Double Chocolate Toffee Oatmeal Cookies

 

Not everyone is a fan of cookies, twisted I know, but I've got one such person in my household.  When she declares, "keep this recipe", I listen.  Perfect for those days you're jonesing for chocolate.

Ingredients

• 3/4 C butter - room temperature
• 3/4 C sugar (white or turbinado)
• 1 C packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 t vanilla
• 3 large eggs
• 2 1/4 c flour
• 1 1/4 c rolled oats
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 1/2 t baking soda
• 3 T Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 8oz bag toffee chips

Method

Preheat oven to 350F.

In mixer add sugars, salt, and butter.  Cream well.  Add eggs one at a time and beat well between additions.

Sift together dry ingredients.  With mixer on low add them spoonful at a time and mix only until just blended.  

Fold in oatmeal.  Fold in chocolate chips and toffee chips.

On a parchment lined baking sheet drop by spoonful* onto  baking sheet.  Bake 9-10 minutes for small cookies, 15-16 for large cookies.  Cool on wire rack.

*I use a large #25, 1 3/4 ounce ice cream scoop as we like a large cookie.  If using a smaller 1 ounce scoop use the shorter baking time.

Walnut Butter Cut-outs

This cookie recipe goes back to my childhood.  Where my Mom got the recipe I don't know, but I can remember decorating them as a little kid back when we lived in the UP of Michigan.

They are buttery and nutty at the same time due to the finely ground walnuts.  The walnut flavors intensify during the baking making them even tastier.

A couple of caveats with this one.  First the walnuts really do need to be finely ground or you will have difficulty getting clean cuts with the cookie cutters. Secondly, don't try to skip the chilling process...if you do you will have too loose a dough and it won't roll out thinly...it will just stick to everything in a gloppy mess.  Learned that one the hard way.

A few drops of food coloring can be added after you have the butter and sugar creamed together.  Its a fun way to have green trees and wreaths or red hearts etc.,.


Walnut Butter Cut-outs 

• 1 C Butter 
• 1 t vanilla 
• 3/4 c sugar 
• 1/4 t salt 
• 1 egg 
• 2 1/4 C flour 
• 2 t baking powder 
• 1 c fine ground walnuts 

 Cream together butter, sugar, vanilla and salt. When fluffy beat in egg.
 Sift together flour and baking powder. Work into butter mixture in small batches. 
 Fold in ground walnuts.
 Divide dough and pat into rounds. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour. 
 On floured board roll to about 1/8 inch thickness. 
 Cut with cutters and decorate. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400F until cookies edges just start to brown, about 8 minutes.

Orange Spritz Cookies

I knew I had a hit with the Orange Spritz cookie when my wife confessed that she really liked them better than the regular version. I tested it out last night on some additional family members who all opined as well that they thought I had gotten the right balance of orange in. Not bad for a first try, certainly not often I get it the first time. Of course it helps that the bottle suggested you use 1/2 t per cup of dry ingredients.

Part of the testing last night included 3 versions. Absolutely plain, chocolate sprinkles (as we know how well chocolate plays with citrus) and the last with simple sugar sprinkles. There really was no difference on the palate between the three, I had thought possibly the plain version would need something, but I was wrong as those were the first to disappear off the plate. I may yet take the plain version and dip them in chocolate, semi or bitter sweet just to dress them up a bit for the holidays, not that they don't stand alone quite well as it is.

I thought briefly about coloring them orange since they were orange flavored, but opted not too as those with chocolate sprinkles would look more like they were ready for Halloween not Christmas. Something to consider still? DK for sure.

Orange Spritz

• 1 c butter
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 c flour
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1 t orange oil (I use Boyajian)
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t baking powder

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter, sugar, vanilla and orange oil. Add egg and beat until smooth. Sift in the dry ingredients and stir in until just mixed.

Load your cookie press per the manufacturers directions. Bake at 350F, 9-10 minutes until just set but not browning.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie

In all the excitement today I forgot a couple of things, the biggy was cookies for the lunches this week. Damn...but life goes on when you have a full pantry. Pinched for time, make it a "pan cookie" and move on. Thank gawd for Costco and their 5 lb bags of chips as I rarely am out.

The recipe:
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 sticks butter
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract (the real deal not imitation)
• 2 eggs
• 1 t salt
• 1 t soda
• 2 C flour
• 1/2 C cocoa
• 2 1/2 C Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9 X 13 pan.

Cream sugars and room temperature butter with the vanilla. Beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.

Sift together the salt, soda, flour and cocoa. Add slowly to butter mixture, beating well to incorporate. Fold in the Chocolate chips. Lightly spread the dough into the prepared pan. Bake 22-25 minutes until edges are just starting to look dry. Cool on rack 10 minutes. Score the cookies and allow to remain in the pan until cool to room temp. At that point you can move to a cookie jar.

I used the Nestle's Semi-sweet chips. The cocoa is the every faithful Hershey brand.

If you have the time and patience you can bake on an ungreased cookie sheet using about 1 heaping tablespoon per cookie. Bake 8-10 minutes until set. I do the traditional cookie rarely as I hate cleaning up baking sheets.

Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies

So here we go with the start of another category. Cookies. This time one of my favorite, actually everyone in my fam's favorite since my Mom made them for the first time a bajillion years ago when I was a kid. Peanut Butter Swirls. A holiday cookie with a decidedly unfancy appearance, but oh are they tasty. They are labor intensive so be prepared. That is likely why these cookies were made only at Christmas by my Mom....she was way too busy the rest the time chasing us 5 kids around.

The recipe:

Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies
1 -1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 cup CRISCO all-vegetable shortening or
1/2 CRISCO Stick (I always use butter flavor Crisco)
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1-3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 c melted chocolate chips, I use semi-sweet or 70% 

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer combine brown sugar, peanut butter, CRISCO Shortening, milk and vanilla extract; beat at medium speed until well blended.Add egg. Beat just until blended.In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Roll out until it is approx 10X15, just about 1/4 inch thick. Lay another piece of wax paper over the top. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to chill the dough.

Melt chocolate. Stir until smooth and let it cool a couple of minutes. Remove the top layer of wax paper Spread evenly to 1 inch of the long edges, 1/4 inch on the short edges. From the long end carefully roll the dough to the opposite side. When done carefully press the remaining edge until sealed.

Dip a serrated knife in hot water, dry and slice into 1/4-1/2" slices. Clean knife as needed between cuts. Place each cookie as cut on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet; transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.

This serves no purpose really other than show you how cool a Kitchenaide spins while mixing the dough. I know, easily entertained but what the heck, electrons are cheap in the age of digital imaging you can share anything.

Don't panic, I did in fact do a double batch of these cookies as a bunch were going out as gifts. But you get the idea on thickness and size. If you note I used a silicone rolling pin, worth the investment in those beasts as doughs really roll better with a lot less sticking than even a well oiled and floured wooden rolling pin.

I slipped the dough out of the bigger pan and put on a wooden cutting board for the chocolate spreading process. I can't stress enough you don't over chill the dough as it won't be flexible enough to roll without cracking. Having the chill not chilled enough or the chocolate too hot you get the dough all melty and it becomes a mess to work with...loses shape and chocolate runs all over while rolling. Most important is that you keep your knife warm and clean to make things easier. Once it gets caked with chocolate or dough it quits cutting and mashes and rips the dough. Gross mess at best.

My Mom uses crunchy peanut butter at times for a change. Up to you, I like it with crunchy for the cookie, the problems is I hate crunchy by itself. The whole creamy vs crunchy debate can be had elsewhere. Just wanted you to know the kind of peanut butter is up to you.