Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Buttercream Frosting

College football begins today. I'm headed to a BBQ at my friend Liz's and her husband is a huge Oregon Ducks fan. Although I'm not a Ducks fan, I am a fan of Liz, her new baby Jameson, and BBQ. Therefore, it should be a great time!

I wanted to make some treats to bring for the party and had a great idea to make them green and yellow, the Ducks colors. They came out so cute! I'm so excited to show up to the party with them!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from www.kevinandamanda.com

Ingredients

For the cookies:

2 sticks softened butter

3/4 white sugar

3/4 brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 c rolled oats

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 c chocolate chips

For the frosting:

2 sticks butter, softened

4 c powdered sugar (maybe more to stiffen your frosting)

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp milk or heavy cream

Food coloring of your choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray (or regular sized muffin tins, if you wish).

In a mixer, cream the butter and sugars together. When light and fluffy, add the eggs and vanilla until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and oats. With the mixer on, add the dry ingredients in several batches. When combined, add the chocolate chips and mix by hand.

Spoon the cookie mixture into the muffin tins, about 1- 1 1/2 tsp a piece. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until you feel like they're done. While still hot, run a knife along the edge to loosen them. Let cool completely before icing them. To make a well in the center of the cookie for frosting, use the back of a spoon and press into the middle of the hot cookie.

To make the icing, in a mixer, combine all ingredients. You may need to use more powdered sugar to get a stiff icing for piping. If you want to pipe your frosting, put a sandwich bag in a glass measuring cup. Fold the edges of the plastic bag down around the cup so you've got sturdy grip on the glass. Spoon your frosting in, remove from glass, and push towards one of the bottom corners. With kitchen scissors, snip off an end and there you go! Pipe away!

Blueberry Brown Sugar Cookies

I've got a small obsession with blueberries lately! Mostly, I eat them by the handful, but I decided to bake with them and take them to my Aunt and Uncle's as a gift for watching Dixie Lou. I stole a couple before I wrapped them up and they were good!

Blueberry Brown Sugar Cookies

Adapted from TastyKitchen.com

Ingredients

1 stick butter, at room temperature

3/4 c brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 c flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp milk, more if needed

3/4 c fresh blueberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer, until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing well until combined, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon with the mixer on low speed. Mix until dough comes together. Add in milk. If dough is still crumbly, add milk 1 tbsp at a time until it comes together. Fold in the blueberries gently with a spatula. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove dough from fridge and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls or scoop with an ice cream scooper. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies

Yes, you read that correctly. And they're rad. Just let go and make these. It won't hurt, I promise.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies

Adapted from The Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

1 1/4 c all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of chipotle powder

1/4 tsp salt

5 strips bacon

4 tbsp butter, at room temp

1/2 c creamy peanut butter

1/2 c granulated sugar

1/2 c brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c roughly chopped peanuts

1/2 c chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, chile powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate; reserve 2 tbsp of the drippings and set aside to cool. Crumble the bacon, discarding any chewy bits.

Beat the butter and reserved bacon drippings in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in the peanut butter until combined. Beat in the 2 sugars until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.

Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture in 2 additions, scraping down the bowl as needed. Stir in the peanuts and all but 2 tbsp of the chocolate chips and bacon.

Form dough into 12 balls and arrange 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Flatten with your fingers (the cookies will not spread when baked), press the reserved bacon and chocolate chips on the tops of the cookies. Bake until golden, about 12-14 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

'Punkin' Cookies

Hi All! I'm back from a little hiatus. I had surgery in May and slacked on the blog while recuperating. However, I'm back and have some delicious things for you to try!

These "Punkin" cookies are so easy and really good. Plus, the recipe makes a lot!

Punkin Cookies

Adapted from somewhere...

Ingredients

2 c all purpose flour (you could sub 1 c whole wheat flour for those healthy folks)

1 1/3 c quick cooking oats

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 c brown sugar, packed

1 c granulated sugar

1 c pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 c chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay down parchment paper on your baking sheets.

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and both sugars in a large mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla; mix well. Add flour mixture, mix well. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto your prepared sheets. *To make sure my cookies are all the same size, I use a small ice cream scoop*

Bake for 14-16 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned and set in centers. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Simple Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

I was craving a cookie, but didn't want to put much effort in. I found these on a great blog that I follow called MyBakingAddiction. You should definitely check it out!

