Cookie Dough Dip

At an office potluck party, we were calling this the "deadly" cookie dough dip, because it is so delicious we could hardly stop eating it - good thing there were plenty here to share it! Thanks go out to Marissa Williams, the Eagle publisher, for bringing it and giving me the recipe!
This dip is great with graham crackers, chocolate graham crackers or vanilla wafers. It's just like cookie dough, but no eggs or flour in the dip.

Ingredients:
1/2 C. butter, softened
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 T. vanilla
1 C. powdered sugar
2 T. brown sugar
1 C. chocolate chips
1 C. toffee chips (or, if you love them, add the whole bag)

Directions:
Cream the softened butter and cream cheese with electric mixer. Add vanilla, powdered sugar and brown sugar and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and toffee chips. Serve with graham crackers.

Nestle Toll-House-style Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gluten-Free

Here's another recipe from Sandy Bupp of John Day - Nestle Toll House Cookies for the gluten-free diet. As a person with celiac disease, Sandy makes the best of it by adapting her cooking and baking to fit her restricted diet.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 C. all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 C. (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 C. granulated sugar
3/4 C. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. gluten-free vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 C. (12-oz. pkg) Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 C. chopped nuts
1 C. raisins

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Makes 5 dozen.

Tip: 

Sandy says that some gluten-free flours don't have as much elasticity to them - there are many brands to choose from. If your cookies go flat, try adding a little more all-purpose gluten-free flour to them. If more rise is needed, a 1/2 to 1 tsp. of baking powder could be sifted into the flour, along with the baking soda, before mixing into the butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Some brands of gluten-free flour have added baking powder, baking soda and xanthan gum to help improve baking results.

Pumpkin Sandwich Cookies

Here's a recipe from Sandy Bupp of John Day, also known as The Gluten-Free Lady. She's a wonderful contributor to Angel's Kitchen! I haven't tried this recipe yet, but hear they are reminiscent of pumpkin cake rolls, which I love!

Ingredients:
1/3 C. oil
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 C. sorghum flour
1 whole egg
1/2 C. canned pumpkin
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Filling:
1/3 C. shortening
3/4 C. powdered sugar
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
In a medium-size bowl, combine oil and sugar. Beat well. Add the sorghum flour and beat well. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl at least once during mixing. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Continue beating until the dough comes together; it will be soft and airy.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared pan. Press to 1/4-inch thickness with moist fingertips. bake for 10 minutes, until the cookies just begin to brown at the edges. Let cool on wire racks. For the filling, blend all the ingredients until light and fluffy. Press a tablespoon of filling between two cookies with bottom sides facing, and press together to form a sandwich. Repeat. Makes 11 servings.

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

This is a nice little treat for kids, young and old. The Rainbow Chip cake mix adds a fun flavor as well as a slightly softer texture. You’ll notice my picture is lacking the white chocolate topping – they are great with or without this part. This recipe would be perfect for family gatherings, class parties, bake sales ... you name it!







Ingredients:
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
10 oz. bag mini marshmallows
1 1/2 C. Betty Crocker Rainbow Chip cake mix, or similar product
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
6 C. Rice Krispies
2 Tbsp. rainbow sprinkles
1/3 C. white chocolate melting chips (optional)

Directions:
Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large saucepan, melt butter and add marshmallows over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat to low, and stir in cake mix and vanilla until just combined.
Stir in half of the Rice Krispies and 1 Tbsp. sprinkles – mix well.
Add remaining Rice Krispies and stir until combined.
Pour mixture into prepared baking pan using a large spoon and spread evenly. I used the butter wrapper under my hand to press it down nicely.
Microwave chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until melted. Drizzle over Rice Krispies. Sprinkle with remaining sprinkles.
Let cool and cut into squares.

Angel’s Tip: Place melted white chocolate in Zip-Lock bag, snip off one bottom corner for an 1/8-1/4 inch opening and squeeze out to drizzle over the top in zig-zags.

Recipe adapted from 365 Days of Baking

No-Bake Chocolate Cookies

I love No-Bake Chocolate Cookies, not only for their chewy deliciousness, but for the speed at which I can have a finished product. The other day I had a limited amount of time to throw together a school snack for one of my sons and this recipe was the ticket – it all came together in less than 30 minutes, and that includes a few minutes to let the cookies set up. This recipe comes from Joelene Floyd of Canyon City – bless you Joelene! I've tried other recipes which have not been as reliable, and have sometimes left me with a dry, crumbly mess – that's no fun. I've used this recipe three times now and they've turned out perfectly scrumptious every time! Woo hoo!

Ingredients to start with:
1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. milk (I used 1 percent milk)
1 3/4 C. sugar
4 Tbsp. cocoa powder

Melt butter most of the way over medium to medium-high heat, add milk, sugar and cocoa powder and mix with wire whisk until combined. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium low and simmer for – set your timer for this – 1 1/2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Add these ingredients:
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. peanut butter
3 C. oats

Stir with spoon to combine and drop by heaping small spoonfuls onto wax paper or foil. Allow to cool completely. The cookies set up as they cool. Makes about 2 dozen small cookies or 1 1/2 dozen larger cookies.

