Healthy Banana-Oat Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

2 (ripe) bananas
1 c old fashioned oats
1/4-1/2 c walnuts (chopped)
cinnamon

In a bowl smash the bananas.  When done, add the oats, walnuts, and sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon for more flavor.  These cookies have no added sugar so the riper the bananas the sweeter your cookie.  If your bananas aren't as ripe as you wished, drizzle a little bit of honey to sweeten the mix.  Drop spoonfulls of your cookie mix unto a cookie sheet (spray your cookie sheet to avoid them sticking to the pan.  I used a silicone mat on top of my cookie sheet so I didn't have to spray it.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.  Makes 12 cookies.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got this recipe from a family cookbook given to me by my husband's aunt.  These cookies are so yummy, a must try!  I usually make them without the nuts, but I'm sure they are delicious with them as well.

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups sugar
2 cup butter
2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tbsp vanilla
1.5 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp salt
6 cup flour
3 cups chocolate chips (I usually do half white, half milk chocolate)
1.5 cups nuts (optional)

Mix first 3 ingredients together.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix.  Combine the dry ingredients (except for chocolate chips and nuts) in a separate bowl.  Combine both wet and dry mixtures.  Add the chocolate chips.  Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 9-10 minutes.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spiced Pizzelles

You will need a pizzelle iron to make these yummy Italian cookies.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 c butter (one stick/8 tbsp)

2 eggs 

1/2 c pumpkin puree

1 c sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

2  tsp pumpkin pie spice

dash of salt 

Preheat pizzelle iron according to manufacturer's instructions.  

In a bowl, mix the first five ingredients well, and then incorporate the rest of the dry ingredients.  

Drop a tablespoon of batter at a time on the preheated iron, and cook at desired temperature for about 30-40 seconds.  Remove cookie from pizzelle iron and cool.  You can eat the cookies like that or drizzle some melted chocolate over them.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 c butter (room temperature)

3/4 c brown sugar

1/2 c sugar

1 c peanut butter

2 eggs

1.5 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 c sugar (for coating)

milk chocolate candy melts (for dipping)   

Begin by creaming/mixing the first six ingredients (butter, sugars, peanut butter, eggs and vanilla).  Once mixed incorporate the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt), mix well.

When the dough is ready begin to make small balls, then roll them lightly on the extra sugar and place on a lined cookie sheet.  Flatten the cookies slightly with a crisscross pattern using a fork.  Bake cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-14 minutes.

Once cooled, you may dip the cookie half way in the melted chocolate candy melts.  Let set.  Enjoy!!

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

We were always on the search for a good chocolate chip cookie that was not only delicious, but that it wouldn't go flat.  Lucky for me, my friend Stephanie shared the perfect cookie recipe.  Lucky for you, she doesn't mind sharing it! These are some of the best chewy chocolate chip cookies you will ever have!  

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 c vegetable shortening (Crisco)

3/4 c sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt
2 1/4 c flour
Chocolate chips

In a medium size bowl, mix shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla.  Incorporate salt, baking soda, and flour and continue mixing.  When the dough is ready, add chocolate chips to your liking.  Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes.  Enjoy!

Dulce De Leche Alfajores

 

My mom came to visit me last week and she brought along several magazines and cookbooks for me to keep.  We both got started looking through a Better Homes and Gardens specialty magazine of Christmas cookies that had what seem like a gazillion good cookies and bars.

We had to try at least one of the recipes while they were here and these alfajores were a must.  They were pretty easy to make, pretty, and amazingly delicious!!!!

Note:  I only filled my cookies with dulce de leche, but as you will read the original recipe has dulce de leche and chocolate in the middle, yum!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tsp finely shredded orange peel or lemon peel

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup finely ground blanched almonds

3 cups flour

powdered sugar (for sprinkling on top)

1 can dulce de leche

6 oz semisweet chocolate pieces, melted

 

In a bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer for about 30 seconds.  Add 1 cup powdered sugar, granulated sugar, and salt.  When combined, add egg, orange peel, and vanilla.  When that's combined, beat in the almonds and the flour last.  Cover the dough and chill for two hours or until dough is easy to handle.

