Shortbread Cookies

Even though I missed National Shortbread Day last week, I still had plans to make these cookies and wanted to try them. I am determined that even if I miss the actual day, I'm still going to go forward with the plans. It's called Follow Through and this is like any other project I've undertaken!

With it being cold and icy yesterday, I decided a snow day home from work was the perfect time to get get caught up on the blog and on recipes. (Now if only I could have one of those days every week! Hear that? 4 day work week people, get on board!)

These cookies are deceptively simple but need a little finessing. (at least the way I did it). They are also more like like biscuits than a cookie but that's probably due to the European origination. We Americans, have distorted the lines between biscuits, tea biscuits, cookies, etc. What we think of as traditional probably isn't so traditional in the grand scheme of things.

As I type this I'm enjoying these little cookies dipped in homemade Applebutter (that I also made yesterday) with a hot cup of Breakfast Blend Coffee. It is a lovely little morning treat to get my juices flowing, I must admit.

Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup plus 2 tbs butter, softened but not melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tbs cold water

Cream butter and sugar in mixer. Add flour and slowly mix until crumbly. Add water and twirl a few times just to mix in. Pour crumbly mixture onto floured surface and work into a ball. It will just barely stick together. You can roll out to cut for shapes or pinch off 1 inch balls and press out with your hands for simple round cookies like I did.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Profiteroles with Dark Chocolate Sauce

January 2nd is National Cream Puff Day. So to honor that, I decided to try a recipe I've had marked in a cookbook for quite some time. Profiteroles with Dark Chocolate Sauce adapted from Kitchen Library Desserts.

Cream Puffs have been in the US since 1880 but were actually invented in the 1540's by Catherine de Medici's pastry chef for Henry II.



The one issue I have with the recipe I used was that it did not tell you to cut them or pipe them immediately. It said to let them cool in the oven for 5 minutes so when I took them out they had deflated. BOO. However, deflated or not, these little bad boys are not only phenomenal but addictive. I am officially a Profiteroles fan. These remind me of my favorite Krispy Kreme doughnut: Custard filled, chocolate glazed. It's like little delicate bites of heaven.

Profiteroles (Cream Puffs) with Dark Chocolate Sauce
1/4 cup chopped butter
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup flour
3 eggs, room temp, lightly beaten

White Chocolate Filling
1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tbs sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup white chocolate chips

Dark Chocolate Sauce
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Spray a baking sheet liberally with cooking spray. Put butter and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat and add flour. Return to heat and stir to form a smooth ball. Set aside and let cool slightly. Add eggs to flour ball with an electric mixer until dough is smooth and glossy (thick paste like consistency). Using a cookie scoop place balls evenly on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden and puffed. Turn off Oven and skewer a hole in the side/base of each puff and let dry in oven for 5 minutes. (When I took mine out they deflated immediately so I'm not sure how apt that direction is.)


For Filling:
Combine pudding mix and sugar in saucepan. Whisk in milk slowly until smooth. Heat slowly until boiling and thickening (mine thickened but I never quite let it boil, my fault). Remove from heat and add white chocolate. Stire until melted and let cool. Using a piping bag, filling each pastry with custard.

Combine dark chocolate and cream in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and drizzle over filled pastry.

Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars

I whipped up one last cookie concoction for Christmas at the last minute that turned out to be my favorite cookie treat. If it's possible I think this is even easier then cookies. I put a twist on it as I am all about anything and everything lemon at the moment (how's that for a pregnancy craving?).

Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
1 cup Butter (softened)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
5 cups self-rising flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, with mixer on. Add vanilla and lemon and mix well. Add flour in a little at a time (at least in thirds). Spread on a greased baking sheet (I used a 13 x 9 casserole dish and they were a little thick).

