CHOCOLATE MINT COOKIES

This is the original version--larger cookies, mints melted on top and then spread as a glaze.This is the latest version. Smaller cookies with a Jr. Mint pressed in the middle as soon as they were taken out of the oven. This way is much easier. CHOCOLATE MINT CANDY COOKIES (I tried to find where I got this recipe but it's on all kinds of sites on the Internet--It is a keeper.)
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 (4.5 ounce) packages chocolate covered thin mints--OR Jr. Mints

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, butter and water, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from heat, stir in the chocolate chips until melted and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl, and beat in the eggs, one at a time. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Grease cookie sheets. Roll cookie dough into walnut sized balls (half this size if using a Jr. Mint in the center) and place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, be careful not to over bake--I baked the smaller ones for 7 minutes.

When cookies come out of the oven, Press one mint wafer into the top of each cookie and let sit for 1 minute. When the mint is softened, swirl with the back of a spoon or toothpick to make a pattern with the green filling of the mint wafer. For smaller cookies, break mints in half.

I used three Jr. Mints for each cookie but they didn't melt, so the cookies, with the Jr. Mints on top, had to go back in the oven for two minutes and then I used a knife to spread them. Four Jr. Mints would have been better. For the smaller cookies I just put one Jr. Mint in the top and didn't bother it at all. Just let it cool. Another option would be to spread when cool with chocolate frosting with a bit of mint stirred in.

These really are delicious.

GINGER COOKIES

This is a most unusual recipe. The cookies are delicious but leave you wondering, "What on EARTH is that taste I can't identify." It's a mystery ingredient and the first time I read the recipe I thought, "There is no way I am making those." But the second year they showed up at my door for Christmas--and I hid them so no one else would know they were there--I decided maybe the mystery ingredient was okay. So today I made them for Valentine's Day and delivered them to the sisters I visit teach. Not a heart shaped cookie for my friends but an interesting one. I'd probably rather be interesting than traditional. Well, it depends, I guess but today I went for interesting.

GINGER COOKIES—Tamalin Christen*

¼ cup strained bacon fat--this is the mystery ingredient
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
¼ cup dark molasses
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Cream fat and butter with sugar. Beat in molasses and egg. Add dry ingredients and combine. Shape dough into walnut-size balls, roll in sugar and bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 10-12 minutes until cookies are golden and cracked on top. Cook on wire racks. Store in airtight container.

*Tamalin is a caterer who makes divine food. She helped cater Lord Bumhampton and Nurse Giggleswith's wedding reception. The food was beautiful and delicious.

CHOCOLATE CHIP--TOFFEE BITS--OATMEAL COOKIES—Paula, Joe Allman’s (my old watercolor teacher) Aunt

This cookie is fabulous. I promise. My watercolor teacher, Joe Allman's aunt made it up. I once took some to a fabulously talented older man--our neighborhood/ward is ripe with fabulously talented people--no where else on earth like it--anyway, he said, "You know Lynne, since I've become a widow, I've had a lot of cookies brought to me but I can honestly say these are the best." Of course, I think he was hoping for more cookies and he will get some this weekend.


REGULAR------------------DOUBLED

1 cup butter—--------------2 cups (1 pound)
1 cup sugar—---------------2 cups
1 cup brown sugar—-------2 cups
2 eggs—---------------------4 eggs
½ tsp. Rum extract--------1 tsp.

Mix well, add:

2 cups flour—---------------4 cups
1 tsp. soda—-----------------2 tsp
½ tsp. baking powder ----1 tsp
½ tsp. salt—-----------------1 tsp.
2¼ cups oatmeal—---------4½ c.

Mix well, add:
½ pkg. (12 oz.) chocolate chips—---- 1 pkg.
½ pkg. (10 oz.) Skor toffee chips—---1 pkg.

Bake 350° for 14 minutes.

Note: I use the regular, long cooking oats. When I was at Soap Queen's house the other day we couldn't find her oats so we used a mix of about five different kinds of oats plus some flax seeds and the cookies were just as fabulous. We live in at high altitude so I don't know how that will effect your baking time.

Note II: When Joe told us he was going to move to Cashe Valley and could no longer be our watercolor teacher I cried. I was the only one in our class who did so and I was embarrassed. I thought if I stayed with him another two years I could be good enough to sell. I have hardly painted since he left. I guess I blog instead. I want to get back to it and maybe--if my life ever calms down enough so that I'm not on a high run--I will.

Try these cookies. You won't be sorry.

RUSSIAN TEACAKES

Roll the dough into small balls.

Bake them.Dust them with powdered sugar.Do it again.Store them in tins.

