White Chocolate Cherry Chunker Cookies

I feel like I have this black cloud hanging over my kitchen this week.
Well, okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic!

But seriously, I can't seem to make anything come out right. I made a stone fruit slump which came out okay but not fantastic...so why would I want to show you something that was just okay? Then last night I made a recipe from Cook's Country called Texas Style Blueberry Cobbler. Again..was just okay. That's not how I like my cobblers ( sorry Cook's Country!) Geez...what's going on?

So today I decided to just make a new cookie recipe...all the while keeping an eye out for that cloud! But finally, success!

These cookies are from the book, "The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread" and they're a wonderful mix of tart dried cherries and sweet white chocolate chips, a great balance and combination of flavors. Oatmeal in there helps add a nice texture. The book says to make them 3.5 ounces, but that's just too big for me so I made mine 2.2 ounces in size and they wound up baking about 3 1/2" in size. Perfect...finally!

Begin by combining your dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Cream the butter and sugars together...

Then mix the eggs and vanilla and add to the creamed mixture.

Add in the dry mixture and combine just til it's all well mixed together.

Stir in the white chips and dried cherries.

And scoop them onto your baking sheet, then flatten each one slightly. Then bake.

White Chocolate Cherry Chunkers, from "The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread"

Makes a dozen large cookies ( 3.5 oz. size) or more like 18 cookies (2.2 oz. size)

1 2/3 cups ( 8.6 oz.) AP flour
2 1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 cup dried tart cherries
3/4 cup white chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup ( 2 sticks or 8 oz.) unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
5/8 cup sugar
******************************
Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment.
1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt and whisk.
2. In a small bowl whisk the eggs with the vanilla and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars til light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl often.
4. Gradually add the egg mixture til it's all combined.
5. On low speed, add the flour mixture in stages. Mix only til everything is well combined, again scraping the sides and bottom of bowl.
6. Add the cherries and chocolate and stir gently to combine.
7. Scoop out the dough and flatten each to a thickness of approx. 1 1/4".
8. Bake 15 to 17 minutes, depending on size. They should be golden brown and baked all the way into the center.
9. Cool on sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Thin Oatmeal Currant Cookies

I don't know what's going on with me and oatmeal cookies lately but I seem to have a need to try out different recipes! There were these...then these...then I took a break and now these! I have to say these thin oatmeal cookies are just the best. They're crunchy on the edges and chewy in the middle and they have just the right amount of sweetness. The original recipe called for dates but I loved the idea of using currants. Because the cookies are thin, I think the small size of the currants is perfect. Raisins would be too big and clunky!

And because they're thin...oh the possibilities! Ice cream sandwich cookies, or how about oatmeal cream pie cookies? But even plain they're great.

Begin by combining the dry ingredients.

Then cream the butter one minute.

Add in the sugars and cream 3 minutes.

Then add the oats and currants to the dry ingredients...

And stir into the creamed mixture.

Once that's all mixed together, scoop the dough onto your parchment lined baking sheet and flatten each cookie with either the back of a wet spoon or your wet fingers (my choice).

Bake for between 11 and 13 minutes. Mine took about 13 minutes but you want them to be browned along the edges but still a little moist in the centers.

Thin Oatmeal Currant Cookies ( adapted from "lookimadethat.com")
Makes about 36 cookies, depending on size

8 oz. unsalted butter, room temp.
1 cup brown sugar (I used light brown)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temp.
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup AP flour (5.7 oz.)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
3 cups rolled oats
6 oz. dried currants ( or chopped dates)
**********************
Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
2. Add the currants ( or chopped dates, breaking up the clumps) and oats. Set aside.
3. Cream butter one minute, then add in the sugars and cream 3 minutes.
4. Add in the eggs and vanilla and cream 2 minutes.
5. Add in the dry mixture and stir til well combined.
6. Scoop dough, about 1 1/2" size balls, onto baking sheet spacing about 2" apart. Flatten each ball with either the back of a wet spoon or your wet fingers ( my choice).
7. Bake for between 11 and 13 minutes, depending on your oven. You want the edges to be browned and the centers to be still a little moist.
8. Cool on the sheet for  2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

I was standing in line at the check out counter today and the newest issue of Family Circle caught my eye. I spotted a beautiful lemon bundt cake on the cover so I grabbed the magazine and proceeded to flip through it and I landed on these cookies. So what could I do? I had to spring for the $1.99 for the magazine and go home and make them! They sounded so good.

I do try to fight the temptation to buy, yet another magazine because I have so many now. And I usually get them for about fifty cents at the my local thrift shop ( big spender that I am!) but I gave in...I love cookies with lots of "stuff" in them. And I'm sure I've posted many already...so here's another!

You can probably add whatever you like into them. The original recipe calls for coconut, oats, semisweet chocolate chips and mixed jumbo raisins but you could also use dried cherries or cranberries, nuts or even pumpkin seeds, if you like them. They are kitchen sink cookies after all!

Let me tell you, these cookies are addictive. With every bite you get a taste of everything you put in the cookie and they're chewy and crunchy and...so good!

Start by whisking the dry ingredients together, then set aside.

Combine the add ins in a small bowl and set that aside.

Then do your creaming of the butter with the sugars, then add the eggs and vanilla.

Beat in the dry ingredients, then stir in the add ins.

Scoop 1/4 cupfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet spacing about 3" apart and flatten them slightly.

Bake for about 20 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Jumbo Kitchen Sink Cookies ( from Family Circle Magazine)


Makes about 2 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups AP flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 pkg. (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups shredded coconut ( I toasted mine)

1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups mixed jumbo raisins ( I only had regular dark raisins)

********************

Preheat oven to 350.

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder , cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed for about 2 minutes.

3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add in the vanilla.

4. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture.

5. Stir in the add ins.

6. Scoop 1/4 cup amounts onto an ungreased baking sheet, spacing 3" apart and flatten each cookie.

7. Bake for approx. 20 minutes ( Mine took only 18 minutes.)

8. Let the sit for a minute on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Oatmeal Currant Cookies

The L.A. Times has a wonderful list of recipes from bakeries and readers in the Los Angeles area and I thought I'd try a few of them, beginning with this cookie.

It's a little different in that it's made with pastry flour which is a type of soft wheat flour, a low protein flour, with reduced gluten and the texture is finer than all purpose flour. I went to several supermarkets but since I couldn't find pastry flour anywhere, I decided to make my own from a recipe I found online, combining all purpose and cake flour.

The cookies have a nice chewiness, but if you bake them too long, I found they get too crunchy. Now if you like your oatmeal cookies crunchy, then you can bake them longer, but if not, bake them for less time and remove them from the baking sheet once they come out of the oven.

The cookies call for currants, which we love, but, you can always just use raisins. And it has a hefty amount of cinnamon which gives them a great flavor.

I also found the cookie tasted a little too sweet so I'd cut down on the sugar a bit. But then, maybe it's just me...I've been on a diet the past three weeks and everything tastes too sweet to me!

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars together for about 5 minutes.

Then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat in the vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture a little at a time.

Then add in the oats and currants just briefly.

Stir the mixture well til it's all incorporated.

Place heaping small scoopfuls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet, then flatten each to about a 1/2" thickness.

The cookies will spread a bit when baked.

Oatmeal Currant Cookies ( from the Corner Bakery Cafe, posted in The LA Times)

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

3 1/2 cups (1 lb.) pastry flour (recipe below to make your own)

4 tsp. baking soda

3 tbsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3 sticks unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups plus 1 tsp. granulated sugar ( I decreased this amount to 1 cup total)

2 1/3 cups brown sugar ( I used light brown)

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

Scant 4 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup currants ( or raisins)

***********************************

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugars til light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

3. Add in the eggs, one at a time til fully incorporated.

4. Beat in vanilla.

5. Beat in flour mixture, one spoonful at a time. (I just gradually added it in).

6. On low speed, mix in oats and currants briefly, then finish mixing with a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon to be sure it's all well combined.

7. Scoop generous amounts of dough, about 2 tablespoonfuls, onto baking sheet spacing 3" apart.

Flatten each to about 1/2" thickness.

8. Bake for approx. 14 minutes, til the edges are set and the center still looks a little moist.

**The original recipe says to bake 18 to 20 minutes, but this would have burnt my cookies.**

Oven temeratures vary so it would be best to test one or two first.

Cool cookies on the baking sheet for crunchier cookies.

Remove cookies from baking sheet for softer cookies.

