Granola Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you're anything like me, you're on a continual quest for "THE BEST" recipe for many of life's staples: mac 'n cheese, apple pie, and of course, chocolate chip cookies.  I've made many that I thought were the best, but somehow I still find myself questioning if I can tweak or find a better recipe.  Honestly, this drives hubby absolutely nuts since my scatter-brained brain often forgets these tweaks and the "best" is lost in history.



Though these cookies are different than your average chocolate chip cookie, I must say they're some of my favorites. After receiving a delicious box of the new granola from Special K, I set off on a quest to use the granola in a recipe other than my usual fruit and yogurt parfaits. I happened upon this Granola Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe at one of my favorite blogs, Baking Bites and could barely contain my excitement.  Granola? check.  Butter? check.  Chocolate? check.  I'm in.

Equally crisp yet chewy, the granola adds a nice crunch and a hint of saltiness that sends these cookies over the edge for me.  The granola I used wasn't too chunky, but if you have one full of clusters, try and chop up the pieces so that the cookies aren't overburdened by the granola.  Go forth and bake.  Just try not to eat the whole batch like me!

Recipe here @ Baking Bites. 
Granola Chocolate Chip Cookies
slightly adapted from Baking Bites
 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup granola, small pieces (I used Special K which is a honey/nut type of granola)
1/2 cup chocolate chips


1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and both sugars until well combined. In a small bowl, whisk together cooled butter (room temp), egg and vanilla extract. Pour into flour mixture and stir well to combine.

3. Stir in granola and chocolate chips until all are well-distributed in the dough.  The dough will be a little dry, but don't fret!  Roll dough into 1-inch round balls (this is most easily done by hand) and place on baking sheet. Press each gently to flatten.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies just begin to take on a light golden brown color.
Cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container.
  

Lazy Baker Oatmeal Cherry Raisin Spice Cookies

Confession Time...I'm still feeling a little under the weather and haven't cooked dinner in oh, 2 weeks?! Luckily, hubby has stepped in as the happy house-husband and uses the blog like a virtual cookbook. I knew this site would come in handy one day!

While I may not be preparing meals, this does not mean I won't bake! Every sick woman needs cookies and breads, don't you think? The lovely folks at Lazy Baker must have been channeling my inner laziness and offered to send me a sample of their cookie mix. Though not typically a huge fan of prepackaged foods, anything with the name lazy sounds great right about now.


Wanting something out of the ordinary, I tried their Oatmeal Cherry Raisin Spice cookie mix, which comes in a very cute package by the way. See the sleeping chef? That's me.
Just add butter, egg, and vanilla and you're good to go. Seriously, it doesn't get easier than this.

Verdict: If you're anything like us and like a little spice in your cookies, these are perfect for you. If not a fan of spice, keep looking! These came out much more plump and round than pictured on their website, but that's how I like 'em - thick and soft yet chewy! Mmm... Seriously, these are perfect and tasted even the better the next day! Check 'em out.

Ginormously Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! Though I had every intention of keeping up with the blog and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, I came home to find my parents' internet connection moving at the speed of well, dial-up. Even with DSL, something was clearly off and internet surfing took a backburner to make time for eating. Seriously, I realize everyone talks about holiday eating, but with our two families in the same city, we took holiday eating to a new level. Two-dinner-a-day habits are hard to break. My stomach feels empty if an hour has gone by without a feeding.

As you can imagine, it feels good to be back home and getting back to a more normal eating schedule. I've increased the veggies in my diet, tried to return to running and limited myself to three meals a day (down from 5-6!) Even with my new healthy outlook, I certainly still make room for ginormous chocolate chip cookies.

After indulging in days of Momma's Asian delights, I had a hankering for good ol' chocolate chip cookies. I spent a few minutes drooling over Tastespotting's cookie gallery and settled on the cookies made by Easy Peasy. Her cookies looked huge, soft and well, perfect. I used mini chocolate chips (my new obsession) and about 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips to shake things up. Michelle measured out about 1/2 cup dough for each cookie. Wanting to have cookies to take to work (and prevent us from eating them all) I used a 1/4 cup of dough for each. My cookies were still huge!

