mmm, sugar

They may not be the prettiest cookies ever decorated, but they were decorated with love.

And sprinkles.

Lots of sprinkles.

Because there just isn’t enough sweet stuff out there at Easter already, we made some of our favorite cookies yesterday.

My family is actually pretty picky about who likes which cookies, but this is one that everyone loves.

This is just a really good recipe for:

Sugar Cookies

(from Ivory Family Favorites Cookbook)

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

3 Tblsp. sour cream

1/2 tsp. almond or lemon extract

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

3 1/4 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, almond or lemon extract, and vanilla and mix well. Add soda, salt and flour and mix on low just until combined. Roll dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 3-4 hours. Roll out on floured surface and cut into shapes. Bake on ungreased (I grease them) cookie sheets at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes. (These cookies don’t brown.) Cool on racks, then frost and decorate.

I haven’t found a recipe for frosting that I absolutely love, but this is a good one and makes just about exactly enough for one batch of these cookies:

Frosting

1/3 cup butter, softened but not melted

4 cups powdered sugar (about half a 2 lb. bag)

1/4 cup milk (or more)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

pinch of salt

In mixing bowl, beat butter slowly with powdered sugar. Add milk and continue beating. Add vanilla, almond extract and salt. If needed, add more milk to make frosting spreadable. Color with food coloring if desired.

lighter (and not-so lighter) snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles are the first cookies that I remember making when I was growing up.

This recipe cuts out some of the fat and thus calories that most other recipes for this cookie have.

The result is a more cake-like cookies, and they didn’t spread very much, but it is still had that good cinnamony chewiness I love.

Then because I had some leftover cream cheese frosting from some other cookies, I decided to try this:

Mini Snickerdoodle Cream Cheese Sandwich Cookies!

At this point you pretty much loose out on any healthified properties, but man were they tasty.

(I have this theory that I could eat a brick if it was slathered with cream cheese frosting.)

Try it out, with, or without the frosting.

Lighter Snickerdoodles

from bettycrocker.com

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1/2 package (8 ounce size) reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1 egg

2 egg whites

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Heat over to 400 degrees

2. Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, margarine, cream cheese, and eggs in large bowl.

3. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt and mix into the other mixture.

4. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

5. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Mix the 1/4 sugar with the cinnamon. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar.

6. Place on greased cookie sheets and flatten each ball with the bottom of a drinking glass.

7. Bake for 6-8 minutes. (Don’t overbake!)

8. Remove to wire racks to cool.

9. Eat and enjoy!

well hello, dolly

I made a few of my favorite cookies for Cali’s baptism. As I tested each kind I thought to myself, “This is my favorite cookie.” I came to the realization that my favorite cookie is probably whatever cookie I am putting in my mouth.

This one is an easy bar cookie that goes by the name Hello Dolly Bars or 7 Layer Bars or Magic Layer bars or a few other names and with varying ingredients. It’s gooey, chewy, and scrumptious.

And it’s pretty much 100% bad for you indulgent. Just wanted to throw in that disclaimer.

Hello Dolly Bars

(recipe from The Essential Mormon Cookbook)

1/3 butter or margarine, melted

1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup chopped pecans (okay to leave out)

1 cup flaked coconut

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (fat free)

Mix butter and graham crackers.

Press into a 9x13 inch pan.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, pecans, and coconut.

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Cut into bars when cool.

Makes 20 bars.

healthier peanut butter cookies

Peanut butter cookies were one treat I could pass up as a child. I wish I was still that way now.

This was actually my first time making peanut butter cookies because of the peanut allergy in our house, but I really, really wanted some cookies.

I found this much lower-fat version with some whole wheat flour in there in my Eating Well Dessert Cookbook.

I thought they were very yummy.

They are best right out of the oven when they are still soft, but they were still good when they cooled down and went mostly crisp.

