Peanut Butter Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

Stephen is back at camp this week and before he left, I wanted to send him with a special treat.  I saw these granola snacks on two peas and their pod and they looked so good and easy.  I didn't have all the ingredients so I changed them around a little bit and was so happy with the results!  They remind me of no-bake cookies my mom used to make but they have a little twist.  So if you have 15 minutes and a few ingredients, you can make these too!  Also, you don't have to turn on the oven, which is a major plus with the hot weather we've been having!  Hope you have a good week at camp Stephen! Lilly and I miss you!

2 cups oats
2 cups crisp rice cereal
1/2 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup honey
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup chocolate chips + 1/2 cup chocolate chips (to melt and drizzle on top!)

• Combine the oats and cereal in a bowl.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the peanut butter and butter until is melts a little and becomes a smooth mixture (this doesn't take but a few minutes)
• Add the peanut butter, honey, and chocolate chips to the cereal mixture and stir until it's well mixed.  
• Use a small cookie scoop and place cookies on wax paper. (It's important to pack the mixture into the scoop so it will stay in a ball) Allow them to sit for about 15 minutes or until set. 
• Melt the remaining chocolate chips, pour the chocolate into a ziploc bag, cut a small hole in the edge of the bag and drizzle! 

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Chewy, soft, chocolate, peanut butter... melt in your mouth.  Need I say more, these are great and my favorite go-to peanut butter cookie recipe.  So, put them on your list of "I'm going to make those." I know you won't be disappointed!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 whole large eggs
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 whole pkg. milk chocolate chips

• Combine all ingredients in the order listed above. 
• Use a cookie scoop to place 1 inch balls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet.
• Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies are a little golden and just set.  (I usually go by what the cookies look like rather than the time, but 10 minutes is a good estimate... when you know, you just know).
• Remove cookies onto cooling racks, then go ahead and eat one while their hot!

Enjoy!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Yesterday was a definite "break and bake" day, I was studying for a test all afternoon and had a long week at school.  These cookies have been on my "to make" list and I have been talking about making them for about two weeks now.  Let me tell you, they did not disappoint! When I tried the first one, I thought "these are some of the best cookies to come from my kitchen!"  How can I describe them to you to make you think "WOW, I'm going to bake these RIGHT NOW!!!"

These cookies are moist, fluffy, cake-like and soft with a perfect balance of lemon zest and sweetness.  They are on my top five favorite list and a great cookie for spring.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! 

Lemon Ricotta Cookies:

1 stick butter, softened (unsalted)

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 15 oz carton ricotta cheese

2 lemons (zest and juice)

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Lemon Glaze:

1 lemon (zest and juice)
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Dough:  Cream together butter and sugar (about 3 minutes) Add eggs one at a time and mix well.  Add ricotta, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Mix these ingredients (about 2 minutes) then stir in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt).

Bake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spoon dough onto greased cookie sheets (about 1 T. or use a cookie scoop).  Bake for about 12 minutes or until the cookies are set. Remove onto cooling racks.  Let cookies cool about 15 minutes.

Glaze: Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, and powdered sugar in a small bowl and stir until smooth.  Spread the glaze on top of each cookie.  The glaze will take about 2 hours to set, but feel free to try one now :) 

Confession: While the cookies above look beautiful, there were a few (probably 5 out of the whole batch) that spread out a lot and were not like the others... I think as I was baking the temperature of my dough changed and was a little warmer by the time I was finished baking.  Next time I think I will keep the dough in the refrigerator while I am baking... I will let you know how this goes.  (It wasn't so bad that I would not make them again though, they still tasted good, just didn't hold their shape.)  If you have any other ideas of what happened, throw them this way!

I'm back to studying and enjoy the cookies!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A classic favorite!  This recipe is quite good, especially if you want an original chocolate chip cookie.  I think they would also make great ice cream cookies (reminds me of my Ozark days! :)  They have a "secret" ingredient in them... vanilla pudding.  The pudding really creates a smooth texture in the cookie.  Hope you enjoy!

1 cup butter (softened)
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
3.4 oz package of vanilla pudding mix
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions: Combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, and cream together.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Make sure it's smooth!  Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) and add to the wet ingredients.  Add the chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes until the cookies are just set (I know it's a pretty exact time.)  They may seem a little underdone at this time but when the cookies cool they will be really soft and chewy.  Let cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheets then remove to cooling racks.

Chocolate Pecan Cookies with White Chocolate... yum!

These cookies are seriously delicious.  You just must make them to see what I'm talking about.  I made these for my good friend Nic's birthday last week.  Everyone loved them, but what surprised me the most about these are that they stay moist for days.  I usually only eat cookies right when they come out of the oven or the next day, but then they seem to get dry and just not as good (I know I'm a cookie snob), but that did not happen with these.  I had one today and they were still as chewy and moist as the day I baked them.  Not kidding, so go try them!

Note: My friend Rachel says you must eat these cookies upside down so you have the texture of the white chocolate on your tongue.  Good advice :)

Chocolate Pecan Cookies with White Chocolate

1 1/2 cups flour
3 T. cocoa
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. butter (melted)
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 T. light corn syrup
1 t. vanilla
2 T. milk
1 c. pecans (you must toast the pecans!)
3/4 c. chocolate chips (optional, but why not!)