Bake at 375 for 15-25 minutes depending on thickness. Make sure they are light golden brown and a knife comes out clean from the center. Cool completely before frosting.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks unsalted, butter, softened
2 tsp lemon extract
pinch of salt
5 cups of powdered sugar
3 tbs milk

Cream butter and lemon extract. Add salt. Slowly add powdered sugar. Do not add more until what you have added is completely incorporated. Add milk 1 tbs at a time for creaminess. (I added a little before I was finished incorporating all the sugar).

Frost Cookies, sprinkle with festive sanding sugar and cut into bars!

Holiday Cookie Roundup 2010

This past week I have been baking away. This holiday I focused purely on cookies which tailored my baking and reduced stress. It's not too late to whip up one of these fast and easy recipes tonight for Santa's visit or in the morning to give as gifts or take along to family events. Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas from my Cookie Filled Home to yours!

Neiman Marcus Cookies

Peppermint Bark Cookies

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

Ginger Cookies

S'mores Cookies

My Bark is better than my Bite.

I love Peppermint Bark but I’m in the cookie mode this year for treats. So I decided to take a basic cookie recipe and add the elements of Peppermint Bark to it. I’m pretty pleased at how they turned out though I think I may play with this recipe a little bit more to get it PERFECT. Note: be careful removing from tray. Despite the butter and shortening and lightly greasing tray, they wanted to stick on the bottom a little bit.

Peppermint Bark Cookies
½ cup shortening
1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp Peppermint Extract
2 eggs
2 cups of self-rising flour (if using AP add 1 tsp Baking Soda, 1 ½ tsp Salt)
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1 cup White Chocolate chips
1 cup crushed peppermint candy canes (8-10)

Directions:
Cream together shortening, butter, brown sugar, and peppermint extract. Add eggs one at a time. Add in flour until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips, white chocolate and peppermint candy.

Using a cookie scoop, drop dough on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Long name, simple cookie. Seriously. After making cookies for hours a day after working all day and running errands, I’m just not inventive enough to come up with a different name though. ::shrugs:: Like the Oatmeal Butterscotch cookies, this is your basic simple Oatmeal cookie recipe with simple variations. I love the texture and color the dried cranberry’s give this cookie. Very festive and makes you feel just a little less sinful eating these. It’s a serving of fruit right?

1 ½ cups Self Rising Flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 sticks butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 ½ cups dried cranberries

Directions:
Combine flour and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Gradually add in flour mixture. Once smooth add in oats, cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop drop dough onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven cooling cookies on pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Everyone needs a little Scotch at Christmas time for sanity...

Butterscotch that is! These were a delightful little cookie that is about the easy thing to put together on the planet. With a KA Mixer and a blindfold you can still make these cookies and have them perfectly delicious. Very light in flavor, nice texture and simply sweet.

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

1 ½ cups self-rising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 sticks butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 package butterscotch chips

Directions:
In a bowl, combine flour and cinnamon and set aside. Cream butter, sugar, brown sugar together until smooth. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Add Oats and butterscotch chips blending until just mixed together.

Using a cookie scoop drop rounds onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Let cool on pan 2-3 minutes and then transfer to wire racks.

ENJOY!

Love me Ginger, Love me True

I have never understood the fixation with Gingerbread or any of the gingery assortment of treats at the holidays though the smell is divine. However, I LOVE Ginger snaps. Since becoming pregnant, ginger cookies have become a favorite of mine. It helps with nausea, calms the stomach and has been my savior for a snack (except to my hips-my hips and ginger cookies do not jive). My little boy is probably going to be born with a fixation for all things Ginger and if he has red hair, it won’t surprise me a bit. LOL

I have been a little timid of making anything with Ginger though, but had to give these big soft cookies a try. The dough is beautiful, seriously. This creamy thick dough with the most amazing color. I could seriously paint my walls Ginger Cookie Dough. (Martha Stewart Paint needs to jump on that color). The smell is divine and they were so simple and came out perfect. Possibly one of my new favorite cookie recipes!

