WINNER OF TODAY’S CONTEST - Bernadette Brown! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us! Email me at sara@sarahorn.com with your mailing address and I’ll send you a copy of My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife. Merry Christmas!
I may never pick up a mixer again. Seriously.
(Ok, maybe not that seriously. But I’m pretty sure the mixer will try to run away if I do.)
I have never in my life performed a baking marathon, but yet, Saturday morning, (and um, Saturday afternoon, and oh yes, Saturday evening) there I was in my (well, my mother-in-law’s) kitchen, BAKING!
Only problem I ran into was that my MIL is not a baker. (I think it’s because she does not like messes, and baking can get a little messy. At least when I’m doing it. Which is probably why I did it while she’s out of town.) There just aren’t a lot of baking things available. Such as a lot of baking pans. Or mixing bowls. Specifically BIG mixing bowls. Because for just one cookie alone, I knew I was going to make over a hundred (mainly because my son had already requested I bake some for his Christmas party at school). The few baking items I own (mainly big plastic mixing bowls I think I got from my mom) are in storage. And if you were to see our storage unit, you would totally understand that there’s no way I was getting a spoon out of there, let alone a bowl. So, I had to improvise. The cheap plastic storage containers you buy at the grocery store quickly became my friends.
All in all, it was a good day, and Caleb even helped off and on. The end result was this.
Now, before you think I am absolutely crazy, this was something I really wanted to do to send gifts to family and friends. The last several years, especially during our unemployment time, I just didn’t do this kind of thing. Made a lot of excuses. And this year, I still haven’t done Christmas cards (and probably won’t). But at least I have done cookies. So… these cookies are going to my dad, my brother and his fiancé, my husband’s aunt and family (and where my inlaws are at the moment), some are going to our church, I dropped some off at the school this morning, gave some to our friends yesterday at church… I call it Christmas Cheer by Cookie. God has taught me so much about the importance of relationships and while it’s a lesson I’m still learning, I am trying to actively try to put relationship before activity, and people over projects.
And so we have cookies. Baby steps, people.
Speaking of cookies… let’s get to our first cookie already!
The Whole Jar of Peanut Butter Cookie
My husband LOVES peanut butter cookies. For several years I’ve always tried to bake these for him at Christmas time. But not this recipe. The recipe I have is in a white binder that is (you guessed it) in storage. And so AllRecipe.com has become my recipe binder away from home.
I found this recipe and thought it sounded good, and it IS! Even better than the one I’ve been using, I think.
A couple of tips – I always use a fork to make the crisscrosses, and I dip it in sugar before I do, which seems to help the fork not stick to the dough, and then I go back and sprinkle a little more sugar on each one (Caleb likes to help with this part). I baked these at 12 minutes each batch and let them cool before transferring them to foil. I’m not a fan of crispy – I like cookies soft and chewy so I always tend to under-bake (I learned that lesson first from my friend Lisa in Nashville – she always seemed to make great cookies, and I finally figured out that was the secret).
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 (18 ounce) jar peanut butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped peanuts (NOTE: I left these out)
Directions
- In a large bowl, cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, yolks, and vanilla; mix until fluffy. Stir in peanut butter. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Finally, stir in the peanuts. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
- Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Place on the prepared cookie sheet and flatten slightly with a fork. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies should look dry on top. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to cool completely on a rack. These cookies taste great when slightly undercooked.
GIVEAWAY – So, don’t want to forget about the giveaway! Share your own favorite cookie recipes (peanut butter or otherwise!) and I’ll draw a winner tonight for a copy of my book, My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife!
TOMORROW’S COOKIE: Monster Cookies, a recipe I got from my friend Heather, who got it from her mom, who got it from Ms. Teri. Yes, one of those kind of recipes. Which usually make them really good.
Ok, my favorite all time Christmas cookie comes from my mom’s Georgia side of the family, filled with good cooks. We made over 100 of these this weekend to give as gifts and eat.
Classic M-n-M Cookies
(I got this recipe from my aunt, who may or may not have gotten it from Crisco many, many moons ago.)
1/2 cup shortening (Crisco sticks work best, but not butter flavored)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon water
1 egg
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup M-n-M’s
Using an electric mixer, blend Crisco and sugars in a large mixing bowl. Beat in vanilla, water & egg. Sift remaining dry ingredients together and STIR BY HAND into Crisco and sugar mixture. Stir in M-n-Ms.
Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes.
***I use baking stones and once I take them out of the oven, almost but not quite done, I let them sit on the stone for another 2 minutes before I take them off to the cooling rack.
