex Alert sounds like a good band name! 🙂
Pink pyrex sounds positively pornographic! ; P
I thought the same thing-PINK PYREX! Ahem….I am a fan of the pyrex…
These cookies look really, really good-perfect when you are in the mood for something chocolatey.
Y’all have the dirtiest minds! 😉
These look yummy. I’ll be baking some up this Sunday to bring to work! Sorry you had to clean chocolate chips up off the floor, but thank you for trying to get a Sadie picture in 🙂
Hope your Mom’s doing okay….and again, I’m very sorry that Maddy lost her battle. They need to find a way for pets to live forever. It’s just so hard when they leave us.
Cathy, it was nothing that a broom couldn’t handle so it was no big deal. Although I did scare Sadie when I yelled “fuck!” as they were falling. I think she thought I was mad at her.
My mom’s doing fine and I’m hoping for reincarnation because Maddy needs to be out there acting very much like anything but a cat. 🙂
Whee! That’s my recipe! Or rather, Mrs. Dooley’s. And yeah, they can be a little “rustic” looking, so sometimes I leave them that way à la Robyn, and sometimes I do a little rolling and flattening à la Nance. Either way they taste pretty good. Glad you guys liked them.
Nance (and Robyn too), I’m so sorry to hear about Maddy. I’ve been thinking about you guys since Robyn announced her passing on L&H. I hope this week is going better and Shirley is recovering well.
Alexandra,
It was a great recipe – Good job! I really think that people should use this recipe when making Christmas cookies. You don’t normally see a chocolate one like this on cookie trays so it would be a nice “new” addition.
The week is going better and Shirley is being typical in her recovery which means she’s doing things she shouldn’t be doing, but is too bullheaded to stop. 🙂
I’m ashamed to say that I do not have pre-cut special sheets of parchment paper like Robyn. I also used my parchment paper over again instead of putting down new (it works). And I don’t have a fancypants do-thingie to scoop my cookies. Nor did I think of salt, which would be a fabulous idea. If there were any more cookies left, I would go upstairs and sprinkle one with table salt just to try it. Heh.
**** I hate the damn stars and wish they would go away. hmph.****
Oh yeah, meant to add — the salt idea sounds AWESOME. As does anything caramel-related…
So sorry about Maddy. I read about her on L&H and thought we all had been cheated by her too short life. I always enjoyed the Maddy stories. I figured she was too tough to get sick. It just rips your heart out. I wish you easing of the pain Nance.
Get well soon Shirley!
I think a junior mint in the center of each cookie would be good. Or perhaps a dollop of peanut butter. I like the sea salt idea too. These look like a perfect basic cookie to add a touch of whatever flavor you really like. Yum.
Mrs. Dooley ROCKS!!!!! These cookies would rock even harder with a sprinkling of sea salt and a swirl of caramel.
DAMMIT! I now want magical genius brownie cookies with sea salt and caramel. I have virtually none of the ingredients in the house and I am in my pajamas. I wish Mrs. Dooley delivered.
Hey Robyn? Pre-cut parchment paper? Don’t you think that’s kind of Amanda-ish? Next thing you know you’ll be buying a $300 double boiler.
Nance, I am so sorry about Maddy (and Shirley’s surgery and Trey’s car and the toilet on the porch) but mostly Maddy. Sending hugs and wishes for a better week ahead.
Thanks, Kelly.
And Robyn’s pre-cut parchment paper is pretty Amanda-ish. Maybe she’s trying to win her love or some shit. 😉
Hey, Robyn, you’re right about the “soupçon of sea salt” — it brightens just about everything. If it worked on brightening my brain, I’d sport it all day long (yes, people would think I had a huge dandruff problem, but since my cerebellum would be sorting out all the world’s problems, I could live with that).
Nance, you know how sad I am about Maddy, right? Now I’ll never listen to Gerry Rafferty’s “Mattie’s Rag” without thinking of her. And that is one super song. RIP Mattie (and Mr. Rafferty too).
Heh, that was my first thought too. That Robyn is way to freaking organized with her pre-cut parchment paper 😉
Looks delicious.
All the best to brighter days Nance. You have been through the wringer lately.
My heart is with you Nance. Our four-legged babies sure do take a big part of our hearts. Maddy will always be with you.
Definitely going to try these cookies. Also have to make extra just to try all the add-ons that have been suggested here.
So when you say even better after aging a day or two, do you leave them out (open to the air) or in some sort of Tupperware or cookie jar?
Laura,
Definitely keep them covered in some type of Tupperware/airtight container!
Between Robyn’s sea salt and Nance’s “prettier” cookies, I think Amanda might start to feel welcome around here soon!
Amanda will be welcome here…as soon as she apologizes to Robyn for being an Uber Bitch. Until then, she can remain the bitter lurker that we’re sure she probably is.
Nance, I laughed out loud and startled the cats when I saw the chocolate chips all over the floor! That’s a classic picture, and the exact reason I love this site so much! (also the recipes! I made that Velveeta chicken noodle shit last night, and everyone loved it! That never happens!)
These look and sound great! I will save the recipe to make when it’s cooler. Our A/C is not the greatest and my kitchen gets the afternoon sun so baking in the summer isn’t my thing.
So sorry to hear about, Maddy,Nance. They give so much but they break our hearts too. I wouldn’t have it any other way but it’s tough to go through. I hope Shirley is better soon too. I don’t know what is up with the Geminis this year but my three Gemini friends have had rough ones too. May things turn around for you soon!
I came right home from work today and made these. Well, after dinner and a trip to the grocery store. I don’t think I melted the chocolate enough. Because they came out of the oven like chocolate round balls. So, I flattened them with a wooden spoon. And then I dodged little toddlers away from the cooling cookies. This is hard work! And then I tested them and said, these need to be sweeter. I realized, I only used one can of condensed milk. So, my plan of sending cookies to the girls’ teachers tomorrow for their last day fo school was a bust.
Well I managed to salvage it, kind of, by adding my own substitute for condensed milk. Powdered sugar + milk. My husband gave both the pre adjusted and the adjusted cookies a thumbs up. So, I guess I’ll send some to the teachers. The sea salt helped too. And I need pay closer attention to recipes in the future. Damn.
Made these last night, and they’re amazing! I liked them warm, and the next day, they had a totally different texture. Chewy and delicious. My coworkers all asked for the recipe, so I sent them over here.