1/3 c. white chocolate chips

• Combine dry ingredients and set aside.  In a bowl cream together butter, sugar, egg, corn syrup, vanilla, and milk.  Add the dry ingredients and mix together.  
• Roughly chop the pecans and put on a cookie sheet.  
• Toast the pecans in the oven for about 5-8 minutes or until they become fragrant, but watch so they don't burn! Toasting the pecans very important, it brings out their flavor and it just makes a difference so take the time to do it!  Let the pecans cool a little then add them and the chocolate chips to the dough.  
• Mix well and refrigerate the dough for about 2-3 hours.  The dough will need to harden a bit so you can scoop it.  (You could make the dough a day ahead of baking the cookies)
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
• Use a small scoop and arrange cookies on the sheet.  Use your fingers to flatten a little bit.
• Bake 8-10 minutes then remove from the oven and transfer to cooling racks.  
• Once the cookies have cooled a little bit, melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave (20 second intervals and stirring in between) Pour the melted chocolate into a ziploc bag and cut a small hole in the corner of the bag.
• Drizzle the chocolate over the cookies!

Enjoy!

Orange Ricotta Cookies with Milk Chocolate

Wow, what a week it's been, school is definitely rolling again and it has been a busy busy week!  Today is so beautiful and I decided to take a little break from the crazy pace this week, and before it gets crazy again this weekend to bake some cookies.  I found this recipe this morning on my favorite cooking blog, Two Peas and Their Pod.  She has some great recipes and ideas and she is vegetarian so I find a lot of recipes I like on her blog.  Our new pastor is arriving this weekend and we are having cookies tomorrow night at church for a little get-together.  I think these will be a hit!

These cookies have a cake-like texture, are very moist, and the orange glaze and chocolate drizzle just take them to the next level.  One thing to note, don't melt the butter but just soften it.  I meant to just soften it, but time got away from me and the butter softened a bit more than I would have liked.  I think this will give the cookies better height and keep them from spreading out (I had some that did that...)    I would definitely make them again and hope you will try them out too!  Let me know how they go!

Orange Ricotta Cookies with Milk Chocolate

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 orange, zested

2 cups powdered sugar
3 T. orange juice

1/2 cup chocolate chips (melted)
 
Combine dry ingredients and set aside.  In another bowl (or mixer, I have been enjoying mine!) beat together butter and sugar, then add eggs, ricotta, orange juice, and the zest of one orange.  Add the dry ingredients and combine together.

Spoon the dough (about 1 tablespoon) onto a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake about 10-12 minutes.  Remove onto cooling racks and allow cookies to cool completely. 

Once cookies have cooled, combine the powdered sugar and orange juice to form a glaze.  Spread the glaze over the cooled cookies and allow it to set up, about 5 minutes.  Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 1-1 1/2 minutes stopping every  20 - 30 seconds to stir.  Don't let the chocolate get too hot.  Let it sit for about a minute then pour the melted chocolate into a ziploc bag.  Cut a very small hole (did I mention very small?) in the corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate onto the cookies.  Allow the cookies to set up.

ENJOY!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

My first week of school is complete, not that it was too stressful having 2 days off, but it's always a challenge to get going again.  Stephen has been wanting me to make these oatmeal raisin cookies that were in the last issue of Taste of Home.  I'm not a big fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, but I enjoy baking things that other people want too, especially my wonderful husband!  I felt especially inclined to bake these cookies today after Stephen surprised me with a KitchenAid mixer!  It is so beautiful and I just love using it!  I have wanted one of these for quite some time with all the bread I bake, I know it will be wonderful for kneading and mixing bread! 

I have to say, these cookies are really good!  It's a good recipe, the cookies don't spread out too much and they are very soft and chewy (who doesn't love that?)  So give them a try even if they aren't your favorite cookie, or you can make them for a friend!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2 cups raisins
2 cups boiling water
3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
2-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. oats
1-1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. chopped pecans (toasted)
Zest of 1 lemon (the lemon zest adds great contrast and an unexpected flavor)

Directions: Chop raisins and place in a bowl.  Pour boiling water over and cover. Let the raisins stand for 5 minutes, then drain and set aside.  Chop the pecans and place on a baking sheet, toast the pecans in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes, be careful to not let them burn! In a large bowl, cream together shortening and sugar.  Beat in eggs.  Combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix well.  Stir in pecans, raisins, and the zest of one lemon.

Use a small ice cream scoop (the kind with the release) to drop dough onto greased cookie sheets.  Flatten with a glass or with your fingers.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes until the bottom of the cookies are just brown.  Remove and let cool on wire racks. 

Hope you enjoy these, I know Stephen will when he gets home!

Snickerdoodle Cookies

I have really enjoyed spending time with my sister over the Christmas break! I don't get to see her often so it's been a real treat!  We decided to make snickerdoodle cookies since they are her favorite.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

1/2 c. butter (softened)
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 3/4 c. all purpose flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda

2 T. sugar
2 T. cinnamon

Cream together butter, shortening, sugar, eggs, vanilla.  Combine the remaining ingredients and form dough into 1 inch balls.  Roll dough in sugar and cinnamon mixture, place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet.  Bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees until cookies are just set.  Remove from baking sheets immediately after they are done baking.  (Recipe from www.allrecipes.com)

Hope you enjoy these as much as my sister did!