I. Love. These. Cookies. These were so fabulous and sinful. If you're not feeling overindulged yet, I suggest you get yourself into the kitchen and make these. Dieting should be addressed after the New Year! :)

Enjoy the rest of the holidays!! It'll be sad when we get back to full work weeks, huh? :)

Giant Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Easy Peasy

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (we all know cinnamon makes everything better!)
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted cooled until warm
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chip
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together; set aside.
3. With electric mixer, beat butter & sugars until thoroughly combined.
4. Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until just combined.
5. Add dry ingredients; beat at low speed until combined. Stir in chips.
6. Measure 1/4 cup of dough and roll into ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull into 2 equal halves. Place dough halves together, ragged side up. Place formed dough onto cookie sheet with about 2 inches in between (the cookies will spread).
7. Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy.
8. Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking and place on wire rack to cool.

Christmas Iced Lemon Rounds

Though I don't believe I've ever won a sweepstakes, raffle or maybe even a bingo game, I seem to have great luck with blog giveaways. Thanks to Katie, I won a wonderful Holiday Cookie Cookbook, right in time for a Christmas potluck.

Perusing through Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season really left me drooling. Among Viennese Crescents, Baci Brownies (with a Nutella swirl!), and Swedish Dreams, I wasn't quite sure how I'd pick a recipe for my Christmas party until I came across these Iced Lemon Rounds. Though not the most Christmasy of cookies, I had all of the very simple ingredients and alas, my decision was made!

These cookies are buttery, lemony, tender and sweet. Though they may not be your typical holiday cookie, you'll love how easily they come together. I'd say the Iced Lemon Rounds are a perfect solution for a last minute treat. Sprinkle some green or red crystal sugar on the tops and you have yourself a festive cookie! Hubby argued against this with the thinking that holiday sprinkles just don't go with lemon. OK. You decide :)

These were a big hit and we didn't have any leftovers. The original recipe states these make 47 cookies. Not wanting to roll and scoop dough all day, I only made a half recipe but ended up with about 15 cookies.

Thanks again for the great book, Katie!

Iced Lemon Rounds
Courtesy of Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (16 tbsp) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Lemon Icing
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

3. Beat softened butter in a mixing bowl until creamy. Add sugars and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs, followed by lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Gradually add in flour and mix until just incoporated.

4. Scoop about a tablespoonful of dough and roll with your hands into a ball. Place on the cookie sheet and flatten to about 1/2 inch thickness.

5. Bake for about 13-15 minutes until cookies are pale on top but golden on the bottom. Allow to cool on a wire rack completely.

6. To make the icing, whisk the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and milk until combined. Spread the icing on the cooled cookies with a table knife. Let the cookies stand on rack until icing sets.

Too Lazy To Scoop so I Made Barookies

Thanks for the comments on the pancakes! Well, now I know who to come to next time I need an ego boost. :) I suppose the perfectionist in me is still searching for the God given talent of making a batch of pancakes all the same, perfectly round shape and size. How do they/you do it?! Please don't tell me the Perfect Pancake Maker really works.

Well, that same perfectionism haunts me when I make cookies. I try so hard to make each cookie the same perfect round ball that it takes me F O R E V E R to make a big batch of cookies. I think it's about time to invest in a cookie scoop, huh?

The other day hubby and I were craving cookies like two pregnant ladies. Also feeling like a pregnant lady (no, I'm not!), I was too lazy to even fathom making rows of perfect little cookie balls, so I decided to transform our favorite cookies into a bar. And throw some apples in there because we have an orchard growing on our counter top.

There's something magical about bar cookies, maybe because I like my cookies thick and chewy. Bar cookies also take the guesswork out of "are they done yet?" as they tend to crisp up nicely around the edges and firm up in the middle.


Best of all, I don't need to spend my afternoon scooping out little cookie dough balls. Just throw the cookie dough (you haven't already eaten) in a baking pan and you're done!

These bars are nicely spiced with sauteed apples, apple pie spice and cinnamon. The raisins are plumped by soaking in boiling water and the end result is just a yummy, Fall dessert to enjoy. Come to think of it, I'm off to go eat one myself!

