Skeleton Cookies

Oh, how I love Pinterest!  I used the same gingerbread cookie recipe used here, and used store bought icing to pipe on the the skeleton bones.  Happy Haunting!

Masi Samoa

I've tried making Masi Samoa, a Samoan coconut "cookie," on several occasions. They've always turned out alright, but I finally found a perfect recipe that doesn't make over 5 pounds of cookie.
Check out Panipopos' Kitchen for the full recipe.

These cookies are not super sweet. They're sort of bland but have a coconut flavor to them. It's worth a shot if you're a coconut lover- or if you're married to a hot Samoan.

Pumpkin, Spice & Everything Nice

I'm trying to hang on to Summer as long as possible.  The weather this week, however, has not cooperated with my "hanging on" plan.  It's been in the upper 70's which, honestly, is perfect, but that means that Fall is on its merry way.  What better way to welcome Fall (while still hanging on to Summer) than by baking with pumpkin?  My mom makes the best Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies ever.  You're lucky I'm sharing.

Mom’s Pumpkin Cookies

4 c flour

2 c oats

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 ½ c butter softened

2 c brown sugar

1 c sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 16 oz solid packed pumpkin

2 c chocolate chips

-cream butter and gradually add sugars

-then add egg and vanilla

-mix all dry ingredients together minus the oats

-add flour mix alternating with pumpkin

-add oats

-add chocolate chips

Bake 350 for 17-20 min

Scooby Snacks

Remember that thing I ordered on ebay? Well, it arrived! And much sooner than I had anticipated. They day I received it in the mail I had to go borrow some molasses from my good neighbor to get the show on the road. I was that excited.

You see, my children are very much into Scooby Doo right now and they often ask me if I have any Scooby Snacks.  One day I figured out that I could just whip up my own Scobby Snacks and they'd think it was pretty much the coolest thing ever.  And let me tell you, they do!  They've been asking for Scooby Snacks all day.  Even the hubster asked for them- in a Scooby voice- and that alone just about made my day.

Scooby Snacks (aka My Mom's Gingerbread Cookies)

MIX:
 1 cup sugar
 1cup molasses
 3/4 cup oil
 1/2 cup hot water

ADD: 2 eggs and beat

MIX: 1 teasp baking soda
  1 teasp cinnamon
  1 rounded teasp ginger
  1/2 teasp salt
  7 cups flour

BAKE:  350 for 10 min.

Hint:  measure the oil first and then the molasses and the molasses will slide right  out of cup leaving it quite clean, then measure the hot water, with same cup.

Gold Medal Chocolate Chip Cookies

A few nights ago our friends brought us a big plate of chocolate chip cookies.  They were perfect; soft, chewy, round and delicious.  I ate six for breakfast the next morning.  No joke.  When I asked my friend for the recipe I just about died laughing inside.  You know that episode of Friends where Monica is trying to write the recipe for Phoebe's grandma's chocolate chip cookies?  That's what our conversation reminded me of.  The recipe for these cookies is straight off the back of the Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour bag. (I omitted the nuts.)

I baked some of the dough in the mini-muffin pan so my mini-me and I could have a tea party treat.  I highly suggest this, as with a dollop of ice-cream on top this makes a perfect mommy/daughter treat, especially when served up on her very own tea plate.  (It also makes a great treat while watching Project Runway with a BFF.)

Gold Medal Chocolate Chip Cookies
3/4 c granulated sugar
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1 c butter or margarine, softened
1 egg, room temperature
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 bag (12 oz) choclate chips (2 cups)

1.  Heat over to 375.  In large bowl, mix sugars, butter and egg.  Sitr in flour, baking soda and salt.  Stir in chocolate chips.
2.  On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until ight brown (centers will be soft).  Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Cowboy Cookies

My friend, Leslie, first introduced me to these at her son's birthday party (I believe her neighbor, Amber, made them). I won't admit to how many I ate that day. I finally snagged the recipe from her and got around to making them today.  I don't know why they're called Cowboy Cookies, but saddle up, baby, because your taste buds are in for a ride!

Cowboy Cookies
1 cup shortening (recommended: Crisco)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla 
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups rolled oats
1 (6-ounce) package chocolate chips
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
 
Add all wet ingredients first and then sift in dry ingredients.   Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

*Amber says the secret to these is to mix everything by hand.

Little Gracie's

Poor little Gracie broke her arm.

And although I'm not State Farm,

I'm pretty sure these cheered her up.

At the very least I got a smile.

I used the recipe for "homemade oreos" and just left them separate instead of sandwiching them together.  They're purple because little Gracie deserves something cute.

 

Recipe:

1 cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 c oil

 

*Mix it all together, shape into small balls and bake at 375 for 8 minutes.

Play-Doh Cookies

Oh.My.Gosh! These are so much fun.  You have to try them.  I got distracted on allrecipes.com while searching for a new dinner recipe and ended up making these instead of dinner.  The best part about them is that it's so much fun with the kids.  They look like play-doh but they taste like a sugar cookie.  Go ahead- try it out.  You'll feel like you're 3 again.

Gobble-Gobble

Yeah, I know it's Easter and not Thanksgiving, but I realized I forgot to post these way back in my pregnancy-brain days. The turkey's were supposed to be a "profile" shot, but obviously that didn't turn out so well and they just look like they have one eye. Oh well.

These were a bigger hit than the turkey cupcakes.  Sugar cookie Indian Corn.  They were gone in minutes.

High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ever since moving to Utah I have not been able to get my cookies to come out anything but flat (and for the most part, hard).  I found this recipe today and had to try it out.  The cookies still came out a little on the flat side, but they were significantly better and softer than anything else I've managed to come up with.  They are delicious....so go ahead, Utahs, give it a try.

Toll House Style High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, stir together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until blended, then mix in the chocolate chips so they are evenly distributed. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets spacing 2 inches apart.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges begin to turn golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Happy Friendship Day!

I didn't do that great of an icing job on these, but you get the picture.
Soft sugar cookies with homemade icing.