Russian Teacakes are also called Crescents (shaped like a new moon), Mexican Wedding Cookies, Snowballs, and, the very creative name (which Gilmore Girl and I prefer), Little White Cookies.

1 cup butter (to make these vegan use 2/3 cup oil)

½ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

1½ cups flour

1 tsp. cornstarch
¼ tsp. salt
¾ to 1 cups finely chopped almonds--you can use walnuts but once you taste them with almonds you'll never use walnuts again

Additional powdered sugar

Mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together well. Add dry ingredients and nuts . Shape dough into tiny balls. Chill. Place 1 inch apart on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until brown on the bottom, about 18-24 minutes--my oven takes about 21-22 minutes. Dust cookies once with powdered sugar while warm, then again after they've cooled. Makes about 4 dozen.

Note: I make the cookies into dough balls and keep them in the cold garage until needed to bake.

Store in a Christmas tin in the garage where it is cold. Sneak into the garage and eat a cookie when "the craving" strikes. Remember to brush off the tale tale powdered sugar that drops off the cookie onto your shirt.

THE PIONEER WOMAN'S FAVORITE CHRISTMAS COOKIE

Here's Pioneer Woman's Favorite Christmas Cookie. She has pictures. Her site is very fun. If you haven't been there you are in for a treat. My only caution is don't make that much white decorator icing. That will ice a truckload of cookies.

Pioneer Woman’s Favorite Christmas Cookies From Childhood and Beyond

2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange or lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
4 teaspoons milk
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream shortening, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla thoroughly. Add in egg and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the milk and mix.

Sift dry ingredients together, then blend into cream mixture. Divide dough in half (thirds if you double the recipe), slightly flatten between two sheets of waxed paper, then refrigerate for one hour (or freeze for 20 minutes.)

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Transfer shapes to lightly greased cookie sheet and paint cookies with soft brushes with egg yolk glaze:

Egg Yolk Glaze
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon water
2 to 3 drops food coloring

Bake at 375-degrees for approximately 6 minutes. Do not allow to become brown.
Remove cookies from oven, remove cookies to wire rack to cool. Then, using a pastry bag or Ziploc, pipe with white icing to decorate.

White Decorative Icing
1 2-pound bag powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons egg white (optional)*

Mix together, ensuring the icing is much thicker than Pioneer Woman’s icing was that day. Icing should be thick and somewhat retain its shape.

Enjoy!

BEST TOFFEE BARS--Susan Preator--a friend of Lynne's

Susan brought these to our Enrichment. Another woman held on to Susan's glass footed cake plate because she wanted that recipe and wasn't taking the chance that whomever owned it would claim it without the first woman knowing. It was pretty funny, Susan may have thought her cake plate had walked off but then, all was well, and she was flattered.

Cream together in a bowl:
1 cup butter (soften but don’t melt)
1 cup brown sugar
Add:
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla
Stir together until “fluffy”

Add:
2 cups flour
¼ tsp. salt
Mix well

Spray 9x13 cake pan. Spread dough on bottom, lightly with fingers, to within ½ to 1 inch of edge of pan.

Bake at 350º for 20 to 25 minutes until lightly brown and soft (don’t over bake)
Remove from oven and cover top with milk chocolate chips (doesn’t take quite all of one 12 oz. bag)

Let melt for a few minutes then spread with a knife over all the top. While still melted, sprinkle top with chopped pecans. Let cool. Enjoy.

HELLO DOLLIES or MAGIC COOKIE BARS

Everyone has this recipe!

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1-1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1-1/3 cups Coconut
1 cup Chocolate chips
1 cup chopped Pecans
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

Mix butter and graham cracker crumbs in medium bowl. Press onto bottom of greased foil-lined 13x9-inch baking pan.Sprinkle with coconut, chocolate chunks and nuts. Pour condensed milk over top.Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Lift foil out when cool and cut.

PEANUT BUTTER FINGERS--Sharee Snyder

This is a school lunch cookie recipe. Don't leave them out on the counter or you will be snitching a little piece every time you pass.

3/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. apple sauce
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. oatmeal
3/4 tsp. soda
3/4 c. peanut butter
1 can chocolate frosting

Cream oil and sugars. Add applesauce and vanilla. Add oatmeal, flour and soda; mix well. Press into lightly greased cookie sheet. ( use your fingers--sprayed w/ “Pam”)

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, just until lightly brown. Take out of oven and drop pan on cupboard (this settles the cookies) but DON'T TURN PAN OVER AND DUMP THE COOKIES OUT!

Spread top with 3/4 c. peanut butter and cool (about
1 hour). Spread with chocolate frosting.

LEMON BARS--Sharee Snyder

Sharee made a double batch of this years ago for a wedding shower. They were so good they have been in the family cookbook ever since.

