Cookies – Page 6 – First Look, Then Cook

Spicy Oatmeal Crisps

Published on January 26, 2010January 27, 2010 by Dawn2 Comments

Some people like them crispy, some people like them chewy. I am a chewy person. I just can’t keep the cookies in the oven long enough either to get that crisp. I want them to be soft and chewy, somehow they seem fresher that way. These cookies were supposed to be crispy – hence the name – but I am not sure if it was the way I made them, or my tendency to pull them out of the oven as soon as they started turning brown that made them chewy – but they were delicious. This recipe from Cooking Light omitted one very important ingredient though…chocolate. My husband had a bite when they came out of the oven, and I could see it in his face. They needed that extra something. I took some good chocolate from the pantry, melted it in the microwave, and drizzled some on top of the cookies – not only did they look fabulous – they tasted complete.

Ingredients

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1 cup packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup regular oats
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients (flour through pepper) in a medium bowl. Beat sugar, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Stir in flour mixture and oats.

Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until crisp. Cool on pan 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pan; cool on wire racks.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Spicy Oatmeal Crisps

Chocolate-Cherry Heart Smart Cookies

Published on January 12, 2010 by Dawn10 Comments

It drives my husband nuts that I don’t just stick to chocolate chip cookies – I always have to try new recipes. Very few cookies stack up to the good old-fashioned favorite – but I know they are out there, and I have to find them. Chocolate and cherries is a winning combination – the tartness of the cherry with the bittersweet chocolate is a match made in heaven. I actually had some good chocolate in the house left over from the holidays that I chopped up for these cookies, and I thought they were fabulous. My daughter was licking the bowl clean – yes, they were exceptional before baking. I saw this recipe in Cooking Light – and at less than 100 calories per cookie, they were calling out for me to bake them. I made them slightly bigger than a tablespoon, so maybe mine were a little more than 100 calories, but still. I adjusted the baking time below, because they were browning pretty quickly, so make sure to keep an eye on them.

Ingredients

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbl. unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup dried cherries
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
cooking spray

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; add brown sugar, stirring until smooth. Add sugar mixture to flour mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add cherries, vanilla, and egg; beat until combined. Fold in chocolate.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes. Cool on pans 3 minutes or until almost firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks. Makes about 30 cookies depending on the size.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here: Chocolate Cherry Cookies

Chocolate Buttons

Published on December 13, 2009December 9, 2010 by Dawn11 Comments

This time of year I am always looking for little treats that I can give with holiday cards to my neighbors, teachers, friends at work, the list is endless. My standby is the caramel chocolate covered pretzel rods – as my sister-in-law once coined, “Rocky Rods.” You will see that post soon – but I didn’t have time this weekend to make those – so instead we went for the quick fix – the chocolate buttons. These are so great because they are so simple – and kids of all ages can help you. We had an assembly line going – my youngest daughter was peeling the papers off of the Hershey’s Kisses, my older daughter was arranging pretzels on the cookie sheet then placing the kisses in the center – and I was taking the buttons out of the oven and placing an M&M in the center. It was teamwork at its best – and everyone was occupied.

I got this recipe from my mother – and she probably saw it on the internet somewhere. Obviously the combinations are endless with the varieties of Hershey’s Kisses and M&Ms out there – this year I went with the Peanut Butter M&M’s, and I will probably stick with that for a while – the combination was perfect.

Ingredients

Snyder’s Snaps – Pretzels
Hershey’s Kisses
Peanut Butter M&Ms

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Place pretzels on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Place a Hershey’s Kiss on top of each pretzel. Bake in the over for 5-8 minutes – the kisses should be melted all the way through, but still in its original shape. You can test to see if they are ready by taking an M&M and placing it in the center and pushing down. If you can push down easily all the way, they are done. Otherwise, put them back in the oven until ready. Take them out and push an M&M inside the center of each kiss and press down. Let them cool on the cookie sheet until hard.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here: Chocolate Buttons

Mexican Chocolate Cookies

Published on December 11, 2009December 11, 2009 by Dawn3 Comments

Yes, it is cookie time. Although, when is it really not cookie time? I just love this time of year though because there are cookie recipes every where you look. I am always looking for cookies I have not made before until my family insists on the good old-fashioned chocolate-chip version (that post will come eventually). I saw this recipe and knew it would be a hit. The cookies were crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside – the best of both worlds. The rich chocolate flavor combined with a hint of spice was really something. And because the recipe came from Cooking Light, I felt like I could eat twice as many…

The dough is very stiff – so to make perfect rounds, I used a miniature ice-cream scoop. If you do not have one for cookies, I highly suggest it. It makes the job much easier – and the shape of the cookies come out perfect. I have a couple different sizes depending on how big I want the cookies.

Ingredients

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao), coarsely chopped
3.4 oz. all-purpose flour (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash of black pepper
Dash of ground red pepper
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chocolate in a small glass bowl; microwave at HIGH for 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. If not smooth, microwave for 30 seconds and stir again. Cool to room temperature.

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through ground red pepper); stir well with a whisk.

Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add egg, and beat well. Add chocolate and vanilla; beat just until blended. Add flour mixture; beat just until blended.

Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven. Cool on pans 2 minutes or until set. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack. Makes about 32 cookies.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here: Mexican Chocolate Cookies

Chocolate Spiders

Published on December 7, 2009December 8, 2009 by Dawn5 Comments

If there is one dessert that reminds me of my childhood, it is this one. These spiders made it to every holiday event, every family dinner, whether it was summer, winter, spring or fall. In the summer, they would melt all over the place – but they were still delicious. I had no idea how ridiculously simple they were to make until I made them myself after I graduated from college. I have seen people make these with half peanut butter chips, and half butterscotch chips as well – I’m sure they are just as good – although I prefer the pure version – just semi-sweet chocolate chips. This is my grandmother’s recipe – just one of many I hope to publish on the blog. It is only fitting that this is the first of her recipes to be posted.

Ingredients

5 oz. Chow Mein Noodles
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup mini-marshmallows
Confectioners sugar for dusting

Preparation

Melt chocolate using a double boiler over medium high heat (or microwave in increments of 30 seconds) and gently fold into noodles and marshmallows until noodles are coated. Spoon onto cookie sheet lined with waxed paper and chill until set. Freeze. Defrost 5 minutes. Sift on confectioners sugar and serve.

After they are frozen, they can be stored in a plastic bag in the freezer. Do not sift on confectioners sugar until you are ready to serve them.