Friends Food Family

The BEST Cherry Tomato Salsa Recipe - Fresh or Canned

Where do I start? How about - how many tomatoes does it take to make 75 jars of salsa? It starts like a joke but when you have pounds and pounds of cherry tomatoes coming out of your garden every week you need a staple recipe for them.

Jeff and I have been canning quite a bit over the past three years and this year was huge. Every spring as we prep our garden we always say we will plant less so we won't have so much produce. This year, we definitely planted too much. I love my garden, but there comes a point when you become a slave to your garden. Not only did we have cherry tomatoes but we had just about every variety of tomato available.

Every other day, we would go out and pick pounds of cherry and grape tomatoes; yellow, red and orange. After roasting a few pounds, we needed a recipe we could use to wipe out as many as possible without them rotting. Some people might suggest giving them to friends and family, we did. With six children living outside the home, relatives and friends, we still had tomatoes, along with summer squash, zucchini, peppers, beans, beets, carrots, and cucumbers. We probably should have had a vegetable stand outside our house.

I decided to look for a salsa recipe we could can. It's something I knew we would use as well as give to friends and family. With all the canning cookbooks and magazines we have, I finally found this Lazy Cherry Tomato Salsa from Growit Cookit Canit. It was an adapted recipe from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, which we had. It's funny how each of us change the recipe to adapt to what we had available. The original recipe called for dried chili peppers and hot pepper flakes. I was afraid to make the salsa too spicy and decided to change the type of peppers that were being used and the choice worked perfectly for us. With poblano and jalapeno peppers coming out of the garden as quickly as the tomatoes, the combination was perfect.

During the summer, this salsa became my "go-to" Wednesday canning recipe. It took some prep time to chop the tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers but I could normally make a double batch and can 12-15 jars of salsa. By the end of the summer I had made about 75 jars of salsa. The nice thing was I began adding different types of tomatoes and even made the recipe with green tomatoes.

I do know this...it's the BEST salsa we have ever tasted. We have given away over 40 jars and people go crazy. From, "I was eating it out of the jar with a spoon" to "I put it in my eggs", when people are finished they return the empty jar looking for more. This salsa is also a great base for guacamole. 

The Best Guacamole 

• 3 avocados, chopped and slightly mashed
• 1/2 cup of "The BEST Cherry Tomato Salsa"
• 1 tablespoon of chopped jalapeno (optional)

1. Place into a medium sized bowl and mix together. If you like a little more heat, add fresh jalapenos. Now you have great salsa and guacamole!

So, lets start with a small batch. If you don't like or know how to can, you can make a fresh batch to enjoy in 1 hour. This salsa comes together very quickly and you can serve it warm or chilled.

An individual batch of Cherry Tomato Salsa

• 4 cups of cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped or split (measure after you've chopped)
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 large Poblano pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced with seeds
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup of packed, freshly chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup of cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt

1. In a large sauce pan or dutch oven, mix together all ingredients.
2. Over medium high heat, bring the mixture to a boil.
3. Lower heat to a simmer and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
4. Using a hand blender or food processor, bring mixture to a blend with a few small chunks still visible. (see below)
5. Return the mixture to heat and cook for an additional 10 minutes. 
6. Allow the mixture to cool, place in refrigerator until ready to use.
7. This mixture keeps for about 2 weeks.

 

If you are looking to make a batch to can, here is the original recipe we used this summer. Feel free to add different types of tomatoes. I found the smaller (cherry style) did better than large tomatoes. I have seen some great cherry mixed tomatoes available in supermarkets if you don't have access to fresh tomatoes.

This recipe is for canning and will make about 5-6 pint jars.

