cookies

More fun with Oreos – Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookie Bars

Do you have a favorite type of Oreo? Personally I like the ones that come out around Halloween time with the orange frosting. They don’t taste any different from the regular ones I don’t think, but for some reason the orange makes it easier to consume an entire package of them… I also like the double stuffed ones because there is nothing wrong with putting more of that mysterious frosting stuff in my mouth. I’m not really into the golden ones, or the uh oh oreos. I know there’s a myriad of other flavors such as mint, peanut butter, birthday cake, and cookie dough!? but I’ve never actually tried those ones. Let me know if any of them are worthwhile in the comments!

For these cookie bars I used double stuffed oreos. Like I’ve said countless times, you can never go wrong with double stuffed! From this endeavor I learned a few things about my new kitchen Including the fact that I have a pretty weak oven. These had to cook for nearly 40 minutes when the recipe I based them on only had them in for 25!

Also, because I don’t have an electric mixer I creamed the butter and sugar myself (cue your impressed faces at my powerful muscles) Either way they came out AMAZING and my sorority sisters devoured them at our chapter meeting!

CHOCOLATE CHIP OREO COOKIE BARS

The Ingredients:

BARS-
2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup salted butter
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cup flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 crushed oreos
1 cup chocolate chips

TOPPING-
2 crushed oreos
1/4 cup chocolate chips

The Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Soften the butter in the microwave then add to the brown sugar in a large bowl. Cream them together
3. Mix in eggs and vanilla
4. In a separate bowl mix together 1 cup of flour with the baking powder and salt
5. Pour the dry into the wet and mix together
6. Add in the rest of the flour
7. Fold in the oreos and chocolate chips
8. After baking for 15 minutes add the toppings and continue baking for another 10 to 20 minutes (depending on how useful your oven is)
9. ENJOY!

One final hurrah – Chocolate Sugar Cookies

I’m pretty much an expert on saying goodbye. At least three times a year I bid adieu to my home, my family, my boyfriend, and of course, my cat. Now it is once again time for me to pack up and head down to school in New Orleans. Once again, I must say goodbye. Missing my loved ones is not something I have an easy time with, and now I have added one more beloved item to my long list of things I will miss irrevocably. My mother’s beautiful Kitchenaid electric mixer! They all but had to drag me kicking and screaming away from that magical machine. Baking will never be simple again without it in my kitchen.

However, before I left it all behind in New Hampshire I made sure to get in one last chance to use it. I decided that whatever my last baked good in my mom’s kitchen was going to be needed to be my best yet. This way, no matter what disasters await me in my ill-equipped and dangerously tiny kitchen at school, I would have one final delicious memory.

For this special treat I decided to put a fun spin on an old classic. Plain sugar cookies are some of the most wonderful tasting morsels that we can experience on this earth, add chocolate to them? Well, forget about it! People were swooning for these cookies (myself included) and it will not be the final time that I make them. I made mine pretty big, because I was not settling for any bite sized cookies. You could probably get more cookies out of this recipe by rolling smaller balls of dough and shortening the baking time by a minute or so. I recommend making them jumbo though, you’re gonna want to eat a lot at once anyways! Besides the fact that these cookies simply tasted amazing, they also had that chewy and soft texture that just makes cookies perfect. Seriously, I can’t brag about myself enough with these cookies. You’ll just have to try them for yourself and see what I’m talking about!

CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES:

The Ingredients:
2 cups + 2 tbsp flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
2 ½ sticks unsalted butter
2 cups sugar, plus 1/2 cup
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

The Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together
3. Using a standing mixer (#BAE), cream the butter and 2 cups sugar together
4. Add the eggs and vanilla to butter and sugar
5. Add the flour mixture in slowly until it is all combined
6. Roll dough into balls and roll balls in sugar
7. Bake for ~12 minutes
8. Enjoy!