Angel's tip: Be sure to have your measuring spoons and cups ready and ingredients on the counter to quickly add them to the mix.

Homemade Mint Oreos

Homemade Mint Oreos

2 boxes Devil Food Cake Mix
4 eggs
2/3 C. vegetable oil
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
4 C. powdered sugar
1/2 C. butter (one stick), softened
1 tsp. peppermint extract
sprinkles or crushed candy cane

    Mix both boxes of cake mix with all four eggs and 2/3 C. vegetable oil, you may want to mix by hand as it is a stiff dough. Roll into one-inch balls. Place on cookie sheet and flatten a little. Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes.
    Mix entire package of cream cheese with butter until completely blended. Mix in 4 C. powdered sugar, a little at a time, mix in peppermint extract and mix until smooth.
After cookies have cooled, place frosting on one cookie and press another cookie on top of it to form a sandwich. Roll in sprinkles or crushed candy cane.
    Store in fridge in airtight containers.

Million-Dollar Cookies

By Sherry Dress of Naturally Yours health-food store 
(Some of the less well-known ingredients may be found at Naturally Yours.)


2 C. spelt four
1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. coconut oil (all coconut oil - one cup - can be used in place of butter)
2 C. sucanat, a less processed brown sugar
2 Tbs. vanilla
2 eggs, or mix 3 Tbs. applesauce, 1 Tbs. water, 2 Tbs. psyllium husk as egg replacer
2-1/2 C. oat flour or blend up oatmeal
1 Tsp. baking soda
1 Tsp. baking powder
Chocolate or carob chips, to your liking
1 C. coconut flakes

Optional: Add slivered almonds or other nuts, raisins, dates or other dried fruit, sesame seeds or flax seeds.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix butter, oil, sugar vanilla and eggs until creamy. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients, only until moist. Combine the dry and wet mixtures and then add the chips, coconut flakes and other extra ingredients you like. Place one-inch balls of dough on greased cookie sheet and bake 6-8 minutes, being careful not to overbake.

Cool for two minutes on cookie sheet before placing on wire racks - a secret to making moist cookies.

Here are the 12 Cookies of Christmas!

Twelve treats for your Christmas trays

Christmastime’s a-comin’ and it’s time to crack open the cookbooks and decide which sweet treats we’ll make for goody trays to give to family and friends.
It’s hard to choose a favorite when there are so many good ones, so I’m sharing 12 on the recipe blog -www.myeaglenews.com/kitchen. Several in the mix come from Grant County kitchens.
Check out all the recipes, and feel free to add your own cookies, candies, quick breads and other mouth-watering delights.


Dixie Beard's Cracker Candy

Louise Nelson’s Kisses Peanut Butter Blossoms

Louise Nelson’s Cranberry Bars

World Peace Cookies

Jim Johnston’s Oreo Truffles

Dan’s Date Cookies by Kathryn McKrola

Rozanne Mullin’s Chocolate Covered Cherries

Ineta Carpenter’s Gingerbread Cookies

Citrusy Shortbread Cookies

Joan Bowling’s Refrigerated Sugar Cookies

Ineta Carpenter’s Gingersnap cookies

Ineta Carpenter’s Cake Mix Cookies

Ineta Carpenter’s Cake Mix Cookies

1 pkg of any flavor cake mix, except carrot
1 cube butter
1 egg

Mix well and drop by spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 8-9 minutes.
An alternative (by Joan Bowling):
1 pkg cake mix
1/3 c. oil
2 eggs, beaten
No eggs, no oil alternative (by Joan Bowling):
Three overripe bananas two cups oatmeal and makes a moist cookie that is fat free.

Ineta Carpenter’s Gingersnap cookies

1 1/2 C. margarine
1/2 C. molasses
2 C. sugar

Cream ingredients then add:
2 eggs
Mix well, then add:
4 teas. baking soda
2 teas. ginger
2 teas. cinnamon
2 teas. cloves
4 cups flour
Mix well and drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet and bake for 10 mins. at 350 F.
If you want them crispy leave on cookie sheet for 1 minute, for chewy remove immediately.

Louise Nelson’s Kisses Peanut Butter Blossoms

48 Hershey’s Kisses chocolates
1/2 C. shortening
3/4 C. creamy peanut butter
1/3 C. granulated sugar
1/3 C. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tables. milk
1 teas. vanilla
1 1/2 C. all purpose flour
1 teas. baking soda
1/2 teas. salt
granulated sugar to roll cookies in before baking

Preheat oven to 375 F. Remove foil from Kisses. Beat the shortening an peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla and beat well. Stir the flour, baking soda and salt and gradually beat into the rest of the mixture. Shape the dough into 1" balls and roll in granulated sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. Immediately press candy kiss into each cookie. Remove to a wire rack and let them cool completely - as they cool the cookies will crack around the edges. If you are stacking the cookies, wait until completely cooled.

