Hot Chocolate Cookies with Toasty Marshmallows

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When the temperatures drop below 0° F, there is only one thing to do; stay indoors bundled up and make hot cocoa or bake this cookie recipe! Happy baking!

Coconut Toffee Oatmeal Cookies

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Back to the yum list... oatmeal.  Not exactly favorite breakfast food around here unless, that is, you ask my husband.  Me: "Honey, what would you like for breakfast this weekend?" Husband: "Oatmeal." Kids (and me): "Ugh." Once again, they do like it, just not as much as my husband.  But when you are fed foods like Italian Beef, French Fries, and Fried Chicken over the course of two weeks, it is probably a good idea to get some wholesome oats into your diet.  Thinking of my husband's need to take a broom to the ole system and my children's pity, I thought I would make everyone happy with a batch of oatmeal cookies.  Instead of "all right, Mom" I got an "alright, Mom!"

I like my oatmeal cookies on the thick and chewy side.  I also like them with coconut and toffee bits.  The coconut adds to the chewiness, the toffee lends a little crunch, and they both provide more sweetness.  Don't care for coconut? Omit it.  Trying to cut back on sugar or can't find toffee bits? Omit that too.  Want to add chocolate chips? Go for it!  Just do not ask me about raisins.  If there is one food that will most likely never make an appearance in a recipe on my blog, it is raisins.  If I were forced at gunpoint or paid big bucks (talkin' millions here) to eat them in cold cereal, I could do it (maybe).  But cooked ones? Not-a-chance.  It's not my fault, though.  It is a genetically inherited dislike from my grandfather and mother that my children have now inherited.  Any other dried fruit gets a thumbs up from me (including prunes-- I know, right?).  But raisins... don't even mention the golden ones.

Homemade Lofthouse Cookies (Holiday version)

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I bumped into a friend this past weekend who kindly asked what I was baking.  I told her that I was making Lofthouse cookies with a holiday look.  She replied, "I will be looking out for that post." I told her the recipe for Lofthouse cookies was already on the blog.  Then I thought to myself, why not put it out there again with the holiday pizzazz? So for those of you who are new to the blog or if you just haven't been able to browse through my recipe page, here it is again but with another look.  And really, these cookies are good enough so as to merit another post☺.

Sunday Dinner

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Goat Cheese Melba Toasts

Roast Chicken 

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Green Salad with Bacon and Croutons

Malted Milk Shortbread Cookies

I apologize for the posts being a bit scarce this past week, but life has thrown me a few curve balls.  Sports, cupcake orders, and my daughter getting the stomach flu have really eaten up the time.  As a matter of fact, I have another cupcake order that I am working on today, which doesn't leave me room for Sunday dinner baking for my family.  Fortunately, I have a half batch of this cookie dough in the freezer from earlier this week to bake up for dessert tonight.

These malted milk shortbread cookies provide a nice little twist on the classic rolled out dough holiday cookie.  You might have inferred from previous a recipe post that I am a Whopper fan.  These crunchy little circles of yum deliver a malted milk/shortbread taste with a satisfying texture sure to delight any cookie lover.   

Sunday Dinner one year ago

Sunday Dinner two years ago

Sunday Dinner

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Black-Eyed Pea Salad and Chips

Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Stove-Top Baked Beans

Classic Creamy Coleslaw

Lemon Cooler Cookies

Today is Father's Day and that has me thinking about two very special men in my life; the father of my children and of course, my own father.  Since today is also Sunday, I want to have a Sunday dinner that shows the two men in my life how much they are appreciated and loved.  I think smoking 15 pounds of pork shoulder with hickory wood for ten hours oughta do the trick! 

I am not able be with my father today, but thinking of him the other day conjured up a childhood memory of mine-- sitting in the screened-in porch watching lightning and eating a box of Sunshine Lemon Coolers.  Unfortunately, those cookies are now nowhere to be found.  What happened to them and why?  To my relief, a wonderful person has created a copycat version and I couldn't wait to try them.

