Chocolate Reese's Pieces Cookies

I have a couple posts on here already of cake mix cookies, but these are pretty good so I wanted to post the recipe.  Its really, really easy too...yay!  (Quick note:  Out of all the cake mix cookies we have made, the funfetti one's are still our favorite.  The red velvet one's with the white chocolate chips were great at Christmas being red and white, and these are good when you are craving peanut butter/chocolate.  BUT, as for the cookie itself, the funfetti one's are dangerously delicious).

Ingredients:
2 Boxes chocolate cake mix (with pudding inside)
2/3 Cup melted butter
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup water
1 Cup mini reese's pieces chips

Directions:
*Pre-heat oven to 375*F.

*Mix all ingredients together except for the reese's pieces bits.

*Once mixed, add the Reese's bits and mix well (I used my hands to mix it.  Its a really thick dough, no liquid at all).

*Roll small balls (about 3/4 to 1 inch in size...not very big) and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  If you don 't have parchment paper you can spray your sheet down with baking spray.

*Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Let them sit on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes after they have been pulled out of the oven before moving them to a cooling wrack.

Brown Sugar Cookies

I'm a plain cookie fan.  I am!  I am not one to go crazy for loads of sweetness or chunks of anything in my cookies.  This one is from Crico.  I like them!

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Crisco
1/2 Cup butter, softened
1 1/4 firmly packed brown sugar
1 Large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
*Heat oven to 350*F.

*Mix together the shortening, butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract.

*Once the ingredients are light and fluffy, add the flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix well.

*Shape the dough into one inch balls.  I put mine into those fun shaped cookie pans and they took the shape pretty well.  Next time when it is not a holiday I will do the balls however!

*Place the balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet or onto parchment paper (I greased the pan I used...oops).

*Bake for 12-14 minutes.  Remove pan from the oven and let sit for a couple of minutes before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack.

Almond Cookies

These are called Swedish Heirloom Cookies in the cookbook my Mom got them out of.  The problem with naming cookies names like that though, is you are always questioning which cookie they are because you remember them as "the one's with the almonds in them."  These are a thick dense cookie that doesn't expand much when cooking.  They are easy to make and I like them because they aren't one of those cookies you will eat a million of them.  One and you are totally satisfied!

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup shortening (like crisco)
1/2 Cup butter, soft
1 Cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Cups flour
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 Cups chopped up almonds (buy the sliced one's then cut them up a bit more)
Additional powdered sugar

Directions:
* Put the butter and shortening into a large bowl and mix until fluffy...(ours didn't get fluffy but we mixed it for about 2 good minutes on a medium speed on the mixer).

*Add the salt and powdered sugar.  Mix on low speed until well blended.

*Still mixing on slow speed, add the flour.

*Add the water, vanilla, and almonds.  Continue to mix until everything is well mixed.

*Shape the dough into one inch balls.  I use an ice cream scoop because its always the perfect little ball size.

*Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet.

*Use a fork to flatten them down a bit.

*Bake at 325*F for 12-15 minutes.  (Bake until well firmed or lightly browned)

*Coat the cookies in additional powdered sugar if you would like!

Santa Cookies

Its that time of year again: Christmas Season!  I love love love the holidays.  I must admit though, its a little more stressful now that I have kids.  I've been doing so much and finally had a chance to get some baking done.  Here are a bunch of the cookies my Mom and I made today.  Hope you like them!

Ingredients:
2 Boxes of Red Velvet cake mix (If you can find one with pudding inside, I couldn't)
2 Eggs
1 3/4 Sticks of butter, melted
1/4 Cup water
2- 3 Cups white chocolate chips (do to your liking)

Directions:
*Mix the first 4 ingredients together until well blended.  (Mine was SO thick I had a HECK of a time mixing it!  Almost to the point I almost through the batter out haha!)

*Add the white chocolate chips and stir well.

*Spray down a baking sheet with baking spray, or line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

*Pre-heat your oven to 375*F.

*Drop the dough by tablespoons onto your baking sheet.  They really spread out so be careful not to put them too close together.

*Bake for 9-11 minutes.  I only needed 9 minutes, but all of our stoves are different!

