Oatmeal Cranberry (Craisins) White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Here is a delicious recipe for White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies!  I came across this earlier this year (2015) when in the mood for white chocolate chip cookies with a fruity burst of extra flavour.

This is more of a gourmet cookie recipe, but without the difficulty often associated with such confectionery delights.

Not fully content with the original recipe, I modified it some, but have unfortunately forgotten what each of those modifications were.  I added vanilla, of course, and some wheat flour.  I do recall that this recipe was an instant success with my entire family, and my colleagues at work were raving about the cookies all day long.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1½ cups white flour
• 1/4 cup wheat flour
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2/3 cups Craisins (aka dried Cranberries)
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 365 degrees 
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well.
4. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate mixing bowl.  Combine the oats.
5. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition.
6. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks.
7. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
8. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top, and the edges are set.
9. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes, and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
10. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies.

The baking time is very important with this cookie recipe. You must watch the cookies closely! Take the cookies out of the oven at between 9 to 12 minutes. The cookies will appear soft and undone in the centers, but will eventually firm up as they set.  Allow the cookies to cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet after you remove them from the oven.

Additional Notes:

If you have them, use silicone baking sheets!  We acquired our first silicone baking sheet as a gift sometime around 2010.  The difference in baking was incredible!  I quickly purchased a second baking sheet the next summer.  The cookies will not flatten out as much, the sheets do not require greasing, and the bottoms of your cookies will bake to the perfect firmness without burning.

NOTE:  I have located the other recipe I had referenced when I first baked these cookies, and attempted to recreate the perfect recipe from both.  I will test and update my own recipe the next time I bake it, as I will likely remember what I changed.  This recipe is close.  The extra wheat flour accounts for altitude, and add a smidgen of healthiness.  ;-)

Cache Valley Chocolate Chip Cookies

I picked up this recipe from a friend in the Hyrum 14th Ward, Shauna Johnson, while exchanging recipes for a Ward Cookbook.  She also happened to be the photographer of our Family Portraits on two occasions.  Just because she was a great photographer does not mean that I promise these to be the best Chocolate Chip cookie recipe you have ever eaten.  I'm sure that the Mackay family recipe (also contained within this recipe blog) is, in fact, superior.  

But, I needed a quick recipe when my decades old recipe book went missing.  The cookies from this recipe are decent, especially if you follow the tasty enhancements I have introduced. ;-)  Some day I will find the recipe that my sweet sister (Michelle) sent me while on my mission.  It's a hot pink recipe card, and is the Chocolate Chipper recipe our multi-talented Mom mastered! :-)   I rather thought I had entered it here already (to no avail), so I will have to add it when I come across it again.  Then you can decide which recipe you like best.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 5 cups flour (4 cups white, 1 cup wheat)
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 12 - 16 oz. chocolate chips
• 2 cups rolled oats (raw, not quick cooking)

Directions:

• Cream shortening, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy.
• Mix in baking soda, salt, and four (just a little at a time), until well-blended.
• Mix in Chocolate Chips.
• Bake at 370 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes.
• Cool for 3 - 5 minutes; move to wire rack for cooling.

Yield:  6 - 7 dozen.  This recipe makes a lot of cookies, so plan on sharing!

Tips:

• If you have never used oatmeal in cookies before, try it!  It add's a thick fluffiness to the cookies that is both rich and satisfying.  No more flat cookies, even on the silicone sheets!  I added 2 cups rolled oats, whereas the original recipe rolled none.
• I swapped 1 cup of butter for the 2 cups of shortening.  Although fat is never healthy, natural fat seems desirable over artificial fat.  Shortening is best on a monetary budget, but sacrifices taste.
• I also replaced 1 cup of white flour with wheat flour, hoping to add a touch of nutrition.  2 cups wheat with 3 cups white would probably still taste great, but too much wheat flour tends to make your cookies increasingly thick and dry.  Find the balance that is right for your house.

NOTE:  Mom may already have posted the recipe I've been searching for... Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers

Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers

Cream: 2 cups butter 1 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 1/2 cup sugar Add: 4 eggs 2 t hot water 2 t vanilla Add: 3 cups flour 2 t salt 2 t soda Add: 4 cup oats 12 ounces chocolate or butterscotch chips Bake at 350 degrees about 8 minutes.

