Bear Paw Cookies
Recipe and photos by Judy Doherty
Bear Paw Cookies
Description
Chef/photographer Judy Doherty created this recipe so home cooks, young and old, could have fun in the kitchen. Use your imagination to shape the bear paws and don’t worry about how many cookies the recipe is supposed to yield. Find more of Judy’s work at judydohertyphotography.com
Ingredients
For the chocolate cookie dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- Pinch sea salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup baking cocoa
- 2 tablespoons cold-brew coffee
- 1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
For the peanut butter cookie dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
For decorating
- Whole cashews
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325°F
To make the chocolate cookie dough: Cream together the butter, both sugars, baking soda, and salt. Keep scraping the bowl and mixing until fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until smooth between each addition. Add the flour, cocoa, and coffee and mix until smooth.
Fold in the chocolate chips and mix just until they are incorporated.
To make the peanut butter cookie dough: Cream together the butter, both sugars, baking soda, and salt. Add the egg and mix until smooth. Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Add the flour and mix, scraping the bowl as you go until flour is incorporated.
To shape and bake: Line several baking sheets with parchment and set aside. Pinch off a small fistful of chocolate cookie dough, roll it into a ball, place on the parchment, and press the dough into a bear paw shape about ¼-inch thick. Pinch off small bits of peanut butter dough, roll, and flatten into shapes for the pads of the bear paw. Add cashews for the toenails. Continue shaping bear paws until you run out of dough.
Bake for 12–20 minutes (shorter time for small paws, longer for large ones). Cool on a cooling rack and then serve.
