10-Cup Cookies (aka "Kitchen Sink Cookies")

A good subtitle for these cookies would be "cookies your husband will hate" because my husband doesn't like coconut, pecans, or raisins in his cookies.  He does like all the other ingredients.  The picture with this recipe looked very yummy and I do like all these things, so I decided to make them and bring most of them to Women's Bible Study last night.  This recipe only has 1 cup of regular flour, and usually cookie recipes with only a small amount of flour are easily turned into GF recipes...so because of the oatmeal and peanut butter in this recipe, I knew that they would be yummy GF.  That has not been the case with every recipe I've tried to adapt, but I've learned.  And these turned out very yummy.

They call these "10-Cup Cookies" because there are 10 cups' worth of ingredients...but I've seen other recipes that call similar cookies "Kitchen Sink Cookies" because you put everything in there but the kitchen sink.  When I took them last night, I labeled them as "Kitchen Sink" because that seemed more self-explanatory than "10-Cup."  This recipe is from the America's Best Recipes: Comfort Food cookbook.

10-Cup or Kitchen Sink Cookies
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup peanut butter
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup flour (regular or GF)
1 cup quick oats
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup raisins
1 cup chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars (either in stand mixer or with hand mixer...or I suppose by hand if you are rugged).  Add eggs, one at a time.  Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl and then add to creamed mixture.  Stir in pecans, coconut, raisins, and chocolate chips.

Drop dough by level spoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets (or stones).

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden.  Remove to wire racks to cool.

Look how yummy:

So, these cookies do have shortening in them.  I left it that way, because dairy is another enemy of mine.  But if you have no problem with dairy, you could try these with butter instead, although I think the dough might have to be refrigerated a bit to keep the cookies from spreading.  And I think you might have to turn the oven up to 375 so the butter gets yummy and browned in the dough.  Or, just try it at 350 and see.  I also had leftover coconut and pecans from other recipes, so I didn't have to buy them for this.  But it could easily become an expensive recipe if you tried to buy all the things for this.  I'm sure you could just throw in other ingredients that you already have to keep from buying too much. 

Even my nut-hating children loved these.  I think there are so many flavors going on that taste so good together, they couldn't pick out the one thing they didn't like.  My husband ate one, too.  He didn't say much.  He would never choose these for cookies, but hey, it is a cookie.  Most of the ones I brought to Bible study did get eaten, and AUNDRA said that she ate one and it was good.  High praise from a gluten lover ;)

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (GF)

That is a long name for a cookie.  Let's call them WCMNC for this post, ok?  It will save me time typing, and save you time reading (I try to provide a diverse range of services here at New Recipe Night).

Back in my gluten-eating days, WCMNC was one of my top 2 favorite cookies (the other one being oatmeal raisin).  My favorite WCMNC were the ones you can get at Subway to go with your sandwich for $0.99.  I liked how greasy they were; you would put them on a napkin while you ate your sandwich, and then when you picked it up to eat it, there was a grease ring on your Subway napkin.  And the cookie was amazing.  Even when I was eating gluten, I tried a few times to find a WCMNC recipe that tasted like Subway's, and I made a few that were fine, but not like I wanted them to be.  I had a friend who was trying to help me find the perfect recipe, but we never could. 

So, fast forward to now, where I have this ATK cookbook (How Can It Be Gluten Free Vol 2), and this recipe is in it.  I tried it with a certain level of skpeticism, because it seems statistically unlikely that if I couldn't find a regular recipe that I liked for these cookies, that I would find a GF recipe that I liked.  But, my friends, this is it.  And there are 2 possible reasons. #1: the recipe really is fabulous and Subway wants me to start making them for their GF customers to have with their "Chop Salad" (the GF thing you can get there, provided you are careful about toppings and sauces) OR #2: my tastebuds don't remember the real thing and 3 years ago I wouldn't have been excited about this recipe but now I am.  So which is it?  Read on to see....

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (GF)
1 ¾ cups ATK All Purpose GF Flour Blend
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp salt
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
¾ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Whisk flour blend, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt together in bowl. 

In large bowl, whisk melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together until no lumps remain.  Whisk in egg, milk, and vanilla until very smooth.  Stir in flour mixture with rubber spatula until dough is completely homogenous (I used my kitchen aid for all this, and it was totally fine). 

Fold in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 30 minutes (dough will be sticky and soft).

Adjust oven rack to  middle position and heat oven to 350.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (I really used this, and the bonus is you don't have to wash the pan after...plus with sticky dough it usually is a smart move).  Working with about 1 1/2 tbsp of dough at a time, use 2 soup spoons to portion out dough and space 2 inches apart on prepared sheets.

Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until golden brown and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, about 12-14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking (I usually don't bother rotating the pans, but I did this time because I wanted these to be perfect ha).

Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Can be stored in airtight container for up to 1 day)(so yeah that's not very long...but it doesn't make that many so I don't think it'd be hard to eat them all, especially if you bring them somewhere).

