Monster Cookies

I got this recipe from my sister in law, Jayna, years ago. It is REALLY good. These are great for people who can't have wheat because they don't have any in them. My friend, Nicole, asked for this one, and I FINALLY found it... in a box... while cleaning out my basement... which is a whole different entry. Warning - this makes a lot of big cookies. You may want to cut the recipe in half (especially if you don't have a BIG mixing bowl). Hope you enjoy!!! I think I might have to make some this weekend. My mouth is seriously watering at the thought of them.

1 1/2 cups shortening with 3 T butter mixed in (I have used all butter before too and they are still really good. The shortening does make them a bit softer.)
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 cups crunchy peanut butter
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1 Tablespoon AND 1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons Vanilla (I use 1 Tablespoon because I like it a lot.)
10 Cups of Oats (I use regular oats, but you could use quick oats if you want)
1 12 oz. package chocolate chips
1/2 to 1 medium sized bag of M & M's. (Optional, but makes them look really cute.)
Other good things to add - Reese's Pieces, PB chips, white choc chips, etc.

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, PB corn syrup, vanilla. Mix oats and baking soda together (I usually just add the baking soda to the first cup of oats that I measure out). Add oats a few cups at a time until mixed in. Spray a 1/4 cup measuring cup with non stick spray. Use it to scoop dough onto cookie sheet. I usually smush the dough down a little bit. I can usually only fit 6 to 8 per cookie sheet. So, if you don't want it to take that long, make the cookies smaller. The recipe says bake them 11 to 13 min, until they begin to brown. I have had to bake them longer. Set the timer for 13 min, see how they are. They are done when they begin to brown. These are sooooo good, my mouth is watering right now.

My New Favorite Cookies

These have become my new favorite cookies to make. They are VERY tasty, easy to make, and look really cute too. I never used mini-muffin pans a whole lot, until now. I love them. I think I found some for $4 at Walmart. This is a great time of year to buy Hershey Kisses too, all of the special flavors go on sale. I remember getting them in WI at Walgreens 5 for $5 and I can get them here for 65 cents a bag. My personal favorites are the Candy Cane and Mint Truffle flavors. Other flavors work, those are just my fav's. These are great because they make a lot in a short amount of time. (I have 4 pans, can make 8 dozen at a time.) You can use refrigerated cookie dough or brownie mix for these. I am including my favorite sugar cookie recipe. I found it at allrecipes.com and added more sugar, it just wasn't sweet enough. It is really good. Click here for some awesome Chocolate cookie dough recipe (double for 6 to 8 dozen mini muffin cookies, you can omit the extra chocolate chips, but why would you want to do that?), and Click here for some awesome brownie batter (double for 6 to 8 dozen mini muffin cookies).

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (Optional, but very good, especially if you use hershey kisses with almonds in them. Not sure how it tastes with the mint kisses, but will find out today.)
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Hershey Kisses
M & M's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, vanilla. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture. Spoon batter into mini muffin pans. Bake for about 7 to 9 minutes, keep checking. While they are baking, unwrap Hershey kisses (I have the kids help by doing this, so that I can hurry up and make the batter without too much "help"). When they are done top the cookies with the kisses as soon as you get them out of the oven. After the kisses soften, top with an
M & M and push it down softly. Allow them to cool completely before you store them, otherwise the candy will smear. They are sooooo good and look so pretty. Enjoy. Merry Christmas!

Chocolate Chip Cookie S'Mores

This is a version of the old standard, and I like them even better. Make or purchase chocolate chip cookies (I have a great recipe under cookies, "Celia's Chocolate Chip Cookies"), and the rest is like when you are camping.

Ingredients:
Chocolate chip cookies
Chocolate bars, split into fourths (or halves, depending on how much you want to share, or just use the whole thing for you)
Marshmallows

Roast marshmallows over campfire or grill. Put a piece of chocolate on a cookie and sandwich the marshmallow with another cookie. Enjoy. Have plenty of wipes because it gets sticky and gooey.

Best chocolate, chocolate chip cookies

I originally found this recipe at http://www.marthastewart.com/ under "Double Chocolate Cookies". I changed it a bit and like it even better. It calls for the cookies to be baked on parchment paper, so I have always done this. You can also use cookie sheet liners, I have seen them at Target in their bargain section around Christmas time for $2.50. They work well too. I only make these when I am giving them away because the are so good.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips divided (You could also use 1 cup CC's and 1 cup M&M's, mint CC's, milk choc CC's or white CC's.)

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract



Preheat oven to 325. In a bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, set aside. Melt butter and 1 cup of chocolate chips in a heat safe bowl in the microwave (I put it in for 45 seconds at a time and mix each time I take it out, until the tow have all melted together). Lick the bowl clean. Put butter/CC mixture in a mixing bowl. Add sugar, mix well. Add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and then remaining cup of chocolate chips. When well mixed spoon in Tablespoons onto cookie liners/parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Push on dough to make it a little bit flatter, they will cook more evenly. Cook about 15-17 minutes, the cookies will be soft, but that is how you want them, done on the outside, but chewy on the inside. Pour yourself a glass of milk and dunk a warm cookie. Enjoy.

Celia's Chocolate Chip Cookies

When we lived in Madison, WI, my friend, Celia, made THE BEST chocolate chip cookies I had ever tasted. She is such a talented cook and I have several recipes that are labeled "Celia's". The only things I change in this recipe are I use real butter instead of crisco (I know if you use crisco or shortening it makes the cookies softer, and it is really good, I just never have that on hand), use 1 Tablespoon of vanilla (because I LOVE that stuff), and if I am ambitious I grind up oatmeal and use half ground oats half flour. I was not ambitious this time. You can add the oats, not grinding them up, and then add a little more flour. These are addictive. I use the evaporated milk when I have it on hand, and then make something that calls for that in the next few days so that the leftover milk doesn't go bad (it gets nasty if you don't use it soon). Hope you enjoy and don't eat too many of these. You can also bake these in a bar pan. I am so missing my double oven in the house we sold. Making cookies takes so much longer now. Try them warm with milk, YUMMO!! Heat them up in the microwave if they are not fresh from the oven.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (Celia uses butter flavor crisco and it works great too)

1 cup sugar

2 cups brown sugar

1/4 cup evaporated milk

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla (I use 1 Tablespoon)

5 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 12 oz. package of chocolate chips (Sometimes I add 1 1/2 packages because I have one package open, and figure, more chocolate is good.)

Cream butter, add sugars. Once they are mixed add eggs, vanilla, evaporated milk. In a large bowl mix flour, salt, and baking soda together. Add to other mixture one cup at a time. Once flour is mixed in well add choc.chips. Bake at 350, mine are done in about 12 to 15 min. Let them cool a little before you feed them to your kids and husband who keep asking, "Are they ready yet?" so that they don't get burns from the melted chocolate chips. Have a large glass of milk and plenty of napkins. My 20 month old is walking around with chocolate all over her hands and mouth saying "Momma, cookie, Momma, cookie." Now I hear her in the fridge. Time to go manage the chaos.