The BEST Cherry Tomato Salsa

• 12 cups of cherry tomatoes (red, yellow or green), split or roughly chopped
• 3 cups of chopped onions
• 5 medium size Poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
• 3 jalapenos, sliced with seeds
• 15 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 packed cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3/4 cup of cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup of lime juice
• 1 tablespoon of sea salt
• 6 tablespoons of lemon juice

1. In a large Dutch oven, place all ingredients into the pan, except for the lemon juice.

2. Place the pan on a burner at medium-high and bring mixture to a boil. 

3. Lower heat to a simmer and simmer vegetables for 20-25 minutes.

4. Using a hand blender. Blend the vegetables, in the pan, into a fine mixture with some chunks. Be careful because the mixture is hot.

5. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes on simmer and remove any foam that has not disappeared.

6. In a large canning pot, fill with water and sterilize 6-7 pint size jars. In a small pan, sterilize lids to jars.

7. Remove jars from pan, place on towel. Add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice to each jar. Add salsa to 1/2 inch from top. Wipe rims, place lids and covers on jars.

8. Place back into water and process, after it comes back to a boil, for 15 minutes. Make sure there is water covering the top.

9. Remove from water,  listen for the seal "pop" to make sure your jars have sealed. 

Hide jars if you want to hoard your salsa and that is totally acceptable. Or - you can share your salsa with friends and family.

 Enjoy!

 

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Back a few years ago, I went on a baking frenzy and was making many different types of biscotti. They were easy to make and I loved the texture, plus...people devoured them quicker than I could make them. I actually got an offer from a local restaurant to make their biscotti but I didn't have a commercial kitchen available so it was a "no go".  

Recently, a little sandwich shop I frequent was selling espresso chip biscotti. After my second round of purchases, I came home and decided that I would make some myself. I pulled out my three biscotti cookbooks and decided to make use of my Williams-Sonoma Cookie and Biscotti Cookbook. The book was written in 1994 but it has some of the best biscotti recipes I've ever made. 

I decided to make the Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti because we had a big bag of hazelnuts sitting in the pantry, I was craving something chocolate, and I actually had a jar of instant espresso. Perfect reason to bake these biscotti and I am also trying to identify cookies for the holidays. Every year I try to highlight different cookies and this year is going to be strictly biscotti.

This Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti recipe had a few unique techniques.

1. You combine the chocolate in the food processor with the brown sugar. You can combine the two until the chocolate chips are completely blended or leave some chunks to blend into the cookies while baking (which is what I did.)

2. Eggs are the main liquid ingredient - no butter or oils. 

3. I chose to use bittersweet chocolate vs semi-sweet. I just really enjoy bittersweet chocolate in a sweet cookie - nice balance.

These cookies came together quickly and I mixed the last of the dough with my hands. Sometimes, when the dough gets tough to mix, I put my hand in and blend the dough. It also allowed me to knead the dough in the bowl, eliminating my having to knead the dough on the wooden pastry board. 

Before I knew it, the biscotti were baked and then baked again. As they were coming out of the oven for the second time, our friends had arrived to enjoy a Labor Day cook-out. My girlfriend, Sharon's son, Ross, was the first to test the cookies. After the first bite he said, "May I have a glass of milk to dip these in? These are great!" I started to laugh. I always think of biscotti as adult cookies, especially with the espresso and hazelnuts. But here is Ross, all of 9, enjoying these delicious treats. 

Over the next month, you will be seeing quite a few biscotti recipes so please bear with me. I want to find an amazing bunch of biscotti recipes for you to share with your friends and family as we head into the next three months of holidays.

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti (adapted from Williams-Sonoma)

Ingredients:

½ cup of bittersweet chocolate chips, chopped (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cacoa Bittersweet Chocolate Chips)

1 cup of brown sugar, firmly packed

1-3/4 cups of flour

1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa

1-1/2 tablespoons of espresso powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

¼ teaspoon of salt

3 eggs

1-1/4 teaspoon of vanilla

½ teaspoon of almond extract

1 cup of hazelnuts, toasted and chopped coarsely

 

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a food processor, using a metal blade, pulse the chocolate and brown sugar until the chocolate is blended with periodic chips seen throughout. Put aside.

