Carrot Cake Cookies

Whenever a cookie and a cake marry and make a cake cookie, well I am all on board with that. Yes I a sure am. When it involves carrot cake, then I am HECK YEAH on board. I have always loved carrot cake. When I was younger, I used to take seconds and thirds. And fourths. Okay so not really, but I may or may not have had a really decent sized first piece and then a regular sized second. Especially if it was my best friend's mom's cake. Goosh that was good cake AND really good cream cheese frosting.

Enough already with my love of carrot cake.

So how did these cookies come about? Well aside from the a fore mentioned love of carrot cake, it all comes down to the fact that I found these insanely adorable gummy carrots. I knew I had to get them and I knew they needed to top some kind of carroty cake goodness. I got these gummy carrots at Winco Foods. If you don't live by a Winco, then you can find some similiar HERE

Welcome in these Carrot Cake Cookies.

I made them to give to some new neighbors that just moved in. I also made sure I made some for us to eat, because if I didn't I am not sure I would have had any to give to the neighbors. These cookies are so dang good.

I think you should make yourself some. You and the arrival of Spring deserve it.

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Brownie M&M Cookies

My brownie obsession has now crossed over to the Brownie M&M cookies. If someone were to ask I probably would only admit to eating one or two, not the seven I have eaten in two days. These cookies are chocolatey, obviously. They are chewy. They are brownies in cookie form. Then of course there are the M&M's. What I am trying to convey is that these cookies are good. Like really good.

I do not make cookies often. Heck I actually do not bake often. However, when I do most likely it will involve brownies and milk chocolate. Heavens I love milk chocolate. My poor Hubs is inflicted with Dark Chocolateitis. Poor, poor husband.

These cookies also make great holiday, party, or everyday cookies because you can switch out the M&M's for the specific event.

Man, don't they look yummy?

I hope you didn't just lick your screen. That can't be good for your computer. So try to avoid the licking of technology and go ahead and just make yourself some Brownie M&M Cookies. Your computer will thank you.

printable recipe HERE

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Oatmeal White Chocolate Craisin Cookies

I first tried these Oatmeal White Chocolate Craisin Cookies years ago. In fact, every time I had them they were made by the same person. One of my favorite people to be exact. So because of that, these cookies quickly became one of my favorites.

These cookies are so soft and chewy. Since the base of the cookie is brown sugar, the cookies are richer. The craisins add the perfect sweet tart combination. Man I really love craisins. They make just about everything better.

We just baked up a batch of these to give out to the boys' church teachers as part of our Christmas of Kindness 2014 (follow along with our Christmas of Kindness on Instagram- @larissa_anotherday). They are great Christmas cookies because they are different than the typical Christmas cookie.

Oh, and not that it should matter, but these cookies are also pretty.

Seriously you should go and make yourself some.  While you are at it make some for your neighbors. They will probably take out your trash and clean off your windshield forever.

Printable Recipe HERE

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Left Over Halloween Candy Cookies

Halloween has been over one week. Have your kids eaten all their candy yet? Have you eaten all their candy yet? Do you need a creative way to use all that candy?

Well, I have a smart and not healthy way to get rid of it. Why not put it into some cookies! You know because cookies need candy in them.

So go ahead and gather up some of that excess Halloween candy. I recommend all the chocolate candy. While very delightful on their own, I am thinking Starbursts and Swedish Fish would not taste spectacular in these cookies. So I guess you should go ahead and just eat those.

Once you have gathered up some of the chocolate bars, chop them all up.

I use my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie as the base for this cookie. However, instead of the milk chocolate chips you add in the chopped up Halloween.

Follow all the same directions.

Then when you are done you have these delightfully yummy Halloween Candy Cookies. These are great cookies to hand out to friends and neighbors. I baked up a batch for our school's teachers. I knew they were a hit when one of them posted on my Facebook page how much they loved them.

These cookies are the perfect way to use up that Halloween candy. Trust me!

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My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie

Nothing beats a really good chocolate chip cookie...and in turn nothing beats really good chocolate chip cookie dough. Just saying people. Anyway, before I hear too much about how I shouldn't eat the dough I will move back to the chocolate chip cookies themselves.

