Rhubarb Lemon Cookies

These cookies, friends, are fabulous.  Tangy and sweet, the combo is nearly irresistable.  I was hesitant to use rhubrarb in a cookie, but it was worth the risk. 

Rhubarb Lemon Cookies – Adapted from PickleBums

Ingredients

• 1 stick + 5 T butter, softened
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 C white whole wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. corn starch
• 1 C rhubarb
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1/2 T sugar

Directions

Add 1 C rhubarb and 1/2 T sugar to a bowl.  Add in 1 tsp. lemon zest and 2 T lemon juice and allow the mixutre to sit while you make the dough.  Then, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.   

Cream together the softened butter (13 T), with 1/2 C brown and 1/2 C white sugar.  Mix in 1 egg.  

Next, mix together 2 C white whole wheat flour (measure just a little shy of 2 C), 3/4 tsp. sald, 3 tsp. baking powder and 2 tsp. corn starch. 

Add these dry ingredients to the wet ones and stir until a stiff dough forms. 

Add the rhubarb mixture to the dough and stir until combined. 

Scoop out the dough and place 1 T balls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.  I love using ice cream scoopers to do this!  The cookies do not spread too much, so you can easily get 12-16 on a cookie sheet. 

Bake for 10-15 minutes in your 350 degree oven.  Cookies will brown slightly around the edges, but will not get brown like your typical cookie.  Do not overbake. 

Cool and enjoy!   

Chocolate Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

It is inevitable, every semester some of my students discover this blog.  Once word is out, they usually joke with me about when I will cook or bake for them. 

What they don’t know is that I always bring a treat at the end of the semester.  This year, I made cookies for them for their final exam. 

These cookies were a fantastic hit and are officially college student approved. 

Chocolate Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies – Adapted from Nestle

Ingredients

• 3 C dark chocolate chips
• 2 2/3 C white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3/4 C butter, soften (1 1/2 sticks of butter)
• 1 C brown sugar
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 eggs

Directions

In a small saucepan, melt 2 C dark chocolate chips over medium heat until smooth.  You’ll want to stir these chocolate chips often as they melt.  Set aside. 

Meanwhile, combine 2 2/3 C (a little scant) white whole wheat flour with 1 tsp. baking soda and 1 tsp. salt.  I like to do this in a large 4 C liquid measuring cup because it is easy to pour the flour into my mixer this way! 

In the base of your mixer, cream the softened butter together with 1 C brown sugar and 1/3 C sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy. 

Add in 1 tsp. vanilla and 3 eggs, one at a time and mix well in between eggs. 

Add in the melted chocolate chips, and flour, alternating additions.  Mix well until blended.  The batter will be fluffy, or airy, not dense like a typical cookie dough. 

Stir in 1 C dark chocolate chips. 

Think brownie.  Yum!

Using a cookie scoop (we’ve used both a 2-inch and a 1-inch scoop), place cookie dough onto a lightly greased or baking-mat lined cookie sheet.  The cookies do spread out, so be sure to place them about 2 inches apart (12 cookies per tray). 

Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes until just set.  Remove from the oven and cool on the tray for 1-2 minutes.  Remove to a cooling rack and cool completely.  Store in an airtight container, or in the freezer for longer-term storage. 

If you use the 1-inch cookie scoop, this recipe easily makes 48 cookies.  If you use the 2-inch scoop, you are looking at 24 or so cookies. 

They are especially delicious topped with ice cream.  Enjoy!

Mint Surprise Cookies

These mint surprise cookies are delightful.  Andes mint chips are wrapped inside a chocolate shortbread for a fun Christmas treat. 

Mint Surprise Cookies – Adapted from Hershey’s

Ingredients

• 1 C butter, softened
• 2/3 C sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 C white whole wheat flour
• 1/4 C dark chocolate cocoa powder
• ~1/2 C Andes mint chips*
• Powdered sugar

*Alternatively, you can use (as the original recipe calls for) Hershey’s Mint Kisses. We used the Andes Mint Baking Chips because they are nut-free!

Directions

Cream 1 C butter, 2/3 C sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla together until creamy. 

Mix the 2 C white whole wheat flour and 1/4 C cocoa together.

Mix the flour mixture into the butter until blended.  Note – the dough will be very thick. 

Then, scoop about 1 T dough out and flatten the scoop of dough into a pancake.  Place about 1/2 – 1 tsp. of the Andes Mint Baking Chips in the center of the dough and seal the cookie dough around the mints. 

Roll in powdered sugar, then place each cookie dough ball onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes; cool for 1 minutes and cool completely. 

Enjoy!

Orange Cranberry Crinkle Cookies

A classic Christmas cookie, chocolate crinkles, gets a face lift! 

This recipe uses a sugar cookie base in addition to cranberries and orange zest to make a refreshing cookie that will be a welcomed addition to any Christmas gathering. 