On a surface dusted with powdered sugar or flour (I used flour), roll one portion of the dough at a time to 1/8 tot 1/4 inch thick.  Using a fluted round, or square  2- to 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut out dough.  Place cutouts about an inch apart on lightly greased cookie sheet (I just line my cookie sheets w/ aluminum foil).

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until tops are very light brown.  Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

Spread 1 rounded teaspoon of dulce de leche on the bottom of a cookie.  Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the melted chocolate on another cookie and then sandwich both cookies together.  To garnish, sift cookie tops with additional powdered sugar.  Enjoy!!!

 

Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

So the other day I was really craving some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  Unfortunately, I felt a little guilty making them after looking at the ingredients and seeing how much sugar it called for.  Since I really badly wanted the cookies, I went online to see if I could find a "healthier" version of these cookies.  Lucky for me I found a recipe and I LOVED the result.  The recipe called for very little sugar and whole wheat flour.  I had just made some whole wheat bread early that day, so I had freshly ground flour on hand. 

The recipe is from a blog called "a foodie stays fit: a tale of two loves" and the recipe can be found by clicking here HERE, or just scroll down below.

Healthy Pumpkin Cookies That Don’t Taste Healthy

RECIPE

• 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbs. vanilla
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. milk
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, egg and vanilla and mix well (we’ll call this the WET mixture)
3. Combine by whisking: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a separate bowl (aka DRY mixture)
4. Dissolve baking soda in milk, then add to WET mixture
5. Gradually add DRY mixture to WET and mix until just combined
6. Fold in chocolate chips
7. Grease cookie sheet and use an ice cream scoop to measure out
8. Bake for 10-12 minutes until they no longer look wet
9. Let sit on pan for 2 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool

They really are delicious and don't taste healthy at all!!!!!   Enjoy!

Alfajores

This is another recipe from my friend Elizabeth. She has many more yummy Peruvian recipes to share with us and I will continue posting them until she gets her own account to add them on here.

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These cookies are filled with dulce de leche!!! Yum!

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INGREDIENTS:

1 cup flour

1 cup cornstarch

1 cup butter (softened)

1 egg yolk

6 tbsp confectioner sugar

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Sift the flour, cornstarch, and powdered sugar. Add in the butter and begin mixing/kneading until dough starts sticking together, add the egg yolk and keep kneading. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Roll out the dough over a floured surface. Form small circles (not too thick or thin). Place circles on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 min or until cookies (alfajores) are lightly golden. Let cool and begin uniting the alfajores by spreading dulce de leche in the middle. Roll sides (where dulce de leche is) on powdered sugar. Makes about 4 dozen.

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Note: You can buy dulce de leche in cans at your local grocery store, look in the Latin section aisle. They are Nestle brand.

Also, you might want to add a little bit of milk to the dulce de leche so it's not as thick and therefore becomes easier to spread. Make sure you don't add too much milk though.

No Bake Cookies

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER NO BAKE COOKIES
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1 STICK BUTTER
½ CUP CHOCOLATE CHIPS
½ CUP MILK
2 CUPS SUGAR
1 TBS. VANILLA
½ CUP PEANUT BUTTER
3 CUPS OATS
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BOIL BUTTER, CHOCOLATE CHIPS, MILK, SUGAR, VANILLA AND PEANUT BUTTER FOR ONE MINUTE. ADD OATS AND MIX WELL. SPOON ON TO WAX PAPER AND LET COOL.
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MAKES APPROX. 40 COOKIES.

