Iced Lemon Cookies

One of my sons took a cooking class while in Jr. High.  Now he has a binder full of delicious recipes that I need to try out.  We really liked these cookies!!  They are simple with only a few ingredients.  I adapted the icing recipe a little for my taste....if you prefer, you can add less lemon extract and less milk to make a thicker icing.  I attempted to drizzle my icing on the cookies....and my attempt was not that great! :) ...but I was in a hurry and I'm not even close to a perfectionist, so it was good enough for me!

Iced Lemon Cookies

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil....or canola, I usually have canola

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

2 Tablespoons milk

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together cake mix, eggs and oil.  Drop by rounded teaspoons onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for no more than 8 minutes.  Do not over bake!

To make lemon icing:  Mix together powdered sugar, lemon extract and milk.  You can always add less or more milk or powdered sugar to get it to your desired consistency. 

Now....ice your cookies.  You can spread it on thick or 'drizzle' like I did.  BUT I'm sure you can do a much better job of drizzling :)



NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies - adapted

This past Sunday(every Sunday) we were craving chocolate cookies!!  I was out of shortening and coconut oil, so I couldn't make our regular favorites....here and here.  SO....we made these. 

They were YUMMY!!  Sorry I didn't get any better pictures!  It was late, the lighting was bad.....and my boys were eating these so fast I almost didn't get any pictures :)

Haha....SO I was getting ready to post this recipe....when I looked at the original recipe, I realized that I only used 1/2 cup of butter.  Totally just left the other half cup(2nd cube) of butter out.  We loved them without the extra butter.  SO this is the modified recipe.  If you want to make the original, just add another 1/2 cup of butter.

 NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies - adapted

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:  Preheat oven to 375° F.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

**I baked my first batch for 9 minutes and then the rest for only 8 minutes.
**Also, I never use a full 2 cups of chocolate chips....probably more like 1 3/4 cups.

 

No-Bake Peanut Butter Corn Flake Cookies

Am I the last person ever to make these cookies?  I have eaten these cookies many times, mostly when we get the chance to go to Utah to visit my family.  I love them, but have never made them.  Usually when I make no-bake cookies, I make these.  But....I will be making these more often now :)

 

No-Bake Peanut Butter Corn Flake Cookies

 

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter (I used creamy, but I'm sure crunchy would be delicious too)

6 cups corn flake cereal

 

Directions:  Measure corn flakes into a large bowl and set aside.  Combine corn syrup and sugar in a large sauce pan.  Bring to boil and remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter.  Add to the corn flakes and mix well.  Drop by tablespoons(I use my cookie scoop that is approximately 1 tablespoon) onto wax paper.  Allow cookies to cool and set-up for ~30 minutes.....enjoy!!  Store in an airtight container.

S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have you seen the S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies around the Internet?  I first saw them here on the Picky Palate a couple of years ago.  I planned to try them then, but forgot about them.

 

I saw them again the other day...so the boys and I decided to try them out yesterday.  I used my own favorite cookie dough recipe and then put them together the way that Jenny did.

It made 6 huge cookies...seriously at least 2-4 servings per cookie...depending on if you are feeding boys or mom ;)  They are rich and you definitely need some milk ready for these, but the boys LOVED them!! 

I only had a couple that looked pretty, where the filling was not coming out...but they were all still yummy!  A few looked like the one above, but most looked like the one below :)  Actually I kind like the look of the one below.

S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening, I use Crisco

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup instant oatmeal...to make them healthy ;)  I'm joking, I know that no amount of oatmeal could make these healthy.  I actually just like the texture the small amount of oatmeal adds.

~1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 Hershey Chocolate Bars, broken into rows of 3 bars

 6 large marshmallows, cut in half

2 graham crackers divided into 4 sections each

Directions:  Pre-heat oven to 350.  Mix shortening and both sugars until mixed together.  Beat in eggs.  Add vanilla, baking soda, and salt.  Mix until well combined, but not too long.  Add flour, oatmeal and chocolate chips.  Mix until combined.  

