Oatmeal CookieBlog

Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies

As promised, here's my peanut butter cookie topped with honey and sea salt.

I know...you're probably thinking I've lost it. Peanut butter, honey, and sea salt? Trust me. You'll like it.

I love the crunchy/chewy texture combination about as much as I love the salty/sweet flavor combination...which is a lot. And this cookie hits all the right mouthfeel and flavor buttons. It's like a chewier, more flavorful, less tooth-damaging version of peanut brittle. Sounds perfect, doesn't it?

I thought these would come out looking like old school peanut butter cookies--the flat kind with the crosshatches on top from the overlapping indentations of fork tines. They didn't, but the flattening step played an important part because it gave a nice, even surface for the honey and salt to stick to.

Using honey as a cookie glaze can be a little tricky. It's sticky and doesn't spread easily when cool but runs all over the place when hot. If you keep an eye on your oven, you'll see that the honey gets foamy as it heats up. If you've got a flat surface to coat, your honey will stick pretty much where you put it.

I used flaked sea salt because it's not as salty as regular old table salt and because it holds up pretty well when you sprinkle it on top of stuff and bake it.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter 2 tablespoons white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 3/4 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped apples 1 cup ground Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch 3/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	Honey Sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
6. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
7. Using a fork or a spatula, flatten the dough balls a little.
8. Drizzle each flattened dough ball with honey and top with a pinch of sea salt.
   
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Rene's Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies

Rene, a fellow foodie at my new office, gave me this recipe to try out after I told him I had a strawberry shortcake cookie recipe on The List.

I told him I wanted to use a shortbread cookie base as the "shortcake" and then add dehydrated strawberries and strawberry jam.

He said I should give his oatmeal shortbread cookie a try and then play around with the recipe to incorporate the fruit. I told him I'd of course give it a try!

Buttery, oaty, and just right with a cup of tea. A 1/2 batch would also make a really good crust for a cheesecake or key lime pie. (Hmmm...I'd better write that down!)

Makes eight 1/4"-thick wedges. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Rene's Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies.)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups oatmeal 1/3 cup sugar 5 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 325º.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, add all the ingredients and mix until well incorporated and the butter is evenly distributed.
   
3. Grease a pie plate with butter.
4. Add the combined ingredients to the greased pie plate and pat down until you form a firm, flat disk of dough.
5. Bake at 325º for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie disk are brown. Remove the pie plate from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes.
   
6. When cool, transfer the cookie disk to a cutting board and cut into wedges.
7. Let wedges cool for 30 minutes to firm up and get crispy.

Halloween Pinwheel Cookies

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Halloween Pinwheel Cookies.)

Vanilla Layer

Creamables	3 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 tablespoon scrambled egg 1  teaspoon vanilla 1/8 teaspoon yellow food coloring
Dry Ingredients	1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup finely ground Nilla Wafer cookies 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Orange Layer

Creamables	3 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 tablespoon scrambled egg 1  teaspoon orange extract 1/8 teaspoon yellow food coloring 1/8 teaspoon red food coloring
Dry Ingredients	1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal 1/2 cup flour 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Chocolate Layer

Creamables	3 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 tablespoon scrambled egg 1  teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon black food coloring
Dry Ingredients	1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal 1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Repeat Steps 1-4 for each of the three layers of dough.

1. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
3. In another bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until chilled and firm.
   

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5. Roll out each chilled dough ball into a 1/8-1/4"-thick sheet.
6. Stack the three layers of rolled-out dough on top of a piece of plastic wrap.
7. Roll the stack onto itself to create a cookie dough log and wrap with the plastic wrap. Smooth out the log until it is even and cylindrical.
8. Place the dough log in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
9. Preheat oven to 350º.
10. Remove the dough log from the freezer. Using a serrated knife, cut 1/4"-thick disks from the log.
11. Place the dough slices about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
12. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Peanut Butter and Apple Cookies

Amdanda K. helped inspire this recipe because her blog-love for my peanut butter cookie recipe is what got me thinking about new PB flavor combinations. Thanks, Amanda!

Sure...peanut butter and chocolate and peanut butter and jelly are classics, but there are others, right? Of course! There's peanut butter and celery (with raisins), but that combo doesn't seem very suited for cookiedom. (But maybe it is if you ever find yourself in this situation.)

Peanut butter and apple is a flavor combo that's perfectly suited for cookies...and the season.

I used my standard recipe for peanut butter cookies but made three adjustments. The first was to swap chopped apples for the peanut butter chips. The second was to add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients. (Because what's a baked apple product without cinnamon?) The third was to increase the vanilla by 1/2 teaspoon to help accentuate the apples and cinnamon.

The result is a mighty tasty, practically healthy cookie.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Peanut Butter and Apple Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter 2 tablespoons white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 3/4 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped apples 1 cup ground Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch 3/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
6. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
7. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Sweater Weather (Orange, Tea, and Cinnamon) Cookies

'Tis the season for wool sweaters! And Sweater Weather Cookies.

As you know, I love fall. I came up with this recipe specifically for this sliver of time on the calendar.

Oranges probably don't spring to mind when you think of fall. (Ba-dum-dum.) After all, this is apple-picking season. But for me, the smell and taste of orange and spice instantly fill my head with images of low-angled sunlight filtered through golden leaves fluttering gently on a crisp breeze that carries the scent of the season's first wood-burning fire. Ah, yes. I do love this season.

My main concern when developing this cookie was to balance the orange and spice flavors. I knew I was going to use my old trick of tripling the citrus--zest, juice, and extract--to infuse the cookies with flavor, but I knew I had to be careful. Too much orange would make these cookies taste as though you were biting into a glass of Tang. The same is true with the spice. Too much cinnamon or clove would taste as though you had just swallowed a mouthful of potpourri.

To solve the problem of overdoing the orange, I used 1/4 cup of orange juice, 1 tablespoon of orange zest, and 1/4 teaspoon of orange extract. It's the perfect amount to flavor the cookies.

For the spice, I hit the pantry and dug out a few secret ingredients. The first was Celestial Seasonings Mandarin Orange Spice tea. Simply empty the contents of six Mandarin Orange Spice tea bags into your wet ingredients. The second secret ingredient was King Arthur cinnamon chips. A cup of these in the dry ingredients does the trick.

Believe me. These cookies taste as good as they smell. Orangey, spicy, bright, slightly smokey, and autumnal. Delicious.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Sweater Weather Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1/4 cup orange juice 1 tablespoon vanilla t tablespoon orange zest 1 tablespoon milk 1/4 teaspoon orange extract 6 Mandarin Orange Spice tea bags
Dry Ingredients	3 cups oatmeal 1 1/4 cup flour 1 cup cinnamon chips 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Margarita Cookies

There are three ingredients that make a margarita a margarita: tequila, lime, and salt. Simple enough to turn into a cookie, right? Well...sorta, but I had to tinker with this recipe as I went along. It took a little more time than usual for me--and a few trips to the liquor store--but I have to admit that the final cookies came out great and tasted just perfectly margarita-y.