So you probably noticed the first ingredient is the ATK GF flour blend.  And they say if you don't use it, you won't like the results.  But, they are not the boss of you, so you can try another blend if you have it already on hand (I do have the recipe for their blend on this blog, too, if you search up at the top for "ATK" you should easily find it.  I also did not use unsalted butter, because I just have regular butter.  But it was fine.

My husband is used to me saying, loudly, while he eats something "CAN YOU EVEN TELL IT'S GLUTEN FREE?? NO, YOU CAN'T."  And so I can't all the way trust his opinion on my GF baking anymore hahahaha PLUS I'm sure I've altered his taste buds over these last 2+ years, too.  So the best barometer is to take them somewhere and just see what happens.  So I took them to home fellowship last night (that's CC code for "small group").  My GF friend knew about these, because I texted her ahead of time.  And maybe I mentioned it to Becky, whose house we meet at, but I can't remember.  But that's definitely all.  And they were flying off the plate.  And so of course, as I see people happily munching, I had to say, loudly, "YOU CAN'T EVEN TELL THESE ARE GF CAN YOU????"  And everyone agreed that you couldn't.  And kept on eating (which they wouldn't have done if they didn't like them...maybe a couple people would but not everybody). 

To summarize, these were amazing and I'm so glad I found the recipe for them.  Even though macadamia nuts are expensive, I'm going to buy them again and make these again. 

Peanut Butter Squares

Nathan made these yesterday for home fellowship, and I only helped a couple of times in the middle (I'll tell you when).  These are no-bake, and they were very fast and easy to make.  And, they all got eaten at home fellowship, which means everybody liked them.  This recipe is from America's Best Recipes: Comfort Food (my Christmas cookbook from my mom).

Peanut Butter Squares

4 cups powdered sugar
1 2/3 cups crushed graham crackers or graham cracker crumbs
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Stir together first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl (will be very thick...we added the powdered sugar last, and after the second cup of powdered sugar, I had to take over stirring).  Firmly press mixture into an ungreased 9x13 pan.

Spread melted chocolate evenly over cookie layer (this was the other part I had to help with, because it was a pretty thin layer).

Let stand at room temperature 2 hours before cutting into bars.

So, next time I will use the kitchen aid to mix the peanut butter layer.  But you should feel my right arm bicep right now, because it got quite a work out.  Easy, and from what I hear, yummy, so we'll have them again.

I did have some GF graham cracker crumbs, but I decided not to try it (this time) because of the texture.  The ones I have are more like wet sand, and I wasn't sure how the texture would be, especially because these weren't going to be baked.  Maybe I'll experiment with a half batch next time.

Oatmeal Carmelitas

Doesn't that sound fancy??  Maybe it's Mexican or something.  This is what I made for home fellowship last night.  I did not put the pecans in, even though I love pecans, because then not everybody would have liked them.  Next time I am definitely putting them in, and then it will practically be a granola bar and I can eat them any time of day.  This is from the cookbook my mom gave me for Christmas, America's Best Recipes: Comfort Food.

Oatmeal Carmelitas
2 cups flour (I used Bob's Red Mill GF baking flour in the blue bag)
2 cups quick oats
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups chocolate chips
½ cup chopped toasted pecans, (optional)
1 14 oz pkg caramels, unwrapped
1/3 cup half-and-half

Preheat oven to 350. 

Stir together first 5 ingredients in large bowl.  Add butter, stirring until mixture is crumbly.  Set aside half of the mixture.  Press remaining half of mixture into greased 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips and pecans (if using).

Microwave caramels and half-and-half in a microwave safe bowl at 50% power for 3 minutes.  Stir and microwave at 50% power 1-3 more minutes or until mixture is smooth.  Let stand 1 minute.  Pour evenly over chocolate morsels.  Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack before cutting into bars.

In the baking aisle near the chocolate chips, they have these caramel morsels in an 11 oz light brown bag...they are the shape of chocolate chips, but it's the same caramel that comes wrapped in those insanely frustrating little plastic cubes.  I actually planned to make this on Friday because I knew Barbie would be here and she could unwrap the cubes while I made the rest of the recipe hahaha.  But then I saw these and thought I would try them.  I used the morsels just like the recipe says to use the caramels, and they worked fine.  And it was way faster.

Some people thought these were too sweet.  I actually did think that, and didn't finish mine...and I had one for breakfast too and thought the same thing.  But other people didn't feel that way and happily ate their whole portion.  I think adding the pecans will cut some of that sweetness.  And, I will cut them smaller next time.  A very yummy recipe that I will for sure make again.