Gluten free goodies – Maple peanut butter cookies

I have to be honest with you all about something, I have absolutely no idea what gluten is. Nada. None. Zilch. I know that people with Celiacs can’t eat it, I know that it’s in pizza & beer, and i know that to get products without it costs you almost double your money. Beyond that, what exactly gluten is is a complete mystery to me. Once I found out it was in flour and that basically everything delicious in the world is made of it, I counted my lucky stars that I’m not intolerant of this mysterious compound. (Is compound the right word? Is it an element? who knows!?) However, two of my very good friends are. Intolerant, that is. In honor of them I decided to incorporate some flour-less baked goods into my repertoire. After doing a bit of searching around on the interwebs, I discovered that for flour-less baking to successful (and delicious), peanut butter needs to get involved. Okay you guys, I’m about to drop another bomb on you – I hate peanut butter. Fortunately, these cookies weren’t for me so I decided to go ahead and make them anyways regardless of my interests. I’m not the gluten-free one here, this project was not about my own desires!

Here’s the thing, I don’t own regular peanut butter. The only peanut butter that I have is Mighty Maple peanut butter from Peanut Butter & Co. While I hate regular PB, this company’s flavored stuff is much more tolerable and I can actually be found eating it from time to time. That’s the secret ingredient to this cookie – it’s what gives them the subtle (and wonderful) maple-y aftertaste.

The results of this gluten free adventure were wildly successful. The cookies didn’t last long at work, and people who didn’t even care about gluten free baking were munching down on these things like they were the best cookies in the world. (Actually, I was told that they might be!) Honestly, I think because I decided to go flour-less instead of using a replacement flour, these cookies are accessible to a number of crowds beyond just the gluten free folk. My only recommendation would be to double the recipe, otherwise the cookies won’t last long!

GF Maple Peanut Butter Cookies

The Ingredients:
1 cup maple peanut butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 egg

The Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Beat the maple peanut butter & sugar in a bowl, then mix in the baking powder and add the egg. Mix well until well combined
3. Roll the dough into small balls and place balls on a baking sheet (this is where I chose to make a pretty design on top of the cookies with a fork!)
4. Bake for 10 minutes
5. Enjoy!

Elevated simplicity – Bite Sized Oatmeal “Cookies”

Sometimes in the morning, my standard bowl of oatmeal just doesn’t seem creative enough. When I first heard of the magical 2-ingredient cookies I knew that it would be a fabulous base to transform my morning bowl of oatmeal into something even more spectacular.

The idea is simply mixing oatmeal and a banana together and baking them into “cookies”. (Fair warning: these are not really cookies, so I try not to think of them like that – no cookie should lack it’s necessary butter and sugar, that’s my golden rule) I don’t stop with the oatmeal and banana in this fun recipe, to make my little oatmeal bites I add in what I would to my usual bowl of oats! For this example I added cinnamon and raspberry. You could also add cocoa powder, chocolate chips, raisins (yuck), coconut, nuts, seeds – the combinations are endless! The greatest part about this breakfast is that it feels like you’re eating a plate of cookies for breakfast, but you’re getting all of the amazing nutrients of a regular bowl of oatmeal! I like to eat them accompanied with a glass of almond milk for added nutritional value to round out this cute, simple, and fun breakfast!

OATMEAL BREAKFAST COOKIES

The Ingredients:
1 banana
1/2 cup oats
Optional:
Desired mix-ins! (cinnamon berries, nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, nut butters, etc.)

The Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mush a banana into a bowl and mix in oats until thoroughly combined
3. Fold in any desired mix ins
4. Drop 6 circles of the “dough” onto a greased baking sheet
5. Bake for 14 minutes
6. Enjoy!

Gotta catch ’em all! – Pokeball Sugar Cookies

Nostalgia. That sentimental feeling of remembrance for a time long in the past. Recently I experienced a great wave of nostalgia when I decided to bake these Pokeball cookies. These adorable sugar cookies were not for me, they were for a friend of mine who absolutely LOVES Pokemon. He refuses to outgrow the little Japanese cartoon animals and so I decided to make these special treats for him.

While I was making these cookies, I couldn’t help but remember Pokemon’s place in my own childhood. Every Saturday morning I would jump out of bed at an hour that seems obscene to me now. I would run downstairs and search endlessly for the remote until I could turn on the television to my Saturday morning lineup. This always included Power Rangers, Recess, Doug, and of course, Pokemon! I watched all of my shows and waited for my mom to come downstairs and pour me my cereal (frosted mini wheats of course!) These memories all came rushing back to me during the course of this baking adventure. Oh how I wish my life was still that simple…

Anyways, these cookies were a gift for my friend, but I can imagine they would also be good for a Pokemon themed birthday party, or if you also simply want to relive the simpler times… The process to make these cookies is a bit more involved than usual, but each step is important to achieve that perfect taste and texture! They tasted lovely and my friend was overjoyed with his present!