Oatmeal Apple Raisin Barookies (Bar+Cookie)

1 1/4 cup raisins
about 1.5 cups boiling water
1/4 cup thinly chopped, peeled apple
pat of butter, cinnamon & brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp apple pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch pan.

Place raisins in a large heatproof bowl. Pour enough boiling water over raisins to cover. Allow to sit for 10 minutes and then drain well.

In a small nonstick skillet, melt a pat of butter over medium heat. Add apples and continue to stir in butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Stir until combined.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in egg until combined then stir in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, apple pie spice and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the quick oats and drained raisins. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 12 to 16 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are starting to brown and the middle is set. Let cool in pan before cutting into bars.

Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies for the Irish

First things first. Thank you SO much for all the sweet anniversary wishes. We had a wonderful weekend, spent relaxing by the pool & spa at a nearby resort. I feel refreshed and like a newlywed all over again. Here's a picture of one of the last slices of the Triple Layer Anniversary Carrot Cake, still holding up well after a week. Perhaps we should save it for our 2 year anniversary?


Now, on to the good stuff....

What do Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies have to do with the Irish?

Well, not much really except that I made these delicious cookies to bring to a Notre Dame tailgating party.

I know, I know... the team has seen better days, but let a fan have her moments, k? :)

Though cookies may not be your typical tailgating food, after a day of eating hot dogs, chips and drinking beer all day, I always crave sweets to round out an otherwise absurdly unhealthy day. Cathy over at Noble Pig created this recipe and considers these "grown up cookies," so I figured why not unleash them on some football-crazed adults?

Though I had originally been excited to say that I didn't modify anything in the original recipe, I did make a few changes (though some were by mistake). Instead of using nuts, I put my free sample of TCHO Nutty chocolate to use and along with some semisweet chocolate chunks, ground it up with oatmeal for the base of the cookie. Espresso powder adds a sophisticated taste to the cookies while even more chocolate chips are then added for good measure.
I pretty much followed the rest of the recipe to a tee, but somewhere along the way I accidentally forgot 1 cup of white sugar and only used 1 cup of brown. Whoops! They were still delicious and I told everyone at the tailgate that they were low carb cookies ;)


You can find the original recipe here. Just don't forget the 2 cups of sugar and consider using TCHO's amazingly delicious chocolate as an added flavor bonus!

Aggie's hosting a Foodie Event in honor of football to see what else is cooking on game day. Head on over to her blog and show her what you have cookin' by September 15th.

More Small Batch Baking: Giant Chocolate Chunk Cookies

It's Monday and the last thing anyone wants to hear is a little whining. But can I indulge? I'll keep it short. Last week was just one of "those weeks." A stressful, pull your hair out kind of 7 day string. My mind has stopped racing and so has my blood pressure. It's times like this that we turn to the good things in life: huge, chocolate laden cookies to take the edge off. Ok, ok. I know stress eating is not recommended and will never solve your problems (blah, blah, blah), but at least it makes you feel better for awhile :)

I posted awhile back about one of my favorite cookbooks, Small Batch Baking. It's wonderful for portion control, and especially small families like ours (just hubby & me) who don't need to scarf down a dozen cookies, even if we're stressed. Since my cookbook discovery, I've also found great small batch baking recipes at one of my favorite blogs, Cookie Madness. In the height of my stress, I perused Cookie Madness, a blog which literally has a cookie recipe for every type of cookie imaginable (lucky for hubby, baking has been my stress reliever of late-not shopping). These giant chunk cookies are customizable in that you could use any type of add-in you have on hand - cookies, candy, chips. Anna uses crushed oreo cookies, but I added Thin Mints to a few of mine and used mini chocolate chips for all 5 decadent cookies. I added M&M's to another and left the last one plain. The consensus was that the Thin Mint cookie was the best. Be adventurous and have fun making these cookies!

I absolutely love this recipe for so many reasons, but most of all because it only requires one mixing bowl, and no mixer. Easy cleanup is good when you're partaking in stressed out baking.