Candy Corn and White Chocolate Softbatch Cookies

I love candy corn.  It's so so yummy.  Yes, it's a bit like eating a candle.  But a really good honey-flavored candle.  A friend of mine tagged me in a post on facebook, and it was this recipe.  A few weeks ago I made Candy Corn Krispy Treats (you can find the recipe here on my blog) and this seemed like a logical next step.  This recipe was on Pinterest (from Averie Cooks...I don't know if Cooks is her last name, which would be cool, or if it's a verb).  This is my first Pinterest recipe.  I was hoping it wouldn't be a Pinterest Fail...have you ever seen those?  If not it is worth 15 minutes (at least) of your time to google "Pinterest Fail" and see what comes up...

Candy Corn and White Chocolate Softbatch Cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (I never have unsalted so I used salted)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cream or half and half
2 cups flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt, optional (I think if you use salted butter you don't have to add this, but I still did)
1 1/2 cups candy corn
1 cup white chocolate chips

Place first 5 ingredients (through vanilla) in stand mixer and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Stop and scrape down sides of bowl, then add next 5 ingredients.  Mix on low for 1 minute, just until incorporated (don't overmix).

Add candy corn & white chocolate chips and mix just until incorporated.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop cookies onto a plate; flatten slightly.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 5 days (I got stuff to do, I can't wait 3 hours...I waited 1.5 or so).  Do not bake without chilling or cookies will spread too much. 

Important note (she says): "strategically place candy corn so that it's not baking directly on cookie sheet because it will melt, burn, or turn runny if it is.  The candy corn pieces need to be in the interior of the cookies, shielded and buffered by dough" (how do you think this turned out?  I certainly did not carefully shape my dough around each piece of candy corn...I just do not have that kind of time).

Preheat oven to 350.  Place mounds on baking sheet (use cooking spray or silpat baking mat [she says])(I used my baking stones) spaced at least 2 inches apart and bake for about 9 minutes, or until edges are set and tops are just beginning to be set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center.  Do not overbake because cookies will firm up as they cool.  Baking longer than 10 minutes will result in cookies with overly browned undersides (this is never an issue if you use stones though--in my experience at least).  Cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Results:
Well, you can see the picture above.  Those were the best looking ones.  A great  many of them turned out like this:

And then folded up on themselves when removed from the cookie sheet like this:

Ha!  Oh wait, do you want to know how they tasted?  Pretty good (of course).  I thought these were going to be crazy sweet.  But really they weren't.  Maybe baking the candy corn makes it lose some of that famous sweetness.  So this was kind of a fail, but kind of not.  I did get like 13 normal looking cookies.  And some halfway between the melted ones and normal ones.  And then a lot of folded up ones.  These were fun to try and the kids were really excited about them.  But I think this is more of a novelty thing that I won't make again....but I'm glad I made them today :)

Caramel-Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies

I made these for home fellowship.  It seemed like something everyone would like, and that I should not make just for our own family's consumption.  I completely forgot to take a picture of them, but just imagine little whoopie pies, but the cakes are chocolate chip cookies and the filling is caramel frosting.  This one came from Simple & Delicious.

Caramel-Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Filling:
6 tbsp butter, cubed
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbsp 2% milk
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs, then honey and vanilla.  In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

For filling, in small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in brown sugar and milk; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cook and stir until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat; cool to room temperature (oops, somehow I overlooked this part and it wasn't cooled...I ended up using almost double the powdered sugar to get the right consistency...oh well it all ended up fine).  Beat in enough confectioners' sugar to reach desired consistency.

Spread 1 1/2 tsp filling (I certainly did not measure) onto bottoms of half of the cookies; cover with remaining cookies.

We had some of the filling left over, so I used it the next morning on cinnamon rolls, and it was good.  These cookies went fast, and the finished product was so scrumptious.  I will say the cookie dough did not taste anywhere near as good as the dough from my usual recipe, so I consumed much less.  Depending on what day it is, that could either be very good or very bad.   We will definitely have these again.  Yum yum.

Mocha Macaroon Cookies

I love cooking and baking, and I've gotten pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.  But every once in a while there comes along a very humbling recipe, the kind where I call my mom and say "what do I do now?"  This was that kind of recipe.  I attempted to make these for a baby shower.  Since they are mocha flavored, I knew they wouldn't be a hit at home, plus I wasn't sure how the coconut would go over.  I've never made regular macaroons, which would have perhaps helped me with this adaptation.  Here is the recipe, even though I am not endorsing this one.  From Simple & Delicious.

Mocha Macaroon Cookies
2 tsp instant coffee granules
2 tsp hot water
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 pkg (14 oz) flaked coconut
2/3 cup white baking chips, melted
Plain or chocolate-covered coffee beans (omitted by me, but the recipe went south long before this omission)

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, dissolve coffee granules in hot water.  Stir in condensed milk, melted chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt until blended.  Stir in coconut.  Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until set (what if this is never?).  Cool on pans 1 minute.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Drizzle tops with melted baking chips (I never got to this step...actually I never got them off the cookie sheets); top with coffee beans.

