Caramel Corn Cookies

I'm seemingly incapable of baking anything but cookies recently. 

#sorrynotsorry

 

I'm also seemingly incapable of making food that sounds good right off the bat.  You know those carrot cake cookies?  Well, I already told you how hesitant my family was about those.

 

It was like they were on repeat.

 

"Caramel corn in cookies?  Seriously?"

 

(In all seriousness, my family is incredibly supportive, BUT, they are not adventurous foodies, so my cooking/baking stretches them.  A lot.)

 

I didn't come up with this idea on my own.  My pastor had mentioned (among other things - I do listen to sermons) that he had tried kettle corn cookies from Trader Joe's one time and that he hadn't found them again.

 

I thought that was a really good idea!  We have a tub FULL of popcorn.  You know the ones you get for Christmas from companies you support or supported 20 years ago that still send you those giant metal black holes packed to the brim with popcorn?  I used caramel corn from that.  I wonder what real kettle corn would taste like in cookies ... wow, fair food to the next level!  Anyways, back to the caramel corn.  I personally love caramel corn.  It is one of my favorite treats.  Mainly because there is more caramel than popcorn, but I convince myself it is okay because corn is a vegetable.  Vegetables covered in sugar - that is so the way I roll.

 

So, even though I have been sitting in my cookie loaded corner, shunning the real world of creativity, I 'm thinking I should stick to cookies because the last three or four batches I've made have received rave reviews.  That is not the norm, hence the lack of cookie recipes on this blog (I'm partial to brownies and muffins  and no bake energy bites ;)

 

Even if he doesn't like a lot of foods, my Dad is pretty game to try most anything, and he really liked these.  In fact, he said he was going to go buy another bag (NOT a tub, thank goodness) of caramel popcorn so we could make these again.

 

Guess what is sitting in our pantry right now. 

 

According to my testing panel (and it does consist of a hefty 5-6 people) these tasted like caramel corn, but it was hard to identify.  Like, they said it was kind of like toffee, kind of like caramel bits, but not all the way one or the other.  I think that is because the caramel coating on the popcorn melts into the cookie (which sounds pretty awesome to me) and the popcorn softens while baking, so there aren't traditional crunches of popcorn in your cookie.  The popcorn adds a little chewiness and a little saltiness, which pairs with the sweet and brown sugary cookie base beautifully. 

 

So, maybe you aren't a popcorn-in-your-cookie person.  None of my family was either.  But thanks to a never fail cookie base and caramel coated popcorn, these won the hearts of everyone who tried them. 

 

Plus, they have shock appeal and I love foods with shock appeal :)

 

Caramel Corn Cookies

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 -1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup caramel corn, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350.
Beat butter, sugar, salt and vanilla until combined.
Add eggs; beat well.
Stir in flour, baking soda, and cornstarch.  Stir until all dry ingredients are incorporated.
Fold in caramel corn.
Scoop into one tablespoon balls of dough and place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes.
Let cool.
Enjoy!

Fudgy Carrot Cake Cookies

 

Today's post is going to be short.

 

All you need to know will be summed up in the next 10 words.

 

Fudgy

 

Carrot Cake

 

Cookies

 

Whole Grain

 

Dairy Free

 

90 calories

 

 

These are amazing little cookies!  They are super soft, more so than my average cookie, which is why they earned the word fudgy in their title (an award usually given to brownies only!)

 

But they are still chewy, because we've got equal amounts of oats and whole wheat stirred in. 

 

And they are dairy free, because of two things.  One, coconut oil and applesauce in place of butter.  Two, enough cinnamon and spice to eliminate the need for baking chips.

 

Bam.

 

My whole family gave me so much flack over these.  I mean, you should have heard the fuss. 

 

"Don't tell me you are putting veggies in a dessert?  Seriously?"

 

Yes, seriously, because this doesn't taste like veggies.  This has 3/4 cup of brown sugar, relax.

 

And I'm not exaggerating when I say every single member of my family liked them.  From my Dad to my Mom to Luke to Abigail.  That is saying something.  You really don't taste the carrots, they just add moisture and texture.  What you do taste is the cinnamon.  And the chewy oats.  And that wonderful brown sugar.