When I make citrus-based cookies, I usually use a combination of zest, juice, and extract to really punch up the flavor. But I knew I was going to use a lot of tequila in the wet ingredients and needed the tequila flavor to shine. Lots of lime zest and just a small amount of lime juice would do the trick, I thought, without adding too much liquid to the recipe.

When I tried a bit of the dough, though, the the amount of lime was fine, but the tequila flavor wasn't as strong as I wanted. I thought about starting over and upping the amount of tequila in the wet ingredients, but I was afraid that would give me a really wet dough that produced cookies that spread out too much in the oven and that came out flat and crispy, which wasn't what I was looking for. I decided to move forward with my dough and figure out what to do about the tequila later.

My plan was to salt the dough balls before I baked them, but I forgot that step. (Oops!) And the cookies came out of the oven a little more rounded than I wanted. So I smooshed them slightly with my hand to flatten them out a bit. And then it came to me: top the cooled cookies with a tequila-infused icing and then sprinkle them with salt. This trick would up the tequila flavor and give me a second chance to top the cookies with salt. Eureka!

The key to achieving the margarita flavor is the icing and the sprinkle of sea salt. The icing gives you the sweetness and the raw tequila flavor you expect in a drinkable margarita. The salt balances the sweetness and ties the lime and tequila together perfectly.

I used sea salt to top my cookies, but I'm sure kosher salt would work just as well. If you don't have either on hand, give regular old table salt a try--whatever salt you'd use to rim a margarita glass. Put some plastic wrap or wax paper under the cooling racks before you ice the cookies. This will make cleanup a lot easier.

There's a good amount of tequila in these cookies, so you might want to avoid operating heavy machinery after having a few.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Margarita Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg yolk 1/2 cup tequila 3 tablespoons lime zest 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	2 1/2 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt
Icing	1 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar 3 tablespoons lime juice 3 tablespoons tequila sea salt for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Smoosh the cookies slightly to flatten them a bit.Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
10. While the cookies are cooling, whisk together the icing ingredients in a small bowl.
    
11. Using a fork or a whisk, drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies. 
12. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on top of the wet icing.
    
13. To get the icing to set quickly, place the cookies in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
    

Mojito Cookies

I know, I know. It's been a while since I posted a recipe. Here goes!

In addition to Orbit mint mojito gum, I've got to thank Gary and Alan for this cookie. One night over French-Brazilian food and lots (and lots) of caipirinhas, we started talking about all the recipes I've thought up but haven't tested. Mojito was on that list.

A mojito is a drink made with white rum, lime, and mint. For my cookie version, I used vanilla rum, lime juice and zest, and mint tea. Why vanilla rum? Well, as I've said, I'm not really a cocktail connoisseur, and I didn't want to buy a big old bottle of booze that I would never finish. So I stopped by the liquor store, planning to pick up a little nip of white rum. Unfortunately, all they had was spiced and vanilla-flavored rum. When life gives you vanilla rum, you make mojito cookies.

The cookie base was simple enough to figure out. I decided to use both dark brown and white sugars because I wanted a chewy but solid texture. I knew the flavors would work together because I've had a lot of success using teas in cookies, and my lime-based cookies are among my most popular. My only concern was that the flavors wouldn't be pronounced enough. To solve that problem, I decided to pull together an icing that incorporated all the flavorings in the cookie itself.

I started with the icing recipe I used with my Hot Cross Bun Cookies and did some tweaking. I have to say the icing was a pretty good idea. As you start chewing the cookie, the confectioner's sugar starts to melt, creating a cooling effect on your tongue. Next, you get a hit of the lime, then the mint, and then the rum. Yup...the icing was a good idea.

Put some plastic wrap or wax paper under the cooling racks before you ice the cookies. This will make cleanup a lot easier.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Mojito Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 2/3 cup dark brown sugar 1/3 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg yolk 1/3 cup lime juice 2 tablespoons lime zest 3 tea bags of mint tea 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon white rum
Dry Ingredients	2 3/4 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Icing	1 cup confectioner's sugar 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice 2 1/2 tablespoons white rum 2 tea bags of mint tea

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
10. While the cookies are cooling, whisk together the icing ingredients in a small bowl.
    
11. Using a fork or a whisk, drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.
    
12. To get the icing to set quickly, place the cookies in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
    

Beach Plum Thumbprint Cookies

Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but my oatmeal sugar cookie recipe is really good: the perfect chewy/crunchy texture and just the right amount of sweetness. The recipe is so good, in fact, that I've used it as the base for my Boston Cream Pie and Lemon Curd & Gooseberry thumbprint cookies.

Thumbprint cookies are really simple to make. Just make indentations in the dough balls, fill them with stuff, and bake. So tasty and pretty.

For the latest iteration of the recipe, I decided to use some strictly local stuff to fill the thumbprints. I came across some beach plum jelly when I was home visiting Mumma, and I thought it would make the perfect filling for a cookie. Oh, boy was I right.

The beach plum jelly has a really interesting flavor. It's both sweet and tart and has hints of apple, cranberry, and grape. If it isn't available in your area, simply swap it out with your favorite locally sourced jam, jelly, or preserve.

Makes 21 cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Beach Plum Thumbprint Cookies.)

Thumbprint Filling

1/2 cup beach plum jelly

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Use your thumb to make an indentation in each dough ball. Fill each indentation with about 1/2 teaspoon of the beach plum jelly.
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Savory Parmesan & Black Olive Cookies

Thank Mumma for this recipe. She was reading a review of a schmancy new French restaurant in Plymouth (yes...Plymouth!) and was intrigued when the article mentioned tasty homemade Parmesan and olive cookies.

Mumma's an olive fiend, so I knew the request for a "copycat" version would be coming soon. And it did...the next week when I was home visiting. She never lets an opportunity to put the in-house baker to work.

I guess it would be more accurate to call these guys biscuits, not cookies. But where's the fun in that? My brother chomped into one thinking he was biting into a piece of sweet tasty goodness. Little did he know that those chunks were olives, not chocolate chips.

This isn't the first savory cookie I've made. (Check out my Simon & Garfunkel-inspired Scarborough Fair Cookies.) The key here is to replace the sugar with something savory. For me, the obvious answer is cheese. I just cream together the fat (butter and olive oil) and the cheese, the same way I would with sugar and butter for a sweet cookie.

I didn't add any salt to this recipe because the cheese and olives add a good amount of saltiness in their own right. I upped the amount of baking soda I usually use from 1/2 teaspoon to a full teaspoon just to make sure these guys had a little extra lift. There's a lot of cheese in this recipe, and I didn't want that to weigh down and flatten the cookies. For a little additional flavor I added black pepper and some dehydrated garlic, which is what Mumma had on hand. (If you have fresh garlic, go ahead and use that.) For some freshness and brightness, I added freshly chopped flat leaf parsley to the dry ingredients.