Okay.  So I didn't use parchment paper.  BUT I almost never do (unless I'm making pumpkin whoopie pies) because I always use Pampered Chef stoneware baking sheets and nothing sticks to them because they are awesome.  The real problem here, however, was not that they stuck to the cookie sheets, but that they never "set".  There was no real baking to do here, because there was no flour or whatever else.  All they really had to do was go into the oven to like dry out or something.  I cooked them long past 10-12 minutes, but they started to smell burnt, even though they weren't set.  I took them out and let them sit a L-O-N-G time on the cookie sheets, but whenever I tried to remove even one cookie from the sheet, it would smoooosh all together.  The stoneware cooled completely, which I thought may have been an issue because they do stay warmer longer than metal cookie sheets.  This didn't make a difference.  I called my mom, but she said she's never made macaroons because Dad doesn't like coconut.  Fair enough.  She did say I could bring them crumbled and serve them with a spoon, but I opted not to do that.  So off I went to the baby shower, with the cookies still on the cookie sheets.  When I got home, I noticed one of the cookie sheets had been scraped clean.  Steve had taken them to a camp out, where he says they were enjoyed by all, and that you couldn't even taste the coffee part of them.

Quadruple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This is the second recipe I marked from the latest Simple & Delicious.  I would not have made this cookie, but Sam was thumbing through the magazine while we were driving and he begged me to make them. To avoid a sugar coma in our family, I made them for home fellowship.

Quadruple Chocolate Chunk Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa (I did a bit of research on this and ultimately ended up using the Nestle cocoa powder I already had on hand, which is natural-process)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup white baking chips, chopped (I didn't chop them)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, chopped (I didn't chop these, either)
1 cup chopped Oreo cookies (about 10 cookies)(I did chop these)
1 Hershey's cookies and cream candy bar (1.55 oz), chopped (really???  but I did buy, and chop, this)

Preheat oven to 375.  In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  In another bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.  Stir in remaining ingredients.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets.  Bake 6-8 minutes or until set.  Cool on pans 1 minute.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Store in airtight container.

Okay, the dough was pretty good.  I love cookie dough and I usually consume an amount sufficient that the baked cookie looks unappealing to me, at least that day.  However, in the interest of research, I did eat a baked cookie at home fellowship.  To me, there was way too much going on in that cookie.  I suspected I would feel that way, but I thought the kids there would all like them.  A fellow mom tried one (and then perhaps another), also in the interest of research, and we determined that the Oreos were too much.  All the other things, okay.  But the Oreos pushed it over the edge.  As much as I like research, I will not be making this recipe again, sans Oreos, to see if we were right. 

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

I bought this bag of Hershey's butterscotch chips at Christmas time when I had a good coupon, but didn't really have a use for them in mind.  Today I made the recipe on the bag for these oatmeal cookies.  I have never made these before, although I have eaten them at other people's houses.

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour (I used 3/4 cup white and 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups quick cooking or regular oats (I used quick)
1 3/4 cups (1 bag) butterscotch chips

Heat oven to 375.  Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl until well blended.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.  Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture, beating until well blended.  Stir in oats and butterscotch chips, mixing well (I think this would have been crazy hard without my Kitchen Aid).  Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool slightly; remove to wire racks to cool completely.  About 4 dozen cookies.

The kids really liked them.  Nathan was sure they were caramel cookies, and Emma asked me if I put syrup in them.  Sam said 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.  Those are some good reviews.  I didn't like them as well as oatmeal raisin, but those are my favorite favorite, so I didn't expect to.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

This is in my Top 2 Favorite Cookies category.  I love the store bought ones (like at Subway, for example) that are so greasy they leave spots on the napkin.  Other recipes I have tried at home have not tasted nearly as good.  The dough hasn't been quite right.  But I decided to try this one just to see, and I think it's right!  The super secret ingredient is shortening.  It's so bad for you.  But it makes this cookie perfect.  Only make it if you love delicious cookies.  Anyway the nuts for this recipe cost $7 so it's not like you're going to make it very often anyway, so you don't need to feel bad about the shortening.  This is from the Southern Living Christmas cookbook but I made them even though it's January. 

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 6 oz pkg white chocolate baking bar, cut into chunks
1 7 oz jar macadamia nuts, chopped

Beat butter and shortening on medium speed of electric mixer until soft and creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well.  Add egg and vanilla; beat well.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and add gradually to creamed mixture, beating well.  Stir in white chocolate chunks and nuts.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto lightly greased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool slightly before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

I made these for home fellowship tonight, and I thought they were great.  I think it's more of a grown-up taste preference though, because I brought home about 1/3 of them.  They just couldn't compete with the 2 packages of Oreos that Stephanie brought.  I made them the exact size of the Pampered Chef medium scoop and got 3 1/2 dozen, but they didn't spread much during baking.  Next time I will use more dough per cookie and flatten them out some before baking.  Definitely keeping this recipe now that I've found it!

