Thursday Treats: Oatmeal CC-M&M + Oatmeal Raisin-Craisin Cookies {Betty Crocker}

Last Thursday, I made these soft, buttery Toffee Bars. In my haste, however, I mis-read the recipe and started off with a "whoopsie".

All was not lost though! I flipped through my cookbook, and just a couple pages after this scrumptious recipe, I found one that would work for my "mess-up"....

Ultimate Oatmeal Cookies! And, guys...I have been wanting to make Monster Oatmeal Cookies for a loooonnnnnngggggg time, so these were a wonderful variation! I took'em to church for a snack after our Bible study and prayer because I just knew I would eat all of'em...that night. They are absolutely delicious.

I made the recipe as is, until I got to the mix-ins. I divided the dough in half and added chocolate chips and M&M's to one, and raisins and craisins to the other!

I preferred the ones with chocolate...simply because they are yummier. I'm not a fan of fruit in my cookies, such as raisins, but mostly because of the texture. However, I have plenty of friends who would much rather prefer raisins to chocolate chips! I just call'em weird :D

Honestly though, the raisin/craisin cookies were much softer. I think it was because I had to boil my raisins...they had lost their plumpness sitting in their little snack-size cartons. I have no kids to eat them, and I have no idea what possessed me to buy them in the first place. Perhaps I was on a healthy-snacks-only kick.

Either way, they were put to good use and lent themselves to be quite useful in making my cookies soft :D

Ultimate Oatmeal Cookies

Betty Crocker

1+1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

3 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

1+1/3 cups flour

1 cup raisins, craisins, chocolate chips, and/or M&M's

1. Heat oven to 350. In a large bowl, stir the brown sugar, butter, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and eggs with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Stir in the oats, flour and mix-in{s}.

2. Using a cookie scoop, or tableware spoon, place rounded tablespoonfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.

3. Bake 9-11 minutes or until light brown. Remove cookies from the sheets onto cooling racks. Continue with the rest of the dough.

4. Share with your neighbour and Enjoy! :)

Thursday Treats: Good Housekeeping's Fudgy Brownies {Good Housekeeping}

I love brownies because they are so easy.

You don't need multiple bowls or fancy gadgets.

All you need for these brownies is 2 {small} bowls, a wooden spoon, whisk, and a saucepan.

Unless you're me and you don't use a big enough saucepan...than you will need another {big} bowl :D

Oh, and if you use the normal 8"x8" pan...you will have to double your baking time.

Just in case you guys don't read this recipe right.

I really hope I'm not the only one who does that!!

The brownie is not too sweet--you use unsweetened and dark chocolate--so its a perfect base to jumpstart your creativity.

It is delicious on its own...

topped with mini chocolate chips...

sweetened coconut {this is for my Pastor's wife--she loves coconut. Me? Not so much!}...

or M&M's :D

Oh, and underneath the toppings? Fudgy chocolate frosting!

And, it all works because the brownie isn't sweet, but has a rich chocolate flavour that is quite delicious on its own, or topped by frosting and goodies!

Good Housekeeping's Fudgy Brownies

Good Housekeeping

1+1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1+1/2 sticks {3/4 cup} butter

4 squares {4 oz} unsweetened chocolate, chopped

4 squares {4 oz} semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 cups sugar

1 tblsp vanilla

5 large eggs, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 13"x9" baking pan with foil; grease. In a small bowl, blend flour and salt.

2. In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, melt butter and chocolates over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs; stir until well mixed. Stir flour mixture into chocolate mixture just until blended. Spread batter evenly into your prepared pan.

3. Bake until toothpick inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

4. When cool, lift foil, with brownie, out of the pan; peel foil away from the sides.

Cut and serve. Enjoy!!

Thursday Treats: Drop Sugar Cookies {Good Housekeeping}

I was quite skeptical that these cookies would turn out. They just seemed...too easy.

Just flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar, an egg and vanilla. Simple ingredients. No chilling. No cutting out.

And, they're soft and chewy.

These cookies taught me two things. I need glasses and the need to correctly read recipes :D

I only needed 1+1/3 cups of flour, but I thought I was supposed to put in 1+3/4 cups. I was so confused when my dough didn't form, but separated into thousands of dry little balls. After I figured out I had put way too much flour in, I threw an extra egg and 1/4 cup of butter in to even things out.

Whew. An easy, but unnecessary fix if I was but paying attention :P

Drop Sugar Cookies

by Good Housekeeping

1+1/3 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

M&M's and chocolate chips: optional mix-in

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy--your mixer should be on medium speed. Beat in the egg next as well as the vanilla. Reduce the speed of your mixer and add the flour mixture just until combined.

3. Drop dough by heaping teaspoons {I use a small ice cream/cookie scoop} 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake until edges are brown--10 minutes or so--and make sure to rotate your pan at the half-way mark. {Unless you have a convection oven, in which case you can disregard the rotating instruction.}

4. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

5. You can store cookies in a cookie jar for 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

So, since I'm not a huge fan of plain cookies {ie, sugar or shortbread cookies} I threw in a handful of M&M's and milk chocolate chips into the dough after I made 1 plain batch.

Both taste really good...but, the ones with the mix-ins are the bomb. I've been really, really, really wanting some M&M cookies, and these totally fit my craving.

Good thing the recipe didn't make a huge batch!