Oatmeal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Fall = Pumpkin! I was in the fall spirit (even though it's still 90 degrees outside) and decided to make some awesome pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  It has to be the most homey cookie ever.

I like to make a big batch of these cookies and freeze the dough.  You never know when you're going to need a pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookie... and you need to be prepared.

Oatmeal Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:
1/2  cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2  cup granulated sugar
2  eggs
1  teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour
1  teaspoon baking soda
1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2  teaspoon sal
3  cups quick or old fashioned oats
1  cup chocolate chips
1 can pumpkin, not pie filling

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt; mix well.

Add oats, chocolate chips, and pumpkin.  Mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

I've been looking at a picture of these cookies for a couple of months.   I love the fact that these cookies only have a few ingredients and are a great gluten and dairy free option for people that need those options.  For the people that just like chocolate cookies... these are great for that too.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies:
(King Arthur Flour)

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional but good
1 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-process (European-style) preferred*
3 large egg whites
2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Or line with parchment, and grease the parchment.

Stir together all of the ingredients till smooth. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and stir again till smooth.

Drop the soft, batter-like dough onto the prepared baking sheets in 1 1/2" circles; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.

Bake the cookies for 8 minutes; they should spread, become somewhat shiny, and develop faintly crackly tops.

Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool right on the pan.

Turtle Cheesecake

We had an office birthday recently and I decided to make a cheesecake instead of getting a "normal cake".  I knew the recipient would like the cheesecake so I decided to go with it.

This is the same basic cheesecake recipe I use for everything but I cut it in half and added all of the things that make a turtle cheesecake wonderful.

Turtle Cheesecake:

3 packages of cream cheese
2 eggs
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla
pinch of salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2-1 cup caramel syrup or ice cream topping
1/2 package Oreos
2 tablespoons butter

large spring form pan

 Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Take a spring form pan and grease it well with either non-stick cooking spray or butter.

Either process the oreos in a food processor or put them in a large ziploc bag and beat them with a rolling pin.  Add the melted butter and press the crust into the spring form pan.  Add more oreos or butter as needed.

Cream the cheese and sugar well. Add corn starch, flour, vanilla salt, cream again.

Add eggs, one at a time, add half of the pecans and mini chocolate chips.

 

Make sure cake is thoroughly mixed and smooth. Pour into pan.  Pour half of the caramel sauce over the cheesecake and swirl with a knife.

 

Bake the cheesecake for about 45 minutes and then sprinkle the top of the cheesecake with the remaining pecans and mini chocolate chips.  Continue baking the cheesecake until it's lightly brown on top and the center is solid to the touch for about another hour.  Remove from oven, spread the rest of the caramel on top and let the cheesecake cool. 

Shortbread Candy Bars

Yay for candy! I have a ton of candy pieces in my pantry and I need to start using them.  This is one of the easiest ways to use up candy pieces and make something delicious.

This is a basic shortbread recipe.  I used these toppings but you could very easily switch them out.  I've made shortbread with strawberry jam and white chocolate chips before.  It's delicious.  Try new things, it's good for you.  ;-)

Shortbread Candy Bars:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, chopped
1/2 cup butterscotch chips, chopped
1/2 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottom and sides of an 8x8 square baking pan with aluminum foil.

In a bowl whisk the flour with the salt.  In a bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add the flour mixture and mix until everything has just come together.

Spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until the shortbread is golden brown.  Remove from oven and scatter the chocolate and butterscotch chips over the hot shortbread. Return the shortbread to the oven for a couple of minutes (until the chocolate softens). Take a knife or small spatula and spread the chocolate chips out.  Sprinkle the toffee bits over the chocolate and place the pan on a rack to cool.

Once the chocolate has set remove from the pan and cut into 16 squares.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip

We had a football party recently.  I made a bunch of savory dips but I had a box of graham crackers around and some apples that I needed to use and decided to make a dessert dip for everyone.

I forgot to take a picture of this but it was a really big hit.  One of my friends took some leftovers home with him and I will more than likely make it next time we have a get together.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip:

1 box cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick of butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix everything except the chocolate chips together.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Chill until ready to serve.

Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

Cranberries are awesome. These cookies are awesome.  They're a basic cookie recipe and perfect for sharing. The batter for these cookies also freezes really well.  I like to go ahead, make an entire batch of batter and just cook off what I need.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies:
(adapted from Ocean Spray)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter or margarine and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, 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 chunks.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. 

Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
 

Cake Mix Cookies

I found these on the interwebs.  It's a fantastic idea and since cake mixes are BOGO all the time I decided that this would be a good recipe to keep in my "Holy Crap I forgot that I need to bring something to work/school/church tomorrow!" file.

Cake Mix Cookies:
(Pillsbury)

1 (18.9-oz.) pkg. Cake Mix (I used chocolate, because I had chocolate)

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

Bake at 375 for about 6-8 minutes.

Hot Cocoa

I love hot cocoa.  It makes me feel warm and fuzzy.  I grew up drinking it out of a packet because it's easy.  Little did I know it's just as easy to make it from scratch with cocoa powder.

Hot Cocoa:
(Toll house)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
4 cups milk, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Combine sugar and cocoa in medium saucepan; stir. Gradually stir in 1/3 cup milk to make a smooth paste; stir in remaining milk.

Warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until hot (do not boil). Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract. Top with whipped cream or marshmallows, if desired, before serving.


If you wanted to change this around a little bit feel free to add some peppermint extract to the mix. 

Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

I love peanut butter cookies.  I also love peanut butter cups.  When my mom was a teacher she would make these for her students.  They are awesome, I'd say that they're in my top 3 for cookies. I think they might be  Mr. T's favorite.

Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies:

(adapted from Paula Deen)

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Small peanut butter cups

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet.

In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, 1 cup sugar replacement, the egg, and vanilla, and stir well with a spoon. Roll the dough into balls the size of walnuts. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet. Take some of the unwrapped peanut butter cups and press one into each cookie ball.

Bake for 12 minutes, remove from the oven, and cool slightly before removing from pan.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I was a kid my mom would make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for catering events.  Most of the time my sister and I would be able to snag a couple of cookies.  When my mom was making them for something fancy she would melt milk and white chocolate to drizzle over the top.  Who can say no to that?!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies:
(Quaker Oats)

Ingredients:
1/2  cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2  cup granulated sugar
2  eggs
1  teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour
1  teaspoon baking soda
1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2  teaspoon salt (optional)
3  cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1  cup chocolate chips

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.

Add oats and chocolate chips.  Mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack.















Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Chocolate-Mint Cookies

It's officially holiday time! One of my favorite things during this time of year are cookie exchanges.  My mom threw one at her studio recently and I made these cookies to share.  I love the red and green "chocolate candies" that a certain company puts out at this time of year.  The mint ones are my favorite.

I love the way chocolate cookies look like with the red and green so I decided to skip the chocolate chunks and go with the candies instead.

Chocolate-Mint Cookies:
(Verybestbaking.com- Toll House)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Baking Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups mint candies

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º F.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in candies.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set but still soft.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Brownies

I made brownies recently.  I love brownies.  I think that they are quite possibly my favorite dessert.  I like them with nuts (pecans if I have the choice).

These were really easy to make and turned out great.


Chocolate Pecan Brownies
(adapted from Ina Garten)


Ingredients

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups pecans (halves)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter.

Pour into the baking sheet.

Bake for 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into squares.

These were awesome.  The pecans make it, to me at least.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

One of the desserts I made this past weekend was Whoopie Pies.  I never grew up eating them but I've seen them a lot on different blogs.  I've seen red velvet, chocolate with peppermint, pumpkin, and chocolate with Peanut Butter Cream Frosting.  

I decided to go with the peanut butter frosting for the workshop this weekend.  They were a big hit, which always makes me happy, especially when it's the first time I've made something.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies:
(Martha Stewart)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl; set aside. 

 

Add butter, shortening, and sugars to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; cream on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Add egg; beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla; beat until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture. Beat together, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. 

 

Drop 12 slightly rounded tablespoons of batter 2 inches apart on each baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes; switch the positions of the baking sheets, and rotate each one. 

**Note: they spread once they start cooking so be prepared for giant cookies from a little bit of batter.

Remove from oven; let cookies cool on baking sheets for about 10 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a wire rack; let cool completely. Repeat the process with remaining batter. 

Assembly:

Spread 1 tablespoon of butter cream on flat sides of half the cookies.

 

Top each with one of the remaining cookies, flat side down, and gently press together.

Holla!!

Magic Cookie Bars

Every family has a version of this dessert.  It's a great dessert to make if you have to throw something together at the last minute or just want to use what you have in the pantry.  I've seen it made with peanut butter chips, white chocolate, and and a million other things.

I made these for one of my coworker's 5 year working anniversary and they were a big hit.  They were so rich that we were able to eat on them for a couple of days.

