The Dunlaps and the Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The Dunlap family, consisting of Rina, Gary, and Natalie, are seriously some of the funniest and sweetest people I have ever met. I was lucky to meet the Dunlaps through Gadawski’s Restaurant. I then had the even greater privilege of working with Rina at Niagara Street and that further cemented our friendship. Rina always always always looks out for me, whether she is trying to find a man for me, a job for me, or just a way for me to have a good time and I adore her for that. Gary is hilarious and always has a good story for us which ends up leading to Rina’s laugh. If you know Rina, you know her laugh… it is seriously the funniest and most contagious laugh ever. When we are out, whether at a restaurant or a comedy night for Gadawski’s, if Rina starts laughing the place falls silent and then starts laughing with her. And it honestly will go on for 10 minutes straight!!! And not that I saved the best for last but… yeah I kinda did… Natalie is the sweetest little girl ever. She is always complimenting people and telling them how much she loves them… who doesn’t like hearing stuff like that?!?! Natalie is very playful and will keep you entertained for hours. And she is sooooooooo smart, seriously like a little genius. It’s no surprise to me that Natalie turned out so well, she has the most amazing parents and she turned out just like them!!! I hope the Dunlap family knows how much they mean to me and that they enjoy these delicious cookies!!!


Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:
2cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter, melted (1½ sticks)
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
1 heaping cup raisins
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Your cookies turn out so much better with parchment paper. Believe me! Buy some!

Melt butter and let cool slightly.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the cinnamon, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy. Mix in the flour mixture until just blended. Add the oats, nuts, and raisins. Mix until just blended.

Place 1/4 cup balls of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes. Do not overbake. Remember I'm at sea level so if you aren't you may need longer. The edges should look brown and the centers still slightly soft. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

*** Didn't make any changes... Made a little over a dozen large cookies***

Pat and the Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pat is a dear cousin of mine who, like some other family members, has moved clear across the country. He moved to sunny CA to attend USC for a Master’s Degree in Public Health. He is actually graduating this week but planning on staying in CA and taking the MCAT in August. Then as they say, “the world is his oyster” (by the way I don’t get that saying… I wonder if it’s because I’ve never had one… haha just kidding).  When Pat is not “hitting the books” (hmmm let’s see how many clichés I can use in one blog) he knows how thoroughly enjoy his down time. Pat is a man’s man and likes his sports and video games. He especially likes Notre Dame Football (yes he’s a Gadawski) and Sabres hockey. And I’ve heard he plays a pretty sick game of golf.  From what I can gather from Facebook, he seems to really be adjusting well to the fun and exciting California lifestyle. I think his favorite foods have gone from wings and pierogis to wheat grass and sushi.  Regardless of his current eating habits Pat is really an amazing guy and we REALLY miss him back here in WNY. Hopefully he will take a few days off from studying and come home and visit us all, or even just come here and study (hint hint PAT)!!! Anyway, in an attempt to break his healthy eating and because it seems like such a manly cookie… I decided to make him Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies. Here’s hoping the bacon/chocolate mix is as good as people have been claiming lately. More importantly, here’s hoping that Pat likes them. Enjoy Pat and come home soon!!!!

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe adapted from nytimes.com
yield: 9 large cookies

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped
8 slices of bacon, finely chopped then pan-fried until crispy and drained on paper towels
Sea salt

Instructions:

Sift the flour, baking soda and powder into a bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Drop in the chocolate and bacon and incorporate. Refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop 6 3 1/2 ounce mounds of dough (the size of large golf balls) onto the baking sheet leaving ample space between cookies as they will grow quite large. Place the rest of the cookies on another sheet. Sprinkle cookies with a touch of sea salt. Bake until golden brown but still soft, 18-20 minutes. Cool on sheet for 10 minutes then move to rack to cool until you are ready to enjoy!