*Let sit on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

I found this recipe about 15 minutes ago...and the cookies are already made, and cooling on the counter!  By the way the batter tastes, these puppies are going to be a regular at our house!  I got the original recipe on this website: http://morganmoore.typepad.com/one_more_moore/2009/04/when-its-too-hot-to-bake-we-nobake.html  but you guys know me:  I HAD TO CHANGE IT UP.  :)

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup butter (1 stick)
2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup milk
1/2 Cup semi-sweet baking chocolate chips
1/2 Cup peanut butter (I used chunky)
3- 3 1/2 Cups quick cook oats
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
*Mix the butter (it can be straight out of the fridge; does not need to be room temperature), sugar, milk, and chocolate chips in a big skillet on your stove.

*Turn to medium high.  Once there is a rolling boil, continue to cook for one minute.  I used a whisk to stir the entire time so it didn't burn.

*Once it has boiled for a full minute, remove mixture from the heat.

*Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract.

*Add the oats and stir until completely mixed.

*Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment or waxed paper.

*Drop cookie dough by spoonfuls onto the baking sheets.

*Set the baking sheets off to the side until cooled.

*Yup, these are that easy.

Sugar Hug Cookies

Here is a basic recipe I got from Southern Living that was on a cookie blog.  Everyone talked about how yummy it was and I have to disagree.  My husband and I tasted the cookie dough and it tasted like flour!  SO...we fixed it a bit and got these, which are worth writing about.  Super simple to make, and you probably have everything at home (except maybe the Hershey Hugs).

Ingredients:
1 Cup shortening
1 1/2 Cups sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp's vanilla extract
2 1/2 Cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
extra sugar for rolling dough in (1/4 - 1/2 cup)

Directions:
*Cream shortening and 1st sugar at medium speed until fluffy.

*Add the eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla to the shortening.  Mix well.

*Now put all the remaining ingredients (except the extra sugar) into the shortening mix and mix well.

*Chill in fridge for about one hour.

*Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it into one inch balls.  I used an ice cream scoop to do mine and it worked PERFECTLY!

*Turn your oven onto 350 and get it pre-heated for your cookies.

*Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper.

*Take your ball of dough and roll it into the extra sugar (I put it in a small bowl to make it easier to roll the dough in).

*Once you have rolled as many balls as will fit onto your baking sheet/s (leaving a bit of space in between each), put them into the oven and bake for 8-9 minutes.

*While they are cooking, remove the wrappers from your Hershey Hugs or Kisses.

*Take your cookies out of the oven and immediately put a Hug/Kiss on top, gently pressing them down.

*Leave the cookies on the baking sheet about 2 minutes before moving them to a wire wrack to finish cooling.  The Hugs/Kisses will take a few hours to harden up after being put into those yummy warm cookies, so be careful!

(Original cookie recipe is a Southern Living recipe found on http://www.cookiedoc.blogspot.com.  The original cookie name is Sugar Crinkle Cookies).

Stained Glass Cookies

I'm not going to lie...the hippie in me TOTALLY came out today!  These tie-dyed cookies are so much fun to make!  Cooper and I had so much fun making them, they truly were an art project in themselves.  The probably won't get an award for best tasting cookie, but they are worth making (especially if you have kids).  There are only 5 ingredients so you can't go wrong! 

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup softened butter
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 Cup flour
food coloring

Directions:
*Combine butter, sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl with an electric mixer until all ingredients are mixed.

*Now add the flour and mix until soft balls of dough form.

*Separate the dough pieces into 4 different bowls.  Make sure there is the same amount in each bowl.

*Add about 20 drops of food coloring to each bowl, making sure each bowl is a different color.  I used a red, a yellow, a green, and a blue.

*Using a spoon or a spatula (making sure it is clean each time you change it from bowl to bowl), mix up the dough a bit so that the dye is somewhat mixed before handling it.

*Once you have somewhat blended the color into the dough, give one bowl at a time to your kiddo and have them mix the dough until no white dough remains.  Wash hands, then do another color until each bowl has been thoroughly mixed.

*Once you have your 4 different colored doughs, lay them on a piece of parchment paper on top of one another like this:

*Push down on the dough and mash it a few times to blend it up a bit. 

* Then roll it into your parchment paper.  When you roll it into the parchment paper it makes it so easy to roll it into the 8 inch log that you need.

*Put your dough into the fridge for 20 minutes.

*Pre-heat your oven to 350*F.

*Take the parchment paper off your dough and place the parchment paper onto a baking sheet.  No need to spray the parchment paper with oil (I love this stuff because of that reason!)

*Cut your dough into 1/4 inch thick circular slices and place them on the baking sheet.

*Once all the pieces are cut and on a baking sheet (or two), put them in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.  I did mine for 10 minutes...but will probably do them for 11 next time.  They don't expand at all so don't expect very big cookies!  Nice as a small snack!  Enjoy!

M & M Cookies

These are so easy, and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry.  My husband told me these are one of my better cookies (so I'm either a terrible cookie maker, or these are really good...I'll let you decide!)

Ingredients:
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1/2 Cup white sugar
2 Eggs
2 Sticks butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp's vanilla extract
2 1/2 Cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Bag M & M's (basic M & M's, and not a small bag...)

Directions:
*Mix both sugars, eggs, butter, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until well mixed.

*Add flour, baking soda, and salt to the mixture.  Mix it up well.

*Put 1 cup of the M & M's into the cookie dough mixture, and stir (by hand).  Be careful not to break them all.

*Drop cookie dough by 1 Tbsp sized serving onto parchment paper (this stuff is amazing.  You DON"T have to spray it down, and your cookies don't stick.  I didn't believe it until I tried it...and this is coming from a girl who using cooking spray even when recipes say not too...).  So yes, if you have parchment paper use it, if you don't (go get some) spray down your cookie sheet/sheets with cooking spray.

*These cookies really thin out while cookies so make sure to not put them close together on your baking sheets!
*Pre-heat your oven to 350*F.

*Now, go back  to your cookies and put extra M & M's all over them (without forcing down the dough).  You need to put 6-7 extra on each one because these cookies really spread out while cooking.  So if you only put 1 or 2 on them there won't be many on your cookies when you pull them out of your oven.  Also, put extra's on the sides of your dough too...  Here is a picture of the dough, and then the same picture underneath of how much they spread out once they are cooked.  (Notice how full the dough is with M & M's, and how not full it looks in the second picture...)

*Once you have put the M & M's on the dough, put the cookie sheet or sheets into your oven and bake for 8 minutes.  The original recipe I got this from suggested cooking them 9-11 minutes, but my first batch I cooked for 9 minutes and they were on the verge of being crunchy.  These are not soft cookies, but I suggest only doing about 8 minutes...unless your oven isn't as hot as most ovens are.  Adjust the time accordingly if you need to!

*I got the basics of this recipe from allrecipes.com, but I changed it up so much that this is pretty well my own recipe now!  It used shortening instead of butter, and baking times and such were different.  Enjoy!

Cake Mix Cookies

Here is another awesome recipe from my friend Katie.  I have made these a few times now, and they are gone within a day or two.  My husband and son go CRAZY for these.

Ingredients:
2 boxes of cake mix
2 eggs
2/3 cups melted butter
¼ cup water

Directions:
*Mix all ingredients together and drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.

"My favorite cookies are funfetti cake mix with funfetti icing on the top of cooled cookies or yellow cake mix with 1 package of chocolate chips mixed into batter." -Katie

I have only made the funfetti ones.  I bought pink strawberry icing for the tops, but the cookies seriously are gone before I have time to ice them.  Yes, they are that good!

Everything Cookies

Found this recipe on a blog...but I don't remember who's.  I did change it though!  So this is my version of some bloggers recipe...

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups crunchy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups pretzel M&Ms OR 1 cup of another kind of M&M's

Directions:
* Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

* Cream together butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs, peanut butter and vanilla.

* Add flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir in chocolate chips and pretzel M&Ms.

* Roll into small balls  and place onto greased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly because they do not flatten much while cooking. (If you make the balls more than about a tablespoon or so the insides won't cook right!  Don't make them too big!)

* Bake for 13 minutes.

Kris Kringle Cookies

I know its not Christmas, but I had a picture of these that I took and figured I would post it before I forgot!

 

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup  granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2   eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2-1/4 cups  flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp.  salt
2 pkg. (6 squares each) BAKER'S White Chocolate, chopped
2 cups  chopped PLANTERS Pecans, toasted
2 cups dried cranberries

Directions:
*Heat oven to 375ºF.

*Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in chocolate, nuts and cranberries.

*Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, 1-1/2 inches apart, onto baking sheets.

*Bake 9 to 11 min. or until lightly browned. Put cookies on wire racks after allowing them to cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheets.  Cool completely.