Jillian's Soft Sugar Cookies

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I will never make another recipe of sugar cookies!!  My friend, Jillian, was so sweet to share this recipe with me.  I made a few batches of these for my dad for his birthday, and I thought he was going to cry when he opened the box.  Soft sugar cookies with no frosting are his favorite cookies, but he is always disappointed when he thinks he has found a kind he'll like.  He literally ADORED these sugar cookies.  They are the cookies he has dreamed about for his whole life.  And he's quite the critic when it comes to sugar cookies, so you can totally trust this recipe!  They also freeze great if you want to make a bunch in advance or just to have them on hand.

{What you need}

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup sour cream

4-6 cups flour 

(just until the texture is still just a bit sticky; it should be kind of a runny dough, though.)

Cream shortening, sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Add the eggs and beat well.  Alternately add the dry ingredients and sour cream.  I added about 4.5 cups.  Chill the dough for 3 hours or up to 2 days.  Roll out batches of the dough on an floured surface with a floured rolling pin until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick.  Cut into desired shapes and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.  I actually took them out at 7 minutes 30 seconds so that they stay fluffy and soft.  Immediately remove from cookie sheet and cool them on a towel.  Repeat until the dough is gone.

Filled Vanilla Wafers

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This one is a delicate and tasty treat that is perfect for fancy showers or parties.  It takes a little time but is really quite simple and incredibly impressive.  This one comes c/o my precious grandmother-in-law, who in all honesty puts Martha Stewart to shaaaaaaaaame.

{What you need}

2 boxes vanilla wafer cookies

1 cup crushed pineapple—drained

1 cup finely chopped dates

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

2-3 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.  Cook together until it starts to thicken.  Cool.  Spread 1 teaspoonful or so between two vanilla wafers and roll each filled cookie in powdered sugar. Put in air tight container and age  24 hours or a little less.  These do not keep for a long time as they continue to absorb moisture, but I have recently discovered that they can be frozen and kept for some time.

Chocolate Chip Cookie S'Mores

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Untouchably delicious.  Really.  How can you go wrong with these ingredients??  This is a fun and mouth-watering variation on traditional s'mores.  I got the idea off a cooking segment on the Today show, but I don't know how to find it to reference... Sorry, Matt, Anne, and Al.

{What you need}

your favorite chocolate chip cookies {this recipe rocks}

peanut butter

Hershey Chocolate Bars

jumbo marshmallows

tin foil for grilling

Take two cooled chocolate chip cookies and spread your desired amount of peanut butter on the bottoms of both.  Using the two cookies as the ends of the "sandwich", stuff with chocolate bar and mallow, as you would with a traditional s'more.  Wrap the cookie sandwich in tin foil and grill on a low-heated grill for 5 minutes, or until the mallow reaches the desired meltiness.  Careful not to burn!

Chocolate Chunk Rice Krispie Cookies

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This is my mother's best cookie recipe.  Incidentally she got it from my mother-in-law.  But it seriously is so delicious, and such a unique, hearty texture.  We have these at lest three times a month and they never get old.

{What you need}

  2 eggs

    1/2 c. butter

    2/3 c. sugar

    2/3 c. brown sugar

    1 c. oats

    1 1/2 c. flour

    1/2 tsp baking soda

    2/3 c. rice krispies

    1 c. chocolate chips

    1 c. white chocolate chips  


Cream together eggs, butter, and sugars.  Add oats, flour, and soda and blend evenly.  Fold in rice krispies and chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.  Enjoy with a huge glass of ice cold milk!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

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So easy.  So uniquely delish.  They are really peanut buttery, so if you don't like PB these might not be for you.  But if you do, then these are heaven!

{What you need}

1 cup white sugar

1 cup peanut butter

1 egg

18 bite-size reese's peanut butter cups

Cream sugar, pb, and egg.  Form dough into small balls, forming each dough-ball around one peanut butter cup.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.  It is CRUCIAL that you do not over-bake them.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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These totally are not in season, but they are delicious as ever!  Tonight for dinner I made this pasta so I thought I'd try to get the most out of the can of pumpkin we bought.  I googled a recipe for cookies and found this winner here.  The only change I made was I used chocolate chips instead of raisins and nuts.  That was a no-brainer to me.  They turned out to be the best pumpkin chocolate chip cookies John and I have ever had.  Enjoy!

