Everything Cookies

A few weeks ago, I got a hankering to make some homemade cookies.

While I love making simple chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies, 

I knew I wanted to do something just a little different!

So what exactly did I do different?

I decided to use oatmeal, raisins, chocolate chips and 

pretty much everything else but the kitchen sink!

Hence me deciding they needed to be called:

EVERYTHING COOKIES!

These cookies are so simple to make.

And if you have a stand mixer like I do, 

the mixer does all the work!

Take a look below at how to make these easy, yet delicious cookies!

The Goods:

8 oz (2 sticks) Butter, Softened

1 1/4 cup Brown Sugar, Packed

3/4 cup Granulated Sugar

2 teaspoons Vanilla

2 Eggs

1 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup Raisins

1/2 cup Shredded Coconut

1/2 cup Toffee Bits

Before I go any further - I have to apologize.

I got really into making these cookies 

and FORGOT to take step by step pictures.

I'm sorry, I know I was a BAD blogger again. 

Since there aren't step by step pictures,

Follow the steps below to make these yummy cookies:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy.

Mix in eggs until light and fluffy.

Add flour, baking soda and salt until blended.

Stir in your oats and all your goodies!

Form dough into balls (I used a 35 mm scooper)

and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are starting to brown.

Centers should be still quite soft - this will keep them super chewy!

Cool on cookie sheet about a minute, 

then remove to wire rack until completely cool.

I took these AMAZING cookies to work the day after making them.

There were about 60 or so cookies in my office kitchen in the morning 

and EVERY SINGLE ONE was devoured before lunch time!

These babies were just that good.

I will, without a doubt, be making them again.

But now it's YOUR turn to do so.

Go make them and see how good they really are!

Christmas Goodies

I know it's been FOREVER since I posted, but I've been a little busy with the holidays and all. I'm sorry! To make up for it, this is the first of many blogs I will be posting in the near future! 

Now let's get onto the goodies!!

For the past few years, I've gone crazy making goodies to give away (and eat too...) for the holidays. Proof can be found here and here! :)

I didn't really have much planned for this year, but I woke up one Saturday and decided I was going to make a thing or two. Quickly, the thing or two turned into eight, yes EIGHT hours of baking!!! I was very tired, but super happy with the outcome.

Most of the goodies are things I've made before, but I ventured into something new too and am glad I did! Now take a look at all the goodies I made.

The Goods for EVERYTHING!!!

Sorry, I'm not listing it all...

First up I made the Red Velvet Cake for the Cake Truffles.

(Note: Cake Truffles are previously known as Cake Balls...)

Mixing the cake.

Cake ready to be baked.

Now crumbling it up after baking!

There should have been a picture mixing the frosting in, 

but I fail! :( I'm sorry!

The rolled out truffles before the candy coating.

Next up, was the fudge!

I made one batch and did half with nuts and half without.

Butter, Chocolate Chips and Vanilla

+

Melted Marshmallows and Water

+

Sugar and Evaporated Milk

=

AMAZINGNESS!

I'm sorry ... 

I fail again. I don't have a finished picture of either fudge! :(

I missed the fudge picture because 

I was SO excited to make Spritz cookies!!!

They are so good, but I never think to make them 

any other time of the year. I should though!

After the Spritz cookies I moved onto Chocolate Chip.

They will always be a favorite or mine. 

And others seem to enjoy them as well!

Last, and certainly not least was something I'd never made.

 I ventured into...

Gingerbread Cookies!!

(A much more detailed post about this is coming SOON!)

I may make one more batch of something before going back to work in the next few days. If so - look for a post on those in the near future as well.

I hope you all got to enjoy some holiday goodies this year!  

Happy Holidays!

xoxo

Dairy-Free Baked Goodies!

It's no secret that I love to bake. 

Since I love to bake, I do it fairly often and I simply cannot eat it all myself (even though I may WANT to...), so my wonderful co-workers get the pleasure of eating the goodies I make! Well most of them that is... 

My friend Matt has a dairy allergy and sadly cannot eat many of the treats I bring in. I felt so bad tempting him all the time, so I promised I'd research dairy-free baked goods and try to make some for him!

Finding dairy-free recipes wasn't hard at all, but finding ones that sounded pretty good and didn't require me to buy too many new things WAS hard. I wanted whatever I made to taste good and most importantly, I didn't want people to be able to tell they were dairy-free!

So after a little time searching, I found the following recipes that sounded AMAZING. 

1. Dairy-Free Snickerdoodle Blondies
2. Snappy Molasses Cookies - These are not only Dairy-Free, but Vegan, Nut-Free AND Soy-Free!

Now that I've gone on and on about the goodies, let me show you how to make them! They're really simple actually. No more difficult than your normal blondie/brownie or cookie recipe.

Dairy-Free Snickerdoodle Blondies

The Goods

Dairy-Free Butter Substitute - I used Earth Balance

Flour

Brown Sugar

Salt

Vanilla

Baking Powder

Sugar

Ground Nutmeg

Ground Cinnamon

Eggs

Cream the Butter Substitute with the Brown Sugar

Add the eggs

And the Vanilla

And mix it all up.

Add the dry ingredients and mix.

Transfer mixture to lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.

Cover with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Halfway through baking!

And done! Time to cool.

I know it's hard...

but it's best to wait until completely cool before cutting. 

Remove the blondies from the baking dish...

And cut into smallish pieces to be enjoyed!

Snappy Molasses Cookies

The Goods:

Baking Soda

Vanilla

Vegetable Oil

Sugar

Brown Sugar

Flour

Egg

Molasses

Ground Cinnamon

Ground Ginger

Ground Cloves

Ground Nutmeg

Combine the dry ingredients - spices included.

Set aside.

Put the Vegetable Oil in the mixing bowl.

Add the sugars.

And mix the sugars in.

Now add the egg.

And the molasses.

Oh and the vanilla too!

Now mix it allllllll up.

Until everything is combined. 

Now add the dry ingredients you set aside.

And give it a mix until everything is incorporated.

If the dough is a little sticky - add a bit more flour.

And mix that one final time.

Shape the dough into balls...

And roll in sugar.

Place on a baking sheet.

 Bake at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes.

Take them out them out when they just begin to "crack" on top.

YUM!

You don't have to wait until these are cooled,

so dig right in!!!

Giant Salads for Lunch

I've always taken my lunch to work, but it wasn't until recently that I started making giant salad almost every day of the work week. Over the weekend I get and prep everything I'll need for the salads. It changes every week, but is usually pretty similar. I bring everything in little containers and assemble it in the office kitchen. This is a great lunch that is quite healthy and never fails to fill me up!

Start with lettuce - spring mix in this case.

Add some roasted potatoes. 

And a lil bit of roasted broccoli. 

Throw in some cherry tomatoes.

And some fresh corn off the cob!

Now some freshly roasted beets.

And don't forget those cucumbers!

Toss it alllll up with dressing of your choice.

I used a yogurt bleu cheese. 

YUM! YUM! YUM!

I can't wait for lunches this week to eat more tasty salads.