Makes 2 dozen cookies, but you can adjust the size downward to make twice as many bite-sized hors d'oeuvres. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Savory Parmesan & Black Olive Cookies.)

Creamables	1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 stick butter
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 1 tablespoon milk 1 can drained, roughly chopped medium olives
Dry Ingredients	2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese 1 1/4 cups flour 1 cup oatmeal 2/3 cup roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley 2 teaspoons black pepper 1 teaspoon roughly chopped or dehydrated garlic 1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. Scramble together the egg, Italian seasoning, and milk and add to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
4. Next add the chopped olives to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix again.
   
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each. For bite-sized hors d'oeuvres, make the dough balls about 2 teaspoons each.
   
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Lemon Curd & Gooseberry Biscuits

These cookies are for Gary, who challenged me to come up with a recipe using typically British ingredients. And here it is: an oatmeal thumbrint cookie filled with lemon curd and gooseberries and topped with dark chocolate. It's my take on the classic jaffa cake, which is a thin cookie (er, um, biscuit) topped with a layer of fruity/jammy stuff and then coated in chocolate.

I'd never had gooseberries before. In fact, the only time I've ever heard anybody say anything about them is on Food Network--that tomatillos are a part of the gooseberry family and are not just green tomatoes with husks. Well, gee...thanks for clearing that up, Alton Brown!

But I've tasted gooseberries now. They look like green grapes but have a bunch of soft seeds inside. They taste slightly sour and pair perfectly with the sweet/tart kick of the lemon curd. I guess that's lucky for me because I came up with the flavor combination before I had actually tried it.

These are really simple to make. They're just thumbprint cookies filled with some unconventional stuff and topped with chocolate.

Makes 21 cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Lemon Curd & Gooseberry Biscuits.)

Thumbprint Filling

1/3 cup lemon curd 1/3 cup drained canned gooseberries

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Glaze	1  cup dark chocolate chips, melted

1. In a small bowl, combine the filling ingredients. Use a fork to smoosh the gooseberries and mix everything together. Put the filling mixture in the refrigerator to stiffen until Step 10.
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
8. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
9. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Use your thumb to make an indentation in each dough ball. Fill each indentation with about 1/2 teaspoon of the thumbprint filling.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
12. Melt 1 cup dark chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the chocolate. Return the cookies to the wire racks so that the chocolate cools and solidifies.
    

Cherry-Vanilla Crispies

As I mentioned before, this is one of my older recipes. I've been tinkering with it in my head for a while now, and I finally got around to putting some of those changes into action.

Oh...and yeah...I've been on a cherry cookie kick lately, so it seemed like a pretty good time to post another recipe to this fruit-specific collection.

I came up with the original recipe thinking that I'd make a cookie with the same kind of internal texture as a Nestle's Crunch. I just love that little bit of snap, crackle, and pop in the middle. The first few attempts came out OK, but they just didn't have the texture I was aiming for.

The problem was that I was mixing Rice Krispies into the dough. The moisture made the Krispies limp and lifeless and without the ability to snap, crackle, and pop--just like cereal left in milk for too long.

So then it dawned on me to put the Krispies on the outside. This method would keep the Krispies dry and impart that signature texture I wanted. And it works!

To flavor these cookies, I used ground Nilla Wafers, dried cherries, and a healthy dose of vanilla extract. For a chewy but sturdy interior, I used a combination of light brown sugar and white sugar. These guys are plump and sturdy, crispy and chewy, and the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea or coffee.

Stay tuned for some variations on this recipe--ones that might include fresh cherries or chocolate or Cocoa Krispies.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Cherry-Vanilla Crispies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla 2 tablespoons milk
Dry Ingredients	2 1/2 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups ground Nilla Wafers 1 1/2 cups dried cherries 1 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	2 cups Rice Krispies

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
7. Roll each dough ball in the Rice Krispies. Use medium pressure to make sure the cereal adheres.
8. Place Krispies-coated dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Fourth of July Cookies

This recipe has been on The List for a long time. I meant to make it last Fourth of July, but I got distracted by the parade, fireworks, and--of course--all the hamburger eating I was doing. So, at long last, here's the Fourth of July Cookie. Happy Birthday, America!

The ingredients for this cookie are really obvious: I just needed to find red, white, and blue stuff. Cue the cherries, white chocolate, coconut (because Mumma loves it) and blueberries.

To maximize the blueberry flavor and color, I decided to use my signature no-egg process and replaced the traditional egg and vanilla wet ingredients with cooked blueberries amped up with white sugar, lemon juice, and milk. The result is a moist, flavorful, and colorful cookie. The splash of lemon juice really balances out the sweetness of the berries and brightens the flavor.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Fourth of July Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup light brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 1/4 cups halved fresh blueberries  2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 tablespoon milk
Dry Ingredients	3 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups coconut 1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup white chocolate chips 1 cup dried cherries 1/2 cup halved fresh blueberries 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cherries 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a small saucepan, heat blueberries, milk, lemon juice, and white sugar over medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, crushing the blueberries until the the mixture is smooth and evenly purple.
2. Remove blueberry mixture from the heat and set aside to cool until Step 4.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Preheat oven to 350º.
8. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up a little.
   
9. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Caramel Apple Bars

This one's for Sharon, a real-life cookie taster who put in a special request for a mom-friendly bar recipe.

I was really happy how these came out, though I do think I could have left them in the oven for a couple more minutes. It's really easy to tell when drop cookies are done. You just look at them. But bar cookies are a little different because they're bigger and thicker and are almost like baking a cake. For that reason, you should use the toothpick test to determine doneness.

The cookie base is soft, moist, and chewy. It's also really apple-y, with both apple sauce and diced fresh apples--and a healthy dose of cinnamon, which really highlights the apple flavor. The caramel topping is sticky and just a little bit crunchy. There's also a hint of apple flavor there from just a touch of apple juice. These are awesome on their own, but try popping one in the microwave for 30-45 seconds and topping it with vanilla ice cream. OMG!

Make sure you let the baking pan cool completely before you carve out the individual bars. If you don't, you'll end up with mangled, ragged, not-so-pretty pieces of cookie.

Makes 1 dozen bars. For 2 dozen thin bars, split the dough and topping in half and bake in two pans. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Caramel Apple Bars.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg yolk 1/2 cup applesauce 1 tablespoon milk 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Dry Ingredients	3 cups oatmeal 2 cups diced apples 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	1 3/4 cups caramel pieces 1/3 cup apple juice

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan with butter.
   
7. Scoop the cookie dough into the pan and spread out in an even layer.
   
8. Place the caramel pieces and apple juice in a bowl and microwave until melted--about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir well with a spoon to make the mixture smooth.
   
9. Pour the melted caramel on top of the cookie base and spread out in an even layer.
   
10. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes or until the bars pass the toothpick test.
11. Remove the baking pan from the oven and let cool completely.
12. Using a sharp knife, slice the pan-sized cookie into individual bars.
    

XXX Cherry + Chocolate Cookies

I'm visiting Mumma this weekend and knew that she was going to put the Oatmeal Cookie Guy to work as soon as I came home. That's not a problem at all, especially because I knew I'd be rewarded with some BR's pizza. But Mumma's not a baker, so any cookie making would require picking up some basic ingredients--like flour, salt, and butter--at the grocery store. Oh, yeah, and doing the mixing without my trusty Kitchen Aid stand mixer!

I have to give Mumma full credit for this recipe because it was her idea to make a cherry cookie. But cherry and what else? We emptied her cabinets to see what concoction we could make. Aha! To my surprise, Mumma had some fancy-dancy semi-sweet/white chocolate swirled chips. I had never used these guys before, and--quite frankly--I was surprised to find these in non-baking Mumma's cupboard. But upon closer inspection, we decided to pick up a fresh bag at the store.

So there we had it: a cherry and chocolate cookie. Then I got to work putting together the recipe. Why not do a "XXX" cookie that uses three forms of fruit: cooked, fresh, and dried? And what kind of spices would we use? Cinnamon didn't seem right. Then I saw the perfect flavoring: cherry-vanilla tea bags. Mumma had only two left, but they would do the trick.

These cookies turn out moist, chewy, and--best of all--packed with fruit flavor. The chocolate adds that little bit of sweetness and richness to balance the sweet/tart cherries. (I'm going to use dark chocolate chips next time...Mumma's grocery store didn't have any.)

This recipe is eggless, so it's perfect for anybody who has an egg allergy.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing XXX Cherry + Chocolate Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar 2 cherry-vanilla tea bags
Wet Ingredients	1 cup pitted, halved cherries  1/4 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons milk 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Dry Ingredients	3 cups oatmeal 3/4 cup flour 1 cup pitted, roughly chopped cherries 1 cup dried cherries 1 cup chocolate chips 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a small saucepan, heat cherries, milk, lemon juice, and white sugar over medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, crushing the cherries until the the mixture is smooth and evenly red.
2. Remove cherry mixture from the heat and set aside to cool until Step 5.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
8. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
9. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Blueberry & Lemon Cookies

At long last...I made those blueberry and lemon cookies I was promising.

I have fond memories of picking blueberries with my grandparents when I was a kid. We'd fill our buckets to the point of overflowing, and we'd end up with enough blueberries to last until the next season.

Our freezer was always stuffed with baggies of frozen blueberries. That and cheesecakes...and Jenny-O turkey rolls. (Mumma had every contingency covered.)

My grandmother would make blueberry pies and turnovers, and my dad would make muffins--the famous Jordan Marsh recipe--which inspired my Blueberry Muffin Top Cookies.

The lemon is bright, fresh, and summery and is just the right complement to the blueberries. Serve 'em warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you'll have a bowlful of summertime.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Blueberry & Lemon Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup light brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
Dry Ingredients	3 cups oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1 1/3 cup halved blueberries 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

(Dark) Chocolate Lemon in the Coconut

Introducing another member of the "In the Coconut" recipe series: (Dark) Chocolate Lemon in the Coconut Cookies! Because citrus, coconut and dark chocolate were made to go together.

The cookies in this series are among my most popular. They're light, flavorful, and have the perfect chewy/crunchy texture. They also make awesome ice cream sandwiches. (Hmmm. Note to self...)

With the warm weather coming, coconut and citrus are an obvious pairing. Throw dark chocolate into the mix, and you've got yourself something for .

The lemon is fresh and bright and adds a slight tartness. The coconut is rich and textural. The dark chocolate is silky and both bitter and sweet. These cookies are de-yummy!

Makes 4 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing [Dark] Chocolate Lemon in the Coconut Cookies.)

Creamables	2 sticks butter 2 cups dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1/4 cup cream of coconut 1/4 cup lemon juice 2 tablespoons lemon extract 2 tablespoons lemon zest 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 tablespoon coconut extract
Dry Ingredients	3 1/2 cups oatmeal 2 1/2 cups toasted coconut 1 cup flour 1 cup dark chocolate chips 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Lemon in the Coconut

Introducing the newest member of the "In the Coconut" recipe series: Lemon in the Coconut Cookies!

The cookies in this series are among my most popular. They're light, flavorful, and have the perfect chewy/crunchy texture. They also make awesome ice cream sandwiches. (Hmmm. Note to self...)

With the warm weather coming, coconut and citrus are an obvious pairing. Throw white chocolate into the mix, and you've got yourself a tropical fantasy.

The lemon is fresh and bright and adds a slight tartness. The coconut is rich and textural. The white chocolate ties everything together with just the right touch of sweetness. This cookie is the lovechild of a macaroon and a lemon bar.

Makes 4 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Lemon in the Coconut Cookies.)

Creamables	2 sticks butter 2 cups dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1/4 cup cream of coconut 1/4 cup lemon juice 2 tablespoons lemon extract 2 tablespoons lemon zest 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 tablespoon coconut extract
Dry Ingredients	3 1/2 cups oatmeal 2 1/2 cups toasted coconut 1 cup flour 1 cup white chocolate chips 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Neapolitan Cookies (Strawberry, Vanilla, and Chocolate)

This is a twist my XXX Strawberry Cookies. The twist is that I swapped the white chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips. Ingenious, ain't I?

Just like Neapolitan ice cream, this cookie combines three perfectly complementary flavors: strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate. (And who doesn't like chocolate-covered strawberries or chocolate fondue?)

The strawberries cooked with lemon juice and zest have a fresh, bright flavor that's the perfect background for the sweetness of the fresh and dehydrated strawberries. The dark chocolate chips provide richness and that little something extra--something exotic--to elevate these above the everyday.  The ground-up Nilla Wafers lend a light vanilla-y note. A final roll in turbinado sugar before baking gives the cookies a crunchy exterior that contrasts the moist, chewy interior.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Neapolitan Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup light brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries 3 tablespoons milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Dry Ingredients	2 cups oatmeal 1 cup finely ground Nilla Wafer cookies 3/4 cup flour 3/4 cup dehydrated strawberries 1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	turbinado sugar

1. In a small saucepan, heat strawberries, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and white sugar over medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon, crushing the strawberries until the the mixture is smooth and evenly red.
2. Remove cranberry mixture from the heat and set aside to cool until Step 5.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
5. Add vanilla to the cooled strawberry mixture. Whisk together until smooth.
6. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
7. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
9. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Roll each cookie dough ball in turbinado sugar.
    
11. Place the sugared dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
12. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and the tops are firm to the touch. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

XXX Strawberry Cookies

Why did I call these guys XXX? Simple...because I use three forms of strawberries: fresh, dehydrated, and cooked. And because they taste so good it's obscene.

If you liked my XXX Cranberry Cookies, you'll love these. The two recipes are almost the same, but I've made a few adjustments to highlight the delicate flavor of the strawberries, namely replacing dark brown sugar with light brown sugar, swapping out orange juice and zest with lemon juice and zest, and upping the amount of dehydrated fruit. (Oh...and you can feel good about eating these because they're eggless.)