Sweet BBQ Meatballs

Always a hit, this recipe started out from my Mom's kitchen. Mary has tweaked the recipe some, and has cooked them up many dozens of times. Our children love them, Mary and I love them, and the requests for making them are received throughout the year. Mary has made them for many dinners, ward and neighborhood functions, and family gatherings. If you want something tangy and beefy that will satisfy the most voracious of appetites, look no further then this recipe! Serve them over potatoes or rice, add a salad and drink, and your family will request it again. They also work great for finger foods, shish-kabobs, and remind me of bite-sized meatloaf! Homemade Meatballs: * Combine 3 lbs of Ground Beef with: * 12 oz. can Evaporated Milk * 1 cup raw Oatmeal * 1 cup Cracker Crumbs * 2 large Eggs * ½ cup chopped Onion * ½ tsp. Garlic Powder * 2 tsp. Salt * ½ tsp. Pepper * 2 tsp. Chili Powder Meatball Sauce: * 2 cups Ketchup * 1 cup Brown Sugar * ¼ cup Onion * ½ tsp. Garlic Powder * ½ tsp. Tabasco Sauce (optional) Directions: * Shape meat mixture into walnut sized balls. * Make in advance and freeze on Cookie Sheet w/ wax paper for 30 min. * Meatballs are now ready to use, or transfer to freezer bags and use later. (Freeze up to a year) * Arrange Meatballs evenly in a 8" x 8" pan and cover with sauce. * Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour (with sauce). NOTES: If you wish to save time, you can purchase meatballs pre-made in the frozen section of your grocery store. Mary used to make them by hand, but discovered it to be a very time-consuming part of the meal. Buying them frozen not only saves time... they are actually less expensive to buy! The taste is comparable to homemade meatballs, assuming you purchase the correct brand. I'll update this recipe with the type Mary prefers. WARNING: Once you prepare, cook, and introduce this tasty dish to your family, a craving is born that never really goes away. You and your family will be forever haunted by the insatiable taste that this recipe creates. You have been warned...

German Fruit Salad

1 small can pineapple chunks 

2 sliced bananas 

2 oranges 

1 c. raisins 

1/4 c. oatmeal (dry) 

1 pt. plain yogurt 

1/2 c. sugar 

2 diced apples 

strawberries (opt) 

1 c. walnut halves 

  Combine all ingredients.

Granola -- Annette Pierce

Annette says: Kids like it better before it's baked, but it's better cereal and stores better after baking.

Melt together in a large pan:
1 c. honey
1 c. oil or shortening

Remove from heat. Add and mix in:
1 t. salt

Then add:
1 c. powdered milk
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. wheat germ
5-6 c. oatmeal

Oatmeal should be fairly well coated, but it will be lumpy. Spread mixture 3/4 - 1 inch deep in shallow pan. Break up larger chunks.

Bake at 250º for half an hour. Don't overcook! If you want cereal, break up larger chunks again and store.

Optional ingredients:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. coconut
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. nuts
1/2 c. sesame seeds
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 t. cinnamon -- add when salt is mixed in. This is the only optional Annette usually includes.

Alison's Late Night No-Bake Cookies

One of my favorite and fairly quick cookies to make late at night when the chocolate cravings hit hard and can't be easily satiated are No-Bake Cookies. They're a relatively healthy and filling cookie due to the quick oats and are easy to pack for a school day snack for dear hubby the next day. I won't tell you the nickname we've given them until after you've tried them for yourselves! (Thayne says if you can't seem to guess what it is, then you don't know me well enough.) This recipe comes from an old ward compassionate recipe book. 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup baking cocoa 1/2 cup milk 1 stick margarine 1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy is just fine) 3 cups quick oats Combine the sugar, cocoa, milk, and margarine into a saucepan. Put on medium heat, stir often and bring to a boil. Take off of heat and stir in peanut butter and then the oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets covered with wax paper. Cool in refrigerator. Eat up!