Dark Chocolate and Oatmeal Cookies

Decadent... gooey... oh so sweet! When making cookies I am so not the baker! You've heard me make that statement before, but seriously, I have witnesses to this. In my house, my hunny is the cookie maker. I do not even draw near the oven when they bake for fear my mere presence will ruin them. But boy did I knock one out of the ball park on these bad boys!

A friend of mine asked me a couple of weeks ago if I had any good recipes for Oatmeal Cookies. It seems her husband is a fan. So, off I went in search of something to fill his tummy and this is what I came up with. It makes about 24 cookies.

(You can stop licking the screen now!)

1 1/2 cup Flour
1 1/2 ts Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Shortening (I prefer Crisco)
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Hot Water
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Dark Chocolate Chips (or 2 cups semi-sweet)
2 cup Oatmeal

1) Preheat oven to 350. Generously spray cookie sheet with Butter Flavor Pam.

2) In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, set aside.

3) In large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating in between each. Gradually add in the flour mixture with the hot water. Once this is mixed well, add in the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

4) Drop by the spoonful onto prepared cookie sheet. You can use 2 sheets or bake one at a time. Into the oven they go for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on wire rack 5-10 minutes before moving, the chocolate will be hot.

Egg Nog Cookies

I found this delightful recipe over at the Hungry Girl blog. Super yummy! These came out moist and kind of cakey with a not too sweet icing. I had to add a few things for my own taste buds as well as to make up for the altitude (I live about a mile high). They still came out wonderful. I am making a trip into town today to bring some to my mom. After all, its the least I could do for that EVIL recipe she sent me... 5 Minute Orange Kissed Chocolate Cake. I mean, how cruel can one's own mother be? ;-)

I made around 20 cookies with this, but I also used a bigger spoon.

1 1/2 cups Flour (add 2 tbs if living in higher altitudes)
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp All Spice
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
6 tbs Butter, soft (leave out for a couple hours before you begin)
3/4 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/3 cup Egg Nog

1) Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2) In medium bowl, mix flour, nutmeg, all spice, cinnamon, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3) In large bowl beat together (hand mixer or if your lucky use your Kitchen Aid mixer) the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Alternately add in the flour and egg nog, starting and ending with the flour (add too much flour at once will cause a white out in your kitchen... take it form someone with lots of experience with this!).

4) Using a spoon, drop spoonfuls onto the cookie sheets about 1 1/2" apart. Bake one sheet at a time until cookies become puffy and edges are a light brown, about 9-12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before moving cookies to wire rack and icing them (Glaze Recipe follows).

For the Glaze:
1 cup Powdered Sugar (plus more if needed)
Dash of Salt
1/8 tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated or ground
2 tbsp Egg Nog
1 tbsp Butter, melted

1) In small bowl, mix all together with a spoon until smooth. Add more or less powdered sugar until you get a good consistancy. Using back of spoon, smooth and drizzle tops of cookies 5 minutes after coming out of oven.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Oh yeah... doing the happy white girl dance (its not a pretty thing)... I baked edible cookies! More than edible... these are the bomb! I might turn out to be a baker after all!

It all started on a search for some good ole chocolate chocolate chip cookies. It's one of those recipes that you just can't find anywhere... so I made my own. And it worked! Can you tell how excited I am yet? This recipe will make between 12 and 24 cookies... depending on how big your spoon is.

2 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour

3 tbsp Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp Salt

1 cup (2 sticks) Butter, softened

3/4 cup Sugar

3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed

2 tsp Vanilla

2 Eggs

1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 cup White Chocolate Chips

1 cup Walnuts, chopped *(optional)

1) Heat oven to 350 (325 for a toaster oven).

2) Whisk together flour, cocoa, soda, and salt until incorporated.

3) In large bowl beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat until smooth. Slowly add in the flour mixture until all is blended. Stir in chips and nuts.

4) Drop mixture by the spoonful onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, sides not touching. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool 5-10 minutes before removing from pan.

*Since I am allergic to nuts, I put them all on individually.