The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap - "Party" M&M Cookies

It's that time of year again... *drumroll please* ...............



Yes!  Food Blogger Cookie Swap time!!  I look forward to this every year.  I get some amazing cookies from some seriously good home bakers.  Not to mention doing some good work.  As always, in order to participate, you have to make a donation to Cookies for Kids Cancer which is matched by our brand partners.  This year, we raised an over an astounding SEVEN THOUSAND dollars!  Not bad for a bunch of folks making cookies.  And since I'm such a sharing and giving person (I hear all my friends out there laughing at me ;-) ), my husband and best friend also look forward to cookie swap time.  Because, let's be honest - no one can eat three dozen cookies, no matter how much you spread them out.  The amazingly good cookies I got this year were:

Chocolate Chunk Peppermint Pudding Cookies from The Secret Ingredient [is Love] - the husband's favorite
Toasted Pecan Crackles from Southern Kissed - my favorite
White Chocolate-Cranberry Cookies from My Heavenly Recipes - the bestie's favorite

Usually, I have narrowed down my potential cookies to send within a matter of days but this time, nope.  Not happenin'.  It took me WEEKS to figure out what to bake!  Which is so not like me.  (I blame my crazy, self-employed life.)  I finally settled on baking something from my childhood.  They say scent is one of the strongest ties to memories that you can have.  While I waiting for these babies to bake, I couldn't help but remember all the times I made these - well, "helped" make them.  Really it was just watching my mom and licking all the dough batter off the beaters.  And then eating the cookies.  (It's quality control - the taste of the batter can determine how good the cookies will be and if the batter is bad, the cookie will be bad.  So really I was like the "Quality Supervisor" for my mom's kitchen.)

I'm not quite sure why they are named "Party Cookies" but they taste so good that I don't ask questions.  I'm pretty sure my mom got this recipe off the bag of M&Ms Baking Minis back in the 80s, when I was little.  While my copy of the recipe is nicely printed in Times New Roman on a piece of printer paper, I distinctly remember seeing the original taped to a 3x5 card in my mom's green recipe box (that is older than I am).

I hope everyone enjoyed the cookies I sent them (Justina at Fail Sweetly, Melissa at Persnickety Plates - love the name, btw, and Mary at this tasty life) as much as I enjoyed making them!  And to anyone else who wants to make them, I hope you can start a holiday tradition of cookie baking with your kids just like my mom did with me.

"Party" M&Ms Cookies
adapted slightly from a recipe my mom found somewhere.

1/2 c. Shortening
1/2 c. Butter, Unsalted
1 c. Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 c. Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs
2 1/4 c. All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 c. M&Ms Baking Minis

Preheat oven to 375.
Spray cookie sheet with baking spray or line with parchment paper.
Blend shortening, butter, and sugars in a large bowl.
Beat in vanilla and eggs.
In another bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt together.
Add flour mixture to sugar-egg mixture and blend well.
Stir in M&Ms.
Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, drop onto a prepared cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

Snickerdoodles: A Dedication

On August 30, 2001, a chocolate lab named Daisy gave birth to a litter of black and white puppies.  Six weeks later, I was driving home with the runt of the litter - a little female with a white star on her chest, whose top point extended all the way up to her chin.  I named her Liz.  I'm notorious for giving nicknames to EVERYTHING and she was no different.  Her very first nickname was "Snickerdoodle".  I distinctly remember my dad telling me that if I kept calling her that, she wasn't going to learn what her real name was.  Even though I did start using her real name, I would end up calling her so many nicknames that I'm not even sure of them all (and she answered to every last one of them, thank you very much)!  But that very first one stuck and I've called her "Snickerdoodle" and "Doodle" her entire life.  Speaking of life...

On June 20, 2007, she barked ONE TIME when she met my boyfriend for the first time.  She never barks ONE TIME at anything!

My then-boyfriend hid this on her collar on November 25, 2009:

Then she did this on October 16, 2010:

(a candid shot of us)

When my husband and I purchased our first home, we said that we were really buying it for her.  We made sure it was carpeted (since she hated hardwood floors), had minimal steps to get in and out (because she had arthritis in her elbow and knee), and a BIG backyard for her roam around in (because she loves to be outside and smell everything).

She was a big foster sister to three rabbits, who she tolerated with no problems (even if one of the rabbits kept trying to jump onto the couch with her).  Then on November 1, 2014, we took her to the SPCA of Wake County to see how she would like having a little brother.  So then she became a big sister to a 5 year old Hound mix whom we named Chief Inspector Japp:

And then, on December 17, 2014, we lost her to nasosinal cancer.  There is this huge void in our lives where she should be.  We don't regret the decision to end her suffering because, in the end, that's what was happening - the cancer was affecting her ability to breath normally, terrible nosebleeds that were harder and harder to stop, losing weight, and affecting her sense of smell (which, for a dog who is half English Pointer, is tragic).  We were able to end her life on her terms - she walked into the vet's office with her head held high, gave everyone one last hug, and laid in my arms until the end.  Which is exactly how she would've wanted it.  And that's how we wanted it.

So to my dear, sweet, beautiful girl, my little Snickerdoodle, I love you.  I miss you.

Snickerdoodles
adapted slightly from King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion

1/2 c. Shortening
1/2 c. Butter, unsalted
1 1/2 c. Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 3/4 c. All Purpose Flour
3/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 Large Egg

Coating:
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 c. Sugar

Preheat oven to 400.
Lightly grease your cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Using a mixer, cream together the shortening and butter until smooth.
Add in your sugar and vanilla, mixing well.
Mix in your egg until well combined.
While that's working, whisk together your flour, salt, nutmeg, and baking powder in a large bowl.
To your creamed butter and shortening mixture, slowly add in your flour mixture, scraping the bowl every once in a while.
Now you need to mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
Using a Tbsp. measuring spoon, take some dough and roll into balls.
Then roll your dough ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place on prepared cookie sheets and, using the end of a drinking glass that's been dipped into your cinnamon-sugar, press lightly until each dough ball is flattened.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
Cool on rack and store in air-tight containers.

(all professional photos are copyright Diane Lewis Photography.)

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap - Triple Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

YOU GET A COOKIE!  AND YOU GET A COOKIE!  AND YOU GET A COOKIE!!  That's pretty much what you feel when you have three different batches of cookies shipped to your house.  Yes folks, I once again participated in the 4th Annual Food Blogger Cookie Swap.  Which meant three different people got to feel this way from me and three different people made ME feel this way :)  Isn't Christmas fun?

Christmas is mostly about the cooking baking.  Am I right or am I right?  But Christmas is also about giving back, whether its through donations to a local charity or partaking in a fundraiser.  Which is another reason why I LOVE doing this cookie swap.  Each participant must donate $4 to Cookies to Kid's Cancer in order to have cookies sent to you and then our brand partners, OXO, Dixie Crystals, Brownie Brittle, and California Olive Ranch would MATCH the donations.  This year?  We had 566 participants.  Which meant that IN TOTAL, we raised over $12k for Cookies for Kids Cancer!  How amazing is that??

Now since we all know that calories don't count during the holidays, I got cookies from these amazing bloggers:
Christmas Cake Batter Cookies from Currently Coveting (my husband's favorite)
Cinnamon Pinwheel Bites from Confessions of a Foodie (my favorite - because OMG cinnamon.)
Everything Butterscotch Bars from The Food Driven Life (my bestie's favorite)

These lovely ladies received my no-calorie cookies:
The Spiffy Cookie
from Captain's Daughter to Army Mom
The Skinny Chick Can Bake

We all know that fall is all about pumpkin.  But Christmas is where peppermint reigns!  Once you get past Thanksgiving, all those pumpkin things turn into peppermint.  Peppermint shakes.  Peppermint lattes.  Peppermint pie.  Peppermint cookies.  When I was going over what to bake for the cookie swap with my family and friends, I took a poll and these cookies were the unanimous winner.  I think the peppermint and the fact that it's Christmas time made people biased.  (Next year, I may do something crazy and make piña colada cookies just to shake people up. haha)  Since chocolate is totally acceptable at any moment, any day, any time of the year, these make for the perfect Christmas cookie - chocolate and peppermint!  What could possibly go wrong??

Triple Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
adapted from Andes Mints

2 c. + 2 Tbsp. All Purpose Flour
½ c. Hot Cocoa Mix
½ tsp. Baking Soda
½ tsp. Salt

1 c. Unsalted Butter, melted
1 c. Brown Sugar, firmly packed
½ c. Granulated Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs
1 – 10 oz. package Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips
½ c. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (I used mini chips but full-size works fine)
½ c. White Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, hot cocoa mix, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, use a mixer on medium speed to beat your melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy.
Beat in your eggs, one at a time.
Slowly mix in your flour mixture until well combined.
Stir in your peppermint chips, chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a non-stick cookie sheet (or one lined with parchment paper), placing cookies two inches apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Let rest on your baking sheet for a minute and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yields around 48 cookies.

Gooey Butter Cookies

One of my biggest things lately is limiting preservatives and trying to make as much as possible from scratch.  Which usually always works out well unless I have a migraine and develop a sudden need for chocolate.  In that case, making it into the kitchen just doesn't happen.  Or when I'm really busy and I promised my husband that I'd make him muffins and.... yeah, sometimes it doesn't always work.  And then there are times like these.  Where using a simple, basic cake mix will make my life a million times easier and produce a cookie that is almost too good to be true.  And this cookie is.