Magic Cookie Bars:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 stick salted butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup shredded coconut
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a bowl. Press into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.

Sprinkle pecans, coconut flakes, butterscotch chips and chocolate chips on top in layers.

Pour can of sweetened condensed milk over mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool and cut into bars.

These are so rich!  (but so good)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've heard great things about Alton Brown's chocolate chip cookies.  He has three versions: "The Chewy", "The Thin", and "The Puffy".  I have no interest in puffy or thin chocolate chip cookies so I obviously went with "The Chewy".

Alton Brown's "The Chewy":
from The Food Network

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet.

Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning.

Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

They tasted really good but I didn't love the texture.  They were puffier than I was looking for.  I brought them into work and everyone else loved them.

Mom's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These were my FAVORITE cookies when I was a kid.  When my mom would make a batch for gifts she would take some melted white or milk chocolate and drizzle it on the top of them.  They're amazing.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies:


Ingredients:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) margarine, softened
2 tablespoons heat-stable sugar substitute equal to 3 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup egg substitute or 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
¼ cup frozen unsweetened apple juice concentrate (thawed)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

In large bowl, beat margarine and sweetener or sugar until creamy. Add egg substitute; beat well. Add applesauce, apple juice concentrate and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add oats and chocolate chips; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets.

Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until firm to the touch and light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Chocomize- Make your own chocolate!

I found a new cool food site.  Chocomize is a web page that allows you to customize your own chocolate bar. 

The first step is to choose your chocolate.  You have a choice from dark, milk, or white chocolate.

Next you pick your toppings.  They have six different categories and you can choose up to five ingredients.  Some of my favorites were almonds, honey roasted soy beans, candied ginger, oreos, caramel pieces, junior mints, coffee, and pop rocks.  Mr. T was a fan of the chili powder and mini chipotle peppers.

I think the price is pretty good.  I've seen chili pepper chocolate bars in speciality food stores in town for $10-$11, which I think is a lot (but I'm kind of cheap).  The same bar is half the price here.

I'm thinking that there might be stocking suffers in my family's future.  I can't wait to place my order.

German Chocolate Cake Truffles

I've got the baking itch. I decided to make "cake truffles" tonight. I've never made them before and I hear people talk about them all the time so I decided to give them a try.  I got the idea for them from Bakerella.  The ones she makes are seriously cute, she even makes them into mini pops.  Mine were not as amazing.


What you need:
1 box of cake mix- any flavor you want.  Tonight I went with a marble cake.
1 can of store bought frosting.  I used a coconut pecan one tonight.

Baking chocolate.  You can use white or milk.

 

Make the cake mix as directed.  When the cake comes out of the oven let it cool and then crumble it up.  Mix the icing with the crumbled cake.  Roll the cake and icing mixture into small balls, about the size of a quarter.  Refrigerate and let the cake cool (several hours).

 
After the cake balls cool, melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave.  Dip the balls in the chocolate and place them on a sheet of wax paper to cool.
 
Enjoy!!

OK, so here's the deal.  I was seriously impatient tonight and didn't let things cool as I should have.  My cute little cake balls look more like boulders than spheres.  While I was melting my chocolate some of the steam got in there and my chocolate got all wonky.  Oh well.  They may look ugly but they still taste pretty good.

Derby Pie

This is another family favorite.  I think my sister's boyfriend would go on strike if I didn't make this every year.  My grandmother always told me that when you make a pecan (pe-CAN) pie the nuts should make up the majority of the pie, not goo.  I think she's right.

Tony’s Chocolate Pecan Pie (AKA- Derby Pie):

The Neelys- Food Network

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
3 tablespoons bourbon liquor
2 cups pecan halves
1/2 cup mini milk chocolate morsels
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter in a small saucepan. While butter is melting, add beaten eggs to a medium sized bowl. Stir in brown sugar, flour, vanilla extract, corn syrup and bourbon until combined. Add butter when just melted.

Mix in the pecans and chocolate morsels. Mix all together. Pour mixture into pie shell.  Take some of the better looking pecans and make a nice design on top.

Place on a sheet tray and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

Peanut Butter No-Bake Pie

I love peanut butter.  My family does too.  I decided to try something new recently and picked a no-bake Peanut Butter Pie with a chocolate cookie crust.

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk

1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crusts

Directions:

1. Beat together cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Mix in peanut butter and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.

2. Spoon into two 9 inch chocolate cookie pie shells; cover, and freeze until firm.

 
ENJOY!