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

A few weeks ago Nathan went to a Cub Scout meeting and one of the mommies brought these cookies.  Steve brought two of them home to show me.  What a fabulous, ingenious idea.  But I knew it wouldn't work with my mom's chocolate chip cookie recipe, which is how I always make chocolate chip cookies.  The dough would be too sticky.  It was in the back of my mind all the next day...thoughts of "how could I do this?" and "there has to be a way."  That night at church I spoke of my concerns with one of my besties, Lisa.  She said "that mom must have gotten that recipe from Pinterest."  Now, Pinterest isn't a site I have ever visited, because I'm afraid it will be a time vortex, sucking away all of my time.  Because I know there is a lot of great stuff on there, just from what I see my facebook friends post.  So Lisa went on Pinterest and found it for me, because that's the kind of friend she is.  She even printed it on thick paper, so I don't have to recopy the recipe onto a card or anything.  This dough has more flour but the same amount of butter and eggs as my mom's recipe, so that's why this one works.  I made these for home fellowship last night.

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips
1 pkg Double Stuf Oreos

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars with a mixer until well combined.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  In medium bowl, mix flour salt and baking soda.  Slowly add to wet ingredients until just combined.  Add chocolate chips.  With a cookie scoop, form balls with the dough.  Place one ball on top of an Oreo cookie, and another ball on the bottom.  Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo is fully enclosed in cookie dough (mmmmmmmmmmm try not to eat it raw, raw cookie dough is bad for you!  Maybe I did that and maybe I didn't...I will never tell).  Place onto parchment or silpat (?) lined baking sheets and bake cookies for 13 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.  These barely spread while cooking, so keep that in mind when determining how many can fit.  Makes 24 gigantic cookies.

I don't think I need to tell you how awesome these were.  I was afraid there wouldn't be enough, but there were.  They are so sweet that one is enough.  But really you are eating 3 cookies at the same time.  So don't make these just for your family because that could be disastrous.  But make them to bring somewhere, definitely.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are one of my top 2 all time favorite cookies (the other one is white chocolate macadamia nut).  Something might be wrong with my husband and children in that they do not like them.  I hardly ever make them, maybe twice since we've been married, and when I do make them, they don't measure up to this ideal in my head of these cookies that Steve's mom made, and I ate, a long time ago.  My mother-in-law makes the best oatmeal raisin cookies.  I have not ever gotten the recipe from her because it seems foolish to make cookies that only I will eat.  Foolish because #1 I will eat them all myself and #2 because it is a waste of baking ingredients if they're only going to be for me.  But this fall I have had a hankering for them and I said to myself "what the heck I'm going to get the recipe AND I'm going to make them.  AND I'm going to eat them."  So I called her last night, and it took her a minute to figure out which ones I was talking about, but then she gave me the recipe.  I made them today and they came out perfect.  They are the cookies I've been dreaming about.  My puppy-dog-eyed husband and children convinced me last night that if I was going to make these today, I should make half of them with raisins and half with chocolate chips.  So I did that because I love them lots (this puppy-dog-eye strategy is the same one they employed that caused us to get 2 cats when I wanted 0 cats...it is very effective when they all use it at once against me).  I still get an entire half batch for myself.  Which is good, or else really bad.  When you read the recipe, don't worry.  You should still make these.  Even though they have shortening and a LOT of brown sugar, also they have oatmeal and raisins.  So it's like they're good for you.  And I don't care anyway, they taste so good.  I just ate 2 of them with some coffee.  And in the morning I'm going to eat 2 more of them with more coffee. 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
1 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups quick oats
1 cup raisins (or, if you have eclectic housemates who hate raisins, 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips)

Cream shortening and brown sugar in large mixing bowl (of course I used my Kitchen Aid).  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla.  In separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda.  Add slowly to sugar mixture.  Once combined, add oats.  Stir in raisins (at this point I divided the dough in half and added raisins to one half and chocolate chips to the other). Drop dough by approx 1 1/2 tablespoonfuls (I used my Pampered Chef scoop) onto cookie sheets and flatten slightly with fork.  Bake at 375 for 8 minutes, just until starting to brown around the edges.

I think I've said enough about how I feel about this recipe.  Best oatmeal raisin cookies ever.  EVER.

No-Bake Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

My friend and faithful New Recipe Night blog reader posted this cookie recipe yesterday that she made for their home fellowship.  She said they ended up tasting too healthy and more like a breakfast cookie than a dessert one.  I knew nobody but me would like these at my house, because I am the only pumpkin lover; nobody else here is even a pumpkin liker.  She got the recipe from another blog, chocolate-covered katie.  I try to never cover myself in chocolate, or any substance for that matter.  There are too many implications, and possible consequences, such as ants and husbands.  Anyway that's the name of her blog.  Here is the recipe.