My pumpkin gooey butter cake is a staple at my Thanksgiving table.  I've been told that if I show up without it, I will be turned away at the door.  But I don't like too many pumpkin things.  I know that it can be made without the pumpkin but the cake itself is so rich and decadent that Ryan and I couldn't possibly make just one for us.  Then I came across this recipe for a COOKIE version of this cake.  It was like the angels sang and the heavens opened... or that could've just been the clouds moving out of the way.  We're going to pretend that it was a mystical experience and that the entire universe wanted me to make these cookies.  So I did.  And they are some of the quickest and easiest cookies in the world to make - certainly pretty enough to be served to guests or when you sneak in a midnight glass of milk and a cookie.

Note:  This recipe calls for UNSALTED butter.  I have made this recipe twice, once with salted and once with unsalted butter.  And it does make a difference. When you make this with the salted butter, all you taste is salt.  When I made it with the unsalted butter, all you tasted was sweet perfection.

Gooey Butter Cookies
modified from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

1 box Vanilla Cake Mix
1 - 8 oz. block Cream Cheese, room temp
1/2 c. Butter, UNSALTED, softened
1 Egg
Powdered Sugar

In a stand mixer, combine your butter and cream cheese.
Add in your egg and mix together.
Slowly add in you cake mix and mix thoroughly.  (Your batter will be THICK.)
Place in the fridge for around 30 minutes, just to firm up the batter.
Preheat oven to 350.
Put some powdered sugar in a bowl.
Using a tablespoon, scoop out some batter and roll it into a circle and then roll it in your powdered sugar.
Place on a cookie sheet, around an inch apart.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies are set (they're going to seem underdone and that's okay).
Cool on a wire rack.
Eat and enjoy!!

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap - Apple Snickerdoodles

It's that time of year again!  Time fooooooooooooooor...........


Yes!  Woohoo!  (Pardon me while I do my happy dance with my cookies.)  I send out three sets of delicious cookies and I receive three different sets of cookies!  I knew very early on this year that THESE cookies were the ones I was going to send off.  They were so different and yet so... homey.  Everyone loves snickerdoodles.  Most people love apples.  How no one managed to combine these together until now is beyond me.  I even neglected posting this recipe countless times because if I did, that meant I couldn't send off these cookies.  And we couldn't have that, now could we?  I really hope that everyone I sent these cookies to enjoyed them as much as I did!  (And my husband, who requested me to make a second batch for himself because the batch I made to send off made exactly 36 cookies.)

Note:  This recipe requires you to use boiled cider (available here).  It is absolutely one of my favorite ingredients ever!  It allows you to give a hint of apple flavor to your baked goods without actually having apples in them.

Apple Snickerdoodles
adapted slightly from King Arthur Flour’s Baking Sheet

Cookies:
¾ c. Vegetable Shortening
¼ c. (½ stick) Unsalted Butter, softened
1 ½ c. Sugar
1 Egg (large)
¼ c. Boiled Cider
2 tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Salt
2 ¾ c. All Purpose Flour

Spiced Sugar Coating:
2 tsp. Baking Spice
½ c. Sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix both ingredients of your sugar coating and set aside.
Using a stand mixer, beat the shortening, butter, and sugar together until smooth.
Add in your egg, beating until smooth.
Mix in the boiled cider, baking powder, and salt.
Finally, add in your flour, mixing until combined.  (This batter is THICK!)
Using a tablespoon of dough, round the dough with your hands and then coat in your spiced sugar mixture.
Place them on a non-stick cookie sheet (or one that’s covered in parchment), leaving around 1 ½” between them.
Dip the bottom of a glass in the spiced sugar mixture and press each cookie down gently until they are around ½” thick.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly golden.
Allow them to cool on a rack.
Eat and Enjoy!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!  Mine was wonderful. Such good food with such good friends and family.  I had a great dinner with my husband and best friend - it may have only been the three of us but we had a HUGE spread!  Turkey, ham, stuffing, homemade mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce.  But let's be honest - you want to know what desserts we had.  Well, we had pumpkin gooey butter cake, my best friend's unreal pumpkin spice cake with homemade cream cheese frosting, and homemade apple pie (crust and all!).  The food was delicious!  And what's even better?  Leftover Thanksgiving food is always better the next day.

So now that you've been inundated with pumpkin recipes from every. single. blog around...