 

Oh, and let us not forget that these cookies will not break the bank when it comes to your diet.

 

Note: I am not on a diet, but these recipes are most popular on Pinterest, so I make them.  Just for all my friends who will have questions after this goes live ;)

 

However, if you want a treat that will fill you up, satisfy your sweet tooth, and be ready in 30 minutes - all for 90 calories a cookie? 

 

Then this is for you.

 

 

 

Fudgy Carrot Cake Cookies (whole grain, dairy free)

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life.  Adapted from Averie Cooks

Yield: 20-22 cookies

 

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

3/4 cups brown sugar, packed

1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch salt

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

3/4 cup carrots, grated, loosely packed

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease cookie sheet.

Whisk together melted coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla.

Beat in egg. 

Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, and salt.

Add flour, stir until combined.

Add oats and carrots.

Scoop onto baking sheet and place baking sheet in freezer for 10 minutes.

Remove from freezer and flatten tops of cookies slightly.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Let cool before serving. 

 

Sprinkles and MnM Cookies

Does anything say happy like sprinkles and MnM's?  Chocolate, fun colors, buttery soft cookies?  What more could you ask for?

*um, well, a day with nothing going on, but that defers to fun colored, chocolate stuffed cookies*

 

These would be your basic chocolate chip cookies, but there are a couple things that make these extra special.  I added cornstarch, which guarantees soft cookies and I'm all about soft cookies.  Cornstarch is the easiest way to make sure your cookies are the ones that melt in people's mouths when they take a bite. It's a cookie lifesaver!  Then I used more brown sugar then white sugar.  Brown sugar makes cookies thicker and chewier, and combined with the cornstarch, makes these cookies super soft on the inside.  And, you don't have to chill the dough to get these thick and chewy!  The butter is only softened, not melted, and the brown sugar and cornstarch finish the job. 

Also, these are packed, I mean packed, with sprinkles and MnMs.  The sprinkles make these colorful and eye catching. Sprinkles can make any dessert party worthy!  MnMs keep people coming back for seconds. I used mini MnMs so that there would be chocolate throughout the whole cookie.  You get sprinkles and chocolate in every bite, no, make that nibble!  I did make these a little smaller than the average cookie, but we all know that just makes them cuter and lets you eat more than one.  Just saying.  Does anything say happy like two cookies instead of one?  I don't think so! :)

Sprinkles MnM Cookies
Recipe Source: Adapted from Hershey's
Yield: 3 dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2/3 cup sprinkles
2/3 cup mini MnMs

Preheat oven to 350.
Beat butter, sugars, salt and vanilla until combined.
Add eggs; beat well.
Stir in flour, baking soda, and cornstarch.  Stir until all dry ingredients are incorporated.
Add sprinkles and MnMs.  Stir.
Scoop into one tablespoon balls of dough and place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes.
Let cool.
Enjoy!

Mocha Coconut Macaroons

My post yesterday morning was pretty lazy, do I decided to make up for it with, well, a lazy day recipe. 

#fail

Sure, these might be for lazy days when you don't feel like doing much, but they don't taste lazy!  They are loaded with rich flavors like coconut and chocolate and coffee!  The coffee adds another level of flavor and makes these a little more sophisticated. I mean, ok, these aren't very pretty :) but coffee was always  an adult thing here at our house.  Now we "underage drinkers" can enjoy our coffee in these little cookies. 

(Actually, most of my siblings don't like coffee, buuuuut {most of them ;) } do like these!  I think it's the chocolate ...)

I've been wanting to try these chocolate macaroons from the Cake Boss cookbook for a while, but because I can never make a recipe exactly as written, I was waiting until I had something a little special to mix it up. I know, it is just coffee, but I personally think coffee is very special.  I have major cravings for it and I always have a mug first thing in the morning or when I'm cold. Which is a lot of the time right now.

I only used a teaspoon of instant coffee, and while there was coffee flavor, I would add more next time, probably 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons. Coffee has this delicious quality of enhancing chocolate flavor, so in small quantities, coffee just helps the chocolate flavor be stronger. There is a little of that going on here; 1 teaspoon is enough to give some coffee flavor, but not a robust addition. Play around with it; the goal is to have both the chocolate and coffee flavors shine. 

And then there is the coconut … need I say more?  There is no flour or oats in these cookies, just coconut shreds. I will confess, I used 2 cups sweetened shreds and 1 cup unsweetened because we ran out of sweetened. It worked incredibly well!  If you don't have enough sweetened (ahem) I wouldn't suggest using more than half unsweetened, because it isn't as sticky or sweet.  The coconut adds all the body to these cookies and makes them addictive my chewy. 

Lazy days, don't go away!  I like you when you bring me mocha coconut macaroons.  Lazy or not, I hope you all are having a great weekend! 

 

Mocha Coconut Macaroons

Recipe Source: Adapted from Cake Boss Family Celebrations Cookbook.

Yield: 2 dozen

 

1/2 cup chocolate chips

4 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon instant coffee

2 eggs

3 cups sweetened coconut shreds

Preheat oven to 325.
Melt chocolate chips, either in the microwave or on the stove.
Mix sugar and instant coffee. 
Beat in eggs.
Add melted chocolate to sugar, coffee, and egg mixture, stirring quickly.
Add coconut shreds and stir until all coconut is coated.
Form in tablespoon sized cookies (mixture will be sticky!)
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from pan after 5 minutes of cooling.
Enjoy!

Coconut Oil Strawberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are sweet, chewy, soft, and bursting with strawberries and white chocolate chips.  Pretty to look at, delicious to eat, and healthy to boot!  Oh, and did I mention they are mixed in only one bowl?  And that you don't have to chill the dough before baking??

 

I'm finally getting around to Valentine's Day food!

Strawberries are red,
Oats add the chew,
White chocolate and coconut oil,
These cookies rule!
 
(pretty legit, no?) 
I'm taking the liberty of calling these holiday treats because there is red in these cookies! 

 

 

These cookies are incredible.  My family gave them 10 out of 10, which is pretty good considering these are not your average cookie.  Thanks to some easy substitutions, this cookie is good for you!
I now have coconut oil!  I just got my newest jar.  It was on my Christmas list, but my secret santa had it defer to an iTunes giftcard (which I have been loving!)  This is the first recipe I've made with it.  Coconut oil really has no coconut flavor at all and subs 1:1 for oils and butters.  Also with the coconut oil, I used applesauce.  Applesauce can leave baked goods dry or tough or sometimes even crumbly, because it is wet, but not oily.  But because these cookies use all brown sugar (the more brown sugar, the chewier the cookie) and oats, they don't fall apart like some other applesauce cookies I've tried (either from being too moist or too dry)  There is enough coconut oil in these to balance the applesauce and make them taste buttery without the extra fat and calories.

I think the strawberries and white chocolate are so pretty together.  Not only are they a colorful couple, they taste incredible together!  I didn't count on the strawberries adding as much moisture as they did, so I did have to tack on a couple more minutes of baking time, but they were worth it.  (If you are using frozen, I would encourage you to quickly scoop your first batch onto the cookie sheet and then refrigerate or freeze the remaining dough while the first batch is baking, so that the strawberries don't bleed into the dough.  I didn't use fresh, but I assume you would want to do the same with them.)  The strawberries retain their juicy sweetness in the cookie and pair with the creamy white chocolate chips.  Between the oats, the strawberries, and the white chocolate chips, we've got a party for the tastebuds right here.  And one for your diet, because these are pretty darn good for desserts!  (if you are pointing to the sugar and white chocolate chips, I'm covering my ears and pretending not to hear.  what is a dessert without sugar???)

Then we've got the aforementioned oats.  Oats are a great source of fiber and add heartiness to just about anything!  They give a ton of texture to this cookie, so even though it is "lighter," you can still get your daily chew out of it.  I love textured cookies!  For even more stick with ya goodness, there is whole wheat flour hiding behind the strawberries and white chocolate.  I used half whole wheat, half white, but you can use all white if that is what you have on hand.  You can try all whole wheat, I don't know how it would turn out, but if you do, let me know!

