Chocolate Chip Cookies

If the bean idea in the last post didn't make you turn away, I thought I'd post a couple of the treat recipes I use them in.  Carlee and I have an ongoing discussion about the irony of 'healthy desserts', so my disclaimer is this: if you love a good Otis Spunkmeyer or can't imagine life without the Toll House recipe, stick with those and enjoy them for the delicious flavor they bring. If you love snacking and wouldn't mind having a slightly-better-for-you option, read below.

*1/2 c. beans, cooked, rinsed and drained
*1/2 c. + 2 TBSP. room temperature butter (or butter shortening)
*1/2 c. sugar
*1 c. brown sugar
*2 large eggs
*2 tsp. vanilla
*1 tsp. baking soda
*1 tsp. salt
*3 c. flour (I use 2 c. wheat + 1 c. white, but mix and match as you please)
*2 1/2 c. chocolate chips

Cream together beans, butter, and sugars.  Blend in eggs and add vanilla.  Stir in baking soda, salt and flour; mix well to combine.  Add chocolate chips.  Drop by tablespoon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes.

Oatmeal Cookies

These are my husband's favorite cookie to have around.  The batter freezes well so I usually make a double batch, freeze the scoops and then bake about 2 dozen at a time.

*1 c. brown sugar
*1/2 c. white beans
*1/4 c. Crisco
*1/2 c. sugar
*1 egg
*1/4 c. water
*1 tsp. vanilla
*3 c. regular oatmeal
*3/4 c. wheat flour + 1/4 c. white flour
*1 tsp. salt
*1/2 tsp. baking soda
*2 TBSP. ground flax
*1/2 tsp. cinnamon
*1 c. raisins (or craisins, or chocolate chips)

Beat sugars, beans and shortening until creamy.  Add egg, water and vanilla; beat well.  Combine oats, flours, salt, baking soda and flax. Add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Add raisins. Drop by tablespoon onto parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 11-13 minutes.  Store in covered container, preferably glass.

Cake Mix Cookies

So I've seen recipes posted for these cookies before, but never got around to making them until I needed a quick treat to take to some neighbors.  Something about cake mix + eggs + oil = cookies appealed to me.  I used a chocolate fudge cake mix and added about 3/4 c. chocolate chips.  I must say the result was much better than the effort would lead you to believe.

*1 box cake mix
*2 large eggs
*1/2 c. canola oil
*3/4 c. add-ins (nuts, candy, chips, etc)

Mix all together, drop by tablespoons on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-13 minutes.

That's it.  

Pumpkin Cookies with Penuche Frosting

These cookies were among the dessert offerings at a recent church get-together. I could have eaten half the plate, but was happy to take home the recipe instead.

*1/2 c. sugar

*1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar

*1 c. butter or margarine, softened

*1 c. canned pumpkin

*1 tsp. vanilla

*1 egg

*2 c. flour

*1 tsp. baking powder

*1 tsp. baking soda

*1 tsp. cinnamon

*1/4 tsp. salt

*3/4 c. chopped nuts (which I'm guessing are optional since they hadn't been added)

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine sugars and butter until fluffy. Add pumpkin, vanilla and egg, mixing well. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Stir in nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool.

Frosting:

3 TBSP. butter or margarine

*1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar

*1/4 c. milk

*1 1/2-2 c. powdered sugar

In a sauce pan, combine margarine and brown sugar, bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Cool 10 minutes, whisk occasionally. Add milk and beat until smooth. Add powdered sugar until desired thickness. Frost cookies. And the cookie I tried had a nice big pecan on top, but these don't.

Mini Ricotta Cakes

These are such a fun cookie. I can't decide whether I prefer them plain or with the lemon zest, but we've never had one go to waste.

Cookie:

*2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

*1 tsp. baking powder

*1/2 tsp. baking soda

*1/8 tsp. salt

*1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

*1 c. sugar

*1 egg

*1 c. ricotta

*1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract OR 1 tsp. + zest of one lemon

Glaze:

*2 c. powdered sugar

*3 TBSP. milk

*1 TBSP. lemon zest (optional)

Heat oven to 350. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together; set aside.

Beat butter and granulated sugar together until blended. Add egg, ricotta and vanilla (and zest), beating until combined.

On low speed, add flour mixture and beat until blended. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared pans. Bake for 14 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool on sheets 3 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, beat powdered sugar and milk together until well blended. Stir in zest if using. Dip tops of cookies into glaze and set aside until glaze has hardened.

