S'mores bars

I made these last time we went camping, and they were gone in no time!  So much better than a real S'more, AND you don't have to smell like a campfire :)

CRUST:

• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs 

 DOUGH:

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2/3 cup salted butter (softened)
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini marshmallows 

 Place on top of dough before baking:

• 2 Milk Chocolate Candy Bars (broken into pieces)
• 1 Graham Cracker (broken into pieces)
• 1/2 cup marshmallows

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine melted butter and graham cracker crumbs into a small bowl with a fork. Then line a 13x9 with foil and press down crust. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add in eggs and vanilla and stir until combined. In another bowl, mix the baking powder and salt with 1 cup of flour. Pour into the butter mixture and stir in the rest of the flour. Fold in chocolate chips and marshmallows.
4. Press dough into pan with a spatula flour on your hands. The dough goes right on top of the crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Oven temps will vary. Test with a tooth pick. The dough should be soft in the center.
5. Allow bars to cool then cut and enjoy!

 The crust

 

 The cake part

 Before it went in the oven

When it came out the oven

Single Serving Cookie

 

I have to admit I am ADDICTED to these cookies...  It took a few times of me making them to figure out the correct time for my microwave, so keep that in mind if it doesn't turn out quite right the first couple of times.

 

 

1 tbsp. butter, melted

1 tbsp. white sugar

1 tbsp. brown sugar

3 drops of vanilla

pinch of salt

1 egg yolk

1/4 c. flour

2 tbsp. chocolate chips

In a bowl, mix together the butter, sugars, vanilla, and egg yolk.

Add in the flour and salt. Mix until combined. Add in the chocolate chips.

Put the dough into a small microwaveable bowl, ramekin, or coffee cup.

Microwave for 40-60 seconds or until the cookie looks done.  I find that in my microwave I need to do 60 seconds and I let it sit for about 2 minutes to cool and continue to cook.  And of course it is best with a tall glass of milk… Enjoy!

 

Weight Watchers Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Don't let the name fool you, this recipe is amazing.
 If you have ever had Harmon's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, it tastes just like it.

Ingredients:
1 box of spice cake mix
1 small can of pumpkin
1/2 bag of mini chocolate chips (recipe calls for a whole bag, but I do not prefer that many)

Mix all ingredients together and place on greased cookie sheet.  If you are wanting to keep to Weight Watchers*, spoon tablespoon sized cookies on sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees at 18-20 minutes.

*Should yield 45-50 cookies if following Weight Watchers tablespoon method.  They are 2 Points Plus each. (This includes the whole bag of chocolate chips and a large can of pumpkin.  So if you use less chips and pumpkin, like I did, I would assume it would be less points, but I don't know how many.  I would just stick with 2 points each to be safe.)

Sugar Cookies with Sour Cream Frosting

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 C. Butter

2 C. Sugar

4 Eggs

2 tsp. Vanilla

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Salt

5 C. Flour

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. Add and mix dry ingredients. Flour countertop (you may have to mix a little flour into the dough) and roll out with a rolling pin to1/4 inch - NO THINNER. Cut with cookie cutters and bake 8-10 minutes @ 375. DO NOT BROWN - cook for 10 minutes at the longest.



Sour Cream Frosting

1 C. Butter

3 C. Powdered Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

2-3 Tbsp. Sour Cream

Beat all together until smooth. Spread on cooled cookies.

Greek Cookies

This is my husbands FAVORITE holiday cookie, or cookie ever. They are super yummy, especially with a tall glass of cold milk!

1/2 lb of butter
1/2 lb margarine
1/2 c powder sugar
1 beaten egg

Cream all ingredients together then add:

4 1/2 c flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 c walnuts, chopped finely

Roll dough into mini football shapes and place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake on 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top. The cookie should be brittle and a little hard when touched.

Let cookies cool and roll into powder sugar.

Gingerbread Cookies for the Holidays

Directions

A note about good cookie baking: Halfway through, I always rotate the tray in the oven so the cookies bake evenly on all sides. This recipe is no exception.

Ingredients

The foundation:

• 1 1/2 sticks lightly salted butter, softened
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 orange, zested

The dry ingredients:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup additional for rolling, if needed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground dry ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

The wet ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup dark molasses
• 1 lemon, juiced

Easy Orange Frosting, recipe follows

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, add the butter, sugar and orange zest and beat until smooth, 5 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, dry ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Whisk to blend. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, molasses and lemon juice.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the butter and sugar are integrated, lower the speed of the mixer and add the dry ingredients. Add the egg mixture and when blended, remove the bowl from the machine. Divide the cookie dough in half. Press the first half of the dough in between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes. Repeat with the second half. This step will make it easier to finish rolling out the dough when it has chilled. It will also mean you only have half of the dough getting warm as you roll it.