3. In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, espresso powder, baking soda and salt together. Put aside.

4. In a large bowl, add the eggs, vanilla and almond extract. With a hand whisk, whisk the mixture for one minute. The mixture should be well until blended.

5. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon add the brown sugar and chocolate mix as well as the flour mix to the eggs, vanilla and almond extract.

6. The mixture will become very stiff. Add the hazelnuts.

7. At this point you have a few choices…

A. On a floured board, knead the biscotti dough until it comes together in a soft ball or

B. Place a bit of flour onto your hands and knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together in a soft ball. (I did this and it was much easier and less to clean up.)

8. Cut the ball in half and create two 12-inch logs. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the biscotti logs are firm to the touch.

9. Allow biscotti to cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet. Remove from parchment paper and cool completely on cookie racks.

10. Once cool, slice the logs with a serrated knife, at a diagonal, creating cookies 1 inch per slice.

11. Place the slices, standing, on the cookie sheet and bake for an additional 25 minutes.

12. Cool and enjoy! Makes 30-40 cookies

Sugar Dipped Butter Cookies

Sometimes dessert doesn't need to be anything more than a simple butter cookie. During the Easter holiday, I found myself baking a number of cookies to freeze for both the holiday and what I consider a rainy day. I like to have a few dozen cookies in my freezer in case I need to bring a quick dessert to a friend's house or one of the kids are visiting and want to take some homemade goodies back home. 

I opened a box of Land O Lakes Butter and noticed a recipe inside the box that read: Sugar Dipped Butter Cookies. Sometimes, I'm interested in making a dessert that is unexpected and the recipe is right in front of me. I grabbed the butter and set out to make the cookies. The recipe was basic and with 6 ingredients I was ready in less than five minutes. With the batter made, I was ready to roll butter cookies. 

The fascinating part of making these cookies was rolling them in water. For the hundreds of thousands of cookies I have made over the years, I have never rolled cookies in water before coating them with sugar. After I got the first batch in the oven, I couldn't wait to see what they looked like when they were finished baking. The sugar was hardened and crackly and the cookies smelled wonderful.

My mother-in-law loves traditional style cookies. She loves desserts she can enjoy with her tea. I let her sample the first cookie and she wanted to take a few next door with her to keep for her daily tea. OK, Fan #1 of the butter cookies, let's keep going. Jeff was coming through the kitchen, looking for his evening scoop of ice cream. As he left with a dish of rainbow sherbet, I sat a cookie on the top of his scoop. Five minutes later I got the request, "Trish, can you bring me another one of those cookies?" Fan #2...let's keep going. As I got the last tray of cookies out of the oven, I grabbed a cookie to taste myself. PERFECT! It was buttery and melted in your mouth. The sugar coating was crunchy and added just enough sweetness to the cookie. 

The next morning I decided I would have sugar-dipped butter cookies for breakfast, as Jeff would say, just because I can. They were still amazing. They tasted like little sugary muffins and dipping them in my coffee was HEAVEN! For as much as I am the ultimate chocolate freak, I truly enjoyed these buttery delights.

If you are looking for something a little different, yet traditional, these sugar dipped butter cookies are perfect.

Ingredients for Sugar-Dipped Butter Cookies: (adapted from Land O Lakes)

1 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of butter, softened

1 egg

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 bowl of water and 3/4 cup of sugar for dipping and rolling cookies

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter with the sugar (by hand or mixer), until creamy, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Add the egg and mix well.

4. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, mix by hand until incorporated.

5. With a tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball, dip in water and then roll in the sugar. Place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. 

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned.

Makes 4-5 dozen cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies Rolled in Chocolate Oreo Cookie Crumbs

A few weeks ago, while I was pinning on Pinterest, I kept coming across cookies rolled in oreo cookie crumbs. Most of the cookies were Snickerdoodles and as much as I like Snickerdoodles, rolling them in oreo cookie crumbs wasn't doing it for me.

