Cookie Time

Chocolate, peanut butter, chocolate chip, oatmeal, sugar.....ahh the possibilities are endless when making cookies. Cookies are portable deserts, portion controlled and everyone one likes a cookie of one kind or another. They are perfect gifts because you can personalize them depending on what the receiver likes, they are easy to make and not expensive to make.

The particular cookie recipe came from a tasteofhome.com magazine, a place where homecooks share their recipes. This cookie is called "Loaded Up Pretzel Cookies" and here are the players.

Lots of players in this production, but that is what makes them so good.

I started by chopping up all the add ins, the pretzels, M&M's and peanuts. Obviously I didn't  chop up the candies, but I did the pretzels and peanuts. The original recipe doesn't call for peanuts, it calls for coconut but since I loathe coconut I switched it out for nuts.

I put 2 sticks of butter, 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar, 2 eggs and 2 tsp of vanilla.

In another bowl whisk 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp of salt, then gradually beat into creamed mixture. Then stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Pretzels

Peanuts

M&M's

Then you stir it altogether. Now this is kind of a stiff dough and it takes some effort to stir everything into it, but it's well worth it. Of course, if I had a KitchenAid stand mixer it would be really easy. (are you listening kitchen gods!!)

I use a small ice cream scoop to portion out the dough. The cookies bake at 350F for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.

The recipe makes about 2 dozen cookie, give or take a few. I have to admit, in the interest of testing, I ate one or two right out of the oven. They passed the test.

Make these cookies for yourself, to give as gifts, to take to an office party or for you own party. I  think they will be a hit.

Here is the complete recipe:

1 cup of softened butter
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp of vanilla
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups of chopped pretzels (the recipe calls for miniature pretzels, but I used regular pretzels)
1 1/2 cups of flaked coconut (or you  can switch this out for something else like 1 cup of peanuts)
1 1/2 cups of M&M's

Cream together the 2 sugars and butter til creamy, add eggs and vanilla and cream together til fluffy. All the dry ingredients get whisked together in another bowl. Add dry ingredients slowly to creamed mixture. When the dry ingredients are all mixed in add the pretzels, coconut (peanuts) and M&M's and stir together.

Shape 1/4 cupfuls of dough into balls and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet (I use parchment paper) at 350F for about 15 minutes, til golden brown. Remove from pan and let cool of a wire rack.

YUMMY!!!!!

Kathy