With the holiday season just around the corner, now is the perfect time to pop out your best cookie recipes or try your hand at some new ones to share with your neighbors. We asked you to send us your best recipes, and a few stood out that we just had to share.
1st Place:
Lemony Cookies and Frosting
Eva Melland; El Mirage, Arizona
Cookies:
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 9 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add egg and beat until combined. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Gradually stir in dry ingredients. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll out dough to just over ¼ inch. With 3- to 4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out cookies and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes or until cookies are soft and golden on the bottom.
Frosting:
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Beat ingredients together until smooth. Add yellow food coloring, if desired.
2nd Place:
Molasses Cookies
Leigh Grimes; Elko, Nevada
- 3/4 cup melted butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
Set aside:
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla powder
Mix melted butter, sugar, egg, and molasses until smooth. Mix in remaining ingredients until combined. Place tea towel over bowl and refrigerate for 90 minutes. In separate bowl, mix ½ cup of white sugar and vanilla powder. Form chilled dough into walnut-sized balls and roll in sugar and vanilla powder mixture. Place balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° F for 10–15 minutes or until cookies appear cracked on top.
3rd Place:
Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Becky Blad; Provo, Utah
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Andes Creme De Menthe Baking Chips (or chopped Andes mints)
- 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or mint chips for more mint flavor)
Combine butter and sugars with electric mixer, beating on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add in egg and vanilla and blend. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients on low speed until just incorporated. Fold in Andes mints and chocolate chips. Chill dough and roll into balls. Place on parchment paper, flatten dough balls slightly, and top with more Andes mints. Bake at 350° F for 8–9 minutes.
Honorary Mentions
Gooey Molten Reese’s Cookies
Darcy Doxey; DeFuniak Springs, Florida
Molten center:
- Chocolate chips
- Peanut butter
- Powdered sugar (optional)
On plate or tray, lay out chocolate chips in groups of 4 or 5 pieces. Then add small scoop of peanut butter on top of each grouping. (Optional: add powdered sugar to peanut butter to make consistency less runny.) Surround each scoop of peanut butter with chocolate chips. Freeze for 30–60 minutes or until peanut butter is firm.
Cookie:
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cups cocoa
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix peanut butter, butter, and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and beat. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Take small bits of cookie dough and wrap around frozen peanut butter centers until peanut butter and chocolate chips are entirely encased. Bake at 350° F for 10–15 minutes.
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ashley Mills; South Ogden, Utah
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1 cup shortening
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 6 eggs
- 6–7 1/2 cups flour
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 6 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 bag mini chocolate chips
- 1 bag Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips
Cream together butter and shortening. Add in sugars and mix until combined. Add eggs and mix, then add dry ingredients and mix. Add in vanilla. If dough is sticky, add more flour as needed. Then fold in chocolate and baking chips. Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes.
Grandpa Ken’s Cookies
Amy Ryder; Mesa, Arizona
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups dark brown sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups cornflakes
- 1 cup coconut
- 1 cup pecans or walnuts
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 package chocolate chips
Cream together eggs, sugar, and butter. Dissolve baking soda in milk and add alternately with flour. Add all other ingredients and mix. Scoop dough onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350° F for 7 minutes.
Celestial Cookies
Nanci Nanney; Midland, Michigan
Note: These cookies are gluten, soy, corn, and dairy free. Some ingredients have specific brands listed; using different products or brands may cause cookies to turn out differently or not be gluten-free.
- 3 cups Trader Joe’s gluten-free oats, uncooked
- 1 cup Better Batter gluten-free flour
- 1/4 teaspoon gluten-free baking soda
- 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup gluten-free coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup lard
- 1/4 cup gluten-free coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 teaspoons Rodelle brand vanilla
- 1/2 cup gluten-free unsweetened shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate mega chunks
- 1 cup Trader Joe’s raw pecans
In large bowl, whisk together oats, flour, and baking soda; set aside. In mixer bowl, beat sugars, lard, and coconut oil with flat beater until creamy. Add egg, water, and vanilla; beat well. Add oats, flour, and baking soda combination to mixer; mix well. Add in coconut, chocolate chunks, and pecans until incorporated. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° F for 11–13 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
All photos by Ali Eisenach