I kept thinking...well, I do like Oreos...what about a peanut butter cookie rolled in oreo cookie crumbs? I went to my pantry and sitting (all by itself) in the back corner was a box of Oreo Cookie Crumbs. Ah, here was a cookie worth eating. I made my favorite peanut butter cookies from my Peanut Butter Blossom recipe. I like this recipe because the cookies have a wonderful nutty flavor and they aren't too sweet. 

Instead of rolling them in sugar, I rolled them in the Oreo Cookie crumbs. If you can't find the crumbs, use a sleeve of oreo cookies and grind them into crumbs using a food processor. The crumbs will be sweeter but that is ok, these cookies aren't overly sweet. 

The house smelled amazing as they cooked, there is nothing better than the smell of sweet peanut butter! As they came out of the oven I couldn't wait to taste them. When they were warm they tasted like a peanut butter pillow with a hint of chocolate. As they cooled they reminded me of a soft peanut butter oreo, but not as sweet. 

I shared these cookies with both friends and family over the next week. Sometimes, I'm not sure how good these cookies are. The response was amazing, everyone was gobbling them up and the part that I found surprising was that people loved the flavor...not too sweet.

It was fun taking a favorite cookie and giving it a twist. If you'd like, you can make the peanut butter blossoms and roll them in oreo cookies (rather than sugar) and finish them with a Hershey Kiss. I'm sure that would be delicious, too! 

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Cookies Rolled in Chocolate Oreo Cookie Crumbs

1 cup of peanut butter 

1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of white sugar

1 cup of butter, softened

2 eggs

1/4 cup of milk

2 teaspoons of vanilla

3 1/2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup of finely chopped dark chocolate (or milk chocolate if you prefer)

2 cups of oreo cookie crumbs

 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Cream together peanut butter, brown and white sugars and butter.

2. Blend in the eggs, vanilla and milk. The consistency will get very loose and smooth.

3. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until thoroughly blended.

4. Stir in the finely chopped chocolate. If the dough is sticky, refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

5. Roll to the size of well rounded tablespoon and then roll in the oreo cookie crumbs.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will be puffy and slightly dry. 

7. Remove from oven and cool on a cookie rack. The cookies will flatten as they cool.

Old Fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies

I LOVE Pinterest.

Why? You ask...

Because I get great ideas from holiday decorating, home decor, fashion, art and FOOD! The next two cookie recipes I will be covering came from my "I want to make that" board. I love finding recipes, with great pictures, to help me in my quest for another recipe to add to the Friends Food Family blog.

Old Fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies immediately caught my attention when I saw the post. I remember growing up and eating these cookies all the time. Sadly, they weren't homemade, but I loved the crunchy oatmeal cookie with a sweet icing. So, as one of our A Year of Cookies, I made a batch for Stephen and he loved them...as did my daughter, Danielle, and numerous clients who become my testers whenever we make new cookie recipes.

A little side note: Because I have been making cookies for many years, there is nothing better than the expression on someone's face when you offer them a homemade cookie. Then the smile on their face when they bite into it. You want to make someone smile? Bring them some homemade cookies.

The recipe had some unique techniques (say that three times fast) as you partially process the oatmeal to get small bits of oatmeal flavor. The combination of brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg make for that caramel spice flavor. The icing pulls it all together. Jeff thought the cookie was sweet with the icing and questioned whether this cookie would taste better without it. If you like a good old fashioned oatmeal cookie, you could stop at the frosting. If you enjoy that little bit of sweetness, add the frosting. Either way, you can satisfy a number of tastes with one recipe.

Think about old fashioned iced oatmeal cookies for Christmas and the holidays. They are wonderful with a cup of tea, coffee, hot chocolate or big glass of ice cold milk. Kick it up a notch with chopped raisins or craisins (process like the oatmeal) and some orange rind in the icing or keep it traditional...the way I always remembered it.