***One little side note... bacon grease HURTS!!!!

Cathy and the Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies

Cathy is one of my mom’s best friends and has since become like a mother to me. In fact she is appropriately nicknamed Mom #3. Cathy owns the Village Diner down in Youngstown and is an amazing chef (if you’ve never been there before you NEED to go… especially for breakfast). Since she is such a great chef I have to admit I am a little worried about baking for her, but I couldn’t leave her off the list. Anyway, besides being such a great chef, she is an amazing mother, friend, and grandma. I know that I have turned to her countless times for advice and she has never let me down. More importantly Cathy is always there for my mom and I appreciate that more than words can express!!! Cathy likes to travel and now makes sure that my mommy does some traveling too. They have been to the Caribbean, Arizona, and Florida together and I am sure there is more traveling planned for the future. Maybe one of these times they will actually let me come too!!! Well I hope she likes these cookies but I have to explain them a little bit first. I heard through the grapevine that Cathy would like chocolatey/minty cookies so I began to search for a recipe. Unfortunately, most of the recipes were almost exactly like a batch I had made in December and I couldn’t bear to make a repeat batch. Eventually I found a recipe that was different enough but this one called for a boxed cake mix. I know what you’re thinking, because I’m thinking it too, IT’S CHEATING!!! I am making myself feel a little better by rationalizing that I am still forming the cookies and putting stuff inside of it so it’s not as much cheating. Anyway, I feel bad but not bad enough to search for another recipe. Enjoy Cathy!!!

Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies
Makes 18 Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 box devil's food cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 18 peppermint patties (the small ones)
• powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Beat together the cake mix, eggs, and oil until well combined and a sticky dough forms.
2. Place dough in the fridge for 20 minutes to chill. If you skip this step, the dough will be very hard to work with, but if you're in a hurry just make sure your hands are cold by running them under cold water after you shape each cookie.
3. Grab a golf ball sized ball of dough, roll into a ball, and flatten it into a disc. Place a peppermint patty in the center and bring the excess dough up and around the patty to cover it.
4. Repeat with remaining dough and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart from each other.
5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 9 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle on powdered sugar.
7. Cool on a wire rack.

The Cubbies and the Oreo Pudding Cookies

There’s nothing like shoving about ten people into a space that should fit about five people to make everyone feel really really close (both literally and figuratively). But that’s what happened when I worked at Niagara Street and I LOVED IT!!! Sarah, Tracy, Christina, Miquel, Phil, Dee, Jim, Marie (and sometimes Joe), occasionally Maria, and myself all shared what at times felt like a clown car. But I seriously had some of the best times in that cubby area. From stealing candy from Dee, to sitting under Tracy’s desk, to trying to navigate between the chairs from one end of the room to the other, to enjoying some Pandora music (when Phil could actually get a signal), to actually trying to get a little work done, and last but DEFINITELY not least the constant buzzing sound that we all became immune to but seemed to bother everyone else. Unfortunately we are not all together still, I believe Sarah has a new office, Dee has a new room, Christina is working at the High School, and I am at Hyde Park. I think most of them are still in the cubbies though. Regardless of where we are most of us still keep in touch. And more importantly nothing can take away the memories I have of the cubbies. I miss everyone dearly and hope that these cookies will remind them each of how much they mean to me!!! Love you fellow cubby dwellers!!!!  


Oreo Pudding Cookies                  
Makes two dozen

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature 
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars broken into small pieces (I used 2.6 ounce King Sized bars)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips  

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in pudding mix until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Stir in cookies n' cream pieces and chocolate chips. Batter will be thick.

Using a cookie dough scooper, place golf ball sized dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. You do not want to overbake these! Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving to a cooking rack. Store in air-tight container.

***No changes, however, after doubling the recipe it made more like 5 dozen cookies not 4 dozen***

Emily & Reid and the Mocha Swirl Cookies

I have known Emily for a verrrrrrrrrrrrry long time. Like 20 years long. We met way back in elementary school, ah good old Harry F. Abate. Anyway, I will admit that we weren’t always the closest of friends back then but we are now and that’s what really matters!!! Emily has an amazingly creative and artistic soul and if you are lucky then you might just get to see one of her many artistic outlets. Some of these outlets include painting (on doors that magically go missing), photography (of just about anything but usually of her beautiful nieces), knitting/sewing (blankets, hats, costumes, etc.) and interior design (see Jenn & Paul’s apartment… and hopefully my house someday). But I have to say that Emily is most artistic when it comes to the human canvas. Not only does Emily always have beautiful hair, makeup, and clothing herself but she has the amazing ability to make other people look and feel beautiful too. Whenever I need to look nice I go see her. I have never received more compliments than whenever Emily has worked her magic on me. She is truly an amazing artist and an amazing friend, and I am so happy that we have become close again!!! Now I can’t leave Reid out nor would I want to. Reid is such a genuinely caring and kind man. And I really enjoy when we are all able to hang out with each other. Oh yeah and did I mention that he is a rockstar… like a certified travel-around-the-world-on-tour- rockstar?!?! No??? Well he is… and it’s pretty freakin’ cool!!! Well I hope that the artist and the rockstar like these cookies and know how much they both mean to me!!!

Mocha Swirl Cookies
Yield: 40 cookies
Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp instant coffee
2 oz. Dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy.
3. Gradually add sugar to butter while mixer is running.
4. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and mix again until incorporated.
5. With mixer on low speed, gradually add in flour mixture until just combined.
6. Remove dough from mixer and divide into two even portions. Dough should not be sticky.
7. Return half of the dough to the mixer and add the instant coffee. Mix until combined and dough is speckled with coffee granules. Use finely powdered instant coffee like Starbucks' VIA, or you may choose to grind standard instant coffee finer in a food processor. Espresso powder would also work well in this recipe. Remove coffee dough from mixer.
8. Return the other half of dough to the mixer and add the melted chocolate. Mix until well combined.
9. Roll out each dough separately between two sheets of wax paper - approximately 1/4" thick. Each piece should be a 9 x14" rectangle. Chill on baking sheets in the refrigerator, at least 1 hour.
10. When dough is thoroughly chilled, top chocolate dough with coffee dough. Gently press together the two dough pieces using a rolling pin.
11. Let dough stand at room temperature until malleable.
12. Use a knife to even one side (down the 14" length) of the dough. This gives you a nice even start for the spiral.
13. Roll dough tightly, jelly-roll fashion, using the wax paper to guide the dough. The chocolate portion of dough usually tears a little when rolling. When this happens - STOP- and pinch the dough back together before you continue to roll. Remember, this is not a race to see how fast you can roll the dough. Do this slowly and deliberately.
14. Cover the dough roll in wax paper, then in a length of plastic wrap. Chill thoroughly, at least 1 hour. Turn the dough halfway through chilling to make sure it doesn't become flat on one side.
15. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
16. Remove dough from refrigerator, uncover and slice in half with a sharp knife. Place half of dough back in the refrigerator to keep cold.
17. Cut dough into 1/4" rounds.
18. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for 2-3 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
19. Repeat with remaining dough.

***No Changes Were Made***

The Fooks and the Brown Butter Banana Bread Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

The Fooks (pronounced f-ō-k-s) are seriously some of the best people I know. Jules, Eric, and Claire-Bear are the cutest little family, although they are definitely not little in the height department. I am almost positive that Claire will be taller than me by the time she is two. Anyway, I had the privilege of meeting both Jules and Eric at Geneseo. Jules was one of the girls who I ended up moving in with my sophomore year. I guess that we kind of liked each other because we decided to live together for the next three years. It’s kind of hard to put into words just how amazing she is but I am going to try. Jules has always been my go to girl. I am serious, absolutely any problem I have I know I can turn to her. She’s probably the most logical person in our group but it’s so much more than that, so is sooooooo nurturing, caring, smart, and always always makes me feel better. She puts my mind at ease and helps me to realize that everything will be ok. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without her. To quote one of our favorite songs “… these seven words I swear to you… I will be-e there for you!!!” I know she always will be for me and I hope she knows I will be for her too!!!!!!!! Ok, now as I mentioned before there are three people in this family so I suppose I should mention Eric and Claire too… just kidding of course I would mention them, I love them! Like I said before I also met Eric in college. Through a little luck of internet browsing and science dorkiness, Eric was introduced into our wonderful circle of friends. We liked him so much that we didn’t let him back out. While I can’t always understand when they start talking science, once I bring up the Yankees or some other sports then Eric and I can’t be stopped. There is one other subject that we like to talk about a lot too, Claire. She’s just so darn cute it’s hard not to talk about her. I am sure her parents wouldn’t mind me saying that she is probably the cutest one in the family. Besides being cute she’s such a friendly and smart baby. I’m so excited that I’ll be around to watch as she grows up and turns into a rocket-scientist runway model! Well these are the amazing Fooks, oh and of course Murph the dog too, and I hope they enjoy what I hope are some pretty amazing cookies!!!!


