Black Cat Cookies

My kids helped me make these Black Cat Cookies over the weekend.  I got the recipe from a Land O' Lakes email, but there are similar recipes on many sites.

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 T. vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp, salt
candy corn
red cinnamon candies (I didn't have any, so we used peanuts and chocolate stars)

1.  Combine sugar and butter in large bowl; beat at medium speed until well mixed.  Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla; beat until well mixed.

2.  Combine all remaining ingredients except candies in medium bowl.  Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture to butter mixture.  Beat until well mixed.

3.  Divide dough in half.  Shape each half into a ball; flatten to 1/2 inch.  Wrap each half in plastic food wrap.  Refrigerate until firm (at least 2 hours--I did ours overnight).

4.  Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/4-inch thickness.  Cut with 3-inch round cookie cutters.  Place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

5.  Using fingers, pinch up ears at top of each circle.  Place 2 pieces candy corn onto cookies for eyes and 1 red cinnamon candy for nose.  Press tines of fork on each side of cookie below eyes to form whiskers.

6.  Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set.  Let cool 1 minutes on cookie sheet; remove to wire cooling rack.

Zucchini Cookies

From allrecipes.com.

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I left this out)
  
• 1 cup raisins

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg then stir in the zucchini. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into the zucchini mixture. Mix in raisins. Cover dough and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 2 inches apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven until set. Allow cookies to cool slightly on the cookie sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Crinkles

This was a new recipe to me, and I'll definitely be making them again.

1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Mix oil, chocolate, and granulated sugar.

2. Blend in one egg at a time until well mixed. Add vanilla.

3. Stir flour, baking powder and salt into oil mixture.

4. Chill several hours or overnight.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

6. Drop by teaspoonfuls into confectioners' sugar.

7. Roll in sugar; shape into balls and place about 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes (do not overbake). NOTE: If you use self-rising flour, omit the baking powder and salt.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

This is a must have recipe for the holidays.

1/2 cup CRISCO® Butter Shortening (I used butter)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Sugar
48 foil-wrapped milk chocolate pieces, unwrapped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Cream together shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat well.

3. Sire together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Beat on low speed until stiff dough forms.

4. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Top each cookie immediately with an unwrapped chocolate piece, pressing down firmly so that cookie cracks around edge. Remove from cookie sheets to cool.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

From the Quaker Oatmeal container.

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or Old Fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins
I sometimes add chocolate chips, too.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
Stir in oats and raisins; mix well
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.

Bar cookies: Bake 30 to 35 minutes in ungreased 9 x 13 metal baking pan.

Monster Cookies

A fun fall cookie recipe!

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
4 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup M & M's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs. Add remaining ingredients in order, stirring as you go. Use ice cream scoop to put on cookie sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes.
I made a 1/2 batch of these cookies (2 eggs, everything else halved).

The Cookie Jar Recipe

This recipe originally came from my sister Abby.

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup Parkay spread sticks (I usually use butter)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat Parkay and sugars in large bowl until fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture, beat until blended. Stir in chocolate chips (or other variations).
Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool 2 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets.
Variations:
1/2 cup peanut butter (decrease butter amount by 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa with flour (decrease flour amount by 1/2 cup)

S'more Cookie Bars

The Wit's End Bakery and Corner Store next to our office makes the best s'more cookies, so I was looking to duplicate their recipe. I didn't find a cookie recipe, but I did find this bar recipe at bakingbites.com.

S’More Cookie Bars
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs*
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s) (I used chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows) (I used regular marshmallows)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.
Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick.
Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff.
Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool completely before cutting into bars.

I put all the dough in the pan and baked about 25 minutes. Then I added a layer of marshmallows and baked an additional 5-10 minutes until they were puffy and lightly brown. I took them out of the oven, sprinkled with chocolate chips and let them melt, and then spread the chocolate chips over top.

Makes 16 cookie bars.

*Note: 3/4 cup crumbs is approx 7 full-sized graham cracker sheets, whizzed in the food processor until fine. (I put the crackers in a plastic bag and crush with my rolling pin.)

Peanut Butter Cookies

I decided to make some cookies this afternoon, and settled on Peanut Butter Cookies instead of the usual Chocolate Chips. This recipe was from allrecipes.com.

1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup margarine (I used butter)
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the peanut butter, margarine (butter), brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Form dough into walnut sized balls and place them 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Dip a fork into flour and criss cross each cookie to flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until just lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.