Phew! Thanks for bearing with me, y’all! Now that my site’s up and running again (*ahem* 3 days later…), I’ll share a delicious treat with you! A delicious Oreo-studded treat! Yeah, I’ll admit it. I’m an Oreo-holic. Most times, I’ll pick up a package of Oreos with the hopes of using them in some brilliant baked treat, but they never make it to the oven. I can’t resist. I’ll eat every last one of them before even getting anywhere close to baking with them. It’s a sickness.
I’ve seen these cookies floating around lately and have been meaning to try them for weeks now but….well, you know my situation (see above). Finally, I gathered up enough will power to resist eating them long enough to bake these amazing cookies. OMG, I’m in love! I used my beloved King Arthur Flour drop cookies recipe and simply stirred in a hearty amount of chopped Oreos….you MUST make these. Chewy like a sugar cookie, but filled with crunchy bits of Oreos- these are heavenly. I can’t wait to make them again. If I can keep my hands off the Oreos long enough……
Cookies and Cream Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups Oreos, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line with parchment. Beat together the butter, sugars, salt, vanilla, baking soda, and baking powder until well combined. Add the egg, beating until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat again until smooth.
Add the flour, mixing it in completely. Stir in the milk, then carefully stir in the Oreos.
Drop the cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. A cookie scoop works well here.
Bake the cookies for 11 to 15 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown, and a bit darker around the edges.
Remove from the oven, and cool right on the baking sheets.
Recipe source: inspired by Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, drop cookie recipe from King Arthur Flour
Let me ask you a question: what, exactly, makes a recipe “cowboy” or “Texan”?? This has always mystified me. I mean, who first decided to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and call them “cowboy cookies”? I just don’t get it. Oh well. That doesn’t keep these cookies from being totally scrumptious (I was going to just call them “oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts”, but I’m pretty sure cookies with all these ingredients are usually called cowboy cookies). I’ve been craving a crisp, slightly chewy oatmeal cookie with lots of texture- now, I firmly believe I have the BEST recipe for good ‘ol chewy, comforting oatmeal cookies, so I decided to doctor them up a little to achieve my desired texture. Want to know what I added? Crushed up graham crackers. It added just the right amount of texture, as well as a slightly toasty flavor. I absolutely loved it.
These turned out chewy, but nice and crisp around the edges. As always, I toasted my coconut, oats and nuts for an added crunchiness. What a cookie. Luckily, I had tons of leftover dough, so I can’t wait to take these to all my opera friends (yes, it’s that time again- opera season has begun so all my singer friends are eager to resume their roles as my cookie-tasting guinea pigs). I have a feeling these will go over quite well! You’ve got to give these a try if you’re looking for a good oatmeal cookie- they’re something special!
Cowboy Cookies
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softenend
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oats, coconut and walnuts and spread on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until the coconut becomes fragrant, stirring occasionally. Let cool. Combine flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, half and half and vanilla and blend until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour mixture, then toasted oat mixture and chocolate chips. Drop dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper in rounded spoonfuls (or you can use a cookie scoop) about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 12-14 minutes until edges of cookies are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack for cooling.
Recipe Source: Sing For Your Supper original, heavily adapted from my recipe for Toasted Oatmeal Cookies with Golden Raisins, Coconut and Pecans
Every once in awhile, a dessert comes along that you can’t stop daydreaming about. You think about it while lying in bed trying to sleep, you think about it when you’re having a rough day, maybe you even think about it while you’re in the middle of giving a voice lesson (ahem…not me, of course…). I mean, who can resist a warm, gooey cookie with ice cream on top? Not me. NOT me.
A couple of months back, I posted an excellent recipe for peanut butter cookies; after I made the initial batch, I safely tucked the extra dough away in the freezer for safe-keeping. The other night, in the midst of a warm-gooey-chocolaty craving emergency, I made these beauties. Peanut butter cookie dough, baked in a ramekin until just barely cooked (even a little gooey on the inside), then topped with chocolate chips and a big scoop of ice cream. Pretty much the best thing I’ve put in my mouth in a long time! I simply cannot resist warm gooey cookie dough, so this was an absolutely heavenly treat for me. Joel loved it too!
Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cookie Cups
peanut butter cookie dough (homemade or store-bought)
chocolate chips
ice cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 2 1/2-3 inch ramekins (muffin cups would also work if you don’t have ramekins).
Fill the ramekins 3/4 full with the cookie dough (slightly packed). Bake for 10-12 minutes, until just beginning to brown on the outside, but still slightly undercooked on the inside (feel free to bake a little longer if you don’t like it too gooey).
Top immediately with chocolate chips (as much as you’d like) and allow to melt slightly.
Top with ice cream and serve with a spoon. Perfect for late-night cravings and sweet tooth emergencies.
Recipe source: Sing For Your Supper original
Mmmm….gooey peanut butter cookie…….
Spring is just around the corner, and lately we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a few gorgeous, Spring days a little early. Which, naturally means I’m dying to get in my kitchen and whip up something with fresh, bright, lemony flavors. A couple of weeks ago, the weather was absolutely gorgeous- warm, sunny and breezy- so Joel and I decided to go on a picnic. He made us some sandwiches, and I whipped up some pasta salad and these tart, crunchy lemon cookies. They turned out to be the perfect picnic treat! We sat and munched on our cookies and soaked up the sun while Izzy chased a tennis ball around – it was an absolutely beautiful afternoon.
My two cuties!
We really must go on more picnics!
Lemon Snowball Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
confectioners’ sugar
In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and egg until well blended. Add lemon juice, peel and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned (cookies will not brown on top).
Transfer immediately to wire racks and cool for 5 minutes, then roll in confectioners’ sugar.
Recipe source: allrecipes.com
Are you ready for a chocolate explosion in your mouth?! These big, fat, gooey, chocolaty cookies are just that- an explosion of chocolate awesomeness. Annie posted these awhile back and I immediately thought, “oh, please let me have all the ingredients to make these cookies!” Sure enough, these are the BEST kind of cookies- the kind that require very few ingredients, all of which you most likely already have in your pantry/fridge! I LOVE cookies like that! The dough takes no time to throw together (and tastes AMAZING- seriously. I’m not a huge raw cookie dough eater, but this dough was irresistible!), and the cookies themselves are just melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I highly recommend these – they’ll satisfy any emergency chocolate craving in less than 20 minutes, and they’d also be wonderful for parties, get-togethers or after school snacks. Or co-workers. Mine couldn’t leave these alone; we all kept taking turns microwaving ours for a few seconds for optimum gooeyness. That’s a must, by the way. These cookies are best when warm- WITH milk!
Thanks to Joel for his wonderful hand modeling skills. Nobody can hold a cookie like he can. 🙂
Giant Double Chocolate Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350˚. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Blend in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in the cocoa powder until well blended. Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the bowl and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead briefly by hand to be sure the ingredients are well combined.
Divide the dough into 4 ounce portions (or divide into 12 equal pieces). Roll each portion of dough into a ball and flatten just slightly into a disc. Place on the prepared baking sheets, a few inches apart. Bake 16-20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 12 very large cookies.
Recipe source: Annie’s Eats; originally seen on My Baking Addiction, inspired by Levain Bakery
Joel, our friends, my parents, grandparents, co-workers, neighbors, brother-in-law, opera friends….these are all the people who claim these to be their all-time favorite chocolate chip cookies. That’s not something to be taken lightly. These cookies have been hastily featured on here before, but they most certainly did NOT receive the full respect and attention they deserve. Now, I know I’ve definitely made my fair share of chocolate chip cookies through the years, but just bare with me while I share just one more (for now!)- the BFCCCCs (Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies). I’ve honestly never made these for anyone who didn’t immediately say they were the best they’ve ever had, and I’ve made these a floppity-gillion times. That’s big. For me, it’s sort of a toss-up (and also depends largely on what mood I’m in) between these and the famous NY Times chocolate chip cookies. But for whatever reason, when I make chocolate chip cookies, it’s usually these. 🙂 I realize the cookies in my pictures are not exactly “big and fat”- I prefer my cookies on the smaller side, so I always use a standard cookie scoop instead of the heaping 1/4 cup-size scoop it calls for.
You see that? That’s heaven in cookie form, right there! There’s not much better in life than a warm chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk. Honestly. Now, I can’t actually tell you where this original recipe started. It bares a striking resemblance to the Cook’s Illustrated recipe, but with a few minor changes; yet the original recipe I first found was from allrecipes.com. Who knows. What I do know is, it’s delicious.
Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.
Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly golden (If you’re making smaller cookies like mine, bake them for about 10 minutes). Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Makes approximately 12-14 very large cookies or 36 smaller cookies.
Recipe source: allrecipes.com
I have my friend Kim to thank for these cookies. You see, I had not prepared adequately for the great “Snowpocalypse” we had a couple of weeks ago and….ran out of butter. It was horrible. Being snowed in your house for 4 days without any butter?! A nightmare!! However, I whined enough about it on my facebook page that a nearby friend, Kim, came to my rescue. She brought me FOUR boxes of butter, y’all. FOUR. I was so happy I immediately got in my kitchen and made these cookies. They look good, huh? Well they ARE!
I got the recipe from the lovely Darla of Bakingdom not too long ago and it was the very first thing I turned to when I finally got some butter! I’m so glad, too! These were really fun to make- a little more involved than average cookies, which I thought was a nice change of pace. The cookie itself is crumbly and buttery and just loaded with warm, spicy cinnamon; but the icing is what pushes these cookies over the top. It has espresso powder, so it’s got a wonderful coffee flavor which I just LOVE! These were such a treat on a cold day with a hot cup of coffee- I can’t wait to make them again!
Cinnamon Roll Cookies
For the cookies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
1/4, plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
For the icing:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
2-4 tablespoons milk
To make the cookies: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then add half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until thoroughly combined, scraping the bowl as needed. Scrape the dough into a ball in the center of the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes, or the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Once the dough is chilled, divide it into two equal halves. Place one half back in the bowl and put it back in the refrigerator for now. On a large piece of plastic wrap, pat the first half of the dough into a rectangle about nine inches by twelve inches, and about half an inch thick. Place half of butter on the dough and spread it all the way to the edges. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar evenly over the buttered dough and press the sugar into the dough. Finally, sprinkle half of the cinnamon evenly over the dough. Use the plastic wrap to tightly roll the dough into a log. Place the log in the freezer for 30 minutes or the refrigerator for at least an hour. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough and filling ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with Silpat mats or parchment paper.
After the dough has chilled again, slice each log into half inch slices (about 24 per log). Place on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before icing.
To make the icing: In a medium bowl, combine the butter and instant espresso powder. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and whisk until it just comes together. Next, add the milk, one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. It should be thin enough to drizzle, but thicker than a glaze.
With the cookies on a wire cooling rack set over parchment paper, drizzle the icing over the them with your whisk. Allow the cookies to set up for a few minutes before stacking or storing.
Recipe source: Bakingdom
YIPPEE! Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and I can’t wait! I think Valentine’s Day is probably one of my very favorite holidays; it’s one we don’t have to stress over or share with family- it belongs to just the two of us and I LOVE that! We always have the most fun…just staying at home cooking together, sharing a few glasses of champagne…I look forward to it year round! This year, I’m almost afraid to tell you what we’re doing because I don’t want to jinx it! We’re…….making sushi. Together. At home. Yikes. This could be very, very interesting! Good thing I have a plan B (frozen pizza, anyone?)! 😉
(Don’t you just love how I took this great close up shot…….of the only two hearts that have gibberish on them?! *sigh* That’s what I get for buying cheap Valentine’s candy…)
Anyway, with Valentine’s Day being so special to us, I wanted to share a few Valentine-friendly recipes with all of you beforehand, in case you need some fun ideas for your sweetie! These adorable little cookie sandwiches are SO easy, but so pleasing to the eye and soooo delicious! Who can resist chewy chocolate chip cookies with pink buttercream sandwiched in the middle?! Not me! Or my hubby! I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and my old standby buttercream- what a great combination! Try these out this Valentine’s Day; your sweetheart will love them!
Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches
For the cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.
