Fluffernutter Cookies

From Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Cookies:

1 stick butter, softened

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 3/4 cups flour

mini marshmallows

Chocolate Glaze:

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I ALWAYS use milk, but that's just me)

3 Tblsp. butter

1 Tblsp. light corn syrup

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl; set aside.  Beat butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients and, if using an electric mixer, beat at low speed.  * I have a mixer (not a KitchenAid; boo!) but with the majority of my cookie recipes I just mix them by hand, and for this recipe it worked out fine.  Transfer cookie dough to the fridge and chill 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper (only a must if you don't want to wash the cookie sheets, which I don't mind doing).  Roll a heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place on the cookie sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.  Gently press into the middle of each cookie with your thumb.  Bake for 7-9 minutes or until very lightly browned.  Remove cookies from oven and gently press into the middle of each cookie one more time.  Place 3-4 marshmallows on top of each.  Return to the oven and bake 2-3 minutes more, until marshmallows are soft, but not toasted.  Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheets before moving to wire racks.  Cool completely.

For the chocolate glaze, place chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup into a heat safe bowl (I used a glass one).  Set the bowl over a saucepan on the stove containing just barely simmering water.  Heat mixture until chocolate is melted and whisk until smooth and add vanilla.  Drizzle a small amount of glaze over the top of each cookie.  Glaze will set slightly upon cooling.

I made these for a family that I took a meal in to last month and let me just say that I'm glad we still had some left over to try!  Everyone in my family loved these things, and if you're like me, you sometimes need to have new ideas about how to use up all those bags of marshmallows.  Whenever I make Rice Krispies treats I almost always end up throwing most of the leftover marshmallows away, because they go bad before we get a chance to eat any more of them, but now I'll know just what to do with them.  ;)

Double Fudge Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 recipe for your favorite chocolate chip cookies

1 recipe for your favorite chocolate cookies

Roll one fairly large ball of each dough.  Separate each ball into two pieces, then place one half chocolate chip cookie dough on top of one half chocolate cookie dough.  Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

I got this idea from How Sweet It Is.  The recipe found there is for cookies using browned butter, but I thought I'd try just mixing up some of my own dough for cookies that I already know I love & seeing how they'd turn out.  My friends, these cookies are SINFUL, especially if you're a chocoholic like me!  I may only allow myself to make this once or twice a year since they're so naughty!  :)

Two-Tone Drop Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

4 cups flour

food coloring

Cream together butter & sugar.  Add eggs, milk, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda & salt.  Add flour & mix well.  Half the batter & color each half to desired colors.  Drop the two together and bake on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.

This is a recipe that my Mom received from her Home Ec. teacher when she was in high school back in the 70's.  My kids love these cookies because they say they look like Play-Doh & they love choosing what colors they want them to be.  For this batch, Aubrey wanted pink & Paxton wanted orange.  This is probably why the colors in the picture didn't really show up very well.  :)  These cookies are so nice & versatile for pretty much any occasion; pink & blue for baby showers, green & red for Christmas, other pastels for Easter & spring, darker colors for fall & Halloween.  You can go crazy with ideas & occasions for these goodies!  :)

Sour Cream Cookies

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sour cream

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup chopped nuts (opt.)

Cream together shortening & brown sugar.  Add eggs, soda, salt, baking powder, vanilla & sour cream; mix well.  Add flour & nuts & mix well.  Drop by teaspoon full on cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden.  Frost with maple frosting:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 Tblsp. milk

1 tsp. maple extract

Mix all ingredients together.  I always use my electric hand mixer whenever I make frostings & it makes the job a LOT easier.  :)  This recipe is a favorite of my Grandma's.  She makes these cookies for almost every family get-together.  When she makes them, she places just one little walnut on top of each cookie as a little garnish.  I always think of her whenever I make these.  You have to have the frosting for these cookies though, otherwise the taste will be much too bland.  Enjoy!  :)

Frosted Pineapple Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pineapple (well-drained)
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Drain pineapple, reserving juice for frosting. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Add pineapple and vanilla; blend well. Drop onto cookie sheet by teaspoon. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Frosting:

6 Tblsp. butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tblsp. hot pineapple juice

Put butter in a small pan and heat to light brown. Heat juice (the microwave works best for me). Put butter in a bowl and add powdered sugar, then mix with vanilla and hot juice.

These are by far Tyler's most favorite Christmas cookies. They are the only Christmas goody that he asks me to make every year. I received this recipe from my mom. She used to make these every year too, but then as she discovered new holiday recipes she stopped making them. The first time I made these for Tyler, he savored each and every bite. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! :)

C.O.P. Cookies

1 cup Crisco
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 Tblsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup peanut butter
1 pkg. chocolate chips *

In a large bowl, cream Crisco and sugars. Add eggs, salt, baking soda and vanilla; mix well. Add flour, the oatmeal, then peanut butter, mixing well after each ingredient is added. Mix in chocolate chips last. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 345 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Let cookies sit for 5-10 minutes, then ENJOY!

* I would use milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet, because these cookies are already rich in flavor because of the peanut butter. I made these for the first time last night for dessert. Tyler's mom sent me an email last year around Christmas time which provided a link to a website called http://www.northpole.com/, and through the link I found several different cookie recipes. Just click on the building that says "Mrs. Claus's Kitchen" and you'll find all kinds of yummy recipes. We all LOVED these cookies. The only bad thing about them is that they are really addictive! :)