Crust:
1 cake mix-lemon or chocolate (if using chocolate eliminate lemon juice. We have never tried chocolate because we love the lemon so much.)
1 egg or egg substitute--I have used EnerG egg replacer, adding a tsp. nutritional yeast to each “egg.”
1/3 cup oil

Mix cake mix, 1 egg and the oil together well. Save out one cup of mixture. Press remaining mixture into 9x13 pan; bake 350° for 15 min.

Middle layer

1 egg or replacement
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese (I have used Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese for the vegan version)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice

Cream together cream cheese, egg or egg substitute, sugar and lemon juice until smooth and light. Pour over baked crumbs.

Topping: Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over top and bake at 350° 13 more minutes.

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES--Lynne Snyder

These are really good. These have just the right amount of crunch and moistness and there are some cooling in the kitchen. Bye.

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups oats

Mix butter, oil, and sugars together. Add eggs and mix again. Mix flour, soda, cinnamon and salt together and stir into wet mixture. Add oats.

Drop by large spoonfulls on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Remove cookies to cookie rack to cool.

BREAKFAST BARS—Lynne Snyder

I really would like to give credit to whoever posted this recipe on the Internet--although I have changed it--but I can't find it. Originally they were called "Duane's Breakfast Bars." Or maybe it was Dwaine's or maybe Dwayne's. Who knows? If you know please let me know.

These bars are very satisfying without being too sweet. They keep your energy level pretty constant. I swear--not really, I try not to swear--that every day I eat these I loose weight that day.

I took some of these to the BYU Writer's and Illustrating for Young Readers symposium one year and people wanted the recipe. The next year snacks were provided and I didn't take any but should have. The snacks were mostly candy and I'm still recovering.

1 cup corn syrup or honey (I used corn syrup--I am now using honey because we finally dealt with a 5 pound container that has been in the basement for about 30 years)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened *
1/3 cup oil* , if you use olive oil they will taste faintly like olive oil at the very first but then the olive oil taste goes away.
2 Tbs. nutritional yeast (optional) I usually forget to put this in

1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds (optional)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix by hand and then add:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda

Mix again and add:

1 cup walnuts
1 cup dried cranberries. (or other nuts and dried fruit.)

Add:
4 ½ cups oats.

Lightly press into greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 325° 22-28 minutes (25 minutes in my oven), until light brown on top. Cool 10 minutes, Cut into squares, let completely cool before removing from pan.

* Can use 2/3 cup butter instead of part butter and part oil. I forget to wait ten minutes before cutting. I cut right out of the oven and then let them cool and then cut again. Store them in an airtight container. If they dry out before you get them all eaten put a short glass of warm water in the container for an hour.

Notes: Today--March 4, 2004--I added a cup, minus 2 Tbs. chia seeds, blended in a coffee grinder. I also added 1/4 cup flax seeds, I should have blended them to break their shell but I don't necessarily like the taste of flax seed flour. I know some of them will go through undigested but any that get broken while eating will be fine.

MIXED NUT BARS—Helen Cox--a friend of Lynne's

Helen brought these to a Christmas Enrichment. They are fabulous.

1½ cups flour
¾ cups packed brown sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup plus 2 Tbs. cold butter, divided
1 can (11½ ounce) mixed nuts
1 cup butterscotch chips
½ cup light corn syrup

Combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in ½ cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with nuts. In a saucepan, melt butterscotch chips over low heat. Add corn syrup and remaining butter; mix well. Pour over nuts. Bake 10 minutes. Yield 3½ dozen

OATMEAL COCONUT COOKIES—Anne Judd--a friend of Lynne's

These are so good, they look and taste like they came from a fine bakery.

1 ½ cups butter
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cps brown sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla
4 1/4 cups flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ baking soda
1 ½ tsp. salt
3 cups coconut
2 cups oatmeal

Cream together the butter, sugars and vanilla. Then add in the dry ingredients, mix well. It will be a stiff dough. Scoop out spoonfuls onto an un-greased cookie sheet. Press down lightly on each cookie. Place in a 375° oven and bake for 11 minutes. Can add chocolate chips if desired.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES WITH A KISS ON TOP—Julie McKay--a friend of Lynne's

We had a cookie demonstration for a mini class and everyone brought their favorite cookies to share. Julie's cookies were one of my favorites!

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla
4 tsp. milk
3 ¼ cup flour

Cream butter, both sugars and eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Roll into balls (I use a small cookie scoop)

Press down slightly with a fork, sprinkle sugar on top. Bake in 325° to 350° oven (I bake at 325°) for 5 to 6 minutes. Sprinkle again with sugar—press a Hershey’s Kiss (unwrapped, of course) immediately into the center of each warm cookie.