Reindeer Cookies

This might be a little late for festivities this year, but we made these for preschool treats. They were quick and fun.

*1 roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough (I had a couple packets of the sugar cookie mix that needed to be used so I made the dough, formed in a log, rolled it in plastic wrap and refrigerated for an hour or so)

*white frosting (used the can)

*chocolate chips

*red gumdrops (cut them in half)

*pretzels (we went with the chocolate covered)

Shape cookie dough into a triangle by flattening the sides. Slice into 1/4" triangles, bake as directed. Frost with white frosting, decorate using the chocolate chips as eyes, gumdrop as nose and pretzels as antlers.

Henley Molasses Cookies

My sister strongly encouraged me to make these cookies which were "the best she'd ever had". Since I have given her many plates of cookies I figured that was her way of telling me that I need not fill a plate with any confection for her other than these. I made them and have eaten over three dozen of them myself in the past couple days and will say they are tasty, and will be even more so if you follow the recipe better than I did. Here are the real instructions.

*5 1/2 c. flour

*1 TBSP salt

*1 TBSP. baking soda

*2 tsp. cinnamon

*2 tsp. ginger

*2 tsp. cloves

*3/4 c. shortening

*1 c. sugar

*1 1/2 c. dark molasses

*4 1/2 TBSP. vinegar

*2 eggs

*1/2 c. milk

In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Set aside. In a larger bowl, cream sugar and shortening. Add molasses and mix well. Add vinegar, eggs and milk. Add dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Wrap in plastic and chill overnight. Roll dough out onto liberally floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out and bake on parchment lined baking sheets at 400 for 8-12 minutes. (This is a little tricky because they are so dark I had a hard time telling when they were done and overcooked mine. The last batch I cooked for exactly 8 minutes and they turned out the best). I used 2 1/2" circle cutters and got about 7 dozen cookies. I frosted them with cream cheese frosting (but according to said sister, didn't use enough, so double this recipe). These should have the texture of a very soft sugar cookie with the flavor of a mild gingerbread. I actually thought they were best on day two.

Oven S'mores

I am a sucker for s'mores and we often make these for a quick bed-time (or lunch-time) snack.

*graham crackers
*big marshmallows
*chocolate bars
(Seriously, use the name brand on each of these ingredients, you will not be as happy with store brands)

Break a graham cracker in half to make two squares. Top each square with one or two chunks of chocolate and a marshmallow, torn in half. Place on a baking sheet (broil) or in a toaster oven (350) for a few minutes until golden brown. Enjoy and be thankful you don't have to spend the next two days getting campfire smell out of your clothes and hair.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Another easy recipe from Kraft.
*1 pkg. devil's food cake mix
*4 oz. cream cheese, softened
*1/2 c. peanut butter
*1 egg

Preheat oven to 375. Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 2 min. Beat on medium speed an additional 2 min.
Shape into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Flatten each ball, in criss-cross pattern, with tines of fork dipped in sugar.
Bake 7-8 minutes or until edges of cookies are set. Cool 2 minutes on tray and remove to cool completely on racks.
Makes 40-50 cookies.
These were very soft and stayed that way for a couple days. I divided my dough into three parts, did one regular, mixed Reese's Pieces into one of the parts and chopped up Reese's Peanut Butter Cups into the last. My favorite was the PB cups. I'd suggest not using sugar on the fork if you do add-ins, it looked messy so I skipped it.

Oatmeal Scotchies

I saw this recipe and decided to make it to celebrate the first day of school. The picture doesn't do them justice, they were just the right cookie for sharing after a long day of school.
*1/2 cup butter, softened
*1/2 cup shortening
*2 teaspoons vanilla
*1 cup white sugar
*1 cup brown sugar
*2 eggs
*1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
*1 teaspoon baking soda
*1 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon cinnamon
*1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
*1/2 teaspoon allspice
*1/2 teaspoon cloves
*2 cups all-purpose flour
*2 cups oats
*1 3/4 cups butterscotch chips

Heat oven to 375. Cream together the shortening and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and sugar and mix to incorporate. Add eggs and beat well. Add baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Mix well. Add flour slowly. Mix in oats and butterscotch chips. Drop by teaspoonful onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on racks and enjoy with a tall glass of milk.

Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

I had some extra raspberries today, so I searched online and found this recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Cookies. I really didn't know what to expect, but I liked them way more than I thought I would. Additionally, my husband told me he loved them and my brother told me to pass the recipe onto him. So that's what I'm doing.

