This past week has been a difficult one for our family. Joel’s grandpa, Glenn, passed away on Thursday. We spent the last few days together with family celebrating Grandpa Great’s life.
He was a man in love with his family and his country. He always made me feel like his own, always giving me a kiss on the cheek when we said goodbye. He lit up when he saw his great grandchildren, all 10 of them!
He was a WWII veteran, surviving the bombing of the U.S.S. Franklin (it is chronicled in the book Inferno). An incredibly smart man, he could fix, build or create just about anything around the house. He painted beautiful portraits of all his children and grandchildren. It was truly evident as the church overflowed at his service that he was a man that touched many people. And he is leaving behind a beautiful legacy in our children.
We love you Grandpa Great. We will miss you. We look forward to seeing you again.
One thing Grandpa Great and I had in common was a love of dessert. Just at Thanksgiving he enjoyed three…a man after my own heart. So, today in honor of Grandpa Great, I wanted to share a delicious dessert that I whipped up and brought to share with his family. Who doesn’t love cookie dough? Joel always begs me to leave him a spoonful whenever I make cookies so I knew these Cookie Dough Bites would be a yummy comfort food for him.
The dough is egg-free so there is no worry about salmonella. And I found that although the recipe calls for them to be frozen, they are equally delicious from the fridge or at room temperature. I sampled them in all states over the past few days just to make sure for you guys! I have to say though that I prefer them frozen but since we had a big spread of cookies I just left them out with the rest so they wouldn’t be forgotten.
I don’t think people could have forgotten about the cookie dough balls of goodness though. Just sayin’.
They were the first thing to disappear so if you are making them for a crowd, I recommend doubling or even tripling the recipe. They are so easy and come together in a snap. Also, they can be made ahead of time or over the course of a couple days.
<
These are definitely a new favorite for our family and will forever grace our Christmas baking list.
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup applesauce or peanut butter (I used peanut butter)
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
- 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted for dipping (optional)
- Cream together butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and peanut butter or applesauce until well combined. In a separate bowl, stir together flour and salt then mix into the creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts, if using.
- Scoop out by the tablespoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie/baking sheet. Place in the freezer for at least 3 hours.
- Melt chocolate chips in microwave in 30 second increments. Dip frozen cookie dough bites halfway into the chocolate then place back onto the parchment paper. Freeze or refrigerate until set. Serve frozen, refrigerated or at room temperature.