BJ's Pizookie

What more can I say about a BJ's Pizookie besides it is a deep dish pan of incredible cookie goodness! I selected the original chocolate chunk Pizookie topped with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. The cookie was soft and chewy and oozed with milk chocolate chunks. The edges cripsy and chewy.

The Pizookie is $5.95 and easily serves two (or one hungry Cookie Sleuth!). Peanut Butter, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, and Oatmeal Raisin Pizookies are also available. For your closest BJ's visit www.bjsbrewhouse.com.

Breakfast Cookies

Cookies for breakfast?!?! Yay! Low in fat and sugar, these soft and chewy breakfast cookies are a great way to start your day. You can substitute raisins for cranberries and eliminate the almonds for a more kid-friendly version. Or, use apples in place of cranberries and add a dash of cinnamon for an apple pie version. Prepare these at night, and bake in the morning for a fresh, warm breakfast treat.

Ingredients

1/4 cup brown sugar (not packed) 

2 Tbsp. margarine, softened

2 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce 

1 egg white 

1/3 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder 

3/4 cup rolled oats 

1/4 cup almonds, chopped

1/4 cup dried cranberries

  

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine brown sugar, margarine, applesauce, and egg white. Mix in flour and baking powder. Stir in rolled oats, almonds, and dried cranberries.

Completely fill greased muffin cups with batter. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Yields 6.

Coffee Almond Chip Cookies

After trying the chocolate chip cookie at The Sugar Me Bakery, I wanted to make my own coffee-flavored chocolate chip cookie. I had success adding instant coffee. The coffee flavor was very slight, so if you are looking for something stronger, add more. Strangely enough, I don't like coffee itself, but I love coffee flavored sweets. By the way, has anyone ever had coffee milk? It's the best! It is like chocolate milk except is flavored with coffee instead of chocolate. When I lived in Boston, I could find Hood's coffee milk easily, but the trend hasn't made it to California. That and Dunkin Donuts... 

Back to the cookies... I decided to throw in some chopped almonds for added texture and went with mini-chocolate chips like Sugar Me Bakery. As a variation, try mixing in some cocoa powder.

Ingredients

1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons hot water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips 

InstructionsPreheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Dissolve coffee in 2 tablespoons hot water. In a separate small mixing bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Pour coffee, vanilla, and eggs into the butter mixture; mix well. Slowly add the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and almonds. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes until light golden brown.

Yields 18 cookies.

Panera Bread

I was trying to eat healthy at Panera, but with the tempting case of treats, I just couldn't do it! Between shortbread, double chocolate, and chocolate chip, I went for the mini chocolate chippers. I am so glad that the package had 12 since they were really hard to stop eating! Each cookie was soft, chewy and buttery with lots of mini chocolate chips.

The package of 12 chippers was $4.99 package. For a large, regular sized cookie the cost was $1.69. To find your closest Panera, visit www.panerabread.com.

Coconut Macaroons

I have been working on a good coconut macaroon recipe for a long time, and this is the best I've made so far. It is also one of the easiest. Let me know what you think and if you know of another macaroon recipe I should give a try.

Ingredients

5 cup coconut, shredded
2/3 cup flour
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 egg white
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F.

Measure and mix coconut and flour in a large mixing bowl. Add in condensed milk, egg white, salt, and vanilla. Mix throughly. Drop 1/8 cup scoopfuls on to a cookie sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet immediately and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Yields 24.

Carrot Cake Cookies

This is a quick and easy way to satisfy a carrot cake craving. Plus, it's a lot less messy and easy to transport. Thank you to Anna at Cookie Madness for the inspiration.

I'm not really a raisin person, but you can definitely add some in if you like. I made half of the batch with oats added in. They really improved the texture, so I would recommend adding 1/2 cup oats at the end. It makes them more cookie-like instead of cakey. I took the easy route and used Betty Crocker cream cheese frosting instead of making my own.

Ingredients

1/4 cup margarine softened
1/4 cup Brown sugar
1/4 cup Sugar
1 egg white
3/4 cup Carrot grated
1/2 cup Chopped walnuts
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
24 tablespoons Cream cheese frosting 

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg white. Then add carrots and walnuts.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually mix the flour mixture into the carrot mixture.
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheets.
Bake 15 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely before spreading one tablespoon of cream cheese frosting on the top of each cookie.

Yields 24 cookies.

Mrs. Beasley's

Mrs. Beasley's has many options to choose from when it comes to baked goods. I selected three of their cookies (peanut butter, M&M, and chocolate chip).

The peanut butter cookie was very chewy. The addition of peanut butter chips made this a true delight for peanut butter lovers. I was disappointed with the M&M cookie. The cookie itself was not very flavorful, though it was chewy. There were not nearly enough M&Ms. The chocolate chip cookie was more cakey than the others, and fortunately, it had a sufficient number of chocolate chips.

If I'm in the area and have a peanut butter craving, I will go back. Otherwise, I won't be wasting my time or money. 

Each regular-sized cookie is $1.00. Packages of 6 are $5.50. Mini cookies are also available. At the location near South Coast Plaza, the store validates for up to one hour of parking. Visit www.mrsbeasleys.com for more information. 

Applesauce Cookies

These are light, airy cookies that are very muffin-like. I used butter flavored Crisco shortening. I was surprised how strong the applesauce flavor is. These would be great for kids (or BIG kids like me). 

Ingredients

1/4 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg white

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix shortening, sugar, and egg white until combined. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda. Gradually mix flour mixture into the shortening mixture. Next add applesauce and combine. Stir in walnuts and white chocolate chips.

Drop tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets.

Bake for 12 minutes until lightly browned.
Yields 18 cookies.

Divine Desserts, Etc

When I saw Divine Desserts, Etc's chocolate chip cookies, I was sure they would make it to my Top 10 List. Unfortunately, they do not. The cookie was a little too cakey for my taste, which I understand since their focus is cupcakes. There were sufficient chocolate chips, however, the body of the cookie had little flavor. Stick with cupcakes if you're going to visit. Each cookie is $1.50. Oatmeal raisin is also available on some days.

Divine Desserts, Etc. is located at 27261 La Paz Road in Laguna Niguel. It's in a large shopping center near a Henry's grocery store. Visit  for more information http://www.divinedessertsetc.com/.