Anyway, I replaced the vanilla chips with semi-sweet chips and really liked it, so I will probably just keep doing that...(I don't even know where to find vanilla chips!)

So if you have some extra raspberries and don't want to make any more jam, this is a good cookie recipe to use them in. And I found out that cookie recipes that call for fresh raspberries as opposed to jam are hard to come by!

Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies

¾ cup butter

1 ½ cup brown sugar, packed

2 Tablespoons water

1 (12 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

2 ½ cups flour

1 ¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 lb. Andes Mint (2-6.67 oz. pkgs.)

Heat butter, sugar and water in a saucepan until melted. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips and stir until melted. Pour into large bowl and cool 10 minutes. Beat in eggs, then add flour, baking soda and salt. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 11 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately place Andes mints on top. After they melt, spread over entire cookie and remove from cookie sheet. Let them cool until chocolate is solid.

I didn't take any pictures throughout the process because as I looked at the dough it didn't look like they were going to turn out as good as they looked so I didn't plan on posting on here. However, I was surprised and they were a hit, even with my husband who isn't a huge chocolate lover.

Chocolate Frosted Graham Crackers

When I was younger my grandma would often make chocolate cake, and we could always count on her using the leftover frosting to make a very yummy treat for us. I figured everyone had grown up on these, but if you haven't tried these, you really should. Keebler makes a close second with their chocolate covered grahams. As you'll see the ingredient list isn't overwhelming and my 4-yr-old loved making them as much as she loves eating them.

*graham crackers
*chocolate frosting

Spread frosting liberally on a graham cracker. Place another graham cracker on top. Repeat. Eat. Repeat.

Lemon Cooler Cookies

So the Lemon Cooler cookies Keebler used to make have disappeared from the shelves at the stores, but here is my replacement. It will take less than 5 minutes to make and the oven never turns on, so it fits my requirements for good summer eating!

*Nilla Wafers (about 2 dozen)
*2-3 TBSP. fresh squeezed lemon juice
*1/2 TBSP. fresh lemon zest
*1/2 c. powdered sugar

Stir juice, zest and powdered sugar together until smooth. Dunk each wafer into the lemon glaze and let set on a cooling rack.

Lemon Glaze Cookies

This recipe came from my trusty Everyday Food magazine (May 2009). I am a sucker for anything lemon flavored so I made them to celebrate Mother's Day. These were so tasty with just the right amount of lemon tart. They were also very easy to make. In fact, I picked up some more lemons at the store today to whip up another batch. You will need about 2 large or 3 medium lemons for this. Remember to zest lemons with a microplane grater before juicing. I have also found I get way more juice out of my citrus by using a fork as a reamer.


Lemon Cookies
*2 c. all-purpose flour
*1/2 tsp. baking soda
*1/2 tsp. salt
*1 TBSP finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 TBSP. fresh lemon juice
*1 stick room temperature unsalted butter
*1 c. sugar
*1 egg
*1 tsp. vanilla
*Lemon glaze (below)

Whisk together flour, soda, salt and lemon zest.
In a large bowl or mixer cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, lemon juice and stir in vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture until combined.
Drop dough by heaping teaspoon onto parchment lined baking sheets leaving 1 inch spacing. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes (until edges are golden brown - mine took 19) turning tray half way through cooking. Let cool 2 minutes on tray then remove to racks to cool completely. Spread cookies with lemon glaze and let set at least one hour.


Lemon Glaze
*2 c. confectioners' sugar
*2 TBSP. lemon zest
*1/3 c. fresh lemon juice
Stir/whisk to combine until smooth. Spread over lemon cookies.

Candy Bar Cookies

I got this recipe from here. Even though mine turned out a bit flat (blame it on the rain, altitude, or wrong size of scoop) they were soft and very good.

Cream together:
*2 sticks butter, softened
*3/4 c. brown sugar
*3/4 c. sugar

Add:
*2 eggs
*1 tsp. vanilla

Stir together and add to above:
*3 c. flour
*1 tsp. baking soda
*3/4 tsp. salt

Stir in:
*6 fun size Butterfinger candy bars
*6 fun size Milky Way candy bars (1 only had 3 on hand, so I supplemented with 10 Rollos)
*1/2 c. chocolate chips (I used 3/4 c. Mini Kisses)

Drop by teaspoonful onto parchment lined baking sheets and bake 9-11 minutes (mine took 10 and I let them set on baking sheets until cool.) She said she got 36, but I got 5 dozen...must have used different size scoops.

Peanut-Butter-Kissies Cookies

I don't know the real name for these cookies, but this is what the 3-yr-old calls them. What's in a name, anyway! They were on our sweets menu because spring cleaning left me wondering how to get rid of a pound or so of some Wilbur chocolate buds. Turns out this was much better than just tossing them.

Cream together
*1/2 c. butter, soft
*3/4 c. brown sugar
*1/4 c. white sugar (plus another 1/4 c. or so to coat the cookies)
*1/2 c. peanut butter (creamy)

Stir in:
*1 egg
*1 tsp. vanilla

Combine and add:
*1/4 tsp. salt
*1 tsp. baking soda
*1 1/4 c. flour
*1/2 c. wheat flour (if not using, just use 1 3/4 c. AP flour)

Mix until well-incorporated. Scoop dough by teaspoonful. Roll into balls and roll the balls in the sugar to coat.
Place on lined cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8 minutes (don't let them get too brown or too done). Remove from oven and press one chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie (press down enough so that it sinks into the cookie). Let cool on racks. Enjoy!

Spreads

My sister shared a recipe from here with me, it was good so I added her to my reader. A couple days ago an unusual version of a chocolate chip cookie bar was posted and I thought it would be fun to try for book club. This was simple and although not as close to the congo bars of my youth as I had hoped, they are fun and my 3-year-old was covered in chocolate after she devoured a couple of these babies. (Good thing we went to the dentist this morning!)

*1 c. brown sugar
*1 c. margarine
*1 egg
*2 c. flour
*1/2 tsp. salt
*1 tsp. vanilla
*6-8 oz. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together brown sugar and margarine.
Add egg and mix together.
Add salt and vanilla and stir well.
Spread dough onto a cookie sheet (use an off-set spatula if you have one) until it is 1/4-1/2 inch thick (I went for 1/2 inch). Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown (mine took 17 minutes, I waited until the center looked set). Remove from oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips (I used about 10 oz. because I wanted the top pretty well covered).
Return to the oven for 1 minute, until chips look glossy.

Remove and spread the melted chips like frosting.
Use a pizza cutter to cut into squares. I thought I'd be festive and use a heart cookie cutter. This was pretty messy so I only did this on half and the rest were made into squares. They were good warm, but I took her advice and chilled them a bit to transport.
Once chilled they were much less messy and I thought they tasted better, the others in the house liked them warm.

Chandi's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, it is no surprise that I am a sucker for a chocolate chip cookie. I am normally pretty partial to the semi-sweet variety, but at our last book club, Chandi shared these, and they are a tasty base for the milk chocolate kind. I always appreciate a good soft cookie, not hindered by those pesky nuts.
1 c. butter flavored Crisco
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (glad I just replenished my Mexican stash)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 1/4- 2 1/2 c. flour

Cream together Crisco and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add the chocolate (around 2 1/2 c. - I used a mix of mini Kisses and regular milk chocolate chips).
Drop by rounded teaspoon and bake at 375 for 11-12 minutes. Remove and cool. The pictures are from the first tray...I added an additional 1/3 c. flour to the remaining dough and the rest did not flatten as much, but I was too busy eating to take another picture.
Pour some milk and enjoy.

Soft Ginger Cookies

A few years ago I was invited to a holiday cookie exchange. I thought it sounded very fun and readily agreed to come. A couple days later I got all of the details and about had a stroke when I learned that I needed to bring 12 DOZEN cookies. So I looked for a recipe that would make a lot of cookies without a lot of effort and this was the winner. The flavor is perfect for this time of year and since they are soft and chewy in the middle, mmmm, life is good!

¾ c. vegetable shortening

1 c. sugar, plus more for rolling

1 large egg

¼ c. molasses

2 c. sifted all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 ½ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. ground cloves

½ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer at low speed, cream the shortening and sugar until thoroughly combined and fluffy.

Add the egg and molasses and beat until completely incorporated. Stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt—slowly add to mixture. Stir until combined. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls (a tsp. scoop works perfect). Roll balls in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Flatten the balls slightly with your fingertips.

Bake 8-10 min (mine take exactly 9 for a soft cookie and 11 for a slightly crunchy cookie). Cool on wire racks.

I really can't decide if I like them better hot out of the oven or chilled, so I always eat plenty at each temp. They stay fresh for several days (if they last that long) but also freeze really well so you can sneak one or two on those stressful holiday days!

Last night for book club I took these and some pumpkin dip:

Cream together:

4 oz. soft cream cheese

1 c. powdered sugar

Add:

1/2 c. pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. orange juice

Chill if you have time.