Old Fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookie Recipe (Adapted from The Novice Chef, thank you!)

Ingredients:

2 cups of old fashioned oats
2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, melted
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup (packed) of light brown sugar
2 large eggs

Icing:
2 cups of confectioner's (powdered) sugar
5 tablespoons milk

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F and butter two cookie sheets. Set aside.

In a food processor, pulse oats quickly until partially ground - you want "bits of oatmeal" not oatmeal flour. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the melted butter, sugar and brown sugar together. Add eggs, and mix well. Add the dry oat mixture, stirring until thoroughly combined.

Drop dough by (heaping) rounded tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating halfway through, until slightly golden brown. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely.

Once cookies are cooled, whisk together the confectioner's sugar and milk until smooth. Frost each cookie and allow the glaze to harden completely before storing.

Makes about 36-40 cookies.

Written by Tricia White

Andes Creme de Menthe Cookies - Think Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies

As I was wandering through the aisles of Hannaford's Supermarket, doing my weekly grocery shopping, I ran into a display of baking chips and no, I didn't knock anything over. There in the display were bags of Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips. I love Andes chocolate mints and thought there must be a great recipe out there for these baking chips. I wanted to make some cookies since my son Michael was coming home from Philadelphia and requested some cookies to take back with him. One thing about my kids, no one is fussy about which cookies they get, they just want homemade cookies. Plus, I could add this recipe to A Year of Cookies.

When I got home, I started on the back of the creme de menthe chip package figuring if there was a good recipe I would use that. Low and behold, a great recipe on the back, Andes Creme de Menthe Cookies. Look no further, it's time to make the cookies.

The recipe came together quickly and remember, put the Creme de Menthe pieces in before the flour. I used a small cookie scoop and had the cookie dough on the trays and in the oven within minutes. They smelled sweet (and minty) coming out of the oven. I had a tough time waiting for them to cool slightly so I could have a taste. I knew using the dark brown sugar would make them crispy as well as chewy...and they were, chocolaty, minty, OH...so good. If you closed your eyes and ate one, you would think it was a Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie.

As I packed Michael's "goodie" bag to head back to Philadelphia, I included Jordan Marsh's Blueberry Muffins, Peanut Butter Blossoms and Andes Creme de Menthe Cookies, I told him how the mint cookies tasted like Girl Scout Cookies. When he saw the cookies, he couldn't remember what they were because he was expecting a chocolate cookie that looked like a Girl Scout Thin Mint. He said he opened the bag and tasted them and realized what they were. He was with some friends, offered them a few and then hid the rest. "Those were amazing and I didn't want to share them all!"

I guess I've taught my children well, share with your friends and then HOARD the rest :)

Make some Andes Creme de Menthe Cookies, put a smile on someone's face and then hide a few so you can enjoy them later!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of salted butter - softened
3/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2-2/3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 package (10 oz.) Andes® Crème de Menthe Baking Chips or 2 packages 4.67 oz Andes Crème de Menthe, chopped.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Cream butter and sugars together, then add baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs blend until well incorporated.

Stir in Andes Baking Chips and then add the flour. Chill approximately one hour in the refrigerator.

Measure out approximately 1 oz. of dough. Form a ball and slightly flatten. We used a small cookie scoop (about 1 teaspoon full).

Bake at 350° F for approximately 6-8 minutes. Cookies will be slightly golden and firm.

Cool on wire racks.

This recipe makes 48 cookies

Coconut Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Macadamia Nut Kisses

Did you know that Hershey's makes Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Kisses? I didn't either until I was coming back from my vacation in Hawaii. There they were...calling my name. I knew that there was a dessert to be enjoyed from this amazing little treat. I love macadamia nuts and this combination is delicious. When I showed my friend, Sharon, the bag of Hershey Kisses and my desire to bake some cookies with them, she said, "what about coconut?"

