Homemade graham crackers

This recipe doesn't use graham flour, just whole wheat flour. We have soft white wheat and we grind it ourselves very fine so there isn't a big difference.

1/4 cup powdered dry skim milk
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
6 cups whole wheat flour (approx)

Mix together the powdered milk, water and lemon juice.  In separate bowl combine the brown sugar, honey, oil, vanilla and eggs. Combine both mixtures and then add salt, baking soda and flour. The amount of flour needed will vary - add more if its too wet or sticky. The mixture will be fairly sticky but should pull away from bowl easily. Spray oil on your hands and divide the dough into 4 parts. Each ball can be rolled out on a cookie sheet to 1/8" thick. (This will take some patience!) Thicker will make them more cakey and cookie like. (We like them this way too!) Prick dough with fork. Bake at 375 F for 15 minutest or until light brown. Remove from oven and immediately cut into squares.

This makes a TON of crackers but we have always eaten them within two days so I can't tell you about storage. If you are concerned, cut the recipe in half easily. They are delicious!

Chocolate cookies

Perfect for ice cream sandwiches

1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp hot cocoa mix
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 2 baking sheets. Sift first 5 ingredients into a bowl. Reserve.

Cream butter and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, mix well. Add dry ingredients, mix until just combined.

Form 1/4 cup portions of dough into 8 balls. Put 4 balls on each sheet, flatten with spatula. Bake about 10 minutes. Let stand 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

Thin Mint cookies

Newspaper clipping from 2003, says from book "Even More Top Secret Recipes".
I remember the dough being a pain, but they really were just like those thin mints in a green box that are no longer around right now.
Makes 108 cookies.


Thin Mints
1 (18.25 oz) package chocolate fudge cake mix (betty crocker suggested)
3 Tbsp shortening, melted
1/2 cup cake flour, measured, then sifted
1 egg
3 Tbsp water
nonstick cooking spray
3 (12 oz) bags semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 tsp peppermint extract
6 Tbsp shortening

Combine cake mix, shortening, flour and egg in large bowl, adding water a little at time until dough forms. Cover and chill 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick coating. On a lightly foured surface, roll out a portion of dough to just under 1/16 of an inch thick. Cut using a lid from a spice container with a 1 1/2 inch diameter.
Arange cut dough on prepared cookie sheets, bake 10 minutes. Remove wafers from oven and cool completely.

In a large microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and peppermint extract and shortening. heat on 50 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir gently. Heat 1 more minute. Stir again. if not smooth, continue to  cook at 30 sectond intervals until smooth.

Use fork to dip each wafer into chocolate. Tap on bowl so excess chocolate runs off. Place on wax paper lined baking sheet, refrigerate until firm. Makes 108 cookies (3 boxes).

Mint chocolate chocolate chip cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp peppermint extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup choclate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 375 F. Cream butter and sugars and peppermint extract on medium speed until light and fluffly. Add eggs, beat well. In separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, soda, powder and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, don't over mix. Stir in chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7 minutes until set. Cool 1 minute, remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. (Cookies will look barely done when removing from oven.)

Mexican Double chocolate chocolate chip cookies

Newspaper clipping - winner of a contest, recipe says from Chaim Potter of Napa, CA
Tried them and they are pretty good.

Mexcan double chocolate chocolate chip cookies

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/8 tsp finely ground black pepper
1/4 lb coarsely chopped good quality dark chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F. Whisk first 6 ingredients, set aside. In double boiler, melt chocolate and butter. Let cool slightly, then combin in an electric mixer with sugar eggs and vanilla at medium speed. Reduce to low and gradually add flour mixture, fold in chocolate chips.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop to drop scoops on paper, 2 inches apart. bake 15 minutes until look flat and surfaces crack (cookies should still be soft in texture). let cookies cool on parchment on wire racks. Store for up to 3 days. Makes 3 dozen.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are one of my husband's favorites. The recipe comes from his sister. They are like big soft pillows of pumpkin and chocolate goodness.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1/2 Tbsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups (12 oz pkg) chocolate chips

Cream the shortening and butter. Stir in the eggs by hand just until mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend.  Bake at 375 F for 13-15 minutes. Cookies will still look slightly undercooked but when touched will be firm with slight bounce. Remove and let cool on sheet for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

French Macarons

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

Unless you’ve been frozen in permafrost for the past five years, you’ve likely noticed that cupcake bakeries have popped up all over like iced mushrooms. Knock one down, and three take its place. Much has been made about not only the cupcake’s popularity, but also its incipient demise as the sweet du jour. Since we seem to be a culture intent on the next sensation, pundits, food enthusiasts and bloggers have all wondered what this sensation might be. More than a few have suggested that French-style macaroons (called macarons in France) might supplant the cupcake. This may or may not come to pass, but the basic premise of the French macaroon is pretty tasty.

In the United States, the term “macaroon” generally refers to a cookie made primarily of coconut. But European macaroons are based on either ground almonds or almond paste, combined with sugar and egg whites. The texture can run from chewy, crunchy or a combination of the two. Frequently, two macaroons are sandwiched together with ganache, buttercream or jam, which can cause the cookies to become more chewy. The flavor possibilities and combinations are nigh endless, allowing infinitely customizable permutations.

-------------------------------------------

Why did I procrastinate this challenge until 10pm yesterday? Lack of planning or a very busy month, or perhaps a combination of both. I was excited about making these and hoped to spend the month figuring out how to make them best in my house. But I have attempted them, and here they are:

In case you don't already know from the picture, I did not succeed at making beautiful perfect French macarons. They did rise some, but not much. They did not obtain a lovely foot. Part of it could be my oven which is 60 years old and super special. But I'm sure if I put in the time I might be able to figure out how to make them work appropriately in my oven.

I need to work on folding in the flour even more gently. I also think I needed a longer time at the lower temperature to set the shape. Plus I tried to do multiple sheets at a time which didn't work and burnt the bottom of one set, and caused others to spread while waiting so I really think this is a recipe you need to make more than once to figure out.

Taste wise, they are yummy. Making my own almond flour was fun! I have plenty of almonds on hand anyway and I aged some egg whites that were left from another recipe. Honestly I just wish I had made them multiple times before the due date.

I also ended up making a toffee ganache filling because that's what I had on hand and it was super sweet with it, too much for my taste. A good dark chocolate ganache would be preferable.

I'm not great at choosing options and making variations like a lot of the daring bakers so choosing a filling is more about what I have on hand than anything. I encourage you to try macarons. (And yes, that is how it is spelt for the French version. :D ) They are a lovely little sandwich cookie and I will be trying them again in the future.

My sad little cookies waiting for fillings.

-------------------------------------------

French Macarons

Ingredients

Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)

Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)

Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)

Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.

2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.

5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).

6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.

7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Mallows & Milans

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

I love cookies so this challenge was very exciting! Making marshmallows has been on my to-try list for a while as well. For this reason, I started with the mallow-esque cookies first. The wafer base was a simple tasty cookie. I did them the day before I was to make marshmallows. Making marshmallows goes quickly at first - the sugar solution started boiling much faster than I expected and I was scrambling to get the gelatin bloomed in time. Then it came time to whip the egg whites to soft peaks which took a few minutes and then it was time to mix the sugar solution and the egg white solution and I was foolishly using a hand mixer. This part felt like it took forever! I'm pretty sure it would have been simpler and faster with my stand mixer, but that didn't occur to me in the first 15 minutes of mixing with the hand mixer and by then I wasn't switching! So lesson learned: USE A STAND MIXER when making marshmallows!It is true what they say, the homemade marshmallows were soft, light, airy, delicate... amazing and totally different from store bought. They easily piped onto the cookies and waited a bit to firm up before we did the chocolate dipping. These cookies were only hard for me because cookies are all about quick gratification of a sugar craving usually and these take several waiting stages to make! 2 long hours later, I mixed my oil and chocolate, being careful to keep the temperature low to prevent chocolate issues. Then I dipped the marshmallow cookies in the chocolate and put them out to harden. Which they never did. Perhaps because I keep my house at 80 F in the summer, or perhaps too much oil? or perhaps I didn't temper it as well as I thought I did. I'm not sure. They went into the fridge to develop a shell though and then I could photograph them and finally sample them!They do taste like little bites of moon pie, a delicacy I haven't had since I was a small child. And they are very much like mallowmars, according to my DH and friends. I took them to a party and they were a big hit. My only complaint about the recipe is that the dough portion makes WAY more than 2 dozen cookies (I cooked up half the dough and got 3 dozen easily) while marshmallow filling wise, I had just enough for 2 dozen cookies and enough chocolate maybe for 3 or 4 dozen. So the cookie recipe should be scaled down or halved when made again. I'm freezing all the extra wafer cookies to use next time we want some mallows!Recipe:

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 10 min Inactive Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 10 min Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (170 grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs, whisked together
• Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
• Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.
4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Homemade marshmallows:
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 egg whites , room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix.
4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.
5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.
6. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate glaze:
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Making the Milans:

