Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

This is my favourite cookie. Hands down.

I LOVE gingersnaps but even more when they're chewy. So that doesn't really make them gingerSNAPS anymore, does it? Regardless, they're my fave so I try not to make them too much or I'd just get super fat from hogging them all. :X


Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
(makes 5 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp ground ginger
• 2 tsps baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup dark molasses
• 1/3 cup cinnamon sugar (1 heaping Tbsp ground cinnamon & 1/4 cup sugar)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.
4. Mix in the egg and molasses until well incorporated.
5. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix until well incorporated. Mix in remaining flour mixture until a soft dough forms.
6. Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll into 1 inch diameter balls between your hands. Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar, and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. 
7. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked. Allow the cookies to cool on the pans for 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks.
8. Serve with milk, ice cream, or coffee, etc.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Have I ever mentioned how much K loves to help me bake? These are his favourite and he always asks to lick the paddle afterwards even though I keep telling him no (due to the raw eggs). We made them the other day and shared them with his teachers at daycare.

Looks kinda like poop, eh? But OMG so good. These are my fave cookies to eat when I have a hankering for chocolate or even chocolate cake. K calls these the "black cookies" cuz they're so dark in colour. I had ran out of white chocolate chips so I only used 1/2 cup of them in this batch. Doesn't matter. It still tastes amazing. :)


Triple Chocolate Cookies
(makes 4 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsps instant coffee or espresso powder (optional)
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsps butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, coffee or espresso powder (if using), baking powder and salt over a large bowl. Set aside.
3. In a non-plastic microwave safe bowl, melt 2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips for 1.5 minutes on high, stirring half way, until melted. Set aside.
4. In a stand mixer, blend together butter, brown sugar and regular sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Scrape down the sides and add melted chocolate. Mix well until well incorporated. Scrape down the sides.
5. Pour in flour and cocoa mixture and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides.
6. Using a spatula, fold in remaining 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips.
7. Use one spoon to scoop dough roughly the size of a golf ball (2 tablespoons or so) onto the baking sheets and use another spoon to scrape dough off of the spoon. Space dough 1.5 inches apart. Bake for 10-14 minutes, or until edges of cookies are just set and centers are still soft.
8. Allow cookies to cool on pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
9. Serve with ice cream, milk, or coffee, etc.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I believe this will be the last of any cookie recipes for a while. I'm all cookie'd out! The holidays can do that to me. Probably cuz almost half of my cookie consumption occurs around the holidays and then I'm scared/sick of them for the next several months.

I suppose it would be a bad thing for most people, but Hubby doesn't eat much sweets, so it's no problem to him at all.


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes 3 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together peanut butter, butter and sugars until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in egg and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
3. Add in flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Use a fork to push down the balls to make a crosshatch pattern. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just turning golden brown.
5. Serve with ice cream and/or milk or coffee. You can also turn it into an ice cream sandwich by sandwiching a big scoop of ice cream between two cookies.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was making a buttload of cookies and realized I ran out of brown sugar. OMG. The horror. How the hell could I have possibly ran out? I thought I had an extra bag in storage, but it was nowhere to be found. Maybe I just mis-remembered this. Oh well. I just found a substitute and that made it super crisp but super yummy.


Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes 2 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp golden corn syrup
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream butter, sugar and corn syrup until fluffy.
3. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well combined. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, oats and baking soda in a separate medium bowl.
4. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and add in flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
5. Stir in chocolate chips and mix until combined.
6. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a non-stick baking sheet (or parchment lined baking sheet) 2 inches apart. Use fork to make the crosshatch markings. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges start to get golden brown.
7. Serve with milk, ice cream, coffee, etc.

Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

More doggy biscuits! I had no bananas available so I made a different recipe for biscuits. I really should go look for a dog bone cookie cutter. Meh. As if M really cares. She sees us getting these out of her container and she immediately stands to attention and is ready for any command we throw at her. As long as we give her a piece afterwards. Lol. It's similar to when she smells us cooking bacon. Very cute.


Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits
(makes approx 4 dozen biscuits)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 1/4 cup hot water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and oats. Stir in peanut butter and hot water until dough just comes together. Add more flour if it's too sticky or add a little more water or peanut butter if too dry.
3. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out into shapes. Arrange on baking sheet closely (they don't spread at all).
4. Bake for 40 minutes or until the edges just start to get golden brown. Turn off oven and leave biscuits to cool in the oven overnight. You can just take them out and cool like you would normal cookies, but this will make the biscuits stay fresh longer.
5. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.

Snickerdoodles

A Christmas classic. :)

I love this recipe because the snickerdoodles always come out super "fluffy" and cakey.


Snickerdoodles
(makes 4 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 heaping Tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream together butter, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, eggs and vanilla in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Add in the flour mix and mix until just blended.
4. In a separate small bowl, mix together remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Roll cookie dough into 1 inch balls. Roll the balls into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Set each ball about an inch and half apart on the cookie sheet, flattening the middle slightly with your thumb.
5. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until set but middle still looking soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about a minute before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
6. Serve with ice cream, coffee, milk, etc.

Peanut Butter & Banana Dog Biscuits

First time making dog biscuits and it was a roaring success! M really loved these. I think she loves them more than her Greenies. Sweet! Some of the pups at work really like them too so that's definitely good.

Since having K, I've actually enjoyed baking. And since I've been baking for humans, I thought I'd try my hand at baking for pups. I like it. Maybe I'll make different kinds of biscuits next time. :)

M is a pretty small dog, so I shared most of her goodies away with friends' and neighbours' dogs.

