Fudge Brownie Cookies

Ingredients
4.5 oz butter, chopped
7 oz milk or dark chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons self-raising flour
3.5 oz white chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup desiccated coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Place butter and dark chocolate in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH (100%) for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, or until melted and smooth. Stir cocoa into warm mixture. Cool for 5 minutes.
Stir in eggs and sugar. Sift flours over mixture. Stir to combine. Fold in white chocolate and coconut. Roll heaped tablespoonfuls (see tip) into balls. Place on trays, allowing room to spread. Bake, 1 tray at a time, for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are a little cracked. Stand for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Apricot & Oat Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
7 oz diced apricots
1 cup plain flour
2 tbs golden syrup
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
4.5 oz butter, melted, cooled
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 F. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
Combine the rolled oats, sugar, apricots and flour in a bowl. Place the golden syrup, bicarbonate of soda and 1/4 cup boiling water in a small heatproof bowl. Stir until well combined. Set aside for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the butter.
Add the golden syrup mixture to the dry ingredients until well combined. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Roll spoonfuls of the mixture into balls. Place on the lined trays about 4cm apart. Bake, swapping the trays around once, for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining mixture.

Choc-Chip & Apricot Bites

Ingredients:
7 oz light cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 tbs caster sugar
1 x 15 oz can apricot halves in natural juice, drained, reserving 2 tsp juice
12 choc-chip & apricot cookies
Directions:
Combine the cream cheese, sugar and reserved apricot juice in a medium bowl. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill.
Arrange 3 cookies on each serving plate. Top each cookie with a dollop of cream-cheese mixture and an apricot half. Serve immediately.

Cookies & Cream Slice

Ingredients
12 oz Oreo biscuits
5 oz unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp powdered gelatine
14 oz cream cheese
10 oz thickened cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup caster sugar
7 oz white chocolate, melted, cooled slightly
Melted dark chocolate, to drizzle
Directions
Line a 1.5 inch-deep, 7 x 10 inche lamington pan with plastic wrap.
Place 8 oz of the biscuits in a food processor and process into fine crumbs. Add the butter, process to combine, then press the mixture into the base of the pan. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle the gelatine over 1/4 cup cold water in a heatproof cup. Place the cup in a pan of gently simmering water and stir the gelatine to dissolve.
Place the cream cheese, cream, vanilla and caster sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, and beat until smooth. Stir in the gelatine mixture and melted white chocolate.
Roughly chop the remaining biscuits and stir through, then pour the cream cheese mixture over the chilled base.
Cover with plastic wrap and return to the fridge to set overnight.
Drizzle with the melted dark chocolate just before serving, then slice in the pan.

Blackberry-Pecan Thumbprints

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup blackberry jam

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F

In a bowl, sift together the flour and salt, set aside. In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Using a mixer on medium speed, beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and bead on low speed until the yolk are completely Incorporated, scraping down the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until Incorporated.

Put the pecans in a small bowl. Scoop up a rounded tablespoonful of the dough, then roll the dough between the palms of your hands into a ball. lightly roll the dough ball in the pecans to coat it completely and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough spacing the dough balls about 2 inches apart.

Using your thumb, press an indentation about 1/4 inch deep in the center of each cookie. Carefully spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. Bake until the cookie bottoms and edges are lightly browned. 20-25 minutes.

Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then, using a wide metal spatula, transfer to wire racks to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days

Pecan Praline Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
35 graham crackers
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:
Place crackers on ungreased 10 x 15 sheet cake pan, covering bottom.
Bring sugar, margarine and cream of tartar to a boil. Add nuts. Pour mixture oven the top of the crackers.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C).
Bake for 10 minutes. Cool for a few minutes, and remove from pan while still warm.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup lightly toasted walnuts
2 ounces dark chocolate, cut into chunks Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine butter, oil and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, stopping occasionally to scrape down bowl, until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add applesauce, egg white and vanilla and mix to combine. Add flour, oatmeal, salt and cinnamon and mix just until just combined. Add cherries, apricots, walnuts and chocolate and mix to combine.
Spray 1 baking sheet with cooking spray. Using 1 tablespoon cookie dough at a time, roll into balls and place 2-inches apart on baking sheet. Press cookies down with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly, as cookies will not spread as much as cookies with more butter. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned but still soft. Remove from oven and cool on racks.

