No Fail Chocolate Chip Cookies

My friend Kelly sent me this recipe from allrecipes.com. She's made them herself and she and her husband loved them. On the website, they received excellent ratings. 

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (You could also use milk chocolate chips for something less bitter)

  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

In medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir with fork so all ingredients are mixed. 

In large bowl, combine sugars, and butter. Mix until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth and fluffy. 

Add 1 cup of dry ingredients at a time to mixture until all is incorporated. Drop cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I WISH I had come up with the recipe for these cookies! They are sooo good! I've made them quite a few times and they always come out great. I found the recipe online awhile ago, where someone reposted it. But I think the original recipe came from recipezaar.

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (After making them a couple times, I decided to up the peanut butter. It didn't affect they way they turned out, other than they tasted a lot better! I use about a cup.)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda


Preheat oven to 375
Combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, milk, vanilla, and egg in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended
In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix until blended
Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto parchment lined baking sheet
Take a fork and dip into vegetable oil, then dip into a bowl of sugar. Flatten each drop lightly in a criss cross pattern with the fork. (I just do once horizontally and once vertically. You'll have to keep dipping the fork in the oil and sugar.)
Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown.

As an added treat, you can dip these in melted chocolate! You could dip half, or the entire cookie. Allow to set 30 min to an hour before serving.

Chai Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

This is another recipe sent my way by S. (Check out The London Diaries!). She's made these twice and says they're to die for.

S sent me the original recipe, which came from the Serious Eats website. But she's also modified the recipe to suit her taste and has included those notes in parentheses. Go with what works for you!

serves 4 dozen cookies, active time 20 minutes, total time 45 minutes

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (they really do mean it when they say “at room temperature.”)
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs (or three small eggs)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I add a tiny splash extra)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (the kosher bit isn’t necessary. Regular salt works just fine)
• 1 teaspoon cardamom (was really hard for me to find... I put in a slightly lumped teaspoon, so a tad bit more than one teaspoon)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (I put in a teaspoon and a half, purely because I love cinnamon)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (very strong so kept to the ½ teaspoon)
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves (also very strong, but put in a pinch or two extra as I like cloves and they make the cookies smell ah-ma-zing!!)
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (went with just under a full teaspoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup raisins (added a bit extra because they’re nice)
• 1 chai teabag (not the powder mix that you can get, you need the teabags)
• 2 cups boiling water

Procedures

1. Let chai tea steep in boiling water for 5 minutes. Discard teabag. Let raisins steep in chai tea for 15 minutes, then drain. (I leave them for a bit longer.... it doesn’t change much but the raisins do get nice and plump!)
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter, dark brown sugar, and granulated sugar until fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture in two additions, beating until just combined. Stir in oats and raisins. Let dough chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop dough in rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. (I don’t know if it’s just my oven but I do find that I leave the cookies in for around 14 minutes. Then again... I do like them a bit crisp.)

I think I might try tossing in a handful of chocolate chips next time too!

Monster Cookies

This recipe is from my friend Brittany V. I've heard of Monster Cookies before, but haven't yet made them for myself. Brittany says they are a must try. They do sound delicious! :)

Prep Time : 10 minutes
Cook Time : 10 minutes
Serves: 3 Dozen

Ingredients

*3 eggs
*1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
*1 cup granulated sugar
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
*1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
*1 stick butter, softened
*1/2 cup plain M&Ms
* 1/2 cup chocolate chips
* 1/4 cup raisins (optional)
*2 teaspoons baking soda
*4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (NOT INSTANT)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the M&Ms, chocolate chips, raisins if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

This homemade cookie recipe is from Sue C. These cookies freeze well, ship well, and can feed a crowd. Unless of course, you want to eat them all yourself! :)

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
3/4 Cups Quaker Old Fashion Oats (Do not use Minute Oats)
3/4 Cups light Brown Sugar, packed
3/4 Cups White Sugar
1 Cup (2 sticks) Salted butter, softened
2 Large Eggs
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Cups (12oz) Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Chopped pecans (Optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

In a medium bowl combine flour, soda, salt and oats. Mix well with wire whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl blend sugars with an electric mixer at medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste. Scrape down sides of bowl, then add eggs and vanilla. Beat at medium speed till light
and fluffy (Beat at least 3-4 minutes) the fluffier the better.

Add the flour mixture a little at a time until combined. DO NOT OVER MIX.

Add Chocolate chips and nuts at low speed until combined. I usually just turn the mixer on and off a few times for a few seconds.
Just like if you were using a pulse button.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet approx 1 1/2 inches apart. I use parchment paper and they brown
nicely....

Depending on your oven it will take from 16-20 minutes....... After baking immediately transfer cookies to a flat surface with a spatula.

Makes approx 3-4 doz depending on how large you like them. I usually
make mine a little smaller than a Tablespoon.