I didn't make the milans until the last day before the challenge, it looked like a quick and easy recipe, since it had a ganache like filling and I've dealt with ganache several times in the past. The tricky part with them was the cookies which are piped out onto cookie sheets for baking. I didn't have any parchment paper or silicon mats on hand, and usually its not too big of a deal but for these cookies it was an issue. They are very sugary and caramelize to the pan if left on at cooling. But you have to let them cool on the pan because they are so soft coming out of the oven! At any rate, my first few batches are not very pretty to look at and I'm not going to be able to get parchment paper before publishing this to make some prettier cookies. These cookies are very rich. Love the hint of orange taste in the ganache and the vanilla/lemon combo in the cookies. I wish I'd halved this recipe too because they are so rich! We did need more ganache filling because DH liked it thicker between the cookie wafers.
Milan Cookies

Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website
Prep Time: 20 min Cook Time: 1 hr Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

• 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar
• 7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon extract
• 1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour
• Cookie filling, recipe follows

Cookie filling:
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 orange, zested

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.
2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.
4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.
6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.
7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.
8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).
9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.
10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

Chocolate sandwich cookies

When I was young, there was a mom at church who made these delicious cookies that were like "Oreos" but better - at least that was my introduction to them the first time I tasted them. She wouldn't share the recipe with anyone. It was her secret, at least until she moved away. She then gave it to my mom and one other mom to have as a secret, since she was moving across the country.

The recipe is quite simple. However if you are expecting it to taste like an Oreo, you will be disappointed. I know my reaction was "That's not how an Oreo tastes!" To which I was told something like "Yeah, it's better!" It is a delicious sandwich cookie but with a soft cookie and a cream cheese filling, it is different and tastes nothing like an Oreo to me. It is, however, delicious and easy and totally worth the time to make.

I was reminded of these simple treats by a facebook message from a friend asking for the recipe. I called my mom and she laughed and said it was on the internet already and told me where. She never was one for the big "secret" of it all. Since it's already out there for others to find, I think its fine for me to share it here. Hope you enjoy!

Home Made Oreo Cookies

2 (18 ounce) boxes devil's food cake mix
4 eggs, beaten well
2/3 cup oil
1/2 cup butter
4 ounces cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Mix eggs, cake mix, and oil together well.

2. Shape into gumball sizes balls.

3. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

Inside Cream Filling:

1. Mix butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla together.

2. When cookies are completly cool frost the flat side of one cookie, place another cookie on top of the frosting (flat side to flat side).

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

We love cookies. Simple, sweet, fast, tasty...what's not to like? Easy to make with your kids...one of my favorites is oatmeal chocolate chip. You get some healthy oatmeal, but with chocolate. Mmmm....chocolate. It surprised a friend to know that I use the recipe on the Oatmeal box, b/c I think it is the best. Of course, that is with the qualification that you use real unsalted butter and double the chocolate chips (which go instead of the raisins).

So here is the recipe the way we've been making it. Mmmm...cookies.


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 pound (2 sticks)unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Servings: About 4 dozen

Chocolate madeleines

The first time I saw madeleines was on the TV show Friends. Since they were a cute shell shaped French cake cookie, I was intrigued. Also, they said they were hard to make. Double bonus!

Since then, I have always wanted to try them, but never have, because they require a special pan. The chocolate therapy challenge was a great reason to buy a madeleine pan! I will be trying a non-chocolate madeleine recipe as well, but first and most important is the chocolate recipe. My source is La Tartine gourmande. Since her recipe requires a kitchen scale and I don't have one, and also is not detailed enough for this madeleine beginner, I had to supplement it with info from 101 cookbooks madeleine recipe and a conversion website.

I ended up using mostly dark chocolate with mint, since that's what I had in the fridge. I also overfilled the molds the first time, since 3/4 full of a shell shaped mold is kind of hard to see. Overfilling them is bad, since they stick to the mold more. I think there is a skill there you have to develop to have all your madeleines look awesome like pictures I've seen. Mine turned out okay. The batter recipe is easy, it is getting beautiful looking madeleines that is the hard part.

I'd also appreciate the recipe saying put in a heaping 1 Tbsp (approx amount for regular madeleine molds I'd say), since that would be easier to measure/see. Also, unmold them on a flat surface instead of wire racks for better luck IMO.

The flavor and texture was great. It was like a little cake, delicate and light and chocolatey. Yum! They are rich and delicious. The chocolate mint worked really well for me. MMM...

Photos: Top are my 4 best madeleines. Next is my first batch, which mostly fell apart, trying to unmold on the rack. Next is the amount I put in the molds the 2nd time, resulting in no overflow and finally a batch that I unmolded on a flat surface.