Sugar Cookies

I first tried these cookies a couple years ago during a potluck at work. They were so good, I had to get the recipe. My co-worker was so nice that she shared her mother's recipe with me! Yay! So much time has passed and I just barely made them for the first time. They are delicious, I can't believe I hadn't made them before....ok maybe I know why...cause they are so good, you eat them right away.

p.s. The day I made them...I realized I didn't have any sour cream so I used strawberry yougurt. They turned out great, so you can make them with either sour cream or yougurt. Also, I halved the recipe and I ended up making like 4 dozen cookies.

INGREDIENTS:


2 C sugar

1 C butter

3 eggs

Mixed: 1 C sour cream and 1tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

5-6 C flour



Mix everything together except for flour...that's last. Add 5-6C flour (dough should be sticky, not dry). Roll out on floured counter with a floured rolling pin until it’s about ¼” thick. Be gentle with the dough when rolling it out, you can “bruise” it--and try not to handle it too much, it makes the dough tough. (I usually cut out my shapes and set the scraps to the side until the end—then I gently mush all the scraps together at the end and do another batch. It helps keep the dough fresh and soft for the first 3 or 4 batches.)

Bake at 350 for 8-10 min. Cookies will be slightly brown on the bottom.



Butter Cream Frosting:

1 stick softened butter

2 or 3C powdered sugar

A little bit of milk

1tsp or so of vanilla



Mix. Add powdered sugar as needed.

Ultimate "M&M's" Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c (2 sticks) butter softened
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 12oz pkg "M&M's" semi-sweet or milk chocolate mini baking bits
3/4 c chopped nuts (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. blend in creamed mixture. Stir in "M&M's" mini baking bits adn nuts. If using. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-13 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned and centers are still soft. Do not overbake. Cool one minute on cookie sheet; cool completely on wire racks. Store in tightly covered container.

$250 Nieman-Marcus Cookie Recipe

This is an EXTREMELY delicious cookie recipe, my husband begs me to make these cookies for him. This recipe is also very popular as an internet search because of the story behind it. You wanna hear the story??? Well it goes something like this.....

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"My daughter and I had just finished a salad at Nieman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas and decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Nieman-Marcus Cooke." It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe and the waitress said with a small frown, "I'm afraid not." Well, I said, would you let me buy the recipe? With a cute smile, she said, "Yes." I asked how much , and she responded, "Only two fifty, it's a great deal!" I said with approval, just add it to my tab. Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement from Nieman-Marcus and it was $285.00. I looked again and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 fro two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe- $250.00." That's outrageous!! I called Neiman's Accounting Dept. and told them the waitress said it was "two-fifty," which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars" by any POSSIBLE interpretation of the phrase. Nieman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money, because according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe-we absolutely will not refund your money at this point." I explained to her the criminal statutes which govern fraud in Texas, I threatened to refer them to Better Business Bureau and the State's Attorney General for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you want, we don't give a crap, and we're not refunding your money." I waited, thinking of how I could get even, or even try and get any of my money back."

"I just said, "Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to have $250.00 worth of fun." I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250.00 cookie recipe from Nieman-Marcus... for free. She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this." I said, "Well, you should have thought of that before you ripped me off, and slammed down the phone on her So, here it is!!! Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of. I paid $250 dollars for this... I don't want Nieman-Marcus to ever get another penny off of this recipe."

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What a story huh! All I can say is thank you to whoever this lady is for passing the recipe, because the cookies are super yummy! Anyway, here is the recipe. Note: This recipe makes a ton of cookies so you may want to make just half.

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Ingredients:

2 C butter
4 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
5 C blended oatmeal (I measure the 5 c first and then blend it)
24 ounces chocolate chips (I use half milk chocolate and half white)
2 C brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 8 ounce Hershey bar (grated)
4 Eggs
2 tsp baking powder
3 C chopped nuts
2 tsp vanilla
2 C sugar

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Directions:

1. Blend oatmeal in a blender and mix with all the other dry ingredients
2. Cream the butter and both sugars
3. Add eggs and vanilla and then combine wet ingredients to dry ingredients
4. Mix chips, Hershey bar and nuts
5. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet
6. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.