Snickerdoodles

Rather than trying to beat the competitors, especially if they have a exceptional product, Mrs. Fields' Famous Brands waves the cash at 'em. With the acquisition of Great American Cookies in 1998 -- by the company that made chewy mall cookies big business -- Mrs. Fields is now peddling her baked wares in more than 90% of the premier shopping malls in the United States. That's how you make the dough! One of the all-time favorites you can snag at any of the 364 Great American Cookies outlets is this clone of the classic snickerdoodle. Rolled in cinnamon and sugar, it's soft and chewy like the other cookies, and will seem to be undercooked when you take it out of the oven. When it cools it should be gooey, yet firm in the middle. And a couple bites will make you wonder: "Got milk?!"

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Topping:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.

2. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar.

3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.

4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees while you let the dough rest for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator.

5. In a small bowl combine the sugar with the cinnamon for the topping.

6. Take about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a ball. Roll this dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and press it onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining cookies.

7. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes and no more. The cookies may seem undercooked, but will continue to develop after they are removed from the oven. When the cookies have cooled they should be soft and chewy in the middle.

Makes 16-18 cookies.

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White Chunk Macadamia

When Arthur Karp shared his grandmother's favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe with Michael Coles, the business partners knew they had a hit on their hands. They opened their first Great American Cookies store in 1977 in The Perimeter Mall in Atlanta, Georgia. Now with more than 350 stores in the chain, these cookies have quickly become a favorite, just begging to be cloned. The chain bakes the cookies in convection ovens at the low temperature of 280 degrees for around 16 to 17 minutes. But, since must of us don't have convection ovens and may have a hard time getting the oven temperature to this odd setting, we have made some adjustments. Just be sure when you remove the cookies from the oven, that they appear undercooked and only slightly browned around the edges. This will give the cookies the perfect chewy texture when they cool.

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut flakes, finely minced
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces solid white chocolate, cut into chunks
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

1. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on high speed.

2. Add the coconut, egg, milk and vanilla and mix well.

3. In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until dough forms. Mix in the white chocolate and macadamia nuts.

5. Preheat oven to 300 degrees while you let the dough rest for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator.

6. Measure out about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and form a ball. Drop each ball of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart and bake for 12-14 minutes. Do not over bake! Cookies should come out of the oven appearing slightly browned, yet undercooked. When cooled the cookies will be soft and chewy like the original.

Makes 16-18 cookies.

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