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My name is Amy Gates (also known on the ‘net as amygeekgrl or the Crunchy Domestic Goddess). I live in Colorado with my husband Jody (yes, he’s a guy...
 
 
 
 

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The Cookie Tray - recipes to tantalize your tastebuds

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As I sit here typing with a belly full of turkey, trimmings and pie, I have to admit that the idea of baking cookies is the farthest thing from my mind. Yet I know when I wake up tomorrow my desire to bake (and eat) will be renewed again and as the holiday music fills the air over the next few weeks, I'll be happy to have this list of tasty recipes to look back on. Because even though I can't imagine taking one more bite of food at the moment, these recipes look really darn good.

Chocolate chip cookiesI put together some of the best recipes I could find and broke them down into categories. I think there is likely something here to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth, but if you don't find something you like, please feel free to link to your favorite cookie recipe in the comments. After all, whenever cookies are concerned, the more, the merrier.

If you are like me and have a bunch of pureed pumpkin to use up, you welcome any recipe that involves pumpkin. Did I mention my neighbor dropped off a container full of 13 cups of pumpkin this week? Oh yes, she did. Ordinarily I would welcome such a gift, but when my freezer was already full of pumpkin puree, it forced me to get a little creative. That is why we had chocolate pumpkin cake for my son's birthday earlier in the week, as well as two kinds of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving this evening (and probably pumpkin soup later this week). Luckily for me there is no shortage of good pumpkin cookie recipes out there.

Pumpkin Cookies

  • Mommy Wizdom claims she has a recipe for The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever and told me that anywhere she takes her cookies, people ask her for this recipe.
  • At Green Hour, there's another recipe for kid-friendly Pumpkin Cookies (scroll down to the third recipe), where the kiddos can help "press raisin eyes, a nose, and a smile on each warm cookie."
  • Julie at Persnickety Palate posted one of her childhood favorites, Mom's Pumpkin Cookies. This variation includes almonds and chocolate chips.
  • Last in the pumpkin category is the recipe for the easiest cookies I've ever made. Seriously. This recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cookies (AKA The easiest cookies I've ever made) literally has only two ingredients (though more can be added, but that's totally optional).

Speaking of simple cookie recipes, here are a couple more that even the most inexperienced baker can handle.

Simple Cookie Recipes

  • Jenn from The Green Parent told me this recipe on Twitter. It's so short and easy, she gave me the whole recipe in 140 characters or less, and I quote, "3cups pb, 3 cup sugar, and 3 eggs...mix and bake then press a Hershey's kiss in the top. Yum Yum and soo easy!" And hello, chocolate and peanut butter (which is what the "pb" stands for above) together? In my book that's a combination that can never go wrong.
  • Brandy from Savin Some posted a Cake Mix Cookie recipe that uses white cake mix and just two other ingredients.
  • And at Cindy's Desktop, Cindy confesses, "I cannot cook hard recipes!" Her solution is to only cook easy recipes and she offers up a variety of Cake Mix Cookie recipes.

Chocolate chip cookies are a favorite in my house. I always say that you can add chocolate chips to nearly any recipe and it will only make it better.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • When I first read about Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies on Twitter, I was a little taken aback. Sure, bacon is good and chocolate is good, but combining them? Hmmm. According to Michelle Baker, AKA the Urban Eater, "The salty, crisp bacon is MAGIC with the sweet chocolately cookie. Perfection. I recommend NOT eating these straight from the oven as you will not stop." I'm not sure if I will try these out myself, but I'd love to know if anyone else does.
  • If you are looking for a little more traditional chocolate chip cookie, you might like these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from Teresa Long of Intent Blog.
  • These Black and white chocolate chip cookies that come from Jessie at the blog The Hungry Mouse use Oreos as one of the ingredients look pretty darn tasty.
  • Flour Girl, ironically enough, posted this recipe for Flour-less peanut butter banana chocolate chip cookies. Again, peanut butter and chocolate. Yum!

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amygeekgrl 5 pts

Mint sugar cookies? Genius! All they need to be topped with, IMO, is some kind of chocolate spread, like Nutella. :) Mmmmm.

Oh, and I have no problem passing on the walnuts too. I'm allergic.

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess ( http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com )
BlogHers Act contributing editor ( http://www.blogher.com/special-events/bloghers-act )

sassymonkey 6 pts

They are the only sugar cookie I make and the only ones I eat. I'm making them today and the boy better like them. If not he's eating them anyway. I don't do the icing though. I use coloured sugar.

Now where are my cookie cutters....

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca/ ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca/ ).

Denise 9 pts moderator

Since Sassymonkey has misplaced her copy of my recipe, I thought I'd share it here so more people can be converts to the magic of the mint sugar cookie. Trust me, these are excellent. (From the Christmas gifts of good taste ( http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Gifts-Good-Taste-1... ) book which I highly recommend for a zillion reasons.)

Cookies

3/4 cup butter or margarine softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1tsp mint extract
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup finely ground walnuts (I leave these OUT.)

Icing (though most often we use tube colored icing to decorate)

5 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup plus 1tbsp milk
green, red, orange and blue paste food coloring

For cookies, cream butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Add egg and mint extract, beating until smooth. In another large bowl, sift together flour & baking soda. Stir flour mixter and nuts into creamed mixture, mixing until a soft dough forms. Cover & chill for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350. On a lightly floured surface, use a floured rolling pin to roll out dough to 1/4". (book has a pattern to make a Christmas light bulb and they are very pretty when you use this pattern - we tend to just bring the kids in to use normal holiday cookie cutters to make their shapes.) Bake 8-10 minutes or until cookies are light brown. Cool on a wire wrack.

For icing, beat sugar and milk in a large bowl until smooth. Divide icing evenly into 5 small bowls. Leaving one bowl white, tint remaining bowls green, red, orange, and blue. Spread icing on cookies and allow icing to harden. Store in airtight container.

Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings ( http://www.flamingohouse.net/ )

Andrea Meyers 5 pts

..which are actually not pies at all. 

~Andrea,
Andrea's Recipes ( http://www.andreasrecipes.com )

amygeekgrl 5 pts

What a neat idea, Jenn. I'll plan on stopping by.

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess ( http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com )
BlogHers Act contributing editor ( http://www.blogher.com/special-events/bloghers-act )

jlraynes 5 pts

Ohh, I'm hosting a Virtual Cookie Exchange ( http://tinyurl.com/6zkq3u ) on my site on the 12th. Would love everyone's help spreading the word and posting recipes.  More recipes, MORE COOKIES!  Plus there are giveaways.

Jenn

Jenn's Journal ( http://jennsjournal.net )

amygeekgrl 5 pts

They are delish, and I like to think a little bit healthy, cuz of the pumpkin. ;)

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess ( http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com )
BlogHers Act contributing editor ( http://www.blogher.com/special-events/bloghers-act )

Vered 5 pts

But I admit: I'm intrigued by the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. 

Thanks. :)

----

Yes, I'm a mommy blogger ( http://momgrind.com/ ).

I manage my kids' daily activities at UpToUs: online groups for parents. ( http://www.uptous.com/ )