The strawberries cooked with lemon juice and zest have a fresh, bright flavor that's the perfect background for the sweetness of the fresh and dehydrated strawberries. The white chocolate chips provide richness, and the ground-up Nilla Wafers lend a light vanilla-y note. A final roll in turbinado sugar before baking gives the cookies a crunchy exterior that contrasts the moist, chewy interior.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing XXX Strawberry Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup light brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries 3 tablespoons milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Dry Ingredients	2 cups oatmeal 1 cup finely ground Nilla Wafer cookies 3/4 cup flour 3/4 cup dehydrated strawberries 1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries 1/2 cup white chocolate chips 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	turbinado sugar

1. In a small saucepan, heat strawberries, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and white sugar over medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon, crushing the strawberries until the the mixture is smooth and evenly red.
2. Remove strawberry mixture from the heat and set aside to cool until Step 5.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
5. Add vanilla to the cooled strawberry mixture. Whisk together until smooth.
6. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
7. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
9. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Roll each cookie dough ball in turbinado sugar.
    
11. Place the sugared dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
12. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and the tops are firm to the touch. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Fluffernutter Cookies

Fluffernutter sandwiches--peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff on white bread--are probably one of the junkiest things you can eat. But they taste so good! They are (or were?) a lunchbox staple in elementary school cafeterias across Massachusetts, so it's possible a lot of you out there have never heard of these tasty little guys. This, at long last, is the cookie version.

I love peanut butter cookies, but they can be dry and bland. Thanks to Cook's Country magazine, though, I've got a fix for all that: finely ground Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch cereal. This adds the peanutty flavor without the chalkiness that straight peanut butter can have in baked goods.

To bump up the PB flavor, I also include 1/4 cup of peanut butter in the creamables and 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter chips in the dry ingredients.

The real star of this show is the Marshmallow Fluff. (Even if it does remind me of the stuff from the movie The Stuff.) Fluff is really sticky. To make it easier to handle, I scoop out individual dollops--one for each cookie--onto plates and freeze them until it's time to stuff the cookies. What goes into the freezer a sticky, goopy blob comes out a solid, nonsticky chip.

Just a heads-up: The stuffing process can take a little time, which means the dough can toughen up a little as you do each batch. If this happens, simply add a teaspoon or two of milk to the remaining dough and gently kneed it with your hands to incorporate the liquid. You'll be up and running again in no time!

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Fluffernutter Cookies.)

Filling

36 teaspoons Marshmallow Fluff, frozen

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup peanut butter
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla 2 tablespoons milk
Dry Ingredients	2 cups finely ground peanut butter Cap'n Crunch 1 1/2 cups oatmeal 1 cup flour 1 1/2 cups peanut butter chips 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Spritz one large plate or several small plates with cooking spray. Use a teaspoon to scoop 36 individual dollops (one for each cookie) of Marshmallow Fluff onto the plate(s). Place in the freezer until step 9.
   
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
7. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
8. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
9. Remove the filling mixture from the refrigerator and stuff each dough ball with a frozen Marshmallow Fluff chip.  
10. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Copycat Momofuku Compost Cookies

Well, after several requests for my take on the famous Momofuku Compost Cookie, and after several samplings (see here and here), I've finally done it!

The original includes a bunch of salty stuff and a bunch of sweet stuff: potato chips and pretzels combined with used coffee grounds, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and graham crumbs.

My version adds Fritos to the mix, replaces the butterscotch chips with peanut butter chips, and omits the graham crumbs because I thought they muddied the sweet/salt balance.

Another difference between the original and my version is the texture. Usually, I like my cookies chewy, but I the potato chips, pretzels, and Fritos got me in a crispy cookie mood. To make these cookies crispy, I added more butter, decreased the amount of dark brown sugar, and added white sugar. 

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Copycat Momofuku Compost Cookies.)

Creamables	1 1/2 sticks butter 3/4 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons dry, used coffee grounds
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 tablespoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 cup oatmeal 1 cup flour 3/4 cup roughly crushed potato chips 1/2 cup roughly crushed pretzels 1/2 cup roughly crushed Fritos 1/2 cup peanut butter chips 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

(Dark) Chocolate Lime in the Coconut

While I was home this weekend, I tried to come up with an Easter-themed cookie that spoke to the results of my Easter Treats poll, but--in all honesty--I'm having a little trouble figuring out the Peeps component.

And then it hit me. My blog buddy Alicia suggested that I should do a lime version of my (Dark) Chocolate Orange in the Coconut recipe. Eureka! A few poll takers commented that coconut is a favorite Easter treat. Lime is a jelly bean flavor. And chocolate...who doesn't like chocolate?

While this isn't as overtly Eastery as I had hoped, I think it's a hit! Plus, I get to put my lime extract to good use. (If you don't have or can't find lime extract, replace it with an equal amount of lime juice.)

These cookies come out nice and flat, just right for making ice cream sandwiches. YUM! Make sure you let them cool a little on the cookie sheets before moving to them to the cooling racks. It will make transfer a lot easier. For a plumper cookie, add 1/4 cup of flour, reduce the lime juice from 1/4 cup to 2 tablespoons, and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing [Dark] Chocolate Lime in the Coconut Cookies.)

Creamables	2 sticks butter 2 cups dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1/4 cup cream of coconut 1/4 cup lime juice 2 tablespoons lime extract 2 tablespoons lime zest 1 tablespoon coconut extract 1 tablespoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	3 1/2 cups oatmeal 2 1/2 cups toasted coconut 1 cup flour 1 cup dark chocolate chips 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Hot Cross Bun Cookies

Every year around Easter, grocery stores and bakeries start making hot cross buns, which are a seasonal specialty.

I remember getting up on Sunday mornings in early spring when I was a kid and finding pastry boxes on the kitchen counter filled with these soft, sweet, yeasty, raisin-filled buns topped with thick, wide lines of white icing. My dad, who got up ridiculously early every day, would pick them up on his way home from having breakfast with the other crack-of-dawners at the coffee shop in town.

I'd eat a whole bun every once in a while. But more often than not, I'd just scrape off the icing and eat it, leaving behind a naked, finger-streaked mess. (I also did this with the chocolate icing on eclairs.) What a great kid I was, right? But as I got older, I learned to love more than just the icing.

Some buns contained nuts and candied fruit--chewy little pieces of red, green, and yellow--but my favorite buns had only raisins. For my cookie version, I decided to stick with just raisins.

I started with an oatmeal sugar cookie base, added raisins and nutmeg (for light spice flavor), and chose a light drizzle of icing. Whodathunk a raisin sugar cookie would work, but it really, really does! The nuttiness of the ground oatmeal balances the sweetness of the white sugar, and the hint of nutmeg sets off the raisins perfectly. The little drizzle of icing wraps up the package.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Hot Cross Bun Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 teaspoons milk
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1 cup raisins 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Icing	1/3 cup confectioner's sugar 1 tablespoon milk 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
10. While the cookies are cooling, whisk together the icing ingredients in a small bowl.
    
