chocolate chunk mocha cookies

well, not quite. my family nixed the idea of the mocha frosting, so let's call them chocolate chocolate chunk ugly cookies. this is my first week of the 12 weeks of christmas cookies with some of my fellow food bloggers. i made a bad choice. the cookies are good, very chocolaty, moist, but boring and ugly. they came out of my southern living christmas cookbook and you can find the recipe online here. they got the highest rating from the sl's test kitchen, just not mine. maybe you can do a better job. enjoy.

maybe the frosting would have helped....


Week 1 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

breakfast cookie with tamarin and cranberries

what's tamarin you ask? well let me tell you. "tamarin is a new speculoos spread introduced to europe in 2008. based on a traditional european speculoos wafer, tamarin offers a unique, complex flavor - mildly sweet with a hint of cinnamon. when spread on a slice of bread, a biscuit or croissant, it is the ultimate compliment to a tall glass of milk, a cup of coffee or hot tea!"

i was giving the opportunity to try a complimentary jar from the tamarin sandwich spread  folks via elle over at elle's new england kitchen, on one condition, that i come up with a recipe using the spread. okay, i am game.

well, i promptly got my jar and dug in. it is different. it is delicious. it looks like, but tastes nothing like, peanut butter. it is sweet, creamy with a hint of cinnamon and other spices.

hmmmm, what can i make?

what did i make?

i made this....

beth's big  big ol'breakfast cookie with tamarin and cranberries!

heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit

in a bowl, mix together the following:
1/2 cup of rolled oats
1 T of all purpose or whole wheat flour
1/4 t of baking powder
1/2 t of real vanilla extract
big dash of cinnamon
1 heaping T of tamarin sandwich spread
1 T of dried cranberries
1 heaping T of unsweetened applesauce

thoroughly combine and spread onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet shaping into a large cookie. bake for about 25 minutes, cool briefly and enjoy.
a few notes, you might need to add a tad bit more applesauce, use your own judgment, you want the cookie to just come together, but not be too wet. also, there is no additional sweetener in the recipe. the tamarin spread makes it slightly, but not overly sweet as is, but you could always add a little sugar, honey or sugar substitute to your own taste. me, i would only add a teaspoon at a time tasting as i go, until satisfied with the sweetness of the mixture.

let me tell you, it was yummy. i ate it straight from the oven while it was still warm. the cookie was chewy and full of flavor. i am not a fan of your typical breakfast fare, so this was over the top for me. i paired it was an ice cold glass of low fat milk. yum. the tamarin spread lent it creamy cinnamon goodness to the cookie, but did not overpower the sweet tang of the cranberries. oatmeal has been praised for its fiber and its "staying" power. it sticks with me. i felt good about eating this "cookie".  i think this was a healthy start to the day, not only does it taste good, but it is good for you. enjoy.

hubby's peanut butter cookies

i whipped up some peanut butter, so i could make these....

yummy peanut butter cookies. now, i call them hubby's peanut butter cookies, but it is not my hubby, but barbara's over at barbara bakes. her husband makes these for the family with the original recipe coming from the "martha". you can find the recipe here.

this is a great cookie and a big hit with my family, especially when still warm and slightly chewy. the homemade peanut butter? it is nothing to make. throw some dry roasted salted peanuts into your food processor and whirl till blended and smooth. it might take a few minutes, a couple drops of vegetable oil and a few scrap downs, but it's easy as pie.

pie, hmmmmm....now there is an idea. enjoy.

double tree hotel chocolate chip cookies

i have never heard of, much less eaten, a double tree hotel chain's chocolate chip cookie, but i guess they are suppose to be good. i found this recipe when looking for a "something different". i am not a big chocolate chip cookie fan, but my kids love them and i have a huge bag, i mean sam's club sized, bag of chips to use. i thought these sounded yummy and there is oatmeal in them, so faux healthy. they were good, cake-y not chewy and the kids loved them. i just don't see them becoming a favorite. oh, i did skip the lemon juice(??), added only two cups of chips and omitted the walnuts all together. enjoy.

