Cookies

Crispy Crackling Cookies


My son gave me a pretty little package he made at preschool for Valentines Day. It was a cookie starter kit that his teacher helped him make. I forgot all about the starter kit until I found it in my pantry the other day. They were very easy to make and tasted fantastic. We made them as is but will try adding different ingredients like, coconut, chocolate chips and nuts next time. They were chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside - they tasted perfect dipped in ice cold milk. My son and I had a great time making these cookies and an even better time eating them. Thanks Teacher Pat!
  • 1/2 cup of butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup of white sugar
  • 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup of flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup of quick cooking oats
  • 1 1/4 cups crisped rice cereal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Beat the butter, egg, vanilla and sugars until creamy. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until well mixed. Slowly add the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add the oats and rice cereal and mix thoroughly. Drop by the spoonfuls on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are light brown. Let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy.


Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies


We were craving some cookies so I started looking on the web for some recipe ideas. I found this recipe from Martha Stewart and decided to give it a try. I was concerned when I finished making the batter because it seemed very thin to me, but I went ahead and put the dough on the cookie sheet and popped them in the oven. When I pulled my baking sheet out of the oven it was ONE large square cookie. Buttery, thin and tasty, but ONE cookie. I cut it into squares and decided to try again. This time I added a bit more flour (about 1/4 cup) to thicken it up and then spooned VERY small amounts of dough onto the cookie sheet. They came out very thin, buttery and tasty. I really liked the butterscotch and chocolate combination.
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 2 1/2 sticks of butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup of brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup butterscotch chips
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture all at once, and beat until just combined. Stir in chips.

Drop tablespoons of batter onto prepared baking sheets, two inches apart.

Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool on baking sheet, one minute, then transfer cookies to rack to cool slightly.

Repeat until all batter has been used. Serve with a glass of ice cold milk and enjoy.


Iced Lemon Rounds


I wanted to make a different cookie for Santa Claus this year. My kids didn't want to do chocolate, sugar or peanut butter so I went on a search for something tasty. I found this recipe on Sharon's food blog Culinary Adventures of a New Wife. The cookies were light, lemony and so good. They had a cake like texture that I really enjoyed while being packed with lemon flavor. I have one regret...I made the frosting into a thin lemon glaze instead of a thick lemon frosting. It was a bad call on my part. These cookies, with their cake like texture, need a thick and creamy frosting. They were a big hit with all of us, including Santa - there were only crumbs left on his plate. Thanks for the great recipe and inspiration Sharon.

Iced Lemon Rounds:
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 sticks (16 tbsp) butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet silicone baking mat. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat softened butter in a mixing bowl until creamy. Add sugars and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs, followed by lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, combine until just incorporated. Scoop about a tablespoonful of dough and roll with your hands into a ball. Place on the cookie sheet and flatten to about 1/2 inch thickness. Bake for about 13-15 minutes until cookies are pale on top but golden on the bottom. Allow to cool on a wire rack completely.

Lemon Icing:
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (I used 3 tbsp)
  • 2 tsp milk

To make the icing, whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice and milk until combined. Spread the icing on the cooled cookies with a table knife.

Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Let the cookies stand on rack until icing sets. Enjoy.



Oatmeal Cookies with Cinnamon Chips and Walnuts


I've been hearing about cinnamon chips for awhile thanks to Jenny at Picky Palate. I looked for months but never found them. Last week I was in a random grocery store and saw them on the shelf. I scooped up a couple of bags and envisioned oatmeal, walnut and cinnamon chip cookies. My kids and I started baking once we got home. I adapted the recipe from the back of the cinnamon chip bag. The cookies smelled so good while they were baking and they tasted amazing fresh from the oven - I loved them dipped in ice cold milk. Not only were these cookies really good to eat they were also easy to make. This recipe makes a small batch of cookies, perfect for a family of four. I am looking forward to more tasty treats using these little cinnamon chips.
  • 1/2 cup of butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
  • 1/6 cup of white sugar (or 2 tbsp and 1 1/2 tsp)
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cups of flour
  • 1/2 tsp backing soda
  • Dash of nutmeg
  • 1 1/4 cup of quick cooking oats
  • 3/4 cup of cinnamon chips
  • 3/4 cups of walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a bowl until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour, baking soda and nutmeg; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in oats, cinnamon chips and walnut pieces.

Drop by heaping teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool cookies on a wire rack.


Halloween Sugar Cookies


My 5 year old's creations

It was a very brisk and beautiful day. My kids and I just got back from a long walk to the park. The kids have been begging me to make Halloween cookies for awhile so we decided it would be the perfect afternoon project. I grabbed my old Betty Crocker's cookbook and found a recipe for sugar cookies. I had some butter cream frosting in the cupboard along with some Halloween frosting, chocolate chips and coconut to decorate the cookies with. We made the dough and realized it needed to chill for at least 2 hours. We had friends come for dinner that night and never got a chance to bake the cookies.

After another long walk (it's a good way to get all their pent up energy out) we ended up making the cookies the next afternoon. Both kids enjoyed using the spooky Halloween cookie cutters and watching their cookies bake. They happily frosted and decorated their cookies for over an hour. It was neat to see how proud they were of their masterpieces. It was a fun time spent together and a great way to spend a cloudy and cold afternoon. Oh, and the coookies tasted really good too.

Sugar Cookies:

  • 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
  • 1 cup of butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 2 1/2 cups of flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar

Mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and egg together until creamy. Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Cover the dough very well and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat the baking sheet lightly with cooking spray. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick on a slightly floured surface. Cut cookies into whatever shapes you desire.

Make sure everyone gets a turn

Place them on cookie sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown.

