Double Chocolate Cookies

I love cookies!  This recipe calls for two types of chocolate chips to make some seriously delicious treats.  The original recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman's blog.  I scaled back the recipe a bit to save some pp – I took out some butter and reduced how many chocolate chips the recipe calls for.  I also made the cookies a bit smaller to add an extra ½ dozen to the total recipe yield. They are still a bit indulgent, but every once in a while it is okay to splurge a bit. Katie and I actually made these together when we got together with our husbands for a dinner party a few months ago!

Servings:  3 ½ dozen or 42 cookies

Size:  1 cookie

Points Plus:  5pp per cookie

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time:  9-11 minutes per batch

Ingredient List:

2 sticks butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

2 large eggs

3 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Lightly spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.  Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add in the eggs, one at a time; make sure they are mixed well.  Add in the vanilla extract.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the dry mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture in multiple batches.  Gently fold in the semi-sweet and white chocolate chips.  Scoop out the cookies (about 1 Tbsp. per cookie) onto cookie sheets.  Bake for approximately 9-11 minutes, until just set in the middle.  Cool on wire baking racks and enjoy!

Tip:

Okay these cookies are delicious!  You can easily cut this recipe in half to only end up with 21 cookies so you don’t go crazy.  Or bring the extras into work and share with your coworkers (and get them out of your house J)!!!

XOXO Megan

Valentine M&M Cookies

Are you having a Valentine's day party? Or are you looking for a fun sweet treat for your husband, boyfriend or someone special??? Try this for the old stand-by recipe from Nestle Toll House and simply replace the chocolate chips with Valentine colored M&Ms!

Servings:  Recipe will make 5 dozen

Size:  1 cookie

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time:  9-11 minutes per batch

Ingredient List:

2 ¼ cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, softened

¾ cup sugar 

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup M&Ms (Valentine's package)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt until well mixed.  In a large bowl, cream butter, sugars and vanilla until creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time, making sure to beat thoroughly after each. Gradually add the flour mixture.  Fold the M&Ms in to the batter.  Drop heaping spoonfuls onto ungraded cookie sheets.  Bake for 9-11 minutes.  After removing from the oven, allow to cool for a minute or so on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Tip:

I used all butter when I made these cookies and I have to admit my cookies turned out kind if flat. :( My mom and grandma's cookie baking tip was to always replace half the called for butter with crisco instead.  Try that trick next time you bake cookies!

XOXO Megan

Frosted Pumpkin Cookies

I have had this recipe saved to my Pinterest dessert board for quite awhile.  It comes from the Parent Pretty blog – check out the original recipe here.  I made a few modifications, most notably, I cut the recipe in half.  I wasn’t ready to have 5 dozen cookies staring me in the face and testing my self-control!  2 and 1/2 dozen seemed like a much more reasonable amount for me to make.

Servings: 2 ½ dozen (or 30) cookies

Size:  1 cookie

Points Plus: 4pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time:  10-12 minutes per cookie sheet

Rating: 4 stars –  Very good

Ingredient List:

Cookies:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

½ 15 oz. can pumpkin

2 cups flour

Frosting:

¼ cup butter

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 or 3 tsp. milk

½ tsp. vanilla

2 to 3 cups powdered sugar (depending on frosting thickness/consistency)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Using a mixer, beat the butter for 30 seconds.  Add in sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and beat until well combined.  Add the egg and vanilla, mix well.  Next, beat in the pumpkin.  Finally, add in the flour in multiple steps, not all at once.  On an ungreased cookie sheet, drop heaping teaspoons of cookie dough a few inches between each cookie.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Cool on a wire cooling rack.

To make the frosting, heat the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan on the stove.  Make sure the mixture is well combined and smooth.  Transfer the butter/sugar into a bowl, whisk in the 2 tsp. milk and vanilla.  Beat in powdered sugar, add more until frosting is to your desired level of thickness vs. more of a glaze.   You may need to add additional milk to acheive the frosting thickness you prefer as well.  Once the cookies have completely cooled, spread frosting on top.

Tip:

I can't stress enough the importance of waiting until your cookies have cooled before you add the frosting to the tops.  I was impatient and my cookies although started out looking great (see picture above), but I quickly watched my frosting droop and melt off the top and setlle into small pools at the edges of each cookie. :(

XOXO Megan

White Chocolate Snickerdoodle Pudding Cookies

It’s important to remember that it’s totally okay to indulge a little every once in a while!  I wouldn’t recommend you make these weekly by any means... especially because they are so good it will be hard to stop eating these cookies. :)  I made these to bring into work to share with my coworkers. They loved them!  This is one of my many recipes I have pinned on my ‘desserts’ board on Pinterest.  I was intrigued that these cookies had instant pudding mix as one of the ingredients.  Apparently pudding cookies have become really popular in the past year or so, who knew??

Yield:  4 dozen

Points Plus: 3 pp for one cookie 

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  10-12 minutues per batch

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

 Ingredient List:

1 cup unsalted butter

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ cup white sugar

1 3.4 oz package white chocolate instant pudding mix

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 cups white chocolate chips

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup cinnamon sugar (used to roll cookies in before baking)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Lightly spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.  Cream together the butter and brown and white sugars.  Add in the eggs, one at a time; make sure they are mixed well.  Next, add in the instant pudding mix, vanilla, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Use a spatula to make sure you mix in all the dry ingredients thoroughly.  Fold in the 2 cups of white chocolate chips with the spatula.  Scoop out the cookies (about 3 Tbsp. per cookie), roll into a ball and then roll in the cinnamon sugar to evenly coat each cookie.  Place on the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart from each other.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden and just set in the middle. 

Note: I chose to make my first dozen cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar, but I did all others rolled in just white sugar.  I thought the cinnamon sugar was a little too overpowering for my taste.

Tip:

To keep your number of cookies you eat in check, plan to bring ALL of them into work to share and keep them at work in tupperware! That way you won't be tempted by having dozens of cookies at home AND your coworkers will appreciate your generosity. :)

XOXO Megan