Cranberry Pecan White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Honestly, I want to try these with fresh or frozen cranberries chopped up just a bit instead of dried cranberries.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine butter and brown sugar in a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add vanilla. Add dry ingredients, beating until just barely combined. Then stir in the cranberries, white chocolate chips, and chopped pecans. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkle the tops with a few leftover cranberries or white chocolate chips if desired. Bake for exactly 10 minutes. Remove from the oven ­ cookies will be slightly golden brown around the edges and the middles will look underdone. Let cool completely. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies

This is yet another recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  She's kind of amazing and you can pretty much always trust her recipes to turn out excellent.  These cookies are HIGHLY addictive - the chocolate/peppermint combo always is for me - and look pretty to boot.  They are definitely going onto the list of "must make" recipes over the Christmas season each year (and are likely to get made at other times of the year as well, if I'm being honest).

INGREDIENTS

1 cup (8 ounces) butter, cool room temperature (not warm or overly soft!)
3/4 cup (5.5 ounces) lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (3.75 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs (3.5 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 ounces) natural, unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup (3 ounces) crushed or finely chopped Andes mints (see note above)
Additional 1/2 cup or so crushed or finely chopped Andes mints for rolling

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer (or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer), cream the butter, brown sugar and white sugar together until well-mixed, 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until just combined (it's ok if there are a few dry streaks). Mix in the chocolate chips and 1/2 cup crushed Andes mints until combined and no dry streaks remain.
6. Scoop the dough and shape into heaping tablespoon-sized balls (I use a #40 cookie scoop) and gently roll the tops into the additional crushed mints, pressing lightly into the plate or bowl of crushed mints so they stick to the top of the cookie dough ball.
7. Place a couple inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 10-11 minutes (watch closely and don't overbake; the edges will be set with soft middles).
8. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

From Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Peanut Butter Cookies

The last time we visited Utah, Jennie had made these incredible peanut butter cookies and had them in a plastic container on her counter when we showed up.  Since both Emma and Adelaide are allergic to peanut butter and had been at our parent's house for a couple of days to play with my girls and go skiing with us while Jennie and Ryan stayed at their house with the twins, Jennie had tried out this recipe from one of our favorite cooking bloggers while her allergic girls were away at Grandma & Grandpas.  And then I helped polish them off when we all got to Jennie's place a couple of days later to enjoy more cousin time.

They are peanut butter cookie perfection and so incredibly good.  I have been looking for just the right peanut butter cookie recipe and tried some real duds, but this one does not disappoint.  Jennie had added M&Ms to the top of some of hers and since I had a bag of leftover Valentine's Day M&Ms in the cupboard, I did the same thing.  But next time I might take a more old-fashioned approach and roll them into balls and flatten ever so slightly with the tines of a fork, just because I love the traditional cross-hatch pattern.  Regardless, the flavor and texture of these cookies is fantastic and the recipe is a definite keeper.   

Recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In a large mixer bowl, beat together the butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix until combined.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
6. Scoop the dough and roll into 1- or 2-inch balls.  Place on parchment-lined (or lightly greased) baking sheets, a couple inches apart.
7. Bake for 10-11 minutes until puffed.  Don't overbake. (My oven always takes longer so I was more at the 14 minute mark before these were actually done and it was perfect - they stayed soft and I actually still had to give them a couple of minutes cooling on the baking sheet before transferring them to cooling racks or they would fall apart.
8. Remove from the oven and immediately lightly press each cookie to flatten slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass.
9. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.  Mel says the cookies freeze well and taste great straight from the freezer.