Banana Butterscotch

I have been looking for a way to combine these two flavors for a long time. The cookies themselves are not overly sweet, which is a perfect match for the butterscotch chips.

Ingredients
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp tub margarine
1 banana, mashed
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butterscotch chips


Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together brown sugar and margarine. Add banana and egg. Mix well. Add in flour and baking powder and mix. Stir in butterscotch chips.
Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto a cookie sheet, and bake for 12-14 minutes until light brown.
Remove cookies from the pan and cool on a rack.
Yields 18 cookies.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip 2

This cookie is a more cakey version of my original oatmeal chocolate chip and is great for people who like a little bit of chewiness from oats but do not want it to overwhelm the cookie. If you do like your cookies more hearty, it's easy to add more oats to this recipe (no need to subtract flour if adding only 1/4-1/2 cup more oats). I didn't want too much chocolate, which is why I went with the mini chocolate chips to provide a good oat/chocolate/cookie ratio.

 

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/8 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Set aside. Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Gradually beat in flour/oat mixture. Stir in mini chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. 

Yields 18 cookies.

Sweet Red Peach

I feel lucky to have found this little hidden bakery in Inglewood that specializes in Southern dessert favorites. Among other treats, I was able to try their chocolate chip cookie. It was very tasty with the right amount of chocolate chips- also buttery and soft. I would not make a visit to Sweet Red Peach for just the cookies, but if I'm heading there for a cake or cupcake, I will not leave without a couple of cookies. 

They were short on cookies by the time I was there, so I would recommend ordering in advance. Hours of operation are also limited, so call to confirm them. Cookies are 75 cents each. Most cupcakes are $2.50. You probably would agree that a friendly face behind the counter really makes a difference. The two people working the day I visited were so helpful and seemed genuinely happy to answer my questions and tell me all about Sweet Red Peach's desserts. Am I wrong to be so excited by good desserts and excellent customer service?  

Sweet Red Peach is located at 214 East Nutwood in Inglewood. Visit their website at www.sweetredpeach.com.

Rice Krispies Cookies

Since trying Heaven's Cookie, earlier this year I have been trying to find a way to incorporate crisp rice cereal into my cookies. I am still not there yet, but this recipe is getting closer. This recipe produces a very chewy cookie with crispy bursts from the cereal. Do you have a cookie recipe with Rice Krispies? If so, please share! :)

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup margarine 

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
3/4 cup oats
3/4 cup Rice Krispies

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter and sugars. Mix in eggs, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Then add remaining dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Place heaping teaspoons full on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until golden brown around edges.

Yields 18 cookies.

Chocolate Surprise Cookie Cups

These bite-sized treats were hard to resist. Soft and cakey with an oozing glob of chocolate in the center, it was very easy to eat all 12 of these cookie cups over the day. (I ate healthy the rest of the day, so it was OK!)

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour (plus about 2 Tbsp)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/8 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg

4 ounces chocolate

2 tablespoons of heavy cream

Instructions

In the microwave, melt together chocolate and heavy cream. Stir to combine. Refrigerate mixture for 1 hour until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add the egg and beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture.

Spoon a small amount of dough into mini muffin cups. Then put a teaspoon of the chocolate mixture on top. Cover with another small amount of dough.

Bake for 20 minutes until cookie cups turn golden brown and start to separate from the pan.

Yields 12 cookie cups.

Seaport Cookie Company

I never know how cookies are going to be in super touristy spots. You can count on them being expensive, but that's about it. The cookies at Seaport Cookie Company in Seaport Village in San Diego are a little pricey ($1.50 each, or 4 for $3.99 for a thin, average sized cookie), but they were actually really good.

Of the several varieties available (chocolate chip, chocolate chip with nuts, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin), I tried the M&M cookie and the double fudge cookie. One of my favorite things about M&M cookies is the chocolate punch the M&Ms provide. This cookie was made with mini M&Ms- still good, but not enough chocolate. The cookie itself was chewy with a brown sugar flavor. On the other hand, the double fudge cookie was super chocolatey and even more chewy. With chocolate chunks, this cookie really did taste like fudge. It wasn't just a chocolate cookie made with cocoa powder. I would go back just for these!

Seaport Cookie Company is located at Seaport Village in San Diego and may be reached at 619-231-8787.

S'mores Cookies

I don't know how many of you have been watching the new Food Network show Tough Cookies, but as you would imagine, I am a devoted fan! In a recent episode, Crazy Susan made some delicious looking s'mores cookies. I made my own version below. Enjoy! Let me know if you watch the show and what you think...

Ingredients
1 stick cold, unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2  teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup crushed graham crackers
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
48 miniature marshmallows for topping


Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add egg and beat  until well incorporated.
Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Stir in graham cracker crumbs. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
Spoon dough onto baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove baking sheets from the oven and immediately lightly press four miniature marshmallows in the center of each cookie.
Yields 12 servings.

Scottish Shortbread

Coming back from Hawaii and all of the shortbread I ate, I was excited to try this shortbread recipe from Baking Bites. Of all of the shortbread recipes I have ever made, this was definitely the easiest. It produced a delicious, buttery, and crumbly cookie, too. 

The cookies were very thick, so next time I will cut the recipe in half to make a thinner cookie. Maybe I'll even dip them in chocolate! For the full batch, my baking time was closer to 40 minutes.

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (pref. European-style), chilled

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt. Pulse a few times to blend.
Cut butter into large chunks and add to food processor. Whiz for about 1 minute, until dough has a very sandy and starts to clump together. Pour into a 9-inch square pan and spread into an even layer. Use a flat-bottomed glass to press down the dough firmly, creating as smooth a surface as possible.
Score dough lightly with a knife, marking 4 rows by 8 rows of shortbread pieces. Dock the dough with a fork, if desired.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until shortbread is lightly browned all over.
While the shortbread is still hot, use a sharp knife to cut shortbread all the way through along the lines you scored prior to baking. Allow shortbread to cool completely once it has been cut.
When cool, shortbread pieces should break apart very easily. Store in an airtight container.

Yields 32 servings.

Honolulu Cookie Company

 Shortbread, shortbread, and more shortbread! Honolulu Cookie Company was my final stop in my cookie quest. They have several stores throughout Hawaii, and each one has samples of nearly every variety of cookie available! Yum!

The chocolate dipped varieties were my favorites. The white chocolate coconut and dark chocolate coconut were especially delicious. The pineapple, mango, and lilikoi mango flavors were not very strong but did taste a bit artificial. Be warned the Kona coffee flavor is very strong. If chocolate is what you crave, the dark triple chocolate mac cookie will satisfy. The cookies themselves were very buttery and crispy. Their pineapple shape makes them a great gift, too!

You can buy five individual cookeis for $3.59. I purchased a sampler box (in a really cute pineapple box) with all 15 varieties for $14.95. For ordering information and store locations, visit http://www.honolulucookie.com/.