Me Want Coooooookies

I went in to visit some of my former co-workers today and I couldn't go in empty handed! So I made some cookies- and old favorite and a first-time recipe... The first is an excellent cookie if you're looking for a slight change from plain old chocolate chip. It's basically the same recipe but adds in oats and uses butterscotch chips- these are a childhood favorite of mine :)

Oatmeal Scotchies

Ingredients:
1-1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 c butter- softened
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 c Old Fashioned Quaker Oats
2 c Nestle Tollhouse Butterscotch chips

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy

Add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Technically you should mix them together in a small bowl first but I never do- just one more bowl to clean.

Stir in the oats and butterscotch chips by hand:

Drop by rounded tablespoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Two things...if you don't have a Silpat- GET ONE! One of the best kitchen things I own, use it pretty much every night. Secondly, if you don't have a cookie dropper- GET ONE! It makes it so easy to get cookies that are all the same size :)

Bake for 10 minutes, longer for crispy cookies.

The next recipe is brand new, never been made (by me) before :)
I've had a jar of almond butter sitting (unopened) in my pantry for several months now. I came across this recipe today and decided it was time to get some use out of it!

Almond Butter Snickerdoodles
 *original recipe found here

Ingredients

• 1  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1/3  cup  (about 3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4  cup  unsalted butter, softened
• 2  tablespoons  smooth almond butter
• 1  teaspoon  grated lemon rind
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 2  large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup wheat flour (just use all white if you don't have wheat)
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  ground cinnamon, divided
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 2  tablespoons  granulated sugar

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
*Side note before we begin: If you haven't used your almond butter in a while or haven't opened it, the oil will probably be on top. Don't freak out...this is normal...just mix it back in (CAREFULLY-or it may or may not splash out all over your hands and counter. Also, mixing almond butter is easier said than done...you have to put a little muscle in it so just be patient!

-Ok, to begin beat brown sugar, cream cheese, butter and almond butter until creamy.(Note that butter and cream cheese do NOT soften at the same rate so don't try to soften them in the same bowl, like i did!)

Add eggs, lemon rind and vanilla. (I'm not sure why this recipe specifically uses just the egg yolks. Next time I might try with the egg whites and see what happens)

Add flour, baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon and salt:

Pour some sugar and cinnamon on a small plate. Use your hands to roll small amounts of dough into a ball and then roll the ball in the sugar mixture.

Cook for 6 minutes. While cooking, wet the bottom of a small glass, dip the bottom in the sugar mixture to keep the dough from sticking to the glass. Remove the tray from the oven and flatten each cookie using the bottom of the glass:

Return to the oven and cook for 6 more minutes.

Enjoy!
--Lindsay--