{What you need}

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 bag chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, cream together sugar, egg, shortening, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl sift together the rest of the dry ingredients and gradually add in to sugar mixture until blended.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Spoon onto greased cookie sheets and cook for 10-15 minutes.  We found that 12 minutes is perfecto.

Eggless Cookie Dough

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Some people are paranoid about eating cookie dough because of the raw egg in it.  This has never fazed me, but I stumbled across this delicious recipe and whipped it together for a tasty treat for a sisters day.  It keeps great and I just keep a batch in the fridge to snack on every once in a while when I'm having a sugar craving.

{What you need}

1 cup butter

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 small (~3.5oz) box instant vanilla pudding 

1/4 cup milk

1 Tablespoon vanilla

2 cups chocolate chips 

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light in color.  Add pudding and combine well. Stir in vanilla and milk.  Add in baking soda and flour, 1/2 cup at a time until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Keep refrigerated. 

(compliments of The Sisters Cafe)

Stupid Cookies

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Isn't that name hillarious?  My darling friend Crystal posted this recipe on her blog a while ago and I was very intrigued.  Then some patients at my workplace brought some in for the office staff around Christmas time and I about passed out, they were so good.  And, oh, so easy!!  I think I'll make a batch and send it one-day-delivery to my darling brother at the Missionary Training Center.  Or for my nephews to bribe them to love me....

{What you need}

1 package butterscotch chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 bag chowman noodles or about 3 cups fritos, or 3 cups of corn flakes

Combine butterscotch and peanut butter in a large bowl.  Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat two more times.  Add the noodles or fritos or corn flakes and toss until coated.  Spoon into little clusters on a sheet of wax paper or a cookie sheet.  Allow to set.  Stuff your face.

(Compliments of Crystal Evans)

Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies

submitted by Melanie from The Sisters Cafe

So I didn't try these cookies because I gave up cookies for Lent, but John said he absolutely LOVED them. He said they may even be his new favorite cookie, which says a lot because he is a cookie connoisseur! I love the cooking blog The Sisters Cafe, which is where I got this recipe. It has loads of winners! These are great for parties, etc., or for the neighborhood kids. I know that for a fact, because all the neighborhood kids came over to snarff them when I was done! Major hit.

{What you need}

2 1/2 c. all purpose flour

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. sugar

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 c. softened butter

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 c. chopped almonds, or pecans

(I left the nuts out entirely)

48 Rolo (caramels in milk chocolate), unwrapped 9 oz. pkg.

1 tbsp. sugar

4 oz. vanilla flavored candy coating (opt.)

(I used a tub of vanilla frosting and it worked just as well. I just put it in a ziploc and snipped a tiny corner off to use as a frosting-squeezer-drizzle-thingy. Im sure there is a technical term for that...)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup and level off. In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; blend well.

In a large bowl, beat 1 cup sugar, brown sugar and butter until light. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Add flour mixture, blend well. Stir in 1/2 cup of the pecans.

For each cookie with floured hands, shape about 1 tablespoonful dough around 1 Rolo, covering completely.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup pecans and 1 tablespoon sugar. Press one side of each ball into pecan mixture. Place nut side up, 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes or until set and slightly cracked. Cool 2 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet to cool on wire rack. Melt the vanilla flavored candy coating in a saucepan or in a baggie in the microwave. Drizzle over cookies.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

{What you need}

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 cups brown sugar

1 lb. real butter

3 eggs

2 tblsp. vanilla

(cream all of these ingredients together)

add:

1 1/2 tsp. soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

6 cups flour

Large pkg. chocolate chips

Form into golf ball sized balls and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes (Don't overbake!)

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{1/3 of the recipe}

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 stick butter

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

1/3 package chocolate chips