No-Bake Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

• 3/4 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup oat flour (or make your own by blending oats in a food processor until they become powder. Measure after blending)(I did this with my mini Tupperware chopper)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup xylitol or sugar (or coconut sugar or sucanat)(I just used white sugar)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional: a pinch pumpkin pie spice as well)(which I did add, about 1/8 tsp)
• optional: handful mini chocolate chips (of course I added these)
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin (or sweet potato puree)
• 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons milk of choice, as needed
• 1 tablespoon oil (omit if you desire, but I can’t vouch for the results)(I used olive oil)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine all dry ingredients and stir very well. In a separate bowl, combine all liquid (including pumpkin). Then stir to combine, and form into balls or cookies. Or put in the fridge to firm up a little before forming cookies.

I put mine in the fridge for 20 minutes after mixing before forming into balls, and then for about 30 minutes after before I was ready to sit down and eat one.  They were still pretty soft, didn't really hold together like a typical no bake.  But I would say they were good!  Definitely not dessert-like, though.  Like a cold pumpkin granola bar.  But it is perfect with my coffee!

Reese's Chewy Chocolate Pan Cookies

I made these for home fellowship.  We have our co-op on Fridays now, which means I have to make a quick dessert for home fellowship.  These are cookie-like things that you make like brownies, so only one pan in the oven instead of multiple pans.  This is from Back of the Box, and they want you to buy Reese's peanut butter chips.  Which I did.  Because I have not seen a store brand of that before.  And even if I did I might not buy it because Reese's is the best.  They also make puffs, which are a tasty breakfast cereal.

Reese's Chewy Chocolate Pan Cookies
1 1/4 cups butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar (ooh that seems like a lot)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
10 oz pkg peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 15x10x1 inch jelly roll pan.  Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.  Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; gradually blend into butter mixture.  Stir in peanut butter chips.  Spread batter into prepared pan.  Bake 20 minutes or until set.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into bars.

Of course these came out great.  The batter tasted yummy when I licked it off the beater, and then the cookies tasted great too.  It was much easier than making 3 or 4 cookie sheets' worth of cookies so it was perfect for a busy day.  Everyone in my house loves Reese's Anything, so this one is a keeper for sure.

Cherry Cordial Cookies

As any of you who have been reading for a while know, I love chocolate and fruit together.  So I had to make these cookies.  I made them on Friday for home fellowship.  My friend Barbie (formerly mentioned in a previous blog post) was here for the afternoon and she helped me make these.  From Simple & Delicious Oct/Nov 2012.

Cherry Cordial Cookies
1 pkg (17 1/2 oz) sugar cookie mix (you could use your own sugar cookie recipe, too)
3/4 cup chopped dried cherries
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
3/4 cup cherry preserves (I used Polaner All Fruit)
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup white baking chips

Place cookie mix, cherries, butter, and egg in a large bowl, beat until well mixed.  Shape into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until edges are browned.  Meanwhile, place cherry preserves in a small microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on high for 1 minute.  Stir in chocolate chips until melted.  If necessary, microwave in 10 to 20 second intervals until chips are melted; stir until blended.

When cookies are done, make an indentation in the center of each warm cookie using the back of a tablespoon (this didn't work for us; too much cookie stuck to the spoon.  We used a small Tupperware tool [okay, it was a little pill holder I got from a grab bag at a party][and it was Barbie's idea] to make the indentation).  Fill indentations with cherry mixture.  Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Microwave white baking chips until melted.  Drizzle over cookies.  Let stand until set.

Barbie and I made the executive decision not to add the white chocolate drizzle.  The cookies didn't need it; they tasted great without it.  The reason we know this is because one "broke" and we had to try it.  And we were already speculating about how we would transport these cookies, because we knew if we stacked them, some of the filling from the bottom cookies would get on the ones above them.  But to transport them in a single layer would have required like 6 plates.  So we decided to skip the white drizzle and stack them a little, figuring that people probably wouldn't mind if some of the filling mingled.

Additionally, we had about 1/3 to 1/2 of the filling left after all the indentations were filled.  We made the cookies the recommended size, and they say the yield for this recipe is 3 1/2 dozen.  We got 31 cookies, counting the one that broke.  So I think you could easily use 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of cherry preserves and be fine.  For the extra filling, I have plans to remelt it some night and dip pretzels in it.  Mmmmm.

