oatmeal-flax chocolate chip cookies

Full disclosure: I snagged this one from the Food Network Magazine, and didn't change a thing. They are delicious and I couldn't even taste the flax! This would be a great way to sneak it into a kid's diet with one or two for dessert - just remember that they are still cookies and therefore still contain hefty amounts of butter and sugar! Enjoy.

Oatmeal-Flax Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 cup flaxseed, finely ground in a spice grinder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the flour, oats, flaxseed, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.
3. Beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about four minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture and beat until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about two inches apart. Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool three minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

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white chocolate-macadamia nut cookies

The credit for these really goes to my sister-in-law. Her husband (the coconut-hater), adores these cookies and so do I. The key to these is to use a really good quality white chocolate. They taste like butter and white chocolate - probably because there is so much of both in them - and are sinfully good. Make these when you have company so you're not forced to eat them all by yourself, or stick half of the baked cookies or batter in the freezer for another time. These are a splurge, so enjoy in moderation.

White Chip Macadamia Cookies
Ingredients

• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups macadamia pieces, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In medium-size bowl, beat butter with brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at low speed until combined. Add vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and salt to creamed mixture, and fold until combined. Fold in chips and macadamia pieces.
2. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto a cookie sheet. Bake ~10 minutes until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and allow to set 3-4 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Need other cookie ideas? Check these out:

• Fudgy white-chocolate chip cookies
• Dark-chocolate cranberry cookies
• Nutty oatmeal cookies

dark chocolate-cranberry cookies

A recent trip to South Florida to visit my grandfather on his 90th birthday (go, Gramps!) - and advice from my ever-practical mom to "just bake him something" as a gift - had me cooking up a storm after work the night before we left. I found a cute gift basket and stuffed it with a loaf of homemade banana bread and my sister-in-law's favorite white chocolate-macadamia nut cookies. And these dark chocolate-cranberry cookies.

I'll just go ahead and say it: these are good, old-fashioned cookies and, as such, they are made with admirable amounts of butter and refined sugar. So, relax and enjoy in moderation. And if it still bugs you, I hope you can find solace in the dark chocolate and cranberries. Just remember that a happy human sometimes requires foods that simply taste good, regardless of the ingredients. Enjoy.

Dark Chocolate-Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the dark chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. For best results, take them out while they are still doughy. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

fudgy white-chocolate chunk cookies

Start with 8 oz. of chopped white chocolate (I was a little short, so I had to supplement with some extra milk chocolate). Melt 7 oz of baking semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave, stirring every :30 until it's creamy.

On medium mixer speed, cream 1/4 c softened butter and 3/4 c brown sugar. Add two eggs and one tsp vanilla. On low speed, add 1/2 c. flour and 1/4 tsp baking powder. Add the melted chocolate.

Stir in by hand the chopped chocolate and one cup of chopped walnuts (if you skip the nuts, increase the flour by 1/4 c).

Drop 1/8 - 1/4 c spoonfuls of batter on to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 13-15 minutes; allow to cool for a few before eating.

Note: The batter and cookies do freeze. Just cut off chunks of the frozen dough and bake without thawing.