 

 

For the sake of cleaning the pan, I made sure the diced strawberries were never at the bottom of the cookies.  Also, I pressed a few reserved white chocolate chips on top of the cookies before baking.  It only takes about a minute extra and you get eye-catching cookies AND more white chocolate!

 

I know Valentine's Day desserts are more formal (and I have one coming) but for a lower key meal, these make a fabulous, family pleaser dessert! 

 

Coconut Oil Strawberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life
Yield: 18 cookies

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup oats
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup diced strawberries (frozen is best)

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt your coconut oil.

Whisk in the applesauce, egg, and vanilla.  Make sure the egg is beaten in well.

Add in salt, flours, sugar, and baking soda. 

Stir in oats.

Add white chocolate chips and strawberries.

Using a two tablespoon cookie scoop, place cookies on lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-13 minutes.

Let cool for five minutes on cookie sheet before moving to a wire rack.

Eat warm or let cool completely before serving.

 

Notes:  If you are using frozen strawberries, I would encourage you to quickly scoop your first batch onto the cookie sheet and then refrigerate or freeze the remaining dough while the first batch is baking, so that the strawberries don't bleed into the dough.  I didn't use fresh, but I assume you would want to do the same with them. 

Whole Wheat Greek Yogurt Mint and Dark Chocolate Cookies

I've seen so many cookie recipes that had cream cheese, sour cream, or Greek yogurt in them and I have been dying to try it.

I've decided my "New Year's Resolutions" are going to be all recipes I need to make.  That is acceptable, right?

Cream cheese, etc. cookies were on the list. Now I can scratch them of.  First up: More homemade granolas.  Then, a a three layer cake.  And then, well, I think salted caramel + coconut would be good.  I'm not putting greek yogurt on the list, but I would like to do more with that.  You know what really needs to happen?  I have got to be more disciplined in responding to all your wonderful comments.  I was adding recipes to my recipe page (another thing I am TERRIBLE about keeping up with) and realized how many comments I didn't respond to.  I felt really bad!  So I'm going to reply as soon as possible instead of waiting to do it all at once.

Ok, back to the cookies.  Consuelo's recipe caught my eye, especially when she said her brother's couldn't tell a difference from this version to the real version!

Now, there are a couple things you should know about these cookies (besides the usual "they are amazing!")  They are uber soft.  They hold up well, but they are pretty moist, which I love, but if you are hard and crunchy cookie person, then you won't like these.  As you can tell, they stack fine, so they aren't falling apart, but if you don't plan on eating them in the next couple days after baking, freeze 'em, because they're too moist and soft to store for that long.  Read: mold - and that isn't the green we are going for!

But those green chocolate chips?  They are good!  They were part of a holiday chocolate chip mix, with mint chips and dark chocolate chips.  They were on sale and since mint and chocolate counts as a "classic" combo, I felt okay about posting them after Christmas.  Read: Yeah, I'm behind.  What else is new ;)

Oh, also, I'm going to grind my oats next time.  They didn't soften into the baked cookie as much as I thought they would and did add texture.  I was good with it, but my mom was convinced, I mean convinced it was coconut.  Just a warning if you don't like texture in your cookie. 

 

Overall, I really liked how they turned out!  They were soft, melt in your mouth, and sturdy enough to travel.  And they are completely whole wheat and have almost a cup of Greek yogurt, which means you can indulge your mint and chocolate craving without a problem. 

Update!!!  Okay, this might sound strange, and it probably is, but it works.  Freeze these cookies and eat them frozen.  I know, it sounds wrong, but it isn't!  Because these are so soft, they don't freeze solid, they are just firmer and a little denser.  They are delicious either way, but after trying a frozen one, I liked it better. 

They look exactly like regular cookies, and if you didn't know better, you would think they were made with all butter and white flour.  Finally, a healthy cookie that isn't no bake!  Thanks Consuelo!

 

Whole Wheat Greek Yogurt Mint & Dark Chocolate Cookies
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life.  Adapted from Honey and Figs Kitchen
Yield: 16 cookies

heaping 1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup oats (I would suggest grinding them if you don't like textured cookies)
scant 1/4 cup cornstarch
scant 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup mint and dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease cookie sheets

Beat butter, Greek yogurt, and egg together.  Add sugars and beat again.  Add flour, oats, cornstarch, powder, soda, and salt and stir until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
Let chill in freezer for 30 minutes or in refrigerator for several hours. 
Scoop chilled dough onto baking sheets.  Flatten cookies slightly.  Bake for 13-15 minutes.  Do not bake any longer than this!  Let cool on pans for five minutes before letting cookies cool completely on wire racks.  Store in air tight container or freeze. 