Orange Cranberry Crinkle Cookies – Adapted from Lauren’s Latest

Ingredients

• 1/2 C butter, softened
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 T orange juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 C white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C chopped fresh cranberries
• Powdered sugar

Directions

Begin by creaming together 1/2 C butter with 3/4 C sugar.  Add in 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and 1 egg, along with the zest of one orange and 1 T orange juice. 

Mix together 1 1/2 C white whole wheat flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. baking powder and 1/8 tsp. baking soda.

Add the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture 1/2 C at a time.  Mix until well incorporated. 

Then, stir in 1/2 C chopped cranberries. 

Fill a small bowl with about 1/4 C powdered sugar. 

Using a cookie scoop, scoop 1 T dough into the powdered sugar and roll until the cookie is covered in powdered sugar.  (Refill the powdered sugar as needed)

Place each dough ball onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. 

Bake each cookie sheet at 350 for 9-11 minutes.  Cookies are done when the edges are set. 

Remove from the oven and allow cookies to continue cooking for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week; for longer storage, freeze after baking. 

Enjoy! 

Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies

I don’t know about you, but when life is hard and there are no easy answers, I like to bake.  Baking and blessing others with baked goods somehow shares the love I’ve been given with others. 

This week has been a hard one – a massive tornado killing too many, hurting others and displacing hundreds.  An amazing cancer fighter gone. Then, yesterday, an accident on a school field trip that hits a little too close to home.

My heart breaks for lives that were changed in an instant. A painful reminder that our entire world is groaning awaiting the return of our Savior (Romans 8:22). 

These events don’t make sense to my finite mind.  For some, just like Job’s friends, they may call us to question the goodness of God.  For me, I know God is good.  So I trust Him despite hardship. 

The only response I know to these situations is to pray and bake.   

Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies – Adapted from Sunnyside Up

Ingredients

• 1/2 C butter (1 stick)
• 1/4 C plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 C sugar
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 C unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 4 C white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 C quick cooking oats
• splash of vanilla
• 2 C dark chocolate chips

Directions

Cream together 1 stick of butter with 1 C sugar and 1/2 C brown sugar.  Add in 1/4 C plain Greek yogurt and 2 eggs, mixing well. 

Combine 2 C unsweetened applesauce with 2 tsp. baking soda. Stir well and watch that applesauce fizz! 

Mix in the applesauce mixture to the sugar, butter mixture.  Blend well. 

Combine 2 C white whole wheat flour with 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. cloves, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg and 3/4 tsp. salt.  When blended, add these dry ingredients to the wet ones. 

Slowly add the remaining 2 C of white whole wheat flour. 

Stir in a splash of vanilla and 1 C oats. 

Mix in 2 C dark chocolate chips. 

The dough will be soft.  You can refrigerate it for 30-45 minutes, but I just went ahead and made the cookies. 

Using a cookie scoop, scoop out cookies about 2 T large and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  These cookies will spread out, so don’t place them too close together.

Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned around the edges and set in the center. 

Cool on a cooling rack.

Enjoy! 

*Makes about 96 cookies.  After baking these are best stored in the freezer until ready to consume.  They will keep for 2-3 days at room temperature, but are best “fresh” or cooled from the freezer. 

Cranberry Toffee Slice & Bake Cookies

If you are looking for a cookie gift for Christmas, these make a fun gift.  They are a slice and bake cookie, that you can wrap up and give the roll to your friend or neighbor for Christmas. 

They are a delicious cookie, with a fun twist – toffee.

Cranberry Toffee Slice & Bake Cookies – Anne in Wisconsin (via mom)

Ingredients

• 1 C butter
• 3/4 C sugar
• 3/4 C brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 C white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 C oats (quick cooking preferred)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 C dried cranberries
• 1/2 C dark chocolate chips {be generous here}
• 1/2 C toffee bites

Directions

Cream together 1 C butter along with 3/4 C sugar and 3/4 C brown sugar. 

Add in 1 egg and 1 tsp. vanilla.  Mix well. 

Stir in 1 1/2 C white whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 C oats along with 1 tsp. baking soda and 1/4 tsp. salt. 

Then stir in 1 C craisins, 1/2 C chocolate chips and 1/2 C toffee bites.  Dough will be very stiff, so I recommend using your mixer to do this, or a wooden spoon. 

Divide the dough into fourths.  Shape each 1/4 of dough into rolls.  Wrap in plastic wrap and seal tightly. 

To gift – wrap each dough roll in butcher paper, tie ends with raffia or ribbon, and attach the baking directions below.  You may also wish to include the recipe. 

Freeze the cookie rolls. 

To bake:

1) Remove the roll from the freezer and allow it to sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes.

2) Slice the cookies into 1/2-inch slices and place each slice on a greased cookie sheet. 

3) Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned.