C is for Cookie....and that's good enough for me

"Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C."
Sometimes that song gets stuck in my head.
Cookie Monster has the right idea.

I love cookies.
I love to bake.
I love it when my pants fit, without me having to lie down on the bed, while sucking it in, so I can zip them up.
Sometimes my first love (of cookies), results in the latter.

In an effort to slim down, I told myself I would no longer buy any "ready-made" cookies or baked goods from the supermarket.
"If I want cookies, I will just have to bake them myself."
That became my mantra.
I figured the effort of having to bake the sweets I so desired, would deter me from eating said sweets.
Uh...that was a total bust.
I became a baking fool, and found myself constantly pre-heating my oven.

Since I am such selfless person, a real giver, I have decided to share one of my favorite and extremely easy to make, cookie recipes.

The recipe comes from this book:

I borrowed the picture from this totally awesome Flicker pool, but my mom has one exactly like it.

The reason I love this recipe so much is that it only requires five ingredients.
I also dig that it's made with cake mix. Genuis.

You can substitute the Yellow cake mix for any kind of cake mix out there.
Chocolate, Strawberry, White, Devils Food...

Cream Cheese Cookies
1 box yellow cake mix (any brand will do)
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese (I usually just use the store brand)
1/4 cup butter
1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream butter and cheese. Blend in egg yolk and vanilla. Add cake mix (dry) 1/3 cup at a time. Make sure to mix well, after each addition. Cover and chill thirty minutes, or if you are pressed for time, you can chill it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Drop by level tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. I would also recommend using a cookie scoop, if you have one, and lining your cookie sheets with parchment paper. The parchment paper will guarantee nice evenly baked cookies, and your cookie sheets will remain clean. Just a thought.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until slightly browned. Another tip, I always bake them for the least amount of time, but that's just me, and I guess that would also depend on how well your oven is calibrated. Let them cool for a bit.

Here is the finished product. I know, I'm not sure why I didn't remove them from the cookie sheet, and arrange them prettily for this photo, but it is what it is.

Give 'em a try. They might become your new fave.