There is no reason to believe that cookies have to be hard to make in order to be good. Here is a recipe that came out of the Nob Hill Magazine. Of course, they put in weird ingredients so you have to go to the store and buy something you wouldn’t ordinarily buy. In this case, when I went to buy the Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut, they had none so I just used regular coconut milk and they were great.

Recipe By:

Nob Hill Magazine

Yield:

24

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
3 cups shredded coconut, divided
1/4 cup Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut*
1/4 cup butter softened
2 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Stir together cake mix, 2 cups of coconut, Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut, butter and eggs.

3. Scoop dough into 2 tablespoon balls then roll balls in additional coconut.

4. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

Notes:

*I used regular coconut milk

I don’t remember where I got this recipe but I have made them several times and they are wonderful. As my wife and I were sharing a warm one tonight, I asked, “How could you even eat an Oreo after having a cookie like this?” The warm, soft chocolate chips coating my tongue along with the bite of the ginger. Wonderful!

Yield:

24

Ingredients:

1½ cups plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

½ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup unsulfured molasses

1 teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons boiling water

7 ounces chocolate chips

½ cup granulated sugar*

Directions:

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cocoa. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes.

4. Add brown sugar. Beat until combined.

5. Add molasses. Beat until combined.

6. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Set aside.

7. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture.

8. Beat in baking soda mixture.

9. Beat in remaining half of flour mixture.

10. Mix in chocolate chips.

11. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick. Seal with additional wrap. Refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.**

12. Heat oven to 325 degrees.

13. Roll or scoop into 2 tablespoon balls. Roll balls in granulated sugar. Place on baking sheets two inches apart. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

 Notes:

* Instead of regular granulated sugar, I use Sprinkle King, Kingsblingz Diamond Crystals that I buy online from www.supplyvillage.com. They are large, shiny and give the cookies a great crunch. I only put them on the top of the ball, not all over it.

** I skip the chilling. It will help you handle the soft dough better but I just use a cookie scooper and handle the dough ball gently as I move it from the sugar bowl to the cooking sheet.

If you look at my list of cookie recipes, you will see that I messed around quite a bit trying to find a good S’mores cookie. Here is the last one I tried. As with all the others I tried, the cookie part is the hardest to recreate. These look cool. They are clearly chocolatey, marshmallowy and graham crackery but I have just not been able to come up with a cookie that comes close to that crunchy satisfaction you get when making real S’mores around the camp fire.

Recipe By:

Internet

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons milk

½ cup miniature marshmallows, cut in half

4 full-sheet graham crackers, ground into fine crumbs

 Directions:

1. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together in a large bowl on medium speed until creamed, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

3.  With the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Add the milk. The dough will be heavy and sticky. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.

4. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temperature for 10 minutes. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

5.  Pour graham cracker crumbs into a bowl. Form a 2 tablespoon balls of dough. Roll each cookie dough ball into the graham cracker crumbs then place on baking sheet.

6. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and press 3-4 pieces of marshmallow on top of each cookie. Return to the oven for another 2-3 minutes.

7. Remove from the oven. Cookies will appear undone and very soft. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

This recipe was sent to me by Caroline, who follows my blog from Vancouver, BC. They are very rich (almost as much cocoa as flour) and have a very nice, fudgey texture that is pleasing. With one teaspoon of cayenne, they have a good bight, too much for some of the members of choir. The added sugar and salt on the top made a nice finish. They are really easy to make.

Recipe By:

Adapted from Food Network – Eat St.

Yield:

30

Ingredients:

1½ cups sifted all purpose flour

1 cup sifted cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or more if you like it hot!)

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar, plus more for sprinkling tops

½ cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed ginger juice or fresh grated ginger root

kosher Salt

 Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°.

2. Combine dry ingredients. Set aside.

3. In a separate container, whisk wet ingredients.

4. Combine mixtures.

5. Cover baking sheets with parchment. Press fist size cookie dough balls out and sprinkle with kosher salt and sugar.

6. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit approximately 11 minutes or until the cookies start to crack. They should be nice and fudgey in the middle.

I have previously stated that I am not really crazy about peanuts, peanut butter or peanut butter cookies. Sandy sent this recipe to me quite a while ago and, as I looked at it, I decided to give it a try. They are really peanutty. Don’t be set back by the recommended 15 to 18 minute cooking time. I was and tested it out. They were better at 15 minutes than 13. The filling and all the crunchy peanuts pieces set them apart from more basic peanut butter cookies.

Recipe By:

America’s Test Kitchen via my son’s Mother in Law, Sandy

Yield:

24 small sandwich cookies

 Ingredients:

Cookies

1¼ cups raw peanuts, toasted and cooled, 6¼ ounces*

¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

½ cup creamy peanut butter

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons whole milk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling

¾ cup creamy peanut butter

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Pulse peanuts in food processor until finely chopped. Set aside.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in bowl. Set aside.

4. Whisk butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, milk, egg and vanilla together in second bowl.

5. Stir flour mixture into peanut butter mixture with rubber spatula until combined. Stir in peanuts until evenly distributed.

6. Form dough into 1 tablespoon balls and place on  prepared baking sheets. Butter the bottom of a drinking glass. Dip glass into granulated sugar. Gently flatten the balls, dipping into sugar between each ball.**

7. Bake until deep golden brown and firm to touch, 15 to 18 minutes***, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.

8. FOR THE FILLING: Microwave peanut butter and butter until butter is melted and warm, about 40 seconds. Stir in confectioners’ sugar until combined.

9. TO ASSEMBLE: Place cookies upside down on work surface. Place about 1 tablespoon warm filling in center of each cookie. Place second cookie on top of filling, right side up, pressing gently until filling spreads to edges. Allow filling to set for 1 hour before serving.

 Notes:

* I used unsalted dry roasted peanuts.

** I stole this idea from a previous recipe and love it.

*** This sounded like too long to me but 15 minutes was just right for me.

Last week I told you about looking for a good wheat germ cookie recipe. The closer the cookies got to being like normal cookies with some wheat germ thrown in, the better they were. Here is an example of that. I used Heath Bar chunks and they were wonderful. They go pretty flat so leave a good amount of room between them. They need to be browned but don’t over cook them!

Recipe By:

Martha Stewart

Yield:

48

 Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup wheat germ

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

½ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

12 ounces good-quality chocolate, chopped into chunks, OR

1½ cups golden raisins, OR

10 ounces toffee pieces

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. Combine  rolled oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and wheat germ in a large bowl. Set aside.

4. Combine  brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until creamy and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

5. Scrape sides of  bowl with a rubber spatula. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix to combine.

6. Add  dry mixture to the butter mixture. On low speed, mix just to combine, 10 to 15 seconds. Remove  bowl from mixer stand. Stir in your choice of chocolate chunks, golden raisins, or toffee pieces.

7. Use an ice cream scoop to form dough into 2 tablespoon balls. Place the balls of dough about 4 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake until golden and just set, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool on sheets 4 to 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

I recently recognized that I had some wheat germ in my freezer. That sent me to the Internet looking for cookie recipes with wheat germ in them. I came up with six very different recipes and started trying them. I discovered that the “healthier” the cookies seemed to be, the worse they were when done. I don’t make very many really bad cookies but a couple of the recipes were just terrible. Too much wheat germ, whole wheat flour, flax and other ingredients to make your cookies seem like they are made of sawdust.

The second result of trying out all these recipes was that, ironically, I ran out of wheat germ and had to go buy more.

This is one of the jewels of my wheat germ search. They are easy to make, have a wonderful texture, and the mixture of oats, wheat germ, dates and processed nuts and coconut provides a wonderful flavor that is not too much of anything. If you are looking for a chewy oatmeal cookie, this is one to try.

Recipe By:

Internet

Yield:

48

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon coconut flavoring

1½ cups rolled oats

1 cup wheat germ

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup flaked coconut

2 cups chopped pecans

1 cup chopped pitted dates

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.

2. In large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth.

3. Beat in eggs, vanilla and coconut flavoring.

4. In a separate bowl, combine oats, wheat germ, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

5. Stir dry ingredients into creamed mixture.

6. Place coconut and pecans in a food processor. Process until the mixture has a texture of course meal.

7. Stir the coconut mixture into the other mixture.

8. Stir in dates.

9. Scoop 2 tablespoon balls onto cookie sheets covered with baking parchment.

10. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for a couple minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

This is a pretty basic cookie with a soft texture but they hold together pretty well when bags full are taken to the emergency department.

 Recipe By:

San Jose Mercury News and all over the Internet

 Yield:

30

Ingredients:

2 cups Extra Dark Chocolate Chips (divided)

2 tablespoons water

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups unsifted all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sliced almonds

 Directions:

1. Heat over to 350F degrees.

2. Heat one cup of chips and water in microwave for about 1 minute, stirring well until smooth.  Set aside.

3. Cream butter, sugar and salt in large mixer bowl until light.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth.

4. Add melted chocolate, then mix in flour and baking soda just until incorporated. Stir in remaining chocolate chips and almonds.

5. Drop spoonfuls on parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake for 10-11 minutes.  Tops will look cracked and crusty while centers will be soft and look under baked. Don’t over-cook them!

These are VERY spicy and the ginger could be cut back a lot if you prefer them a bit tamer.

Yield:

60 cookies

Ingredients:

4 cups flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

5 tablespoons ground ginger

4 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1½ cups unsalted butter

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

½ cup molasses

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

16 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Granulated sugar

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet or cover with parchment and set aside.

In medium bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add molasses, egg and vanilla. Beat to combine.

Mix in dry ingredients gently but thoroughly, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Stir in chopped chocolate until well combined.

Form dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons each. Roll each ball in granulated sugar and place it on the baking sheet.

Bake cookies 5 minutes, turn pan 180 degrees, and bake until just set, about 5 minutes more. Cool on pans 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks. Don’t cook them for longer, even if they don’t look done!

Notes:

The original recipe calls for them to be flattened before baking, which I found to be not necessary.

I used my Sprinkle King kingsblingz diamond crystals sugar crystals, which are large, crunchy and sparkly. I get them at supplyvillage.com.

As I have mentioned before, I am not a great fan of peanut butter cookies. My sister-in-law, Kim, sent this recipe to me, which she got off a can of Jif. I know peanut butter cookies are supposed to be flattened with a fork but I used my favorite method: butter the bottom of a glass, dip in sugar, gently flatten the dough ball. I also added the mini chocolate chips.  I cooked until just slightly browned, they are very soft, or, as my niece, Claire, said, “squishy.”

Dough ball before flattening

Nicely flattened with the buttered bottom of a glass dipped in sugar

Source:

Jif via my sister-in-law, Kim

Yield:

7 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1½ cups creamy peanut butter

1 cup Crisco

2½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar

6 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoon vanilla

3 large eggs

3½ cups flour

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1½ teaspoons salt

4 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat with mixer until well blended.

3. Add eggs and mix until well blended.

4. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Drop two tablespoonful balls onto baking sheets lined with parchment. Flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass that has been buttered and dipped in sugar. Re-dip the glass before each flattening.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden.

7. Cool on sheets for a few minutes before removing to cooling rack to cook completely.