Scoop out cookie dough and roll into small 1-inch balls (a little smaller than the size of a walnut) onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 7-8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
For the buttercream:
1 stick butter, at room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of the milk, and the vanilla. On medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, and more milk as needed, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading or piping consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar or milk. Stir in any food coloring at this point, if desired. Refrigerate until needed.
To assemble:
Place your colored sprinkles in a shallow bowl or pie plate. When the cookies are cooled, either spread or pipe (I used a Wilton 2A round tip- you could also just use a ziploc bag with the tip cut off) a generous amount of frosting on the bottom of half the cookies. Place the remaining cookies on top and gently roll the sides in the sprinkles. Refrigerate until ready to serve. You’ll want to let them sit at out room temperature for at least 20-30 minutes before serving, so the cookies and frosting will soften a little. Enjoy! Makes approximately 25 sandwiches.
Recipe sources: cookies- allrecipes.com; buttercream- adapted from Magnolia Bakery
Whatever you decide to do for Valentine’s Day this year, I hope it’s extra sweet! xoxo
I told you I had something really sinful planned for those peanut butter cookies! Come on, you didn’t think me, of all people, would be able to leave those delicious peanut butter cookies alone, did you?! Of course not! I decided it would be a good idea to top them with gooey, sticky marshmallows and a healthy glob of chocolate. 🙂 Much better! I made all the cookies at the same time (the plain peanut butter ones and the chocolaty-marshmallowy ones), then sent them both to work with hubby the next day. He said the chocolaty ones disappeared before 10AM! Success! Even my own hubby, who doesn’t really care for sweets all that much couldn’t keep his hands off these! I gave it a lot of thought and decided to call these “Fluffernutter Chocolate Gobs”- it just felt right.
So, if you’re a fan of peanut butter + marshmallow + chocolate….these are your dream come true! Heck, if you’re a fan of ANY kind of sweets at all, these are your dream come true!
Fluffernutter Chocolate Gobs
-my own evil, delicious thought
1 batch of peanut butter cookie dough (recipe follows)
mini marshmallows
chocolate glaze (recipe follows)
Soft and Crumbly Peanut Butter Cookies
-adapted from allrecipes.com
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter and sugars for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla.
Gradually add in the flour mixture on low speed. Chill dough 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
Place by rounded spoonfuls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 7-9 minutes, until edges are very lightly browned (cookies will not spread much at all). Do not overbake.
*Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies
Chocolate Glaze
-my own recipe
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk, depending on how thick you want it
In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Remove from heat and add in the vanilla.
Slowly stir in the powdered sugar, gradually adding the milk as needed to get it to the desired consistency (you want it thin enough to drizzle, but thick enough that it won’t run all over- a little thicker than molasses).
To assemble the cookies:
As soon as the peanut butter cookies come out of the oven, place 3-4 mini marshmallows on the top of each cookie (you may need to flatten the cookies slightly with a spatula first). Place them back in the oven for 2-3 minutes, until the marshmallows are melted. Let cool completely.
When completely cooled, spoon a small amount of chocolate glaze over the top of each cookie. Glaze will set slightly upon cooling.
Earlier this week I had a craving for peanut butter cookies, which is odd, because I’m not the world’s biggest fan of peanut butter cookies. I think it’s the flat, slightly crunchy texture I’m not crazy about. And don’t get me started on those little fork prints in the tops! What if I want a peanut butter cookie WITHOUT fork prints?! Anyway, to satisfy my peanut butter cookie craving, I did a search for ‘soft peanut butter cookies’ on allrecipes.com and came out with this recipe. It’s different from any other peanut butter cookie I’ve ever had- really soft in the middle, yet slightly crumbly with an almost shortbread-like texture. Really, really delicious! I split my dough in half, used one half for plain peanut butter cookies, then used the other half for something else. Something….really sinful. But you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for those. 😉
Soft and Crumbly Peanut Butter Cookies
-adapted from allrecipes.com
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter and sugars for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla.
Gradually add in the flour mixture on low speed. Chill dough 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
Place by rounded spoonfuls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, until edges are very lightly browned (cookies will not spread much at all). Do not overbake.
*Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies
