Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

I love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but I have never tried making chocolate oatmeal cookies. This recipe came together easily and had the great chew of an oatmeal cookie and a nice chocolate flavor, but it was missing some crunch. Next time I make this, I will add some mini chocolate chips for added texture and more of a chocolate flavor.

Ingredients
1/2 cup margarine, softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1  egg
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Beat margarine and sugars until light and fluffy. Blend in egg
In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and oats.Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar, and mix until just combined.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 11 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool for 1-2 minutes on the pan and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yields 2 dozen cookies

Cinnamon Productions & Chick-fil-a

In December someone at work brought in a delicious coffee cake from Cinnamon Productions. It was amazing! I finally made it to one of their locations for breakfast last weekend. I knew they had a bakery, but I was surprised to find a selection of cookies. Since they were just $1 each, I tried three: chocolate cloud, chocolate chip, and oatmeal chocolate chip. I passed on oatmeal raisin, molasses, and chocolate chip pecan. The cookies were of average size of average as far as flavor. All three cookies were chewy, and both the chocolate chip and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies had plenty of chocolate chips. The chocolate cloud didn't have the rich chocolate taste I was expecting. For just a buck a cookie I would be willing to try the other kinds, but I think I will just fill up on their coffee cake and cinnamon rolls.

Now I have another reason to love Chick-fil-a. The cookies are delicious! The chocolate chunk cookie was full of chocolate and had some oats mixed in. Chewy and soft, the cookie did fall apart while I was eating it. Individual cookies are warm, but you can buy a half dozen of cooled cookies. I will be getting them every time now! 

Cookie Butter Cookies

I finally got around to using the Cookie Butter I bought at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago. I purposefully kept it sealed until I was ready to use it since I knew I could eat it just like peanut butter from the jar. These mild cookies are soft and chewy, but next time I will replace some of the butter with cookie butter to have more of that flavor come through the cookie.

Ingredients
1/2 cup of Butter
1/2 cup of cookie butter
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1/4 cup of white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of baking soda
1 3/4 cups of flour

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a small bowl, stir together the salt, baking soda, and flour. Set aside.
Mix the butter and cookie butter until smooth. Add in sugars. Then stir in the egg.
Gradually add in the flour mixture.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
Let sit on cookie sheet to cool for 5 minutes. Then move to cooling rack to cool completely.
Yields 3 Dozen

Toffee Pecan Cookies

I bought a package of Heath toffee bits back in December and didn't get around to making anything with them until this weekend. I should not have waited so long! These sweet, chewy cookies get a nice crunch from the pecan pieces. To me they tasted better the next day. I still have more than half a bag of toffee pieces and can't wait to use them! Do you have a favorite recipe with toffee?

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
4 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup toffee pieces
1 cup pecans, chopped

Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and shortening. Add in the sugars and mix until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla.
Gradually add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Add in the toffee pieces and chopped pecans. Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Drop tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets and bake for 12 minutes until light golden brown. Cool completely.
Yields 3 dozen cookies.

Giant Super Chip Cookie

Happy Valentine's Day! This giant crumbly cookie full of white, dark, and semi-sweet chocolate chips is perfect for sharing with your sweetie.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Cream together the shortening and brown sugar. Add in egg and vanilla.
Gradually mix in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. 
Divide the mixture in half and press into two 9-inch cake pans.
Bake for 18 minute until golden brown.
Yields two 9-inch cookies.

Lemonade at MOCA and Grocery Store Finds

A few weekends ago we made a trip to the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown LA. This artwork was a little over my head, so the highlight of the visit was a trip to their cafe, Lemonade. Shockingly I wasn't feeling like chocolate, so I tried a giant salted caramel macaroon (really the biggest macaroon I have ever seen) and a white chocolate cranberry cookie (also a good sized cookie. The $4 macaroon melted in my mouth and had a good ratio of filling to cookie. Lucky for me, Mr. Sleuth didn't like the macaroon (thought the salt was too much, which I agree on some bites it was), so I ate the whole thing! Regular cookies are $2 (chocolate chunk and and oatmeal raisin cookie were also available on the day I went). The white chocolate cranberry cookie was not too sweet and had lots of cranberries that weren't too tart. Luckily Lemonade is right outside of the museum and has a number of locations throughout LA. Visit their website for their locations and menu: www.lemonadela.com.


Walker's Shortbread ($2.50 for 9 dogs)- I remember some airlines used to give a choice between peanuts and Walker's Shortbread cookies. Guess what I always picked... These shortbread Scottie dog shaped cookies are so cute and have the classic buttery shortbread taste and slightly crumbly texture.

Whole Foods Brown Sugar Cookies ($2.99 for 16 cookies)- Normally I'm a fan of Whole Foods branded products, but these crunchy cookies had a slight burnt flavor due to the brown sugar around the side.

Brown Sugar Cookies

Valentine's Day is just a week away! Do you have any fun plans? We will likely stay in (dining out on Valentine's Day is crazy busy!) and find a chocolatey treat to enjoy. I made these heart-shaped cookies (adapted from Woman's Day) and dipped them in chocolate to celebrate a little early.

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the granulated and brown sugars. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Shape the dough into 4 balls and roll each to 1/8 inch thick. Chill until firm (about 30 minutes).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut out cookies with cookie cutters. Place on the prepared sheets. Reroll and cut out the scraps. Bake until the cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

For chocolate dipping, melt chocolate and dip half of the cookie into the chocolate and allow it to set on a wire rack.
Yields 3 dozen

Nestle Cookie Brownie Delight

This past weekend I needed something easy to bake. I was worn out from a long week, but I still wanted the sweet taste of a homemade treat. Nestle's Cookie Brownie Delight was just what I needed. The box makes an 8x8 pan of brownie-chocolate chip cookie goodness. To the dry mixes I added melted butter and egg. The cookie portion was a little underdone, but the brownie portion was a little dry. For a $5.99 price tag, I had hoped for something a little better. It also required a lot more time than regular box mixes. Next time I will stick with box brownie mix if I want something fast and dependable.

I do like the idea of the cookie brownie combo, so if you are in the mood and want to make your own, try a combination of this brownie recipe and 1/2 of this chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Do you have a favorite cookie/brownie mix?