Here are some of my favorites of the cookies I made for the Girl Scouts. Five of these are in the picture. I am also including two recipes that are not, the Buckeyes and the Gingersnaps. I got so many comments on those that they need to be included, they are good.
Gingersnaps1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup black strap or dark molasses
1 egg at room temperature
1 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 2/3 cup flour
2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp each cinnamon, ground cloves & baking soda
3/8 tsp salt
Granulated sugar
Combine brown sugar, molasses and egg in a large bowl and mix well. Beat in butter.
Sift together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture. turn dough onto lightly floured surface and shape into 4 long logs. Cut each in half crosswise to make eight logs and roll them about 5/8 inch thick. Freeze until thoroughly chilled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease baking sheet. Put a 1/2 inch layer of sugar in a pie plate. Cut logs into 1/4 inch thick slices. Coat each slice with sugar. Flatten to about 1/8 inch and place 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Let cool about 30 seconds and then remove to a cooling rack. Sprinkle with additional sugar.
This recipe makes 30 dozen cookies. That is a lot of cookies but the rolls of dough can be kept in the freezer until needed and just thawed until you can slice them before baking so it is a great dough to have on hand.
BuckeyesI was almost not going to share this recipe but it got such rave reviews and I have to admit that I really like them so here they are. Unless you want to feed a lot of people halve the recipe!
3 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2 lbs confectioner's sugar
16-32 ounces chocolate chips melted
Mix together the peanut butter and the butter. Add the confectioner's sugar and stir until well combined.
This is where I thought I was doomed! The dough looked like crumbs. I wanted to add more butter or peanut butter to make it come together. I ran to my computer to look up similar recipes to see if I was on track. Needless to say, when you grab this stuff and roll it, it will come together. I made it into walnut size balls. Once rolled, chill the balls.
Melt chocolate. Here I must interject something. I have found that here in Florida, melted semisweet chocolate morsels never really set up firm again. Maybe it is the heat and humidity but the chocolate stays somewhat soft and messy so I would recommend using the chocolate candy disks they sell and places like Michael's.
Using toothpicks or skewers to hole the cookie, dip them in the melted chocolate leaving some of the cookie exposed on top. Place on wax paper lined sheets until set.
Okay - I was only going to post what I thought was the best, but the above 2 recipes got rave reviews so I felt compelled to share them here. Below are my favorites!
Chocolate Chip Treasure Cookies1 1/2 cups graham cracker
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 (12 oz) package semi-Sweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 375. Combine graham cracker crumbs, flour and baking powder. In a large bowl beat together milk and margarine. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in coconut, chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 9 minutes.
Peanut Butter Cookies1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together all ingredients. Roll into small balls. Dip a fork in flour and use ti to slightly flatten each cookie. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
The formed dough balls can be frozen and thawed and baked as needed.
Cinnamon Cookies1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp molasses
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tbls ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350. Cream together butter and sugar. mix in egg and molasses. Sift together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture. Drop by teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 -12 minutes.
The following bars are really good.
Chocolate Chip, Oats 'n Caramel Cookie Squares1 roll Pillsbury refrigerated chocolate chip cookies
1 cup quick cooking oats
2/3 cup caramel topping
5 tbls flour
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chopped nuts
6 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 350. In a large bowl break up cookie dough. Knead in oats. Reserve 1/3 cup dough. Press remaining dough in a 9 inch square pan. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until dough puffs up and appears dry. In a small bowl mix caramel topping, flour and vanilla. Sprinkle walnuts and chocolate chips over crust. Drizzle with the caramel mixture. Crumble the reserved oat mixture evenly over the top. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely then cut into squares.
I love coconut so this next pick was a given!
Coconut Cream Macaroons3 7 oz packages sweetened, flaked coconut
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup canned cream of coconut
1 tbls vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 large egg
1 bag (12 oz) semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tbls vegetable oil
Heat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sprinkle 1 cup of the coconut on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. Cool. Leave parchment on cookie sheet for baking cookies. Mix the toasted coconut, remaining coconut, the flout, and salt in a large bowl. Beat together the milk, cream of coconut, vanilla, almond extract and egg until well blended. Pour over dry mixture and mix well. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto cookie sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely.
Heat the chocolate and oil over low heat until the chocolate is melted. Drizzle the chocolate over the cookies. Let stand until chocolate is set.