The original recipe called for unsweetened lemonade mix in the sugar coating, but I found packets of crystallized lemon instead.  I wanted some real lemon flavor in the cookie, so I used freshly squeezed lemon juice in lieu of the water and added a bit of lemon zest to really make them zing.  One bite of these cookies took me back a few years. So in honor of my father, I am sharing the recipe for these cookies that we are enjoying after our meal.  Thinking of you Daddy--love you!!

One Note*- the recipe makes quite a few cookies and in my opinion, they are best eaten within a day or two.  Otherwise they get too hard.  If you are not going to consume all of them in that amount of time, I would suggest keeping the remaining dough in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to bake.

Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Today is the last day hour of school.  My children are off to pick up their report cards before quickly returning home in a little over an hour.  These cookies are a great way to celebrate a great school year and, most importantly, great grades.  Mind you, these are no ordinary chocolate cookies with cocoa powder and a few chips.  These cookies have a full pound of chocolate in just 12 cookies.  Now that's a chocolate cookie!  I use a mixture of milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips because that is my personal preference.  I also use a good quality Dutch-processed cocoa and a bit of espresso powder for the best chocolate flavor.  Another change that I made to this recipe was to chill the dough before baking. 

I like to refrigerate almost all my cookie dough for several reasons.  When the butter is chilled the cookie spreads less in the oven.  Letting the dough rest in the refrigerator also allows the gluten in the flour to relax, resulting in a soft, but at the same time crunchy cookie.  Lastly, chilling the dough allows the flour to absorb more of the liquid in the dough, creating a better texture and deeper flavor. 

Speaking of texture and flavor-- the texture of these cookies when freshly baked is marvelous.  When you bite into a cookie, the top cracks almost like an airy meringue and the inside is somewhere between a cookie and a brownie with gooey bits of chocolate.  The flavor you ask?? Let's see-- chocolate, cocoa powder, butter, and sugar-- I don't think there is need of any convincing in that department.   Just to make sure, maybe I should do a little "quality check".

Yep, these 4-inch rounds of baked chocolate-ly goodness are stupendous!

Low Fat Snickerdoodles

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Continuing with the light and healthy recipes, I wanted to document for my family and share with you this low fat cookie.  I found this recipe in the Food section of the Chicago Tribune back in September 2001.  It is hard to believe, but at that point I had never even made a Snickerdoodle.  And since these were low in fat, I was intrigued.  I whipped up my first batch that very day and with a few minor adjustments over the years, I have been making them ever since.


These cookies are wonderful.  Soft, tender, and almost cake-like centers, crisp edges, and a perfect balance of vanilla and cinnamon.  I like to keep the dough in the refrigerator and bake a batch when needed.  That way we can enjoy them fresh from the oven every time.  Warm...cinnamon...cakey...cookie--mmm!  So, if you are looking for a lightened up sweet nibble to enjoy, then look no further.  One bite of this cookie and shhh...you would never know it was lighter in calories and lower in fat.  Just enjoy!

Mint Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

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What do you do when you receive a box of some of the very best Dutch cocoa straight from the Netherlands?  First, thank Sonya at Home Cooking with Sonya and then go and make some of your favorite cookies.

I have always loved Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.  Mostly because it is an all chocolate cookie that you can enjoy anytime of year, but the snowy crinkled appearance makes them absolutely perfect for this time of year.  

I had a pretty standard recipe for this cookie that was really good, but last year I bought this book, 

                                      

Christmas Gifts from the Kitchen by Georgeanne Brennan, from Williams-Sonoma.  It is filled with all sorts of wonderful sweet and savory recipes and creative ideas for packaging those Holiday goodies from your kitchen.  But, it was the recipe for Chocolate Crinkle Cookies that caught my eye.  It has 3 different types of chocolate and as far as I am concerned you can never have too much chocolate in a cookie:)  These are outstanding.  Crispy edges, soft and fudgy centers, gooey chocolate chips---what's not too love?  This is the ultimate Chocolate Crinkle Cookie!

The recipe calls for unsweetened cocoa powder, but I highly recommend Dutch Process Cocoa for the best chocolate flavor.  It is a bit more expensive than unsweetened cocoa powder, but so worth it.  

 I wanted to put a Holiday spin on the recipe this year so I decided to use mint chocolate chips.  Wow!  The mint really gives these cookies a festive flavor.  This recipe is fairly easy, but there is a trick to rolling the balls of dough.  The dough is a bit sticky so make sure that it is well chilled.  After rolling several balls of dough between the palms of your hand you will need to lick wash the residual chocolate off your hands, dry them thoroughly and then keep on rollin'.  If I am making the whole batch all at once, I like to roll all the dough into balls first then roll them in the confectioners' sugar.  If I am just making them batch by batch, I keep the dough in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use as needed for up to 3 days.  

The recipe yielded 2 1/2 dozen 1 1/2-inch dough balls, but I rolled mine about 1 1/4-inch and yielded about 4 dozen.  I found this to be the perfect size.

One bite of these cookies and you will hear nothing but moaning, groaning, and people saying, "Oh my goodness" with their mouths full of that wonderful minty chocolate flavor and confectioners' sugar flying everywhere--cue the family dog for clean up:)  

Thanks, puppers!

Please make these cookies for your upcoming cookie exchange, make them for your neighbors, or make them for your family and hoard them all to yourselves.  Just please make them!  You will be glad you did. 

Nutella Pinwheel Cookies

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Well, it is December 1st and that means the holiday baking season has offically begun.  And after making the pumpkin roll, I was inspired to share this swirling recipe with you.

I love Nutella.  And for those of you who do not know what Nutella is (I say that because I have introduced many women and children to this delectable spread), it is a hazelnut spread that is made with skim milk and cocoa powder.  We enjoy it for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dessert.  Spread it on bread, eat it with fruit, warm it and drizzle it over ice cream, or sandwich it between two Pepperidge Farm Bordeaux cookies for a particularly nice treat.

A couple of years ago I came across this site, World Nutella Day.  It was started in 2007 by Sara Rosso, an American blogger living in Italy. She felt the world needed a day to celebrate our love for Nutella.  Bless her soul:)

So, World Nutella Day 2009 rolled around and I saw a recipe for Nutella Pinwheel Cookies.  A simple butter cookie dough slathered with Nutella, rolled into a log, sliced and baked.  Yum!  These cookies are some kind of good.  I even had a neighbor who doesn't care for sweets (what?!?)  thoroughly enjoy them. 

Back to the holiday baking...these are perfect because you can make the dough in advance and store it in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.  And once baked they will keep for up to a week in an airtight container, but I doubt they will last that long.  So make a batch and share them with your family, friends, neighbors, and teachers.  They will love you for it!


*Update-- A reader contacted me and told me that she used Cocoa Bliss in lieu of the Nutella for her nut allergy friends.  Good to know so all can enjoy!

Cinnamon Toast Biscotti

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I came across this recipe years ago in a December issue of Bon Appetit.  I had made biscotti before, but this recipe was a bit different.  After reading reviews online I decided to make a few changes.  The original recipe called for 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, but I had always used 2 eggs.  I find that using 2 eggs makes the handling of the dough easier.  I also used 1/2 white sugar and 1/2 brown sugar.  Lastly, I reduced the baking time. 


 I am happy to say that I have been making them the same way ever since.  And since I made a few changes, I thought they deserved a new name.  The original was Cinnamon-Sugar Biscotti, but I thought Cinnamon Toast Biscotti was more suitable because they taste just like cinnamon toast!     

These are absolutely fantastic!!!  It is an excellent excuse to eat a cookie for breakfast.  And even though I am not a big coffee drinker, I definitely break out my french press to make myself a latte which is perfect for dunking the biscotti into.  Just make sure when you sit down to enjoy these that your are not reading the paper because I guarantee you that distraction will cause you to eat way more than you should.  They are too good to eat just one!

My kids enjoy these on busy mornings with a mug of milk-n-sugar coffee and my husband enjoys these with his coffee at work as well.   These biscotti are also wonderful to give as a gift.  So make them for yourself, make them for your family, or make them for your friends.  Just please make them!  You'll be glad you did:)