You can probably turn dough onto a floured surface, but I'm a freak and like everything neat. That being said, I just roll it out onto wax paper to keep flour from getting everywhere. Lol.


Peanut Butter & Banana Dog Biscuits
(makes about a pound of biscuits)

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour, more if needed
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• Olive oil (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Stir together the egg, peanut butter and banana in a medium bowl; blend thoroughly. 
3. Stir in the flour and wheat germ and mix well. Dough should smooth and elastic. If dough is sticky, just add a touch more flour. If dough is crumbly and not holding together, then add a little bit of olive oil.
4. Place smooth dough onto wax paper and roll to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter, place on parchment lined baking sheets.
5. Bake biscuits in preheated oven until dried and golden brown, about 30 minutes, depending on size. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
6. Store in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Christmas is coming! This means I'm probably going to start making a bunch of little goodies for friends and neighbours. Family gets the turkey dinner. ;)

I like giving baked goods and treat as gifts rather than going out to buy something. It just feels more personal. It has nothing to do with the fact that crowded malls irritate me more than nails on a chalkboard. Nope, none at all............


Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
(makes 2 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsps packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
3. While the mixer is beating the liquids, whisk together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl when the liquids are smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.
4. Stir in oats and raisins until just combined.
5. Spoon about a tablespoon of batter onto the cookie sheets, setting them about an inch apart. Chill cookies in the fridge for a few minutes while you preheat the oven to 350F.
6. When oven reaches 350F, take cookies out of the fridge and bake for 10-12 minutes, turning and rotating halfway if necessary, or until the edges just start to get a little golden brown.
7. Cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Serve warm with coffee or milk or cool completely to package with other goodies.

It's not really necessary to chill the batter, so you can always preheat the oven in the beginning. It's thicker if you chill the dough though.

Carrot Cake Thumbprint Cookies

There was a cookie bake-off at work and you get points for creativity. At first I thought "what can be more original than carrot cake cookies!?" Oh how wrong I was. After some research to try to find the right "formula" to turn a cake recipe into a cookie one, I found out from a friend that there already are people making these. Doh.

At first I was a little disappointed that someone already had "my" idea, but then I got over that pretty quickly when I realized that I could just do what I normally do with recipes - research a bunch of them and then do my own thing! :D

These cookies are like little cakes. They're super soft and cake-like, especially during the second day. Good if you like the cake-like cookies. Not so good if you're looking for something crunchier.


Carrot Cake Thumbprint Cookies
(makes approximately 4 dozen)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups coarsely grated carrots (approximately 2 medium)
• 1 cup raisins
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup honey

Directions:

1. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375F.
2. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat together butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in carrots and raisins at low speed. Scrape down the sides and mix on high for a couple of seconds to make sure everything is well incorporated.
4. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined.
5. Drop 1 tablespoon batter per cookie 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total.
6. While cookies are baking, whip cream cheese with honey until smooth. Spoon into a Ziploc bag. Set aside.
7. Take cookies out of the oven and use your thumb or a wooden spoon to press “thumbprints” into the center of the cookies while they’re still warm. Cool cookies on sheets for a minute.
8. Snip off a small corner of the Ziploc bag and pipe cream cheese filling into the thumbprints.
9. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely before storing away or eat immediately while still warm with coffee or milk.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Cookies! I love these cookies. They're kind of cake-like. I've always loved white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, but the ones you buy from places like Bread Garden tend to be too sweet for my liking. That being said, I can barely finish one without feeling like a fatty. Sigh.

I typically won't bake because I don't like baking. But for some odd reason I just kept wanting to bake a few months ago. That's when I went researching and learning how to bake. Cookies, in particular. Of course I came along THIS recipe. It's EFFING delicious! I actually followed the recipe the first time I made it. Well. That's a lie. Because I put in a little more chocolate chips than on the recipe. It wasn't too much sweeter though, since I used bittersweet chocolate chip instead of the semisweet variety.

Since then, I've made my own little adjustments to it. I consider it a win since Hubby doesn't like sweets but he likes these a lot! Typically, I make them smaller (about 2 inches in diameter) so I don't feel as bad eating half a dozen of these in one sitting. Cuz you know. These are EFFING delicious! Lol!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
(makes about 5 dozen small cookies)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup cold salted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup which chocolate chunks or chips
• 1/2 cup macadamia nuts

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. Sift if you want, but I usually don't bother.
2. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugars on low speed until it is smooth and lump free, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
3. Add the vanilla and egg and beat on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until fully incorporated. Do not overbeat. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
4. On low speed, add the flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chunks and mix until they are just incorporated. If using a hand mixer, use a wooden spoon to stir them in. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 350F. Adjust racks to lower and upper thirds of the oven.
6. Roll a tablespoon worth of dough into a ball and press into a 1 1/2 inch disk. Set on cookie sheets, an inch apart.
7. Bake for 7 minutes. Turn the sheets front to back and switch racks and bake for another 5-7 minutes or until golden brown around the edges but still soft, almost underdone-looking, in the center.
8. Remove the sheets from the oven and let the cookies set for about 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack. Wait at least another 5 minutes before serving or 20 minutes before storing in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.
9. Best served with a tall glass of milk or some vanilla bean ice cream sandwiched between two cookies.

I'll typically just use salted butter for baking. Most dessert recipes call for unsalted, but I don't care. I just use less salt than a recipe will call for. Assuming I follow the directions to a T. :P

If you don't have time to leave your eggs out to get it to room temperature, just put them in a cup of hot water for a few minutes while you cream the butter with sugars.