Rich Oat n' Raisin Cookies

1 C lard or butter
1 C sugar
1 C br sugar
2 eggs
3/4 tsp real vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp bk soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 C rolled oats (can use quick)
1 1/4 C raisins



-Beat butter and sugars with mixer til well blended.
-Add eggs and vanilla and beat til blended.
-Combine dry ingreds (except oats).
-Add to wet ingreds and mix til almost blended.
-Add in oats and raisins and mix until just blended.
-Drop by Tb balls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
-Bake at 350 or 170C for ~8-10 min, til lightly golden/brown.
-Remove from sheet after a couple minutes to cool.

Y:4 dozen

Aunt Kathie's Monster Cookies

Full Size Batch               1/4 Batch (Modified - less sugar)
1 lb butter, softened        (1/2 C)
4 C white sugar               (3/4 C)
5 C brown sugar (2 lb)    (3/4 C)
1 Tb vanilla                     (1 tsp)
1 dozen eggs                   (3 eggs)
8 tsp bk soda                   (2 tsp)
6 C (3lb)natural peanut butter (1 1/2 C) Smooth PB is our pick
~20 C quick oats             (5 C)
M&Ms, raisins, and Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips:
1 lb each                          (1 C or handful each)  This is our favorite combo. If it looks skimpy, add a handful more of your favorite. The mini-chips stretch much further than big chips. Nestle makes good ones.

-Cream butter and sugars and vanilla in very large bowl (standard sized bowls will not work - split recipe in half if you don't have a massive bowl).
-Mix in eggs one at a time.
-Sprinkle in bk soda.
-Mix in peanut butter, then slowly add oats.
-Stir in the "bits," as they say in New Zealand.
-Add more oatmeal if recipe seems too gooey ( I think we added 1-2 more cups last time).
-Drop by tablespoons on cookie sheets and bake at 375 or 170C until golden brown for approx 7-9 min.




Yield: Approx 18-20 dozen / 4-5 dozen
These freeze super well and hardly need any thawing to enjoy out of the freezer.

Pepparkakor -Guest Baker Melissa

1/3 C Dark Corn Syrup
1/3 C Heavy Cream
1 C Sugar
1/2 lb Butter or Margarine, softened

3 1/2 C Flour
2 tsp Cloves
2 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Bk Soda

-Stir first set of ingredients.
-Sift dry ingreds, then mix with first set.
-Refrigerate 1+hrs, then roll out dough onto lightly floured board to 1/8in thickness.
-Bake at 375 for 4 minutes, or until golden brown.

Buttercream Frosting
6 Tb Butter, soft
4 C Powdered Sugar
3 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
Cream, as needed

- Beat together til desired consistency.

Auntie Mel whipped up this cute little army of cookie men over Christmas, and their flavor (and scent!) was so good!

Y: The batch made three cookie sheets, packed full. Mmmmmm!

Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 1/2 C flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 C quick oats
2 tsp salt
2 tsp bk soda

1 1/2 C br sugar
1 1/2 C sugar
1 C butter, softened
1 C shortening
4 eggs
2 tsp real vanilla
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 C mini milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 C m & ms

-Mix first set of ingreds together well.
-In separate bowl cream sugars, butter, and shortening.
-Mix eggs lightly in a separate bowl, then add to sugar mix with vanilla until creamy.
-Add in dry ingreds and start to add in chips and m&ms once dry ingreds are mostly mixed, but not totally worked in.
-Chill dough at least one hour in fridge.
-Chill baking sheets or make sure they are not hot anymore before placing dough on sheets.
-Scoop and drop big tablespoons full onto pans and bake at 400 for 7-8 min, until lightly golden brown (might look underdone).
-Let sit on pan ~ 1 min and remove.
-Do not overbake or leave on pan too long, or cookies won't be as thick.

Y: 6 dozen

Note: These are probably the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had turn out. Often mine are thin and crispy, which I don't care for. I'm kind of a cc cookie lover and am always looking for a great recipe. This one will definitely be a keeper...lots of chunks, nice thickness and chewy...ahhh 10/10!:) Recipe adapted from here...

The Best Neighborhood Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our sweet neighbors brought these cookies over after we had Abraham...yummy!

2 1/4 C flour
1/2 C quick oats
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bk soda

3/4 C br sugar
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C butter, softened
1/2 C shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 C chocolate chips (Ghiradelli's recommended) plus a little more if desired
1 C walnuts (optional)

-Mix first set of ingreds together well.
-In separate bowl mix sugars, butter, shortening...then add eggs and vanilla until creamy.
-Add in dry ingreds.
-Add in chips and nuts (Connie recommends Ghiradelli chips and leaving walnuts whole and letting your mixer break them up a bit).
-Chill dough at least one hour in fridge.
-Bake at 375 for 10-11 min on baking stone.

Y: 3 doz

Notes from the Baker...Use a scoop to make cookies uniform in size (hers is ~ 4tsp). Do not overbake. Adapt for your oven.

Notes from Angela...I really like these cookies and found cooking them a shorter time at 400 works best in my oven (7-8 min). That makes them thicker and chewy. I tried 350 and 375 temps and ended up with flatter, crispy cookies. I don't add nuts, and have experimented adding various chips. My absolute favorite recipe I just figured out today:). Check it out here...

Mocha Truffle Cookies

1/2 C butter
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tb instant coffee crystals
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C br sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1/3 C cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bk powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C choc chips ( I like the white/milk choc swirl chips!)

-Melt butter and 1/2 C. semisweet choc chips over low heat in saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in coffee crystals and let cool 5 min.
-Mix eggs, sugars and vanilla. Add to coffee mix.
-Mix dry ingredients.
-Combine all ingred.
-Drop by rounded tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheets.
-Bake at 350 for approx 10 min. Let cool 1 min and remove from sheet.
Y: 30

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.

Chocolate Revel Bars

These are highly recommended for a dessert! Makes a large quantity without too much effort. Recipe shared from a cookbook created by my Aunt Kathie.

1 C. Butter
2 C. Br Sugar
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
2 1/2 C. Flour
1 tsp Bk soda
1 tsp Salt
3 C. Quick oats

15 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk
12 oz. Semisweet choc. chips (~2C)
2 Tb Butter
2 tsp Vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs & vanilla. Mix dry ingreds, then oats. Add to wet ingreds.

In heavy pan (on low heat) or microwave: heat swt/cond milk, chocolate, 2Tb butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth.

Wet hands and pat 2/3 of oatmeal mixture into greased 11x15 pan. Spread chocolate mixture over dough. Sprinkle remaining oats mixture over chocolate.

Bake at 350 for ~ 20 min.