“Dump” Cookies

Please pardon the name, but that is just want came to mind when I whipped these up today… These cookies pretty much have every ingredient you can think of chocolate, oats, nuts, and dried fruit! In addition I made a few of these cookies extra special for two close friends of mine, they are celebrating their one year home ownership anniversary today! Congrats Nick and Katie on turning your house into a home over the last year!

I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my day than baking for friends 🙂 Also now that I think about it my friends had a large tree take a “dump” on their garage within 4 days of moving in last year so I think these cookies are very fitting! You can read more about that here on their blog 🙂

Ingredients ( Make 3 dozen cookies) Preheat oven to 350

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

• Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until blended.
• Combine flour, soda, oats, and salt in a small bowl; gradually add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and chopped pecans. Drop  tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets.
• Bake at 350° for 8 to 14 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

To make some of the cookies extra special for my friends I sprinkled shredded coconut on them just before popping them in the oven! Alex isn’t a big coconut fan so I left the rest of the cookies coconut free, but either way they will be delicious!

Recipe adapted from Southern Living, 2005

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week I officially started my first big girl job at a local Milwaukee Hospital. I can’t tell you how excited/ scared I am. So far everything is going great, and I’m ready  to dive right in and start my nursing career! This transition has been going quite well, and I hope I can keep up the energy I seem to have lately! With the half marathon only 2 weeks away, and 40 hours of work each week I still feel like I can do it all. I’m sure that will change very soon, but I’m going to take advantage of every minute that I feel motivated. In addition I now need to make myself a lunch every day. So when I’m packing up my brown bag this week I’ll be having these cookies as desert… you know right before I get ready to pound the hallways saving lives 🙂

(Makes 2 – 2 1/2 Dozen Cookies)

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Butter (Softened)
• 1 Cup Peanut Butter
• 3/4 Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• 1/2  Cup Sugar
• 1 Large Egg
• 3/4 Tablespoons Milk
• 3/4 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/4 Cups Flour
• 3/4 Teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup  Dark Chocolate Chips

Directions (Preheat Oven to 350)

In a mixing bowl combine the butter and peanut butter, and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy. Add the brown and white sugars and mix until well combined. Add the egg and mix for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is well combined and light in color. Add the milk and vanilla and mix. Add the dry ingredients and mix just briefly. While there are still large spots of flour, add the chocolate chips and mix until the flour is completely mixed in and the mixture is well combined. Let the cookie dough sit for 15 minutes before scooping onto the baking sheets.

Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto silpat or parchment-lined baking sheets leaving about 1 to 2 inches in between the cookies to allow for spreading as they bake. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes after baking before removing them to a cooling rack. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Store in an air tight container and enjoy all week long!

Recipe adapted from Melskitchencafe.com

Triple Chocolate Cake Cookies

A few months ago I discovered cake batter cookies, which I must say are such a great invention! The cookies come out soft and chewie, which is a must in my book, and you can whip up a batch in no time flat! Here is the recipe I developed for Triple Chocolate Cake Cookies.

Makes 16-18 cookies ( Preheat oven to 350 degrees)

Ingredients

• 1/2 Box of Chocolate Cake Mix
• 1 Large Egg
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1/4 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 Cup White Chocolate Chips

Directions

• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and mix until well incorporated. The dough will be dryer than your typical cookie dough, but this is normal. Drop spoon-fulls of dough onto a baking sheet, and place into your preheated oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely on a rack.

I think from start to finish you can easily have these cookies done in 20 minutes! Also with the wide variety of cake mixes out there you can create some really fun and tasty combinations!

Cranberry Crumble Cookies

Guess what it’s my day off again, and yes i’m back in the kitchen baking! I found this recipe on Pinterest while looking for Rhubarb recipes. Sadly when I went to the store they were  out of rhubarb, so I decided to get creative and sub in cranberries. I figure they will be a great addition to this cookie, because they have that same tartness that I was looking for. The recipe is adapted from OX Breakfast .

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients ( Makes about 20 mini cookies)

1. 2 Cups Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
2. 1/4-1/2 Cup Sugar ( I used 1/4 cup because I like my mixture more tart)
3. 1 Lemon Zested
4. 1 Lemon Juiced
5. 6 Tablespoons Butter, melted and cooled
6. 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
7. 1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
8. 1/2 Cup Flour (whole wheat works)
9. 1/2 Cup Chopped Almonds (optional)
10. a big pinch of salt

Fruit Directions

Combine the first 4 ingredients on a baking pan, and place in oven once it has preheated. Baked until cranberries have softened and liquid has evaporated by half (about 20 minutes). Remove from oven and allow to cool. Reduce oven to 375 degrees.

Cookie Directions

Combine ingredients 5-10 in a mixing bowl, then fill silicone baking cups with 1 tablespoon of this mixture ( Substitute a mini  muffin pan if you don’t have the baking cups. I bought mine at the dollar store, so they really aren’t a huge investment if you want to go out and buy some).

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place a spoonful of cranberry mixture on top of each cookie. Sprinkle a small amount of the left over cookie mixture, and place cookies back in the oven for an addition 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the baking cup. Transfer cookies out of the baking cups using a spoon, and place on a cooling rack.

These cookies are so easy and have such a bright flavor spring flavor!  Who knows, maybe the Easter Bunny will be making a special delivery of these cookies to some friends in the near future….

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Recently while scouring Pintrest (AKA my new obsession) I found this great recipe for cinnamon roll pancakes from the blog Life as a Lofthouse. This recipe inspired me to try out the concept of cinnamon roll cookies! Cinnamon Rolls without all the yeast and rising time, I mean what could be better. While searching around the internet  I found a great recipe for cinnamon roll cookies on Real Simple. I used their basic sugar cookie recipe as my cookie base. Then finished by following the directions for their Cinnamon Pinwheels. Recipe below.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for shaping the cookies
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
3. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated (the dough will be stiff). Shape into a disk and (unless otherwise specified in an individual recipe) refrigerate, wrapped, for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

I allowed the dough to rest for an hour then followed the steps below to create the perfect cinnamon roll cookies.

Directions

1. Divide the Basic sugar cookie dough in half (do not substitute slice-and-bake dough). On a floured surface, roll each piece into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle.
2. Sprinkle with a mixture of ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
3. Starting from a long side, roll each rectangle into a log. Refrigerate until firm. Slice ¼ inch thick.
4. Bake at 350° F on parchment-lined baking sheets until just beginning to brown, 15 to 18 minutes.
5. Cool slightly on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely

Since this recipe didn’t include frosting, and I don’t know any cinnamon roll that doesn’t have frosting, I decided too add some to jazz things up!

Frosting Recipe

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 1 cup powered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons milk

Whisk ingredients together and drizzle over the top of the cookies (Be sure that the cookies are completely cooled).

Yeh I totally think they needed the frosting drizzle! Ok, I guess that means it’s snack time! Happy Hump Day everyone!