I am not a huge dessert person. There are very few desserts I have a hard time passing up. Brownies come in first. Then comes chocolate chip cookies. However, not just any chocolate chip cookies.

These chocolate chip cookies are my favorite and unbelievably hard for me to pass up. I have been making this recipe for years and years. You know, the make-it-by-heart-in-my-sleep years and years.

Which is why I try not to make them all the time, and I always try to deliver at least half to a cookie-loving neighbor.

These are my favorite chocolate chip cookie because they are rich, dense, and taste like cookie dough in baked cookie form. They are glorious people. Simply and divinely glorious.

My Little Men think I am a baking guru all due to these cookies. Heaven knows I don't bake enough to make me an actual guru. One bite of these cookies though and it doesn't matter that I don't bake much. The taste of this cookie is all they focus on.

Their feelings, and I quote, "You make good cookies mom!" Preach it boys.

Give these cookies a try. I am fairly certain you won't be hatin' life if you do.

ENJOY!

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Our Best Bites

3/4 cup (12 Tablespoons) of unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the melted butter and the sugars until fully incorporated.

Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.

Mix in the dry ingredients. Add in the chocolate chips.

Scoop onto a parchment lined cookie tray. Bake 10-12 minutes. Do not over bake. Let cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Enjoy with a cold glass of milk.

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Glazed Lime Cookies

If these cookies were people, these Glazed Lime Cookies would be the classiest bunch of them all. Well maybe not as classy and ladylike as macarons, but these could be her almost as lovely friend from grade school.

These Glazed Lime Cookies are light and just crispy enough. They are refreshingly sweet and perfectly enhanced by the lime. They are summer in cookie form people. I know I often categorize my food by seasons, but I just can't seem to help getting immersed in the food of the season.

We use lime a lot in this house. Funny story, once we had some friends over for dinner...that isn't the funny part. We did our customary meal planning. We gathered up a few of our favorite recipes that we felt all coordinated together. It was only after making the dinner and moments before they arrived that we realized that FOUR of the things we made all had the name LIME in it. Hehehe. I guess we really do like lime. The whole night was lime-tastice. You won't hear me complaining.

So yes, we like limes. I had been wanting to try this recipe for awhile. I have had this recipe for years (like we are talking 10) and I just kept putting it off. Story of my life. Finally decided to add the ingredients to my grocery list, because that is like writing it in stone don't you know.

Then I made them. Then I ate them. Then I ate some more. I really rather liked them.

I will say this, they are a little more grown up of a cookie. My Little Men only like them so-so. Also, if you make cookies for the cookie dough, well this isn't really the recipe for you. This is definitely a needs to be in baked and glazed cookie form to be enjoyed at its best.

With all that being said, I also don't want to scare you off from these delightful cookies. They really are something special and are not your typical cookie. Like I said, they are way more sophisticated than your average chocolate chip. Good news though is that they don't require tons of work like a fore mentioned macarons.

Give these lovely cookies a try. Oh, and when you read that there is 1 cup of corn meal in them, yes that is correct. It seems weird I know, but trust me these cookies are not weird they are uniquely surprising and marvelous.

See.

Glazed Lime Cookies

cookie:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
4 teaspoons lime zest
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup corn meal

glaze:
3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
8 Tablespoons lime juice
2 1/2 teaspoon lime zest

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add in egg and beat until incorporated. Then add in the lime zest, lime juice, orange zest, and almond extract. Mix until blended. Add in the flour and the corn meal. Mix well. Chill the dough for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheets with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with corn meal. Shape dough into 1" balls. Place on cookie sheet about 3" a part. Dip the bottom of a glass in corn meal. Using the glass, flatten the cookies to 1/4" thickness. Bake 14-16 minutes or until the cookies are light brown around the edges. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack. Let cool completely.

To make the glaze combine the powdered sugar, lime juice, and lime zest. Stir until smooth. Place the cooking rack with the cookies on it over a sheet of wax paper. Pour the lime glaze evenly over the cookies. Let the glaze set.