Simple Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Adapted from MyBakingAddiction.com

Ingredients

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix

2 eggs

1/3 c vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 c powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat mat.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, set the powdered sugar. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop mounds of the cookie dough and roll into balls in your hands. The dough will be sticky. Roll the balls in the powdered sugar and place 2 inches apart on your baking sheet.

Bake for 7-9 minutes, the middles will appear slightly undercooked but don't worry. Let set 5 minutes before serving and they'll be the perfect texture. Serve with milk as these are chocolate-y!

World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I mean, of course my chocolate chip cookies are World's Best. Like I'd say second best to someone else's... Psshhh! I got this recipe from the mother of a good friend of mine and haven't made another chocolate chip recipe since. It's the only one you'll ever need. I made them to take to work to thank one of my preceptors and I hope she'll enjoy them!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Katherine Blaisdell

Ingredients

1 c butter, softened

1/4 c sugar

3/4 c brown sugar, packed

1 3-1/2 oz package butterscotch instant pudding mix (in the Jell-o aisle)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 c flour

2 c chocolate chips

Directions

Beat butter and sugars together until creamed. Add eggs, pudding mix, vanilla, and baking soda. Once just combined, add flour and chocolate chips.

Place heaping tsp 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. (I used a small ice cream scoop to make sure all the cookies were uniform in size as well as using parchment paper).

Bake for 9 minutes at 375 degrees.

Sugar Cookies (for Madison's Puppy Party)

Madison is having her 3rd birthday party on Saturday and it is puppy themed! She chose the theme and the menu (pizza, pineapple and cake). My sister thought it'd be fun to have all the kids decorate puppy cookies, so I found a dog bone shape cookie cutter and made 51 (50 after I ate one) cookies for all the kiddies!! It's going to be so cute!!!

This is a really delicious sugar cookie recipe. I normally avoid sugar cookies at all costs because it's so labor intensive to refrigerate and roll out, etc. My one tip is to constantly move the dough when you're rolling it out and use lots of flour to keep it from sticking!

Sugar Cookies

Adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients

3 c all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 c unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)

1 c sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp milk

Powdered sugar or extra flour for rolling out the dough

Directions

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in a large bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and continue to beat on low speed. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until it pulls away from the edges of the bowl and just comes into a dough. Pour out onto a floured board. Gather into a disc shape and divide in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Generously sprinkle the surface you'll roll the dough out onto with flour or powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time. It's very important that the dough stay cold! Sprinkle the rolling pin with flour or powdered sugar and roll out dough into 1/4 inch thick. While you are rolling out the dough, constantly be turning the dough in different directions or flipping it over. If the dough has warmed during this process, put it back in the fridge.

Cut rolled out dough into desired shape, place at least 1 inch apart on a greased cookie sheet or a sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 7 to 9 minutes until cookies just begin to brown on edges, rotate the cookie sheet halfway through cooking. Let sit for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Serve as is or ice as desired. Will keep in plastic storage for 1 week.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these cookies as gift mixes for baby shower gifts for my sister's baby shower. They were the perfect cookie for my sister because she loves coffee and chocolate. They are really delicious and the instant coffee really brings out the chocolate flavor, rather than tasting like coffee.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Gifts from the Cookie Jar Cookbook

Ingredients

3/4 c dark brown sugar

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c cocoa

2 tbsp instant coffee

1 3/4 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 c butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put all dry ingredients into a bowl. Add butter, egg and vanilla. Beat or mix until combined.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Jesseca's Coconut Macaroons

This is probably the recipe I'm asked for the most and it was given to me by my dear friend, Jesseca. Everyone, including myself, cannot believe how easy these are and incredibly fancy!

Jesseca's Coconut Macaroons
Adapted from Jesseca Keefe

Ingredients

14 oz shredded sweetened coconut
3/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
4 large egg whites
Parchment paper

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine coconut, sugar, salt and vanilla. Stir into beaten egg whites. Drop by mounds (about 2 tbsp) onto a baking sheet. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until edges brown.

*For a twist, substitute 1 c sliced almonds and 1 tsp grated lemon zest for vanilla. Also, drizzle with melted chocolate for a fancy touch*