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A Community of Cookies

Judy Schoonover, veteran of 29 years teaching kindergarten at Grant Elementary

Oatmeal Jumbles

• 1 ¾ C. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 10 T. butter, softened
• 6 T. vegetable shortening
• ½ C. sugar
• 1 ½ C. brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 C. quick oats
• 2 oz. chocolate chips
• ½ C. walnuts or pecans
• ¼ C. raisins
• ¼ C. dried cherries
• ¼ C. coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with oil.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, shortening and both sugars until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture. Stir in oats, chocolate, nuts, raisins, cherries and coconut.
3. Scoop dough into 2 T. balls several inches apart and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Let cool on racks.

 

Judy Irelan, State Farm claims representative and mother of three

Snickerdoodles

• ½ C. butter, softened
• 1 C., 2 T. sugar, divided
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• 1 ½ C. flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 C. sugar, baking soda and cream of tartar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine the 2 T. sugar and the cinnamon. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in the sugar-cinnamon mixture to coat. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Lindsey Rowe, physical therapist and mother of two

Salted Chocolate Chip

• 1 C. butter, softened
• 1 ¼ C. light brown sugar
• ¾ C. sugar
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 C. unbleached flour (I use 1 cup whole wheat flour…so they’re healthy!)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 ½ tsp. hot water
• 2 C. chocolate chips, half milk chocolate and half bittersweet
• ¾ tsp. coarse (kosher) salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cream together the butter and sugars, then add the eggs and vanilla to the creamed mixture. In a separate bowl, mix the flour(s) and salt.
3. Dissolve baking soda into hot water and add to batter. Stir in the dry mixture until smooth, then add chocolate chips. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. (Can keep refrigerated for 24 hours).
4. Scoop dough out in 2-inch balls onto cookie sheet and lightly sprinkle each cookie with a small pinch of kosher salt. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes.

 

Sarah Hill, Veterans United Chief Storyteller and mother of two teenagers

“A mother of quadruplets on my son’s baseball team brought them to a game. I asked her ‘What is this?’ and she laughed and said ‘Crack’.”

“Crack” Cracker Jacks

• 1 bag corn puffs
• 1 C. brown sugar
• ½ C. light corn syrup
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 tsp. baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Boil brown sugar, corn syrup and butter for two minutes. Stir in baking soda. Pour over corn puffs.
3. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every five minutes.

Renee Hulshof, talk show host for KFRU, mother of two and wife of former congressman Kenny Hulshof

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

• 3 C. sugar, divided
• ¾ C. cocoa powder
• 2 1/3 C. flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¾ C. vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 C. confectioner’s sugar

1. Combine 2 C. sugar and vegetable oil until well combined. Add cocoa, eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture in parts to sugar/cocoa mixture with beaters on low speed (I add in 4 parts or more). Allow flour mixture to fully incorporate each time.
2. Place cookie mixture in refrigerator overnight, or for more than six hours. The dough must be very cold to roll without being sticky. I leave the dough in the mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. It’s really sticky stuff.
3. When you are ready to make the cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Put 1 C. confectioners sugar in a bowl, and 1 C. granulated sugar in another bowl. Scoop out approximately 1-inch balls of dough and roll in the palms of your hands. I find that coating my hands in Crisco or butter helps A LOT to keep the dough from sticking. Roll the ball completely in granulated sugar, then in confectioners sugar to coat. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake until surfaces crack, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool one minute on cookie sheet, and then on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers for three or four days…but they never last that long at our house!

Jennifer Bukowsky, criminal defense lawyer and mother of two

“Molasses Lace Cookies are my favorite family cookie recipe. It is an old recipe, going back to my great-grandmother, in Lancaster County, Penn.  Every year my great-grandmother, in true Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, would bake with her family batches of cookies for Christmas. Molasses Lace cookies were always a special favorite, and my grandmother, mother and I continued to make them for the holidays. My mother and I continue this tradition by baking these and other Christmas cookies with my children every year.”

Molasses Lace Cookies

• 1 C. flour
• 1 C. coconut
• ½ C. brown sugar
• ½ C. light corn syrup
• ½ C. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. rum or brandy (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix together flour and coconut, and set aside. In a heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup and butter. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Gradually add flour mixture and vanilla.
3. Drop by scant teaspoonfuls onto parchment-lined cookie sheets, at least 3″ apart. Cookies spread when baking.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Remove parchment paper from metal sheet, and allow cookies to cool slightly before trying to remove them.

Ashley Shryock, homemaker and mother of two

“This recipe was my grandma Mary Durk’s recipe. I think family recipes are important to continue to make and pass on to future generations.”

Double Chocolate Malt Cookies

• 1 C. butter
• 1 C. sugar
• 3 oz. cream cheese
• 3 C. flour
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 C. chocolate malted milk instant powder
• 1/3 C. buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 C. chopped nuts (optional)

Frosting:

• ¼ C. butter
• ¼ C. milk
• ½ C. chocolate malted milk powder
• 2 ½ C. powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
2. Cream together butter, sugar and cream cheese. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and malted milk powder. Add to creamed mixture. Then add buttermilk, egg, vanilla and nuts. Scoop 1-inch balls onto cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool before frosting.
3. To make the frosting, cook butter, milk and malt powder in saucepan on medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add the powdered sugar. Beat until ready to spread on cookies.

Julie McDermott, self-employed mother of three

Scotcharoos

• 1 C. light corn syrup
• 1 C. sugar
• 1 ½ C. peanut butter
• 6 C. Rice Krispies
• 1 C. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 C. butterscotch chips

1. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together corn syrup, sugar and peanut butter. Microwave until the mixture melts, stirring every minute (about three minutes total). Stir in cereal.
3. Transfer the mixture into a pan, and pat it down to spread it out evenly.
4. In a medium bowl, microwave chips for one minute, stir and microwave another minute or until the mixture melts. Spread over the top of the bars, and add sprinkles or M&Ms.
5. Cool and cut into squares.

Debbie Stinson, homemaker, mother of three and daycare provider

“I clipped this recipe from the Fulton Sun and later realized it was submitted by my grade school music teacher, Caroline Smith Carson. It made them seem even sweeter.”

Crackerjack Cookies

• 1 C. butter
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ C. flour
• 1 C. brown sugar
• 2 C. quick oats
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 C. sugar
• 2 C. Rice Krispies
• 1 tsp. baking powder

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat butter and sugars. Add eggs and blend well. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Place on baking sheet by teaspoon-full and bake for 10 minutes for soft cookies, 12 for crispy.

Chableigh Hartmann, co-owner of Precision Cleaning

Champagne Macadamia Nut Cookies

• 2 sticks softened butter
• 1 C. brown sugar
• ½ C. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. Vanilla
• 2 ½ C. self-rising flour (or use 2 C. flour with 1 tsp. of baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda and ½ tsp. salt)
• 2 C. white chocolate chips
• 1 C. Macadamia nuts, roughly chopped.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars. Beat until creamy. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, and continue beating until well combined. Mix in flour. Fold in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
3. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto a lightly greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges.
5. Cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

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