Layer a graham cracker quarter with 3 Hershey chocolate squares and 2 marshmallow halves.  Close with another graham cracker.  Top s’more with a large scoop of cookie dough.  Place in hands and place another large scoop on bottom then front and back sides as needed.  Form dough around s’mores.  This part will be mess :)  Place large cookies onto baking sheet and bake for 13-14 minutes or until edges are golden and centers are cooked through.  Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack or serving plate.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Mmmm....chocolate and peanut butter....I have nothing else to say, except....DELICIOUS!!

 Seriously Delicious!!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

recipe from my bag of Hershey Kisses :)

Ingredients:

• 48 Hershey's Kisses
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Additional granulated sugar

Directions:  Pre-heat oven to 375°F.  Remove wrappers from chocolates.  Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended.  Add 1/3 cup sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy.  Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well.  Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Immediately press a chocolate into center of each

cookie; cookie will crack around edges . Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.  Cool completely.

Makes about 48 cookies.

Or....if it is around Valentine's Day and you can get Reece's Peanut Butter Hearts, substitute the kisses for hearts.  Just be sure to let your cookie cool for ~10 minutes before you add the heart...or it will melt.

Best way to eat an Oreo(with a fork)...and snowman cookies

Happy New Year!! 

I hope you all had a great 2013!!  And a GREAT Christmas!!  We have had a WONDERFUL holiday week around here!!!

We made some YUMMY snowman cookies over the holidays!!  Mini chocolate chips for the eyes and mouth and a candy corn nose...SO simple, yet SO delicious!!

Sugar Cookie and Butter Cream Frosting Recipe

 and...we have been eating cookies :)  Awhile ago a friend told me something that has changed my life...she told me that someone told her to eat your Oreo with a fork.  Seriously brilliant.  It allows you to dip your entire Oreo without dipping your fingers :)  Thank you Marilyn ....and you are welcome internet friends :)

Halloween - Pumpkin Shaped Cookie

So...I didn't really know what to name this post.  I didn't want to say 'pumpkin sugar cookie' and make you think I had some wonderful sugar cookie recipe that included pumpkin in the ingredients.

SO..anyway....just wanted to share a quick easy pumpkin shaped sugar cookie....I used my FAVORITE sugar cookie recipe....with butter cream frosting, then just added a Kit Kat for the stem.

Chewy M&M Cookies

I asked my son what he wanted to take as a treat for his class to celebrate his birthday.....he requested M&M cookies.  I used found this recipe over at the Six Sisters' Stuff Blog.  They were really good.  I added mini chocolate chips for a little extra chocolate :)

Chewy M&M Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup butter(2 sticks), softened to room temperature

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups M&M's

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips(optional)

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix sugar, eggs, butter, and vanilla thoroughly.  Add flour, salt, and baking soda to creamed mixture.  Blend well.  Add 3/4 cup of M&M candies and mini chocolate chips.  Drop dough by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Slightly push a few candies on top of each dough ball with remaining candies.   Bake at 350 degrees for 9 to 11 minutes, or until slightly golden.

Chocolate Chocolate (or Peanut Butter) Chip Cookies

A good friend of mine gave me this recipe quite awhile ago.  I have made them quite a few times and was surprised to find that I had never posted the recipe.  The recipe calls for semi-sweet choc. chips.  While I was at the store the other day, they had Reece's Peanut Butter chips on sale....so I got them to try with this recipe. 

I bought extra cake mixes when I made Homemade Oreo's a few weeks back, so I was sure I had Devil's Food cake mixes.  haha...when I went to the get the cake mix, I realized that I had accidentally bought German Chocolate cake mixes....oops...I didn't want to go to the grocery store, so I just used the German Chocolate and it was still Delicious!!

These cookies are super YUMMY and EASY!!  You could make these with any type of 'chips', but I would definitely recommend trying peanut butter :)

Chocolate Chocolate (or Peanut Butter) Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Devils Food cake

1/3 cup water

4 Tablespoons melted butter

1 egg

1 1/4 cup semi-sweet choc. chips (or peanut butter, or whatever you like)

Directions:  Mix all ingredients together.  Bake for 8-10 minutes @ 350 degrees.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n' Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar

These brownies are SO good!  I found this recipe at Kevin & Amanda's blog.  These are very good and rich.  I would recommend having some milk or ice cream available when you eat these!! 

