White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

This was another recipe that came across my Facebook news feed and I thought they looked absolutely delightful.  I recently purchased a big bag of dried cranberries from some local Mennonites and have been wondering what I was going to do with them.  This was just the perfect recipe to throw some in to!  One of the things I loved the most about this recipe was that you didn't need two bowls like you often do when you make cookies, it all got thrown into my kitchen-aid. 
I baked these for our local group of missionaries, I hope they enjoy them.  I'd like to say I tasted them but my husband greedily took the one I had left for myself with him when he went to work.  I will have to make another batch soon and take better pictures and stash a few for myself!

 

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Original recipe found here:

Ingredients

• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp ground ginger
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup (5 oz) dried cranberries
• 1 (12-oz) bag white chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with an electric mixer) combine sugars and butter. Beat ingredients until they are light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Leave mixer on and add eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, salt and slowly sprinkle baking soda in. Once ingredients are well combined, turn mixer to low and add flour. Mix until just combined. Add dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Mix to combine (or fold in if you prefer).
3. Using a 1 tablespoon scooper or heaping teaspoon full drop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets.
4. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cookies

I felt all sorts of creative taking this picture!

One of my guilty pleasures is reading People Magazine weekly.  They always have some type of recipe in there and I always admire them but rarely try them.  They had this recipe in there by Chef Kathleen King and it looked so yummy, I just had to try it out for a cookie exchange/surprise birthday party I attended last night.  These cookies were easy to make and quite tasty.  Daniel really liked the little crunch from the candy canes mixed with the chocolate.


Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons flour (I used all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 lb (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon water
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint chips (I used candy canes I crushed in a food processor)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Beat butter, sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer on high about 1 minute.  Beat in eggs, followed by vanilla and water.  On low speed, mix in flour just combined.  Mix in chips and crushed candy.

Using about 2 tablespoons per cookies, drop dough 3 inches apart.  Bake until cookies are golden brown...about 20 minutes.  Cool 5 minutes.  Transfer to rack; cook completely.  Repeat with remaining dough on cool sheets.

Makes about 42 cookies.

Old Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Old Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup pumpkin
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets.
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle glaze over cookies.

Glaze:
combine 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla in small bowl until smooth.

Applesauce Cookies

I have an FRG bake sale today. I wanted to take something different but delicious. Yesterday I spent a good part of the morning making homemade applesauce so I went in search of recipes using applesauce and came across this one. I've already made them this morning and they are AWESOME! (I feel very accomplished by the way, it's only 6:43 a.m. here and I've already baked cookies!) As you will be able to see I did not edit the pictures in any way so they are dark and poor quality...that's the reality of point and shoot digital camera!

Applesauce Cookies
(recipe found online here)

This cookies recipe calls for a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour for a more wholesome cookie but you can use all all-purpose or all whole wheat if you prefer. To make these extra special, spread the tops of them with the brown butter icing recipe provided.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup applesauce (I used some of my homemade applesauce...it's the little things that make me happy)

1. Preheat your oven to 375F degrees. Use an ungreased cookie sheet to bake your cookies.
2. In a medium size bowl whisk the flours, spices, baking soda, and salt until well blended and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
4. Beat in the egg and applesauce then stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
5. Drop cookie dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake until no indentation remains when touched and light golden brown around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack with a spatula.
7. Ice cookies if desired. (I did not ice cookies today because I am putting the cookies in plastic baggies for the bake sale. Icing + baggie = big mess!)
   

Recipe source: Betty Crocker's Cookie Book (1985)

Icing for Applesauce Cookies

In a small saucepan heat 1/4 cup butter over medium heat until the butter turns a light golden brown. Remove from the heat and stir in 2 cups confectioners sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk until smooth and desired consistency is achieved. Ice cool applesauce cookies.

Banana Bread Cookies

Last year sometime I found myself with an abundance of over-ripe bananas. I didn't want to throw them away and while I will freeze many things I do not like freezing over-ripe bananas...I'm just weird that way. So I did what I always do and went on a search for banana recipes. I came across this recipe and it has been a hit ever since! My family loves these cookies (when I share, which I will not be doing today since these are headed to a bake sale!)

Banana Bread Cookies
(Recipe originally found here)
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (if you are really cool, I'll use my Mexican vanilla but this is just for a bake sale so extract it is!)
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 3 ripe bananas, mashed
* 2 cups rolled oats
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I really just use whatever chocolate chips I have, which happened to be milk chocolate yesterday)

(Don't those bananas look gross? But when they look like that, they make the best banana bread and the best banana bread cookies! Some people freeze them when they look like this until they are ready to use them but black bananas in my freezer gross me out!)

In the bowl of your mixer cream together the butter and sugars until creamy.

Beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. (Random fact: Growing up, I always wanted stainless steel bowls like I saw on the cooking shows. I always thought that to be a real cook/baker you had to have stainless steel bowls, so one of the first things I bought when I got married was a set of stainless steel bowls. I don't feel like I'm really baking if I'm not mixing it up in the steel bowls!)

Add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
Mix in the mashed bananas, oats, and chocolate chips until well incorporated. Drop by rounded spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack.

Cookie Apple Cobbler

I love this simple recipe! It's a family favorite and so easy. I was introduced to this by my friend Heather who was my neighbor at Fort Riley. She made it for a party she had at her house and I was hooked! I love how simple it is and how yummy. You can certainly use whatever type of apple you want but I love the tartness and firmness of a Granny Smith. If you have a wonderful sugar cookie recipe you can use that or use refrigerated or even the package stuff. Seriously, whatever makes you happy! It all depends on my time and my mood as to what I use on any given day.


Cookie Apple Cobbler

6 cups apples (peeled, cored, sliced)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon All-spice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 package sugar cookie dough or your favorite sugar cookie recipe

Topping: 2 tablespoons sugar - 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine apples with brown sugar, flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, all-spice and lemon juice. Place into baking dish. Spoon cookie dough over apple mixture.

Combing topping and sprinkle over cookie dough. Cook 35-45 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Serve alone or with ice cream!

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

These are probably my favorite cookies ever, I seriously have no self control when these cookies are in my house which is why I do not make them very often!

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 stick butter
1/2 cup plain or chunky peanut butter
4 Tbsp cocoa
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 tsp vanilla

Boil: sugar, milk, butter and cocoa for 1 1/2 minutes (start timing when mixture comes to a full boil). Remove from heat.

Add: peanut butter, oats and vanilla. Mix until well blended.

Drop by teaspoon (or however big you want them) onto waxed paper and let cool

Chocolate Chip & Bacon Cookies

I know, it sounds crazy and I'm not going to lie, I didn't eat them. My husband however really likes them! He watches a little too much Food Network I think. That combined with high school buddies who think it's awesome to come up with unique ways to eat pork products leaves for trying out interesting recipes.

He has thought about this for years and I've had the recipe printed for a while. I pulled it off a random website that seems to no longer exist. There are lots of other variations out there, but this is what we made today.

Chocolate Chip & Bacon Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (sometimes I like using almond extract)
  
• 1 1/8 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips (you can use any type but using dark offers a nice tasty blend)
  
• 5 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled (don't use thick bacon, make sure you crisp it (even crispier than what mine looks like and pat as much grease off as you can)
  

Cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir in the chocolate and bacon. Scoop dough onto a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Cake Mix Cookies

(White Cake Mix with Sprinkles)

I first heard of Cake Mix Cookies back when Daniel was a baby and we were on WIC. Each month they would give out recipe cards and this was one of them, I still have it in my recipe box. These cookies are so easy and so yummy. They even have them in the Bear Scout book as a recipe for the boy to make. These cookies come out so soft, chewy and so good. Whenever we take them anywhere, they are always a hit with few crumbs left behind.

You can use whatever kind of cake mix and add-ins you like. Some of our favorite combinations are Devil's Food with mint chips, White Cake with sprinkles, Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting, Chocolate with toffee chips. Oh yeah, the possibilities are endless!

Cake Mix Cookies

1 package of cake mix (any flavor)
1 large egg
1/4 cup of oil
1/4 cup of water
1 cup of chopped nuts, raisins, oatmeal, coconut, chocolate chips, M&M'S® etc. (anything you like in cookies)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine cake mix, egg, oil, and water. Beat until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredient(s).

Drop by teaspoon about 1 inch apart onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes or until done.

My oldest son made Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies tonight

My youngest was the taste tester

The thumbs up!!

This one is about to go in my mouth!