Giant Chocolate Chunk Cookies
from Cookie Madness' recipe
Yield: 4-5 cookies

4 tablespoons very hot melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons beaten egg (break egg, mix it with fork, measure)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon water (optional)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)
2 ½ sandwich cookies, broken into chunks (can use nuts instead)
Broken up milk chocolate bar, milk chocolate chips, M&M’s, candies of choice

In a bowl, stir together hot butter, powdered sugar and brown sugar until smooth. If still very hot, let cool for about a minute, then stir in egg. Beat with a spoon until egg is fully mixed then stir in vanilla, baking soda and salt. Add flour and stir just until mixed. If dough seems too dry (falling apart), add the water. Stir in chocolate chips and broken cookies. Shape dough into a fat log of about 5 inches log. Chill for 1 hour. Carefully cut log into 4-5 equal pieces. If chunks of cookies and chips fall out, just stick them back onto the cut pieces.

Place cut pieces, spaced about 4 inches away from each other, 4-5 to a sheet, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - Marathon Style

I have an oatmeal raisin cookie recipe that is my tried and true perfect recipe. The cookies come out perfectly every single time, and my hubby and I enjoy eating so many we feel sick. Unfortunately for you, I'm not posting it today since that would mean I'd have to make a batch and I can't afford to eat a dozen cookies today.m

I attempt to cook healthy and relatively low fat dishes on a daily basis but I have never really caught on to the low fat baking craze. There's something that just doesn't ever seem right with low fat cookies and cakes, though that doesn't mean I'd turn them down! But, because its a new year and we have also decided to run a half marathon in a few weeks, I tried to hunt down a yummy treat recipe that is a little healthier than the norm. I came across David Lebovitz's blog and found a recipe adaptation from Nick Malgieri's Perfect Light Desserts: Fabulous Cakes, Cookies, Pies and More Made with Real Butter, Sugar, Flour, and Eggs, All Under 300 Calories Per Generous Serving cookbook. (whew...how did his editor let him get away with that title?!) I liked David's take on the recipe, though I have only a few requirements for my oatmeal raisin cookies that I found missing: heavy on cinnamon and fat, plump raisins. So, I made additional tweaks by adding spices and soaking the raisins in eggs & vanilla. Since the raisins soak up some of the liquid, I didn't want the cookies to be dry so I added an egg white. Soaking the raisins may sound strange, but it works like a charm.

While making the cookies, I was surprised by the wetness of the dough as my 'typical' cookie dough is a little on the sticky side. Because of my nervousness, I added a few dashes of oats while the Kitchenaid was in action.

Verdict: I was suprised to find that the end result were plump beautiful looking cookies. So plump that they almost look like big fluffy breakfast cookies (more cake like in texture than you'd expect). These certainly don't taste as sinful as a normal cookie, but I suppose its because they're not really sinful at all. They are a fabulous compromise considering the very low butter and fat content, but I sure do miss the real thing sometimes. If it were my recipe, I'd rename them Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cakes. Come to think of it, next time I may try adding protein powder and re-purposing this recipe to a workout / protein cookie...now that's Marathon Style! Try these out and let me know what you think!
Edit: Hubby came home & wasn't as pleased with these as me. He liked them, but said they're like muffin tops (which isn't necessarily a bad thing)! Looks like I'll be posting my old tried and true recipe in a few days :)

Sharon's adaptation of David's adaptation of Nick Malgieri's cookies

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup raisins

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1 egg white

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/3 cups rolled oats (don't use instant or quick oats)

baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and set the rack on the lower and upper thirds of the oven.
1. In a small bowl, beat egg and vanilla. Soak the raisins in the egg mixture for approximately an hour.

2. In another small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar until smooth. Mix in the brown sugar, then the egg white and applesauce

4. Stir in the dry ingredients, then gradually add the egg and raisin mixture. Once it is incorporated, add the oats.
5. Drop the batter by rounded tablespoons on the baking sheets and use a fork to gently flatten the dough.
6. Bake the cookies for approximately 13-15 minutes, or until they "look dull on the surface but are moist and soft", according the Nick. Rotate baking sheets during baking for even heating. (I made my cookies very big, so cook for less time if you are using a teaspoon or cookie dough scoop).
Storage: Once cool, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.