easy bird's nest cookies

three ingredients, only three-one bag of butterscotch morsels, one can of chow mein noodles and your eggs of choice whether it is jellybeans, malted robin's eggs, or in my case, little cadbury candy coated chocolate eggs.

zap the morsels in the microwave beginning with one minute, stir and keep zapping in 15 second intervals till it is melted, not scorched! watch it closely. stir in the chow mein noodles, folding and crunching till completely coated in butterscotch. spoon onto parchment/waxed paper or a silpat. shape like a nest with a little indention in the middle. place your eggs pushing them down slightly to make sure they stick when dry. let them air dry about thirty minutes and that's it. enjoy.

ps-i happened to have the large bag of chowmein noodles, so i just dumped what i thought was enough. i am thinking that the can will be a perfect amount. i used probably 2/3 of the bag.

blackberry bars

recipe #2 using the betty crocker cake mix that i won! this is a recipe that i originally found on recipezarr, but changed it up quite a bit. i just call them, plain ol'blackberry bars, but you can call them strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, even grape, whatever flavor bars you would like. they are very versatile, super simple, super crumbly, but super delicious. in hindsight i would have let them go another five minutes or so in the oven to brown a tad more. also, let them cool completely before cutting or you will end up with blackberry crumble, although equally delicious, just more messy. top with a scoop of your favorite ice cream and no one is none the wiser. enjoy.

beth's blackberry bars

preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit, grease a 9x13 pan

in a large bowl mix the following:
1 box of yellow cake mix
2.5 cups of quick cooking oats( i used old fashioned pulsed in the food processor a few times)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup canola oil or melted butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
the dough will be crumbly. i found mixing with my hands the easiest, squeezing the mixture as i go to help moisten it all. now, pat firmly half the cake/oat mixture onto the bottom of your pan.

next, you will need one 18 oz (about two cups) jar of preserves, your choice, warmed in microwave briefly(25 seconds or so) to aid in spreading. spoon the warmed preserves evenly on top. finally, top the preserves with the remaining cake/oat mixture once again pressing firmly.

bake for 25 minutes(i am including the extra five minutes i should have done mine). cool completely and cut into squares.

cake mix chocolate chip cookies

i was lucky enough to win a betty crocker gift pack the other week from real mom kitchen, a fantastic blog with fantastic recipes and ideas. the gift pack included cake mix, icing, a decorator's kit, pot holder, spoon, cake server and an icing spatula. it is really awesome, but i was not in the mood to make a cake, so i searched the betty crocker web site and found this recipe for cake mix chocolate chip cookies. they are a mix and drop style, in other words, quick and easy!


i whipped them up for the family and well, they are not bad. definitely not your typical chocolate chip cookie, more cake-y with a strong vanilla flavor. everyone seems to be enjoying them based on the consumption rate. i think this recipe would be a great kid's project or a throw together cookie, but it won't ever replace the tried and true made from scratch chocolate chip cookie. enjoy.

p.s. i received two boxes of cake mix, so another cake mix recipe that is not cake, is on the way!

beth's banana bread biscotti

i am quickly becoming a biscotti junkie. biscotti are so simple to make, versatile, low fat and just dang tasty. i had two spotty bananas that i hated to throw out, so rather than make boring banana bread, i made banana bread biscotti. oh my gosh they are good, a real keeper. i found a recipe on cooking light, this one here and adapted it to my liking using walnuts and rum. the cookies were crunchy with a chewy texture full of banana flavor. yummy. the biscotti were even better with a hot cup of coffee. i am posting my recipe adaptation below. enjoy.

beth's banana bread biscotti

• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup mashed very ripe banana (about 1.5 banana)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp rum or rum extract
  
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, dry toasted in a saute pan
  

preheat oven to 350°.

combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. combine banana, oil, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl; stir in flour mixture and walnuts (dough will be sticky).

turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead it till it comes together, flouring your hands often. place dough onto a silpat or parchment cookie sheet. shape dough into one long about 10 inchs with floured hands. flatten out with hands till about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. shape your log nicely, it won't spread. i try to have straight sides and rounded edges to get the traditional biscotti look.

bake at 350° for 23 minutes. remove rolls from baking sheet; cool 10 minutes. cut each roll into about 12 (1/2-inch) slices. place slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. reduce oven temperature to 250°; bake 15 minutes. turn cookies over; bake an additional 15 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire racks. if your cookies brown too quickly, just cover with some foil. store in an airtight container or your belly.

p.s. i think next time i will up the rum some, the banana overpowered it a little.

dark chocolate and cranberry "somewhat" healthy oatmeal cookies

i was bored today, so i made cookies. great, just what i need, temptation. i am trying really hard to eat healthy in 2010. it is very difficult for me since not only do i live to eat, but i still want to indulge my family, especially my kids. i have a standard oatmeal raisin cookie recipe that i use, but wanted to switch it up a bit. i just simply swapped dried cranberries for the raisins and threw in a big handful of semi-sweet chips. these are delicious. how do i know? i caved. i two, but only two, with a cup of coffee this evening. they are chewy and sweet, perfect, just how i like my cookie. dang, this is going to be hard. a foodie friend of mine was being kind in suggestind that just maybe they could be passed off as "somewhat" healthy cookie with the dark chocolate(antioxidants), oatmeal(fiber) and the dried cranberries(fiber,as well), but what about the stick of butter and cup of sugar? nice try, but i don't think so. healthy or not, i am passing the recipe on to you. they are really yummy. enjoy.

beth's dark chocolate and cranberry "somewhat" healthy oatmeal cookies

preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit

in a large bowl mix the following:

cream one stick of room temp butter with 3/4 cups sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar, add one egg and a tsp. of real vanilla. to this add a 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1/4 tsp. of kosher salt. stir. now add one cup of all purpose flour and one and half cups of old fashioned oats. stir to combine. now stir in a half cup of dried cranberries and 6 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips. stir well and hard to combine. the mixture may seem dry, but it will come together. roll dough into about one inch balls and place three inches apart on a silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet. bake about 10-13 minutes. edges will be slightly brown. cool a few minutes on pan before transferring to serving platter or mouth.

plain, simple, delicious coconut biscotti

i have so much leftover baking goods from the holidays; butterscotch, white, dark, milk chocolate chips, nuts, sweetened flaked coconut, so much so i could host another christmas. i have been scouring the net for something different to bake to lessen the strain on my cabinet doors, as well as the strain on my already elasticized waist band. i want to be able to make use of those tempting, delicious, decadent, calling my name ingredients, but something on the lighter side. you see, i am trying to be "good". i am trying to eat healthier, be a better person, inside and out. i joined a challenge #10in10, a group on twitter started by recipe girl. go look, my name is on the list. lol. i need to do this, but it isn't easy. i am an expert yo-yo'er(you should see me walk the dog, yo-yo humor). anyway, a friend of mine dropped off a huge, weakened and ripped bag(tee- hee) of cooking magazines for me yesterday and there in a cooking light i found a coconut biscotti recipe. bingo, we have a winner, a cookie recipe in cooking light, so it's gotta be good for you, right? i mean, it has to be at least healthier than most biscotti recipes. well, that's my thinking anyway. i baked a batch today and lordy those puppies are goooood. they are so simple to make and bake up in a flash. they came out crunchy and paired perfect with my hot cup of french vanilla coffee(oops, another vice). a few notes though, the recipe states that the dough will be sticky. i didn't think it was so bad, rather than knead it on a floured surface as stated, i just kneaded the dough in the bowl of my kitchen aid. i then plopped it on my silpat cookie sheet and shaped. i also didn't get 20 cookies either, more like a dozen.

hey, what if next time we sub out half the vanilla extract for coconut extract and then throw in a handful of slivered almonds. oh, yum. go bake a batch for your folks today. enjoy.