11. Using a fork or a whisk, drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies.
    
12. To get the icing to set quickly, place the cookies in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
    

St. Patrick's Day Cookies

I wasn't entirely sure it was possible to squeeze three different types of alcohol--Guinness, Jameson, and Bailey's--into a single cookie recipe. It took a practice run, but I think I got it this time.

Drum roll please: St. Patrick's Day Cookies, A.K.A. Irish Car Bomb Cookies.

The biggest challenge with this recipe was that all the key flavors were liquids. I was a bit stumped, but then it hit me. I'd have to concentrate the flavors by reducing them over heat (and hopefully not setting my apartment ablaze in blue, alcohol-fueled flames in the process.)

Guinness seemed like the obvious choice for reducing over heat because I just couldn't imagine a stronger flavor than straight-up whiskey. (I'm getting that "ick, booze" scrunched-up face just thinking about it.) With that settled, I decided to use the Jameson the same way I would an extract, meaning only a tablespoon's worth. Then I was left with the Bailey's to incorporate into the recipe. I didn't think there was enough room left inside the cookie for another wet ingredient, so I decided to baste the dough balls with Bailey's before I popped them in the oven. Huzzah! I had my plan.

With the booze taken care of, I focused on the rest of the flavors. I decided to add some currants and chocolate chips to the recipe because I had them on hand and because I thought they would add a good sweet element to contrast with the rich, savory Guinness. For some background spiciness, I added a wee bit of cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper.

This is a pretty sturdy dough, so you might want to smoosh the dough balls a little with a spatula about halfway through baking to get a flatter cookie.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing St. Patrick's Day Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 1/2 cups Guinness reduced over heat to 1/2 cup 1 egg yolk 1 tablespoon Jameson whiskey 1 teaspoon vanilla
Dry Ingredients	2 1/4 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup currants 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	Bailey's

1. In a small saucepan, simmer 1 1/2 cups of Guinness over medium heat. Reduce the 1 1/2 cups of Guinness down to 1/2 cup. Set aside to cool for Step 3.
   
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
   
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Preheat oven to 350º.
6. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
7. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
8. Baste the dough balls with Bailey's.
9. Bake at 350º for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. (For flatter cookies, smoosh the dough balls a little with a spatula about halfway through baking.) Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Irish Breakfast Scone Cookies

This is my family-friendly St. Patrick's Day-inspired cookie. (Don't worry, I'm still working on a boozie recipe for all you imbibers out there.)

I don't even know if currants are native to Ireland, but they always seem to be in scones and Irish soda bread, so that's why these itty-bitty raisins are in this recipe. (The 0% they scored in my St. Patty's Day flavor poll notwithstanding.)

I also use a lot of Irish breakfast tea. First, I brew some really strong tea--6 tea bags for 2 1/2 cups of water--and then enplumpen the currants in it. I reserve 2 tablespoons of the brewed tea and add it and the contents of 4 tea bags to the wet ingredients.

So far, so good. But I felt that these guys need a little something else. Then it hit me. For a little crunch to contrast with the chewiness of the currants, I added some slivered almonds to the dry ingredients. Eureka! And there you have it: plump, moist cookies that are kinda like scones but sweeter, tastier, and plumper.

These little cookies are packed with oats, fruit, nuts, and tea. In other words, they're the perfect portable and portion-controlled breakfast (lunch, dinner, or anytime) snack. And they're perfect with tea! Who could complain with that, especially on St. Patrick's Day?

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Irish Breakfast Scone Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 cup currants soaked in strong Irish breakfast tea 1 egg 2 tablespoons brewed Irish breakfast tea 1 tablespoon milk 1 tablespoon vanilla 4 tea bags of Irish breakfast tea
Dry Ingredients	2 1/2 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup slivered almonds 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil and put 6 Irish breakfast tea bags in to steep for 10 minutes. You want a dark, strong brew.
2. Put the currants in the still-hot tea to plump for 30-45 minutes.
   
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
5. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. (Take the 2 tablespoons of brewed tea from the currant mixture.) Whisk together until smooth.
6. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
7. Strain the currants, discarding the remaining brewed tea. Add the plumped currants to the combined wet ingredients and creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
   
8. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
9. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
10. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
11. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
12. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
    

Orange & Mint Cookies

(Update: Jon thought I needed to show mint in this pic, so I Photoshopped in a little sprig. Voila!)

I have to thank my fellow Grub Clubber In-Young for this flavor combo, which--strange as it may seem--was inspired by a kind of Turkish tobacco she mentioned when she was talking about her trip to Egypt (I believe) and the stalls she saw at a market there. "Hmmm," I said, "orange and mint...that would make an awesome cookie!" Yup, that's how ideas come to me.

I knew I wanted a lot of orange flavor, but I was afraid my dough would end up too wet. (How else to make something orangey than by putting loads of orange juice in it?) So I decided to leave out the egg and replace that volume with orange marmalade.

(Yes. This is an eggless recipe for a totally egg-free cookie. I'm keeping my promise to develop allergen-free recipes for all my readers out there with food allergies.)

Then I decided to use one of my old citrus-flavor tricks: using fruit juice, zest, and extract to really deepen the flavor. For this recipe, I took it one step further and reduced 1 cup of orange juice by half over heat so that the liquid was bursting with concentrated flavor. I used fresh orange juice because I had fresh oranges on hand for the orange zest. A dash of orange extract rounded out the orange flavor.

I planned to use fresh mint in this recipe. I even picked up a few bunches from the grocery store. But I decided against it because I was afraid the flavor would be too woody or too week or that the mint itself would add too much moisture to the dough. So I nixed the fresh mint and went foraging through my cabinets until I found a box of Celestial Seasonings Mint Magic tea. Eureka! Strong mint flavor in a dry form. I cut open 2 tea bags and added the contents to the wet ingredients. To that I added just a little bit of mint extract--the perfect amount of mint to complement the orange.

(If flavor extracts are difficult to locate in your area, simply replace the extract with an equivalent amount of orange zest or mint tea.)

A rest in the refrigerator and a final roll in turbinado sugar before baking gives these guys that crunchy exterior/chewy interior texture I love.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Orange & Mint Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1/4 cup orange marmalade 1/2 cup apple juice (reduced over heat from 1 cup) 2 tea bags of mint tea (approx. 2 Tbsp) 3 tablespoons orange zest 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoons orange extract 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
Dry Ingredients	2 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	turbinado sugar

1. In a small saucepan, simmer 1 cup of orange juice over medium heat. Reduce the 1 cup of orange juice down to 1/2 cup. Set aside to cool for Step 3.
   
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth. (You might need to microwave the orange marmalade for about 30 seconds to make it whiskable.)
   
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Refrigerate cookie dough for 15-20 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350º.
7. Remove dough from the refrigerator and shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Roll each dough ball in turbinado sugar.
   
9. Place the sugar-coated dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Bake at 350º for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Spicy Valentine's Heart Cookies

I know. I'm a few days late with this recipe, but I have a good reason. I was trying to develop a cookie recipe that incorporated popular Valentine's flavors and hit a brick wall. There was nary a cinnamon heart candy to find in Manhattan! Just when I was about to give up, Jon suggested that we try a few more places. And guess what...it was Walgreens to the rescue, ah-ooh!

I didn't find cinnamon hearts, but I did find Red Hots candies. They're the same thing but round. Considering I had been planning on chopping up these little guys all long, what difference would the shape really make? Not much.

I'm really not a sugar cookie fan, but I have to admit that my oatmeal version is pretty darn good. I cut my cookies in the shape of hearts, thanks to a cookie cutter that my blog buddy Alicia sent me. For the full Valentine's effect, I dipped these cookie hearts in chocolate and then topped them with the chopped Red Hots candies.

Yum: heart shapes, chocolate, and spicy cinnamon. I think I nailed it, but I'm already planning some tasty variations for next Valentine's Day. (NB: No jewelry will be involved.)

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Spicy Valentine's Heart Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping	6 ounces milk chocolate, melted 1 1/2 cups Red Hots candies, roughly chopped

1. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
2. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
3. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 mintutes.
7. Preheat oven to 350º.
8. Roll the cookie dough into a sheet about 1/8" thick. Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the individual cookies.
   
9. Place the cookie cutouts about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.
11. While the cookies are baking, roughly chop the Red Hots candies in a food processor and place the pieces in a shallow bowl or on a plate.
    
12. Melt 6 ounces of milk chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the chocolate and then into the roughly chopped Red Hots.
    
13. Return the cookies to the baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes so that the chocolate cools and solidifies.
    

Red Bean-Stuffed Green Tea Cookies

Happy Chinese New Year, everybody! In honor of the Year of the Ox, I decided to make a truly Asian-inspired cookie. I can't take all of the credit, though. My fellow Grub Clubbers--Pam, In-Young, and Jon--along with a dessert of green tea ice cream and red bean pancakes at Hagi, encouraged me to take on this more-savory-than-sweet challenge. (Thanks, Pam, for picking up the can of beans for me!)

I made a green tea cookie exterior and used my standard stuffing technique to fill the the cookies with sweet red adzuki beans. If you can't find the beans in your local grocery store, or if you're not sure you're ready to experiment with a new ingredient, feel free to make the dough and skip the stuffing part. Who's looking, anyway?

I used bagged green tea, but make sure the tea you use is finely ground so that you don't end up with big honkin' twigs in your cookie. If your bagged tea is coarse, try giving it a whirl in your food processor or running your knife through it a couple dozen times until you're left with a finely chopped, powdery pile of tea. You'll get all the flavor and color but none of the twiggitude. (In all, I used about a dozen or so tea bags.)

Green tea, oats, and red beans. That's a snack that's so healthy you'll age in reverse--Benjamin Button style!

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Red Bean-Stuffed Green Tea Cookies.)

Filling	Approx. 1/2 can sweet red adzuki beans
Creamables	1 stick butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons finely ground green tea
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons cooled, brewed green tea
Dry Ingredients	1 1/4 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/3 cup finely ground green tea 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Open the can of sweet red adzuki beans, pour contents in a bowl, and place in the refrigerator to firm up until Step 7.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
4. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
5. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
6. Preheat oven to 350º.
7. Remove the filling from the refrigerator and stuff each dough ball with 1 teaspoon of beans. Put the stuffed dough balls in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.
8. Place chilled dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm and golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Flat, Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

A while back, Lorelei wrote in to ask me if I could come up with a recipe for a flat, crunchy chocolate chip cookie that she could make for her dad. I'm not one to turn down a recipe challenge, so I got to work researching and planning. I even conducted a poll to see whether my readers preferred their chocolate chip cookies flat and crunchy or plump and chewy.

I'm a fan of plump and chewy cookies, so this really was a challenge. I even had a couple missteps (well, more like a couple full-blown Oops! episodes) along the way. But, ultimately, I worked out the kinks in my practice batches and have come up with what I think is pretty darn good recipe that will satisfy all those fans of flat, crunchy cookies out there.

I started with my Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, of course, and got a-tweaking. I knew that white sugar makes a crispy cookie, so that was a no brainer. But I also wanted the molassessy richness of brown sugar, just a hint of chewiness, and a nice crumb, so I threw in a wee 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar. So far, so good.

Next came the wet and dry ingredients. The wetter the dough, the flatter and crispier the final cookie, so I cut back on the flour and oatmeal and increased the vanilla a little. I also cut back on the leavening--the baking soda--to ensure that the cookies didn't rise too much while baking.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Thin, Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 3/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon milk
Dry Ingredients	3/4 cup oatmeal 3/4 cup four 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips 2 ounces shaved milk chocolate 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Place the dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
9. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool. 

Coconut Rum Raisinet Cookies

This is the third recipe in my improvisational baking series. As I've said before, it takes only a few tweaks to turn a classic recipe into something entirely new.

I started with my Better Than Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies as a source recipe and made a few changes--adding chocolate chips, soaking the raisins in rum, and adding straight rum to the wet ingredients--and came up with a completely new recipe for Rum Raisinet Cookies.

For this next round of improvisation, I started thinking of flavors that would compliment the rum and chocolate. I considered adding another variety of dried fruit, white chocolate chips, and even a dusting of turbinado sugar to give the cookies a crunchy, sugary shell when they bake. But then I opened my cabinet, and the answer I was looking for was staring right back at me: coconut, the perfect partner for both rum and chocolate. I have to thank Mumma for this one. (Thanks, Mumma!) She thinks everything should have coconut in it.

I replaced a cup of the oatmeal with a cup of toasted coconut, and I replaced 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon of milk with 1 teaspoon of coconut extract. These two small changes give the cookies a brand new flavor and texture, really jazzing up the source recipe and the second-round recipe as well.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Coconut Rum Raisinet Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	3/4 cup raisins soaked in 3/4 cup rum, drained 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon rum 1 teaspoon coconut extract
Dry Ingredients	1 cup oatmeal 1 cup toasted coconut 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup flour 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Soak the raisins in 3/4 cup rum to plump for 30-45 minutes.
2. Toast the coconut.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
5. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
6. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
7. Strain the raisins, discarding the remaining rum. Add the plumped raisins to the combined wet ingredients and creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
   
8. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
9. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
10. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
11. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
12. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool. 

Rum Raisinet Cookies

As I mentioned in my earlier post on improvisational baking, it takes only a few tweaks to turn a classic recipe into something entirely new.

I started with my Better Than Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies as a source recipe and then did some brainstorming. "What flavors go with raisins?" I thought. And then it hit me: booze and chocolate. Rum raisin ice cream is pretty popular, and Raisinets (chocolate-coated raisins) are a common movie theater snack. What a no-brainer.

I wanted to keep the raisin-chocolate balance even, so I split the 1 1/2 cups of raisins from the source recipe in two and used 3/4 cup raisins and 3/4 cup chocolate chips. I then decided to soak the raisins in rum to infuse them with flavor and to enplumpen them. Next, I replaced a teaspoon of the milk in the wet ingredients with a teaspoon with rum.

I made just three small changes to the source recipe, and I've come up with a new cookie. It really was that simple. I just swapped out one ingredient for an equal amount of another.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Rum Raisinet Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	3/4 cup raisins soaked in 3/4 cup rum, drained 1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon rum 1/2 teaspoon milk
Dry Ingredients	2 cups oatmeal 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup flour 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Soak the raisins in 3/4 cup rum to plump for 30-45 minutes.
   
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. Strain the raisins, discarding the remaining rum. Add the plumped raisins to the combined wet ingredients and creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
   
7. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
9. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool. 

Repost: Better Than Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve got some pretty unique oatmeal cookie recipes up my sleeve. But it occurred to me that I haven’t posted a recipe for the most classic of classic oatmeal cookies: oatmeal raisin.

I love oatmeal raisin cookies (ORCs), but it can be hard to find one that has the right texture (neither too soft nor too crunchy) and the right amount of raisins (neither a dearth nor a glut). How many of you have had ORCs that are super chewy or super raisiny but super bland? Or ORCs that are just way too soft (to the point of falling apart) or just way too crunchy (to the point of breaking a tooth)? It’s a serious baking challenge to get the balance right.

By upping the brown sugar, oatmeal, and raisins and using less flour than many standard ORC recipes, I made a cookie that’s even better than your grandma’s. I also roll the dough balls in turbinado sugar before baking to give the finished cookies a nice crunchy exterior to contrast with the chewy interior, which is my favorite texture combination. (If you prefer a cookie that is strictly soft and chewy throughout, this sugaring step is optional, of course.)

Makes about 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Better Than Grandma's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoons milk
Dry Ingredients	2 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups raisins 1/2 cup flour 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping (optional)	turbinado sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
3. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
4. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Roll each dough ball evenly in turbinado sugar
9. Place dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies

A rerun of Paula's Party on Food Network last night inspired this cookie. Red velvet cake is a Southern specialty, y'all! [Insert bawdy double entendre here.]

According to the admittedly cursory research I've done on the topic, red velvet cake got its color as a result of sugar rationing during World War II. Because people couldn't run next door to borrow a cup of sugar, bakers started using boiled beets as a sugar substitute in their cakes. Along with the beets' sweetness came the beets' blood-red color. And lo, an American classic was born

About five years ago, Jon and I baked a red velvet cake for Christmas. We made this cake only once because...well...let's just say all the red food coloring caused a certain reaction, so we never made it again.

Paula got me thinking that I should give the red velvet recipe another try, but this time in oatmeal cookie form--and with a twist. Instead of icing the cookies, I decided to stuff them.

Be careful when you work with the food coloring. That stuff stains, and you don't want to spend the night scrubbing your hands and mumbling like Lady Macbeth about getting damned spots out.

Makes 2 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies.)

Filling	6 ounces room-temperature cream cheese 1/3 heaping cup toasted, chopped pecans 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla
Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup white sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 3 tablespoons red food coloring 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon milk 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
Dry Ingredients	1 1/2 cups finely ground oatmeal 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Toast the pecans then roughly chop them.
   
2. Add all the filling ingredients to a small bowl and mix with a spatula until well blended. Let the mixture cool and solidify in the freezer until step 8.
3. Preheat oven to 350º.
4. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
6. In another large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
7. Shape dough into balls—about 2 tablespoons each.
8. Remove the filling mixture from the freezer and stuff each dough ball with 1 teaspoon of the mixture. Put the stuffed dough balls in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.
9. Place chilled dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
10. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

2008: The Year in Cookies

Toffee Figgy Pudding Cookies

Or should they be called Figgy Toffee Pudding Cookies? Or am I thinking of sticky toffee pudding? One thing's for sure, though: These guys are a tastier, chewier, homemade version of Fig Newtons. (Incidentally, I learned in Francine Segan's cookie talk at the 92nd St. Y that Fig Newtons were named for the town Newton in Massachusetts, not for Sir Isaac of apple/gravity fame.)

Figgy pudding is a traditional English Christmastime treat. In the U.K., a "pudding" can be anything from a steamed cake to a sausage. I know...wacky, right? (I have a feeling Jell-O won't be making Blood Pudding Pops anytime soon.)

I got the idea for this cookie from an episode of Nigella Lawson's show on Food Network. She made a chocolate fig cake for her Christmas episode. It was so English-y! Scenes from Love Actually and all my favorite Britcoms ran through my head. And so I started researching figgy pudding and how to turn it into a cookie.

Traditional figgy pudding has four main components: figs, spice, citrus, and a sweet, creamy topping. To incorporate all those flavors into a cookie, I used plumped-up dried figs, two kinds of ginger, cinnamon, and orange and lemon zests. To duplicate the sweetness of the pudding's creamy topping, I used toffee bits.

This is the second version of the recipe. In the first, I used fig preserves as the main wet ingredient. The taste was there, but the cookies were hard as a rock when they cooled. To correct that, I eliminated the fig preserves and decided to reconstitute the dried figs in warm water to plump them up and to add some more moisture to the dough. Success! (If you enjoy a little nip now and then, try reconstituting the dried figs in some booze. A mixture of 2/3 cup rum and 1/3 cup water would be brilliant!)

One bite of these cookies will have you saying "God bless us, every one." Happy Christmas!

The baked cookies don't spread or flatten much because the figs are so thick. For a flatter cookie, smoosh the dough balls a little with a spatula about halfway through baking.

Makes 3 dozen cookies. (To see this recipe in process, check out Picturing Toffee Figgy Pudding Cookies.)

Creamables	1 stick butter 1 cup dark brown sugar
Wet Ingredients	1 egg 2 tablespoons milk 2 teaspoons orange zest 2 teaspoons lemon zest 2 teaspoons microplaned fresh ginger 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup chopped dried figs, soaked and strained
Dry Ingredients	2 1/2 cups oatmeal 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup toffee bits 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Roughly chop the dried figs and soak in 1 cup warm water to plump for 15-20 minutes.
   
2. Preheat oven to 350º.
3. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
4. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together until smooth.
5. Add the combined wet ingredients to the creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
6. Strain the figs, discarding the remaining water. Add the plumped figs to the combined wet ingredients and creamables. Mix together until well incorporated.
   
7. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the combined creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
9. Shape dough into balls--about 2 tablespoons each.
10. Place the  dough balls about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
11. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool. (For a flatter cookie, smoosh the dough balls a little with a spatula about halfway through baking.)