Chocolate.  Peanut Butter.  One of life's most wonderful combinations.  Was there even a chocolate-peanut butter combination before Reese's came into our lives?  I don't know.  But to whatever person invented this combination, I will forever be in your debt.  Having a bad day?  Give me chocolate and peanut butter (or pizza - that works too).  Husband driving you insane?  Don't reach for that frying pan to beat some sense into him with.  Reach for one of these cookies. Not only will your stomach thank you but so will your husband.  (And tell him if he's nice enough, you may even share them!)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
courtesy of The Deen Bros. Cookbook

2 1/2 c. All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 1/4 c. Peanut Butter (I prefer creamy but you can use crunchy)
1 c. Butter, softened
1 1/2 c. Light Brown Sugar, packed
2/3 c. Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp. Light Corn Syrup
2 tsp. Vanilla
10 oz bag Chocolate Chips (I use milk but semi-sweet'll work too)

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream your peanut butter, butter, and sugars until its nice and fluffy.
Mix in your eggs, one at a time.
Beat in the corn syrup and vanilla.
Slowly mix in your flour, baking soda, and salt until everything is well combined.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Using a spoon, drop the cookie dough 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
Cool.
Eat and enjoy!

Cookie jar from my favorite cookie company in Savannah, GA.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

My mom's birthday was last week (happy b-day mom!).  She told me all she wanted from me was to bake her something delicious.  I really don't know WHERE they get this idea from that I like to bake.  And if I don't know, you certainly don't.  But anyhoo, I remembered that she was crazy for my lemon ricotta muffins from awhile back (remember them?).  However, I had already made muffins for me and the husband for the week (those muffins will arrive shortly).  So I wondered if there was a way to make these muffins into cookies.  And thanks to my friend, Mr. Google, I did indeed find a recipe that turned these beautiful muffins into yummy cookies.

The recipe is actually from a restaurant that is in Raleigh, North Carolina, near where Mr. Gaited Baked and I live, called Mia Francesca.  It's a lovely little Italian place that we discovered during the annual Restaurant Week event and decided to give it a try.  It was one of the best decisions we've ever made.  We adore this place.  Everything we get from there is good.  It's very romantic but you won't have to spend an arm and a leg on date night.  And our favorite movie theater is nearby so a full date night is always close by.  If you're ever in the Raleigh area, I definitely recommend you check out Mia Francesca!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies
courtesy of Mia Francesca restaurant

3 c. All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 stick Butter, salted (if using unsalted, please add 1 tsp. salt)
2 c. Sugar
2 Eggs
1 - 15 oz. container of Ricotta Cheese (I used part skim)
3 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice*
Zest of one Lemon*

* - juice your lemon before you zest!  It'll make life much easier.

Preheat your oven to 350.
In a medium size bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, and salt (if using.)
In another bowl, combine your butter and sugar until its incorporated and light and fluffy (around three minutes, give or take).
Now add your eggs in, one at a time and mix well.
Mix in your ricotta cheese, lemon, and lemon zest until all your ingredients are happily combined.
Add in your flour, mixing until everything is combined.
Drop your cookies by a rounded tablespoon onto a prepared cookie sheet (meaning if it ain't nonstick, use cooking spray or parchment).
Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.
Cool completely.
Eat and enjoy :)

(these cookies are so soft they stick together so keep that in mind when you reach in the cookie jar for one cookie and come back with two or three.)

Chocolate Chip - Oatmeal Cookies

When Ryan and I got married almost three years ago, we stayed at the DoubleTree Hotel the night before and the night of our wedding.  (Gaaaaa!  It's been almost three years!)  At the DoubleTree, when you arrive, they give you these really yummy chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies.  They're big and chewy and delicious and big.  Did I mention they're big?  I'd take a dozen home if I could but my waistline miiiiight not appreciate that too much.  I've been trying and trying to find a cookie that is almost as good as they ones I got at the hotel.  I know it won't be EXACTLY like it.  I'm pretty certain that it has a pound of butter in each cookie, it's so moist.  I have finally found a cookie that comes pretty darn close and I wanted to share it with all of you.  You should feel so special! :-)  Every time I ate one of these cookies, it took me back to my special day with my husband, who traveled 1200 miles to be with me all those years ago.  Yeah, I'm pretty darn lucky :-)

Chocolate Chip-Oatmeal Cookies
courtesy of Nestle All Time Favorite Cookie and Baking Recipes

1 3/4 c. All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 1/4 c. Light Brown Sugar, packed
1 c. (2 sticks) Butter, salted, softened
1/2 c. Sugar
2 Eggs, large
2 Tbsp. Milk (I used skim but use whatever you have on hand)
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 1/2 c. Quick Cooking Oats (feel free to use old fashioned if you've got it)
2 c. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (12 oz. bag)

Preheat the oven to 375.
In one bowl, combine the flour and baking soda and set aside.
Using a mixer, beat both of the sugars and butter together until creamy.
Next, add in the eggs, milk, and vanilla to the sugar-butter mixture and mix well.
Gradually add in the flour mixture until everything is well combined.
Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.  (This is going to make a thick batter so it might be tough to incorporate everything but keep trying because it will come together.)
Drop by the tablespoonfuls (or using that wonderous cookie scoop I tell everyone to get) onto your baking sheet.
Bake for 9 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies or 12 to 13 minutes for crispy cookies.  (Chewy is the way to go for me.)
Let cool for one minutes before moving to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap - Black and White Biscotti

This was my entry into The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap!