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Strawberry Lemonade Cookies

Oh guys, we are pretty much in the season of lemons. Eek. I am so excited. I have shared my 2014 lemon excitement already when I shared a recipe for Lemon Cheesecake Pie a few weeks ago.

Now with the sun shinning, the freshly mowed grass smell, later days, and school almost out for the Summer bring on the lemons. Bring it.

Just after my love of all things lemon, is my love of all thing Strawberry Lemonade. How can a person not love something that combines strawberries and lemons?!
 
So I kind of had to make up a cookie recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Cookies. Then I kind of had to eat half a dozen cookies.

They were that yummy.

Pretty and yummy.
 

These cookies make me happy. They are perfectly chewy with the right hints of strawberry and lemon. They are Summer in cookie form.

In fact, when I baked these up the Little Men were playing outside in the sunshine. Birds were chirping. Lawn mowers were running. My yard was full of bicycles, balls, and shoes. There was laughter and shouting.

The sounds of summer.

When the boys were done playing, the cookies were waiting for them.  They happily devoured these Strawberry Lemonade Cookies. They were a hit.

Give a try.

Strawberry Lemonade Cookies
makes about 2 dozen
 
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 3.4oz strawberry Jello pudding mix, dry
zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add in the eggs and the vanilla. Then mix in the lemon juice.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and strawberry pudding mix. Add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until well incorporated. Then add in the lemon zest.

Using a cookie scoop, drop scoops about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on a cookie rack.

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Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars

Cookies. Cheesecake. Cookies. Cheesecake.

How does one choose?

Oh pish posh, who needs to choose...let's have both.

The cookie part of this bar is one of my very favorite cookies. It is a soft gingersnap cookie. Okay it is really more like a molasses ginger cookie. The snap in the gingersnap is subjective. I have liked these cookies ever since my dear sweet college roommate made them for me.

Once I was married and I couldn't have her living with me at my disposal to make me cookies, I figured I should probably get the recipe and make them for myself.

I have been making them ever since.

I especially make them a lot once the holidays roll around. The gingeriness (totally a word) of this cookie reminds me so much of not only Fall, but also Christmas. So I figure it is fair game to make these cookies as much as I want between September and the end of December.

I also like to experiment with the recipe. By experiment, I mean adding the cookies into all my other favorite desserts.

In this case, these soft ginger cookies met up with my friend cheesecake.

I felt it was only right to introduce them.
 

Don't they seem like cozy friends already?

I tell you what, these are amazing. I was pretty much lacking in any self control around these Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars.

They made my day. Yes, dessert can totally do that.

There is scientific proof.

Okay, so maybe I made that whole scientific proof thing up, but dessert can make your day...

...you guys know what I am saying.

Go ahead punk...er...I mean Gingersnap Cheesecake Bar, make my day.

Enjoy! Happy Fall and happy gingeriness!

Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars

cookie:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

cheesecake filling:
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and the sugar until fully combined. Then mix in the egg. Next, mix in the molasses.

In a separate smaller bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.

Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the bowl of the sugar butter mixture. Mix until completely combined.

Take a little more than half of the cookie dough and press it into the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish.

Press it firmly.

Take the cheesecake filling and spread it over the cookie crust in the pan.

With the remaining cookie dough, break apart small pieces and just randomly cover the top of the cheesecake mixture..

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the middle is set.

Remove from oven, and let cool on a wire cooling rack. Once it has cooled completely.  Remove the Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars to the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

When ready, cut them up, serve them up, and wait for the accolades.

Thanks for reading!

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Sour Cream Coffee Cake Cookies

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There are few desserts I love more than a good crumb-tastic Coffee Cake.

1. A dense and fudgy brownie.
2. Velvety vanilla bean cheesecake
3. Dense and chewy sugar cookies
4. Then...

...crumb-tastic coffee cake

Well, this recipe takes two of my favorite desserts and combines them.

Sugar cookies plus coffee cake (and the best part of the coffee cake might I add...the CRUMB topping) equals best.cookie.ever.

My favorite part of a coffee cake is the crumb part. I have been known to eat the crumb off a third of the cake and then feign ignorance when the bottom of the cake  was found topless...er...uh...toppingless.