To make pastry flour:

I used Joy of Baking's recipe. To make 2 cups of pastry flour, combine 1 1/3 cups ( 185 g) AP flour with 2/3 cup (90g) cake flour. ( Yes, you have 1/2 cup extra if you double this recipe!)

Oat Shortbread Cookies

Today was a busy day in the kitchen so I needed a quick and easy cookie to make and this shortbread cookie certainly was quick and easy!
Not only was it a snap to make but it has the most wonderful buttery flavor with a nice crunch from the ground oatmeal. It almost seems as though there are nuts in the cookie..with all that crunch.
You can make the dough ahead and wrap and chill it, then bake the next day if you're pressed for time, baking however many you need. Just slice and bake them. My kind of cookie!

Begin by pulsing the oats in a food processor to a fine powder.

Just keep pulsing til they become fine and powdery like flour.

Then mix the flour, oat flour in a small bowl and set aside.

In a mixer bowl, mix butter, sugar, vanilla and salt til incorporated, one to two minutes.Don't overmix.

Add in the oat/flour mixture and mix to combine til just incorporated.

The mixture can look a little crumbly still. Once you gather it up and form it into a log it will be fine.

Form the log and wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper and place into the fridge to chill 3 hours or overnight.

The just slice 1/4" slices and bake.

Oat Shortbread Cookies ( from the L.A. Times)

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cup AP flour

**************************

1. Pulse oats in food processor to a fine powder. Set aside.

2.In mixer bowl, mix butter, sugar, vanilla and salt, 1 to 2 minutes.Don't overmix.

3. Stir in oats and flour mixture just til incorporated.

4. Divide dough in half and shape each into a log. Wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper and place into the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.

5. Slice dough 1/4" thick and place on baking sheet, spacing 2" apart.

6. Chill on sheets 15 minutes. While chilling, preheat oven to 325.

7. Bake til edges begin to brown, about 16 to 18 minutes.

8. Remove from sheet and allow to cool on wire rack.

Cookies store best in cookie tins.

Fruit and Nut Cookies

I came across this recipe in my Christmas cookie file and apparently made it once before because I noticed some notes I made about it. In part of my note I wrote that these cookies were very good! (Some description!)
The recipe comes from King Arthur Flour ( probably from their site), so you know it has to be good. I did make some changes though. Starting with the name, which I changed from Fruit and Oats Cookie. The original recipe calls for white whole wheat flour and because I didn't have any in the house, I used part whole wheat and part AP flour and the results were fine. Also, the recipe didn't call for any spices so I added a little cinnamon.
There are so many add -ins that perhaps they felt the extra spices weren't needed but I like lots of flavor and I think the addition of cinnamon tasted great. And speaking of add-ins, you can add pretty much whatever you like from any dried fruit ( I even threw in some dates) to any kind of nut you prefer.
This cookie would be great on a Holiday tray..and the "secret"ingredient in this one..apple cider vinegar!

Place the sugars, butter and vegetable shortening in a mixing bowl and beat together to combine.
Then add the vanilla and salt.

Add the apple cider vinegar and the egg.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl...

And add in to the mixture, mixing on low speed to blend well.

Combine the fruits and nuts in a small bowl...

And stir them into the mixture.

Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet spacing about 2" apart.

Bake for about 12 minutes.

Fruit and Nut Cookies ( adapted from King Arthur Flour)

Makes about 2 dozen ( depending on size)

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup brown sugar ( light or dark, I used light)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. cider or white vinegar ( I used apple cider )

1 large egg

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 3/4 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour ( I used 1 cup AP flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour)

1 cup quick cooking oats

3 cups combination of dried fruits and nuts of your choice ( the recipe also said to use chocolate chips or chunks but I chose to omit these).( I used dried cranberries, dried cherries, a few chopped dates, raisins, walnuts and pecans.)

******************************************

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, veg. shortening and sugars til light and fluffy.

2. Beat in the vanilla and salt.

3. Beat in the egg.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour(s), baking soda, cinnamon ( if using) and oats.

5. Beat this mixture into dough on low speed.

6. Stir in the add-ins, mixing well to combine.

7. Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet spacing about 2" apart ( they don't spread much). (Note: It helps to form the cookie into a slightly rounded shape and flatten the top gently to prevent it from becoming too thick during baking.)

8. Bake 12 to 13 minutes or til the edges are beginning to turn light brown. Cool on sheet a few minutes, then transfer to wire to cool completely.