In order to participate, the blogger has to use a recipe they haven't posted on their blog before.  They could've made it a hundred times but as long as it wasn't on the blog, it was fair game.  Yeah, I have some cookies that I haven't posted yet but I wanted to do something new and different.  A brand new recipe!  Yay!  I do cookies all the time but I rarely make biscotti, which technically fall under the umbrella term of "cookie".  I've only made them a couple of times before and they have always turned out great.  And they are especially good cookies to ship, which I had to do with three people.  Biscotti in Italian literally means "twice baked".  Twice baking the biscotti dries it out which makes it a great cookie to dip into your morning coffee (or in my case, mug after mug of milk).  I'll be posting pictures of the cookies I received along with links to their blogs in a future post.

So why black and white?  Well, like I said.  I wanted to do something a little different.  Making cookies is pretty simple and I wanted to do something not-so-simple yet memorable.  I had thougth and thought about what to make.  Do I simply alter an existing recipe which I know works or do I think out of the box?  When I came across this recipe on the KAF website, I knew that was the recipe.   The world was suddenly right.  Birds chirped on my fingertips while deer and rabbits hopped around me.  Okay, well, maybe not quite that dramatic ;)  But I knew that this was the recipe I was meant to post.  Yes, that recipe was created just for me (completely disregard the fact that this recipe was developed back in 2009 and lots of other people have made it). 

I hope that the folks who received these cookies all enjoyed them.  And if any of you out there decide to take on this recipe, I hope you enjoy them too :) 

(My family and friends know I am a huge Seinfeld fan, so every time I mentioned these cookies, my husband and best friend would say, "Look to the cookie.")

 
Black and White Biscotti
adapted slightly from King Arthur Flour

6 Tbsp. Butter, salted
2/3 c. Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs
2 c. All-Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder
1/4 c. Mini Chocolate Chips
1 Packet of Sugar in the Raw (or 1 Tbsp.)

1.  Preheat oven to 350.
2.  Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
3.  In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, baking powder, and vanilla.
4.  Add in the eggs (it may look a little funky - that's okay.).
5.  Stir in the flour and mix well.  The dough will be sticky.
6.  Divide the dough in half, placing one half on the cookie sheet and leaving the other in the bowl.
7.  Now for the the first fun part - you need to spread the dough into a log of about 14" x 2 1/2".  You'll need to wet your fingers with cold water in order to help this process otherwise you'll end up with sticky fingers (which is all well and good if you're five-years-old.)
8.  Put the pan into the freezer.
9.  In the remaining dough, mix in the cocoa powder.
10. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
11. Remove the vanilla dough from the freezer and repeat Step 7 (the second fun part!).
12. Gently press the Sugar in the Raw onto the biscotti dough.
13. Bake for 25 minutes.
14. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 to 25 minutes.  (Or however long - it doesn't really matter.)
15. Using a serrated knife, slice the biscotti to about 3/4" thick.
16. Stand the biscotti on the pan and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes.  They'll feel a little soft in the center but will continue to dry out as they cool.
17. Enjoy!

Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies

I can see the "?" above your head as you read that title.  "Um, vanilla pudding?  In cookies?"  I can feel your doubt - I'm hurt.  Would I ever lead you astray by giving you a bad recipe?  No, not me.  Unless I choose to follow along in King Arthur Flour's footsteps and post an April Fool's Day post of all my recipes that just didn't stand up to my high expectations.  Like my attempt at pumpkin pie bread.  I honestly think that bread could have been classified as a lethal weapon, it was so hard.  Maybe I should've kept it around for my husband irritates me.  I could hit him with it...........  *shakes head* Okay, I'm back with you now.

There are many things in life that are distracting.  My dog is a good example.  She moves and I notice it.  She breathes funny and I'm suddenly on alert (although I'm sure that's more my vet training kicking in).  Another thing I find distracting?  Books of any and all kinds.  I love books.  When Ryan and I moved into our new house all those months ago, the majority of our boxes contained clothes and books.  (I think the clothes boxes only edged out the book boxes by a few.)  My husband got the bright idea to get me an e-reader a couple of years ago and I've amounted over 200 books on it.  I told you I liked to read.  So on the note about liking to read... I love, love cooking blogs!  Probably because I love to cook.  Combining my love of cooking with my love of reading - happy Jamie!  I find myself reading blogs sometimes all day, wasting paper on printing tons of recipes when I already have tons of recipe books. Yeah, cooking blogs are super distracting.  You can look at all the pretty pictures and all the stories for hours on end.  I'm not joking, I've done it before.  Many times.