So basically, a recipe where a sugar cookie (refer to favorite snack #3) is topped with buttery, brown sugary crumb goodness cannot be passed up.  This cookie is made even better with addition of sour cream to the sugar cookie mix. Hint, hint...sour cream makes lots of baked things even yummy. Shocking I know, but it is true.

Remember my "I love Coffee Cake" declaration earlier...well my favorite coffee cake is Sour Cream Coffee Cake.

Okay back to the cookie, sorry I just day dreamed about that coffee cake and got a little side tracked.

This Sour Cream Coffee Cake Cookie is my new favorite cookie.

Oh heaven help me.

These cookies were so good.

I mean, seriously, do you see the top of that cookie???

Goosh. So good. Oh wait I think I said that already.

I am already to try and come up with a reason (besides that I can't stop thinking about them) to bake them again.

Do you like coffee cake as much as I do? What about sugar cookies?

Feel free to indulge and make yourself a dozen...or two.

You won't be sorry.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake Cookies
adapted from Oh Bite It

printable recipe

1 sugar cookie mix
(1 egg)
(1/4 cup softened unsalted butter)
1/4 cup sour cream

crumb topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter

brown sugar glaze:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons water

Make the cookies, according to the package with the egg, but instead of using a whole stick of butter, substitute half of the butter for sour cream.

While the cookies are baking, mix the crumb ingredients together with a fork.

Pull the cookies out of the oven 5 minutes early. Make a small indent in the cookie, pressing lightly in the center with the back of a lightly greased spoon. Press softly so that the spoon does not go through to the cookie sheet.

Fill the indent generously with some of the crumb mixture. Put the cookies back in for the rest of the  time.

While they are baking for the last 5 minutes, make the glaze by mixing all the ingredients together until they are fulling combined and smooth.

Once the cookies are down, let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Then drizzle over the brown sugar glaze. Let them cool for another 10 minutes.

Remove to a cooling rack.

You can eat them right away, but they are absolutely insane the next day...if you can wait that long.

Thanks for reading!

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Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Every time I go to the grocery store I seem to feel it necessary to grab another can of pumpkin puree.

I have an obsession. Pumpkin madness, if you will.

Since I have been rather fond of canned pumpkin lately, it would only seem to reason that I am also rather fond of baking with that very canned goodness.

I have already shared the yummiest Pumpkin Bread recipe this season. I have shared a Gingersnap Pumpkin Cheesecake Bar recipe too. In years past, I have also shared recipes for Pumpkin Patch Cookies and for Pumpkin Pie Bars.

So clearly, I like baking with pumpkin...well that is except for actual pumpkin pie. We have talked about this before. I find pumpkin pie mayhaps a tad bit yucky.

I seem to be making up for my pumpkin pie aversion by baking everything else pumpkin flavored.

The newest addition to the pumpkin party we are having over at our house lately...

This lovely, lovely cookie.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles.

This cookie is AWESOME.

Awesome I tell you.

Everything you love about a snickerdoodle meets everything you love about pumpkin desserts.

Basically, you have a pumpkin sugar cookie rolled in a sugar/pumpkin pie spice mixture.

BAM. Best snickerdoodle EV-AH.

I might have eaten like eight. Well eight if you don't count what I ate in dough...

Next time I make these cookies it will have to be for the intent of sharing with the neighbors. That way I will only eat four-ish.

It might be obvious, but I highly, highly recommend eating making this cookie.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Slightly adapted from Annie's Eats

3 3/4 cups flour
1 1 /2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla

sugar coating:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and the sugars until fluffy. Blend in pumpkin. Then add in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Cover the dough and chill for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the sugar and spices for the coating in a small bowl.

Scoop the dough, about 2 TBS worth, and roll into a ball. Coat each ball in the sugar/spice mixture. Place on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. When the cookie sheet is full, dip the bottom of a glass with a small amount of water and then dip in the sugar spice mixture. Slightly flatten each cookie with the bottom of the glass, recoating the glass with the sugar mixture if necessary.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, when just set and baked through. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Let cool completely.

Eat some. Then store the leftovers in an airtight container.

Yummy, yum, yum.

Chocolate Oreo White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies...boy do I love 'em.

