Smitten With These Cookies

A while back I purchased some old fashioned oats for a topping to the fruit crisp that I made. The oats are not a usual "find" in my pantry. So, when I had some left over, I knew I had to make some oatmeal cookies.

Once I decided what to make, I set out through my thousands of recipes and cookbooks to find the perfect recipe that I wanted to use. Not only did I find one of the best recipes to use, but it was not in my 30+ cookbooks or on my blog.

No, this recipe actually came from Smitten Kitchen's blog. They were quite easy and tasted great as well. I did not want a recipe that called for both brown and white sugar, so that is another reason I was drawn to this recipe.

Oatmeal Cookies:

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp, cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts-I left these out

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. In another large bowl, combine the all purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture, incorporating the ingredients well. Stir in the rolled oats, raisins, and walnuts. Using a cookie scoop, drop mixture onto the prepared pans. Bake for 10 minutes. My cookies did very little spreading, so I placed them about an inch apart.

I'll Have My Cookie With....Everything!

Okay, I know that I have been posting nothing but sweets lately, but it is the holidays! I will be back to regular food soon. This cookie recipe is from Paula Deen. I printed it some time ago from the Internet. They are great for the holidays. That seems to luckily be the only time we think about them in our house.

Monster Cookies:

3 eggs
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
12 oz. creamy peanut butter
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup M&M's
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup raisins
2 tsp. baking soda
4 1/2 cups quick cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a very large bowl, mix eggs and sugars together until well combined. Add salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in M&M's, chocolate chips, raisins, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes. Allow to set for 3-5 minutes.