Val's Sugar Cookies and Icing

For cookies:
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover and chill dough for at least an hour (or overnight). Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out and cut into shapes. Bake 6-8 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet.

For icing:
2 lbs. powdered sugar
1 package (8oz) cream cheese
3/4 cup light corn syrup
Beat together and ice cookies.

Submitted by: Gina

Ghirardelli Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt

I just recently finished reading Josi S. Kilpack's book Fortune Cookie, which I know many of you have read or are at least familiar with the Sadie Hoffmiller series. In this one, Sadie goes to San Francisco and Pete buys her some cookies from the Ghirardelli bakery. Luckily, I had all the ingredients on hand when I read the recipe and had to try them out. I loved them. They are very rich and taste like a brownie cookie, so have some milk handy if you try these out!

1 (10-ounce) bag Ghirardelli 60% cocoa bittersweet baking chips, divided
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons coarse sea salt

Set aside 1/3 cup baking chips for later use. Melt the rest of the chocolate in microwave by heating at 50% power for 1 minute. Stir. Continue heating at 20-second intervals, stirring after each heating until mixture is smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar, mixing until well combined. Slowly add egg mixture to the warm chocolate, whisking constantly. Add vanilla. Mix well. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well and let batter cool for a few minutes. Add reserved 1/3 cup of baking chips. (If batter is too warm, chocolate chips will melt.)
Chill batter in fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
After batter has chilled and thickened slightly, drop batter by rounded tablespoons on greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle each cookie lightly with a pinch of sea salt. Bake for approximately 8 to 10 minutes until the outside edge looks slightly cracked, but centers are soft and gooey.  Cool cookies for four minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
She notes that this was adapted from a recipe found on www.ghirardelli.com
She also notes that you can use semisweet chocolate chips for an even sweeter cookie.

Submitted by: Gina

Chocolate Caramel Rolo Cookies

Kaela's Beehive adviser would make treats for them almost every Sunday. She just moved due AF orders and gave us some of her favorite cookie recipes.  This is one of our favorites.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
30-36 chocolate-covered caramel candies (Rolo's)
2 Tbsp. sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, add sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix together until well blended.
Add flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Mix well.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 1 Rolo in the center of each dough ball.
Form the dough ball around the majority of the Rolo. Roll each dough ball in sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes.
Let cool on pan for 1 minutes then take off and place on cookie cooling rack.

Submitted by: Gina

Oatmeal PB and M&M Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 tsp. light corn syrup
4 1/2 cups oats
2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup mini M&M's
Beat sugars and butter, then add the rest of the ingredients, saving oatmeal and chocolate for last.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until done.
Note: I have doubled the chocolate chips when I don't have the M&M's and they are still just as good!
2nd Note: These are gluten free! I always make them when Kaela's friend who is gluten free comes over.  They are a huge hit!
Submitted by: Gina

Cornflake Cookies (No Bake)

3 cups crushed cornflakes
3/4 cup coconut
1 cup white Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
Mix together cornflakes and coconut in large bowl.  Put syrup and sugar in pot and heat until boiling.  Remove quickly and add peanut butter.  Stir.  Add this  mixture to cornflakes and stir quickly.  Spoon out onto waxed paper.  Cool.
Submitted by: Gina

Twix Bars

I haven't only eaten these once, but YUM.

Crust:
2 cubes butter
1/2 c sugar
2 c flour

Cream butter and sugar together. Add flour and mix till crumbly.  Knead together and press onto a cookie sheet. Back for 15-20 min @ 350 until light golden brown.

Filling:
1 cube butter
4 TBSP light corn syrup (light dark who cares right?)
3/4 c sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 bag milk chocolate chips (i think you could have fun experimenting here)

Bring butter, sugar, sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup to boil and boil on low, stirring constantly, until it starts to turn a light caramel color. (5-10 min) Spread on crust. Immediately sprinkle choco chips onto caramel and wait for them to melt. (3-5 min) Chocolate cools fast so spread as fast as you can. wait until completely cooled before cutting.

Posted by: Colleen

4-H Peanut Butter Balls

We used to have these at 4-H Camp growing up.  We all loved them. 1/2 C smooth peanut butter
1/2 C light corn syrup
2/3 C confectioner's sugar
1 C nonfat dry milk

1. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.
2. Stir peanut butter and corn syrup in a bowl until blended and smooth.
3. Stir in sugar. Gradually stir in dry milk until blended.
4. Form rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Place on cookie sheet and refrigerate about an hour. Press tines of fork into dough to flatten and decorate.
5. Store in tightly covered container.

Submitted by Gina

Aunt Alice's Pineapple-Coconut Cookies

My great Aunt Alice used to make these and I hadn't had them for years.  My sister had made them and I had one while visiting her and they brought back memories from long ago.  I remember them being kept in the refrigerator and as a kid, I just didn't enjoy cold cookies.  But as an adult....de-lish!

Mix:
1 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs (well-beaten)
1 cup crushed pineapple (drained
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix and add to above:
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut
1 cup nuts (optional)

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Submitted by Gina

Snickerdoodles

1 cup margarine
1 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
5 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix thoroughly margarine, shortening, sugar, and eggs.  Blend in flour, cream of tartar, soda, and salt.  Shape dough into balls.  Mix cinnamon and sugar, roll balls in mixture.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set.  Remove immediately from cookie sheet.

Submitted by Nana

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups (12-ounce bag) milk chocolate chips, not semisweet
Nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper

Directions
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.
Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

These are one of my favorite cookies. I made them for Thanksgiving and EVERYONE at my mom's house loved them. The recipe came from foodnetwork.com.
Posted by Gina

Oreo Cookies

1 Devil's Food cake mix
2 eggs
3/4 sup shortening or butter
Mix cake mix, eggs, and shortening until well blended. Place 12 cookies in round balls on cookie sheet. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes.
Filling: 1/4 cup butter, 4 oz. cream cheese, 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Mix butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar with electric mixer till well blended. Once cookies have cooled, place filling between two cookies.

Coleman Recipe Book 2006,
Submitted by Gina

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup each white and brown sugars
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
Whip this all together
Mix: 1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Blend into peanut butter mixture. Refrigerate dough about an hour.
Roll into balls, then into some sugar. Place on cookie sheet, press with a fork and bake 10 - 12 minutes on 350.

Coleman Recipe Book 2006
Submitted by: Cynthia