Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

A couple of weekends ago, I was in the mood for oatmeal raisin cookies.
Probably because I had seen this post in my blog feed: the-ultimate-oatmeal-raisin-cookie!
They are amazing!!! Soft and chewy in the middle... mmmmmm!! They were so good, I had to make them again last weekend!! ;)


Here's the recipe. Thanks Annie for another great recipe!!

The Ultimate Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
from annies-eats
Makes about 2 dozen cookies

1 cup plus 1 tsp. (144 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. (7.7 grams) ground cinnamon
1½ tsp. (7.4 grams) baking soda
1¼ tsp. (3.6 grams) kosher salt
11 tbsp. (5.5 oz or 155 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup (140 grams) light brown sugar (used a little less)
5½ tbsp. (69 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup (62 grams) eggs (about 2 large eggs)
2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise (just used a bit more extract)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups (155 grams) old-fashioned oats
1 cup (156 grams) mixed raisins*

Directions

• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the sugars and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the bowl and mix to blend in. With the mixer on medium-low speed, blend in the vanilla extract and eggs just until incorporated.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add in the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, stir in the oats and raisins, mixing just until evenly incorporated. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325˚ F. Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Use a large dough scoop (about 3 tablespoons) to drop the dough in rounds on the baking sheets, about 2-3 inches apart. Bake, rotating the pans once halfway through baking, until the cookies are just golden brown and nearly set (they will continue to bake for a few minutes once removed from the oven, so try not to overbake), about 17-18 minutes total. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• A blend of regular and golden raisins is recommended in the book. To rehydrate them, place in a bowl and cover with hot water. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain the raisins and spread into an even layer on clean kitchen towels. Press gently with another towel to help blot away all the excess water.

Peanut Blossom Cookies

Two days in a row of sweets... Hope you don't mind!!


These are some of my favorite cookies - love peanut butter and chocolate!!

Peanut Blossom Cookies
from joyofbaking

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup (185 grams) peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

1/3 cup (70 grams) light brown sugar

1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Coating (optional):

1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar

Garnish:

48 Chocolate Kisses, unwrapped

 

Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until creamy and smooth. Add the peanut butter and sugars and beat until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. Beat in the milk. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the peanut butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Cover and chill the batter for about an hour, or until firm enough to roll into balls.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven.

Roll the batter into 1 inch (2.5) round balls. Place the granulated white sugar in a shallow bowl and roll each ball in the sugar. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.

Bake the cookies for about 8 - 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned. Immediately upon removing the cookies from the oven, place a unwrapped Chocolate Kiss into the center of each cookie, pressing down gently until the cookie just starts to crack. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

First Attempt

My first attempt at icing cookies wasn't a success.... but they did taste very good!! ;)

Best Big, Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hadn't baked cookies since Christmas. I had a craving for chocolate chip cookies last weekend.
Had two and brought the rest to the office. Guess they were good - they were gone very very fast!
Best Big, Fat, Chewie Chocolate Chip Cookies
allrecipes.com
makes 18 (I made 22)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar (used 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (used 1 1/4 cups)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Can you believe I had never tried a Peanut Butter Blossom before?

So this was my first time baking them... and trying them!! And it won't be my last time!!





Peanut Butter Blossoms
from howsweeteats
makes approximately 48 cookies

2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar (used 3/4 cup)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling (used a little less)
2 bags Hershey Kisses (you only need ~48), unwrapped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butter and peanut butter together until smooth. Add sugars and cream for 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Stir in vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt, just mixing until combined, then add in milk. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

Roll cookies into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar. Lay on baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake at 375 for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and push Kiss down into the middle of each cookie. Return to oven and bake for 2 1/2 more minutes. Remove and let cool completely.

Snickerdoodles

January 1st. Already the start of a new year. Wishing you a wonderful new year. All the best!!

Starting the year off with a new challenge for myself. I know every year I talk about losing weight, about exercise and about eating better. Every year I do great in the exercise part and the healthy eating. My problem is that I eat too much ;) - I still have about 10 pounds to lose to be at my WW goal weight - I have struggled the last two years to lose these 10 pounds and all I do is gain 1, lose 1, gain 1.5, lose .5... you get the picture - always the same 2 pounds!! LOL! To help me finally lose those 10 pounds or at least a few of them, I decided to join Cathy Zielke's move-more-eat-less group. I hope this will help me lose the last 10 (or at least 5!) and will motivate me to continue running (another one of my goals is to run in a real race - one 5 km and on 10 km run next Spring/Summer).

Already started the year off right by going for a 8 km run this morning - now I can enjoy dinner with my family tonight to celebrate the new year!
The next photos and recipe have nothing to do with this challenge... These are some yummy cookies that I baked for the holidays...  Did have one (as I had never tried a Snickerdoodle!!).







Snickerdoodles
from lovintheoven.com

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

For rolling:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with
an electric mixer on high speed. Add the egg and vanilla and
beat until smooth.

2. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and
cream of tartar.

3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.

4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees while you let the dough rest for
30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator.
5. In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon for the
topping.

6. Take about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a
ball. Roll this dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and press it
onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining cookies.

7. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes and no more. The cookies
may seem undercooked, but will continue to develop after they are
removed from the oven. When the cookies have cooled they should be
soft and chewy in the middle.

Makes 16 to 18 cookies.

NM Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today is my last day at work then I am off for the holidays! Yeah!!

When I was looking for recipes for my Christmas baskets, I knew that I had to bake some chocolate chip cookies. Decided to try Neiman Marcus' recipe... mmmmmmmm!!!

I used chocolate chunks instead of chips to make them even better!

I hope these will be enjoyed by all my friends and family!


Chocolate Chip Cookies
from neimanmarcus

Ingredients 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 1 cup light brown sugar 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 large egg 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder (used regular instant coffee) 1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (used chocolate chunks) Directions 1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds) 2. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds. 3. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips. 4. Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie. Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Nutella Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

I knew I wanted to bake some cookies with some Nutella in them.

When I saw this recipe - I loved the fact that there was Nutella AND chocolate in these cookies!

They were quite easy to prepare and they look delicious (didn't try those but they smelled heavenly!)

They went straight in the freezer before I started eating them all!
nutella-milk-chocolate-chip-cookies

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar (used about 1/2 cup)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup nutella

2 cups milk chocolate chips (used 1 1/2 cups)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

Cream sugars and the butter in large bowl until smooth and light in color. Add the eggs one at a time. Add vanilla extract and Nutella.

Add the flour mixture on low speed 1/3 at a time until just mixed. Fold in chocolate chips.

On an ungreased baking sheet, place rounded balls of dough at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes until set but still soft. Let cool on a rack.

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chips Cookies

I have been in the mood to bake some cookies the last couple of weeks! And nothing is better than some chocolate chip cookies!


I was invited to a BBQ at T&K's and decided to bring them a care package of cookies!


These cookies are so yummy! You can't eat just one!!


Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from marthastewart)
Makes about 3 dozen
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar (used a little less)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.