***When you use the Pampered Chef cookie scoops you can get about 18 cookies with the medium scoop and about 3 dozen with the small scoop.
Yummified!!
O:)
Melissa
http://vanessasvalues.blogspot.com/2011/11/recipe-butterscotch-gingerbread-cookies.html
My favorite (and since they’re made with oatmeal, I say they count as a breakfast food too! LOL)
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
2 sticks of butter, softened (yes, I’m a Paula Deen fan, so BUTTER rather than margarine, but the other will work just fine)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups quick or old-fashioned, uncooked oatmeal
1 cup raisins
My tip for plump, juicy raisins: boil about 1 to 1-1/2 cup water. Remove from burner, add raisins and cover. When ready to use, drain and add to recipe.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well.
Combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix well.
Add flour mixture to wet ingredients. Mix well.
Stir in oats and raisins. Mix well.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.
Makes about 4 dozen.
I do what you do too, Sara. I slightly undercook mine so that they are soft & chewy rather than crispy. This recipe is most likely off the canister of Quaker Oats oatmeal (recycle the canister when you’re done – cover in pretty paper and it can be used to hold headbands around the outside and store other hair do-dads inside the canister!), I’ve been using this recipe a LONG time! Bon appetit!
This my allstar recipe. I get the biggest raves!! It’s kinda giving me a big head
.
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1/4 c light brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
2 sticks SALTED butter SOFTENED (NOT MELTED)
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
1 bag of chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375
Mix everything but flour until well mixed. Add in flour however you want. It gets very thick so I do it in stages. add in chocolate chips last.
Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet.
The actual recipe calls for them to cook for 9-11 minutes. I only cook them for 7 1/2 minutes. They are really soft. I barely let them brown. They are fabulous though.
Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Beat the butter until creamy, 2 minutes. Add the sugars, beat for 2 more minutes. Mix in the peanut butter and egg. Mix together the dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar butter mixture.
2 Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
3 Preheat oven to 375°F. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with a fork. Bake until light brown, 9 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute; transfer to rack to cool completely.
For chewier cookies, bake at 300°F for 15 minutes.
Yield: Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Chocolate Rolo Cookies
Ingredients
1 pkg devils food cake mix
1 egg
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Rolo candies, unwrapped
pecans, finely chopped
Directions
In a bowl, mix cake mix, egg, water and vegetable. Scoop mix by teaspoonful and roll into balls. Press one Rolo into the center of a cake ball and reshape the ball around the Rolo. Press top of ball into pecan pieces. Place uncoated side down on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
I am a slouch when it comes to cookies. I have trouble making them “rise”. Here are my candy cookies.
1) Buy a tube of refrigerated cookie dough. (You can mix and match cookie flavor and candy).
2) Mini muffin tin.
3) Miniature candy of your choice.
4) Spray muffin tin with Pam.
5) Cut cookie dough into 1 in. pieces and then quarters.
6) put a quarter of the dough into each muffin tin.
7) bake 350 8-9 minutes (until the dough begins to brown on top.
8) remove from oven and put a piece of candy into the center of each cookie.
9) Let cool and then remove from tin with a spoon.
For example – Chocolate chip cookie dough and hershey kisses.
These make you look really clever- so to speak. PLUS you get 4x’s as many cookies out of the roll of dough.
Easiest PB cookie ever! And I promise they are delicious!!
I cup of natural PB
I egg
I cup of sugar
Bake at 375 for 9 min
I know, I know seems too good to be true!
This recipe is for soda cracker cookies. Sounds nasty but one bite and you will be hooked!
3 egg whites 1 cup white sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 20 soda crackers, finely crushed 3 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts Directions 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F 2. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold in sugar, baking powd and pecans. Spoon mixture onto cookie sheet and. Bake for 20mins. Can be served with cool whip and fresh fruit or by its self
Our favorites are chocolate chip cookies. Plain jane chocolate chip cookies. I will be making them soon since it’s always Santa’s request.
Heat oven to 375
Combine until well blended
3/4 C Butter Crisco
1 1/4 C Brown Sugar
2 TBS Milk
1 TBS Vanilla
Beat one egg into mixture
Combine in separate bowl
1 3/4 C Flour
1 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
Mix into creamed mixture just until blended
Stir in 1 C Chocolate Chips
Drop rounded tablespoons on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 mins.
Yum.
This is my favorite and so easy!!!!
