I made these Derby Pie Cookies kind of on a whim when I needed a Derby party dessert and didn't want to make a full derby pie or my Derby Pie Bites.
I love a good Derby party (and a Belmont party and a Preakness party). All three of my horses are retired racehorses. I'm still in touch with some of their racing connections from the track. Lure of the South (Cosmo) was the most successful on the track. Here is is playing on a trail obstacle course. This was his first time doing anything like this, and mine too. This is what I love about my Thoroughbreds - they're usually game for most activities!
Anyway, back to the cookies! This recipe follows the general method of my Candy Bar Cookies and M&M Cookies to make soft cookies. In general, most of the drop cookie recipes in my Cookie Collection follow a similar method. The post for the Candy Bar Cookies explains some of the baking science behind a soft cookie. The only change I made for these is using a mix of brown sugar and white sugar. These cookies turned out soft and stayed that way for about a week (when they were all gone).
Definitely beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy as the recipe card indicates. This will help keep the cookies soft.
I recommend cracking the eggs into a separate bowl and not directly into the bowl with the cookie dough. This makes it a lot easier to retrieve any stray pieces of shell.
I made these several times and experimented with different oven temperatures using both conventional and convection. The sweet spot in my oven is definitely 375 degrees using convection. As much as this seems to be inconsistent with typical baking temperatures, the conventional oven baked these best at 390 degrees.
If you're looking for some more inspiration for your Derby party menu, check out these ideas:
- 10 Favorite Kentucky Derby Party Foods (Pinecones and Acorns)
- Favorite Derby Party Recipes (Love & Lemons)
- Kentucky Derby Party Food Recipes (Wine a Little Cook a Lot).
Derby Pie Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie scoop optional
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter (1 cup is 2 sticks)
- 1¼ cups brown sugar lightly packed
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup bourbon
- 1½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 package dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° for convection and 390° for conventional.
- Microwave butter for 45 seconds (it will be partially melted).1 cup butter
- Cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until mixture gets light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.1¼ cups brown sugar, ¼ cup sugar
- Reduce mixer speed to low. Add eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated, about 1 minute.2 eggs
- Mix in vanilla and bourbon.1 teaspoon vanilla, ¼ cup bourbon
- Mix in baking soda.1½ teaspoon baking soda
- Add flour a half cup at a time and mix until all flour is incorporated.2½ cups all purpose flour
- Mix in walnuts and chocolate chips.1 cup chopped walnuts, 1 package dark chocolate chips
- Using a spoon or cookie scoop, form dough into balls and place onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for about 8 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.
- Immediately transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