Here is the recipe, modified as I did it:

Chocolate Madeleines

3 eggs
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
3.5 oz dark chocolate
4 oz (1/2 stick) butter, unsalted
1 tsp. baking powder
dash sea salt

*Place the chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl and melt over a pot of simmering water. Let it cool down.
* Sift the flour and baking powder and keep on the side.
* Place the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high with a whisk attachment until they double/triple in volume (about 3 minutes).
* Reduce the speed and add the sugar in a steady stream. Increase the speed to high again and beat until lighter in color, about 2 minutes (until thick and ribbony).
* Remove the bowl and add the flour and baking powder with a wooden spoon.
* Add the cool melted chocolate and butter and blend, not overworking the dough.
* Place the batter in the fridge for a few hours before baking (minimum 1 hour).
*Use baking spray on molds or butter & flour them.
* Fill special madeleine molds 3/4 full. (Approx 1 Tbsp per mold). Do not spread out, as they will fill it while baking. Do not overfill.
* Preheat your oven at 430 F and cook the madeleines for 7 minutes first so that they rise nicely, then reduce the heat to 350 F and continue to cook for 4 more minutes.
* Unmold immediately and cool on racks. Best eaten day they are made, will keep a few days.
Makes approx 3 dozen cookies.

Chocolate cream sandwich cookies

My friend at Create Cakes posted a chocolate recipe every day of Chocolate week recently. Very delicious. One stood out as a must try soon for me, and it was these cookies.

What's not to love about homemade oreo type cookies? Mmmmm.

The only speed bump was in flattening the cookies for baking. The recommended cup was NOT working for me, and neither was a spoon. I ended up using the heel of my hand and it worked the best.

Chocolate cream sandwich cookies

makes about 40 sandwiches

2 ½ C Flour
1 tsp baking soda
12 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temp
1 C plus 2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp water
2 C (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips melted

Sift flour and baking soda together, set aside. Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 min. Add the eggs and water ad beat on medium speed until blended, about 20 sec. Add melted chocolate and mix until blended, about 5 sec. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed for 15 sec. Scoop rounded tsp of batter on greased cookie sheets (or parchment paper). Using the bottom of a glass press each cookie. Bake at 350 until firm to the touch, about 15 min. Cool them completely on wire racks.

Cream Cheese Filling

8 ounces cream cheese
5 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla
2-2 ½ C powdered sugar

Beat cheese, butter and vanilla until blended. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Spread a rounded tsp of filling on the bottom of half the cookies. Then top with the remaining cookies. Allow them to set for 2-3 hours in the refrigerators.

Chocolate Molasses Cookies

My first memories of molasses is having it on a hot buttered biscuit. Beyond that it is an ingredient I use in whole wheat bread sometimes and also in gingerbread cookies. It is a unique flavor perhaps, strong and sweet.

When I saw the recipe for Chocolate Molasses cookies in the newspaper this week, I immediately wanted to try them. They looked fantastic, and definitely were.

Chocolate Molasses Cookies
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tblsp dark molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
powdered sugar (optional dusting)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Melt chocolate and butter in microwave-safe glass mixing bowl on high power in 30-second increments, until almost melted. Stir to len well, then left cool. (About 1 minute total in microwave)
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
Stir brown sugar, egg, molasses and vanilla into cooled chocolate mixture. Add flour mixture, stirring until combined.
Place scant tablespoons of dough on ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 10-11 minutes until tops begin to crack and cookies are still soft to the touch. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to wire rack and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar. makes 36 cookies.
Source listed: Kansas City-Star

Banana cookies

Sunday Dessert Treat

From my MBASA cookbook:
Banana Cookies
3/4 c. shortening (used butter)
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. smashed bananas
1 3/4 c. quick oats
(optional) chocolate chips

Cream butter/sugar, add egg, mix. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add to wet mixture, add bananas & quick oats, add chocolate cips. Bake at 400 F for 12-15 minutes.

So I got to watch these get made by my cousin & my kids. It was fun. Normally it's me with the 2 kids helping stir and add ingredients.

They taste like banana bread, but are so much easier to carry around! Plus you can call them "banookies". I think we have a new favorite way to eat bananas. :)

Using butter instead of shortening can have some ramifications - the cookies spread a bit more and may be crispier. But it worked fine with these cookies. For more info on it, The Prepared Pantry has a blurb about it at the bottom of the page in the link.

My MBASA cookbook comes from an organization I was lucky to be a member of for 2 years, while my husband got his MBA. It is one of those great group cookbooks that can't be bought anywhere. You have to know someone related to the group.