Chocolate/Oatmeal Uncooked Cookies

Christmas baking was always a major event in my house.  We would start early in December and fill as many containers in the house as we could find.  My mom, my sister and I would all decide what our “specialties” would be so no one else would make what the others were making.  Cookies, fudge, candy, and breads.  (I think we could have fed the entire country they way we baked.)  And it was always fun to put plates or containers together for friends and neighbors. 

I miss those days, and one of the cookies my mom made became a favorite of mine to make.  I wish I had her exact recipe, but it’s hidden away somewhere and so I had to search the net for one.  This sounds very similar so I’m sharing it. 

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter (I prefer chunky myself)

Combine sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a saucepan. On medium heat, bring to a boil for one full minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter (optional), vanilla and oatmeal.

Drop by spoonful onto wax paper or aluminum foil. Let cool for at least 30 minutes.

These aren’t the ooey gooey kind of my childhood school days, but they sure are good.

Though it’s nice to have the house smell of “cookie baking” during this time of year, you can whip this up really fast, and while they are cooling, you can have more things going in the oven. 

It’s been another fun week, but I’m so full just reading about all the fun foods of the season.  Hope you are able to try some of the things we’ve shared, or feel free to share your own in the comments.  And if you make any of ours or buy some holiday favorites, please come back and post how well you enjoyed them!

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  

Spend time enjoying the holiday with friends and family.  

And thanks for all your support this past year.   

See ya in 2012!

~~~ Duuude ~~~ 

Some of my Favorite Christmas Cookies

I am going to follow what VE and Pepper started this week and give a couple more recipes.

These are two of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes. The first one was my Grandmothers recipe and the thinner they are sliced the better.

Luckily My Grandmother had written down measurements instead of just a pinch of this and a dash of that. 

Mother’s Icebox Cookies:

2/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup white sugar

1 cup melted butter

2 eggs

2 ¾ cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup chopped nuts (we use walnuts, but you can use your choice)

Mix together.

Form into a long loaf shapes.

Chill in refrigerator until stiff.

Slice thin and bake in moderate oven until brown.

(moderate oven= about 325.  being so thin they don’t take long to bake.)

The nice thing about these is you can bake as many or as few as you want at a time.

The next recipe is a simple cookie but stands well on its own.  This is not your common shortbread cookie, these are actually rolled out and cut.

Brown Sugar Shortbreads:

1 cup softened butter (or margarine)

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2½ cups flour

Cream butter and sugar until light,

add flour

Refrigerate if necessary.

Roll out and cut. 

I keep these on the thin side also.

I use small cookies cutters and sometimes I top them with chocolate sprinkles.

Bake 10 minutes, until light golden brown 300- 325 degrees

decorated brown sugar shortbreads

This link gives a little history about Christmas cookies.

History of Christmas Cookies

My mom always used to try and bake a least a dozen different kinds of cookies each Christmas. So a lot of the cookies she would bake also freeze well.

We always love when my mom brings us a plate of her cookies. There is always something everyone likes.

Happy Baking

jj