While on the subject of cooking blogs, I do have my favorites.  In case you haven't noticed, on the right hand side of your screen, if you scroll down far enough, you'll find my favorite cooking blogs.  They all have great recipes.  You cannot go wrong with those blogs.  Some of them, I like simply because I'm amazed by the creativity of them (Sweetapolita and Bake at 350 are simply droolworthy) yet they all have very easy to create recipes.  Although I could never decorate cookies the way Bridget at Bake at 350 does.  My hands just wouldn't cooperate.  I'm lucky if I get a smooth spread on my sheet cakes for crying out loud!

(And, hey, if you don't take my word that putting pudding into cookies can be a good thing, go to your local grocery store and find a box of Betty Crocker Super Moist Cake Mix and look down at the bottom of the front of the box.  It says, "Pudding is still in the mix!"  So it's not just me... or the people who made the recipe.)

Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies

courtesy of Two Peas and Their Pod

1 c. Butter, room temp
1/4 c. Sugar
3/4 c. Brown Sugar
3.4 oz. package Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 1/4 c. All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
2 c. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Blend together butter and sugars until creamy.
Next, mix in pudding, eggs, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda.
Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until combined.
Mix in chocolate chips.
Taste cookie dough - realize how yummy it is.
Drop cookie mix by the tablespoon (again, cookie scoop works great here) onto a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.
Let cool on a cooling rack.

My husband is from Texas so I have no idea why I bought this mug.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Continuing with our cartoon theme, today's post is brought to you by the movie Up.  If you've never seen it, I demand you go find it without delay!  It is such a good movie.  The beginning will make you cry though.  (Do I need to tell you again how much I hate to cry?  We went through that already.)  You already know that I'm a fan of taking movie quotes and making them my own and here's today's!

It's like Cookies but BARS!

(You can see the video clip here.  YouTube doesn't want to share this clip.  Not exactly sure why but oh well.  We'll carry on anyway.)
http://youtu.be/EezqrxUYcMA?t=52s

Another reason why I love this movie?  Dug.  I love this dog.  It makes me want to get a blonde male dog just so I can name it Dug.  But the husband doesn't want to get another dog just yet so I've settled for having a cookie jar that looks like Dug that I call... you got it!  Dug :)  (I have a habit of naming inanimate objects - cars, cookie jars, etc.)

The recipe for these cookie bars is the exact same as the basic chocolate chip cookie that I posted the other day.  I'm going to repost the recipe here with the directions adjusted so you can make the cookies into bars. (Like I said, "it's like cookies but BARS.")

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

courtesy of All Time Favorite Cookie and Baking Recipes

2 1/4 c. All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
2 sticks Butter (salted.  If using unsalted, add 1 tsp. salt)
3/4 c. Sugar
3/4 c. Packed Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs
1 c. Chocolate Chips (1/2 of a 12 oz. package)

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix together butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, and making sure to beat well after each addition.
Toss in your flour and baking soda.
Stir in your chocolate chips.
Resist the urge to eat the entire mixture of chocolate chip cookie dough.
Press cookie dough into a greased 9x13 pan.

Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  (My cookies took 20 minutes.)

(Ryan bought me that mug when he went to NYC a few years ago.  Ain't he sweet?)

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone needs a good recipe for chocolate chip cookies in their recipe box.  This is my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  I have tried to make other recipes but this is the one I always, always come back to.  And I think you will too.

Now, scroll to the bottom and see the picture that goes with the recipe.  I'll wait.  *waiting... taps fingers on keyboard*  Okay, back with me now?  Did you see the mug?  Do you see the beautiful dog that's on said mug?  That is my beautiful little girl, Liz.  I've had her since she was only six weeks old.  I picked her out when she was two weeks old.  I remember holding her as a baby and hearing her sigh against my chest and my heart was lost.  Gone.  My heart was no longer in my body but now lived in a little runt of a puppy with a big white star on her chest (yep, five pointed star, the top point of which stretches all the way up to her chin).  I knew when she was two weeks old that she was going to come home with me.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.  Except for that little problem of convincing my father.  My mom already loved her - she was the one who drove me out to see the puppies after all.  Of course, conspiring is just one of those things that all women do well.  Its in our genes I think...  Under the pretense of "just wanting to go see the puppies", we managed to drag my father out to where Liz and her brothers and sisters were at.  Dad was steadfast, "We are NOT coming home with a puppy."  "Sure" was my response.  I knew better.  I went to find my puppy (yes, I was already calling her "mine") and off we went in search of my dad.  When I found him, I was holding Liz to my chest and I said, "Isn't she cute?  Don't you want to hold her?"  Despite his protests, I managed to get Liz in his hands and then he said, "We're coming home with a puppy, aren't we?"  She turned 11 years old in August and she's still my little baby.  And certainly a mommy's girl.  It drives Ryan insane when he asks her to do something and won't do it but the moment mommy says to do it, away she goes.  Yep, mommy's baby.

