Banana Oatmeal Cookies

On this fine snowy day we made some rather YUM cookies! We haven't been all that good at our banana consumption lately and I needed something other than banana bread to make with those almost black bananas. The aroma from these cookies now fills the house...and I want it to stay. I'll keep this recipe in my *favorites* stack...the cookies weren't dry and had a great texture. And most of all the kids love them!



What you need:


3/4 cup shortening (I use butter flavor)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together shortening and brown sugar. Beat in egg and mashed banana, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves; stir into the banana mixture. Mix in rolled oats and walnuts. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Leave room for spreading.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

*Lisa changes: I added more banana, cut the sugar, and omitted the chopped walnuts.
I might add golden raisins next time.

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Turtles

Every good cook has a go-to dessert up their sleeve:  something quick to make, something that doesn't require much thought or preparation to whip up, something that always turns out well.  This cookie bar is mine.

Here's what you need and what you do:

2 c. flour

1 c. light brown sugar

1/2 c. butter

Mix together until crumbly.  Pat firmly into a 9 x 13 glass dish.

1 & 1/4 c. pecan halves

Place evenly over crust.

3/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. butter or margarine

Heat in saucepan, and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Pour evenly over pecan crust, and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.

1 c. chocolate chips

Sprinkle over hot bars immediately after removing from oven.

Let set 2 minutes to soften, then swirl as they melt, leaving some whole.  Do not spread smooth.  Cool and cut into bars.

~ from Mennonite Country-Style Recipes by Esther Shank

Happy sweet-tooth satisfying!

To a child, a balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

~ from Country Home Cooking

by Marjorie Rohrer

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Peanut Butter Cookies

Never again complain about peanut butter cookies being boring. Or dry! This recipe is from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. And yes, there are chocolate chip and peanut butter chips in the recipe.

Crisp on the outside and almost cakey in the inside — you'll wish you hadn't made them because you might want to eat them all. Or maybe I'm just projecting my experience on all of you. ;-)

You be the judge.



What You'll Need

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips


For sprinkling: 1 tablespoon sugar, regular or superfine


What to do

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips. 
3. Place sprinkling sugar — the remaining tablespoon — on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crisss-cross pattern (I didn't do this part — I used the bottom of a small glass and flattened them slightly), but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.
4. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

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Choc-Oat-Chip Cookie Bars

This is straight off the Quaker Oat's website and they tasted exactly they way I was hoping they would! I do love nuts in cookies, but I left them out of this recipe. We didn't even miss them.

Choc-Oat-Chip Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

2-1/2 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

How to Make It:

1) Heat oven to 375°F. Beat margarine and sugars until creamy.

2) Add eggs, milk and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda and salt; mix well.
3) Stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts; mix well.

4) Press dough into bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely; cut into bars. Store in tightly covered container.

Variations: Substitute 1 cup of any of the following for 1 cup chocolate chips: candy-coated chocolate pieces, candy-coated peanut butter pieces, white chocolate chips, peanut butter & milk chocolate chips or butterscotch chips. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 9 to 10 minutes for a chewy cookie or 12 to 13 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered. Makes about 5 dozen.

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Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever eaten. My mom originally got this from Pillsbury and it's the only recipe she's used since we were kids. Here are two tips to make sure they are perfect: 1) use bread flour instead of all-purpose and 2) cool these on foil instead of the cookie sheet.

The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter flavor Crisco

1-1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

2 Tbsp. milk

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1 egg

1-3/4 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)*

How to Make It:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine Crisco, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Beat egg into creamed mixture.
3. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix into creamed mixture just until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
4. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake one sheet at a time at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes for chewy or 11-13 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to foil.

*If nuts are omitted add an additional 1/2 cups of chocolate chips.

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