Oatmeal (C)raisin Cookies

My husband loves all cookies and he thinks that I don't bake enough cookies for him. So when I saw this recipe that promises big crispy raisin oatmeal cookies that are soft-goey inside, I was sold! They were, in fact, as delicious as they looked!

Warning: this recipes makes EIGHT dozens, that's right... EIGHT dozens! If you have extra room in your freezer, this is a great recipe to keep handy for those days when you need a last minute dessert that will be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

Adapted from: Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook

Yield: 8 dozens

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 large egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup raisins -- I used craisins, since I was too lazy to go out and buy raisins

Preheat the oven to 325 deg F, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; stir in the coconut. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy; 3-4 minutes. Add the maple syrup and mix to combine. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until well-combined, about 1 minute, escaping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in two batches; mix until just combined. Add oats and raisins; mix until combined.

Shape 3-level tablespoon of dough at a time into 1½-inch balls (or use 2-inch ice cream scoop) and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

Let cookies cool on sheets for 2 min, then transfer parchment and cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at a room temperature for up to 4 days.

Snickerdoodles

I have been craving cookies for a couple of weeks now, and decided that I'd like to make these treats so I can enjoy them with coffee. They're perfect and light, and tasted even better the second day. I used Emeril's recipe but made some tweaks.

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp of cream tartar
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• a pinch of nutmeg
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cream of tartar and salt into a bowl.

With a handheld or standing mixer, beat together the shortening and butter. Add the 1 1/2 cups sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, combine well. Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.

Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll the dough, by hand, into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and line them up about 2-inch apart on a unlined cookie sheets. Bake until light brown, but still moist in the center, about 12 minutes.

Cool on a rack.

Yield: Approx. 3-4 dozens.

Chocolate Butterscotch-Chip Cookies

Regardless of how consistently gorgeous the weather was all throughout last week, we started getting warning for "storm & hail" on Friday night. We ended up getting a cloudy Saturday and I even had to put on my little spring coat when we went for our grocery run. In the up side, however, we thought that this was a perfect baking weather.

Red has been asking for some kind of cookies, plus we're heading to a friend's house for dinner. So we decided that we would try making these chocolate butterscotch chip cookies that I saw from an old Martha Stewart magazine.




We really enjoyed this recipe, but they turned out a little bit thinner than what I would normally like my chocolate chip cookies be. And the amount of butter can also be cut down. But the cookies in overall have great flavor from the combination of chocolate chip and butterscotch chips.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture all at once, and beat until just combined. Stir in chips.
3. Drop tablespoons of batter onto prepared baking sheets, two inches apart. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool on baking sheet, one minute, then transfer cookies to rack to cool slightly. Repeat until all batter has been used.

Shortbread Cookies

Red has been wanting to bake cookies for a while now. He loves cookies. He tells me that he prefers cookies over cakes. Or cakes. Yes, honey, I hear you! We thought about doing chocolate chip cookies, but chose this instead since I prefer non-chocolatey cookies. Yes, there you go, I admit it. I am probably one of the few women who don't have chocolate as weakness.

But I told Red that I'd eat shortbread cookies, or snickerdoodles--which I am sure that we will make in the future. So here we go! This Barefoot Contessa recipe hit our tummy in so many satisfying ways!

Ingredients

3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.

When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted.

Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.

Lime Meltaways

As the weather is turning seriously cold, nothing warms up our home more than baking!

Ingredients

Makes about 4-6 dozen ~ depending on the thickness

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• Grated zest of 2 limes
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.
3. Between two 8-by-12-inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Chill at least 1 hour.
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.
5. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks

Chocolate Chip Cookie Tart

Ingredients

Makes one 9-inch tart or pie plus about 1 dozen cookies

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips, (about 12 ounces)
• Vegetable-oil cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or a 9-inch pie tin with vegetable-oil cooking spray; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
2. Press 3 cups of this dough into prepared pan. Bake until edges are golden and center is almost set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes, and remove from pan. Bake remaining dough as cookies at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.