It did make a lot of cookies though, (4 dozen) so I will probably half the recipe next time.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES (from Eating Well Dessert Cookbook)

2 cups packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose white flour

2/3 cup whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chopped peanuts (i left this out)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, peanut butter, oil, eggs and vanilla; add 5 teaspoons water and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. In a small bowl, stir together white and whole-wheat flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients in to the brown-sugar mixture just until combined.

3. Roll the dough between your palms into 1-inch-balls. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten the cookies with a fork, (I think peanut butter cookies without the identifying criss-cross should be illegal as Cali has been given them at school before with bad results) Sprinkle with peanuts, pressing them lightly into the dough with your fingers

4. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 8-10 minutes, or until just golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool. (Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days)

95 calories per cookie; 2 grams protein, 3 grams fat (0 grams saturated), 15 grams carbohydrates; 65 mg sodium; 9 mg cholesterol

Healthy Banana Drop Cookies

These cookies are not going to win any awards for beauty, or taste for that matter. But, if you are on a diet, or want to give your kids something healthy these are good cookies. I enjoyed them, and the kids would eat them if they were hungry, but Scott was done with them after his first cookie.

I made them to take on vacation so I would have something to eat while everyone else ate the more fattening (fun) food. I might experiment with the recipe to see if adding some baking soda or something would make them bake up a bit bigger. They pretty much just stayed exactly the same glob of dough on the pan, only baked.

Healthy Banana Drop Cookies

(recipe from food.com formerly known as recipezaar.com)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

5 tbls. softened margarine

1 cup mashed bananas

1/4 cup orange juice

(I also added 1/2 cup of raisins)

---Process oats in food processor or blender until finely ground.

--- Combine first six ingredients

---Use a pastry cutter to cut in the margarine until the mixture resembles crumbs

---Add banana and orange juice and mix well

--- Chill 20 minutes in the freezer

--- Drop teaspoon sized cookies on well greased baking sheets and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes

chewy cereal bars

Looking for a fast summertime treat or a way to use up some cereal?

I had cereal in the cupboard that wasn't getting eaten, and two half-eaten bags of marshmallows. One bag was hard the other was mooshy. These cereal bars were the result of those two problems.

These are really just rice crispy bars made with Honey Bunches of Oats and Cheerios. I'm sure its been done before, but I used anything but good old rice crispies myself. Scott asked me if they were healthy. Umm, the cereal is made with whole grains and they put a lot of vitamins in. :)

I added some extra vanilla because I love vanilla. The cereal and marshmallows that were heading for the trash became a delicious treat that was gone in a day.

Chewy Cereal Bars

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 package large marshmallows

6 cups of cereal (I used 5 cups of Honey Bunches of Oats and 1 cup Cheerios)

2 tsp. vanilla

In a large saucepan melt butter or margarine over low heat.

Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.

Stir in vanilla.

Add cereal and stir until well coated.

Press into a greased 9X13 inch pan, using a buttered spoon or spatula to press it down.

Allow to cool and then cut into bars.

super yummy chocolate chip cookies

These cookies were VERY GOOD. I had to give most of them away as fast as I could because I couldn't stop eating them. The recipe was called "Simply the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!" I am not sure I am ready to crown these the "best ever" because they were more than just chocolate chips in them, but they would be right up there in a oatmeal cookie category.

They spread really thin and had a crispy, chewy, crunchy texture if that makes any sense. I used cherry chips instead of butterscotch along with chocolate chips and they ended up having a cherry cordial taste. Mmmm.

They were best right out of the oven (trust me, I HAD to eat those that broke taking them off the pan) and the next day.

ENJOY!

SIMPLY THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER!

recipe #162306 from recipezaar.com

Makes about 4 dozen

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup corn flakes, crushed to 1/2 cup

3 cups quick oats

1/2 cup coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips (I was out so I used cherry chips)

1. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt.

2. Cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and milk.

3. Gradually mix in the flour mixture.

4. Using a wooden spoon, stir in remaining ingredients.

5. Drop onto cookie sheets by teaspoonful.

6. Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes, depending on how soft you like your cookies.

7. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing. (I missed this step and it would have helped)

eat your beans cookies

Yes, these cookies have a can of garbonzo beans (aka chickpeas) in them.

And yes, they are pretty darn tasty.

Kimi who will turn her nose up at cakes, candybars, and other desserts with or without chocolate ate a lot of these and even wanted them for breakfast. I almost said yes.

Only 87 calories per cookie.

I took this from Trainer Mama's blog because she rocks.

I also added 1 tsp. cinnamon.

It makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies

adapted from Deceptively Delicious

1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar free applesauce
2 large egg whites
2 tsp vanilla
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients and bake between 11-13 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

After a day refrigerate to store. That is, if there are any left after a day.

87 calories per cookie

cheesecake sopapillas

I first ate these a few weeks ago and knew I must try making them. I consider myself to be a crescent roll snob and don't really like to ever cook with canned crescent rolls. Imagine my surprise when I found out that that is what these are made from. It reminds me of a cream cheese danish only 10 times yummier.

I used a recipe that only called for 1 package of cream cheese, but after a search I found most recipes call for 2 packages and some call for 3. Just decide on how much you want this to be like cheesecake. The other recipes also called for vanilla in the filling which I would probably do next time because I tend to go a little heavy on the vanilla.

I made this when we had some friends over and I made mexican food. I also halved the recipe and it exactly fit a 8x8 pan. I didn't want a bunch of leftovers, but I shouldn't have worried about it. I also used reduced fat crescent rolls and cream cheese. I know it was still rich, but I tried to cut out calories wherever I could. It still turned out fabulous.

Cheesecake Sopapillas

from quick-and-easy-dinner.com

2 cans Pillsbury crescent rolls or recipe creations (I used reduced fat)

2 cups sugar, divided

1 package of cream cheese (8 ounce) ( I used neufchatel)

1 stick of butter (I did use real butter)

sprinkle of cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350. Bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature.

2.Spray 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Press a roll of crescent dough into the bottom of the pan, pinching the seams together. (This is were recipe creations would be nice, but my grocery store didn't sell it.)

3.With a hand mixer. ( I used a fork and my own hand-baby sleeping.) Combine cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar until soft.

4. Spread the mixture over the dough.

5. Take the second can of dough and put it over the top. Don't worry if they don't go all the way to the edges.

6. Mix the butter with the sugar. Spread it over the top. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

( I just mixed butter with some cinnamon sugar and spread it over the top.)

7. Bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy it warm or cold.

really simple toffee cookie bars

If you read my last post I talked about turning those "skor" bars into something else. Here are those smashed up bars as a topping for a bar cookie. I was planning on taking them as a dessert somewhere so some fast thinking brought us this dessert.

I must say I am very grateful to have discovered this recipe. The base cookie has so many possibilities. It came together super-fast. It had sort-of a shortbread cookie texture but was still soft. It also was not overly sweet. I am definitely going to try more things on top of the base recipe.

The recipe came from a book called Family Dinner Cookbook by Debbie G. Harman. It is chock-full of delicious home-cooking, and I recommend it.

Toffee Cookie Bars

1/2 cup butter (I used a "I can't believe it's not butter" stick)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup flour

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup toffee pieces

Cream first four ingredients together. Stir in flour and pinch of salt. Press into 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until edges are golden. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, nuts, and toffee pieces. Cool and cut into bars.

(I just sprinkled it will my failed "skor" bars. When I make it again I am going to experiment with sprinkling the toppings on before baking or during the baking to make them stick a little better.)

recipe failure: magic skor bars

I admit that the failure was probably all on my part, not the recipe so I decided to post it and see if anyone would tell me where I went wrong. I got the recipe from one of my go-to cookbooks that has (I thought) foolproof yummy recipes. I got about a dozen good little "skor" bars and the rest ended up like this:
Not so good.

It may have been the fact that I used "I can't believe it's not butter" sticks. I maybe didn't time it all right, but I thought I got it all right. I think it was the vagueness on the cooling time that brought this mess about.