White and Dark Chocolate Heath Cheesecake Pudding Cookies

These are the best cookies I've eaten in a really long time.  Not only are they are super soft on the inside, they are stuffed with three kinds of baking chips; white chocolate, dark chocolate, and toffee.  Oh, and there is cheesecake pudding mix in there too.  Pudding mix, which has cornstarch, is the key to the softest cookies around.

 

These have restored my faith in cookies.  I will take yeasted breads over cookies any day, but these, well, these stole my heart and then some.  I will not touch 

crunchy cookies, unless they're fortune cookies.  These are soft and chewy, yet firm enough to stand up to double fisted eaters (ahem)  They are perfect for Christmas time.  They freeze well, in baked or unbaked form, and travel well. 

 

 

I was cleaning out our baking chips and it was incredible 1) how many bags we have! and 2) how many of them were half full.  These cookies got rid of those half bags of baking chips that begin to take over our pantry. Between the peanut butter chips, Andes mint, Heath, milk, semi sweet, and dark chocolate chips, I think I'm set for a while!

  

Do you guys clean out your closets before Christmas?  I'm thinking it would be a good idea if I got rid of some stuff. :)  Christmas is all fun and games until you have to find a place for all your new stuff.  As I've gotten older, I've (thankfully!) gotten smaller gifts ... no more play kitchens or Play mobile sets or American girl doll bathtubs (yes, really.)  Though looking at my list, what I really need to clean out is our kitchen.  We've never made Christmas lists in our family, but this year, we drew names among siblings for a secret santa type thing. We all made a list of five things we want so that the sibling that has us wouldn't have to ask us (giving it away) or buy something we won't use.  One of my things was a donut pan, so while there may be a lot of cookie recipes these next few weeks, I'm hoping after Christmas, I'll have some donut recipes to share with you guys!  However, that would mean I have to have a place to store it ... 

  

Any kitchen gadgets you're wishing for this Christmas? 

 

And, what is your favorite cookie recipe?  I'd love links in the comments!

 

White and Dark Chocolate Cheesecake Heath Pudding Cookies

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life.  Adapted slightly from here and here.  

Yield: 2-1/2 dozen

 

1 cup shortening

1 cup sugar 

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 box (4 serving size) instant cheesecake pudding mix

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup Heath toffee baking bits

 

Cream shortening and sugar together.  Add eggs and beat well.  Stir in vanilla.  Add flour, salt, baking powder, and pudding mix and mix until incorporated.  Add white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, and Heath toffee chips and stir.  Scoop cookies (I used a two tablespoon scoop) onto a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Even if they look undercooked, don't let them bake for more than 12 minutes.  Let cool for a couple minutes.  They are incredible warm!

 

Note:  After cooling, store in an airtight container.  You can scoop cookie dough onto a baking sheet and freeze for a couple hours.  Then, put the frozen cookie dough in a freezer bag and store in freezer, if desired.  To cook, let thaw in refrigerator for a couple hours before baking. 

 

Other cookies for your Christmas platter!

 

Chocolate Toffee Pretzel Cookie Cups

 

 

Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

 

Christmas Shortbread Cookies

 

 

Brown Sugar Cookies with Snickerdoodle Frosting

 

 

Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies

 

 

Click here for all my cookie recipes!

 

 

Gingerbread Cookie Puppy Chow

What do you get when you crumble up gingerbread cookies and coat Chex cereal in white chocolate and gingerbread crumbs? 

Good.  That's what you get.  Finger licking good.

I really like gingerbread.  It isn't my favorite holiday flavor, but it sure is good!  I saw Gingerbread Twix at Dillon's the other day and thought it sounded incredible.  I am a huge fan of cinnamon, so it makes sense why I like gingerbread.  I've heard of many bloggers who could drink molasses, they like it so much, but I don't think I'm one of those people.  But I won't say no to gingerbread, ESPECIALLY in Twix.  And puppy chow.

Holidays bring out all the flavors and shapes in candies.  Like the Twix.  I've also seen MnM's and Oreos.  These marketing people, I think they must know some food bloggers!

I wish they would make gingerbread Cheerios.  And frosting.  Oh, and peanut butter!

I hope they don't ever make gingerbread gum.  Or salsa.  And definitely not Skittles.

Yuck.

But now you can have gingerbread puppy chow! 

 

Gingerbread Cookie Puppy Chow

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life

Yield: 4-1/2 cups

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 tablespoon shortening

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

4 cups Chex cereal (I used corn, but wheat or rice will work)

2/12 cups gingerbread cookie crumbs

 

Melt the white chocolate chips and shortening a large pan, stirring frequently.  Once melted and smooth, stir in ginger and cinnamon.  Add Chex cereal and toss until coated.  Pour half of the gingerbread cookie crumbs in a Ziploc bag and put half of the coated Chex in the bag.  Toss until Chex is coated with crumbs.  Repeat with remaining cereal and cookie crumbs.  Store in an airtight container.

 

Note:  I used homemade gingerbread cookies that I let bake a couple minutes longer so they would be crunchy.  Then I just crushed them.

 

Related Recipes:

Caramel Cake Batter Puppy Chow

 

 

Popcorn and Pretzel Butterscotch Puppy Chow

 

 

Christmas Shortbread Cookies

Say hello to my first Christmas cookie recipe this year.

#catchup

Yeah ... I'm slow when it comes to seasonal desserts. These are worth the wait though!  They are super easy and can we talk abou festive?  Because I worked the red sugar sprinkles in a little too much, these turned a little pink and would make perfect peppermint cookies - just add 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and bam, holiday cookies at their best.

These are buttery and softer on the inside. They still have that crunch characteristic of all shortbread though.  There are subtly sweet and full of sugar sprinkles.  A fast favorite with my siblings!

These couldn't be easier to whip up. Need cookies for a Christmas party? Crunched for time?  Sugar craving?  These are the answer. You simply cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and add the vanilla, flour, and salt.  Don't forget the sprinkles :)

All you need are six ingredients you have in your cupboard and 10 minutes of hands on time.  These are faster and better than any store bought shortbread cookies you could buy! 

You know, we never have Christmas cookies per se ... we are popcorn, cake, and fudge people. Now, we always have my grandma's Russian tea cakes but those are the only cookies that I associate with Christmas.  These remind me a little if those. Their texture, so buttery and a little crunchy, is similar. 

How about you guys?  Any cookies you associate with Christmas?

Christmas Shortbread Cookies

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life

2-1/2 dozen

 

2-1/2 cup flour

1 cup butter 

3/4 cup sugar 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 tablespoon red sugar sprinkles

2 tablespoon green sugar sprinkles

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Stir in flour, salt and vanilla.  Beat until combined.  Add sprinkles and stir.  Don't stir too hard or you'll end up with colored dough, not just sprinkled :)

 

Roll dough out to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness.  Cut into uniform circles and place on cookie sheet.  You will have multiple batches.  Bake each batch for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool completely before serving.

Double Fudge Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Happy Monday everyone!

I'm so glad we have nothing on Mondays.  No volleyball, no co-op classes, no football, no doctor appointments, just school.  It's so nice to start the week off slow and have a day to finish everything from the weekend and begin everything for the week. 

If you need a smile this morning, make these cookies. They're incredible. I've made the cookie base before, but instead of chocolate chips, I wanted to use peanut butter chips. 

Guess what. We were out. 

So, I remembered this recipe from Heather's French Press for homemade peanut butter chips!  I froze peanut butter and stuffed it into these cookies, but this time, I followed her recipe, which adds coconut oil and sugar and milk, and froze them in chips. They were a tad bit more difficult to work with because they had to be frozen and stirred in quickly, but they melted into the batter more than store bought chips and packed more of a peanut butter flavor. Totally a win and if you have more time on your hands, use the homemade on chips. They make these cookies even better.

