Brownie Cookies

I found a brownie mix in the pantry and thought...hmmm...this could be an experiment!  So I looked for brownie cookie recipes on AllRecipes.com, and found one that seemed easy.  The reviews said the cookies were great, no problems, only a couple mentioned the cookies being too liquid-y.  Mine turned out way too liquid-y, and so I'm thinking it has to do with the brownie mix??  I can't think of any other reason why some people get success and some don't.  My solution?  Add self-rising flour, and bingo!  Cookies that don't go limp.

Brownie Cookies

adapted from: All Recipes

Ingredients:
1 box chocolate brownie mix
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
3 eggs
3/8 cup oil
1 cup self-rising flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets, using butter or Crisco for best results.
In a medium bowl, stir together the brownie mix and dry instant pudding. Add the oil and eggs; mix until well blended.  Add flour.  Scoop the dough onto the pan, about walnut sized. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheet.
Bake for 6 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Cool for 30 seconds, then remove from pan immediately.  Place on wire rack to cool more before serving.
 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Today I rummaged the pantry to find whatever I could to make cookies.  I know oatmeal raisin is my boyfriend's favorite, but I wanted to do something with chocolate.  So, I decided to take the oatmeal raisin cookie recipe that was a success awhile back, and mix it up a bit!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
3/8 tsp cinnamon, freshly ground
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Approx 2-3 cups instant oats
1 Hershey Bar, crushed into bits
1 cup margarine
7/8 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar

 Directions:
1. Position one rack in the top third of the oven, one rack in the bottom third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the cookie sheets with baking parchment.
2. In a bowl, add the flour and cinnamon, and whisk together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. In a third bowl, mix the oats and chocolate chunks.
3. In another bowl, using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on med speed for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently. Gradually add the egg mixture until everything is well combined.

 4. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in stages. Mix only until everything is well combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently. There should not be any pockets of dry flour left in the dough. Then add the oats and chocolate, and mix again on low speed until everything is evenly distributed.
5. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
6. Using a large soup spoon, a metal ice cream scoop, or your clean hands moistened with water, scoop out big balls of dough, placing 6 balls on each prepared cookie sheet. Press down on these cookies very lightly, to just barely flatten the tops before their baked. They will spread a lot during baking.
7. Bake for about 18 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through the baking time. The cookies should be golden brown and baked all the way to the center. They should be soft, but be careful not to underbake or they will be doughy and will fall apart easily.
8. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack and cool completely before storing.

Note: keep in mind these were just ingredients found in the pantry/fridge.  I usually recommend using real butter, and all-purpose flour.  Instead of the Hershey bar, you could substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips, or crush a couple bars of semi-sweet baking chocolate.