Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tonight we needed a quick treat to take to cub scouts so J.R. suggested that we make these cookies.  This is a recipe we got from Dave's brother Roger and his wife Hilary.  It has just enough chocolate and is just the right combination of yumminess!  AND I love that they are soft cookies :)

2 cups of butter                                                           

4 cups sugar

4 eggs                                                                         

4 tsp vanilla

4 ½ cups flour                                                            

1 ½ cups cocoa

2 tsp baking soda                                                       

1 tsp salt

12 oz of Reese’sReeses chips or 2 cups chocolate chips

Mix butter, eggs, and sugar.  Add vanilla, salt, soda, flour, cocoa.  Mix well and add chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes.  (best if soft) Do not overcook.

Chocolate Chip Cookie WINNERS!

About a month ago, Dave and the kids went to a friends house to help with a science experiment.  Our friend was trying to find the best chocolate chip cookie so her and her mom made several cookies and then invited several taste testers over.  I think it's one of the first times that my kids came home and said they were too full of cookies.  We found out the winner of the experiement this week...so of course I had to make them...and they are delicious!

Kim’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (this was the mom's roommate):
Cream together:
1 Cup Butter, 1 Cup White Sugar, and 1 Cup Brown Sugar
Add to butter mixture:
2 Eggs, 1 tsp. Vanilla
Combine and then add to wet ingredients:
2 Cups Flour, 2 ½ Cups Oatmeal (measure first then pulverize in blender)
½ tsp. Salt, 1 tsp. Baking Powder and 1 tsp. Baking Soda
Add:
12 oz Chocolate Chips
Drop in spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Healthy Sugar Cookies

This recipe comes from Brit from our blog here.

I'm always looking for more ways to use my ground wheat flour so this is perfect! 
11/2 cups sugar
2/3 c smart balance butter
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
31/4 c whole wheat flour(hard white wheat)
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs, milk, and extract. Mix dry ingredients together and beat into cream mixture. Shape into balls, wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.  Grease cookie sheets. On lightly floured surface, roll about 1/3 of the dough at a time, keeping the rest in frig or covered. For soft cookies, roll 1/4-in thick. Cut into shapes, place cookies on sheets. Bake at 400 about 8 min. Remove and cool.

Crackly Ginger Cookies

Yummy Gingersnap cookies!  These are also very moist  :)

* 4 cups sifted all purpose flour

* 4 tsp. baking soda

* 2 tsp. ground ginger

* 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

* 1 tsp. salt

* 1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening

* 1 3/4 cups sugar

* 2 eggs

* 1/2 cup molasses

* 1/4 cup sugar

Sift flour, soda, ginger, cinnamon, & salt together.

In another bowl, mix shortening and sugar.  Beat in eggs and molasses.

Work flour mixture into the molasses mixture to form a soft dough.

Divide dough in half and wrap each half in waxed paper.

Chill overnight or until firm enough to shape. (1 hour in the fridge always works for me)

Roll into 1" balls. 

Dip tops in the 1/4 c. sugar and place sugar side up about 2" apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, just until firm.

Let sit on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before lifting off.

Store in a container with tight fitting lid.

Soft Gingersnap Cookies

My friend, Michele, introduced these SOFT gingersnap cookies to me several years ago.  I had the recipe and apparently lost it so I had to get again this week so I could take these yummy cookies to a church treat exchange last night.  Love that they are just strong enough ginger....not overpowering and that they are SOFT! 

2 1/4 cups flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 cup sugar

In a large mixing bowl combine about half of the flour, brown sugar, shortening, molasses, egg, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed till combined.  Beat or stir in remaining flour.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Roll balls in the granulated sugar to coat.  Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or till edges are set and tops are crackled.  Cool cookies on cookie sheet for 1 minute.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.  Makes about 48 cookies.

Hershey's Perfect Special Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

From treat exchange made by Pam.

Preheat oven to 375.

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups (12 oz pkg) Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Beat butter, sguars, and vanilla until creamy.  Add eggs, beat well.  Gradually add flour mixture, beating well.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.  Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.  Cool completely.

Easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies

From the treat exchange.

1 box spice cake mix
1 small can pumpkin
1 egg

Mix all together.  Add chopped walnuts.  Add chocolate chips.  Drop by teaspoon on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes.

Fruit Pizza

One day a week during the summer, I've committed some time to letting the kids cook something new. This week we tried a fruit pizza. They weren't so sure when I told them about this treat, but the end result met their approval!

1/2 cup margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg. Mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Press onto a pizza pan (of course I used a pizza stone). Bake for 8-10 minutes or until brown (mine needed to cook for about 15 minutes). Cool.

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Spread on cooled crust. Add fruit and chill.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the name of the recipe in the cookbook. I would have to agree. I really like when cookies are soft even after the first day. These stayed soft and tasty!

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening (I used marg...so I just added 1 cup total)
1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
6 oz. choc. chips
2 cups quick oats

Cream together sugars and margarine. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in flour, soda, salt, choc. chips, and oats. Bake 9 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to racks.

Candy Cane Cookies

I wanted to make a cookie the kids could help with...and make something different than sugar cookies since we'll already make these w/ our nativity cookie scene next week. I remember these cookies from treat plates when I was little. I've always thought they were tasty and thought they would be fun and do-able for the kids. By far, they are not perfect candy cane shape but we had lots of fun! Here's the recipe I used. I made the recipe twice...once for the red dough and once for the white dough.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp almond extract (I didn't have to I just used more vanilla)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red food coloring

Cream together the shortening, butter, sugar, egg, and extracts. In a separate bowl, mix flour and salt and add to shortening mixture. Divide dough in half (or make another batch of dough:). Blend red food coloring into one half. Roll about 1 tsp of the red dough and 1 tsp of the white dough on a lightly floured surface into about 4" strips. Place strips side by side and press lightly together and twist like a rope. Curve top of rope down to look like the handle of a candy cane. Bake 9 minutes or until lightly browned at 350 degrees. Remove while still warm. Sprinkle w/ 1/2 cup of crushed candy cane and sugar...we used peppermint sprinkles mixed with sugar. When searching for a recipe of these cookies, I found a lot that just used a sugar cookie recipe w/ an extra 2 TBL of flour...think I'll give that a try next time.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

We tried a different cookie recipe for Halloween this year. I got the recipe from this blog.

1 cup unsalted butter (I used margarine)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
5 cups flour (can do half whole wheat)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 cup raisins, chopped (can sub mini chocolate chips or other dried fruit)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. With mixer running on low, slowly add the honey and molasses. Beat well.

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add a cup at a time to the creamed mixture.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure there isn’t any flour left. Add the raisins. Transfer the dough to an airtight container or large Ziploc bag. Chill until very cold–about 4 hours or overnight.

Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface and cut with cookie cutters.

Bake cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets at 375 degrees F for 6-7 minutes (shorter for smaller cookies, longer for larger cookies) or until cookies are firm to the touch and lightly golden. (If you like crisp cookies, bake for longer.)

Decorate as desired.

G-Force Cookies

Saturday we enjoyed the movie "G-Force." I had seen these cookies in the Family Fun Magazine so we tried them out today. Fun for the kids to do :)
RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Peanut halves
Mini chocolate chips
1. Cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then stir them into the wet mixture, just to blend. Cover and chill until firm, about 1 hour. (We didn't want to wait another hour, so we just went to the next step :))
2. Heat the oven to 350°. Form level tablespoons of dough into cylinders, pinching the ends a bit to make rough guinea pig body shapes. Use a knife to chop the peanut halves in half, then add peanut-piece ears and mini chocolate chip eyes to each cookie. Place the guinea pig cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until firm, about 8 minutes.

Cowboy Cookies

This recipe come from my MIL. Dave really enjoys these cookies. The original recipe calls for making them into bar cookies but we prefer them as regular cookies so I just scoop them and bake them for about 10 minutes on 350.

2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 lb margarine
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
2 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
4 cups oats
2 cups coconut
12 oz chocolate chips

Cream sugars, margarine, eggs & vanilla. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bake in 3 9x13 pans (or 1 cookie sheet + 1 9x13) at 350 for 15 minutes or less.

Crunchy Sheet Cookies

These bar cookies are my hubby's very favorite cookies...so as a way to say "thank you" for the kitchen...I had to make them for him. :)
2 eggs
2/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
¾ tsp salt
¾ tsp nutmeg
¾ tsp soda
2 cups oatmeal

Mix all ingredients together. Spread onto a large cookie sheet to within 1” of the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cut into squares immediately. Frost with a lemon frosting, if desired. (I just put about 2 cups of powdered sugar in a bowl and squeeze a fresh lemon into it. Mix and pour over the cookies)

No-Bake Cookies

One of our favorite treats :) They remind me of elementary school...I loved it when they served these for lunch. I remember all the kids lining up for seconds after everyone had gone through. You could buy an extra one for a quarter.

2 cups sugar
1 cube butter
2 TBL cocoa
½ cup milk

Mix and bring to a boil-stir-boil for one minute. Take off heat and add:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup coconut
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats

Stir well. Spoon onto waxed paper or cookie sheets and let set in the fridge. I usually double this recipe because they don't usually last long :)

Grandma's Sugar Cookies

These are the cookies I always remember in my Grandma's cookie jar. They bring back so many memories of Grandma's house :)

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp baking soda
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp vanilla
4 cups flour

Mix all together and put in fridge to chill for 1-2 hours. Roll into balls and dip in sugar (or cinnamon and sugar), place on cookie sheet and flatten with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Choc-Oat-Cookies

2 sticks butter, softened
1 ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 TBL milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 ½ cups oats
2 cups chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Add flour, baking soda, salt; mix well. Stir in oats, chocolate chips; mix well. Drop on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 9 minutes. Cool completely.

Hawaiian Drop Cookies

Friday night we had a church party to attend. I brought these cookies that I use to make all the time (sorry...there's no picture...I forgot to take one before we left the house.)

¾ cup butter or margarine, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups oats, uncooked
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 ¾ cups M & M’s
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy; beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine oats, flour, baking powder, and baking soda; blend into creamed mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake 13-15 minutes.

Craisin White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 to 1 cup Craisins (sweetened, dried cranberries)
2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10minutes, or until golden brown (some of my cookies only cooked for 9 minutes).

I'm usually the type of person that loves to eat cookies straight from the oven...but not these! These were tons better when they were cool...even better the next day.

Peanut Butter Candy Cookies

3/4 cup chunky peanut butter (I used creamy since someone in my house doesn't like crunch PB)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour)
2 cups quartered mini Reese's cups (I chopped mine with my pampered chef chopper)
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Beat peanut butter and butter in large bowl. Beat in brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda until blended. Beat in egg and vanilla until well blended. Beat in flour just until mixed. Stir in peanut butter cups. (I also added the chocolate chips here...I didn't realize they were for a "frosting"). Cover and refrigerate 1 hour until firm.

Preheat oven to 375. The original recipe is for 5-in cookies (hence the "need" for frosting) but I made these into just regular cookies. I scooped them onto a greased cookie and baked them for 10 minutes (until lightly browned). Removed to wire racks and cooled. Yummy, yummy! Can you tell I love peanut butter?!?! :)