Soft & Chewy Oatmeal & Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I have this problem...

I CRAVE, like seriously CRAVE oatmeal cookie dough! I know, I know... weird right? Well, weird or not... it's true! When my brother and I were both still living at home {like forever ago!} we always kept a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer.  When we'd get home from school, we'd take it out of the freezer, cut off a big ole' chunk and eat it! It was so yummy, but the part I found funny is that we never made the cookies... just ate the dough!  I never cared for the cookies much because they seemed to go hard fast and just weren't as good as the dough itself! But I have found THE... I mean T.H.E. recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! Oh boy... they are to die for! They are so moist and chewy and they stay that way for quite some time as long as they're kept in an airtight container! I think they'd freeze real well too!  

Let me warn you, this is not a small batch of cookies, however... the dough is so good! I kept a chunk {hee hee} and threw it in a freezer bag and tossed it in the freezer.  Oh what a delightful treat! So, everyone else enjoyed their cookies and milk as I sat in my corner with my bag of frozen cookie dough. 

Alright, so you get the drift. My craving shall be calmed for awhile. But I'll be making these cookies soon because everyone in this house loved them! They are our new favorite oatmeal cookies!

And because I must give credit where the credit is due... Kris Stena!... THANK YOU! For any of you that love to sew, stop by my besties blog HERE and tell her I said HI! She's amazing and so talented! And has an AMAZING cookie recipe too!  

Instead of using chocolate chips, I used chopped P.B. Cups!  But feel free to "embellish" your cookies as you please:)

Soft & Chewy Oatmeal & Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Adapted from Kris Stena's recipe

printable recipe

1 cup butter

1 cup shortening

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup water

2 tsp vanilla

6 cups flour

6 1/2 - 7 cups oatmeal (I used quick oats)

2 1/2 cups chopped Peanut Butter Cups

Cream shortening, butter, & sugar... add eggs. Beat well. Add salt, soda, powder and vanilla. Beat until combined.  Add water and mix thoroughly. Add flour, oatmeal, and chopped pb cups.  You can add nuts, chocolate chips, raisins etc.... Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven.  I used a small cookie scoop and baked them for 12 minutes.  The larger cookie scoop I baked for 14 minutes.  Bake until browned around the edges.  ENJOY!!

Happy Cooking!

Teauna

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every year in the fall, I always try to find a good excuse to make these cookies.  They are like fluffy pumpkin pillows accented by mini semi sweet chocolate chips.  They are so soft and tender and are the perfect treat with a glass of milk on rainy fall days.  I use my medium sized cookie scoop and got 5 dozen. These cookies don't spread much so they will pretty much remain the same size as what you put on the cookie sheet.  You could certainly make smaller cookies with a smaller cookie scoop (or of course the old spoon method works just fine also:) )  If you don't enjoy chocolate chips {uh! huge gasp}... then you could make a thin icing glaze and drizzle over these cookies.  They are excellent that way also!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted by From Cupboard to Cupboard
from Cheryl
printable recipe

1/2 cup butter
3 cups sugar
15 oz can pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1 pkg mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line baking sheets with SILPATS or parchment paper. A greased cookie sheet works fine.  Cream butter and sugar until mixed well.  Add pumpkin and beat until ingredients are combined.  Add eggs and beat until combined.  Then add milk.  Mix in.  In separate bowl, mix dry ingredients with a whisk.  Add to wet ingredients.  Mix until all ingredients are combined.  Add chocolate chips.  Mix in. Place cookies on prepared cookie sheets.  I used the medium cookie scoop and baked them for 14 minutes.  They will brown nicely and they are fluffy.  If using a smaller cookie scoop, I would bake them between 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

Teauna

**Homemade THIN MINT cookies**

I LoVe lOvE LoVe any combination of chocolate and mint! Yummy! Grasshopper cookies, Mint-chocolate chip ice cream, chocolate cookies with mint chocolate chips, mint frosted brownies... well you get the picture! So did I mention that I love any chocolate/mint combination???
A month or so ago, I found the recipe for Homemade 'Samoas' and they turned out great, so when I came across a recipe for THIN MINTS, I just HAD to make them!

Thin Mint Cookies::
1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cup flour

Cream the butter in your stand mixer until light and fluffy! Add sugar and cream some more until well blended. Stir in the vanilla, salt, and cocoa. Mix until smooth. This will resemble a thick cake batter. Now add the flour and mix until just combined to prevent tough cookies. This mixture is very crumbly so do not be alarmed! Turn out onto a countertop (I did not use any extra flour on my counter) and gather dough into a ball and knead just once or twice until its a big smooth mass. Then place in a large plastic bag and flatten into a 3/4" disk. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes. Take out the dough and roll it to about 1/8" thick... I know this seems really thin, but they are THIN mints...:-) Use whatever cookie cutter you may want to cut your cookies, just try to keep them to about 1 1/2" in diameter. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheets or a silpat on your cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack....

Now melt:
1 lb chocolate chips (your choice: dark, milk, semi-sweet, etc.)
1 dash peppermint oil (don't use just mint oil because it is spearmint)

Melt the chocolate how you feel comfortable doing it, whether it be in a double boiler or the microwave! I like using the microwave! I've had good luck with that method... Use the method that works best for you! After melting the chocolate, add a dash of peppermint oil. You can use a little bit extra but just be careful not to overpower it....

Now I'm going to share with you my secret! Hersheys carries a MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP! LoVe lOvE LoVe them!!!! And I just melted a pound of them and used them! They are already a perfect combination of chocolate and mint! So this means I didn't have to make any of those difficult decisions on the type of chocolate and how much peppermint oil to make it perfect, Hershey did it for me! :-)

When the cookies are cooled, dip the cookies in the melted mint flavored chocolate! Place them on parchment-lined cookie sheets to let them set up...

I covered some totally, but found that I liked the ones that I simply "frosted" with chocolate. Of course, I had to add some sprinkles because let's face it, they're just cute :-)

Now... prepare yourself for the stampede when everyone realizes what you've just created! Because they are so so so good!!!! This recipe is a keeper!

Happy Cooking!

Teauna

**I need to mention that I found this recipe and adapted it from acozykitchen.com! Love her stuff!**

** Peanut Butter Cookies**

My kids LOVE Peanut Butter Cookies! I like making them because they are simple and I love the look of a cookie with sugar on it! So, the other day as all the kids were playing I decided to try a recipe I hadn't tried before! This recipe comes from the Lion House Cookbook. The recipe says to drop by Tablespoonfuls, but I used my small cookie scoop because they're a much better size for the daycare kids!!! I ended up with TONS of cookies! I didn't count them because I was sending plates of them out with daycare kids and families but I'm thinking I got between 10-12 dozen! So, if you need to make some cookies to send to the school with your kids or take to a pot-luck... this is your recipe!

5 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
3/4 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter

Line cookie sheet with waxed paper; set aside. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in peanut butter. Add flour mixture and stir until well blended. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Using fork dipped in flour, flatten each cookie slightly in a criss-cross pattern. (I used sugar instead of flour.) Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges. Do not overbake! Makes 5 dozen 3-inch cookies....

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking

Teauna

**Toffee Almond Sandies**

You are going to LOVE these! These are my go-to when we're craving something besides Chocolate! I know, that doesn't seem possible, but sometimes around here it is possible... My mom and I used to spend alot of time making these cookies, as they were one of our favorites.

This recipe makes a large batch of cookies. I use a small cookie scoop and it makes around 12 dozen. I also tried a medium(#40) cookie scoop this time and they were nice too. With the medium cookie scoop you will get about 6 dozen cookies. These cookies are beautiful on a plate! The perfect neighbor treat... that is... if you can get them out of your house before they're gone!

1 cup butter ( no substitutes), softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon almond extract

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups chopped almonds

1 package (6-8 oz) English toffee bits

Additional sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add oil, eggs and extract; mix well. Combine flours, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in almonds and toffee bits. Shape into 1-in. balls; roll in sugar. Place on ungreased baking sheets; flatten with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Now when I used the small scoop I baked them for 10-12 minutes and when I used the medium scoop I baked the 12-14 minutes.

Remove from cookie sheets directly onto wire racks. Let cool and store in airtight containers...

Happy Cooking

Teauna

**SAMOAS** directly from your kitchen!!!

So, this is the time that I have to say, these smell good, they look good, and they came sooooo close to tasting good, but I couldn't do it.... as I'm on a diet and have sworn off sugar! What was I thinking when I made these then? Well, they looked like they may be a challenge and I have company coming over that certainly hasn't sworn off sugar and they would LoVe these cookies! I have certainly got rave reviews from the "Samoa thief" in my house... she says they taste just like the real thing! So now it's your turn to decide!

I found this recipe on a cooking blog quite awhile ago and have adapted it a little to my liking. So thanks to http://www.wordstoeatby.blogspot.com/, we can all have Girl Scout Cookies in our kitchen's YEAR ROUND! I love the sound of this... it's like music to my ears.

For the cookies:

2 1/2 sticks butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

3 1/4 cup four

Set your oven racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat it to 325 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Beat butter and sugar on medium speed for 5-10 minutes until it becomes light in color and very soft and fluffy. It reminded me of cool whip...

