I have made these a few times: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/25037/best-big-fat-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookie/

They are really delicious!

For gluten free ones, I recommend these: https://www.glutenfreebaking.com/gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/

they are by far my favorite GF cookies recipe.

finally, here is a snicker doodle recipe that was gone really fast! I mean, the one pan I saved for my family was gone in about 10 minutes! I use vegetable oil instead of the shortening. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/10687/mrs-siggs-snickerdoodles/

All of these I've tried at least twice, and oh boy they have come out PERFECT every time!

I've made this lots: Brownie Brittle

Buy a pkg of chocolate brownie mix, 10 oz size. I buy Marie Callender's, from Dollar Tree, but Betty Crocker has one at Wall Mart.

Add to the mix, 1 egg, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup oil.

Spray a cookie sheet, the one I use is 15 x 10. ****I prefer to use parchment paper. Spray the underside corners keeps the paper from moving when you spread the batter.

Spread the batter thinly all over the cookie sheet and evenly. I use a spatula.

Then with fingers, take chocolate morsels and sprinkle about 1/2 cup or more over the batter.

Bake 325 for 30 minutes.

Turn oven off and let sit inside oven for 30 more minutes.

Brownies will be hard.

Let them cool completely, and make sure the chocolate morsels are cooled and hard.

Lift up at one end with a fork, and break into pieces.

Store in an airtight container.

Eat and enjoy!

This is my favorite ginger cookie. I often make it without the candied ginger.

• 2 1⁄4cups all-purpose flour
• 1teaspoon baking soda
• 2teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1⁄2teaspoons ground cloves
• 1⁄2teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1⁄2teaspoon ground ginger
• 1⁄4teaspoon kosher salt
• 1cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1⁄4cup vegetable oil
• 1⁄3cup unsulphured molasses
• 1extra-large egg, at room temperature
• 1 1⁄4cups chopped crystallized ginger
• sugar, for rolling cookies

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
3. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands.
4. Beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the speed to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute.
5. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients, then mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
6. Add crystallized ginger and mix until combined.
7. Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers.
8. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place on sheet pans.
9. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be cracked on the top and soft inside.
10. Let the cookies cool for a minute or two and the transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

This is one I intend to try this week...sounds simple enough.

Marshmallow Log

Cream:

1/2 cup butter

3 tsp. cocoa

1 cup icing sugar,

Add..1 egg

Mix really well,then add;

1 1/2 cups graham wafer crumbs

2 cups miniature marshmallows.

Roll in a log and then roll in coconut.

Secure firmly with saran wrap in put in freezer. Slice when ready.

These are new to me this year but I've put them in my recipe book -- they will definitely be made every year at Christmas!

EGGNOG COOKIES

1 c. butter, softened

2 c. sugar

1 c. eggnog

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

5 1/2 c. flour

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

colored sugar

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggnog, baking soda and nutmeg. Gradually add flour and mix well. Cover and chill 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Using floured 3 1/2 inch cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes; place on uncreased baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough. Brush with egg white; sprinkle with colored sugar.

Bake at 350 until edges are lightly browned, 6 - 8 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Yield: about 7 dozen.

NOTE: There are no additional eggs in the receipt

You might want to investigate some no bake cookies; there are hundreds of possibilities. Everybody loves bourbon balls! Even decorated rice krispy treats are welcomed by kids.

Or, how about "cheating?" Get ready-made dough. Tollhouse chocolate chip for example. They come out looking homemade.

Then, when you want to experiment, start making cookies and get good at one of them.

I only a few cookies. I make Christmas sugar cookies and I would not recommend them as you have to roll the dough. I would suggest you start with drop cookies.

I also make peanut butter cookies. I might make an oatmeal raisin.

ETA All the cookies look delicious, ladies!

Peanut Butter Cookies (Flourless)

Tried and true! ME :o)


1 cup creamy peanut butter or crunchy
1 cup white sugar
1 egg

Mix together egg, sugar and peanut butter. Roll into balls, whatever size you want.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork.

Bake for 15 minutes at 350°F.

Cookies are done with they are light brown and a little shiny in the middle. Don't cook them until they get a darker brown as they get hard.

Let cool.

Saltine toffee or graham cracker toffee is pretty easy, and other than the saltines, butter and sugar -- its pretty flexible as to adding chocolate, sprinkles, whatever decorations you like. I was given the recipe years ago and we resisted (saltines! brown sugar!) ....the delay probably saved me gaining about 10 pounds, but we make it now and its like cookie/candy crack. Google has lots of recipes.

Oh HB, I was gifted that saltine toffee candy (chocolate coating) by a student a few years ago and it was soooo good! Highly addictive. I haven't dared to make it myself.

I love these...I use the more traditional hazelnuts instead.

Emeril's Russian Tea Cakes

Oh, I love those tea cakes, Annie! Today I made some holiday oatmeal cookies. To your favorite oatmeal cookie recipe add the following: 1/2 tsp cardamom, zest of one orange, 1/4 tsp orange extract or flavor, orange-infused or regular dried cranberries instead of raisins.

This recipe is easy because it uses only one pan. Less clean up is always welcome!

Mocha Truffle Cookies

1. Melt in big pan on stove, or in large bowl in microwave:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup choc chips

2. Add:

1 tbsp instant coffee or espresso powder (or, 1/4 tsp ancho chili powder + 1/2 tsp cinnamon)

3. Add to cooled mix:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp molasses

4. Add and mix thoroughly:

2 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

5. Drop by tablespoon onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes ~ 36 cookies.

Annie, I don't want to interrupt this threat. I was actually going to start a new one about if you don't bake with hazelnuts here. A lot of my cookie recipes require ground hazelnuts (vanilla Kipferl for example), but I can't find them and have my husband bring them from business trips to Europe. If they would be easy to find, I would have some really tasty and easy recipes.

These are as easy as they are good. I copied the recipe from a dear friend's mom about 30 years ago.

Quick Chocolate Drops

Combine and set aside

3 c rolled oats

1 c coconut

Combine in a saucepan

6 tbsp cocoa

2 c sugar

1/2 c butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 c milk

pinch of salt

Heat on stove to almost boiling point. Remove from heat and add dry ingredients. Mix and drop by spoonful on buttered paper. Makes 3 dozen

Yea, Summer...no peanut butter!

Iris -- I'm from Oregon, the home of filberts, aka hazelnuts. I suspect if you search for filberts instead of hazelnuts, you'll find what you need. Of course, IMO Oregon filberts/hazelnuts are the best!

Really easy, and so good:

BLACK WALNUT COOKIES

½ pound butter or oleo
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
3-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup black walnuts

Melt butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs, mix flour.

Line a 9x9" baking pan with waxed paper. Pack dough tight in pan. Refrigerate until ready to use (at least several hours, or overnight). I cut it into three "loaves"; then slice very thin. Bake at 350̊ for 7-8 minutes. They will easily keep for several weeks in an airtight container.

These are especially good for dunking in coffee...

Here's another easy cookie recipe from the same person.

Raspberry Buns

1 c flour

1/3 c sugar

1/3 c shortening

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

Mix dry ingredients with fat as for pie crust. Moisten with egg, milk, and vanilla. Form small balls. Indent center with thumb and fill with jam.

Bake 425 til golden.

* These are not overly sweet. Instead of a thumbprint for center, I use the dowel end of wooden spoon to make dents and fill with different jams - usually apricot.

Mexican Orange-Cornmeal Sandies from Family Circle. Google it. I am not a cookie baker but this recipe is foolproof. The recipe calls for cut-out cookies, but I form the dough into a log and refrigerate it, then I slice and bake a few at a time. Sometimes I dip half of the cookie in chocolate, which would be nice for Christmas.

I used to collect tried and true cookie recipes. I baked a lot of cookies and the best ones went in my permanent files.....this is one that I always get requests for the recipe when anyone tries them. They are a different take on Mexican Wedding cookies, sand tarts, snowballs or several other names

Pecan Meltaways

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Sift flour and cornstarch together and set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream butter and gradually beat in sugar; beat well. Add salt, pecans, and vanilla; beat well. Stir in sifted dry ingredients; mix well. Refrigerate 2 or 3 hours. Preheat oven to 375°F. Shape dough into small balls, place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 15-20 minutes. While cookies are still hot, roll them in powdered sugar. Roll again when cool.

These cookies can be a little fragile when you first start removing them from the cookie sheets, so handle them gently. The recipe came from a Christmas cookie contest held by Mother Earth News over 30 years ago. I have baked almost every cookie in this contest and they were all very good, but this one is my favorite.

Mother Earth News Christmas Cookie Recipes

This is funny....I was scrolling to the end in order to post Marilyn's Pecan Meltaways, but she beat me to it. They are really very good, and the best of that kind of cookie ever!

Had to post this, in case you do not have it. My SIL always asks if I have made these.

Marlen's Chubby Hubby Cookies

2 cups butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 12 oz pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 12 oz pkg peanut butter chips
1 cup salted peanuts
2 cups crushed pretzels*

Preheat oven to 350* degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Blend into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips, peanuts and pretzels. Drop by heaping tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. bake 10-13 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned and centers are still soft. Do not overbake. Cool one minute on cookie sheet. Cool completely on wire racks. Store tightly in covered container.

Source: Bob Zotto, Bruker AXS Cookbook
Note from Marlen: The pretzels should be about the size of the chocolate chips, not pulverized. You want to taste bits of pretzel as you munch. This is a crunchy cookie. I use a food processor and just pulse until the desired size is achieved.

Thank you, Phyllis!! I forgot to add that the cookie in Mother Earth News was just called Meltaways. I added the chopped pecans and changed the name to Pecan Meltaways.