Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are by far my favorite type of cookie. Their flavor is so rich and full and they seem to turn out well almost always so let it be no surprise to find many a cookie containing Oatmeal on this blog. Another nice thing about an oatmeal cookie is that often times you have a simple dough that you can add any number of things to; chocolate chips, raisins, walnuts, coconut, craisins, pecans, white chips (notice I didn't say white chocolate as many grocery stores don't contain white chips that contain any cocoa in them), etc. etc. You can also add any number of spices to an oatmeal cookie. My absolute favorite oatmeal cookie is made all the better by a simple teaspoon or more of Cloves.

But I digress, yesterday I was in the mood for a warm your heart and soul simple oatmeal cookies but I wanted to try something new. I had searched high and low for Hershey's Cinnamon Chips this season to make a crumb cake with and having finally found the chips I set right about to forgetting to make the crumb cake. So here it is, January and I have several (read five) bags of Cinnamon chips on my hands. I decided to try the Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookie recipe right on the back of the bag and boy am I glad I did because not only do I love Oatmeal, I love cinnamon. A lot.

I mean I did buy five bags of the chips. I knew I could find a use for them crumb cake or not.

The only change I made was to swap Craisins for raisins as most of the people in my family can do without shriveled grapes. The dough was a little stiff but pretty easy to work with. The recipe made more than four dozen cookies.
Four dozen cookies yesterday...and only 11 left today. Yes, they were that good, especially right off the cookie sheet while the oatmeal was still very soft.
They didn't even need the traditional slice of bread stored with them to keep them soft, they are as soft today as you could expect from a cookie a day old.
So oatmeal and cinnamon is definitely a do. The craisins didn't add as much as I would have expected but perhaps I could have used more.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Cinnamon Chips
• 3/4 cup craisins

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat butter and sugars in a bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour and baking soda; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in oats, cinnamon chips and craisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls unto ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 9-10 minutes. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Makes approximately four dozen delicious cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes

This Christmas, in addition to several cookbooks, I received not one but two cupcake holders. I decided to try them both out as well as a new recipe I have been eyeing recently on allrecipes. You see I went looking for a good homemade cupcake recipe and found a homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe in which you drop unbaked, frozen cookie dough into cupcakes using a simple cake mix bought from anywhere.

On the first night I whipped up the cookie dough and stuck the balls into the freezer to freeze overnight. They looked so cozy next morning I almost felt bad disturbing them.

But I did. I decided to try out both cupcake carriers and went ahead and made two dozen yellow cake mix cupcakes and two dozen with devil food cake mix.

These cupcakes were in fact the best cupcakes ever. They were best within a few hours of being baked but we had taste testers the following day say they were the best cupcake they had ever had as well. I followed the recipe to a tee and even baked one of the cookies just to see if the cookies themselves were good...and they were. Both flavors of cake were good but most of the people who tried them agreed that the yellow cake mix made for a better overall cupcake.

One thing I will add however is that I like my cupcakes loaded with icing so I went through three tubs of icing on these four dozen cookies, three different kinds of icing. From here on out I am a Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy Milk Chocolate Icing fan. The tub says it's America's Favorite Frosting. I am not surprised.

As for the cupcake carriers themselves I have a hard time deciding which I liked better. You can bake and store your cupcakes in the Oneida cupcake carrier, but I didn't, I only stored the cupcakes in it. The Progressive cupcake carrier is a decorative stand but it collapses which makes storage nice. Overall, I'm not sure which I would choose if I had to but fortunately I don't have to. However, I think if you're looking for a carrier the Oneida is 33% cheaper than the Progressive and is just a tad less fancy.

Banana Bread Cookie

For Christmas this year I received several cookbooks, mostly written by Alton Brown, but a few others including "The Cookie Bible". With over 400 cookie recipes in it I began to wonder who really makes all of these cookies? Thing is though I've met several cookies I didn't particularly care for, I've never met a cookie I wouldn't at least try. I decided then and there that I was going to start giving more cookie recipes a shot, as I can think of only a handful of things better than a cookie (Cherry Coke, Powdered Donuts, Waterstone Hummus).

I was going to wait for the New Year, and a cleaner house, to begin my cookie experimenting when I happened upon these, glaring at me on the kitchen counter.

Any other day I would have thrown together a simple Banana Bread but two things were stopping me. First, I seem to fail whenever I attempt Banana Bread. I get most quick breads like Zucchini and Pumpkin but I have never found that perfect Banana bread recipe that never fails. My nana bread is always just so-so. Secondly, I had just the day before been thinking about my love of cookies and my new willingness to try more recipes.

Without any more thought I decided to attempt a banana recipe without cookbooks or prior experience. The result? A most delectable treat.

These cookies have a very surprising resemblance to Banana Bread so to shake things up a bit and to interest the kids in them, I topped them, quite heavily I should add, with confectioners sugar.

It worked, the kids each ate three and were asking for more, but being only a few hours before dinner I cut them off.

Today the cookies are a tad bit soft, not quite soggy but I think in the future I will freeze whatever won't be eaten right away.

Banana Bread Cookie

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup salted butter

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 bananas, peeled and mashed

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (or all purpose)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup Walnuts

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets with cooking spray.

2.) In medium bowl cream shortening, butter and sugars. Add eggs one at a time, vanilla and bananas.

3.) Combine flours, baking soda, and salt. Blead with creamed mixture. Add walnuts.

4.) Drop by rounded tablespoons on cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 9 1/2-11 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.