Giant Chocolate-Chip Cookies

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups firmly packed soft brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
12 ounces milk chocolate chips
Method
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Line 2 large baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high for 5 minutes until pale. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for a further minute. Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl. Add a pinch of salt, then use a wooden spoon to carefully fold in the flour until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Roll 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a ball, then flatten slightly onto a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Repeat, leaving a fair amount of space between each biscuit to allow for spreading. (You may need to bake the cookies in batches.) Bake for 15-20 minutes (the biscuits should have just started to darken at the edges but will still be a little soft). Remove from the oven and use a palette knife to lift biscuits from trays, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Girl Scouts Think Maybe You Should Go For Their Low-Cal Cookies

After 81 years spent fattening us up with their many irresistible cookie varieties, the Girl Scout organization is dropping some not-so-subtle hints that perhaps keeping a dozen boxes of Samoas in our locked desk drawer isn’t the healthiest way to make it through the winter. So for the first time they’ll be peddling sugar-free chocolate chip cookies and another low calorie cookie option: Cinna-Spins™. (Pictured.)
Each carton of Cinna-Spins™ will contain five 100 calorie packs of the “crispy cinnamon swirls”, but Fit Sugar warns that not all scouts will have them for sale. Incidentally, has anyone ever bought these things from an actual, verifiable Girl Scout? We've always gotten our hook-up from one of our co-workers. Of course they do have a myspace page, but do these kids actually get out and pound the pavement anymore? Or do Mommy and Daddy do all the legwork these days?

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Blondies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped, or 3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan with sides at least 1 1/2 inches high. Using an electric mixer or mixing by hand, beat together the sugar and egg until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and butter and beat to mix well. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the butter mixture, beating until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Using a spoon, stir in the pecans and white chocolate.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and use a flat metal spatula or a butter knife to smooth the top. Bake the blondie's for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is dry and golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached (not wet, but not perfectly dry). Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Cut the blondie's into 2-inch squares. The blondie's can be stored, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 3 days (these seem to get better as they sit) or frozen for up to 2 months (thaw before serving).

Classification of Cookies

1. Drop cookies are made from a relatively soft dough that is dropped by spoonfuls onto the baking sheet. During baking, the mounds of dough spread and flatten. Chocolate chip cookies (Tollhouse cookies), peanut butter cookies, and oatmeal cookies are popular examples of drop cookies.
2. Refrigerator cookies are made from a stiff dough that is refrigerated to become even stiffer. The dough is typically shaped into cylinders which are sliced into round cookies before baking.
3. Molded cookies are also made from a stiffer dough that is molded into balls or cookie shapes by hand before baking. Snickerdoodles are an example of molded cookies.
4. Rolled cookies are made from a stiffer dough that is rolled out and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Gingerbread men are an example.
5. Pressed cookies are made from a soft dough that is extruded from a cookie press into various decorative shapes before baking. Spritzgebäck are an example of a pressed cookie.
6. Bar cookies consist of batter or other ingredients that are poured or pressed into a pan (sometimes in multiple layers), and cut into cookie-sized pieces after baking. Brownies are an example of a batter-type bar cookie, while Rice Krispie treats are a bar cookie that doesn't require baking, perhaps similar to a cereal bar. In British English, bar cookies are known as "tray bakes".
7. Sandwich cookies are rolled or pressed cookies that are assembled as a sandwich with a sweet filling. Fillings may be with marshmallow, jam, or icing. The Oreo cookie, made of two chocolate cookies with a vanilla icing filling is an example.
8. Fried cookies including traditional cookies such as the krusczyki, rosettes and fattigmann as well as a newer American trend of deep-frying ordinary drop cookie dough.
9. Cookies also may be decorated with an icing, especially chocolate, and closely resemble a type of confectionery.

Chocolate Chip Cookie S'mores

Ingredients:

Canola oil
3 bananas
10 store-bought chocolate chip cookies (the larger the better)
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup small marshmallows
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Brush grill with canola oil.
Cut the bananas in half, lengthwise and grill, skin side down just until warm. Remove warmed banana from the skin and cut again in half.

For assembly: On a piece of aluminum foil, place 1 cookie. Top evenly with banana slices, marshmallows, chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbs and top with another cookie. Wrap foil around the sandwich and place on the grill until warmed through and melted.

Low Country Cookies

Filling:
1 (16-ounce) box graham crackers
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup or 3 (1/2-ounce) cans shredded coconut
Topping:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
3 tablespoons milk

For the filling: Line a 13 by 9-inch pan with whole graham crackers. Melt the butter in saucepan and add sugar. Beat the egg and milk together; add to butter mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add the nuts, coconut, and 1 cup graham cracker crumbs. Pour over the crackers in the pan. Cover with another layer of whole graham crackers.
For the topping: Beat all the ingredients together and spread over top layer of crackers.
Chill. Cut into squares.