Louise Nelson’s Cranberry Bars

1 1/2 C. graham cracker crumbs (about 24)
1/2 C. butter or margarine melted
1 1/2 C. white baking chips
1 1/2 C. dried cranberries, roughly chopped
1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1 C. dry flaked coconut
1 C. pecan halves

Combine graham crackers and butter and press into a greased 13x9 baking pan. In a bowl combine remaining ingredients and mix well. Gently spread over crust. Bake at 350 F for 25-28 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Let pan cool on wire rack then cut into bars. Should yield about 3 doz.

Louise says, “It’s sweet but it’s good.”

World Peace Cookies

Found at www.splendidtable.org, excerpted from “Baking: From My House to Yours” by Dorie Greenspan. I also saw this recipe in the Oregonian FoodDay sometime ago.

These were on Christmas trays our family put together in 2007. They have a nice chocolatey and salty taste to them - try the sea salt. It can be found at the grocery store and Naturally Yours. -AC
Makes about 36 cookies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons (11 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel or 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips, or a generous 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.
2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.
3. Turn off the mixer. Pour in the dry ingredients, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don't be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.
4. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you've frozen the dough, you needn't defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)
Getting Ready to Bake:
5. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
6. Using a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you're cutting them — don't be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them.
7. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won't look done, nor will they be firm, but that's just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

Dan’s Date Cookies by Kathryn McKrola

Submitted by Beth Spell

Beth says, “This is my mother’s (Kathryn McKrola) recipe for my brother’s favorite Christmas cookie. I think this is a double recipe - she has another that is a triple recipe, as he really liked these cookies, and she wanted to have plenty.”
4 C. brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 C. shortening or margarine
7 C. flour
2 teas. vanilla
2 C. dates, chopped
2 C. nuts, chopped
4 tables. cream
2 teas. cream of tartar
2 teas. baking powder
5 drops maple flavoring (not pancake syrup but the extract)
1.  Cream sugar eggs, and shortening (she always used Parkay margarine for baking, I use butter)
2.  Mix in flavorings and cream (half and half works)
3.  Add dry ingredients, mix well and add nuts (we use pecans)
4.  Form into rolls about 2-2 1/2 inches in diameter about 8-10 inches long, wrap in wax paper and chill over night
5.  Slice into slightly over 1/4 inch slices and bake at 400 F for 10 minutes or until lightly golden.

Ineta Carpenter’s Gingerbread Cookies

In a large pot, over medium low heat, combine the following and stir until dissolved:

1 C. margarine
1 C. pancake syrup
1 C. white sugar
1 C. brown sugar
3 1/2 teas. cinnamon
1/2 teasp. ginger
1 tablesp. cardamom
1/2 teasp. cloves
1/2 teas. allspice
1 t. salt
Remove from heat and cool. Then add:
2 beaten eggs
1 teas. baking soda dissolved in 1/8 C. warm water
6 C. flour
Mix and chill overnight.
Roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut desired shapes. Bake at 350 F. for 6-8 minutes.

Citrusy Shortbread Cookies

Adapted from a recipe found at www.familycircle.com

I first tried this one last summer, and it was a hit with our family. I made only half with dried fruit and nuts since two of my boys don’t care for those extras.
Ingredients
1 1/2  C. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2  C. plus 2 tables. sugar
2  egg yolks
2  tables. almond extract
1  teas. each orange and lemon zest
3  C. flour
1/4  teas. salt
1  beaten egg white
Chopped nuts or dried fruit (optional)
Directions
1. Heat oven to 325°F. Line a 17 x 12 x 1-inch baking pan with nonstick foil. In large bowl, cream together butter and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar.
2. Slowly add egg yolks, and beat well until smooth. Beat in almond extract and zest.
3. Stir in flour and salt until combined.
4. Spread dough evenly into prepared pan, flattening as smoothly as possible.
5. Brush top of dough with egg white; sprinkle with nuts or fruit (if using) and with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
6. Bake at 325°F for 25 minutes or until brown, turn off oven and allow cookies to sit in oven (with door ajar) for 15 minutes. Cut while slightly warm.
(Tip: I used dried cherry-flavored cranberries, chopped, and walnuts when I tried this delicious recipe. Chopped pistachios added would make a Christmasy combination. Also, I pressed the fruit and nuts into the dough slightly.)

Joan Bowling’s Refrigerated Sugar Cookies

Mix well:
2 eggs, beaten
2 cubes margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup oil

add:
1 teas. cream of tartar
1 teas. salt
1teas. baking soda
1 teas. vanilla
1 teas. almond extract
4 1/2 C. flour
Mix well and refrigerate overnight. Roll out to about a 1/4" thickness and cut with cookie cutters or make ball and flatten with a glass. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 350 F.
Cool and decorate.
Joan says this makes a good-size batch of sugar cookies, and they raise well.