Anyway, back to the mug!  There is a lovely story about that mug.  Back when Ryan and I were still dating and he still lived in Texas, he sent me two of the sweetest gifts I've ever gotten - a dog bowl with Liz's picture on it (which currently houses all her cookies) and this mug.  And I love them.  Even five years later, I still look at them and smile :-) (He must have somehow known that the keys to my heart lived in a little black and white mutt.... no clue where he would've gotten that idea.)

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookies
courtesy of All Time Favorite Cookie and Baking Recipes

2 1/4 c. All Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
2 sticks Butter (salted.  If using unsalted, add 1 tsp. salt)
3/4 c. Sugar
3/4 c. Packed Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs
1 c. Chocolate Chips (1/2 of a 12 oz. package)

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix together butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, and making sure to beat well after each addition.
Throw in (not literally, of course - no messes in my kitchen.) your flour and baking soda.
Stir in your chocolate chips.
Resist the urge to eat the entire mixture of chocolate chip cookie dough.
Drop by tablespoonfuls (wow, that's a word according to spell check.) onto a baking sheet.  (I have mentioned before cookie scoops are wonderful things - for stuff like cookies!)
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. (I go for 9 - I like my cookies chewy, extra chewy.)
Cool for two minutes and allow to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

Who doesn't love peanut butter cookies?  Besides people who have peanut allergies - the poor souls.  I could never imagine not having peanut butter ever again.  I just LOVE peanut butter!  I hope to make some peanut butter balls in the future (and if you grew up in the South, you should know what peanut butter balls are - if you don't, I feel terribly sorry for you because you don't know what you're missing)... *drools*  Okay, back to cookies!  This recipe has only FOUR, yes, four, ingredients!  And I can pretty much guarantee that you have all the ingredients in your pantry.  Therefore, you have absolutely no reason whatsoever to not make these cookies immediately.  So, go, get to it!  What's that?  You need the recipe?  Read on...

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies
courtesy of The Lady and Sons, Too!

1 c. Peanut Butter (whether you use creamy or crunchy is totally up to you.  I used creamy.)
1 c. Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well.
Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, roll your dough into balls about the size of walnuts (if you use a cookie scoop, this will make this step just fly by!).
Put the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet.
Using a fork, make a crisscross design on the tops of each cookie, squishing them down.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Try not to burn your mouth by trying the hot cookies :)

(Don't you just love my Coldplay Mylo Xyloto mug??  I got it when me, Ryan, and Erin went to their concert in Charlotte back in July.  I love it.)

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookies

Reese's got it right - chocolate and peanut butter just go together.  Like peas and carrots.  Like Forrest Gump and Jenny (that's for you, Ruth Ann!).  Honestly, those two things are perfect for one other.  There really is nothing more that can be said about these cookies except that they are delicious!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
courtesy of Nestle Toll House All-Time Favorite Cookie and Baking Recipes


2 1/4 c. All Purpose Flour
2/3 c. Baking Cocoa
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 c. Butter, softened (I use salted butter.  If you only have unsalted, add 1/4 tsp. salt)
3/4 c. Sugar
2/3 c. Brown Sugar, packed
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
Peanut Butter Chips (I'm going to let you use your own judgment here.  I think the original measurement of an entire package is way too much so I usually use 1/2 the bag but you can add as much or as little as you like!)

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine flour, cocoa, and baking soda in a bowl.
Beat butter, both sugars, and vanilla until creamy.
Add eggs to the butter mixture, beating well after each addition.
Gradually beat into flour mixture.
Stir in your peanut butter chips.
Measure out your cookies and place onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until centers are set (I usually go for 8 minutes but I like my cookies really soft!).
Let stand on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

Nice picture, huh?  Yep, looks nice.  Want to see what happened just moments before?

Yep.  That's my husband's hand.  He couldn't wait for me to finish taking my picture before reaching for a warm cookie (okay, who can resist a warm cookie?).  Once he got his cookie, I was able to take my nice, lovely picture!

Post edited to add the following:

Join the Virtual Cookie Recipe Exchange with Flour On My Face  Prizes donated by King Arthur Flour, St Martins Press / Robin L. Olson and Garnish.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

When I was getting married, one of the things I wanted at my bridal shower was a Williams-Sonoma cookbook (and Paula Deen cookware - thank you Aunt Betty!!).  And my best friend, Erin, knowing me oh-so well, bought me the W-S Essentials of Baking cookbook and I love it (yeah, I love a baking cookbook - go figure)!  So of course, one of the first things I should make from this book should be for her.  She loves oatmeal raisin cookies but I don't (I'm not one for raisins) so I typically make cookies that both of us like.  She has had a bad week recently and what does a good Southern girl do for someone who's had a bad day?  We cook something for them.  (We seem to celebrate or acknowledge everything with food in the South... birthdays, funerals, job loss, job promotion, etc.  And people wonder why the South makes such good food - we have to cook it all the time!)  So here are Erin's oatmeal-raisin cookies (I have to admit, I do enjoy eating the batter for these cookies when I can get around the raisins... cinnamon... yummy!).