So, the entire plane ride home (6 hours then 5 hours) I kept thinking about a coconut cookie or something that would complement these macadamia nut kisses. I thought about a recipe I use for thumbprints called Danielle B's Goodies - Special Thumbprints. I thought this might be the best recipe to start with. I could add a bit of coconut without changing the texture or the overall taste of the cookie.

Last night my daughter, Danielle, was home as was Stephen, (my "A Year of Cookies" child) so they unwrapped the macadamia nut kisses while I grabbed the food processor and a bag of coconut. I knew I didn't want the coconut sticking out on the cookie and I also didn't want it to be a fine powder. A few quick pulses and it was perfect. I added the coconut to the basic shortbread dough and proceeded to make the new coconut shortbread cookies. 

They smelled delicious coming from the oven. The cookie was sweet with a hint of coconut crunch. The chocolate kiss was loaded with a macadamia nut...PERFECT...chocolate, coconut and macadamia nuts, that island feel! And for my White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie fans, you will like these, too!

At the bottom is a picture of the Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Kisses (blue bag!) along with a link to a site where you can purchase them if they are not available locally.

Enjoy and GO NUTS! GO COCONUTS!

Basic Dough:

1 cup of white sugar

2 cups of butter

2 teaspoons of vanilla

2 eggs

4 1/2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup of sweetened coconut, place in a food processor and chop into small pieces.

2 bags of Hershey's Chocolate Kisses with Macadamia Nuts

Preparation:

Blend sugar and butter with a mixer until smooth, add the eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in flour and baking soda by hand until it forms a smooth dough. Add coconut and stir until incorporated.

Roll into balls (a rounded tablespoon) and indent with your thumb. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until dry and slightly golden on the bottom. The minute they come out of the oven, press a Hershey Kiss into the top of each cookie. I go back and push the slightly melted kiss into the cookie, that way I know it is secure.

Place on a cookie rack to cool and to allow the chocolate to set again. This recipe makes about 60 cookies and of course, we freeze a number of them to share with friends and family.

To purchase Hershey Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut Kisses, try ABC Stores.

Jingle Jumble Cookies - Ginger Spice Snaps with Raisins

This blog is going to be brief as it is Sunday night and truthfully, I am wiped out. Part of the reason...we are going away on vacation. Work is busy and our fiscal year ends September 30th. I need to get things done before we leave for Hawaii. Yes, 8 amazing days in Honolulu and Kauai. I promise to give some food updates!

Over the next year, you will hear me speak about making cookies for my youngest son's lunch as both he (and I) graduates from high school this year, it is bittersweet. So far, I have been baking at least once a week. I freeze cookies and it becomes easy to take homemade cookies to school every day. Plus, my staff as well as friends, family and acquaintances get to try both new and family favorites.

This week I made a batch of Jingle Jumble Cookies. I found the recipe in the Cookie Bible, a cookbook I was given for Christmas last year. I was craving a spice cookie the other day as I was waking to 50 degree weather and a cup of Pumpkin Spice Coffee. Molasses or spice cookies always remind me of Christmas and the holidays. This cookie gives you the best of a molasses cookie with raisins crossed with a ginger snap. It's a different combination but absolutely delicious.

Whenever I am highlighting a new cookie, I love to share it with as many people as possible. You can always tell how good a cookie is when people go back for seconds and thirds. The night I made them, Stephen, had two warm cookies and finished with two cooled ones. The Jingle Jumbles seemed to have enormous success, most reactions were similar to Stephen's..."oh, these are delicious, and yes, I'll have another one."

If you would like to join my little challenge of homemade cookies in your loved ones lunch, check out the tab called "A Year of Cookies". Everybody deserves a little bit of love with lunch!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of butter, softened

1 cups of brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup of molasses

1 egg

2-1/2 cups of flour

2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of ginger

1/2 teaspoon of cloves

1-1/4 cup of raisins

Additional sugar for rolling - we used Demara sugar

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix dry ingredients of flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Put aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until blended, by hand or mixer.

