Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oh chocolate chip cookies! Everyone has there own version and everyone swears they have the best. Well you may notice that I already had a recipe for "the BEST chocolate chip cookies"... which i still think are really really good. But I have recently found this recipe... the search for it was brought about by a Bobby Flay Throwdown... and they are also the BEST chocolate chip cookies. The Oatmeal in them is what makes them so so yummy... and i think that because they are different, i can have 2 "BEST" chocolate chip cookie recipes. Found this recipe at Bake or Break. 


Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 2 large eggs (or 1/2 cup egg beaters)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups uncooked regular oats
- Chocolate chips (i use milk chocolate)
- Pecans (optional of course)

Preheat oven to 375°.
Beat butter at medium speed in a heavy-duty mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugars and beat well. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, bakings soda, and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture and beat well.

Process oats in a food processor (or i just used my blender because i dont have one) until finely ground. Add to butter mixture and beat well. Stir in chocolates and pecans.

Drop cookies by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly on baking sheets. Then, remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes (aka Flufferdoodles)

These little guys are INTENSE!  they are seriously a yummy fluffy snickerdoodle (hence the name Flufferdoodle). Only expect to eat 1 unless you have a major sweet tooth, the frosting in the recipe ends up slightly reminding you of marshmallow fluff, but sets really nice when you pipe it. The recipe makes 24 cupcakes easily! I got the cupcake recipe from Annie's Eats, the Frosting from CD Kitchen and the Snickerdoodles from my mom.

Ingredients:
Cupcakes-
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tbls baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbls ground cinnamon
- 1 cup butter (room temperature)
- 1 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup milk

Frosting-
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbls cold water
- 2 tbls light corn syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cupcakes-
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Combine the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl; whisk to combine.  In another bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Blend in the vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and while mixing pour in milk. Beat until well mixed.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pans about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting- make this right before serving. It will make more than enough for the cupcakes.

Combine all ingredients, except vanilla, in the top of a double boiler or bowl. Bring water in the bottom of the double boiler or saucepan (if using a bowl) to a simmer. Place top of the double boiler or the bowl over the simmering water. Immediately begin whipping mixture three minutes with an electric mixer on medium speed. Increase speed to high and beat another three minutes. Remove top of double boiler. Add vanilla. Beat one minute on high speed until mixture holds stiff peaks and is satiny. Allow to cool (only takes a couple mins) and pipe onto cupcakes.

Garnishes- sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and top with a mini snickerdoodle

Snickerdoodles

My husbands favorite cookies... or so i thought. I discovered after making these that his favorite thing about them is the dough... and sadly i had them all made by the time he got home. Whoops! These are the snickerdoodles i grew up making, the recipe is from my mommy.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 3/4 cup flour
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl mix together shortening, sugar and eggs with a blender until creamy (about 2-3 minutes). Add in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Stir until well mixed.

Shape dough into small balls and roll in a Cinnamon/Sugar mixture
- 2 tbls sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon

place on cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think everyone goes on a long search to find the most perfect chocolate chip cookies, and while we all end up with different recipes, this one is my favorite! i made these guys a couple days ago and they are still soft! I found it on the back of the Western Family Chocolate Chip bag...

Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup margarine (softened- not melted)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg. Beat Well. Mix in dry ingredients and stir. Add chocolate chips, mix well.

Cook on cookie sheet for 10-15 mins. (i usually do 11-12 min)