But before I get to the recipe, I would like to take a moment to tell you that you need to get a cookie scoop for these cookies.  What?  You don't have one?  In that case, stop right here.  Go purchase one immediately!  It will become your best friend when it comes to baking cookies (or scooping really small scoops of ice cream).  Some recipes (like this one) call for you to drop the cookies by the tablespoon.  Now, that makes one big cookie!  I prefer smaller cookies because rather than just eating one cookie, you can eat two or three!  Trick your mind into thinking you're eating more than you are.  This original recipe said it made 24 cookies.  Using my cookie scoop, I managed to get 40!  That brought the calories down from 141 calories per cookie to 84 calories per cookie.  So go and get a cookie scoop - you'll love it!

Old Fashioned Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
(from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking)

1 1/2 c. All Purpose Flour (KAF)
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 c. Butter (1 stick), melted
1 c. firmly packed Brown Sugar (I used light brown sugar but you can use dark brown if you have it on hand.)
1/2 c. Granulated Sugar
1/2 c. Egg Beaters (or 2 eggs)
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract (Nielson-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste)
1 1/2 c. Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats (typically sold as just "old fashioned oats")
2 c. Raisins

Preheat oven to 350.
Line at least 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (I love parchment paper - no nonstick spray to use and you can reuse it!).
In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars and stir with a wooden spoon (not entirely sure why the recipe said a wooden spoon but anyway) until smooth.
Add eggs and vanilla and stir until well blended.
Add flour, cinnamon, and baking powder and stir until well incorporated.
Now you need to add the oats and stir until combined.
Lastly, add the raisins and combine (this batter is very, very thick so make sure your raisins are well stirred into your batter).
Using your cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto your baking sheets.
Bake one sheet at a time for 15-20 minutes (15 minutes was perfect for me) or until the top of the cookies are firm when lightly touched.
Let the cookie sheet cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
Then transfer the cookies to another wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Store in an airtight container at room temp.

Calories - 84 per cookie (makes 40)

Baklava Cookies

I've never had baklava.  And I've certainly never tried to make it (too many layers... one day, I may attempt it).  But that doesn't mean I've never wanted to try it.  But I've always been leery of new things but I've become more outgoing when it comes to food here lately so when I came across this baklava cookie recipe in Spike Mendelsohn's cookbook The Good Stuff Cookbook, I was certainly intrigued (for those of you who watch Top Chef on Bravo, Spike should be no stranger to you - he's one of my favorite chefs to ever be on the show and when I found out that he had put out a cookbook that was all about burgers, shakes, and sweets, I was alllll over it!).  So today, I finally summed up the courage to make this cookie and boy am I glad I did!  I adore this cookie!  The more I eat them, the higher up on my list of favorite cookies it goes.  Everyone loves chocolate chip (or, my other post, oatmeal-raisin) but every once in a while, you want something different.  If you want a different cookie, this is the recipe you should try.  It's buttery and rich and with the honey glaze, decadent but without being too overpowering to make you not want to eat more than one.  I highly recommend that you try this cookie recipe ASAP!

Side note:  Please use parchment paper under your cookies for this recipe.  When you drizzle the glaze over the cookies, it will make cleanup extremely easy for you.

Baklava Cookies
(from The Good Stuff Cookbook by Spike Mendelsohn)

Cookies:
2 3/4 c. All Purpose Flour (KAF)
1 - 1 1/2 c. Chopped Walnuts (I prefer less walnuts so I opted for 1 c. but you can use up to 1 1/2 c.)
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 1/4 c. Butter (that's 2 1/2 sticks!  I told you it was buttery.)
2 c. Sugar
1/4 c. Egg Beaters (or 1 egg)
1 tsp. Vanilla (Nielson-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste)

Glaze:
1/3 c. Honey
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 tsp. Vanilla (Vanilla Bean Paste)
1/2 tsp. Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, combine flour, walnuts, cinnamon, baking soda and powder .
In another bowl, mix melted butter and sugar until smooth.
Add the egg and vanilla to the butter and sugar mix.
Slowly add the egg mixture to flour and nut mix and mix well.
Using your hands, form small round dough balls and place them on a baking sheet that's covered with parchment paper (I told you before - I love parchment paper!).
Press down on the dough balls gently to flatten them slightly.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
While the cookies are baking, make the glaze by combining all ingredients into a small saucepan over low heat until the mix is syrupy.
Set the glaze aside until ready to use.
Let the cookies cool on their baking sheet and drizzle the glaze over the cookies after they've cooled.

Calories:  171 per cookie (makes 35)