Oatmeal Pumpkin Cream Pies

This was my back up Thanksgiving treat in case my pumpkin roll cake failed (but it didn't!).  These were so lovely and full of great fall flavour.  I've used this blog for a few baking recipes and I quite like it.  I found I only used half of the filling recipe.  So maybe adjust for that or else just double the cookie recipe.

Source: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/10/04/oatmeal-pumpkin-creme-sandwiches/

Ingredients:

Oatmeal Cookies:
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 2/3 cups rolled oats
1 cup flour

Filling:
4 oz cream cheese, softened (half a block)
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (or 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice but then reduce the 1tsp cinnamon by 1/2)
2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
flour to thicken if desired
salt, to taste


Directions:

In a large bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment or with a handheld mixer, cream the softened butter and sugars until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Slowly stir in the baking soda, cinnamon, oats, and flour. Mix together until just combined. Do not overmix.

Chill the dough for at least one hour in the fridge. Cookies will be very flat if the dough is not cold.

Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (LOVE silicone baking mats). Roll 2 teaspoons of dough (I used a half tablespoon to scoop) into a ball and gently flatten onto prepared sheet. Bake for 9 minutes and let cool on cookie sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack.

While the cookies are cooling, prepare the pumpkin frosting. Using a mixer, beat all the ingredients together.  Use flour to thicken if you need and add salt if you wish to cut some of the sweetness.

Spread a generous amount of frosting on the underside of a cooled cookie and sandwich another cookie on top. Cookies stay fresh for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Peanut Butter and Nutella Cookies

It has been one of those days.  I was really down and decided to bake some cookies. Yes I know you're not supposed to solve depression with baked goods.  Good thing I can't hear your judgements over the munching of these cookies.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 cup sugar (whatever you fancy)
1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup Nutella
Directions:

Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla together until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda and salt and add to butter mixture. Add Nutella in dollops over the top of the dough.  Use a butter knife to swirl the Nutella through the dough for a marbled effect.  Do not over mix.  Chill the dough in fridge for 15 minutes BEFORE spooning onto cookie sheet.  You will kind of have to smush the dough into disks since it will be hard at this point.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Let cool a few minutes on cookie sheet before transferring.

Cowboy Cookies

Oats.  Coconut.  Chocolate.  Need more? My source for this recipe is THIS site- you can find a nice little story about Laura Bush using these cookies to help win the presidency for her husband (sort of..not really).  I halved the recipe and still got 3 dozen cookies.  Here is the full recipe- if you only do half, use one big egg or 2 small eggs or the weird thing I did, where I used one medium egg and tried to let only half of the second one fall in the bowl...

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp baking soda

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups sweetened coconut flakes

2 cups chopped pecans (optional - I omit)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In a second bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat for another 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. 

Stir in the flour mixture, blending until just combined. Add the chips, oats, coconut, and pecans and stir until fully incorporated.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto an ungreased baking sheet, making sure to allow plenty of room between cookies. Bake for 10 minutes- they will seem underdone- let them cool completely on the sheet before removing to a rack or plate.  This is how you achieve that wonderful soft, chewy cookie texture while keeping crisp edges.

Then hide them.  Because you will eat them all!

Gluten Free Soft Peanut Butter Cookie

I have a gluten free friend and whenever I host anything I'm always very aware that my baking is not gluten free.  I always try to have enough gluten free options to include everyone but I feel at a disadvantage when it comes to baking.  These cookies are for all of you out there like me, who need occasionally to bake something gluten free but don't have gluten free flours in your pantry.  This is a flourless recipe.  One you wouldn't even know is gluten free.  Thanks to my mom, I now have something to make in a pinch when I need something gluten free. 

Makes 20-24 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar (or 1/2 cup of both brown and white)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup butterscotch or peanut butter chips

Directions:

Cream together first four ingredients then stir in chips.

Roll 20-24 balls and flatten with fork.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 9 minutes.  They should look under baked.  Let cool ON cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to plate.

Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies

Found on Pinterest (where else?), which came from THIS link.  These were simply delicious.  And turned out exactly as the picture from the link.

Ingredients:

3/4 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. reeses pieces
1 c. pretzels, broken (I was slightly scared of this element and shied away from the whole cup- I wish I hadn't, DON'T be shy!) - can use banana chips instead

Directions:

In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and pudding mix and set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and honey and beat again. Slowly add the dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips, reeses, and pretzels by hand.

Drop by tablespoon onto a baking sheet, leaving 2 inches in between each cookie. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Cool on pan for 3-4 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. Store in a tightly covered container. Makes about 36 cookies.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

This is my go to chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe.  I didn't take picutes- mostly I just want to be able to easily find the recipe when I want to use it.  No substitutions here- just yummy cookie goodness!

1 c butter
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 c oats
1 c chocolate chips

325
12-14 mins
ungreased cookie sheet

Brownie Cookies

These are probably my favourite cookies that I make.  They taste like brownies.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c butter or margarine
2 c sugar (I've done half brown and half white before- either way is fine)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
3/4 c cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 c chips (peanut butter, white chocolate, butterscotch, chocolate, etc) -butterscotch is my fav

Directions:

cream butter and sugar.  add eggs and vanilla. beat. add flour, baking soda, salt. beat. add cocoa by sifting to get out all lumps. beat. mix in chips. drop onto cookie sheet. bake at 350 for 9 minutes.  do NOT over cook- when you take them out of the oven they will look raw- don't worry.  allow the cookies to cool almost completely on the sheet before moving them. 

Homemade Oreos

Today is my husband's birthday.  A few months ago I saw a recipe for homemade football oreos on Pinterest and I made a mental note to remember to make them for his birthday.  He LOVES football-almost more than anything.  When I attempted to make them I quickly got frustrated with forming them into the right shape that would still look like a football after they expanded in the oven.  So I made a couple footballs and then the rest just like oreos- except they're quite big.  Even if you make the dough balls suuuper small, these oreos end up much bigger once cooked.  So keep that in mind. 

Ingredients:

(Cookies)
-1 package devil food cake mix
-2 eggs
-1/2 c butter (softened)

(Filling)
-1/2 c butter (softened)
-1 stick of cream cheese (softened)
-2 c powdered sugar
-1 tbsp vanilla

Directions:

Heat oven to 350.  Mix devils food cake, eggs and butter together.  Roll dough into a SMALL ball and push flat on pan.  Bake for 8 minutes.  Let cool completely then transfer to plate or rack. 

Mix up icing.  I used a piping bag (if you don't have one, make one by pouring icing into the corner of a sandwich bag, cut off the tip and twist and use like a piping bag) to pipe the icing onto a cookie.  The cookies are a little soft and I was worried about the cookie breaking if I smeared the icing on with a knife.  Place another cookie on top of the iced cooked to make an "oreo". 

see my pathetic attempt at a football? unfortunately, this was the best looking football of the batch