Amazing Whole Wheat Cocolate Chip Cookies

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter (if cold cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
8oz chocolate, cut into chunks

Oven at 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift dry ingredients together. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together until thoroughly blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing each one until it's incorporated. Mix in vanilla. Add in flour mixture and blend on low speed until barely combined about 30 seconds. Add chocolate chips. Mix on low speed until chocolate is evenly combined. Scoop mounds of dough (about 3 Tbs each) onto the cookie sheet, 3 inches apart about 6 to a sheet. Bake cookies for 16-20 minutes until evenly darker brown.

Coconut Drop Cookies (Vegan)

1-1/2 cups coconut flakes
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup light agave or maple syrup
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, melted (butter is perfectly fine here if you don't mind using animal products)

Oven at 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large, dry skillet over medium heat, add coconut and stir constantly until flakes are golden brown. Immediately place in a large bowl, and allow to cool completely. Once coconut has cooled, whisk in flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, syrup, and margarine or butter. Stir well, then add wet mixture into the dry mixture. Mix until just combined, being careful not to over-beat. Use a 3-ounce ice cream scoop to portion out cookies, and place at least 1-1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet, fitting about nine cookies on one sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until barely browned around the edges and no longer shiny on top. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

**Note-I was pretty nervous these wouldn't turn out but they turned out just great! They are quite tasty and easily the easiest cookies I've ever made. It took me about 5 minutes max to make these and the best part is it only makes 9-10 large cookies so you are done baking one time in the oven. Try them out!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup natural crunchy peanut butter [I used smooth peanut butter because I just can't stand the chunky kind!)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk (Or vanilla almond milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Oven at 350°F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets.

Toss together the flour, oats, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the oil, peanut butter, sugars, soy milk, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix. The dough should be very difficult and moist. Using about a 2 tablespoon cookie dough/ice cream scoop, scoop dough onto sheet, flatten some with your hand. You should have about 9 cookies to a sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookies have puffed a bit and are lightly browned. Allow to cool for ten minutes (Or until firm enough to transfer) before moving off the cookie sheet.
This recipe make about 2 dozen huge cookies!

**Note-Although this is a vegan recipe, these cookies are amazing! They are very tasty and stayed chewy for the week it took our little family to eat them all. I even felt good giving them to my kids as a snack since they had natural peanut butter and oats in them!

Now or Later Ginger Molassas Cookies

1 ½ c butter (3 sticks)
1 ½ c packed brown sugar
½ c molasses
2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
2 eggs
4 c flour
1 T baking soda

If making now, Oven at 350
Cream butter, sugar, molasses, ginger and eggs in a large bowl. Add flour and baking soda. Mix well. Refrigerate dough 1 hour until firm enough to handle. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. If freezing, place on a rimmed baking sheet and freeze 30 minutes. Transfer to freezer bag. If making now, follow directions below for thawed cookie dough.

To make one dozen cookies

1. Thaw in the fridge or bake from frozen.
2. Oven at 350.
3. Place cookies on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 15-17 minutes if frozen, 12-14 minutes if thawed.
Cool in baking sheet 2 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

**Note-I made these for Christmas cookies and the ability to freeze them was so nice. I made up the batch a few days before I wanted to bake them, froze them and the day I needed them just popped 'em on the sheet and baked. No work involved. Very handy to have on hand in the freezer!

White Chip Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon maple flavoring (If you have it, otherwise use 2 teaspoons vanilla)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (12-ounce) package white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Combine flour and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat brown sugar, vegetable shortening, butter, eggs, maple flavoring and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and chopped pecans. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake in preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for 9 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Makes 60 cookies.

**Note-these are probably not much different than traditional chocolate chip cookies, but with white chips and pecans which makes for a pleasant surprise.
**Note-these have tons of chips in every bite, so if you wanted, you could easily halve the amount of chips.

Ginger-Molasses Cookies

¾ cup butter, melted and cooled
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
¾ cup mild molasses
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
White sugar

Oven at 375. In a medium bowl, mix together butter and brown sugar. Mix in egg and molasses until well blended. In another bowl, mix together remaining ingredients. Stir into butter mixture. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
Roll dough into ½ balls (using about 1 tablespoon of dough for each ball). Roll balls in sugar for extra sparkle and sweetness. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies w/ a spatula. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just golden brown around edges but still slightly soft. Remove from oven and immediately transfer to wire rack to cool.

**Note-You can really taste the molasses in these cookies. They are not very sweet cookies, but are still quite tasty. These are great for a time when you want something sweet, but not too sweet; or for the holidays when you've already had your fair share of desserts!

Suspiciously Simple Chrildren's Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter, softened**
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
food coloring (optional)

Do not need to preheat oven. Beat together the butter and sugar until they are very fluffy. Mix in the cornstarch and flour until well blended. If you want to make rainbow cookies, mix in a few drops of food coloring. The dough will need to go in the refrigerator for an hour so it is not too sticky to handle. When ready, preheat the oven to 325 F. Break off pieces of dough and roll them between your hands into one-inch balls. Place the cookies on ungreased baking sheets and bake for about 15 minutes. Allow them to cool on racks. This recipe makes about 40 cookies.

**Note-if you didn't have time to soften your butter-and since this is a kid recipe and you probably have kids chances are you didn't have time!-then go ahead and melt (or partially melt) the butter in the microwave. The cookies turn out yummy either way.
**Note-While this recipe looks suspiciously simple, it really is very tasty. Only 4 ingredients and it takes less than 10 minutes to combine everything. Enjoy the simplicity and get in the moment with your kids!

Double Chip Cookies

1 cup melted butter (2 sticks)
1 ½ cups white sugar
¾ cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 ½ cups flour
¾ cup white chocolate chips
¾ cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped, salted cashews

Oven at 350. Melt butter in microwave. Mix in the sugars. Add vanilla, baking soda and salt. Mix well. When the mixture is cool enough, add the eggs. Add 1 cup of flour, mix well. Add the chips and the nuts and mix thoroughly. Add the remaining flour, stirring well.

Drop by teaspoonful** onto a greased cookie sheet**. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to finish.

Yield 5-6 dozen cookies

**Note-I would highly recommend using parchment paper or a non-stick cooking mat for these cookies. They do not exactly stick to the sheet but they do tear and break apart some when you try to take them off the sheet without using paper or mat.
**Note-These cookies do spread out quite a bit and tend to get very thin. I recommend using a normal table wear teaspoon and not overfilling it when dropping these cookies.
**Note-These are really yummy cookies-very similar to a regular chocolate chip cookie, but a step up.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup jam, desired flavor

Oven at 350. Cream the butter, peanut butter and both sugars until well mixed. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well. Add the dry ingredients and mix until completely mixed. Form dough into 1-inch balls and use your thumb to make a well in the center of each cookie. Drop about 1/2 teaspoon of jam in the center of each cookie. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cook 1 minute on sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

White Chocolate and Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp orange zest
3 cups quick oats
1 cup white-chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

Oven at 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat butter and both sugars in a large bowl with electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and orange zest. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in oatmeal one cup at a time. Add chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Drop batter by heaping teaspoonfuls, 1 inch apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool.

**Note-These cookies are a great way to use up the odds and ends in your pantry (oatmeal, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips) as well as getting something fairly healthy into your kids (or spouse!).

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about two dozen

1 egg, beaten
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream together wet ingredients. When creamed, add dry ingredients to wet and combine. When combined, stir in zucchini and chocolate chips. Mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes.