My Favorite Oatmeal Cookies
I love a good raisin oatmeal cookie. Heck, I love cookies in general. It’s a classic and always popular. Like a lot of classics though, it can be fun to change things up a little. Sometimes you create a new classic. We were making oatmeal cookies in cooking camp, so I wanted to add something the kids would like. I love raisins, but decided the kids might prefer them with something other than raisins. I ended up using dried cherries and chocolate chips and the result was quite nice. The kids really loved them.
A new classic that I plan on making again.
Oatmeal Cookies
3/4 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. water
1 t. vanilla
3 c. rolled oats
1 c. flour
1 t. salt
1/2 t. soda
1 c. dried cherries
1 c. chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Beat together butter, sugars, egg, water and vanilla until smooth. Combine remaining ingredients and stir into butter mixture. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheet. I like to use a cookie scoop- it makes for uniform cookies and is faster than using a spoon. Bake for about 12-15 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen.
Note: You can add raisins or other dried fruits. I like cranberries. You can also add nuts or other chips. Macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips are a classic combination.
Soft Butter Cookies
If you are looking for a truly tender cookie, this may be it. These cookies are so delicate, they just melt in your mouth!!
The secret ingredient might surprise you. It is oil. Yes, I know I said butter cookies – they also contain butter. But the combination of oil and butter makes them soft and delicate, even days after baking.
They also contain both granulated and powdered sugar. Not your typical cookie recipe, for sure. This just may be my “go to” butter cookie recipe from now on.
You don’t have to chill the dough and they roll very easily, without sticking to your fingers. You could chill the dough, but let it warm up a little before rolling. The dough can also be made ahead and frozen- I tested it.
In camp the kidspressed the tops in colored sugars, nonpareils or sprinkles before baking. You can also bake them plain, then dip in melted chocolate and sprinkles or nuts after baking,
Soft Butter Cookies
1 c. butter
1 c. oil, I used avocado oil
1 c. sugar
1 c. powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 T. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cream of tartar
½ t. salt
4 ½ c. flour id f dough is too soft, you might need to add a little more flour.
In mixing bowl, beat together butter, oil, sugars and vanilla. Once well blended, beat in eggs. Stir in the baking soda, cream of tartar and salt, then add the flour, mixing until well combined. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into one inch balls and press tops of cookies in sprinkles or colored sugar, if desired. Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 12 minutes, or until light golden on bottom. Leave cookies on baking sheets 3 minutes before placing on cooling rack. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
Snickerdoodles
In cooking camp today, we will be baking cookies, including Snickerdoodles. This is a recipe that has been around a long time and is still a favorite. The kids will really enjoy rolling the dough in cinnamon sugar, before baking.
The original recipe I had called for shortening, but I use butter instead, and chill the dough. I prefer the taste of butter in cookies. Use what you prefer.
These are a great light dessert for summer and they travel well, too. A nice treat to bring to your next cookout, picnic or road trip.
Snickerdoodles can also be used to make awesome ice cream sandwiches.
Snickerdoodles
1 c. butter, softened
1 ½ c. sugar
2 eggs
2 ¾ c. flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
¼ t. salt
2 T. sugar
2 t. cinnamon
Mix butter, sugar and eggs. Combine next 4 ingredients and add to egg mixture. Chill dough at least a couple of hours. Combine sugar and cinnamon in shallow bowls. Roll dough in 1-inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place 2-inches apart on ungreased baking sheet and bake in a preheated 375 –degree oven for 9-11 minutes. Makes 6 dozen.
Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies
The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is a classic. This cookie brings those two flavors together perfectly. The cookie itself has a wonderful outer crunch, but is also tender and melts in your mouth. The addition of a dollop of chocolate finishes the cookie just right.
Of course, you could also use a spoonful of jam or jelly to fill in the cookies. Peanut butter and jelly are also a classic combo. No matter what filling you use, these thumbprint cookies are going to be a big hit.
Peanut Butter Thumbprints
1 c. butter, softened
2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 c. peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 3/4 c. finely chopped unsalted, dry roasted peanuts
Melted chocolate, about 2 cups
In mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and peanut butter. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour with dry ingredients and mix into butter mixture. Stir in peanuts. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are just set. Press thumb gently into the middle of each cookie and cool on rack. Spoon about a teaspoon of melted chocolate into each cookie. Makes about 8 dozen.
Posted in Cooking | Tagged cookies, peanut butter cookies, peanut butter recipes, peanut butter thumbprint cookies, peanut butter thumbprints, thumbprint cookies, thumbprintcookies
Chocolate Sparkle Cookies
These cake-like cookies are always a favorite in my house. They are full of chocolate flavor and easy to make. They have an almost brownie like texture. The sparkle comes from the sugar they are roll in just before baking. So if you are looking for a chocolate cookie for your holiday cookie collection- you might want to try these.
Chocolate Sparkles
1 c. butter, softened
1 ¼ c. sugar
2 eggs
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
½ t. vanilla
2 2/3 c. flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
¼ c. sugar
Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, chocolate and vanilla. Stir in next four ingredients. Chill dough. Shape dough into 1” balls and roll in ¼ cup sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 375- degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Makes 5-6 dozen.
Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies
The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is a classic. This cookie brings those two flavors together perfectly. The cookie itself has a wonderful outer crunch, but is also tender and melts in your mouth. The addition of a dollop of chocolate finishes the cookie just right.
Of course, you could also use a spoonful of jam or jelly to fill in the cookies. Peanut butter and jelly are also a classic combo. No matter what filling you use, these thumbprint cookies are going to be a big hit.
Peanut Butter Thumbprints
1 c. butter, softened
2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 c. peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 3/4 c. finely chopped unsalted, dry roasted peanuts
Melted chocolate, about 2 cups
In mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and peanut butter. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour with dry ingredients and mix into butter mixture. Stir in peanuts. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are just set. Press thumb gently into the middle of each cookie and cool on rack. Spoon about a teaspoon of melted chocolate into each cookie. Makes about 8 dozen.
Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
I never met a shortbread cookie I didn’t like. These are no exception. With the addition of cocoa, you end up with a cookie that has the traditional delicate texture of shortbread, with the added bonus of a rich, chocolate flavor.
They are great just plain, dusted with powdered sugar or, my favorite way, brushed with a little melted bittersweet chocolate.
Simple, tasty and a nice treat for the chocolate lovers you love.
Chocolate Shortbread
1 c. butter, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa
1/4 t. salt
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
Beat together butter and sugar until well blended. Mix together dry ingredients and slowly beat into butter mixture, stirring it in at the end. Roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick and cut out with cookie cutters. Re-roll scraps and cut out the remaining dough. Place on an un-greased baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees until cookies are firm around the edges, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool. Melt chocolate and dip cookies in it or use chocolate to hold 2 cookies together. I just spread a small amount on the cookies. You can also use a buttercream frosting to make them sandwich cookies. Makes 2-3 dozen, depending on the size.
Snow People Cookies
These cookies are adorable and fun to make. They also taste really good. They are a fun cookie for kids to make. The cookies are made from a rich, cream cheese dough. They stay soft in the middle, with a little crunch on the outside. They are even cuter if you use the candy-striped kisses available this time of year.
Snow People
Dough:
4 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 c. butter, softened
1 (8oz.) package cream cheese, softened
2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
¼ t. almond extract
Decorations:
Mini chocolate chips or mini M&Ms
Kisses, whole, or mini peanut butter cups, halved
Frosting:
2 c. powdered sugar
Few drops green food coloring
Milk
Extra powdered sugar for sprinkling
Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and flavorings then stir in dry ingredients. Chill dough overnight. For each snow person rolls out 3 balls of dough, 1-inch, ¾-inch and ½-inch in diameter. Place balls in descending order on ungreased baking sheet. Press together lightly. Use 2 mini chocolate chips for eyes in smallest ball and use either chips or mini M&Ms for buttons (2 on largest ball and 1 in medium). You can also add a tiny dot of frosting once they are cooled for the buttons, too. Bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for about 18 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet 1 minute then remove to rack to finish cooling. Combine powdered sugar with green food coloring and just enough milk to make a frosting that can be piped. Use a little dab of frosting to attach either a chocolate kiss (unwrapped) or half of a peanut butter cup as a hat. Pipe a small amount of frosting to form a scarf. Dust cookies with a little extra powdered sugar for snow when finished decorating. Makes about 48 cookies.
Cookie “Candies”
There are so many cookies I bake this time of year, I could never pick a favorite. There are some cookies that are a MUST bake, however.
These cookie-candies are one of them. They get their name because, once decorated, they look like little pieces of candy.
Under the sprinkles are rich and tasty oatmeal shortbread cookies. Shortbread cookies are always a favorite of mine. I think I make half a dozen varieties of shortbread.
The dough is easy to handle. You just shape small amounts into shapes like circles, squares and ovals. They hold their shape. Like most shortbread, they bake at a lower temperature than other cookies. They also bake a bit longer. They should be a little golden on the bottom when done.
After they are baked and cooled, the cookies are dipped in melted chocolate and then in assorted toppings. You can dip them in sprinkles, finely chopped nuts and coconut. Pretty and tasty.
Cookie-Candies
1 c. butter
¾ c. powdered sugar
1 T. vanilla
2 c. flour
½ c. rolled oats
½ c. chocolate chips
¼ c. milk
finely chopped nuts
assorted sprinkles
shredded coconut
Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Stir in flour and oats. Shape teaspoonfuls of the dough into different shapes like rounds, ovals, cones cubes etc. Try to make them look like little candies. They will hold their shape very well while baking. Bake in a 325- degree oven for 20-25 minutes on an ungreased baking sheet. Cool. In microwave safe dish combine chocolate and milk and melt. Dip tops of cookies in chocolate mixture and then in one of the toppings you have. Chocolate topping will harden up after a while. Makes about 4 dozen.
Soft Butter Cookies
If you are looking for a truly tender cookie, this may be it. These cookies are so delicate, they just melt in your mouth!!
The secret ingredient might surprise you. It is oil. Yes, I know I said butter cookies – they also contain butter. But the combination of oil and butter makes them soft and delicate, even days after baking.
They also contain both granulated and powdered sugar. Not your typical cookie recipe, for sure. This just may be my “go to” butter cookie recipe from now on.
You don’t have to chill the dough and they roll very easily, without sticking to your fingers. You could chill the dough, but let it warm up a little before rolling. The dough can also be made ahead and frozen- I tested it.
In class last night we pressed the tops in colored sugars, nonpareils or sprinkles before baking. You can also bake them plain, then dip in melted chocolate and sprinkles or nuts after baking,
Soft Butter Cookies
1 c. butter
1 c. oil, I used avocado oil
1 c. sugar
1 c. powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 T. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cream of tartar
½ t. salt
4 ½ c. flour
In mixing bowl, beat together butter, oil, sugars and vanilla. Once well blended, beat in eggs. Stir in the baking soda, cream of tartar and salt, then add the flour, mixing until well combined. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into one inch balls and press tops of cookies in sprinkles or colored sugar, if desired. Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 12 minutes, or until light golden on bottom. Leave cookies on baking sheets 3 minutes before placing on cooling rack. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