4. Add the molasses and egg to the mixture and continue to incorporate.

5. Once blended, add the dry ingredients, mix together.

6. Add raisins.

7. Roll into 1-1/2 inch balls and dip in Demara sugar. If you don't have Demara, white sugar is fine.

8. Place on cookie sheet. (We get 15 cookies per sheet)

9. Bake for 8-10 minutes until set.

10. Cool on racks.

Enjoy one, two, three...

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut and Heath Bar Bits

Last week I had a bittersweet moment, sadly unrelated to chocolate. My youngest son, Stephen, entered his final year of high school. As I stood in the house, making him pose for his first day of school picture, I realized, this is my last year of high school. I will go through the final process of helping him apply and visit colleges for the Fall of 2013.

Stephen loves homemade cookies. I had some Andria's Chocolate Chip Cookies in the freezer and he has been enjoying them in his lunch every day. When my daughter, Danielle, came home for a visit, she left with the last of the frozen cookies. I told Stephen I would make more and made a deal with him. Since he was the last one at home, I would try and make homemade cookies every week or two so he could have a year of homemade cookies in his lunch.

The next batch of cookies he requested was Nannie's Oatmeal Cookies. One important ingredient in the cookies is Wheaties. I had run out of Wheaties and decided to look for a new oatmeal cookie. I wanted something that had chocolate chips and cinnamon in it. It probably sounds odd, but traditional oatmeal cookies have cinnamon and non-traditional oatmeal cookies have chocolate chips, two great flavors together.

So, off to my Best Chocolate Chip Cookie board on Pinterest. Every time I see an interesting or delicious looking chocolate chip cookie, I pin it to my board. By clicking on the picture, it takes me to the recipe page of the cookie. I found this cookie on Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice called Chocolate Chip Toffee Oatmeal Cookies. They looked good, had cinnamon and chocolate chips in the ingredients, had some coconut, too...I think I'll try these.

A quick and easy recipe, which means, I had these mixed, baking in the oven and dishes washed in 45 minutes. I love any type of drop and bake cookie. They smelled wonderful, nothing better than the smell of homemade cookies in the oven, and baked beautifully. The cookies were sweet, crunchy and chewy. I wouldn't say I'm a coconut fan, but when it is baked in cookies, you forget how good it tastes, especially with oatmeal. As they were cooling on the rack, Stephen came through the kitchen. He had his first one, then his second, third and ended with a fourth cookie. I think he liked them. I brought a few into work and they seemed to like them, too...taking one, two and three at a time.

Over the next year, I will be posting Stephen's cookie favorites as well as new cookie recipes which I will make for his lunch. I have to remember that Stephen isn't an only child, so some cookie packages will be sent to his brothers and sister in Philadelphia, PA as well as Columbia, MO and South Boston, MA. They get a little disappointed when we don't share our cookies!

If you have any favorite cookie recipes you would like to share, please send them to [email protected] and we will highlight your cookie recipe on Friends Food Family.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut and Heath Bar Bits

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter, softened

2 cups of light brown sugar, slightly packed

2 eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1-3/4 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

3 cups of oatmeal

1-10 ounce package of Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

1 cup of Heath Bar Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits

1 cup of sweetened flaked coconut

 

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, blend the butter and brown sugar together until smooth (by hand or mixer).

3. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until well incorporated.

4. Add the dry ingredients of flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix until blended.

5. Add the oatmeal, chocolate bits, coconut and toffee bits. Mix until all ingredients are covered evenly with the batter. The Batter may be a little stiff.

6. Drop by the teaspoon onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden and the centers are no longer wet.

7. Remove from oven, allow to rest for 5 minutes and cool on cookie racks.

Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy!