Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookiesby Martha Stewart1 cup all-purpose flour1/2 cup whole-wheat flour1 teaspoon coarse salt1/2 teaspoon baking soda3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (I used 3/4 c. crisco, I like it better for cookies)1/2 cup granulated sugar1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar1 large egg1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks (I just used Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips- they are big!)1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days **After cooking one batch, I decided 375 was too hot so I lowered my oven temp to 350. 10-11 minutes seemed to be the perfect cook time.
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Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies Yields 2 dozen cookies 1 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons spooned and leveled bleached all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped 2 3/4 cups sugar, divide 1/4 cup of canola oil 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and warm, not hot 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 2 large eggs 1 large egg yolk 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 ½ teaspoons of peppermint extract 1 cup powdered sugar Instructions: In a medium bowl, beat together well the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on 50 percent power for 1 minute, stir, and microwave for 15 seconds more and stir; set aside. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together 2 1/2 cups of the sugar, the oil, butter and corn syrup to blend. Beat in the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla and peppermint extract. Then on low, beat in the melted chocolate. Add the flour mixture and beat in on low speed. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line bakesheet with parchment. Take out about one-quarter of the dough at a time to shape. Roll the dough into 3 inch balls. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar into one bowl and the confectioners’ sugar in another bowl. Roll each cookie dough ball lightly in granulated sugar first, then very heavily in confectioners’ sugar. (By rolling in plain sugar first, the confectioners’ sugar does not soak in so much and stays on the surface better). Arrange cookies 2 inches apart on the foil. For crisp cookies, bake 12 to 14 minutes. For a chewier cookie, bake 10-12 minutes. Bake one sheet at a time. Adapted from Shirley Corriher
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Cinnamon French Toast Cookies Preparation: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bake sheet with parchment 2 1/2 cups of flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, plus 2 tablespoon of cinnamon for divided use ½ cup unsalted butter, softened ½ cup cream cheese ¾ cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, plus ¼ cup sugar for divided use 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 1 ½ tablespoon maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions: 1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a bowl; set aside. Cream butter, cream cheese and both sugars until pale and fluffy. Lightly mix egg and egg yolk in a separate bowl and add to creamed butter, mix until combined. Add in maple syrup and vanilla extract, mix until combined. Add flour mixture in and using a wooden spoon or a sturdy spatula fold until incorporated. 2.Divide dough in half and shape into flat rectangles. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Remove chilled dough and on a lightly floured surface,start rolling dough from one long length side edge to another. Return rolled logs to chill for another two hours or overnight. 3. Mix remaining cinnamon and sugar and place inside a fine mesh shaker or in a fine mesh sieve. 3. Using a knife slice dough into ¼ inch thick rounds. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment lined bake sheet. Using a sieve or a fine mesh shaker lightly cover cookies with cinnamon and sugar mixture over sliced cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
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Melted Snowman Cookies Part 1: Dough Ingredients 1 cup margarine 1 1/2 cups white sugar 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt Directions Cream the margarine and add the sugar gradually. Beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt gradually to the creamed mixture, stirring in by hand. Cover and chill dough overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and cut into your favorite shapes. Place cookies onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 6 to 8 minutes or until cookie has a golden appearance. Part 2: Cookie After your dough has chilled for at least 4 hours, prepare your work surface. You’ll need flour, a couple of cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, a spoon or cookie scoop, and a pre-heated oven.  Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, scoop a small ice cream scooped size of dough and sprinkle it with flour. This is important if you don’t want the dough sticking to your hands. Roll the dough into a ball and start to press it flat. Make it so it has a real wavy kind of funky look to it. The ultimate goal is a puddle. There is no right shape. I like to start it in my hand and then set it on the cookie sheet and press it down until it’s about half an inch thick. Make them all different. Go ahead and repeat that step with each cookie. You’ll want to get them as close to the same size as possible but they don’t have to be exact.  