Lightly flour a flat surface. Use a floured rolling pin to gently roll the first half of the dough about 1/2-inch thick. Lightly flour the cookie cutter(s) and cut the shapes, making as few scraps as possible. Use a metal spatula to gently transfer them, cookie by cookie, (the cookies should be similar size) to a baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough and transfer them to another baking sheet. A note about crowding the tray(s): these particular cookies can spread a little. Leave room between the cookies. Better to use 3 baking sheets with fewer cookies than to crowd them on 2 trays. Bake until brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes.

Got scraps? Form the scraps into a ball, press it flat and chill in the refrigerator. These cookies may be a little more "tough" because the dough will have been worked a little more than the others.

Why not have a little frosting on your gingerbread?

Easy Orange Frosting:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon orange liqueur
• 1/4 teaspoon light corn syrup

In a medium bowl add all of the ingredients and whisk together to combine. If too thick in consistency, add a touch more orange juice or water to thin out.

Use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip to pipe the frosting between 2 of the gingerbread cookies. Press the 2 cookies halves gently together.

The Variation:

I love springerle, the German anise-flavored cookies, for the delicate molds (and carved rolling pins) used to make them. I have made this recipe with springerle molds with stunning results. The kind of cookies that make people marvel at how great they look before they eat a half a plate of them! Simply dust the decorative molds (or rolling pin) with flour, shaking lightly to remove any excess. Roll the dough very thin (between 1/2 and 1/4-inch thick). Press or roll the dough into the molds and trace the shapes with a sharp knife to extract the cookies. Arrange them on a greased baking sheet (with some space between them) and bake for 6 to 8 minutes. Not using molds? Scoop the batter in teaspoons and roll them into balls. Press the balls onto a greased baking sheet or press with the tines of a fork to make ridges. Bake until brown around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes.

These cookies are so beautiful, they can stand alone. Or...make gingerbread sandwiches using the above frosting as the filling...

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies (SO YUMMY)

Ingredients

1 C butter

2 C sugar

3 eggs

1 C sour cream

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla

4 C flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix butter and sugar, cream for 2 minutes. Add eggs, sour cream, soda and vanilla. Add flour one cup at a time; use as little as possible. If rolling out and making shapes, use enough flour to roll out on board. Cookie may be decorated before baking if colored sugars or whenever they come out the oven. I sprinkled mine with colored sugars before I put in oven. Bake until lightly golden brown on edges, my oven was 12 minutes but they do vary.

Sugar Cookies

I made these for work the other day and everyone loved them. They are super easy and very tasty!

2 3/4 C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 C butter, softened

1 1/2 C sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. In small bowl sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder, set aside.

In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium high for 2 minutes. Add sugar slowly and beat until well mixed, another 2 minutes- scrapping bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in as much flour mixture as possible and stir in remaining mixture if cannot beat all at once.

Roll dough on lightly floured surface; cut out shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown. I prefer to have mine slightly under done to ensure chewiness.

Rebecca's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rebecca made these one day and I about fell out my chair when I bit into it. They are super moist and melt in your mouth!

1 1/3 C shorting

1 C sugar

1 C brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Chocolate chips

Preheat oven at 375. Combine shorting, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Add eggs and beat until well mixed. Add flour, soda, and salt and mix well. Once mixed add desired chocolate chips.

Bake 8-10 minutes.

Mynde's Cake Chocolate Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

These like the Rolo Cookies are super simple to make and are amazing to munch on...

Makes 2 dozen

1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix

1 Large Egg

1/2 C water

1/2 stick butter

1 ts vanilla

1 C white chocolate chips

2 TB flour

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together all ingredients except chocolate chips and blend well. Fold in the chocolate chips. Make whatever size cookie you want and bake for 10-12 minutes.

-And save one for me-

AMAZING Rolo Cookies

These are one of the best cookies I have ever put into my mouth. I kid you not! They are super easy to make and to DIE for!

1 box super moist double chocolate swirl cake mix (I used Triple Chocolate cake mix)

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 package rolo's

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs. Take a small ball of dough and form a ball around the rolo. (Only use enough dough to cover the rolo so it can spread through the cookie.)Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes. Yields about 3 dozen.