you can find the recipe here.

good ol'oatmeal raisin cookies

today is my husband's birthday and these were his birthday "cake". you see, oatmeal raisin cookies are his favorite. the recipe is one that i found years ago on recipezaar, and there is no reason to try any others. he loves them, done. you can find the recipe here. the cookies are soft, moist and chewy. i don't make any changes except to add about a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. now, i have added chocolate chips, walnuts and cranberries to dough in the past. also, i don't own a cookie scoop(hint-hint), so i just use a spoon to make a ball about an inch big and then flatten it a little with my fingers. the dough does not spread much at all, so don't go too big or thick. overall, this is just a great basic oatmeal raisin cookie that needs little or no help. enjoy.

oh, and the recipe makes a ton, too!

why didn't someone tell me....

how easy it is to make biscotti! wow, these were a cinch to make and are truly delicious. i am participating in another round of "secret bakers" this month and this time it is a cookie exchange. when i saw these posted here, i knew i had to make them. in my deranged mind i always have thought that biscotti were too troublesome to make, boy was i wrong. they come together so quickly and are just too dang easy not to make. i followed the recipe to the "t" and they baked up so crispy and chockful of flavor. i did use dried, tangy cranberries as suggested. i am going to make another batch with some mini chocolate chips and walnuts. enjoy!

they baked in no time flat, browning so nicely. i did go overboard on flouring my surface, so there is too much "leftover" flour on the cookies. you'll see in other pics. hey, live and learn.


i melted about a half cup white-no-chocolate-involved chips in the micro and drizzled, slung and slopped over the cookies.

ain't they purty?
see, flour overkill....oh well, didn't hurt the taste none. go make ya some today.

candy can joe-joe's, now the winners!! yep, i decided to make it two.

mrcarpetc1 where are yooooooooooou? i can not contact you. i will give you one week, then pick another. come out, come out where ever you are!!!

random.org's site is down for maintenance so the hubster gave me two numbers-#22 spacemonkey1138 and #14 mrcarpetc1. Congratulations!! Now, to get a hold of ya......

do you know this cookie? if not, you might soon because i am going to be giving a few boxes away. these are a seasonal cookie sold by trader joe's and they are addicting! picture an oreo and its dreamy, creamy filling spiked with real peppermint and tiny bits of candy cane. ho,ho, ho this is good stuff folks. i bought my first, but not last, box of the year today. travis and i couldn't wait and promptly ripped into them right in front of the cookie display. keep your figgy pudding and give us candy cane joe-joe's.

i'm sorry, were we suppose to pay for these?

who wants sugar laden, highly addictive cookies? just leave me comment telling me that you do and i will randomly pick someone sunday to kick start their habit with a box or two. u.s. only. enjoy.

hazelnut blondies

i joined a group of ladies via twitter last month. we call ourselves the "secret bakers". our goal, to randomly bake for each other not knowing who gets what from whom. this is our inaugural month, so we will see how it goes. i know i am already a day behind on shipping, but i am not alone. it kinda sneaked up on us, well me, anyway. i choose to bake two items, fresh pumpkin cranberry bread and these hazelnut blondies. do you know how hard it is to find hazelnuts in these here parts? i found some in a specialty market and brought them home to roast. roasting them was crazy easy and my gosh what a huge difference in their flavor. i almost hate to send these little blondies to new york city! (all together now) new york city? yep, new york city. these little morsels are headed to the big apple. i hope my fellow baker will enjoy them. they are full of delicious flavor, hazelnuts, brown sugar and nutella. yep, nutella, that chocolate hazelnut spread of love, not to mention calories and sugar. i love nutella. lord help me with the nutella. wanna get on my good side, bring me nutella and a spoon. i will love ya for life.

okay, here is the recipe. enjoy.

anyone seen my jar of nutella? i better go look under my pillow......you know, i keep it there for sweet dreams......