POKEBALL SUGAR COOKIES

The Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp water

The Method:
1. In a large bowl, mix together sugar and butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla and 2 eggs until smooth
2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt till well blended
3. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture slowly one cup at a time to blend well. Once blended, take out half of the dough and set aside
4. To the remaining half, add red food coloring and mix until a deep red color is achieved
5. Cover both halves and chill dough for an hour
6. Once chilled, roll both into logs about the size you want your cookie
7. Place these logs into the freezer for about a half an hour
8. Make an egg wash by mixing one egg and water in a bowl
9. Cut each log down the middle, long side and match each red half with a white half
10. Paint the halves with the egg wash so they stick to each other and place back in freezer for 15 minutes
11. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
12. Take dough from freezer and cut into 1/2 inch thick cookies
13. Place cookies 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 6 to 8 minutes
14. Cool cookies completely then take out your black icing and draw a line down the center where the red and white dough tough. Then in the center of the line, make a dime size circle, fill it in and place a white chocolate chip in the center of the circle
15. Enjoy!

The ultimate cookie – Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

All throughout my childhood I HATED mint chocolate chip ice cream. I’m not sure why, perhaps it was the sickening green color or the bite of the mint flavoring – but I was simply not a fan. I always preferred the big chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough or the sweetness of strawberry cheesecake. However, as I grew up my tastes shifted and in my late teens I discovered a new found love for all things mint chocolate!

That’s why, when I stumbled upon this recipe idea I knew I simply had to try it! Mint chocolate chip cookies! What a treat! And I must say in all honesty that out of everything I have made so far, these cookies are one hundred percent my favorite. The recipe called for a lot of butter and less sugar than I was expecting. The result was an extremely creamy texture that makes you want to go back for seconds, thirds, and maybe even sevenths or eighths!

I probably accidentally used too much green food coloring and so my cookies came out EXTREMELY green – but that in no way effected the delicious sweet mint flavor (and it gave me a good idea for a St. Patricks day treat!)

I made 33 cookies with the recipe (probably would have made 36 if I could have stopped myself from eating the dough!) Less than 5 hours later there are only 10 left! My dad literally licked the bowl of dough clean.

I would say this was another enormous success.

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

The ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
green food coloring

The method:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, food color and peppermint extract; mix well.
5. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed.
6. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Drop by heaping tablespoons about 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
8. Bake 10 minutes

It’s a love affair – Dark Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

Sometimes I think that I might have an obsession with oatmeal. Okay, okay I know that I definitely have an obsession with oatmeal. So whenever someone asks me what my favorite kind of cookies are, there is no contest – oatmeal wins every time. While I was growing up my parents always made the cookie recipe from the one printed on top of the oatmeal box. Throughout the years I had slowly forgotten about that classic recipe. However, the other morning as I was making my morning oatmeal I caught a glimpse of the recipe from my past and knew immediately what my next baking adventure was going to be!

Making oatmeal cookies sounded like a lot of fun, but the recipe called for raisins and I am not a big fan of those. I am, however, a big fan of chocolate… so that’s what I decided to mix in instead! I went to the store to pick up some chocolate chips and was shocked at all the different types of baking chips that I could choose from! I picked up a bag of dark chocolate chips and some shredded coconut and decided to mix all of my favorite things together for some dark chocolate coconut oatmeal cookies!

This recipe was super fun to make, and it allowed me to use the hand beater for the very first time to mix up the dough. There is definitely a learning curve with that particular machine…

They might as well call this the “get dough absolutely everywhere but in the bowl” beater

Regardless of my struggle with the hand beater, the cookies came out AMAZING! The recipe made almost 5 dozen bite sized cookies and the whole batch lasted less than 12 hours! (AKA, this was yet another massive baking success)

DARK CHOCOLATE COCONUT OATMEAL COOKIES

The Ingredients:

14 tablespoons of butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup coconut

The Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In one bowl mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt
3. In a separate large bowl beat butter and sugars with hand beater until creamy
4. Add eggs and vanilla to butter/sugar mix and continue beating
5. Beat dry mix into wet mix
6. Add oats, chocolate chips, and coconut and mix together
7. Drop small balls of dough onto cookie sheet
8. Bake for 9 minutes one sheet at a time

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