Meet The Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookie....

Phew, what a morning. I just got back from doing the Sonoran Living Live show, here in Phx, promoting the 2008 Tillamook Mac and Cheese Contest. I was surprised to get an email from the Tillamook people asking me to help them promote the contest this year. I'm glad I didn't say anything about it here, because my hair was atrocious today! It didn't work this morning, so I'm hoping no one saw me! It was however, so nice to have my Mom there with me, thanks for coming you little cutie!

I demonstrated my mac and cheese recipe from 2006, "Tillamook 4 Cheese Chicken Florentine Tortellini." The segment seemed to go well, but boy am I glad that's over! It is so akward to see and hear yourself on tv. If you've got a great original mac and cheese, seriously enter it in the contest. It was one of my favorite cook-off's yet!

I did get some beautiful cheese from Tillamook which is like gold. They have some of the best cheese around. I can't wait to make some good mac and cheese with my supply!

So, I was messing around with this new cookie recipe a couple weeks ago and boy did these turn out good! If you are tired of your ususal chocolate chip cookie recipe, do try these. They are fun, different and the kids love them! This is a half recipe, so double accordingly. Grab a glass of milk and get dunkin! Have a great week everyone, see ya'll soon!

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

1 stick softened butter
6 Tablespoons sugar
6 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ Cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
8 broken pieces Oreo Cookies
1 Cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla until mixed well.

2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients then stir in oreos and chocolate chips until just combined.

3. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until cooked, but still soft. Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Peanut Butter Whopper Cookie Sandwiches

Hope everyone is still enjoying their weekend. It's been a weekend full of swimming and Birthdays for us and phew it's getting hot around here!

I got this email from a reader that I thought was so cool, she wrote:

My 13 year old son reads your blog (well more like drools and then prints out recipes for me to make) and he wanted me to write and tell you that A) you have the most awesome cookie recipes ever and B) he wanted to know if you could make a peanut butter marshmallow cookie like a fluffernutter sandwich. So after weeks of bugging me to write you I finally did. We look forward to your next entry.

Best wishes,
Amanda

I would have never thought a 13 year old reads my blog, I think it’s great, so here’s a cookie I whipped up for my 13 year old reader.

I saw these new peanut butter Whoppers at Walmart a few weeks ago and knew they’d be good. What better way to use them than in a peanut butter cookie sandwich!? They give the cookie a great chewy consistency with a hint of malt flavor. I like these cookies just as they are, but the boys love them as the sandwich with the marshmallow frosting.

Peanut Butter Whopper Cookies and Sandwiches

1 stick softened butter
½ Cup Peanut Butter
½ Cup sugar
½ Cup brown sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ Cup flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3.5 oz container Peanut Butter Whoppers, coarsely crushed

sugar for rolling

1 container whipped vanilla frosting (or a homemade frosting of choice)
1 big handful of mini marshmallows, cut in half the long way

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until creamy. Add egg and vanilla until well combined.

2. Place flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients on low speed, then add whoppers until just combined.

3. Scoop dough with a medium cookie scoop, roll into sugar then place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until cooked but still soft.

4. Stir the frosting and cut marshmallows in a medium bowl, spread between 2 cookies and Enjoy!

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If this face doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will! Have a great day!
Happy Birthday Little Cutie!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie Cups

I feel like I can’t keep my days straight with Monday being a holiday and having both my boys home now that school is out! Summer came fast didn't it? Where did that snow go I was just in last weekend!!

This morning, amidst the craziness of getting ready for swim lessons, I felt like baking something snappy. So, I pulled out my extra cookie dough from the Massive Cookies that I had left over and felt like combining them with my handy brownie mix and ta da, out came these adorable and tasty brownie cups.

This is a no brainer, can’t mess up recipe and great for a quick summer treat. Use your favorite cookie dough recipe to put in the center of the brownies. I think I'll try peanut butter cookie dough next time. Frost them with your favorite frosting or sprinkle with a little powdered sugar and enjoy. I have a feeling my summer recipes are going to be all about kid friendly and QUICK with us on the go so much, should be fun.

Have a great rest of the week, I'll be cooking up some more easy recipes soon. I’ve got a 60 second lunch that is so tasty! Stay tuned.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie Cups

1 box brownie mix 9 x 13 size
1 batch of your favorite cookie dough
Powdered sugar or frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare brownies according to package directions. Pour batter into mini cupcake tins (about 36-40) that have been sprayed generously with cooking spray. Spoon 1 Tablespoon of cookie dough into the center of each filled cupcake tin, gently pressing down into the batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until cooked through. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing brownies from tins. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or frost. Enjoy!

Back Home and Mmmm, Massive Cookies!!

It’s nice to be back home! We’ve had a wild and crazy long weekend in the beautiful Pinetop area of AZ. So long, that I didn't make it to the Daring Baker's Challenge this month, I'll be back and refreshed for next month!

It wouldn’t be a trip away from home without some kinks, so I went first by getting a fabulous sore throat Friday, then my little guy got a non-stop cough all day Monday! Thank goodness all is well today, now the unpacking and washing begins.

There’s just something about being away from home that justifies eating like maniacs. Talk about feeling like a glutten! I thought I’d stay away from the kitchen, but we had a beautiful newly remodeled kitchen to use, courtesy of my sis-in-law's family and I couldn’t help myself! One of the nights for dinner, I made a huge pan of lasagna that was so yummy, I’ll have to make it again and take pics of it. I’ve got to take it easy this week, my hips are going to be the size of Texas!

Before I left, I made these gigantic cookies from Anna’s Cookie Madness Blog. I saw this post on Anna’s blog a couple weeks ago and knew I had to make them. These cookies are a copycat version of Levain’s Bakery in NY. They make their cookies big and beautiful! I was so excited to see that Anna made a copycat version, I was all over it!

They turned out big, soft and perfect. I was very happy with them and hope to visit Levain’s Bakery someday, I think I’d order one of every cookie!

Levain Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Copycats

8 ounces (two sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups BREAD flour (13 1/2 oz)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 to 1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped, untoasted walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat butter and both sugars just until they come together. Don’t overbeat. Add the egg and beat just until incorporated. Mix together the flour, salt and baking soda. When thoroughly mixed, add to batter and stir just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. The dough should be neither sticky nor dry.

Divide dough into about 12 mounds, but keep the mounds kind of raggedy. That is, don’t smash them into compact balls. Bake on ungreased insulated cookie sheet or an upside down rimmed cookie sheet for 20 minutes at 350. Cool on sheet for about 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

This should make a dozen 4 oz. cookies or eight 6 oz. cookies.

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Here are some of our adventures over the weekend. The boys were so excited to have snow to play with Friday morning. This is soooooo not typical where we live, so it was very exciting. We didn't pack snow boots or gloves, but they still stomped around for a while.

Here was us trying to take a decent photo: One kid picking his nose, the other trying to break free and it looks like I'm trying to sport some wierd side hawk! Hopefully I'll have better luck next time.

I’ll be back soon with some fun new recipes this week! Have a great week!

Banana Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Anyone else glad it's Friday!?

I am up way too early this nice Friday morning, so here I am posting this yummy cookie recipe I made earlier this week while everyone is sleeping. I had a little baggie of these cookies set aside in the kitchen so I could take some pictures and when I went to get started yesterday, there were only 3 lonely cookies left for me to work with! My husband couldn’t keep his hands off of these!

I had a very ripe banana that needed used up so I decided to design a cookie for it. I thought, hmmm why not try to use this banana in place of the butter.....

I wasn’t quite sure how they’d turn out and was really happy with the finished product. They are soft and have a fantastic flavor combo of banana, chocolate and peanut butter which is by far some of my favorite flavors!

Aside from the Reeses Cups, these cookies aren’t half bad for you either!! Have a great weekend everyone and try a new cookie recipe!

Banana Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

½ Cup mashed ripe banana, about 1 medium banana
¼ Cup granulated sugar
¼ Cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 medium egg or ½ of a beaten large egg
¼ Cup creamy peanut butter
¾ Cup whole wheat flour (if you substitute white flour, you’ll have to add more, about 1 Cup)
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
10 regular size Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, cubed (I cut them in thirds, then thirds again)

1/3 Cup additional sugar for rolling (I used a larger dusting sugar, use what you’d like)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place banana and both sugars into stand or electric mixer on medium speed and mix until well combined. Mix in vanilla, egg and peanut butter until combined on medium speed.

2. Place flour baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Slowly add to the wet ingredients until JUST combined, then add the Reeses Cups. Don’t over mix this.

3. Scoop cookie dough using a medium cookie scoop, roll into sugar and place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Using the palm of your hand, gently press down cookies so they are about ½ inch thick, they don’t spread much. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until cooked but still soft. Let cool for 3 minutes on hot cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes about 20 medium cookies

The Million Dollar Cookie!

What do you think of the new look here? Huge thanks to Leelou's Blog for helping me with the fun new design. She was so wonderful to work with, if you are ever in need of a blog make-over she's great!