So often, I feel like I'm one thing short. One package of peanut butter chips. Or one point short in a game. Our world offers so many of those situations. For example, one compliment short of popularity. One size short of fulfillment.  One iPhone too late. One thing, one thing. 

But really, how important is that one thing?  I think our world places so much emphasis on the short term, in the moment things. We forget the big picture. In 20 years, will I really care if I had the bag of peanut butter chips or not?  Will I really care whether I could fit into size 4 or 10?  Will I really care if so and so liked my hair?  Is that what I want to matter, that one thing that I made a big deal about in the moment?  I don't think so.

The things that last, the relationships, are the things to focus on. Those kinds of things take time, lots of little "one things" and they last and they will be something I care about. I often sucked into the little picture, me only, mindset that is so prevalent. And honestly, I feel worse about myself and life when I focus on them. One award, one game, one word, one follow ... the list goes on and on. Wouldn't it be nicer if I invested my time in spending time with people, enjoying rather than worrying or envying?  It is so much better!

So if you're a bag of peanut butter chips short, don't sweat it. Use whatever baking chip you want!  And share them with someone ... (you don't need two dozen cookies laying around *cough*) and someone, somewhere, needs their Monday brightened.  

Double Fudge Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life. Adapted from this recipe.  Peanut Butter Chips from Heather's French Press

Yield: 2 dozen

1/2 cup butter 

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 eggs 

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 

1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cocoa powder 

1 (4 serving pck.) instant chocolate fudge pudding 

1-1/2 cups peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease cookie sheet.

Soften coconut oil and butter; beat with sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Stir in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and chocolate pudding mix until incorporated.  Add peatnu butter chips and stir.

Drop by rounded tablespoon on prepared baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes.   

Related Recipes: 

Peanut Butter Brownie Pie

 

Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies 

Double Dark Chocolate Pudding Cookies

{Whole Wheat} Pumpkin Maple Chunk Cookies

You all proud of my patience? 

I waited until September for a true pumpkin recipe!

And boy is this a good one.  Worth the wait.  Completely.

These are chock full of fall flavor. They are soft, yet easy to hold in your hands. Sweet, spicy (in the fall sense) and absolutely delicious, you will not be able to eat just one. I promise. They were a hit, which is two in a row (believe it or not, that doesn't always happen) and the batch didn't last very long. Not a problem, I've still got lots and lots of pumpkin it hung to be used!  If you don't know me, this is me in a nutshell this time of year. 

I use pumpkin all year round, but usually for myself. Now, there is nothing to hide and its totally acceptable to make everything orange and dotted with cinnamon. My kind of season right there. I'm kind of crazy that way. Pumpkin and me are close. I even have a board devoted to it.

Aaaand I finally used the maple sugar chunks I bought in Quebec City!  They are absolutely perfect in these cookies.  Think the texture of toffee chunks with a deep maple sugar flavor.  Its amazing.  Blows chocolate chips and toffee chunks out of the water.  They don't melt in the cookie, but they melt in your mouth.  Can you ask for more fall flavor? 

Between the whole wheat and the pumpkin, these are practically health food.  For volleyball, we are supposed to be eating fuel foods for all our games. "What we eat is how we play."  This week is full of games!  We had one last night (best game yet!), and then one on Thursday, one on Friday, and two on Saturday. It's going to be a blast. Last night really set the tone. It was our first 3 out of 5 match/set (I don't know!:) and against a team that has a 6 foot 3 inch hitter. She's good. But our middles showed up and took away the front row and our back row played great defense. I felt like I served well, too, which was nice since I had been serving inconsistently. It was fun to play a hard team and to show we were physically and mentally tough.  There was more net play and really good volleys. Shout out to all my teammates reading, you all are amazing!  Even more than these cookies and that's saying something :)

{Whole Wheat} Pumpkin Maple Chunk Cookies
Recipe Source:  Adapted slightly from Cookie and Kate
Yield: 2-1/2 dozen cookies

1-1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup maple sugar chunks 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt). In another medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla; beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients and stir just until combined.  Stir in maple chunks. Scoop a tablespoon of dough onto a cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie slightly. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, and then transfer the cookies to a rack to cool.  They are incredible warm from the oven!