Double Chocolate Peppermint Pudding Cookies

One dozen of these 

Double Chocolate Peppermint Pudding Cookies

will be given away!  

Just share the All Things Libby post

on Facebook to be entered into the drawing!

Happy Monday and Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap Recipe Post Day!  

My excitement for Christmas cookies has been elevated this year with my participation in the 

Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.  

Thanks to Lindsay at Love and Olive Oil and Julie at The Little Kitchen

for coordinating this awesome swap and networking event.

So excited to make a connection with the people behind these awesome blogs.  

And, I want to thank to my dear friend Holly and her blog-reading prowess, 

as she turned me on to this event and it has been such a blast.   

All I had to do was submit my name and then 

received the names of 3 bloggers from around the country while 3 other bloggers received my name, 

all for us to ship off 1 dozen cookies to each other.  

I can't wait to tell you about the cookies I received!   

The first ones that were received and devoured were the Gooey Butter Cookies 

from Linz at Itz Linz based in St. Louis, MO.  

These cookies were so good, my kids and I were fighting over them. 

They were powdery and flavorful with a soft gooey center.  

I can't wait to see the recipe because they might just need to be whipped up pronto.  

The second box to arrive was some awesome 

Coconut Mac-Nut Biscotti 

from Amber at Loves Food, Loves to Eat out of Seattle, WA. 

I loved the coconut flavor of these when dunked in my coffee.  

Note to self, take time to enjoy biscotti more often!  

Finally, amazingly soft and perfectly spiced Snickerdoodles 

arrived from Shalon & Sam

at Palmer and Brown in New York.  

It was so fun to be the recipient of such a great variety of cookies from coast to coast.  

Now, onto my cookie!

As much as I create my own recipes for meals, cookies and baked goods are less of my forte, 

but that won't stop me from joining in the fun!

Brainstorming my cookie didn't take long. 

Peppermint is my absolute favorite holiday flavor, hands down. 

I started researching ideas and came across a pudding cookie. 

That was a brand new idea to me, 

so certainly a great place to start and build from there. 

After my first feeble attempt at the cookies, 

good flavor but almost no texture, 

I resorted to Kraft Recipes for their pudding cookie recipe

as the starting point.  

I knew I wanted peppermint extract and chips, as well as cocoa powder 

to be part of this creation. 

And then figured that some extra chocolate, in the form of chips, 

wouldn't hurt either. 

Thanks for following along this far, 

let's get to the recipe! 

Two stick of softened butter and 1 cup of brown sugar were the first two ingredients

in this cookie party. 

After being sufficiently mixed, 

two eggs and 1/4 tsp peppermint extract were added 

to complete the wet ingredients. 

Then, the dry ingredients were measured and mixed….

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 package of cream cheese pudding 

1/3 cup cocoa powder. 

After being gently combined, 

they were added to the mixing bowl. 

Mixed well and the final touches were added…

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

1/2 cups crushed peppermint candy

were all mixed together. 

Using a medium scoop, 

1 dozen cookie dough balls were placed on a baking pan

and popped into a 350 F oven

for just about 10 minutes. 

I hate over-cooked cookies, 

so always error on the side of chewy!  

Once baked, some additional crushed peppermint candies 

were sprinkled on top. 

I can't say enough good things about these…

amazing texture and flavors, 

but don't trust my word, 

whip up a batch for yourself!  

RECIPE:

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Bake Time: 30 minutes

Makes: 3 dozen

Ingredients:

2 stick of softened butter

1 cup of brown sugar

2 eggs

1/4 tsp peppermint extract

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 package of cream cheese pudding 

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

1/2 cups crushed peppermint candy

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Cream the butter and brown sugar together in a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, pudding and cocoa powder. 

Then, add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar. 

Finally, fold in the chocolate chips and peppermint candy. 

Drop slightly larger than tablespoon balls of dough on baking sheet. 

Bake for 10 minutes. 

Sprinkle with additional peppermint candy immediately after removing from oven. 

Cool and serve. 

Chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Happy Rainy Hump Day!

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain!" 

I'm so thankful for my eternally optimistic husband who finds as much enjoyment in these cliches as I do (ok, probably not quite as much), but with these cool, rainy days, it's a good time to reflect on that that really means.  

So, in an effort to dance in the rain, during this cold, wet stretch of not so springy weather, I decided to whip up some comfort food last night, rather than go straight to bed and wait for the storm to pass.  

Peanut butter cookies have always been my favorite, but once oatmeal is added, they are amazing!  As in, the best cookies I have ever had.

They have the perfect texture with a light crispy, crunchy edge and soft and chewy middle.

Thankfully these have oatmeal in them, that practically qualifies them as health food!

Starting with 2 1/2 cup of quick oats, add 1 1/4 cups flour, 1tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, combine these ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Since the oats are so bulky, I do actually get these ingredients stirred up in a separate bowl.