Cool cookies on the baking sheet for a minute before transferring to a cooling rack. Make sure you let the cookies completely cool before frosting them.

Once the cookies are frosted, let your little ones decorate until their hearts content. I let mine decorate with anything I had in the baking cupboard.

I can't tell you how much fun they had and how much I enjoyed watching them. Both my kids said they were the best cookies ever. I must admit they were pretty tasty, messy, but tasty.


Chocolate Chip, Toffee and Almond Cookies


Our friends were coming to our house for dinner and they were bringing all the food! Don't I have great friends? Anyway, I made a salad and the kids and I decided to bake some cookies. We looked through the baking ingredients and decided that toffee chips and almond slivers along with chocolate chips would make wonderful cookies. We had fun getting our hands dirty and baking these beauties. They were soft, chewy and rich while the toffee gave them a great crunch. These were the most fantastic cookies! There were 7 of us (four adults/three children) and only 2 cookies remained at the end of the night. They were that good.
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup of toffee pieces
  • 1/2 cup of slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Beat butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually stir in the flour mixture then stir in the chocolate chips, toffee chips and almond slivers. Drop small spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Enjoy.


Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies


It was our wedding anniversary yesterday and my husband and I had a date. Our wonderful friends offered to babysit the kids so we could do something special to celebrate. The plan was to go out to one of our favorite restaurants and have a lovely meal and a couple of cocktails. I started thinking, although it's my ideal date, it's not my husband's. He would much rather stay at home, eat take out, have a fancy beer and watch a movie that he can listen to as loud as he wants on his surround sound and not be interrupted. I decided my gift to my husband would be just that. We had Thai take out (a couple of these tasty cookies for dessert), cuddled up on the couch and watched a movie. What a great way to celebrate 7 years of marriage.

Anyway, I always try to bake a treat for our friends, as a thank you for babysitting our little ones. My kids wanted to make chocolate chip cookies but decided to add the peanut butter chips too, because they know our friend Currié loves chocolate and peanut butter. We used my base recipe for chocolate chip cookies and added peanut butter chips as well. They were incredibly moist, chewy, rich and delicious. Try it with ice cold milk - they are outstanding!
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl and mix thoroughly. Beat butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually stir in the flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Drop small spoonfuls onto an un-greased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.


Banana, Coconut, Chocolate Chip and Walnut Cookies


I had two very ripe bananas to use up so I decided to make cookies with them. I looked through my baking pantry and realized I had a little bit of shredded coconut, milk chocolate chips and walnut pieces leftover from a previous recipe. My kids and I thought all of those ingredients together would make fantastic cookies - we were right. We had fun making them and enjoyed smelling them bake. They were light and fluffy, slightly sweet with the banana, coconut and milk chocolate while the nuts were crunchy. They reminded me of a muffin top - the best part of the muffin. My kids LOVED them and so did I. My husband and neighbors also enjoyed them too. This recipe is a great way to use up those extra ingredients you have lying around.
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 2/3 cup butter, softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large, very ripe, bananas)
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut, sweetened
  • 1/2 cup walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray the cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together, and set aside. Mash the bananas until creamy smooth.

A perfect job for my little ones

Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the mashed bananas. Add the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. If you are doing two batches with the same cookie sheet, make sure to let the cookie sheet cool completely before adding more cookie dough. Let cookies cool on rack. Enjoy.


Coconut, Chocolate Chip and Almond Cookies


It was a rainy day and I wasn't looking forward to another game of Candyland so I suggested making cookies. My children happily agreed and away we went. The coconut, chocolate chip and almond combination were fantastic together - they reminded me of an Almond Joy candy bar. These cookies were gooey, soft, sweet, salty and crunchy. I was in heaven, my children, my husband and my neighbor all loved them too. Don't forget to dip them in ice cold milk but I must warn you - they are addictive! Thanks to my neighbor, Cheryl, who just gave me a wonderful cookie recipe book... it inspired me to create these cookies.
  • 1/2 cup softened butter
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups of milk chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups of flaked coconut
  • 1 cup almond slivers

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray. Mix the butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until creamy and smooth. Slowly beat in the eggs. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt together thoroughly. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture until well blended. Add the chocolate chips, coconut and almonds and mix. Drop by rounded spoonfuls on cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minuets or until golden brown. Allow to cool before moving them to a wire wrack. Enjoy.



Chocolate Chip Cookies


I like chocolate chip cookies (who doesn't) but my husband and children LOVE them. We bake them often and they turn out crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. I ran out of big chocolate chips so I used mini chips and they worked great. The warm cookies are absolutely delicious with an ice cold glass of milk.
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups of semi sweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Beat butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually stir in the flour mixture then stir in the chocolate chips. Drop small spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Enjoy.



Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies


Okay, so what's not to love about a cookie made with peanut butter, brown sugar and chocolate chips? I wanted to make a treat for our friends who were watching our kids while my husband and I went on a date. I know chocolate & peanut butter would make my girlfriend very happy so I decided to make cookies. They turned out better than I imagined. They were crisp on the outside and soft & gooey on the inside. I really loved the balance of salty & sweet. Try dipping them in ice cold milk... heaven.
  • 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), softened
  • 1/4 cup of brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup of white sugar
  • 1/2 cup of peanut butter (I used creamy)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/4 cup of flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. In a large mixer, cream butter, peanut putter, sugars and vanilla. Add the egg and mix until light & fluffy. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt - mix thoroughly. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, stirring continuously. Add chocolate chips and combine. Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough on the baking sheet and press the center of the cookie with a fork. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Enjoy!