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n' Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar



Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 ounces) milk chocolate chips
1 pkg Double Stuffed Oreos
1 Family Size (9×13) Brownie mix
1/4 cup hot fudge topping

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well to thoroughly combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, then slowly incorporate into the mixer until the flour is just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish that’s been lined with wax paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Top with a layer of Oreos. Mix together brownie mix(according to directions on the box), adding an optional 1/4 cup of hot fudge topping to the mix. Pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 15-25 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting — brownies may still be gooey in the middle when still warm, but will set up perfectly once cooled. Enjoy!!

To half this recipe for an 8×8 brownie mix, simply half the chocolate chip cookie dough ingredients.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with a hint of coconut

So...the other day I started making my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I took out the shortening, and it was rancid...really....I just bought it a week or two earlier. ...and it didn't 'expire' until March 22 2013. I was MAD...I had only used it a couple of times and that stuff is not cheap.


....anyway, I had some coconut oil in the pantry that my Mother-in-law gave us. I decided to use that instead of the shortening. I don't know if I will ever go back to using shortening. These cookies are SO good!! Just a hint of the coconut taste. Even my 11 year old that hates coconut, LOVES these!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with a hint of coconut

(basically these cookies with coconut oil)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Cream together coconut oil, brown sugar and sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add salt, baking soda, and flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 9-10 minutes.

Fluffernutter Cookies

I found this recipe at The Picky Palate. I LOVE these cookies. They are SO simple and SO yummy. I really like the fact that they are not too sweet.

Fluffernutter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup marshmallow creme

1 egg

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix the peanut butter and egg until well combined with a spoon. Slowly stir in marshmallow creme until just combined. You want to see the marshmallow creme not fully incorporated, almost like swirled through. With a small-medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until baked through. Let cool for 5 minutes on a cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes approx. 18 cookies.

Valentines Cookies, Reece's Style

I found these cookies over at the blog, my name is snickerdoodle. She called them 'melt your heart cookies'. SO cute!

I just wanted to share these really quick and tell you to go check out my name is snickerdoodle (her picture is MUCH better than mine:)). I used a different peanut butter cookie recipe than she used for hers. These are basically the same as the Reece's mini-muffin cookies that I blogged about here.

Valentines Cookies, Reece's Style

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 2 T. milk
• 30-40 miniature Reece's Peanut Butter HEARTS

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda, set aside
3. Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
4. Using approx. 1 T of dough, shape into a ball, roll in sugar and place on a baking sheet.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 2 minutes. Press Reece's heart into the center of the cookie and allow to finish cooling.

Edited:  I now let my cookies cool for 9-10 minutes before adding the Reece's heart.  The Reece's hearts will melt, if you add them too soon.  In the first picture above, I let the cookies cool ~10 minutes.  The second picture was cooling for ~2 minutes.

Valentine's

I just finished making some homemade oreos for my kids to take to school for their teachers tomorrow. I colored the cream cheese frosting pink, made a cute tag(my opinion), and put them in a clear Chinese take out container. I thought about making some soft sour cream sugar cookies(seriously the BEST sugar cookies EVER!), but remembered I sent those at Christmas time:)

famous oatmeal cookies

I got this recipe from my MIL. We LOVE these cookies...they are definitely 'famous' at our house!! These cookies are SO good. Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

I'm sorry these pictures are SO bad. I actually get a headache if I look at them too long. I thought about making another batch to get a better picture, but decided I just can't eat another entire batch so soon. Yep, I don't have much will-power when it comes to oatmeal cookies....or any other cookies for that matter. So take a quick glance at the pictures and then go make some of these for yourself...or the entire family.....hmmm...maybe I will go make another batch.

famous oatmeal cookies

ingredients:

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 cups oats (I used quick-cooking oats)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. soda
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet choc. chips (optional)
• nuts (optional)

Directions: Cream shortening and sugars. Add egg, vanilla, and water. Mix flour, salt, and soda together. Add to creamed mixture. Add oats. Make into cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Rolo Cookies

If you are looking for a yummy cookie to share with friends and family this holiday season, try this one! These cookies are YUMMY! Just be sure to let them cool a bit before you bite into one. I had a friend in college that grabbed on right out of the oven and was burnt by the hot caramel inside.

