Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Macadamia Nut Cookies

Again this is a recipe which was initially created by throwing things together from the pantry in order to satisfy my hardworking college roommates. With two studying to be nurses, one applying to med school, and two more looking, as I am, to enter the wonderfully crazy world that is journalism, there is much reception to delicious baked goods on our kitchen table- especially during midterms and finals. Well, last week I found myself in just one of those situations. Notebook open and highlighter in hand, I decided it was about time to preheat the oven and bring some happiness back into the house.

This cookie is fundamentally an oatmeal cookie, but adding the grated dark chocolate and chopped macadamia nuts kicked it up a few notches (which is hard for me to say as an avid oatmeal cookie lover). I have to be honest when I say that the six of us devoured these within a few hours of our study session. Enjoy!

1/4 lb (1 stick) margarine or butter, softened

1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 c granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 t vanilla

3/4 c flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1 1/2 c Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

8 oz. bar dark chocolate, frozen and grated in blender

1/2 c finely chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 350° F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, and cinnamon; mix well. Add oats, grated chocolate, and nuts; mix until all ingredients are completely folded in. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool on cookie sheet 1 minute before removing to wire cooling rack. Let cool completely and enjoy! Us college girls sure did!

Makes about 2 dozen.

Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles

Here's a second Snickerdoodle recipe I have come across. I made these for my roommates while studying abroad in Athens, Greece and don't think they lasted past our first day of finals. I didn't have cream of tartar available in Greece so I used baking powder as a substitute for the combined baking soda and cream of tartar, which turned out great. If you would prefer to follow like this, use 4 t baking powder in place of the 2 t cream of tartar and 1 t baking soda.

With their chewy texture and sweet crunch of the outer coating of cinnamon and sugar, these cookies have become a fan-favorite, and the recipe being incredibly easy makes them even sweeter! Enjoy with a glass of milk or some peppermint tea.

1 c butter

1 1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

3 t cinnamon

2 3/4 c flour

2 t cream of tartar

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

3 T sugar and 1 t cinnamon for coating

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix butter, 1 1/2 c sugar and eggs in large bowl. Combine flour, 3 t cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in separate bowl. Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture. Chill dough and ungreased cookie sheet in fridge for at least 10 minutes. After chilling, scoop 1 inch balls of dough into cinnamon sugar mixture and roll to coat. Place on chilled cookie sheet. Bake around 10 minutes or until golden. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies with Semisweet Chocolate and Craisins

I wanted to put a new spin on classic white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, so I thought to add craisins and some regular semisweet chocolate chips. I made two batches- one for an end of semester class dinner, and the other for a study session I was holding. They were a very big hit, with everyone asking for the recipe. The cookies come out with an interesting combination of textures and just the right amount of sweetness, and the colors are great for this time of year. Enjoy!

• For 3 dozen cookies:
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1 egg
• 3/4 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cups chopped dry roasted macadamia nuts
• 1/2 (6 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 bag craisins
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugars in medium bowl. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Blend in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in white and semisweet chocolate chips, macadamia pieces, and craisins. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, depending on oven. Let cool, dig in!!

Chocolatey, Chewy, Crunchy, Satisfy-Every-Craving Cookies

This is based off an interesting recipe I found while snooping around online. I took the basics from that and basically threw in everything I found in the pantry that I thought could be good. Turned out to be a great cookie to feed a bunch of over-stressed and over-tired college girls! I DEFINITELY recommend having a glass of milk ready before biting into one of these.

2 large eggs
3/4 cups brown sugar
2/3 cups sugar
1 1/3 t baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 t vanilla
1/3 c butter (softened)
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c nutella
3-4 c oats (3 cups doesn't give that much of an oaty flavor so I personally like more)
1 c chocolate chips
1/2 c crushed pretzels

Blend together the first eight ingredients with electric beater
Mix in oats, chocolate chips, and pretzels (or any other odds and ends you might like, possibilities I've thought of adding are raisins, nuts, m&ms or crushed heath bar)
Bake 350° 13-15 mins, depending on your oven
Enjoy!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

With cookie season upon us I figured it was just about time to start up the blog again. Last week I discovered this incredible chocolate chip recipe, easily the best homemade chocolate chip cookies I've had. The recipe makes a huge amount of cookies, I cut it in half and still had about 2 dozen. I recommend freezing the chocolate bar in advance and grating it in the blender, this made it very easy. Enjoy!

2 cups butter

4 cups flour

2 teaspons baking soda

5 cups blended oatmeal

24 ounces chocolate chips

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 8 oz chocolate bar, grated

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and soda. Add chocolate chips, grated Hershey Bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375° or until golden. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk!

Snickerdoodles

Another recipe perfect for this time of year, Snickerdoodles are a loved holiday treat. Their characteristically cracked surface makes them easily spotted on many holiday tables. Snickerdoodles can be made soft or crisp depending on your taste. I prefer my Snickerdoodles to be crisp so I will make smaller balls of the dough for each cookie and will cook them a bit longer. For a softer cookie use more dough per cookie and let them bake for less time. This is another cookie that needs to be rolled out, so it should chill for at least an hour to be easily worked with. Enjoy!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer, and stir in remaining flour. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
Combine the 4 tablespoons sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Place balls of dough 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

This recipe is for chocolate lovers everywhere. These cookies stay gooey and moist even after they have cooled. Made with cake mix and cream cheese, they are an incredibly soft cookie so anyone who likes a cookie with a crunch should stay away. These cookies are delicious still warm and pair nicely with vanilla ice cream. The stark white of confectioner's sugar sprinkled on top of the dark brown of the cookie creates a beautiful juxtaposition on any table, and is perfect for this time of year as it alludes to snow. Enjoy!

(8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies