Crunchy No-Bake Cookies

27 August, 201426 August, 2014Marissa

I have perfected the no-bake cookie!

Okay, perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration, but these are seriously good. My previous no-bake recipe (a rather standard one using cocoa powder) typically resulted in a sticky, fudge-like mess that tasted good but wasn’t much like a cookie. These are more substantial, and hold their cookie shape once they’ve set.

You could make it with creamy peanut butter, but I prefer having the crunchy peanut pieces. That’s also the reason I use full-size chocolate chips — they’re large enough not to melt completely, so there are chunks of chocolate in the finished cookie. If you’d rather have the chocolate all melted in, just stir it longer or use mini chocolate chips.

Crunchy No-Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

3 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine sugar, milk, butter, and crunchy peanut butter in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. As soon as the mixture boils, remove from heat.

Stir in vanilla and oats. Add chocolate chips and stir just long enough to mix them in, but not long enough to completely melt the chips. Drop from a spoon onto cookie sheets covered with wax paper. Chill and serve.

Fruity Thumbprint Cookies

14 May, 201413 May, 2014Marissa

Really wanted a filled cookie the other day, so I compared several recipes online and came up with this. The previous recipe I’d been using made fewer cookies with the same amount of butter, so this is definitely an improvement. We used black raspberry jelly from a local Amish store and they were delicious.

Fruity Thumbprint Cookies

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Fruity Thumbprint Cookie recipe by marissabaker.wordpress.com — all ready for dipping

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts

3/4 cup fruit jam or jelly

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on high speed until smooth (about 2-3 minutes).

Beat egg yolks and vanilla into the butter mixture. Reserve egg whites. Add flour and salt and mix until just combined. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat egg whites in a small bowl until bubbly and frothy.

Form dough into 1-inch balls and dip in the egg whites, then roll in chopped nuts. Place on the cookie sheets. Flatten balls slightly, then press with your thumb or a small spoon to make a well in the center. If dough cracks, reshape with fingers. Fill each indentation with 1/2 teaspoon jam.

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until slightly firm and barely golden on the edges. Let cookies cool for a minute or two on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack.

Glaze (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon cream or milk

1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Stir glaze ingredients together until smooth, adding sugar or milk to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cookies and allow a couple hours for glaze to set.

Oatmeal Cookies

9 April, 20148 April, 2014Marissa

My younger brother just tested up from his junior black belt to adult-level black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and these are the cookies he wanted to celebrate with. This recipe makes a huge batch of cookies — between 5 and 6 dozen — so there’s more than enough to enjoy here and to send with him to Tae Kwon Do class tomorrow.

Oatmeal Cookies

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Oatmeal Cookie recipe. marissabaker.wordpress.com — cookie dough

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

3 Tablespoons water

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups flour (half whole-wheat, half unbleached)

4 1/2 cups uncooked rolled oats

Mix sugar and butter in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Add water and vanilla, then stir to thoroughly combine.

Stir in salt, baking powder, and soda. Mix in flour, then add oats. Dough can be refrigerated, or baked immediately. Roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes.

Snickerdoodles

22 January, 201421 January, 2014Marissa

This is my favorite cookie. You need to plan ahead a little, since they will not bake right if the dough isn’t chilled first, but otherwise they are very easy to make. The recipe is from a close family friend, who was kind enough to bake them for me on a frequent basis when I was a child, and then gave me the recipe when I started baking in my own kitchen.

Snicker Doodles

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1 cup butter

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1-3/4 cups white, unbleached flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Mix butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and beat to incorporate eggs. Add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Chill dough thoroughly, at least 1 hour.

Remove from refrigerator and roll into balls the size of a walnut. Roll each cookie in mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon.

Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until light brown but still soft, 7-9 minutes at 375°F. Do no over-bake.

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Almond Butterball Cookies

25 September, 201325 September, 2013Marissa

After skipping yesterday, my goal of blogging everyday about something that happened during the Feast is falling by the wayside. Luckily, I had this recipe as a backup for today’s cooking post.

These cookies are easy to make and come together pretty quickly. They also take less time to bake than other cookies, since you can put them close together and fit more on a cookie sheet. The original recipe was for Italian Butterball cookies that I tracked down for an Italian potluck at church, but I’ve changed it quite a bit and have since lost the original link.

The only time I’ve ever had a problem with them turning out well was when I accidentally used baking soda instead of baking powder (in case you were wondering, it results in cookies that taste like vomit — don’t try it). Otherwise, it’s a great recipe.

Almond Butterball Cookies

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1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 pinch salt

1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds

confectioners sugar

Beat together the butter and 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix into the butter mixture until just incorporated. Add almonds and stir.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and arrange on greased baking sheet spaced about 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350°F until firm, about 8-10 minutes. Cool on the sheet for 5-10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Roll the cooled cookies in confectioners sugar to coat.

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Daddy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

16 June, 20138 July, 2014Marissa

First, I feel like I should explain something about the last post not having a title. I didn’t catch it until it was posted to Facebook, and by that time my subscribers had already received an e-mail with a cryptic number in the subject line. If you, like my mother, reread the article obsessively trying to figure out what that number meant, I apologize.

My dad had two requests for Father’s Day: deviled eggs and chocolate chip cookies. There are certain people I associate with different foods — my mother with Caramel Apple Coffee Cake, snickerdoodles with a friend, sugar cookies and Grandpa — and chocolate chip cookies will always make me think of my daddy. It is such a wonderful ego boost to be baking these cookies and have him come through the kitchen and tell me how amazing they smell and what a wonderful daughter I am. I suppose baking chocolate chip cookies is one of my ways of telling him what a wonderful father he is.

Real Chocolate Chip Cookies

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1 cup butter, softened

¾ cups sugar

¾ cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 ¼ cups flour (I use 1 cup whole wheat and the rest white, unbleached)

6-8 ounces chocolate chips.

In a large bowl combine butter sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. stir until creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Add baking soda and salt, then stir. Gradually add flours. Mix well before stirring in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375°F for 7-9 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown.

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