Peanut Butter Treats
1(8oz) cool whip
1(8oz) cream cheese
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
mix above ingredients together
Crust
2 tubes of peanut butter cookie dough
Cut dough and form into small balls. Place in mini muffin tins and bake according to directions. Approx 8-10 minutes. While cookies are still hot, press dough down while in muffin tin. Let cool and fill with above mixture.Refrigerate. Makes 36-40
Our favorite cookie is the graham cracker cookie:
Super easy.
preheat oven 350
Lay out plain graham crackers on a roll pan top with pecan (opt)
Melt together 1 stick of butter, 1 stick of margarine, and 1/2 cup of sugar
bowl for about 7 minutes, constantly stirring.
Pour over crackers and nut. Put into preheated oven. Bake for 10 minutes then viola!!!
Enjoy!!!
Merry Christmas!!
*boil
Hot Coco Cookies!!
Makes: 5 Dozen
Prep: 1 hr (Plus Chilling)
Bake: 1hr
1 Stick of butter (4 oz)
7 bars (3.5 oz. each) semisweet chocolate- 12 oz. chopped, 7.5 oz cut into 1inch squares and the rest for garnish
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened coco powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
30 marshmallows
1) In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chopped chocolate, stirring frequantly, over medium heat. Let cool for 15 minutes.
2) In a medium bowl, wisk together the flour, coco powder, baking power, and salt.
3) Using an electric mixer, beat the egg sugar, eggs and vanlla at low speed until smooth, 2 minutes. Mix in the cooled chocolate mixture just until blended. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing on low speed until just combined. Refridgerate the dough for at least an hour. (If making the dough a day ahead, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before shaping)
4) Position a rack in the upper third part of the oven; preheat 325*. line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment. using a tablespoon, scoop the dough and roll between your palms to form 1 inch balls. arrange about 16 balls 2 inches appart on each cookie sheet, flattening slightly. bake until the tops of the cookies crack, about 12 minutes.
5) Meanwhile, snip 8 marshmallows in half crosswise and stick 1 square of chocolate onto each of the cut sides.
6) remove the cookie sheets from the oven; gently press a marshmallow half, chocolate side down, into each cookie. bake until the marshmallows are just softened, about 4 minutes. transfer the pans to racks to cool for 5 minutes; grate the remaning chocolate over the hot cookies. using a spatula, transfer the cookies to the racks; let them cool. repeat process until dough is gone.
My kids and I love to make stuff together, but since they’re all different ages and our kitchen is small, simplicity is important to me!
One of my favorite cookie recipes to make is super easy and can still be changed up to fit individual taste!
All you need is:
1 cake mix (straight out of the box, still in powder form)
1 can of pumpkin (the smaller can, solid-pack)
Mix these two ingredients together, spoon on to a lightly greased cookie sheet, and bake @ 350 for somewhere between 8-12 minutes, depending on how big you make them and how well you like them done.
We like the spice cake mix for a more fall-like/holiday-like cookie, but we have used white mix, a variety of chocolate mixes (regular, german chocolate, devil’s food), and a yummy caramel cake mix. We’ve made them plain and we’ve also added chopped nuts, chocolate chips, white chips, hershey’s kisses in the middle, etc… We’ve also drizzled them with cream cheese and chocolate icing for some variety. They’re yummy & so super easy, even my 2 year old likes to help throw in the nuts or chocolate chips.
These are always a hit at our house.
No Bake Cookies
1 Stick margarine, melted
1/2 C milk
3 T. cocoa
2 C sugar
1/2 C peanut butter
1 Tsp. vanilla
3 C minute oats
Mix sugar and cocoa. Add milk and margarine. Boil approximately 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and oats. Mix well and spoon on plate.
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 TBL Milk
1 TSP Vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups Flour
1 TSP Baking Soda
1/2 TSP salt
Sugar
48 Hersey Kisses (unwrapped)
1. Heat oven to 375 degree F. Cream together Crisco, peanut butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat
2. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add creamed mixture. Beat on low until the dough firms.
3. Shape into 1″ balls and roll in sugar. Place 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Top each cookie with a chocolate, press down firmly so that the cookie cracks around the edge.
Remove cookies and enjoy!
My favorite!
Rolo Cookies
Alright,
I just recently found this recipe and it’s already my favorite!!! They are so easy to make and only 4 ingredients!!
1 box devils food cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 c oil
1 pkg of Rolos
Mix first three ingredients to make a dough. Take a small ball of dough and wrap around 1 rolo. Bake the balls of dough at 350 for 7-9 min. Viola!!
You can leave them in a ball form, or (what I did) you can lightly flatten them down to let cool.
Careful, they are extra gooey with all that melted chocolate an caramel on the inside!
Option:sprinkle with powdered sugar
Enjoy as much as we have!!!:)