Chocolate Chip Cookies

(From my friend Jenny White)
Cream:
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

In a separate bowl sift:
3 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda

Combine. Then add:
2 more tsp of vanilla
2 cups of chocolate chips

Form into balls and bake at 375 degrees for 7-9 minutes. Cool on racks.
These won at a Chocolate Chip Cookie "Throwdown"

(from Carrie: The best trick to these cookies is to NOT over-bake them.  Take them out just as the highest peaks are turning brown.  The cookie may look a little doughy still, but take them out!  For my oven, this is right at 7 1/2 minutes!  Butter notes: And I use salted butter all the time, and then add only 1 tsp of salt into the recipe.  Whatever you do, always use real butter. NO margarine!  And have it soft but not melted. This is my favorite cookie recipe, and is requested all the time!  And I sometimes add M&M's into the dough, along with the chocolate chips.  Yummy!)

(from Stacie- I used salted butter and don't add salt at all. I also like 3 c. of chocolate chips!)

Specudoodles (Cookie Butter Snickerdoodles)

recipe source:  The Blonde Buckeye

1 3/4 C All-Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 C Unsalted Butter (1 stick), softened
3/4 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C Granulated Sugar
1/2 C Speculoos Cookie Butter
1 Egg
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste ***I used 1 1/2 tsp vanilla***

FOR ROLLING
1/4 C Granulated Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together four, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  In a mixer bowl, cream butter on low for 2 minutes.  Add sugars and beat on high for another two minutes.  Beat in cookie butter for another 2 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat for another 1-2 minutes until smooth.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and carefully mix until just combined (don't over-mix).
Let the dough chill for at least 2 hours, covered in the refrigerator.  (Chill up to two days, tightly covered.)  ***I baked one batch right after mixing dough and it turned out perfectly.***

In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon, mix to combine.  Take about 2 TBSP of dough and roll into a ball.  Roll dough ball in cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Place it on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes.  Cookie tops should be just set and the edges barely turning golden.

M&M Cookies

Stacie forwarded me a new M&M cookie recipe that I knew I had to try out.
And they were delicious.
And they were even delicious the next day!
It made about 2 dozen cookies.  Maybe 2 1/2 if you don't eat cookie dough while you bake.
My little family eats cookie dough so mine made 2 dozen.

Ingredients

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose Gold Medal Flour
• 3 tablespoons Instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1-1 1/2 cups Mini M and M’s
• ***I used 2 cups total.  I didn't have a full bag of mini M&Ms because I had used them for a previous dessert.  So I used 1 1/4 c mini m&ms and 3/4 c of mini chocolate chips.  I love chocolate but I wouldn't recommend more than 2 cups total of whatever you choose***

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with a silpat liner or parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl cream your butter and sugars until well combined. Add your egg and vanilla mixing to combine. Add your flour, pudding mix, baking soda and salt, stirring to combine. Add chips and m and m’s stirring to combine.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked through. Let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Enjoy!

Recipe source:  Picky Palate

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

These were so light and yummy that I kept going back for more...and more! Recipe found at Lauren's Latest.

½ cup Butter, Softened
1 cup Granulated Sugar
½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 whole Egg
1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
⅛ teaspoons Baking Soda
1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
½ cups Powdered Sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Pumpkin Spiced and Iced Cookies

1 C butter, softened
1 C sugar
1 {15 oz} can pumpkin
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 1/4 C flour
1 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 C chocolate chips
glaze or frosting

Beat butter and sugar till creamy. Beat in pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually beat in dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. This will not look like a normal batter! Use a cookie scoop to place on baking sheet. Bake 15 - 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Frost with cream cheese frosting or caramel icing. (Makes abt. 4 dozen.)

Basic Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 c butter, softened

3 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

milk to right consistency (start with a few tablespoons)

Soft Sugar Cookies

Ally begged me to make sugar cookies a few days ago, and we tried a new recipe. We really loved it! Nothing compares to mom's sugar cookies :) but these ones are delicious in their own way: really, really soft and light. We devoured them.

I whipped up 1/4 c. butter, around 3 cups powdered sugar, a few splashes of heavy cream, and a hint of almond extract for the frosting.

Source for cookies: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened to cool room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, almond extract and lemon zest; mix. Add two cups flour, baking powder and salt. Mix. Add remaining flour and mix just until flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth and soft.

The dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator for up to a week or it can be rolled out right away. Dust a counter with powdered sugar or flour and roll the dough to desired thickness (about 1/4-inch, maybe even slightly thicker than that). Cut the dough into shapes. Place the cookies on a lined or lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes. The cookies won’t appear browned on top (or on bottom) when they are done baking so don’t let them overbake!

Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Red Velvet Cookies

I made these for Jenna a few weeks ago because I know how much she loves red velvet cookies. They turned out really good! The recipe is just for the cookie, but I added a cream cheese frosting because there's a bakery in SLC that does that, and Jenna and I both love their cookies.

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon red food coloring

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and combine until smooth. Beat in red food coloring. Stir in cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Giant Cookie

I made this for the Super Bowl, and it was a hit! I think it would be so fun to take to neighbors or anyone needing a fun treat. I found it at Mel's Kitchen Cafe of course! I followed the recipe as is, except I did 1 c. of chocolate chips instead of 1/2 c. And next time, I think I would do even more... :)

*Makes 1 giant cookie

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream together the sugars and butter. Add the egg and vanilla and mix. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Line a pizza pan with foil and press the cookie into a circle. I press my cookie into a 9-inch circle, about 1/4 to 3/8-inch thick. When it bakes, it spreads to about 11 inches, which fits perfectly onto a 12-inch round cardboard circle you can find at most craft stores.

If desired, top the cookie with M&M’s or any other garnishes. Bake for 13-16 minutes until the cookie is lightly golden brown. Let the cookie cool completely on the baking pan – this helps the cookie stabilize and set so it can be easily lifted off the pan. Once cool, gently use the foil to lift the cookie off the pan.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are a family favorite around here. So good!

1 C butter, softened
1/2 C sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
1 t vanilla
1 egg
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
1 C flour
3 C oats
3 C chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars together until light and creamy {about 4 minutes}. Add vanilla and egg and mix well. Add all dry ingredients except oats and mix, then add oats and chocolate chips. Bake 8 -9 minutes at 375 degrees.

M&M Sugar Cookies

These cookies are so amazing! I found the recipe at Jamie Cooks It Up. While the name says "sugar cookie," it's really more of a normal cookie in looks and taste. But there is something so sugary and soft and moist about these, and the M&Ms are to die for in them. Right after I took them out of the oven, I added even more M&Ms to the top.

1 C butter, softened
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
3 C flour
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t cream of tartar
dash of salt
1 medium bag (12 oz) M&M's (I suggest buying two bags just to put even more in and have extra for the top)

Cream the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes, or until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix for 2 more minutes. In a separate small mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Pour in your M&M's and mix just until combined. Form into round balls (about 2 inches in size) and lay onto a cookie sheet. Press the tops down slightly. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until you see the cookies start to crack.

Lemon Poppy Seed Sugar Cookies

Another recipe from My Kitchen Cafe! And it is soooo good!

The recipe from the site is just for the cookie,

but I decided to try cream cheese frosting on top and thought it was delightful!

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
zest of one lemon
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. poppy seeds
1/4 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, and lemon zest and mix well. Add dry ingredients and pulse together in mixer to combine. Add buttermilk and mix well. Drop onto cookie sheet (I rolled mine into balls- it's a sticky dough). Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are set and cookie is puffy and still light colored.

Frost with cream cheese frosting if desired!

1/4 c. butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 c. powdered sugar
milk (to desired consistency)
vanilla

Itty Bitty Addicting Cookies

Here's a new cookie recipe from someone in my ward, and oh boy! They are good! They are called "Slightly Healthy" because they call for whole wheat flour and oats, and then you bake them by the teaspoonful. So in theory that works, but if you are like me, watch out. You will be unable to stop eating them, negating any sort of healthiness right out.

Slightly Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 c. oats (I ground mine up in the blender)

3/4 c. whole wheat flour (can use white)

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars together until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add oats, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and "pulse" until mixed. (This way I never mix the dry ingredients separately, but you might want to if you don't have a mixer.) Add chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet (I rolled mine into balls) and bake for 7-9 minutes.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies

This was originally a Mrs Fields cookie recipe that I tweaked and tweaked until this delicious piece of heaven. 

 1 C butter softened 1 C sugar 1 C brown sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 1 pkg (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding 2 C oatmeal 2 C flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 C coconut 1/2 C chopped walnuts 1/4 C Heath bits (found by the chocolate chips) 1/2 bag of Semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/2 bag of Milk chocolate chips Small handful of raisins Cream butter and sugar. Add brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and pudding mix. Cream together. Add oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix together. Add coconut, walnuts, Heath bits, chocolate chips, and raisins. Mix together. Form into balls and bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes. Serve with a tall, cold glass of milk. Yummmmmmmmy!!!

Sugar Cookies

We made these last night and they were delicious, as usual! I love mom's recipe. I think the trick is rolling them out nice and thick. Who wants a flat and crispy sugar cookie? These are so soft and thick and great tasting. For frosting, I just used a butter cream frosting. I started with 1/4 c. softened butter and added milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar until I got the consistency I wanted. Yum!

-Stacie

1 1/3 C shortening
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 T orange peel, finely grated
1 t vanilla
8 t milk
4 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Cream shortening, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla. Add eggs and milk and mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness on floured surface. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes.

Carrot Cake Cookies

Recipe from Mastering The Menu

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking power
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 finely grated carrots (about 3 large ones)
1 cup raisins (if you like them- I don't so I leave them out)

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter at room temperature
1 cup powered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking power, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture. mix on low speed until just blended. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into balls and place on baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake until browned and crisp, about 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a spatula, spread about 2 teaspoons of frosting onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich together with remaining cookies

Cookies can be refrigerated in airtight containers up to 3 days.

Cream cheese frosting:
Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add butter and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in powered sugar and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

My variations:
I used our cream cheese frosting and I piped the frosting into the cookies instead of spreading with a spatula.

Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (or use chocolate chips)

1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups (packed) light brown sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 packages (24 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chocolate chunks (or chopped chocolate)
additional chopped chocolate bar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Place chopped chocolate and butter in a large, heatproof (metal or pyrex) bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth.

3. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

4. In a large bowl, with electric mixer beat eggs, brown sugar and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and beat in the melted chocolate mixture. Then mix in dry ingredients and blend just until combined. Stir in chocolate chunks, but leave out candy bar chunks.

5. Drop heaping Tablespoonfuls of dough onto baking sheets, keeping a round shape as much as possible- 2 to 3 inches apart. If you’re using the extra chopped chocolate bar, place 2 to 3 chunks on top of each cookie.

6. Bake until cookies are shiny and crackly, yet still soft in the center, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack with a spatula.

Yield: About 4 dozen

http://www.recipegirl.com/2007/05/31/triple-chocolate-chunk-cookies/#ixzz0JUAM3B9Y&D

Peanut Butter Truffle Cookies

From Eat Your Veggies, Peas

1 cup creamy peanut butter {crunchy peanut butter is yummy, too}
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350

In small bowl, with wooden spoon, comine all ingredients except chips
until blended. Stir in chocolate chips just until combined. On
ungreased baking sheets drop by slightly rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches
apart. Do not flatten. Bake 8-9 minutes or until cookies are puffed
and golden. Cookies will be very soft. Let sit on baking sheet for 5
minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

1 C butter, softened
1 C sugar
1 C packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
3 C flour
2/3 C cocoa
1/2 t baking soda
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c miniature marshmallows, frozen

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll into balls. Press 2 to 3 frozen marshmallows into each ball; reshape.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes or until set. Cool 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool.

Haystacks

2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 C butterscotch chips
Chow Mein Noodles
Peanuts {optional}

Melt chips together in a saucepan on low heat. Stir in noodles and nuts.

Drop onto waxed paper lined cookie sheet.
Cool and store covered in refrigerator

Chocolate Waffle Cookies

1-1/2 Cups sugar
1 Cup butter, melted
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 Cups flour
1/2 Cup cocoa
dash of salt

optional: add chocolate chips, nuts, etc.

In a medium bowl, mix the sugar and butter together. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.Mix in the flour, cocoa, and optional ingredients. Preheat the waffle iron and spray it well with oil. Drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto the center of each section. Close the lid and cook for 1-1/2 minute. It may take a little more or less time depending on the waffle iron. Frost with chocolate frosting or dust with powdered sugar.

Chocolate Frosting

3 Cups powdered sugar
1/4 Cup cocoa
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup butter (half a cube)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 Cup milk

Cream all the ingredients together.