hazelnut blondies

4 tbsp of butter
2 cups of flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp good vanilla
1/3 hazelnuts, roasted and coarsely chopped
1 tbsp of nutella(chocolate hazelnut spread)

preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and butter/grease/parchment a 8x8 baking pan.

whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. melt butter. Beat butter and sugar until combined, in a large bowl with mixer. beat in eggs and vanilla. add flour mixture, and stir until combined. stir in hazelnuts and nutella. mixture will be thick. pat into pan and bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs. cool 15 minutes before cutting.

cranberry bars

i made a half pan of cranberry bars adapted from here. ms. goodman's blog is simply beautiful, her pictures incredible. i am afraid neither my bars nor my picture do her justice. the only changes i made to her recipe, besides cutting it in half was to use vanilla sugar instead of plain white, and since i had no orange, i subbed sunnyd, yep sunnyd. these bars are delicious, if you like cranberries and i happen to adore them, you will enjoy these. they are not overly sweet with a nice tang from the berries. jamie loved the crust the best. he told me he wished i used the dough for cookies. these cranberry bars make a wonderful fall dessert. go check them out. enjoy.

soft and spicy molasses cookies

october is here, bring on the cool weather. i love october and not just because it is my birthday month, but because to me it signals that fall has truly arrived. my kiddos requested their favorite cookie, next to a snickerdoodle, these soft and spicy molasses cookies. i think these are awesome too, but strictly a fall cookie. it is just something about the flavors that seem so appropriate. i got the recipe a gazillion years ago from a co-worker and fell in love. they are so moist and chewy, full of cloves, cinnamon and ginger. i was thinking next time i might add some chopped candied ginger. oooh, how lovely, but i am not sure my kids would go for it. this recipe makes a ton of cookies, plenty to eat and plenty to share. enjoy.

beth's soft and spicy molasses cookies


preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit

in a large bowl, cream 1 stick of softened butter and a .5 cup of vegetable shortening. add to that mixture 1.5 cups of sugar and beat till light and fluffy. to the butter mixture add .5 cup molasses and two eggs beat until smooth, turn off mixer.

now, in another bowl sift together your dry ingredients- four cups flour, .5 tsp of salt, 2.25 tsp baking soda, 2.25 tsp ground ginger, 1.5 tsp cinnamon and 1.5 tsp clove. okay, with mixer back on, gradually pour your dry ingredients into your creamed mixture until dough is blended and smooth. the dough will be sticky, so pop it into your fridge for about an hour to make it easier to handle.

in a bowl place about .5 cup more of sugar. you are going to use this for rolling your dough balls. pinch off a piece of cookie dough and roll into about an inch sized ball, roll in sugar and place on your cookie sheets lined with a silpat or parchment about two inches apart. bake for about 13 minutes. do not over bake. allow to cool a few minutes and inhale.

p.s.- these cookies do not spread a lot, so bigger the ball you roll the thicker the cookie. you will have to adjust the baking time.

eggcellent chocolate chip cookies, no yolk

so i whipped the boy up some chocolate chip cookies this morning. i had found a recipe in a cooking light magazine awhile back and decided to give it a try. i also found it on the net, you can view it here. it is quite a bit lower in calories and fat than you typical chocolate chip cookie recipe without skimping too much on the taste. it works. it still has your basic cookie ingredients with a few differences, such as using only the egg white. the dough came together quick and smelled fragrant of vanilla, good vanilla from beanilla. people let me sidetrack for a second. please, if you bake, use real vanilla and not the imitation garbage. i promise you the investment will pay off. there is a huge difference between the two. okay, back to the cookies, they spread very little while baking, so they come out thick and chewy. i am not a real fan of chocolate chip cookies(i like my chocolate unadulterated), but i ate one. it really is good. i am thinking maybe another later with a cup of coffee.

now, if travis can stop tormenting the dog long enough, maybe he too can have one. enjoy.

death by monkey bars

so my girl lisa shares her birthday with my daughter caroline, the 16th of this month. c will be eleven and lisa will be, well, i won't go there. let's just say there is a slight age difference. anyway, they are birthday buddies. i like to give lisa a little something to wish her a great day and to start her next birthday year off right. i know she loves these little babies, so i whipped up a batch to deliver to her today, a little early, but full of love. they are monkey bars from marcel desaulniers-death by chocolate cookies book. lisa is the one who first shared this recipe with me. it is to die for, literally. mr. desaulniers, a local chef and the owner of williamsburg's famous trellis restaurant, former employer/mentor to my buddy chef george, is most noted for his dessert, death by chocolate. i have to admit, i have died a few times over it. it's killer, worth every heart palpitation. if i gotta die by something, chocolate is fine by me.

these monkey bars are crazy lovely. don't be intimidated by the recipe. it looks long and drawn out, but it all comes together quickly, very quickly actually. the cookies are incredibly rich and decadent. they are full of banana flavor accented with toasted walnuts and semi-sweet chips. holy moley! oh, and don't forget the ganache icing. it is downright sinful, dark, oh so dark. a few words of advice, keep these in the fridge and cut when cold. the icing can "melt" pretty quick. i do allow the bars to sit at room temp, maybe five minutes, before serving to awaken the banana flavor. i also serve them cut into fairly small squares with large glasses of ice cold milk. enjoy.

monkey bars from marcel desaulniers

FOR THE MONKEY BAR BATTER:
1 cup walnut pieces
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter cut into 1 oz pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 pounds medium size ripe bananas( i used four large ripe ones)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

FOR THE MONKEY BAR ICING:
1 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp granulated sugar
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Toast the walnuts on baking sheet in preheated oven for 7 minutes. Remove the nuts from the oven and set aside to cool at room temperature until needed.

In a sifter, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift onto large piece of waxed paper and set aside until needed.

Place the butter and 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until soft. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating on medium for 1 minute and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and beat on high for 1 minute. Add the whole peeled bananas (you can break them in half but it really isn't necessary) and beat for 2 minutes on medium until fairly smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Operate mixer on low while gradually adding the sifted dry ingredients until incorporated about 1 minute. Add the chocolate chips and the toasted walnuts and mix on low to incorporate about 20 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Pour the batter into a 9x13x2-inch nonstick baking pan. Use a rubber spatula to spread the batter in an even layer.

Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 40 minutes until golden brown around the edges and set in the center. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to stand at room temperature for 1 hour before making icing.

TO MAKE THE MONKEY BAR ICING:
Heat the heavy cream and 4 tbsp sugar in a 1 1/2 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to a boil. Place the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate in a 3 quart bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and stir with a whisk until smooth.

Pour the icing over the cooled Monkey Bars. Use a cake spatula to spread the icing evenly over the entire surface of the bar. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Keep cold in fridge.

snickerdoodles, what was i thinking?

now, i have eaten a few snickerdoodles in my time, but i had never made them, until now. good lawd, what was i thinking? they have got to be one of the easiest and yet most scrumptious cookies evaaaah. i found an old 2007 issue of cooking light magazine and stumbled across their version of the snickerdoodle. quite frankly, after reading the ingredients, i don't see how it is "light", but who cares, it's dang tasty. the cookies are slightly undercooked, chewy, sweet, buttery, with flecks of cinnamon and sugar on their crackly tops. holey moley. i can see me making these often. my two youngin's loved them. i posted the recipe below with a few personal notes added. whip up a batch today for your crowd. enjoy.

cooking light's snickerdoodles

Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened( i used margarine, because it was all i had at the time)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg(extra large egg, because that is what i use)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cooking spray(used silpats, because i love them)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt, stirring well with a whisk.(i didn't pre-mix flour, just dumped it all in the mixer) Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat just until combined.(i refrigerated the dough for about 15 minutes before shaping) Shape dough into 30 balls.

Combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small shallow dish. Roll balls in sugar mixture, and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray(i used silpats). Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until tops crack.(in between bakings i put the dough back into the fridge) Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.

cinnamon and sugar, mmmmm....

i keep wanting to write snickerdoddles....