Soft Ginger Cookies
Slightly Adapted from AllRecipes.com

2 ¼ cups Self Rising Flour (If using AP add 1 tsp baking soda and ¼ tsp salt)
2 tsp ground ginger
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
¾ cup butter, softened (1 ½ sticks)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbs water
¼ cup molasses (spray your measuring cup with Cooking Spray before filling with molasses and they will come right out)
2 tbs white sugar (or holiday colored sanding sugar)

In a medium bowl combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and add water and molasses until creamy. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until blended and thick. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out dough and drop into remaining sugar (2 tbs or sanding sugar). Roll into balls coated in the sugar and place 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool slightly then finish cooling on wire rack.

May I have S'more Cookies Please?

I have recently come to appreciate the true value of a S’more. These perfect little tasty treats that are so simple in nature and a luscious bit of heaven on a Fall night sitting around a large fire. I have discovered a few new recipes to bring the taste of S’mores indoors in other sweet treats: cookies, blondies, brownies, icecream etc. Since I’m a Holiday Cookie Machine this year, I decided to give these little numbers a try. Note: DO NOT use a Williams Sonoma Stainless Steel Sheet to bake these on. DISASTER. A simple cookie sheet with sides works best. I would also recommend refridgerating the dough before baking and lightly greasing the cookie sheet. The good news is: even the cookie scraps peeled up from the WS sheet were tasty if less than pretty.


S’mores Cookies
1 ½ cups Self-Rising flour (if you use All purpose add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda)
1 cup Graham Cracker crumbs
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 sticks butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups miniature chocolate chips (I used regular which was too much so definitely go for the mini)
1 ½ cups mini marshmallows
2 Hershey bars, chopped (freeze then use a large chef’s nice for clean cuts)

Directions:
In a medium bowl combine flour, graham cracker crumbs and cinnamon and set aside. Cream butter and both sugars with vanilla until creamy. Add eggs on at a time while mixing. Slowly add in the flour mixture, beating until smooth. Stir in the chcocolate chips. (Refridgerate dough for an hour at this point).

Use a cookie scoop to drop onto cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes on 375. Add a few pieces of Hershey bar and 3-4 mini marshmallows onto each cookie (slightly pushing them into soft cookies. Return to oven to finish baking another 3-5 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Grilled or Baked? It's a CUPCAKE BURGER

These little boogers have been surfing the net for some time from Blog to Blog in various forms. I chose to incorporate items from three different sources and use my own recipes instead of boxed mixes (because I'm difficult like that). It's really not as complicated as it looks. Messy? yes, a bit.

But well worth it. These were a big hit at the Birthday party yesterday!

Recipes:
Buttermilk Cupcakes and Cream Cheese Icing (just eliminate the chocolate from this recipe for white icing)

Scratch Brownies

What you will need:
A Round Cookie Cutter
Gel Food Coloring
White Fondant
shredded or Flaked coconut

Bake cupcakes and brownies per directions. Cool overnight (or several hours). Make icing per instructions leaving out chocolate. Seperate icing into three bowls.

Lettuce=Shredded coconut, icing and green food coloring (add a little at a time until your color is the way you want).

Ketchup=icing plus a few drops of blue food coloring and quite a bit of red (to get a deeper red.

Mustard=yellow plus icing.

Cheese= Fondant kneeded with yellow, roll out on floured board to very thin and cut into small square.

Directions:
Cut cupcakes in half, pipe on some "lettuce", place a circle of brownie, pipe on "mustard", place fondant "cheese", pipe on "ketchup", and top with the cupcake top! TA DA! Easy Peasy.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

I had two lemons and an extra container of Ricotta cheese leftover from Easter. What a perfect way to use both items but to create these light as air cakey cookies? The taste is fantastic and would actually make an excellent cake but because I can't leave well enough alone, instead of icing them, I cut them in strips and used them as "fries" to go with my Cupcake Burgers, so I don't really have a good picture for you.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies
(Inspired by Giada)
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups Self Rising flour
1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 container ricotta cheese
3 1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
Splash of Vanilla extract (maybe 1/4 tsp)
Sugar to dust

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar in KA Mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Add the ricotta, lemon juice and zest. Slowly incorporate the flour.

Spoon onto a greased cookie sheet (or mini muffin pan would work well too). Sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a preheated oven (375 degrees) for about 15 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

This recipe post has been a long time coming. Why you ask? Because I've been too busy making these decadent little darlings, to post. I've kept this recipe all to myself savoring the complete joy and utter bliss that are these concoctions. This by far, has to be one of my all time favorite sweet treats. The Orange Glaze I add is the PERFECT addition and I do not recommend you changing a thing. Seriously. Do not mess up my perfection. ;)

*Warning*-These little rascals have a tendency to jump into your mouth out of nowhere. I periodically wrangle them back into the cake plate but I find stowaways in my work bag, purse, plate and other obscene places (like stuffed into my cheeks) constantly. They are wiley little devils when it comes to disappearing into your tummy. Also, may cause eyes to roll back in your head, moaning and other embarrassing sounds to eminate from your body so be careful where you eat these.


Orange Chocolate Chip Scones
Ingredients:

2 cups Self Rising Flour
1/3 cup sugar
6 tbs cold unsalted butter diced
1 large egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
4-5 tsps orange zest (two oranges)
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
Juice from two oranges (about 3-4 tbs)
1/2 tsp grated orange zest (should be enough leftover from the two oranges)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the sugar and flour (till pea size chuncks or smaller). Whisk together the rest of your ingredients and then add them to the flour/sugar/butter mixture. combine with wood spoon. When just mixed together, turn out onto a floured surface and kneed gently until smooth. Press out into a 1/2 thick square. Cut into 12 wedges and place on greased baking sheet. Brush top with cream. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Cool on wire rack. Blend together Glaze ingredients. When scones are cool, pour glaze over the top and let harden. ENJOY!

Zucchini Almond Biscotti

I wanted a nice Southern Biscotti while the inlaws were in so I tried my hand at creating a soothing blend between a scrumptious zucchini bread and a flavorful almond biscotti. It turned out pretty well. Biscotti simply means twice baked so I started with a basic Zucchini bread recipe that is tried and true, but flavored it up with some slivered almonds and almond extract. Then cut it in slices and placed on parchment and rebaked on a low temp to remove the moisture. I think it got a little too done but it paired excellently with coffee. Enjoy! I think this would be perfect in the summer too with fresh zuchini to enjoy on a Saturday morning overlooking the garden with a cup of coffee. YUM!

Zucchini Almond Bread

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cups flour (self rising)
2tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 c. slivered almonds

Directions:
Beat together eggs, sugar, oil, zucchini. Slowly add in dry ingredients. Finish with your extracts and then fold in almonds. Bake in 13 x 9 greased pan for 1 hour at 350.

When it has cooled, turn loaf out and cut into biscotti strips. Place strips on parchment paper in oven at 200. Cook each side for about an hour to slowly remove moisture but do not burn. Keep an eye on them, you may choose to lower the heat or the cooking times if you like them a little less crispy on the inside.

Neiman Marcus Cookies

Has anyone NOT recieved the infamous email about the $250.00 cookie recipe? REALLY? Were you living under a rock during the last decade? Well, to make a long story short, a completely made up chain letter story went around with a cookie recipe that supposedly cost the originator $250.00. So to "get back" at the company she passed it along for free. If you want the full details and supposed history as according to snopes, go here.

I admit, I am gullible. I originally got the email back in the late 90's. I ofcourse rushed off to try this recipe to see if it was ALL THAT. Who woulda thunk it? It was a damn good recipe, that made a shiton of cookies. My family dove into a pile of cookies with wild abandon. I was baking and giving away cookies for weeks. Everyone wanted them. I was quite proud of myself. I had THE Neiman Marcus cookie recipe! I deserved a cookie (or a hundred).

Thanks to snopes and the World Wide Web, I now know its not a big deal. Despite that, I still make them. Every year, for Christmas. Despite the truth, I still call it the Neiman Marcus cookie recipe. And for those of you who were living under a rock, I will gladly post it here, since its already rampant around the internet and I haven't really changed much. It makes a great holiday treat during a holiday that is largely commercialized and rampant with greed, don't you think? Maybe I should start calling it Consumerism Cookie. Nah. It will always be THE Neiman Marcus cookie to me and hold fond memories, no matter where it originally came from.

Neiman Marcus Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups butter (room temp)
4 cups Self Rising flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and blend in blender to a fine powder)
24 oz. chocolate chips
1 8 oz. Hershey bar (grated)
4 eggs
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice and optional)
2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet..Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies supposedly but mine are always big so I actually get around 90.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

This Recipe was given to me by my sweet friend Beth (aka CrownedBee). I changed a few minor details mostly because of appearance and storage issues rather than taste. This created one of the most perfect little cookies I've ever seen with a very light flavor and soft texture. Thank you Beth. I love it!

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
1 8oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
1½ sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp peppermint extract
2½ cups Self-Rising Flour
4 squares unsweetened baking chocolates, melted
1 6oz pkg white baking chocolate

Preheat oven to 350°. Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar, vanilla and peppermint in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add flour and mix well. Blend in unsweetened chocolate. I actually slightly melted the white chocolate and bakers chocolate in the microwave before hand and mixed both into the batter. Place batter which will be a nice sticky ball onto Plastic Wrap. Wrap tightly and place in fridge for 30 minutes.


Shape tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, place on greased baking sheet, and flatten with the flat bottom of a glass or press down with your fingers or the palm of your hand.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. For a more decorative cookie you can save the white chocolate and do what Beth's recipe tells you: Microwave white chocolates as directed on package, drizzle over cookies. Let stand until chocolate is firm.

Epic Failures: Sandra Lee and my Pumpkin Tenders

This is a quote from Anthony Bourdain on Sandra Lee:

"She makes her audience feel good about themselves. You watch her on that show and you think, "I can do that. That's not intimidating." All you have to do is waddle into the kitchen, open a can of crap and spread it on some other crap that you bought at the supermarket. And then you've done something really special. The most terrifying thing I've seen is her making a Kwanzaa cake. Watch that clip and tell me your eyeballs don't burst into flames. It's a war crime on television. You'll scream."

This quote made my day. Thank you Valentine for finding it. For some unexplainable reason, this woman grates on my nerves more than an orange zester in Florida on Thanksgiving. Her booze soaked show is an insult to those who actually LIKE to cook. Opening cans and slapping some ugly pastel frosting in a ziplock bag does not equal COOKING. You think I'm kidding? The proof is in the pudding (aka Youtube).

Having said that, I must admit that the best cooks have failures. Things don't always come together working from scratch. Which is something Sandra Box-A-Lots-LEE will never understand. It's really hard to mess something up when you are dumping it from a box and adding water. Take cooking classes from EASY BAKE OVEN does not qualify you for your own Food Network show (there is a conspiracy here, I'm sure of it. BJ Queen anyone?)Sorry MOM, I know you like her and my rudeness is in no way a reflection of your upbringing. I learned it all on my own. *wink*

I also must admit that even I have failures in the kitchen. GASP. That hurt to admit. LOL My attempt at Pumpkin Cookies did not turn out well. They came out little pumpkin Cake blobs. Nice taste. Terrible texture for a cookie. Lumpy Pancakes would be a better description. They were also resembling Chicken tenders which does not bode well for their aesthetic appeal. Fortunately, the guys at work whom I adore dearly and are always ready to be my guinea pigs, scarfed them down. (I think they were truly afraid to offend me in case I didn't bring more goodies...its okay..I know ya'll are bald faced liars and I love you for it.) They did however get dubbed "Pumpkin Tenders". Sigh. Back to the drawing board. Here is the recipe for those of you brave enough to try altering it to get a better version. Happy Experimenting!

Pumpkin Tenders (okay okay Cookie Blobs if you prefer)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tbs maple syrup
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups self-rising flour (or all purpose flour plus 1tsp baking soda)
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

Directions:
IN a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in honey, syrup and egg. Stir in pumpkin. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir flour misture into the creamed misture. Add the milk.

Drop dough onto greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for about 10-12 minutes. Do not overcook because bottom will burn, so watch them closely to get the timing. Cool on sheets for a minute or two then move to cooling racks.

Maple Brown Sugar Cookies

After a very stressful evening, I jumped into my kitchen to experiment with some new recipes I'm toying with. I want a variety of cookies in my Holiday Tins this year and after much taste testing by my co-workers (such a hard life they lead around me) I think it is unanimous that this cookie should make it into the line-up. ENJOY!

Maple Brown Sugar Cookies

2 cups flour ( I use Self Rising which alleviates the need for the next two ingredients)

1 1/2 teaspoons bakingpowder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons real maple syrup

1 egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoonful of cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside. Sitr together the 2 tablespoons cinnamon, and 1/2 cup brown sugar and set aside.

Cream the butter and shortening. Add the sugar and the syrup and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Mix in the dry ingredients.

Roll into 1" balls and roll the balls in the brown sugar/ cinnamon mixture. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake for approx. 10-12 minutes. Cookies should soft (almost underdone) when you take them out to give them a nice crisp outside and slightly chewy inside. Makes about 30 cookies.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:
1 Cup Chunky Peanut Butter
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 Large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Directions: Mix together ingredients until a nice sticky dough has formed. Chill for 30 minutes in refridgerator (covered in plastic). Use a rounded tablespoon to scoop out 1 inch balls and place on ungreased pan ( I use a pizza stone). Press gently with the palm of your hands. You can also do the hatch marks with a fork (press tines flat on top of cookie) but with Flourless PB cookies they don't really show up. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

What is more perfect then a chocolate chip cookie? Not much. It's simple, it's sweet, crunchy, chewy, warm or cold, and above all comforting. Sweet memories of childhood, indulgent and above all: SIMPLE. Simply perfect chocolate chip cookies. I really felt like baking today but at the same time I didn't want to go all out since I have to make a Cheesecake tomorrow. Answer? Chocolate chip cookies and I have everything on hand to make them. PERFECT. Now to be honest, I have never made a simple chocolate chip cookie home made before! It's a crime I know, but what can I say? When I make cookies its usually the big batch of Christmas cookies which have tons of stuff in them and are delish and yummy...but I wanted simple. After doing a little research on recipes (I know, that took the simplicity out of it) I found that most recipes were adapted from the original TOLLHOUSE recipe so I decided to take that basic recipe and tweak it just a tad bit. Did I make the ultimate chocolate chip cookie?? Maybe, maybe not. I don't think it is the ULTIMATE chocolate chip cookie, but it is pretty darn good, if I do say so myself!!

Simply Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups SELF-RISING flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats (blended to a powder)

2 sticks butter (melted)

3/4 cup light brown sugar (mixed in with butter as it melts)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1tbs vanilla

2 eggs

14oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips

1 cup coconut flakes (blended to make them finer) This is Optional and can also be substituted with one cup of chopped nuts.

Directions:

Beat Butter, vanilla and sugars in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add in flour and oatmeal. Scrape down sides and continue to mix. Add in coconut and chocolate chips.

Chill dough. Drop by spoonfuls (rounded tablespoon works great) or little 1 inche balls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated over at 375 degrees for 20 minutes =/- until golden brown. Let stand atleast 2 minutes: remove to wire racks to cool.