I don't like making cookie dough in the food processor. If it is a pastry type cookie, I will cut the butter/shortening with the dry ingredients - but then I will move to a bowl and mix in the wet ingredients by hand. I do like using my Kitchen Aid - I "pulse" the beater so that the dough isn't over worked. Just a few rotations, scrape the bowl and beater down and a couple more rotations - and so on until the dough comes together. With sugar cookies - I cream the butter and eggs, add about half the flour and leavening and mix well (but don't over work) - then I gently "pulse" in the rest of the flour.... And since I roll them out - I make sure I don't add any additional flour. I chill the dough, then roll out on a lightly floured board.

Thanks for sharing! Will definitely try that out. I made brownies the other evening from a box. Instead of using the egg and oil, I substituted a can of black beans drained and rinsed. Pureed them in my handy chopper with 3/4 cup water and blended until fairly smooth and baked them the usual amount of time. Saves calories and a lot of fat! No one could tell there were beans in the brownies.

Make me some, too! :)

I agree. The first to go would be the butter and the fat in the nuts going rancid. How long can you keep butter? Being mixed up it probably wouldn't last as long as a block of butter, but if it's airtight it should last at least a week, probably longer. Because you don't know what bacteria might be in it just from mixing and packing, it's important not to sample it raw. Bake it up when you can, and freeze the extra cookies if you can find the space.