Cookies, Cookies, and Baking Powder!

It's still hot here -- 103 or so yesterday, which means that my oven is still OFF. But I'm getting rather annoyed that I haven't been able to bake in three months. So this past month I tried out two new cookie recipes. I made the dough, baked a small batch in the toaster oven and froze the rest of the dough for later.

The first one, Dishpan Cookies, I've wanted to try for a while and I finally managed to get some corn flakes on sale with a coupon. The recipe I originally found (which I can't find now) did not call for coconut or chocolate chips and the resulting cookies were rather boring. I added in some butterscotch chips and they were much better! The nice thing about these cookies is that they are HUGE!

Yesterday I made "Clean Out Your Cupboards Cookies", which was included in Mary Hunt's Everyday Cheapskate newsletter. I didn't have many of the ingredients listed, so I used coconut, butterscotch chips (I swear they make every cookie good!), chopped pecans, and orange cranberries. They are absolutely delicious, but a tad dry (I'll cook them less next time). They do not flatten while baking so make them the size you want them!

I'm almost out of baking powder after making the cookies yesterday. Did you know you can make your own?? I had no idea!

Dishpan Cookies

2 C light brown sugar
1 C white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 C Oil
4 eggs
4 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 ½ c quick oats
4 C cornflakes

In a very large bowl or dishpan, cream sugars, vanilla, oil, and eggs. Add flour, soda, and salt. Fold in oats and cornflakes.

Drop by 1/4 measuring cup onto ungreased cookie sheets. This batter might be a little dry and you may have to moosh it together with your hands to get it into a ball when you put it onto the pan.

Bake for ten to twelve minutes in a preheated oven, or until edges are lightly browned. If you want them to be chewy, bake a little less, crispy, a little more.


Clean Out Your Cupboards Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons flaxseed
1 cup flaked almonds
3/4 cup peanuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
chocolate, melted for dipping (after cooking), optional

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy and fluffy. Beat in the eggs gradually until fully combined, and then beat in the peanut butter. Fold in the dry ingredients until fully combined. Form into ping-pong sized balls and place about 1 inch apart on non-stick cookie sheets. Press down lightly to flatten and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly golden. Let cool. Then, dip half in the melted chocolate, if preferred. Yield: 36 to 40 cookies.