Rolo Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine (I use butter)
• 2 eggs
• 2 t. vanilla
• 1 t baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 13 oz. bag of Rolos
• sugar (for rolling the pre-baked cookies in)

Directions: Blend sugar, brown sugar and butter together in a bowl. Add eggs and vanilla to sugar mixture and blend well. Sift together in a small bowl, flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and blend well. Take a spoonful of cookie dough and wrap around rolo. Roll into ball so that the rolo is completely covered with dough and roll in sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes. I rolled half of mine in regular sugar and half in Turbinado(sugar in the raw) sugar(leftover from the honey crystal almonds)....I really like the turbinado sugar. It makes them so pretty and gives them a little crunch on the outside.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cookies

I LOVE these cookies! Really I LOVE anything that is baked with pumpkin(except pumpkin pie). These cookies are super simple(3 ingredients) and really...they are super yummy!!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 Box Spice Cake Mix
• 1 15 oz. can pumpkin
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients together. Drop dough, by spoonfuls, onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.

Chocolate Mint 3 Musketeers Cookies

I was checking out at the grocery store the other day and noticed some new(at least I've never seen them before) 3 Musketeers Mint with Dark Chocolate bars. I decided to try them. They are YUMMY!! They remind me a lot of the York Mint Patties, but stiffer, make sense? Anyway, my son needed to bake some cookies for a scouting requirement, so we threw some of these candy bars into the mix. The end result is YUMMY!! My little guy couldn't wait for me to snap the picture to grab another one of these cookies:)

Chocolate Mint 3 Musketeers Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup Crisco shortening
• 2 t vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3 3 Musketeers Mint with Dark Chocolate bars(6 pieces, 2 per package)

Directions: Preheat oven to 375. Beat first 5 ingredients together. Mix the dry ingredients together, unless you are lazy like me. If you are lazy like me and don't want to dirty another bowl to mix the dry ingredients, turn your mixer on low and add dry ingredients one at a time. I only mix for a second with each dry ingredient so that I don't over mix it. I add the flour last and mix until everything is mixed in well. Add you candy bars. You can chop your candy bars first, but I just through them in and turn the mixer on high for a few seconds and that gets them all chopped up and mixed in. Take ~1 T of dough, roll it into a ball and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Now...ENJOY!

Easy Oatmeal-Caramel Bars

Wow!! Things have been crazy around here lately!! It seems like things are always CRAZY around here. Maybe I'm just crazy!! My allergies have been getting the best of me, but seem to FINALLY be letting up. I have never had allergies until last spring....ugh!! I have a lot more sympathy for my husband now! We have started our garden. That is always fun! We have carrots, peas, lettuce and spinach seeds in the ground. I am hoping to see some green coming up soon!

On to some yummy dessert! I found this recipe in my 'stash'. I'm not sure where it came from. I cut it from some magazine YEARS ago. The recipe calls for Pillsbury refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, but I used this cookie dough. These are yummy. I enjoyed them even more the next day:)

Easy Oatmeal-Caramel Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 roll(16.5 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated chocolate chip cookies or two cups of this
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats (I used old fashioned and they were still yummy)
• dash of salt, if desired
• 2/3 cup caramel topping
• 5 T all-purpose flour
• 1 t vanilla
• 3/4 cups chopped walnuts (I didn't use)
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, break up cookie dough. Stir or knead in oats and salt. Reserve 1/2 cup dough for topping; press remaining dough into an ungreased 9-inch square pan.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until dough puffs and appears dry. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together caramel topping, flour and vanilla until well blended. Sprinkle walnuts and chocolate chips evenly over crust; drizzle with caramel mixture. Crumble reserved 1/2 cup dough mixture over caramel.

Bake 20-25 minutes longer of until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen. Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store tightly covered.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

We love this recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I usually only get to bake a few cookies when I make this recipe because....we LOVE cookie dough at our house. This recipe is delicious, baked....or not:)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 1/2 t salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together sugar, brown sugar, shortening, eggs and vanilla. Add baking soda, salt and flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake @ 375 for approx. 10 minutes.