Now, how did people like them?  Some of the kids at HF didn't.  But the grown ups did.  Even Nick, who doesn't like fruit, liked them.  Today I brought the leftovers to my mom's house, and all the adults there except my sister liked them.  I don't know why she didn't.  Her tastebuds are off right now because she is cutting waaaay back on her diet pepsi intake.  She is just starting to know what food tastes like, so it will take some time.  I will definitely make these again, I was very happy with how they turned out.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I thought last night's post would be my last before the trip, but I was wrong about that.  Also, this is New Recipe Night's 500th post!!  Woot!  That is crazy.  Anyway today I made these cookies.  I have a friend at work who has been craving them (yep, baby on board), and I knew I was working with her tonight.  I had to look up a recipe for them on allrecipes.com, because I didn't have one.  My family does not like pumpkin.  They are crazy like that.  So also I knew this would be an easy one to get out of the house tonight when I go in.  Sometimes when I make things to bring to work, they are mad at me.  But they won't be tonight.  I tried to entice them to eat one for their after-lunch dessert but they were not interested.  Even with the chocolate chips.  I looked at a bunch of different recipes for these cookies.  Some of them had oatmeal, which I don't remember ever eating when I've eaten these.  Some of them only used 1 cup of pumpkin, but I didn't want to waste the other half of the can.  Also I didn't want to double the recipe, because there will be, at most, 8-10 of us eating these at work tonight.  So I found this one that uses the whole can of pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1 1/4 cup white)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts (omitted by me...I've never eaten them with nuts before either, plus I didn't have any)
1 12 oz bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease 2 cookie sheets (I used stoneware so I didn't grease mine).  Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice together in a mixing bowl.  In a second mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth and well blended.  Mix in the pumpkin and vanilla until smooth.  Gradually add the flour mixture, stirring to make a smooth batter.  Stir in nuts (if using) and chocolate chips.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake until edges are golden, about 18-20 minutes.  Cool briefly on cookie sheets before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

That seems like a long time to bake cookies, but it really took that long.  I've noticed on stoneware it tends to take longer, so if you use metal baking sheets it might not take quite as long.  Also the recipe says it will yield 24 cookies, but I got like 5 1/2 dozen out of them using my medium-sized Pampered Chef scoop.  I ate one after lunch to see what it tasted like.  Pretty good, if I say so myself.  I will update tomorrow with what my coworkers thought. 

Butter Pecan Biscotti

In case you don't know what biscotti is, and some people don't, it is a cookie that is really dry, almost stale, that is most commonly eaten while drinking coffee. I realize that description may not make you want any. Let me see if I can find a better definition. According to wikipedia, biscotti is "a twice-baked cake made dry and crunchy through cutting the loaf of dough while still hot and fresh from baking in the oven." That sounds better, doesn't it? I have never tried making it before. I have tried eating it before. My friend Autumn has made some in the past, and hers had chocolate. It was great with coffee. So when I saw this recipe I knew I wanted to make it, and since Steve doesn't like pecans or coffee, I made it to bring to work. We drink a lot of coffee there. Also bringing treats in to work is all a part of my plan to make them like me at my new job. So far I have made Taco Dip (which I believe is on the blog) and now the biscotti. I think my plan is working pretty good, both have gotten good reviews. One sweet lady at work even said I could open a bakery because they were so good. Now that is good feedback. I didn't tell her that the first ingredient in this recipe is a cake mix, but probably I should have. But you will see that you add a lot to it, and it's a time-consuming recipe, so this totally counts as something you make yourself. It's from the April/May 2011 Simple & Delicious.

Butter Pecan Biscotti
1 pkg (18 1/4 oz) butter pecan cake mix
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup white baking chips
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp brewed coffee
1 cup finely chopped pecans

In a large bowl, beat cake mix, flour, butter, eggs, syrup, coffee granules, and vanilla until well blended (dough will be very thick). Fold in chips. Divide dough in half. On an ungreased baking sheet, shape each portion into a 12x2 inch rectangle (you can put both of them on the same cookie sheet). Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Place pan on wire rack. When cool enough to handle, transfer to a cutting board; cut diagonally with a serrated knife into 3/4-inch slices. Place cut side down on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and coffee. Drizzle over biscotti; sprinkle with pecans. Let stand until set. Store in airtight container.

These were really good. They almost tasted butterscotch-y. So so good. Everybody liked them. There were none left, and it was a fairly big batch. Even though it took a while to make (bake it cool it bake it cool it glaze it let it set) it wasn't difficult, just time consuming. So this one is most definitely one I am keeping. Also I did make a general announcement to my co-workers that "it starts with a cake mix" when someone asked me how hard it was to make. It didn't seem to change the way they felt about me, so phew. I don't know if Charlotte still thinks I could open a bakery, but it's okay because I don't really plan to anyway.

Berry Shortbread Dreams

This is the first recipe I am trying for the cookbook I got from my mom for Christmas this past year, Taste of Home Cooking Through the Seasons. Usually I would have started this before March, I have just had a lot of other things to finish up first. So, I really like shortbread cookies. Also I like raspberry jam. So it is obvious why I wanted to try these cookies. I made them for home fellowship. There are not very many ingredients, and the dough was quick to throw together.

Berry Shortbread Dreams
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2-3 tsp water

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extract; gradually add the flour until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle (you should not refrigerate it for 2 hours and 10 minutes like I did, naively thinking that it wouldn't matter if it chilled through lunch...if you do this, when you try to take the dough out, you will have to chip it out, it won't stay in balls, and you will have to leave it on your counter for an hour to get it to the right temperature...just a word to the wise).

Roll into 1 inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center. Fill with jam (kind of tricky...I just put a bit on the end of a spoon and let it kind of trickle in...but a lot of mine had overflow).

Bake at 350 for 14-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Spoon additional jam into cookies if desired. Combine confectioners' sugar, extract, and enough water to achieve drizzling consistency; drizzle over cookies.

Actually I ran out of time so never put the glaze on these cookies (perhaps because I refrigerated them for too long and used up all my would-be glazing time). But I still thought they were good. It is apparently an older-kid-grown-up cookie, because all the little kids didn't like them. One kid at home fellowship looked at me and said "these cookies are gross!" I said, "Hey! I made those cookies!" And he or she said, "well, they're gross." He or she licked it and said "yeuggggh." I said, "WELL DON'T EAT IT!!" Anyway. I thought they were great.

Sweet and Salty Trail Mix Bars

I found this recipe in All You (Jan 21, 2011)(which is my Dad's birthday), which is a magazine my mom occasionally buys and then gives to me. Mostly I like it for the coupons. There are a LOT of coupons in those magazines. But sometimes there's a recipe in there too. I wanted to try it, because, as you know if you have been reading for a while, I am on a quest to make a better granola bar that my children will like. I want them to forget all about the Quaker granola bar man. It is a tall order. Sam and Emma really like the ones I have been making. But, they have butter, syrup, brown sugar, and peanut butter in them. If I used real maple syrup I bet I wouldn't care as much, but that is one thing I can't make the switch to. I don't like how it sinks into pancakes so fast. I don't like that you have to keep it in the fridge and sometimes skim mold off the top (if the directions on the container are any indication--why else would they tell you to just skim it off, unless mold sometimes grew there?). I know that the fake stuff is so so bad. Only basically corn syrup and maple flavor. But I can't switch. Oh and also the real stuff costs approximately 50 times more. So since I cannot (okay--will not) replace it, the best I can do is minimize its use, and only use it when we are eating breakfast for supper, like pancakes or french toast or waffles or whatever. All that to say: this is why I wanted to try this recipe, because it has honey instead. Also Nathan does not like the granola bars I usually make. Once I stopped buying bread and started making my own exclusively, he wouldn't eat a sandwich for like a year. So it takes the kid a long time to come around. He watched me make these and knows they started with pretzels, so maybe he will at least try. He told me today that in the morning he will try a small bite. I did make a few modifications to this recipe...

Sweet and Salty Trail Mix Bars
1 1/2 cups salted pretzel twists, broken into small pieces
2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (I used 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup of this fruit blend I had a coupon for, which was dried berries and apples)
1 cup sunflower seeds
4 tbsp unsalted butter (I never have unsalted butter, so I just used salted butter)
3/4 cup peanut butter, preferably natural (phew. I have natural)
1/2 cup brown sugar (still bad....)
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt (I left this out since I used salted butter)

Preheat oven to 350; butter an 11x7 baking dish. In a large bowl, combine pretzels, oats, raisins, and sunflower seeds.

Melt butter in small saucepan (not too small) over medium-high heat. Add peanut butter, brown sugar, honey, vanilla, flour, and salt; stir until smooth.

Pour butter mixture into pretzel mixture and stir quickly to thoroughly coat. Transfer mixture to prepared pan and use your hands to press in firmly and evenly. Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack before cutting into bars.

Okay here's what I did differently, besides the butter & salt thing that I already explained. You do not have to bake my current usual granola bar recipe. Since many of the ingredients are the same in this recipe, I suspected I did not really have to bake this one, either. So I left out the flour, and then, once I poured the butter mixture over the pretzel mixture, I pressed it into the pan, which is a lovely Tupperware dish with a cover which I got for free when I hosted my Tupperware party last year (from my Tupperware lady, Becky Coffin). Then I put it into the fridge, which is where I keep the other granola bars I make too.

I put this under "cookies" for a label, even though it doesn't really apply...it was between that and "appetizers," so that seems more appropriate.

I'm posting this today, even though nobody will eat them until tonight or tomorrow, and once the kids try them (hopefully Nathan too) I will comment with their reactions...

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

What a long name for cookies. I guess you can figure out what's in them, ha ha. I had every intention of making these as part of my Christmas baking line-up, but then for some reason never made them. I guess I wanted to stick to tried and true favorites for the season. Or something. Anyway these came from Oct/Nov '09 Taste of Home I had been working through, but it's actually not a TOH recipe, it's an Ocean Spray ad in the magazine. But they looked really good. Nathan is crazy about what he calls "white chips," and not so crazy about oatmeal. I thought I could make them and maybe he would eat them. Also I told him the cranberries were red raisins.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
2/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (as opposed to quick oats, which are, apparently, new fashioned)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 6 oz pkg original craisins (as opposed to flavored ones, which they do have...orange flavored, etc)
2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat oven to 375. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to butter mixture slowly, mixing well. Stir in cranberries and white chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes approx 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

For once, their estimate on their yield was correct. Usually it will say something crazy like "6 dozen" and to get that amount you have to make the cookies the size of a quarter. These were really quick to throw together. Everyone except Nathan really liked them (of course). So it's a keeper. It's already in my keeper book, even.