Bake according to your recipe directions. While they are baking, go ahead and make your Royal Icing Recipe. I use the Wilton Recipe that has Meringue Powder. If you would like to use this recipe, you can purchase Meringue Powder at a craft store. Part 3: Wilson Royal Icing Ingredients 3 tb Wilton meringue powder 1 lb Sifted powdered sugar 6 tb Water Directions IF using a counter top mixer, beat all ingredients at low speed for 7 to 10 minutes until icing forms peaks. If you are using a hand held mixer, it will take more like 10-12 minutes. AFTER you get stiff peaks, you’ll want to transfer about 1/2 into a bowl and add a 1/2 a teaspoon of water at a time while stirring until the consistency is slightly runny. To test for the right consistency: Using a knife, scoop a little of your runny icing and hold above the bowl. As it drips, count to 10. By the count of 10, the icing that dripped down should meld into the icing in the bowl so there is no indication of where your drips landed. Put your icing in a container covered with a wet paper towel and a lid. Part 4: Icing & Marshmallow Now that your icing is made and your cookies have cooled, you are ready for the next step. Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface and pick a couple of cookies to start with.  Spoon a small puddle of icing onto your cookie and using the back of a spoon or a knife spread it around making sure to go right to the edges in some spots so he looks drippy. Next, liberally grease a plate or silicone mat with shortening. And place about 8 marshmallows on the mat, spaced out. Set your microwave for 20 seconds and DO NOT WALK AWAY. Watch the marshmallows. As they start to puff up, you are ready to go. Don’t let them get huge or melt. You just want them to puff. Stop your microwave BEFORE they double in size.  Liberally Grease your fingers and pick up one marshmallow at a time and kind of smoosh it into place. You don’t have to be neat or perfect, just get it on there. The marshmallow should not stick to your fingers as long as you have shortening on them. Repeat this step for each cookie and then let the icing set up just a bit. Part 4: Decorating At this point you’ve got your base ready to go and you can decorate as you please. You’ll need some piping bags and size 1 or 2 tips. You can also use a zip top bag with a very small hole cut in the corner. Color your royal icing the colors of your choice and have fun. If you have never done royal icing cookie decorating, you might want to take a look at this tutorial by SugarBelle before you begin. Cookie Decorating Tutorial. Here are a few different ways we decorated. Every decoration on these is royal icing. I pipe the noses on in a medium/stiff consistency. Use a #1 or #2 tip and pull up and away as you pipe. The nose should stand up in the direction you pull. Here we used Mini Chocolate Chips for buttons. The arms, eyes, and mouth were piped with a #1 tip. The little snowballs on this guy are MicroMallow’s from Kraft. If you can’t find them, just sneak some out of your hot chocolate mix! They make adorable snowballs if you want a snowball fight! To make it easier on the kids, you can use Silver Dragees or mini chocolate chips for buttons.
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Merry Berry Wreath Cookies INGREDIENTS 1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies1 container (1 lb) vanilla creamy ready-to-spread frosting4 or 5 drops green food color2 tubes (0.68 oz each) red decorating gelAbout 2 tablespoons holiday red and green candy decors DIRECTIONS 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Remove half of cookie dough from wrapper; refrigerate remaining dough until needed. Cut dough into 12 slices, 1/4 inch thick. On floured work surface, roll each into 6-inch long rope. On ungreased cookie sheet, form into wreath shapes 2 inches apart; pinch ends of each wreath together. 2. Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining half of cookie dough. 3. In medium bowl, mix frosting and food color until well blended. Frost tops of cookies. With decorating gel, form bow at top of each wreath. Sprinkle with candy decors.
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Fun With Santa Cookies Recipe INGREDIENTS 1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies1/4 cup all-purpose flourAdditional 1/4 cup all-purpose flour1 cup vanilla creamy ready-to-spread frosting (from 1-lb container)Red food color (liquid or paste)Miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits and/or chocolate chips DIRECTIONS 1. Heat oven to 350ºF. In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Stir or knead in 1/4 cup flour until well blended. Remove half the dough, and refrigerate remaining dough until needed. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons flour onto work surface. With floured rolling pin, roll out dough 1/4 inch thick. 2. With cookie cutters, cut dough into 2 1/2-inch rounds, ovals, stars and half moon shapes (see shapes in photo). On ungreased cookie sheets, place shapes 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining half of dough and flour. 3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes. 4. In small bowl, mix 1/2 cup of the frosting and food color until well blended and desired red color. Decorate each cookie to look like Santa with red frosting, white frosting and baking bits.
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Cinnamon & Sugar Crackers Print this recipe! 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 5 tablespoons sugar, divided 3 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided 2 tablespoons half & half 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 2. In a food processor, combine the butter, flour, 4 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Pulse for about 5 seconds and until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the half-and-half and process until the dough forms a ball, about 10 seconds. 3. On a lightly floured surface, using a heavily floured rolling pin, roll the dough roughly into a 13 by 7-inch rectangle that is 1/16-inch thick. With a pizza cutter wheel, trim off the sides into a 12 by 6-inch rectangle. Next, cut the dough into 1 by 1-inch squares. 4. Using the blunt end of a skewer make a hole in each cracker. This will make sure the cracker doesn’t over puff when baking. Gently transfer the crackers (I needed to use a sharp knife to get them off the table) to a parchment lined baking sheet. The dough may sag or may break occasionally in the transfer, but don’t be concerned — just do your best. 5. In a small bowl, combine the remaining cinnamon and sugar and mix. Liberally sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture all over the crackers. 6. Bake the crackers on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes, or until the ends are barely browned. Remove from the oven and set the baking sheet on a rack to cool. Recipe adapted from these Yields 50 crackers
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Apple Pie CookiesPrinter-Friendly Version Yield: about 20 cookiesIngredients:For the crust:*2½ cups (313 grams) all-purpose flour2 tbsp. (25 grams) granulated sugar1 tsp. (4 grams) salt2 sticks (8 oz. or 1 cup) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces½ cup very cold water For the filling:2-3 medium apples, whatever variety you prefer for bakingSqueeze of lemon juice1/3 cup (67 grams) granulated sugar1 tsp. (2 grams) ground cinnamonDash of grated nutmeg For assembly:Water1 large egg lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon of waterSugar, for sprinkling *Note – I know some of you will be tempted to ask, can I just do this with frozen pie crust?  And the answer is of course you could, but I highly recommend making your own.  It tastes much better and it’s way easier than you might think.  See this tutorial for step-by-step photos. Directions:To make the pie dough, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to blend.  Using a pastry cutter (or your preferred method), cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is coarse and the largest pieces of butter are no bigger than small peas.  Stir in the water and mix gently just until the dough has come together in a a cohesive ball and all of the dry ingredients have been moistened.  Form the dough into a disc and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour. When you are ready to make your cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.  Peel the apples and cut off the sides in four large chunks, removing and discarding the cores.  With each large piece of apple, further slice into thin slices (somewhere between 1/8- and ¼-inch thick.)  Use a small round cookie or biscuit cutter (about 2 inches in diameter) to cut round discs out of the apple slices.  Place the apple rounds in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice.  In another small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and whisk to blend. To assemble the cookies, transfer half of the chilled pie dough to a lightly floured work surface (keep the remaining half chilled).  Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out very thin, about 1/8 to ¼-inch thick.  Use a larger round biscuit or cookie cutter (about 2½ to 2¾ inches in diameter) to cut out rounds of the pie dough.  Transfer half of the rounds to the prepared baking sheet.  Brush the rounds lightly with water (this will help the pies seal).  Take a few apple slices at a time and coat them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Place each on top of a round of pie dough.  Layer a second round of dough on top of each apple slice and gently press the edges to help seal.  Repeat this process with the remaining dough and apple slices.  Crimp and seal the edges of the mini pies with the tines of a fork, dipping in flour if needed to prevent sticking.  Lightly brush the tops of the cookies with the egg wash.  Use a small paring knife to cut tiny slits in the top of each cookie.  Sprinkle with additional sugar, if desired. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until light golden brown. Source: barely adapted from Smitten Kitchen
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Chocolate Drop Cookies Ingredients 3½ squares (ounces) unsweetened melted chocolate (melt in microwave; see step 2 in Procedure) 1 cup raisins 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts are particularly nice in this recipe) ½ cup butter 1 cup brown sugar (light brown is what we use) 1 egg (consider using pasteurized; see Notes) ½ cup milk (whole is best, but skim is more than acceptable) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1½ cups flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt Procedure Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Chop chocolate into bits, place in microwave-safe bowl.  Heat on medium for 30 seconds; check to see if melted.  If not, heat another 15 to 30 seconds, and check again.  Continue until melted.  Do not overheat!  Let cool somewhat before you use it in step 7. Place raisins in saucepan and add just enough water to cover; place over medium heat; once water comes to a light boil, turn down heat and let raisins simmer while you mix other ingredients. Chop nuts. Cream butter using an electric mixer (a stand mixer is easier to use, but a portable mixer works too).  When the butter is soft, mix in the following ingredients one at a time, mixing after each addition:  brown sugar, egg, milk, and vanilla.  Mix until well combined.   Add chopped nuts and drained raisins.  Mix. Add cooled chocolate, and mix again. In a separate bowl, measure flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix to incorporate.  Then add to bowl containing chocolate mixture, and mix until well combined. Prepare baking sheet(s) by covering the baking surface with silicone mat(s) or parchment paper.  Spoon dollops of cookie batter onto the sheet(s), making sure to leave enough space between dollops so the cookies can spread when baking.   Bake for about 11 minutes or until done.  What is done?  When it’s baked through, but not dry.  (If you’re not sure, lightly press the top of a cookie.  If it’s done, the top should spring back.) Cool, then gobble them up.