In the mixing bowl, start with 1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter and add 1 cup of peanut butter.  I always go with creamy, as that is what my kids prefer.  I'm sure chunky would be delicious too!

And, I never measure peanut butter…just want to go on record saying that.  I eyeball about 1 cup and go with it.  I know there is a fancy plunger-type measuring canister, that I don't have, but I would not waste the time getting an exact measure as half of the peanut butter would be lost in transition anyway.

Once those first two ingredients are creamed together, add 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla extract.

Finally, I fold on the flour and oatmeal mixture, just with a wooden spoon.

I have actually experienced breaking off a mixer head while trying to mix something that is too thick...so, I've finally learned to error on the side of caution, at least as far as mixing is concerned.

The perfect size for this cookie, which yields 3 dozen, is the medium sized scoop from Pampered Chef.

Drop the dough balls onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for 11-13 minutes at 350.  Again, I always go with the lesser amount of time to ensure the chewier texture for these cookies!

The finishing touch on these fabulously tasty morsels, are some chocolates on top.  (Here being executed by the extremely serious Ryker - wish I could share with you his adorable dimple when he smiles!).

Last night we went with mini kisses, which I think are fabulous!  It makes it that much easier to get a little chocolate in at least 3 bites.

RECIPE

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup of quick oats
1 1/4 cups flour
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1 cup of peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Mix up first 5 dry ingredients and set aside. 

Cream together next 6 ingredients. 

Add to the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, fold together by hand. 

Bake cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 F for 11-13 minutes.  

Cut Out Cookies (with just 7 ingredients)

**Don't forget to Pin for future use!**

Updated pictures and recipe, 

but entry from April of 2014 remains the same. 

Yay for spring!  And for Easter right around the corner.

Just in time, I wanted to share the easiest recipe for cut out cookie dough that I've ever seen and I love that the number of ingredients are minimal and household staples and, of course, they always turn out…delicious!

Along with the change of seasons comes a change of schedule and routine around this Bailey household.

Trying to figure out the best times to feed the family and how to have it ready when they are hungry is the latest challenge around here, which has made it nearly impossible for me to blog about any meals from the last week.

So, before I get to the super simple cookie recipe, I'll share with you what we ate last week, since I was completely MIA, floundering in the chaos of the new schedule.

Sunday - Grilled venison and veggie kabobs
Monday - Throwback to Classic Chicken and Dumplings (Alayna's request)
Tuesday - Home made pizzas (Landon's request) with a Gluten free crust for Jerry and me
Wednesday - Hamburgers on the grill for the guys, while I met up with the girls for a bite to eat
Thursday - Grilled chicken tenders on a bed of romaine

Friday - Broiled Lamb Chops (Ryker's request) with roasted potatoes
Saturday - Chicken with cherry wine sauce from Iowa Girl Eats

With spring break ahead of us, we should have a little more time for meal preparation, but we also have a 10th birthday party for Alayna at Helium Trampoline Park and an overnight at my brother's horse farm, Sublime Saddlebreds, so I'm sure the week will go fast!

Before we could launch into spring break, there were some treats needed for school, including these cookies to wrap up Landon's week of being STAR Student and some birthday treats for Alayna.

Now onto the cookies that Landon requested.

Blend 1 cup of sugar into 3/4 cup of softened butter until creamy.

Then add 2 eggs and 1/2 tsp of vanilla and beat well.

For simplicity purposes, I added the dry ingredient directly to the wet ingredients.

2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt  

Mixed the dough on medium until everything was well blended.

Mold into one large dough ball and refrigerate for an hour or so, 

until the butter in the dough starts to harden again.  

Makes for the best texture for rolling, cutting and baking.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, cut out the cookies of desired shape, 

fitting as many cookies as possible onto the dough.

Bake at 400 F for 6-8 minutes, 

I generally error on the side of less time for chewier cookies.

Once cooled, frost with icing of choice and sprinkle immediately.

Slacker alert…

I bought this icing at U-bake this week, as I knew time would be tight.  

Don't tell my mom!

Luckily, since I work at Landon's school now, 

I was able to meet the qualifications for a taste of my own masterpieces. 

 And they were yummy, (which should go without saying)!

RECIPE:

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Fridge Time: 1 hour, minimum

Makes: Depends on the size of the cookie, only about 1 dozen eggs, but closer to 2 dozen hearts. 

Ingredients:

1 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of softened butter

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

Directions:

• Cream together sugar and butter. 
• Fold in eggs and vanilla until smooth. 
• Measure out the flour, baking powder and salt. 
• Combine all ingredient well and refrigerate until firm, minimum of 1 hour. 
• Roll the chilled dough out on floured surface to desired thickness. 
• Cut out cookies and bake at 400 F for 6-8 minutes. 
• Frost and decorate.