Everyone has a favorite Christmas cookie recipe; gingerbread, pretzel hugs, peanut butter blossoms, peppermint sandwich cookies, which I made last year thanks to an amazing recipe from I Heart Naptime, and many more!

This year I have a new favorite: Snickerdoodle! I was searching our recipe box for a new cookie to make when I found this one from Food.com that my stepdaughter printed out a few months ago. 

When she made them I didn't really see the entire baking process, but after finally putting the recipe together myself, I not only had fun eating them but loved making them as well! 

If your kids love making holiday cookies with mom and dad, this is one they will really enjoy putting together. 

The best part about these cookies is making them into little balls to roll around in the cinnamon and sugar mix. What kid wouldn't love that?! 

My all time favorite cookie, no matter what time of year it is, is chocolate chip. However, the snickerdoodle is coming in a very close second. Do you think it could beat out the chocolate chip and come in first place?! 

I'm almost set for Christmas Day, just a few more gifts to get and a few to make! How about you? 

Recipe Ingredients: 

• 1 cup butter {softened}
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 3 tablespoons sugar {for sugar/cinnamon mixture}
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix softened butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs in a large bowl. 
3. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in separate bowl. 
4. Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture. 
5. Mix 3 tablespoons of sugar and 3 teaspoons of cinnamon together in a small bowl. 
6. Scoop about 1 inches of dough together and gently roll them into balls. 
7. Roll the dough balls in the sugar mixture and gently coat them. 
8. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. 
9. Remove from pan and transfer to a cooling rack. 

Recipe modified from Foods.com 

I hope you enjoy making these with your family this holiday season. I would love to hear what other favorite cookie recipes you make, leave a comment below! 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies

I bought a can of Pumpkin puree a month ago and had been searching high and low for the perfect recipe to use to make something special for my Pumpkin Craft Night. Did I want to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, or something else? When it finally came time to make a treat for the craft night I wasn't up to making something with too many ingredients or steps. Luckily that's when I stumbled upon Desiree's three ingredient pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe on The 36th Avenue! 

Three ingredients, I can handle that...right?! Well, I actually used five ingredients, two are optional as you'll read below. Are you ready for these amazing, delicious, I want to eat the entire batch in one sitting, cookies?! 

I bet you are trying not to lick the computer screen right now, aren't you?! 

Pictured with the pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies are the three main ingredients that Desiree mentioned on her recipe post. I included her one optional ingredient, brown sugar, but also added a few dashes of pumpkin pie spice to the batter as well. 

I figured the pumpkin pie spice would add a bit more pumpkin taste to the mix, plus I hadn't used it in a recipe yet and wanted to test it out! These cookies were so easy to make and would be a great recipe to introduce to your kids when they start to get interested in helping mom out in the kitchen. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 box of Spice Cake 
• 1 large can of Pumpkin Puree 
• 1 bag of chocolate chips 

Optional 

• Brown Sugar 
• Pumpkin Pie Spice 

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Combine the spice cake mix (no eggs, water or oil needed) and pumpkin puree in a large mixing bowl.  
• Add a few dashes of pumpkin pie spice. 
• Mix in the chocolate chips 
• Using a table spoon place the batter on a cookie sheet. 
• Sprinkle brown sugar on top of each cookie. 
• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes depending on your particular oven.

The cookies are a bit softer than your average chocolate chip cookie, but should be firm. 

I hope you enjoy making and eating these cookies as much as I did. They were a big hit during the pumpkin craft night, which I will have more details and photos from on the blog tomorrow so stop back. 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies: Which Recipe is the Best?

There are two oatmeal raisin cookie recipes I tend to favor and haven't ever strayed away from them in search of something new, why fix something that isn't broken, right?! However, I recently noticed that one of the recipes is slightly better than the other. 

The two recipes I'm referring to can be found on the Quaker® Oats container and the Sun-Maid Raisins package, which is the one I used below. 

Oatmeal raisin cookies are my go to dessert to bake whenever I need to make something for a party or event, so the recipe really needs to be perfect! 

On to the ingredients... 

Recipe Ingredients from Sun-Maid Raisins package: 

• 3/4 cup softened butter or margarine
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup Sun-Maid Natural Raisins
• 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)

 Courtesy of Sun-Maid 

Recipe Directions: 

• HEAT oven to 350 F. 
• BEAT butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. 
• COMBINE flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. 
• ADD to butter mixture and mix well. 
• STIR in oats, raisins and nuts, if using. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. 
• BAKE 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets.
• COOL on wire racks. 

Directions Courtesy of Sun-Maid

They look amazing, right? Well, although they tasted pretty good they were thin and falling apart. This is not how I want to present my oatmeal raisin cookies to my guests! 

I noticed that the problem with the Sun-Maid Raisin oatmeal cookie recipe could be that it only called for one egg. Eggs are important in any cookie recipe, it's what helps hold the cookie together ( I'm sure for those with allergies there is something similar to an egg, perhaps vegetable oil, that has the same consistency. ) 

When I previously made the recipe from the Quaker® Oats container the cookies were a bit thicker, and stayed together pretty well. Here is the recipe from Quaker® Oats that I will be using from now on, unless you have an amazing oatmeal raisin cookie recipe that I should try and compare in a later post?! 

Ingredients from Quaker® Oats container:

• 1/2 Cup(s) (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4 Cup(s) firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup(s) granulated sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon(s) vanilla
• 1-1/2 Cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 1 Teaspoon(s) Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon(s) salt (optional)
• 3 Cup(s) Quaker^® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1 Cup(s) raisins

Recipe Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. 

In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Recipe Courtesy of Quaker® Oats 

Is there a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies that you favor over all others? If so, I would love to try it out the next time I'm in need of my go to cookie recipe for a party or event! 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!