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Bat and Cat Cookies INGREDIENTS: 1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies 1 container (1 lb) vanilla creamy ready-to-spread frosting Orange gel food color Black string licorice 32 green miniature candy-coated semisweet chocolate baking bits 1 tube (0.68 oz) black decorating gel 24 miniature semisweet chocolate chips DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 350°F. Make and cool cookies as directed. Remove 1/2 cup of frosting; tint remaining frosting with orange gel food color. Frost 8 cookies with white frosting. Frost 8 cookies with orange frosting. Place remaining orange frosting in food-storage plastic bag, and cut small hole in 1 corner. For bats, use white-frosted cookies. Place 1-inch spiral of string licorice in center of each cookie for body. Pipe wings on sides of body with orange frosting. For eyes, attach 2 green baking bits onto body of each with frosting; squeeze a dot of black decorating gel in middle of each eye. Place 2 miniature chocolate chips on each for ears. For cats, use orange-frosted cookies. Unroll and separate string licorice; place pieces of string licorice on cookies to look like ears and whiskers. Attach 2 green baking bits to each for eyes and 1 miniature chocolate chip for nose.
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Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip CookiesIngredients (use vegan versions):    2 cups unbleached flour    2 teaspoons baking powder    1/2 teaspoon salt    cinnamon, to taste, optional    handful vegan chocolate or carob chips    1 cup raw sugar (turbinado; sucanat works too, but sucks up a lot of the moisture)    1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil    1 teaspoon vanilla    1/4 cup waterDirections:1. Very important-make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. It will work if they’re not at room temp but it works much better if they are. Also while your oven is pre-heating put the cookie sheets you are going to use on top of the oven so they get preheated as well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in chips. Make a well in the center and set aside. In a medium size bowl, add together sugar and oil; mix well.  3. Add the vanilla and then add the water; mix well.  Add the wet to the well in the dry. Mix it well but be careful not to overwork it.  Add more chips if you need to.  4. Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Put them in the oven.  Bake for 5 minutes and then flip and rotate the sheets (top to bottom and 180 degree rotation). Bake another 4 minutes and check them. The cookies are done when they seem a little bit softer then you want them to be. They will harden up some as they cool. I usually go in 2 minute increments from here until they get to where I like them.5. Take them out when they are done and move them to wire cooling racks. If they split or come apart when you try to remove them let them sit on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring them to the racks.These cookies have come a long way, lots of time and tasting spent on getting them to where they are now. Vegans and non vegans love them. In the words of my 6 year old son:Mom, you’re the greatest because you know how to make the best cookies. Enjoy and let me know if you have questions. Sweet travels.Serves: almost 2 dozen; Preparation Time: 10 minutes; Cooking Time: 10 to 12 minutes
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bacon pecan chocolate chip cookiesadapted from npringredients 5 strips bacon 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature 1/2 cup white sugar 1/3 cup light brown sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup chopped pecans  directions In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon, turning several times, until browned and done, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Chop finely.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla extract, and beat until just blended. Add the dry ingredients; beat until just incorporated and the flour is dissolved. Stir in the chocolate chips, pecans and bacon. Drop one large tablespoon cookie dough 2 to 3 inches apart (as they will spread) on baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until firm and golden brown around the edges, and still slightly soft in the center. Transfer to a rack and cool for 15 minutes.
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