Snicker doodles

At the bakery where I work our recipes are well guarded. When the owner allowed this most delicious cookie recipe to be printed in the newspaper I jumped at the chance to share it with all of you.. (Thanks Alan!) Try this recipe and you will see why this is one of our top selling cookies.

RaNae's Rolls
Snicker doodles

1 cup softened butter (room temp)
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 3/4 -3 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar. beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine all dry ingredients and mix into creamed mixture. Mix well till all incorporated. Roll dough into TBS size balls. Roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until slightly golden on edges. Do not over bake.
(makes about 40 cookies)

Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

Here is an easy treat when you need something quick and simple. My 11 year old made these last night all by herself..

Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies

1/2 C Butter
2 C Sugar
1/2 C Milk
4 Tbsp Cocoa
1/2 C Peanut Butter
3- 3 1/2 C Quick cooking Oats
2 tsp. Vanilla

Add butter, sugar, milk and cocoa to a saucepan. Slowly bring to a rolling boil, and boil for 1 minute. (cooking longer can cause dry cookies.) Take off heat. Stir in the peanut butter, oats and vanilla and drop onto wax/foil paper. Let cool until set.

Girl Scout Thin Mints

Oh Be still my heart. When my friend sent me this recipe to try it seemed too good to be true. The truth? After getting over all the angels singing... my mouth was very very happy.

Girl Scout Thin Mints

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk (any kind)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and the extracts. Mixture will look curdled. Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.
Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches (or about 4 cm) in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick - if they are too thick, they will not be as crisp - and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you can put them quite close together.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Coating
10-oz dark or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every 45-60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating.
Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm.
Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into.

Makes 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.

Soft Rolled Gingerbread Cookies

Don't let the long directions sway you away from this delicious, SOFT gingerbread cookie. They really are quite simple so deliciously seasonal. Roll them thick for a soft cookie or thin for a crisp one.



Soft Rolled Gingerbread Cookies

3/4 cup softened butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsulphured molasses
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon (optional)
3 1/4 cups flour

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in the molasses and water. In a medium bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, stirring constantly. Divide the dough in half and flatten to a round disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill overnight. (You can freeze half or all of it if desired for later use.) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and lightly grease your cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface roll out one of the disks, leaving the other chilled. Roll to a 1/4 inch thickness, adding more flour if needed. Cut the cookies into desired shapes and place about an inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 6-10 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Cookies should be firm but not browned. Reroll the scraps and continue to cut and bake until the dough is gone. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets for three minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling. Frost if desired with royal icing and let dry for 24 hours. Store in airtight containers.

Royal Icing

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 large egg white or equivalent meringue powder
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
food coloring if desired

In a large bowl beat the powdered sugar, egg white, cream of tartar, and orange extract on medium high speed for 5 minutes. Check and see if you can form peaks with a teaspoon. If you cannot, beat at a higher speed for a minute more and check again. Beat and check at thirty second intervals until the peaks will form. Tint icing with food coloring if desired.

(It is very important not to overbeat this icing as it can (and will) break down. You can use the icing white, or tint it using paste food colors. Liquid food colors tend not to work as well as paste, particularly in a delicate recipe like icing.)

Pumpkin cookies

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart. It is a moist delicious cookie with great flavor. We like to add a cup of chocolate chips or pecans. Sometime we frosted them and sometimes we eat them plain. Which ever way you like them they are sure to be a hit.


Pumpkin Cookies

3/4 cup real butter
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup solid pack pumpkin
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 375. Beat butter and brown sugar until blended and add egg. Beat until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, milk, and vanilla and mix until well blended. Stir in baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add flour and stir until just combined. Drop by tablespoon on cookie sheet (dough will be very soft).Bake about 12 minutes or until cookies spring back. Cool on wire rack.

Sugar Cookie Bouquets

The Bakery where I worked part time last summer/fall was always looking for ways to promote their business and come up with new ways to use their baked goods, especially at holiday time. Over Christmas I helped out and was officially named "Sugar Cookie Girl" as my job was hand piping sugar cookies. It seemed like we never had enough and I think we did a record year in the sugar cookie department, at least it felt like it. So, with the popularity of their cookies I was wondering why they didn't sell cookie bouquets. Good question. With Valentines day coming up, the question once again arises "Why don't we sell cookie bouquets?" We have an official Sugar Cookie Girl, lets see what we can do.. Here are the test products ready for display. I've been making these for teachers and friends for years so it is really a fun project for me. We'll see how they do at the bakery... By the way, anyone who wants a step by step demo on my blog of how to make these say "I". If I have enough people I'll see what I can do.


just a note: when I took them into the bakery for the owner to see, a customer quickly ordered one for her anniversary this friday and another 8 or 9 for clients for Valentines. I think these bouquets will do just fine...

Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

I'm still out my ears with Zuchinni so I have been looking for new recipes to use it up. Here is one I found just yesterday and have discovered a new favorite! We love these new cookies. My kids decided that I should call them Chocolate Zucchini Muffin Tops because they soft and yummy like muffins but in a cookie form. We opted out of chocolate chips but decided that extra chocolate never hurts so we're doubling up next time. Give these a try and you'll be in for a real treat.

Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. In a medium bowl, cream together the margarine, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in the grated zucchini. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the tried and true recipe from 10th grade cooking class (thanks again Mrs. Hawks). It has been modified over the years to become our all time favorite cookie. This recipe has been asked for more than any other cookie which is why it is surprising that I am just finally putting it on this blog. Don't be afraid to mix things up a bit and add everything from butterscotch chips and almonds to craisens and white chocolate chips. And if you have a hankering for the plain and simple just leave out the chips and nuts all together..We call them Not-Chocolate Chip Cookies.
.

Nan's All-Time Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

.

.

1/2 cup real butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

.

Cream together and then add

.

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

.

Mix well until very creamy then mix in

.

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups flour

.

When completely mixed in add

.

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans

.

Roll into TBS size balls and place on baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until edges are light brown.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Mexican Wedding Cookies

.

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup crushed pecans

.

Heat oven to 375. Mix butter, shortening, powdered sugar, egg, flavoring. BLend in flour and salt. Last mix in crushed pecans. Shape into 1 tsp ball. Put on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9 minutes. After cooled, roll in powdered sugar.

Super Sugar Cookies

Super Sugar Cookies come from my high school cooking class. Every year on Valentines Day our class would make these and sell them to students to send messages of love to people through out the school. I spent most of the day frosting and delivering cookies making sure that all my friends didn't get left out of the cookie festivity. By the end of the day we were sick from so much sugar but didn't ever get tired of these soft yummy cookies...

Super Sugar Cookies

1 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Butter

2 tsp Cream of Tartar

3 cups Flour

1/2 cup Milk

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/8 tsp salt

1 egg

Cream sugar and butter. Add egg and mix well. Add dry ingredients and milk. Chill 30 minutes to an hour. Roll out. Cut into shapes. Bake 350 6-8 minutes. Frost as desired.