I saw this recipe on the website of one of my favorite bloggers but it took me a little while to actually make them. Once I did I knew I had to give them all away because they were seriously addicting. The recipe as posted makes giant cookies so if you want smaller ones, cut the dough into smaller sections. Recipe and photo courtesy of cookiesandcups.com.

Filling

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Cookie

• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1-2 tablespoons milk

For the filling, in a medium bowl combine the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the butter and the granulated sugar, mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, cream, baking powder, and salt.  Mix for 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour, mixing until just combined. On a lightly floured piece of wax or parchment paper, press the dough out into a 15×10 rectangle. This doesn’t have to be exact or neat. Spread the filling mixture on top of the dough, leaving about an inch at the edges. Roll the dough up tightly from the long edge. Cut the dough into 10 equal slices. Roll each slice into a ball and place on a lightly floured plate or baking sheet. Place into the freezer for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 5 of the dough balls onto the prepared pan, leaving space for them to spread. Place the remaining dough in the refrigerator while the first batch bakes. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. For the icing, in a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar, butter and 1 tablespoon milk. Whisk until no lumps remain. Add more milk if a thinner icing is desired. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the icing, or drizzle on top. Allow the icing to set.

I was making a different recipe and had taken extra butter out but didn’t need it so I decided to make this shortbread recipe instead. It was so, so good. Simple in ingredients, but complex in flavor. They aren’t overly sweet either so if you have someone who doesn’t like super-sweet desserts this would be just the thing. Recipe and photo courtesy of houseofyumm.com.

• 1 cup salted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup toffee bits
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl add the room temperature butter and sugars. Beat or mix together until combined. Add in the vanilla extract and egg. Mix to combine. Stir in the all purpose flour. Fold in the toffee bits and chopped pecans. Divide the cookie dough in half. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the counter. Place one half of the cookie dough on the plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, roll the dough into a long round shape. Roll it against the counter to get the dough compact and round. Make sure the cookie dough is completely wrapped in the plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill. Do the same with the second half of the shortbread cookie dough. Chill the cookie dough for at least 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Using a large knife slice the cookie dough into 1/2 inch rounds. Place the shortbread cookie rounds on a large baking sheet that is lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Press the edges of the cookies in to smooth out from cutting. Bake the cookies for about 12-14 minutes until cooked through. Cookies will be slightly golden on the outside. They will not spread much or rise. Store the cookies in sealed containers at room temperature.

I started out wanting to make Anzac cookies, but the recipe I found called for desiccated coconut which I don’t have so I decided to sub shredded coconut. After a little research I realized that there is a big difference between desiccated and shredded coconut so I decided to add pecans and make a new cookie! I have started dipping my toe in the recipe creation pool and this was my first attempt. I’m proud to say that these turned out delicious! Chewy, not too sweet, and just the right size. I’ll definitely make these again.

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter, salted
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/4 boiling water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda*

Combine all your dry ingredients into a bowl. Melt your butter and corn syrup in a saucepan over low heat, then mix together the boiling water and baking soda and add it to the butter/syrup mixture. Mix into the dry ingredients until the dough comes together. You want it to be scoopable but not too wet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until brown.

For high altitude baking, use 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda.

These cookies are from the Bon Appetit’s website and are billed as the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I had found the recipe about a month ago, and when I realized it was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day last week I knew I needed to make them. These are much bigger cookies than I usually scoop but they are really delicious. There is no mixer or chilling required so if you are in the mood for immediate gratification from a homemade chocolate chip cookie then this is your recipe.

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp  kosher salt
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) salted butter, divided
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate (60%–70% cacao), coarsely chopped, or semisweet chocolate chips

Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 375°. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Cook ½ cup (1 stick) butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, swirling often and scraping bottom of pan with a heatproof rubber spatula, until butter foams, then browns, about 4 minutes. Transfer butter to a large heatproof bowl and let cool 1 minute. Cut remaining ¼ cup (½ stick) butter into small pieces and add to brown butter (it should start to melt but not foam and sizzle, so test with one piece before adding the rest). Once butter is melted, add both sugars and whisk, breaking up any clumps, until sugar is incorporated and no lumps remain. Add egg and egg yolks and whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds. Whisk in vanilla. Using rubber spatula, fold reserved dry ingredients into butter mixture just until no dry spots remain, then fold in chocolate. Using a 1½-oz. scoop (3 Tbsp.)*, portion out 16 balls of dough and divide between 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets. Bake cookies, rotating sheets if cookies are browning very unevenly (otherwise, just leave them alone), until deep golden brown and firm around the edges, 8–10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets.

*I used a scale to weight out 1 1/2 oz balls of dough because my cookie was only 1 oz