If I had made it right maybe I wouldn't have felt this way, but in the end it seemed like a big waste of butter and chocolate chips.

Because of that I turned them into something else later that afternoon, but that is the story for another recipe post.

Magic Skor Bars

(From Ivory Family "Favorites")

40-48 saltine crackers (1 pack exactly fit my 10x15 pan)

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips (or less)

1 cup finely chopped pecans (or less)

Line large cookie sheet with saltine crackers. Boil together butter and brown sugar for 4 minutes. Pour butter mixture over crackers. Bake at 350 degrees fro 4 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake for an additional minute, then spread chocolate evenly on top. Sprinkle with finely chopped pecans. Cool a little, but not too much (this vagueness may have been my downfall) before taking out of the cookie sheet.

My Favorite Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies are one of those treats worth the splurge to me. I just found out about a Lofthouse Cookie outlet that sells the boxes for a dollar a piece. I am seriously thankful I don't live near it.

This recipe makes cookies like the Lofthouse cookies; big, puffy, and soft. It makes me wish I had a cookie cutter for every holiday.

I copied this recipe down years ago into a recipe notebook and can't remember where I got it from.

Old Fashioned Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup sour cream

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

4 cups flour ( I start with 4 cups and work in more until the dough is the right consistency)

1. Combine baking soda and sour cream. Set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each.

4. Blend in vanilla

5. Blend in sour cream mixture

6. Combine baking powder and flour and add to wet ingredients

7. Refrigerate until easy to handle, usually at least an hour.

8. Roll out dough about 1/2 '' thick and cut into shapes.

9. Bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes. (They are done just before the edges start to turn golden)

This recipe makes a lot, so they are perfect for making as gifts.

The Best No-Bake Cookies I've Ever Had (Peanut-Butter Free)

I had some places to take treats to last week and got some treat-making out of my system.

I have always loved no-bake cookies. Making and eating them. Most recipes call for peanut-butter though and I have to make our treats peanut-free because of Cali.

I found this recipe in "The Worldwide Ward Cookbook" and tried it out.

They really were the best no-bake cookies I've ever had. I think that using chocolate and brown sugar made the difference. Mmm.

Fudge Cookies

(from the Worldwide Ward Cookbook)

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine (I used the new "I can't believe it's not butter" sticks)

1/2 cup milk

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

1 cup coconut

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, brown sugar, butter, and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Boil for 2 minutes. Remover from heat. Add remaining ingredients. Beat exactly 2 minutes with electric mixer on medium, until thick but still shiny. (The baby was sleeping so I mixed it by had and it still turned out.) Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Cool until set. Lick the pan. Eat every day. (those were the recipe's exact words that I wish I could follow)

Any Cake Mix Cookies

I made these a few weeks ago when I had leftover frosting in the refrigerator and decided to put together some homemade oreos for the kids. The old me would have just got out a spoon and taken care of that frosting.

There are a few reasons why this is a GREAT recipe.

1. You can use any cake mix. I've used rainbow chip mostly. This picture was a triple chocolate cake mix.

2. They are good chewy cookies that you put together in no time. (3 ingredients)

3. Unlike the regular recipe I use for homemade Oreos, this one doesn't have shortening. Not even any oil. Sure the shortening makes your cookies puffier, but now I cringe when I add shortening to food. Flatter cookies are more like real oreos anyways, right?

4. They taste good.

The recipe came from a ward cookbook I was looking at a few years ago.

Cake Mix Cookies

1 package cake mix

2-4 tablespoons water

2 eggs

Mix well to form soft cookie dough. Place teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. (Watch the time. I actually left that part off the recipe and just guessed at it. I can't remember how long it took a few weeks ago.)

Christmas Cornflake Wreaths

Do you have a Christmas treat that we used to make growing up that you just love? I only remember making these once, but they sure stuck with me. And they stuck TO me while making them; butter your hands.