Last Tuesday morning The Pillsbury Bake-off announced the new Million Dollar Winning Recipe and it was these Double Delight Peanut Butter Cookies from Carolyn Gurtz of MD. The Pillsbury Bake-Off will always be near and dear to me since this is where I first started my cooking contesting hobby. I was lucky enough to be a finalist in 2004 and 2006, no luck in 2008, but I knew I HAD to make the latest Million Dollar winning Recipe! My cooking friend Tracy from Rah Cha Chow was a finalist this year, check out her blog for some cool pics at the Bake-off.

It's funny, just as I had these cookies in the oven, I noticed there are lots of bloggers featuring these cookies. These cookies have certainly caused quite the controversy over using pre-made cookie dough. I must first say, my first response when I heard about the winning recipe was, "A Peanut Butter Cookie?!!"

I will admit, after I made them tonight and took a bite, I was pleasantly surprised. They really are tasty, however I will probably make a homemade version next time, which many other bloggers have done. I had to make the original first to get the true test! I give these a big thumbs up. It's kind of nice to know that even a simple recipe can win you a million bucks. Get those ideas ready for 2010!

Here's the yummy peanut butter center when cut open. Really good.

Double Delight Peanut Butter Cookies
(click recipe title for link and recipe)

*The only thing I changed in the original recipe was, I didn't cut the cookie dough slices in half, I used 12 slices to make jumbo cookies rather than 24 smaller cookies.*

Cinnamon and White Chocolate Coconut-Oat Chippers

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I am a bit on overload these days. Between the dental convention and pilates training this weekend, I am in need of a sweet vacation. I have been wanting to go to NY for so long now, I need to just do it. Now I just need to convince my husband. Any New Yorkers have any tips to a first timer?

I'm not sure why I keep making all of these tempting treats, it's getting a bit ridiculous, swim suit season is coming quick! It was just too hard to resist because I finally found a place to purchase Hershey cinnamon chips that I have been hunting down for the last year. My trusty Super Target down the street just started selling them. To celebrate, I just had to create a fun cookie, so here it is. Sink your teeth into these puppies!

I am so hooked on using coconut oil in place of butter for my cookies, it really gives a nice flavor especially if you are a coconut fan. These are a great cookie when you are tired of always making chocolate chip. Mmmm, what a treat, cute and bite size.

Cinnamon and White Chocolate Coconut-Oat Chippers

1 Cup softened virgin coconut oil
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup white granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 Cups flour
1 1/4 Cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Cups shredded sweetened coconut
1 1/2 Cups cinnamon chips (Hershey Brand is what I used)
1 1/2 Cups white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, cream the oil and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix on low until just combined. With a small cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until cooked through. If making larger cookies, bake 9-11 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

I Love The Simple Things In Life...

Hope no one had any lame April fool jokes played on them today! I assure you that these cute little cookies are no joke!

Who would think that a cake mix could make such an amazing cookie in no time at all? These Strawberry Colada Cookies were a breeze to make and soooo good.

My friend from work was telling me about her neighbor who made a great sugar cookie using just a white cake mix, 1/3 C oil and 2 eggs. I've had a few cake mix cookies that I really enjoy such as those easy pumpkin ones from last year. I went home and looked in my pantry to find I had a strawberry cake mix. Then a little light bulb went off and I thought, hmm I could use my coconut oil in place of the vegetable oil to make these a little strawberry colada cookie.

Talk about yummy. The toasted coconut cream cheese frosting makes them even better. Give them a whirl, they are a breeze and I love that they are PINK!

How cute are they?

Strawberry Colada Cookies With Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

1 box strawberry Cake Mix, I used Pillsbury Brand
1/3 Cup coconut oil, melted in microwave until liquified
2 eggs, beaten

Frosting

4 oz softenend cream cheese
1 Tablespoons softened butter

1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoons milk

1 Cup shredded sweetened coconut toasted in oven until golden brown (350 degrees F.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix cake mix, oil and eggs until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Do not press down. Bake for 11-15 minutes or until cooked through. Let cook 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

2. Place cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth and creamy. slowly add in powdered sugar, vanilla and milk until smooth. Spread frosting on top of cookies then sprinkle toasted coconut over top of frosting.
Makes about 24 cookies

You Feeling Blue?

This post was inspired by my husband today. I know I'm crazy, but something about a grown man in braces is absolutely adorable! My husband came home for lunch today to show off his nice new "metal mouth." I tried to post a picture, but he didn't think that was very funny.

So, why would a grown man, who doesn't really need braces get braces? Well, this lucky duck won a free set from a raffle at his sister's Dental Hygiene School. How lucky is that, they are worth $5600 bucks. However, tonight I don't think he's feeling so lucky! I had to laugh watching him eat his first lunch with them, pass up one of these cookies, and try to floss in under 45 minutes. Poor guy, I know he'll get used to it!