You know what I love more, well uh, cookies in cookies of course.

Throw in some extra chocolate, well then I am one pretty happy girl.

Glory be!

I am not generally an Oreo eater. I don't really know why. I mean they are quite lovely to eat.

You can eat them as is. You can twist them apart and eat the filling and discard the wafers. You can let them skinny dip in a cold glass of milk and eat them a little milk soaked.

As I am typing this I really am wondering why I don't eat this delightful little cookie more often.

Probably because I want to be able to wear my jeans.

Speaking of jeans...lets not talk about them while we go over the fabulous details about these cookies!

These cookies are chocolaty. They are chewy. They have pockets of Oreo cookies. Yay! And we can't leave out the yummy white chocolate chips, they might get their feelings hurt.

All said and done, I was quite fond of these cookies...oh and the dough. I am pretty sure I have mentioned my love affair for cookie dough before.

So if you have some Oreos laying around ,believe me you will want to make these cookies.

Chocolate Oreo White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lauren's Latest


1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 Oreos roughly chopped
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet indgredients and mix until well combined. Stir in the Oreo pieces and the chips by hand.

Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop about two tablespoons of dough at a time onto a cookie sheet. Bake for about 8 minutes. Make sure not to over bake. You want them chewy not crunchy.

Now pour yourself a glass of milk and eat up.

Dark Chocolate Cookies

Do you still need a delightful cookie recipe for your neighbors? Maybe you are still in need of a yummy cookie to entice Santa to leave you the bestest present ever.

Well friends, these cookies are delightful. They are slightly crispy on the outside but soft and ooey gooey on the inside. They are dark chocolate. They are delightful. They are especially good warm...what cookie isn't?

Plus they are pretty!

Dark Chocolate Cookies 
adapted from Divine Baking


Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (I used Hershey's Special Dark), divided
3 large egg whites, room temp
2 cups powdered sugar, divided plus 1/2 cup for rolling dough in
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray. Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips in a glass container in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time. Stir in between each 30 seconds. Should take between 1 1/2 minutes and 2 minutes. Cool slightly.

Using mixer, beat egg whites with whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 1 cup of sugar. Continue beating until mixture looks like soft marshmallow cream.

Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt together in a separate bowl. On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

Then stir in warm chocolate and 1/2 cup of chips. The dough will be pretty stiff.

Place 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a bowl. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball. Roll each ball into the powdered sugar, making sure to cover liberally. Then place each dough ball onto the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches a part from each other.

Baked until puffed and top just starts to crack. This can take anywhere from 8-10 minutes depending on your oven, so make sure to keep your peepers on those cookies. Cool on the cookie sheets for about 10 minutes and then transfer most to a cooling rack...some maybe to your mouth. Just sayin'.

Yummy, yummy!

Happy Holidays!

Elyn's Ginger Cookies

Elyn's Ginger Cookies + Symphony Bars+ Mallows = Grown up S'mores

Oh mercy. Yes these are just absolutely delightful. Gooey marshmallow sandwiched between a square of chocolate...good chocolate at that...and two of my friend Elyn's fabulous ginger cookies (feel free to take off a cookie if you want to be "good").

The cookies really do make this treat. My friend Elyn has been making these forever. At my bridal shower she passed on this recipe and it has been a family favorite every since. Not only is the dough delightful to eat...if you are in to that and are not swayed by that whole salmonella thing (guilty!), but the cookies are just the right amount of soft and chewy and gingery....mouth watering as we speak.

So for Recipe Thursday I am passing this little gem on. Thank you Elyn!

Elyn's Ginger Cookies

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1 1/2 t ginger
1/2 t salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Cream shortening and sugar. Beat in egg and molasses. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture. Roll spoonfuls of dough into balls. Dip one side of each ball into sugar. Place dough, with sugar side up, on a greased baking sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cookies should be light brown and crinkly...AND MARVELOUS.

Eat these delights by themselves, with a glass of milk, or in a grown-up s'more.

(P.S. - For those that read this post before 8:30pm, September 4th, this post has been updated to make sure that it is family friendly--if you don't know what I mean by that, I am guessing Larissa will not explain it for you.)