CHRISTMAS CORNFLAKE WREATHS
1/3 cup butter
1 10 oz pack large marshmallows or 4 cups of mini
1 tsp green food coloring
6 cups corn flakes
red cinnamon candies


1. in a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat.
2. add marshmallows and stir until completely melted
3. Remove from heat and stir in food coloring
4. add corn flakes, stir until coated
5. using 1/4 cup dry measuring cup coated with cooking spray, evenly  portion warm mix
6. QUICKLY shape into wreaths and dot with cinnamon candies

Oreo Truffles

These were decorated by my children.

I am certainly not the first to make these, but I thought they should make it into this blog recipe file. They are easy and delicious.

1 package of Oreos

1 8 oz package of cream cheese (I used fat free and it was still good)

dipping chocolate

sprinkles

Blend the oreos to fine crumbs in a food processor. Mix together with softened cream cheese until its a greasy  pasty mess. (I have found this is easiest to do with your hands)

Make it into a bunch of little balls and put them in the freezer for a while so they will be easier to dip.

Melt chocolate and dip the oreo balls in. Decorate with sprinkles.

I really want to try this with mint Oreos. Sounds delicious to me.

Quick Chocolate Softies

I needed to make some cookies to send to Scott's office on his birthday. I had some holiday swirl white chocolate chips to use up and wanted to find a quick soft chocolate cookie to bake them in. When I found this recipe right away in a book called Baking Secrets I felt I had been led there. :) 


We gave these cookies two thumbs up. They stayed very soft and were loved by all.




Quick Chocolate Softies (from Baking Secrets)


1 package devil's food cake mix
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 cup white chocolate baking chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.  Combine cake mix, water, butter and egg in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer at low speed until moistened.  Increase speed to medium and beat 1 minute. (I had to set my hand mixer on high. This dough is THICK.) Stir in chips and nuts; mix until well blended.  Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets.


Bake 10-12 minutes or until set.  Let cookies stand on cookie sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.


The recipe said it makes about 4 dozen. Thats pretty optimistic. I got about 2 1/2 dozen.

mom's gingersnaps

I made these and told myself I could have one and that would be enough. Yeah, right.

Mom's Gingersnaps

recipe from Mom

1 c sugar

3/4 c shortening

1/4 c molasses

1 egg

2 c flour

2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

Combine first 4 ingredients, blend well. Stir in remaining ingredients, blend well. Chill dough for ease in handling. Heat oven to 375. Shape dough in 1" balls, roll balls in sugar. Place 2" apart on greased cookie sheet. Do not flatten! Leave in round balls when baking. Bake at 375 for 8 min, or until edges are set.

Cool for 1-2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets.

Makes roughly 4 dozen. Mmm, Mmm, good.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is just a really good recipe for

pumpkin cookies.

It makes about 3 dozen.

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

1 egg

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nuntmeg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 bag of chocolate chips

Mix first ten ingredients together. Mix in flour. Fold in chocolate chips.

Bake 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes.

Low Fat, Chewy Fruit and Oatmeal Bars

These are part cookie, part breakfast-bar from a recipe on the Quaker Oatmeal container. They are still chewy and delish even though they are low fat. I don't believe they are low calorie though because I want to keep eating and eating them. I used 1/2 whole wheat flour this time and may try going to all whole wheat. My next step is to try using splenda to lower the calories, but the kids may start complaining at that point. They didn't notice the 1/2 whole wheat flour.

LOW FAT CHEWY FRUIT AND OATMEAL BARS

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

8 ounces of plain or vanilla low-fat yogurt

2 egg-whites, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 Tbsp. fat free milk

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 3/4 wheat 3/4 all purpose)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked) (I used old-fashioned)

1 cup diced dried mixed fruit, raisins, or craisins (I mixed raisins and craisins)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, combine sugars, yogurt, egg whites, oil, milk and vanilla, mix well. In medum bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add to yogurt mixture; mix well. Stir in oats and fruit.

2. Spread dough evenly onto bottom of ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan.

3. Bake 28 to 32 minutes (I love that odd exactness; not 27-31 minutes or 29-33, but I'm just weird.) or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered.

That's it!