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.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

In trying to continue the Healthy Cookie Experiment, I went in a different direction than trying to substitute ingredients - just make a cookie with healthier ingredients to begin with. [Maybe I'm not ready for such an advanced task as baking with Splenda just yet.]

Source: The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/8 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/8 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 cups raisins
1 cups unsalted butter
7/8 cup firmly packed dark 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, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon and whisk together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. In a third bowl, mix the oats and raisins.
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 raisins and mix again on low speed until everything is evenly distributed.*
5. 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. Each ball of dough should weigh approximately 90 g/3.17 oz each. If you don't have a scale, use a scant 1/2 cup to estimate the size. The dough balls should be about 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Press down on these cookies very lightly, to just barely flatten the tops before their baked. They will spread a lot during baking. 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.
6. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack and cool completely before storing.

Sorry no picture; the cookies were gobbled up pretty fast! These are my boyfriend's favorites.

*Note: this dough can be refrigerated in between baking times.
**Baking Tip: Make sure your raisins are nice and moist, and not dry. It makes a huge difference in the taste, differentiating between store-bought and fresh homemade. It also keeps the cookies from seeming too raisin-y.
^Cookbook Author Tip: "Be sure to use the old-fashioned style oats, not the quick-cooking or instant variety, for the best flavor and texture." - I used quick-cooking and my cookies still turned out very moist and tasty.

Snickerdoodles

I'm trying a variety of different cookie recipes, to see what I can play with and make healthier, and then eventually make vegan. This morning I woke up and had the idea to make Snickerdoodles, a cookie that I used to always make because it's easy and simple. When I looked at the recipe, I realized there wasn't anything that needed changing to make it more-healthy. It's not that bad. It can definitely be changed for vegan purposes, but I'll try that at a later date.


Source: Better Homes & Garden

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened*
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon^

Directions:
1. In a medium mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on med to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Cover and chill dough about 1 hour until easy to handle.
2. Combine the 2 tbsp of sugar and the cinnamon. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture to coat. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 to 11 mins or until edges are golden. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

*Time-Savings Tip: to soften butter in a pinch, I like to either roll the stick between my hands, using the heat & friction to warm it up quickly; or I will pop it into the microwave for 10 seconds - this will soften the butter but not melt it.
^Quick Tip: I like to use store-bought combined Cinnamon & Sugar, which saves me from having to mix it up myself like the recipe calls for here. It's not that big of a deal, but it's just a nice small thing that can help save time in a pinch.