Brown Butter Banana Bread Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

Ingredients (makes 30 cookies)
•1/2 cup butter
•1 cup sugar
•1 egg
•1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 small bananas)
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•2 cups of flour
•pinch of salt
•1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
•1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
•1/2 teaspoon cloves

For the icing:
•1/4 cup butter
•1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. When the butter is completely melted, swirl the skillet until the butter becomes a light caramel brown color, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately remove the skillet from the heat, and pour into a mixing bowl.

2. Add the sugar to the brown butter and mix on low speed to start, then increase the speed and beat for one minute. (Mixture will not be light and fluffy.) Add in egg, and mix. Stir together mashed banana with baking soda and let sit for 2 minutes. Add mashed banana and vanilla to the bowl and mix.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three batches, mixing just until combined before adding the next batch.

4. Drop batter onto a parchment paper lined, or non-stick sprayed, baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown around the edges. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the icing:

1. Follow the directions for browning the butter in step 1. Whisk in powdered sugar, and drizzle icing over cooled cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container.

***No changes were made during the making of these cookies***

Jimmy Majka and the S’mores Thumbprint Cookies

So I know I usually start off by introducing the person(s) and all of the fun little nicknames that they have but I guess when it came to Jimmy we, or maybe just I, weren’t too creative in that area. I’ve always either called him Jimmy or Majka. Now I am not saying that there aren’t other nicknames out there for him, I am just saying that I don’t have a clue what they are. Anyway, Jimmy and I became friends in middle school and have remained good friends ever since. Although we don’t hang out all the time, when we do it’s ALWAYS a good time. Jimmy is absolutely hilarious and is hands down the best STORY-TELLER I have ever met!!! He tells this one story about a knife chase that always gets the crowd laughing. Although Jimmy can always make me laugh, he is also someone I know I can turn to when things aren’t so funny. He is so kind and caring and thoughtful and really just an amazing man! Maria, his wonderfully fun girlfriend, is one lucky woman (and we have been lucky in getting to know her too)!!! So I hope that these cookies bring Jimmy some happiness on what will end up being the first of many sad days this season… poor Red Sox fan.

S’mores Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients
COOKIES:
3/4 c butter, room temperature
3/4 c confectioners' sugar
1 lg egg, seperated
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c graham crackers, crushed

FILLING:
1 1/4 c chocolate chips
2 c mini marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

2. Combine butter & powdered sugar in large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add egg yolk & vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour & salt. Beat until well mixed.

3. Place egg white into small bowl; lightly beat with wire whisk. Place graham cracker crumbs into another small bowl. Shape dough into 1" balls. (Dough may be soft.) Dip balls into egg white; roll in graham cracker crumbs. Reshape balls, if necessary. Place 1" apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Make indentation in center of each cookie with thumb or back of teaspoon. Bake for 9 - 10 minutes or until edges just begin to brown.

4. Immediately place 4 - 5 chocolate chips & 3 mini marshmallows in each indentation. Return to oven; continue baking for 3 - 4 minutes or until chocolate is melted & marshmallows are puffed. Remove to wire cooling racks. Melt remaining chocolate chips & drizzle over cookies.

***CHANGE to this recipe... as you will note in step two it says to add vanilla HOWEVER there was no vanilla listed in the ingredients so I went with the standard baking amount and used 1 teaspoon of vanilla***