Cookie #66 - Vermont Ben & Jerry's Everything But The... Cookies

When I looked at my recipe list for the state cookies, I had jotted down maple next to Vermont. 

Ugh.

I'm sorry Vermont, but I really don't like maple flavored anything. 
Don't get me wrong, I love maple syrup on pancakes, but that's where my maple love stops. 
I just couldn't bring myself to do a maple cookie.  I wrote a few recipes using maple, but I just wasn't feeling it.
So I consulted my good friends, Ben & Jerry. 
I immediately went to the Vermont based creamery's website to find a flavor that would translate well into a cookie.  One of my favorites is Everything But The.... 
This ice cream really has everything.  Chocolate and vanilla ice cream with toffee bits, white chocolate and chocolate covered almonds.  I've drowned many a sorrow in a pint (or two). 
This cookie starts with a simple chocolate base and then  then has white chocolate, semisweet chocolate, chopped almonds and toffee bits mixed in.  It really is a super delicious, chunky, chocolatey cookie.  If they had lasted, I think they would be even more fabulous with some vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two. 

Vermont Ben & Jerry's Everything But The... Cookies

1 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped almonds

1 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream shortening and sugars together.  Mix in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix in vanilla.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add gradually to shortening/egg mixture until just combined.  Mix in white and semisweet chips, almonds and toffee bits.

Drop by rounded tablespoons full onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 12 minutes. 

Allow to cool for a few minutes onto the baking sheets and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Cookie #63 - Texas Chocolate Cowboy Cookies

Yee haw! 

When I floated my first Texas cookie idea to a few Texans I know, I got the big thumbs down.  You see, my original idea was to make a sweet onion cookie. 

Something savory, of course. 

So, I reluctantly abandoned the idea and moved on.

Most Texans said:  "You have to use pecans!" 

or

"You have to make Cowboy Cookies!"

Cowboy cookies? 

Never heard of 'em. 

So I researched them and discovered they're basically a chocolate chip cookie with pecans and a myriad of other things thrown in.  Some have oats, some have coconut. 

These have cocoa powder, pecans, chocolate chips and toffee bits. 

After baking my version of the Cowboy Cookie, my husband declared they were the best chocolate cookie he's ever tasted.

Now, I know he's biased. 

I did make one sans pecans so I could taste it and it was a pretty darn good cookie.

Texas Chocolate Cowboy Cookies

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream shortening and sugars together.  Mix in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix in vanilla.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and baking powder.

Add flour mixture to shortening mixture 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in pecans, chocolate chips and toffee bits until well encorporated.

Drop by rounded tablespoons full 2" apart on parchment line baking sheets.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cookie #43 - Minnesota Munchers

Dear Minnesota: Why can't you have a nice easy state food that lends itself well to cookies?  I searched and searched for something that represented Minnesota.  I thought about perhaps doing a dual flavored cookie to play on the "Twin Cities," but I just couldn't find what I was looking for.
Then, I came across this recipe.  They're called Minnesota Munchers and won Taste of Home's Country's Best Cookies contest. 
These cookies are really yummy and I can see why they won.  Two types of chocolate chips, toffee chips and pecans (which I left out due to my allergy). 
Unfortunately, this batch of cookies is how I discovered where my oven's hot spot is.  Out of the 3 dozen cookies I made, only about 12 didn't come out with this lovely burnt bottom:

Boo to my Caloric.  Boo.

I chose to make these cookies slightly larger than the tablespoon recommended by the recipe.  The result was a wonderfully fat, soft, squishy, crunchy cookie that I just adored.  Yum!  You can see all the deliciousness that awaits you inside:

Minnesota Munchers

1 cup butter, softened

1-1/2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup toffee baking bits
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Stir in the milk chocolate and semisweet chips, toffee bits, and pecans. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.