Fold in flour by hand. Dough will be very soft. But is suprisingly easy to work with. Place a handful of dough at a time on a lightly floured surface. Use floured palm of your hand to press out dough 3/8" thick. DON'T ADD ALOT OF FLOUR. Cut out dough with fluted round cutter dipped in flour. Keep the scraps and re-roll them and cut them. If your don't add alot of flour, you will have an easier time and the re-rolled cookies will be just as tender as the ones first-rolled out :-) You will want to use a thin metal spatula to move dough from the counter to the pan. I placed 32 cookies on each cookie sheet. They don't spread so the spacing is minimal.

Place both pans in oven, one on each rack. Bake 8 minutes, rotate pans, then bake another 8 minutes. Take out and place on cooling racks.

For the Topping:

4 c. sweetened shredded coconut

1 1/2 pkg (14 oz) caramels

3 T milk

4 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut evenly on cookie sheet and toast 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove and stir every 5 minutes to prevent burning. Set aside.

Unwrap caramels and put into a large microwave-safe bowl. Add milk and cook on high 2-3 minutes, stopping to stir every 30 seconds until caramel melts and incorporates into milk. Add coconut and stir to combine.

Top each cooled cookie with a teaspoon of mixture.

Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. Pour into a ziploc bag and seal the bag. Clip a corner off the bag and you have an instant decorating bag! Drizzle chocolate over each cookie! Let rest so the chocolate sets up.... then eat!!!!

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking

Teauna

**Peanut Butter Bars for a Crowd**

How many times have you had to take treats to school for your kids? Or maybe even a pot luck meal? Well here is your recipe. This recipe is good for 2 FULL cookies sheets of peanut butter bars... and the fudge frosting is to die for!

There is quite a bit of time in preparing these because you have to bake each sheet separately and then the fudge frosting is cooked also. But I will guarantee you it'll be so so so worth it when you are able to take a bite!

For the bars:

Cream together:
2 1/4 c butter
2 1/4 c sugar
2 1/4 c brown sugar
5 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c peanut butter

Add:
4 1/2 c flour
3/4 tsp salt
4 1/2 c oatmeal
2 1/4 tsp baking soda

FYI: I mixed this in my 5 qt kitchenaid and it was doing it's best to overflow, so just as a warning... you will need a large bowl to mix this.

Divide the dough between the 2 lightly greased cookie sheets and spread evenly. Bake at 325 degrees approximately 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Bake only one pan at a time. Take out of oven and cook on wire rack.

For Frosting:
In a large saucepan, add:
3 c brown sugar
1/2 c cocoa
1/2 c butter
1 can evaporated milk

Mix this well and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes.

Stir in:
2 Tablespoons vanilla
2 lbs powdered sugar

Whisk until smooth with a wire whisk. Pour equally over 2 pans and quickly spread and cool. This sets up quickly so the faster you get it spread, the better it will look....

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

Teauna

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is, perhaps, one of the best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes I have baked... Such beautiful cookies that are crisp on the outside and so ooey and gooey on the inside. I have to admit that I have this thing that I will only use Nestle Toll House Chocolate chips... as I am a chocolate chip cookie snob. I should be ashamed to admit this, but... no.

I remember one night after just being married, I had a horrible dream that the grocery stores had all closed off their Nestle Toll House chocolate chip isle with huge pieces of wood and tons of nails! A TRUE NIGHTMARE it was! I ran to the store that morning and I think I spent a good $50 on chocolate chips so I would be prepared if this ever happened. So crazy I know, but this just proves to you what a C.C. Cookie snob I am! :-) (I'm really not kidding..)

This recipe will be one of the tops on our list now... I hope you enjoy it too!

1 3/4 cups butter, softened (do not use margarine!)

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 eggs

5 1/2 Tablespoons water

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

6 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 pkg semi-sweet MINI NESTLE TOLL HOUSE CHOC. CHIPS :-)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheets. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, water, and vanilla and mix until nice and creamy. Add flour, salt and baking soda to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by heaping teaspoonfulls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. This recipe made 6 dozen 3 1/2 inch cookies.

*I used a small cookie scoop but heaped it over. You could surely make smaller cookies, just cook them for less time. Small cookie scoop cookies should be done at 8 minutes or so...

Happy Cooking

Teauna

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

Please forgive me;-)

So. . . . . I guess I lied.... I didn't post a DAILY recipe... but here is one recipe out of quite a few I've made in the last week... just simply haven't had a minute to post any of them, but I'll get to it as soon as I get a minute.....

First these cookies are amazing!!!! I doubled the recipe and got 78 cookies:-) Everyone loved them-- they remind me of hot chocolate... you have your dark chocolate cookie with a soft melty marshmallow and some yummy chocolate frosting... hope you enjoy them!

For the cookies:
Mix:
1 Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil

Make teaspoon size balls and place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes. Take out of oven and place 1/2 of a large marshmallow (cut-side down) on the center of each cookie and bake for another 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pan to a wire rack to cool. Then frost...

Frosting:
1 cube butter
2 T cocoa
2 T milk
2 C powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Beat well! If you need to add more milk or powdered sugar to reach the desired consistency, go ahead!

Double this recipe for approx 78 cookies...

Happy Cooking

Teauna

**SNICKERDOODLES**

I was sitting here this morning trying to keep busy, so you can probably guess the first thing I did.... I BAKED COOKIES!!!! My husband got in an accident on his way home from Wyoming last night and he was going to access the damage on the car this morning and my anxiety was attacking me! Just one more thing to worry about for the HOLIDAYS!!! Grrrrr..... but I always feel better when I'm baking something so I'm guessing you can probably come to my house any day this week and find a variety of different goodies all over my kitchen counter, in the fridge, freezer, & even some scribbles on paper from trying something new. You just never know what I might have here :-)

Well, my family really really likes CHOCOLATE but sometimes it's nice to have something different... So SNICKERDOODLES it was!!! These cookies are about 3 inches in diameter and they are so puffy and insanely soft and chewy!!!! Soooo good! I have tried so many different snickerdoodle recipes and I think this one takes the trophy! And this recipe made a whole bunch! About 5 dozen! Give them a try!!!!

In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tsp ground cinnamon. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup softened butter and 2 1/2 cups sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 1/2 Tablespoons of water until fluffy. Add 6 cups flour, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix well. Shape dough by rounded Tablespoonfuls. I made them to look about the size of a walnut. Now drop in your reserved cinnamon sugar mixture and roll around to coat the ball of dough. Place on a cookie sheet. I didn't grease mine and they were fine. Bake 10-12 minutes or until they are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

ENJOY!!!

Happy Cooking!!!

*Teauna*

**SUGAR COOKIES**

CAN I GET A MOMENT OF SILENCE PLEASE!!!!! ........................... because these cookies deserve it! These are a simple sugar cookie that pack some great flavor! Just the right amount of lemon in these cookies makes them refreshing and not too sweet. Don't just take my word for it! Try them! If you're not a fan of lemon I think they would be good to substitute almond extract or vanilla... Just do what your little heart desires!

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon extract

6-7 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening, sugar, and eggs. Add milk, vanilla, and lemon extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, soda, and baking powder. Add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture and mix until well blended. Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut out with cookie cutter and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-7 minutes. Do not overbake. They should be a light golden brown around the edges. Cool on wire racks. Makes 5-6 dozen cookies.

Frosting:

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup shortening

4 2/3 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup water

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, shortening, and powdered sugar; beat until very creamy. Add lemon and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add water and beat until very light. Frost cookies..... YUMMY!!! :-)

Happy Cooking

*Teauna*

**OATMEAL APPLESAUCE COOKIES**

The kids and I have been juicing apples and making applesauce this weekend. We had a great neighbor that brought us 2 huge boxes of apples. As we were putting the apples through the strainer, the kids had a BRILLIANT idea! "How about we make applesauce cookies with the fresh applesauce Mom!".So, we did! I have made this recipe since I was a little girl in my Mom's kitchen. It always feels good when I'm able to make them in my kitchen with my kids! These cookies stay moist and yummy for quite a while as long as you keep them in an airtight container. They also freeze well! FYI: because these cookies are so moist, you will want to put wax or parchment paper between layers of cookies in an airtight container so they do not stick together! :-)

Cream together:
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening

Add to first mix:
2 eggs
2 cups applesauce
1 tsp soda

Add to above mix:
3 1/2 cups flour, sifted
2 tsp nutmeg
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups oatmeal

Add to above:
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup chocolate chips (I like using mini semi-sweet chocolate chips)
Can add 1 cup uncooked raisins if desired

Bake at 375 for 12 minutes on lightly greased cookie sheets...

Happy Cooking
*Teauna*

**FUDGE JUMBLES**

These are one of my favorite treats and are requested OFTEN by friends and family alike. I do believe they are the most requested recipe from my Hubby and kids. This recipe makes a full cookie sheet and they are absolutely perfect for a pot-luck or that 'special treat' at a family party. Once you take them, they'll request them again and again.... Make sure to store them in an airtight container and they'll stay soft! MMMMM......mmmmmm........Good!

Mix together:

1 cup margarine

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups rolled oats

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons soda

1 teaspoon salt

Press 2/3 of batter onto greased cookie sheet. Reserve other 1/3....

Then melt together:

1 pkg chocolate chips (your choice**semi sweet are my favorite**)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 Tablespoons margarine

2 teaspoons vanilla

I melt this in the microwave in a glass bowl in 30 second increments, stirring in between. It took approximately 1minute and 15seconds. If you feel more comfortable about melting this in a saucepan on the stovetop, go ahead. Then spread filling on top of the dough in the cookie sheet. Now dot the remaining dough on top. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool then cut and store into an airtight container.

FYI-- when I want to take these to somewhere special I will use 2 cups of the dark cocoa with vanilla buttons from kitchen kneads instead of the regular chocolate chips. You can serve them in smaller servings and they are richer too. LOVE THEM!!!!

Happy Cooking

*Teauna*

**Gooey S'more Bars**

OH MY HEAVENS!!!! I wanted to try something different tonight. Don't you ever get sick of the same ole' cookies? I love s'mores anytime of the year, but it seems it's in the colder months that the fire-roasted marshmallows sound more tempting to me. So after much thought, I decided to try something that would say "S'mores" without starting the fire!

I will tell you that these are very rich! A 9x13 pan should make 3 dz bars. They would be absolutely wonderful served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert! These would be an amazing treat for a kid's party. This is a very kid -friendly recipe. My kids enjoyed crushing the graham crackers in a gallon-size ziploc bag with a rolling pin. They also like to measure out all the dry ingredients to add to the creamed ingredients.

1 c butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 2/3 cup flour

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups chocolate chips

7 oz jar marshmallow creme

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Combine the flour, cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Set aside 1 cup for topping.

Press remaining mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Place chocolate chips over crust; spread with marshmallow creme. (this is hard to spread so I microwaved it for 30 seconds but it will grow so be careful not to make a big mess in your microwave. Don't worry if it isn't perfectly spread because it will heat up and kindof level out when it's cooking) Crumble remaining graham cracker mixture over top.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars and store in an airtight container. YIELDS: 3 dz small bars

Happy Cooking!

*Teauna*

FALL SPICE OATMEAL COOKIES

My kids suggested that I make some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for them to take hunting with them. Of course, I like to make them "season-worthy" . Because I love the spices that sum up fall I decided to see what I could do with them... This is the recipe I came up with.

Cream Together:

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

Add:

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Then add:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 3/4 cups quick-cooking oats

Then add 1 pkg mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonfulls on greased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let cool in pan then remove to wire rack. These will stay soft as long as they are stored in an airtight container. If they do start to get hard, place a piece of bread in the container with them and they will soften right back up!

This recipe made 5 dozen with my small cookie scoop!

*Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies*

At least once a week I like to give my kids the opportunity to pick out a kid-friendly recipe and I simply supervise as they make it. While I was baking pumpkin sheetcakes, they were wanting to help in the kitchen and there was really nothing for them do, so I asked them what they wanted to make. To my surprise, they both answered "NO-BAKE COOKIES MOM!" They must have been talking about it before they made their way into the kitchen to bug me :-). So I looked thru my recipes and found one with peanut butter. Might as well try and add the goodness into the goodies as much as possible, huh?! Here it is!

In a large pot, add:

4 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup milk

1 cup butter

bring this mixture to a boil, stirring constantly so it won't scorch. Once it is boiling, boil for 1 minute. Take off heat and add:

2 tsp vanilla

2 pinches of salt

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups quick oats ( I used old fashioned oats because that's what I had! They work fine)

Stir well to combine all ingredients. Drop on waxed paper by teaspoonfulls. I have a small cookie scoop and the kids take turns dropping them on the waxed paper. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

We got about 4 dozen cookies! I know that some never made it to the waxed paper! :-) This is a great project for the kids. So, go......make some memories in your kitchen!

Happy Cooking!

*Teauna*

**Homemade Oreos**

So, tonight I decided that I should make some goodies for my hubby to take to work with him. So, I made one of family's favorite recipes! Homemade OREOS! They are so easy that anyone can make them!

All You need is:

2 boxes chocolate cake mixes (whatever you prefer)
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs

Mix these ingredients together and drop teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes until they start to crack. Do NOT overbake! Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

For the frosting, combine:

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/3 cup butter
2 2/3 c powder sugar (+/-)

Mix well, frost and sandwich the cookies! Serve with milk :-) Everyone will LOVE YOU!!!

Happy Cooking!

Teauna