So in honor of his somewhat of a "blue" day, I made some of my own "Blue and White Oatmeal Chippers," which are to die for and guaranteed to cheer anyone up!

Blue and White Oatmeal Chippers
(for Mr. brace face)

1 Cup softened unsalted butter
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 Cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 Cup quick oats
1 1/2 Cups frozen blueberries
1 Cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 bag white chocolate chips (12oz)

1. In a stand mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar and sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Slowly add flour, baking soda, salt, quick oats, blueberries, coconut and chocolate chips until just combined.
2. Chill dough for a few hours until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Drop or scoop dough by the Tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet and Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges start to crisp. Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*I use a silpat lined baking sheet that works wonderfully*

The Best of The Best In Sugar Cookies!

I've had a few requests for my favorite sugar cookie recipe, so I thought I'd post it before Valentines Day if you still were in the mood for rolling cookies!

Thanks to my neighbor, Nikki, she passed this recipe on to me years ago and I have yet to make another sugar cookie. I'm not kidding folks, these turn out perfect every single time you make them. Some sugar cookies are dry and tasteless, but these are soft, buttery and sweet.

I was excited to try this rolled fondant I found at Michaels and I LOVE it! It's a bit pricey, but I figured one box at $8 covers about 20 cookies. They look flawless and you can carve all kinds of fun designs in it, I just didn't have much time to play around with it today. Give it a try if you like this smooth look, it really covers the cookies beautifully!

Here's what the box looks like. All you do is roll it out to an even thinness, use the same cookie cutter you cut your cookie into, brush a light layer of corn syrup on top of the cookie then press the cut fondant over your cookie. It's that easy.

Love it!

Here's the classic vanilla frosting with sprinkles. This version is the kids favorite for sure! These are fun to decorate. I just used a canned frosting. Lazy today.

Soft Perfect Sugar Cookies

2 Cups sugar
1 Cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup sour cream
6 Cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In an electric or stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter. Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream until well combined. Slowly add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until well combined.
2. In 2 batches, place in plastic wrap in a disc shape and chill for at least 2 hours for best results.
3. Once chilled, roll and cut into desired shapes. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes depending on how thick you cut your cookies. Remove and let cool. Frost and decorate as desired.

Fondant Frosting Directions:
1. Roll the fondant out into an even thinness. (I used one of those disposable cutting boards to roll the fondant, so it didn't stick)
2. Use the same cookie cutter you cut the cookie into to cut out your shape.
3. Brush a light layer of corn syrup on top of the cookie
4. Press the cut fondant over your cookie. Press around the edges to seal. It's as easy as that.

Some Sweet Love For Your Valentine

I am so excited to say I've found another jackpot winning recipe. I have been eying these on Bakerella's blog and finally got around to making them. She has done some amazing things with these if you haven't checked her site out yet, Yum!

These little gems are a must try! They look like a truffle but taste like a little Oreo Cheesecake. You can't go wrong with cookies, cream cheese and white chocolate! Your Valentine will be thrilled to take a bite out of these treats.

It's hard to believe something so incredibly easy to make tastes so yummy. I know I'll be making these often!

I tried the same recipe, but with Nutter Butter Cookies. Both are great, I can't decide which ones I like better. I'm going to try Chips Ahoy next time and maybe the mint Oreos.

Nutter Butter Cookie Truffles

1 Bag Nutter Butter Cookies
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 package Chocolate Bark (dipping chocolate in blocks)
1 square of the Almond Bark for drizzling (white chocolate blocks for dipping)

1. Mix ground oreos and cream cheese until well combined. Roll into 1 inch balls and place onto baking sheet or tray. Refrigerate overnight or until very firm.
2. Melt white chocolate according to package directions. Using 2 little spoons, dip balls into chocolate and place onto parchment paper to harden. Once dry, melt square of almond bark and spoon into the corner of a ziplock baggie. Snip the corner of the baggie and drizzle chocolate back and forth over the truffles. Let dry.
3. I enjoyed mine chilled in the refrigerator, but may be room temperature as well.

Oreo Cookie Truffles

1 bag Oreo Cookies, ground in blender or food processor (filling and all)
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 package Almond Bark (white chocolate candy coating)
1 square of the Chocolate Bark for drizzling

1. Mix ground oreos and cream cheese until well combined. Roll into 1 inch balls and place onto baking sheet or tray. Refrigerate overnight or until very firm.
2. Melt white chocolate according to package directions. Using 2 little spoons, dip balls into chocolate and place onto parchment paper to harden. Once dry, melt chocolate bark and spoon into the corner of a ziplock baggie. Snip a small corner and drizzle back and forth over the truffles. Let dry.
3. I enjoyed mine chilled in the refrigerator, but may be room temperature as well! Enjoy! Thanks for the great recipe Bakerella!

