Crispy Oat Cookies

Crispy Oat Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
  
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup regular oats, uncooked
• 1 cup crushed corn flakes
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Cream butter; gradually add sugars, beating well at medium speed. Add egg, and beat well; add oil and vanilla, mixing well.

Combine flour, soda and salt; add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Stir in oats and remaining ingredients.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and flatten each ball with tines of a fork. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheets, and cool on wire racks.

Yield: 10 dozen

Oatmeal Scotchies

Oatmeal Scotchies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange
• 3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
• 1 2/3 cups (11-ounce package) Butterscotch Morsels

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Pan Cookie Variation:
Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

Source: Nestle

Seven Layer Bars

Seven Layer Bars

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted

1 (14-ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)

1 cup (6 ounces) butterscotch-flavored chips

1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F for glass baking pan). In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly on bottom of 13×9-inch baking pan.

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Chill if desired. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store leftovers covered at room temperature.

Source: Eagle Brand

Crispy Oat Cookies

Crispy Oat Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup regular oats, uncooked
• 1 cup crushed corn flakes
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

Cream butter; gradually add sugars, beating well at medium speed of an electric mixer. Add egg, and beat well; add oil and vanilla, mixing well.

Combine flour, soda and salt; add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Stir in oats and remaining ingreadients.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, and flatten each ball with tines of a fork. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire racks. Yield: 10 dozen

Source: Southern Living

Old Fashion Cracked Brown Sugar Cookies

Old Fashion Cracked Brown Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Beat shortening at medium speed until fluffy. Add sugars, beating well. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Combine flour, soda, salt and cream of tartar. Gradually add, beating well.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls, roll in additional sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets, remove and finish cooling on wire racks. Yield: 5 dozen

Source: A recipe book at V. Woska's house.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• *OPTIONAL: About 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I use sliced almonds, but I’m sure other things would be good in this too)

Yes, that’s all there is to them– no eggs or baking soda or anything.
DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Beat cream cheese and butter together until uniform in color.
3. Add sugar about 1/4 cup at a time, beating until fluffy.
4. Add flour, mixing well.
5. Stir in nuts, if desired.
6. Drop tablespoon-sized dough blobs on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. They’re done when they’re JUST BARELY brown around the edges.
7. Cool on rack and store in an airtight container.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
  
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested

Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.

Source and Photo Credit: Giada de Laurentiis, Food Network

My notes: These are so stinking good! I used Skim Milk Ricotta with not ill effects.

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

I found this recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com while searching for something good, festive and easy to make. Below the recipe are my suggestions.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup light olive oil
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 1/4 cups pistachio nuts

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in cranberries and nuts by hand.
3. Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12×2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.
4. Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
5. Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.
Suggestions that other reviewer’s added

Add 1 T orange zest *untested thus far, as I had no oranges to zest!*

Reduce amount of Pistachios to 1 Cup, and increase amount of cranberries to 1 Cup. *This is what I did with the recipe, and it turned out fabulous*

As for cooking time: I cooked mine about 30 minutes, cooled for 10 minutes, and then had to cook an additional 13 minutes or so. After cooling/drying for a little over an hour they were perfect.

Enjoy!