Soft Gingersnaps

Nothing says Christmas (or Thanksgiving, Jenny) like these favorites. We love that they are soft and chewy!

2 C sugar
1 1/2 C veg oil
2 eggs
1/2 C molasses
4 C flour
4 tsp baking soda
1 T ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl combine sugar and oil. Mix well. Add eggs one at a time, beat well after each. Stir in molasses. Combine dry ingredients. Gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. SHape into 3/4 in balls and rolls in sugar. Place 2 in apart. Bake 350 for 10 min. Enjoy!

Homemade Oreo Cookies

Just a quick one tonight... We made these on Halloween and they were so yummy and so easy! You can change the color of the frosting to match whatever holiday you're celebrating. We're already dreaming about green (mint) ones for Christmas... Thanks, Lolli!

Homemade Oreo Cookies

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 stick of butter

2 eggs

Directions: Mix ingredients together. Roll into small balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. After cookies have cooled completely, spread frosting on one cookie and sandwich with another.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 Tbsp butter

4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Directions: Beat ingredients together until smooth, and then spread between two cookies.

Ruth's Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies

My MIL Ruth is a fantastic baker! She introduced me to these cookies soon after Jer and I got married, and I don't think I've missed a season of making them since. Actually, we usually make a few batches of these each Fall :o) Except I don't put nuts on top--my camera doesn't do food justice, so this picture's off the web...

Ruth's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 C butter

1 1/2 C brown sugar

2 eggs

1 C pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling)

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 C flour (or more)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 C chocolate chips (or more :o)

Cream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 375. Blend sugar and butter. Add eggs and beat till batter is smooth. Add pumpkin, vanilla, and dry ingredients all at once; then mix till well blended. Stir in chocolate chips till well distributed. Bake for 10-12 minutes; let cool and frost. Best when warm :o)

Rhonda Shelton's Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is per the request of my friend, Kathy...

Rhonda Shelton was in our married student ward when Jer and I were newlyweds. We have no idea where the Sheltons are anymore, but Rhonda's cookies are legend... This is honestly the only cookie recipe I actually crave. You'll know what I mean after you try them!

Rhonda Shelton's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1/2 + 1/3 cup shortening

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3 1/2 cups flour

1 pkg. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Blend butter, shortening, and sugars till creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add baking soda, salt, and flour all at once--you can add more flour if dough is too wet. Mix well, then add chocolate chips. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just barely golden brown. Do NOT overcook--these are better a little undercooked than overcooked. Enjoy!

Heather's Peppermint Chocolate Cookies

Yikes, this is hard! Thinking about all of you makes me sad that you're all so far away :o(

Heather Heather Heather... where do I start? Again, we were at Ohio State together--GO BUCKS! Heather is my hero because she has always been thoughtful of others, even though she had three girls under 3 and a husband trying to finish up school, interview for residency, take boards, etc. I have lots of wonderful memories with Heather, but probably my favorite is the night after Book Club when we sat under the tree in her front yard and just talked and talked... until her husband finally came out looking for her :o) Heather is so honest and optimistic... I LOVE MY FRIENDS! Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
mini chocolate chips
a few candy canes, smashed

Cream butters and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa powder, soda, powder, and salt. Don't over mix. Add chocolate chips to your liking. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. When fresh out of the oven, sprinkle with crushed candy canes for a festive look and let cool on pan for a few minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Elisa's Molasses Cookies

Molasses Cookies
Elisa says: "We have the tradition of making Gingerbread Men around Christmas time. Here is the recipe. You add more flour until it is barely sticky and then roll it out and do the cut out shapes!"

4 C flour
1/2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 C shortening or margarine
2 C sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C molasses

Cream together margarine, sugar and eggs. Mix together remaining ingredients. Mix everything together. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Mrs. Fields' Chocolate Chip Cookies (Lindsay)

Lindsay and I go way back... actually, Lindsay and Jeremy go way back, so therefore she and I do too :o) They worked together at Subway in high school, and then Lindsay ended up marrying Jeremy's mission companion (they were comps twice) and that's when I come into the picture. I saw them the night she and Jake got engaged! We've been friends ever since--and our husbands are both interns this year so we share that burden as well :o) Thanks, Linds!

Top Secret Recipes' Mrs. Fields' Chocolate Chip Cookies
Be careful not to cook these too long. I know it becomes tempting to keep cooking these because they don’t seem to be done after 10 minutes, but they will continue to cook for awhile after you take them out of the oven, and when cool, will be nice and chewy.

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 twelve-ounce bags semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. In another bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips.
With your fingers, place golf ball-sized dough portions 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes or just until edges are light brown. Makes two dozen cookies.

Lisa's Pfeffernuesse

I know Lisa from Columbus--our husbands were in the same graduating class of medical school at Ohio State. Something I will always remember about Lisa is that during the white coat ceremony (which takes place right before med school starts), when the announcer called out her husband's name, he had to explain that Joe couldn't be there because he was in the hospital with his wife, who was having their first baby! What a way to start out med school :o)

Pfeffernuesse

Lisa says: "While "pfeffer" generally means "pepper" in German today, in the old days the term was used to refer to spices."

3/4 cup light molasses

1/2 cup butter

2 beaten eggs

4 1/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp. ground cloves

2 tsp. ground nutmeg

In saucepan, combine molasses and butter. Cook and stir over medium low heat until butter melts. Cool to room temperature. Stir in eggs.

Sift together: flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Add to molasses mixture, mix well. You probably will not need all the dry mixture--be careful of how dry the dough becomes. You don't want it to crumble, the dough should form into a soft, somewhat sticky ball. Chill overnight.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls (they will expand in the oven). Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375 for 12 minutes--be careful not to overbake; they are dark so you can't tell if they are burning, they should be a softball shaped cookie. Cool and roll in confectioner's sugar.

Yields 42 cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I've had some requests for cookies--which I know have gained their popularity not by my efforts at all. Jeremy is the baking master in this house... So here are a couple of his famous ones!

Peanut Butter Cookies (from BH&G)
1/2 C butter
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
Granulated sugar

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter with mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder. Beaet till combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg and vanilla till combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. If necessary, cover and chill dough till easy to handle.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in additional granulated sugar to coat. Place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by making crisscross marks with the tines of a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-9 minutes or till bottoms are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. Makes about 36 cookies.
***You can also add the Hershey kisses to these, of course.

Magical Mint Kisses

We always put these on the Christmas plates we pass out to our friends during the holidays. They come with this stipulation: if you're not eating them right out of the oven, stick them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds and you're in for a treat! Magical Mint Kisses 1 C butter, softened 2/3 C sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 C all-purpose flour 1/4 C cocoa About 48 Hershey's Mint Kisses Powdered sugar Heat oven to 350. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until creamy. Stir together flour and cocoa; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Mold scant tablespoon of dough around each Hershey's Mint Kiss, covering completely. Shape into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool about 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Roll in powdered sugar. Roll in sugar again just before serving, if desired. Yield: about 48 cookies.