About 30 truffles each recipe

Could It Really Be My Paradise Bakery Black and White Chipppers?

I have finally found it! This recipe comes so close to Paradise Bakery's Black and White Chippers that I might not be able to tell the difference between the two. I saw this recipe while browsing through Tastespotting and knew I had to try them. It comes from this great blog called Genesis of a Cook.

I made these this morning and boy, I thought my last chocolate cookies were good, but these take the cake! If you are a crazy fan of those Paradise Bakery Cookies like I am, save this recipe, it's a keeper! This is definately one of my favorite cookie recipes! Mmm, Enjoy!

Chewy White Chocolate, Chocolate Cookies

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder)
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsps. baking soda
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheet. (I used a cookie sheet with a silpat liner)

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addiction. Add the salt and vanilla.

3. In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda and gradually add to the creamed mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until fluffy but still soft. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Iced Eggnog Cookies with Fresh Nutmeg

I saw this cookie recipe on Anna's CookieMadness blog and had to try these. It is a Mrs. Fields recipe and a keeper! My boys are eggnog junkies and went nuts for these. I'm not really even a huge eggnog fan and enjoyed these festive little cookies.

Next time I make them, I will chill the dough for a few hours before baking them. Some of my cookies went flat, but the rest turned out nice and round.

The icing is really good, just a slight hint of eggnog. They are even good without the icing. Thanks Anna, for posting this recipe, my family loves em!!

Mrs. Fields Eggnog Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup SALTED butter, room temp (Mrs. Fields calls for this)
1/2 cup eggnog
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon nutmeg (optional)

Preheat oven to 300F.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter with an electric mixer. Add eggnog, vanilla and egg yolks and beat at medium speed until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. (Chill dough if desired, by Jenny)

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets, 1″ apart. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg or skip this step and sprinkle on the nutmeg after you ice the cookies. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until bottoms turn light brown.

Transfer to cool, flat surface immediately with spatula.

Eggnog Icing
3 C. confectioners’ sugar
1/4 C. softened butter or margarine
1/3 C. commercial eggnog (use as much as you need)

In small mixer bowl, beat confectioners’ sugar and butter or margarine until well blended. Gradually beat in eggnog until icing is smooth. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Double Choclate Chunk Cookies

Boy, I've been hitting the jackpot lately with the recipes I've been trying. I rarely get giddy about a recipe, but this cookie is just heavenly. It reminds me of those black and white chippers from Paradise Bakery that are my favorite. Next time I think I'll add white chips to these. Yum!

I've adapted these from a Martha Stewart recipe and I love them. The first part of the recipe requires you to melt the chips and butter over the stovetop. All I do is take a small soup pot and fill it with a cup or so of water over medium heat, then find a small bowl (heat proof, like a stainless steel mixing bowl) that fits nicely over top of the pot, then add your chocolate and butter. It's really easy, no need for a double broiler at all. You'll love these cookies, they'd be great to add to your holiday plates and look cute with a little ribbon wrapped around them. Enjoy! These are a real treat if you are a chocolate lover like me!

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Adapted from Martha Stewart Recipe)

½ Cup chocolate chips
1 stick unsalted real butter
1 ½ Cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ Cups flour
½ Cup cocoa powder (I used Hersheys Dark Chocolate)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon coarse salt
1 bag chocolate chips (chunk chips would be great, but I used chips today)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place ½ Cup chocolate chips and stick of butter in a heat proof bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

2. Place cooled melted chocolate, sugar, eggs and vanilla into the bowl of a stand or electric mixer. Mix on medium speed until well combined. On low speed, slowly mix in flour mixture and chips until just combined.

3. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until cookies begin to crack on top and edges look slightly crisped. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to finish cooling.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I found this recipe while searching for a yummy peanut butter cookie online. This one came up in all-recipes.com and I really like it. They are soft inside and perfectly crisp on the outside. I love the chocolate chunks in these. I found a bag from Nestle at Walmart. Really tasty and worth trying. Enjoy!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chopped semisweet chocolate

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the corn syrup, water, and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

**I used a medium cookie scoop and baked for 10 minutes, for a smaller cookie. After scooping on baking sheet, I pressed each cookie down about 1/2 inch because they don't spread much. It made about 3 dozen cookies**