Chocolate Crinkles

The best thing about these cookies is that they are soft and chewy.

Chocolate Crinkles
From the Lion House Cookbook

1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 to 1 cup powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening, cocoa, oil, eggs, and vanilla until well mixed. Add flour, salt, and baking powder. Dough will be sticky and almost runny. Refrigerate dough for at least 3 hours and up to 5 days.

Preheat oven to 350. Drop and gently roll dough by tablespoonfuls in powdered sugar. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 9-11 minutes. They will spread a little so don't crowd the cookie sheet. Do not overbake. Let cool on sheet for 4 or 5 minutes then move cookies to cooling rack to cool completely.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Snickerdoodles

This is my Grandma Barratt's recipe, and is therefore the most entirely delicious cookie I have ever consumed.

Snickerdoodles

2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, room temp
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Mix butter, shortening, sugar, eggs. Add flour, soda, salt, cream of tartar.
Roll dough into little balls, and roll in the cinnamon and sugar (mix them together in a little bowl). Bake on greased cookie sheet (Of course, I use parchment) for 8-11 minutes. Let cool for 3 or 4 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cooling rack.

"Lighter" Chocolate Chip Cookies

Full disclosure: When I decide to eat a dessert, I don't want some cheap imitation. I just wind up eating three times as much trying to feel satisfied. So when the time comes for me to cook a dessert, I generally don't cut corners on the ingredients that make the dessert good- like fats or sugars. But the other day, I really REALLY wanted cookies and did not have the caloric budget for a cookie free-for-all, so I raided my Cooking Light archives and gave these a try...and they were good!

95 Calorie Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1 cup oats (the recipe called for regular, I used quick. Things turned out fine.)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried fruit (I used dried cherries)
1/3 cup chocolate chips (yet another substitution from me=chocolate covered sunflower seeds)

Preheat oven to 350.

Stir together flour, oats, soda, and salt. Mix sugar and butter with a mixer or hand mixer until well blended and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended (depending on the strength of your mixer, you may have to mix the last bit of flour in by hand). Add dried fruit and chocolate, mixing just until combined.

Using a 1 Tablespoon measuring spoon, drop dough onto baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment. Drop cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven, cool on pan 1 minute, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies. (Meaning: You can eat the whole batch and as long as you only eat watermelon and cucumber the rest of the day, you will still achieve a caloric deficit. I'm going to write a diet book.)

Gingersnaps Half-Dipped in White Chocolate

Oh, Sandy S., you ruined me for just regular old gingersnaps when you exposed me to these chewy, white chocolaty gems.

Gingersnaps Dipped in White Chocolate

1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cups molasses
4-5 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
20 oz. white chocolate (quality dipping chocolate is best)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time. Stir in molasses. Mix dry ingredients and add gradually to wet. Start with 4 cups of flour and add additional flour if needed until dough is not sticky. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Roll balls in additional sugar and place on greased (or parchment paper) cookie sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes. Leave on baking sheet for 1 minutes and then move cookies to a cooling rack. Melt chocolate on lowest temp. in oven. Dip one half of each baked cookie. Lay dipped cookies on parchment paper after dipping or they will stick. Let cool. Makes 5-6 dozen.

Cowboy Cookies

My favorite thing about this recipe is that it lends itself so well to substitutions. If you are short on white sugar, just compensate with brown. I've made these cookies with all butter, all shortening, and a mixture of both with good results every time.

Cowboy Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour (Here's a tip: Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. Replace anywhere from 50-100% of the flour in any cookie recipe with WWPF and get a nice chewy texture.)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (another tip: I always, and I mean ALWAYS, double the vanilla. In everything.)
2 cups rolled oats
Fruits and chips of your liking: about 1 1/2-2 cups total add-ins. My favorite combinations are: coconut and milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and craisins, cut up dried apple and toffee chips, or just plain semisweets or M&M's.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets or use parchment (that's my preference). Sift together dry ingredients. (I'm not going to lie. I skip this step- I just hate dirtying that many bowls.)
2. In a large bowl cream together the butter, shortening, and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, oats, and add-ins of your choice. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared sheets.
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven. As soon as the edges turn light brown, they are done. Take them out and let them cool for 4 or 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack or directly to your stomach.