Old Fashioned Icebox Oatmeal Cookies

My mother gave me this receipe she got from her cleaning lady who is from a long line of Czech families. Her cleaning lady's mother used to make these and keep them in the "ice box," so she would have them ready to bake when her children got home from school. These cookies are WONDERFUL and SO easy!

Ingredients

1 cup of shortening (my mother used 2 sticks of Smart Balance 50/50 margarine)
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of oatmeal (my mother used quick cooking oatmeal)

Directions

If you use margarine, let it come to room temperature (or you can cut it into tiny cubes and that will soften it quicker). Cream the margarine or shortening with the sugars in a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla to the sugar mixture and mix well. Mix the flour, salt and soda with a whisk and then blend the flour mixture into the sugar mixture. Add the oatmeal all at once and mix well with a spoon.

Turn the soft dough out onto a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap. Shape into a log roll inside of the wax paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight then slice and bake. Bake on parchment paper lined cookie sheet or one sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes. When baked, remove from the cookie sheet and cool on a cooling rack. This recipe makes 30 BIG cookies.

You can slice and bake as many as you want and just store the remainder in the refrigerator still wrapped in the wax paper or plastic. You can put the wrapped cookie dough in a big Ziploc bag so it won't dry out if you are not going to use all of it soon.

Low Fat No Bake Fiber One Cookies

This is a Weight Watchers recipe that are kind of like haystack cookies. I make them to get a little extra fiber into my 3 year old's diet. He could be the poster child for the dairy association! These are really great to give your sweet tooth a little fix, but are good for you and low point. If you make 24 of them they are only 1 point a piece. Not to be crude, but don't eat TOO many of these or else you'll spend all of your time in the bathroom!!!

Ingredients

1 pouch of Fiber One cereal (there are two pouches in a box)

1 ten oz. package of your favorite chips (chocolate, peanut butter, raspberry, milk chocolate, etc.)

Melt the chips in a large, microwave safe bowl in the microwave. I usually heat them for a minute and stir and then heat for an additional 15 and stir ... repeating until it the chips are melted. Empty a pouch of Fiber One into the bowl and stir until the cereal is coated well. Use your cookie scoop, and scoop them out onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Pop them in the refrigerator until set.

Chewy Drizzled Cinnamon Cookies

Per your request, this one is for you, Tracey & Doug! These used to be your favorites before I made the Lemon Cheese Bars. These cookies are not some of the things I made with what I had on hand the other day, but I talked to Tracey this weekend, and she requested these. I got the original recipe from my sister-in-law, Terry. A big thanks to her! I make these throughout the year, but I always make a few batches around the holidays to give to people and for my family.

Ingredients

3/4 C. (one and a half sticks) butter, softened (this can be softened in the microwave for about 20 seconds or so on 50% power)
1 C. packed light brown sugar
1/4 C. of light corn syrup
1 egg
1 2/3 C (10 oz. pkg) Hershey's cinnamon chips, divided into 1 C. and 2/3 C. (these can be hard to find. In BCS I've only been able to regularly find them at Albertstons. Every now and then I think you can find them at HEB ... Kroger doesn't carry them even when several people have asked for them)
2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. shortening
1 cookie scoop (a must for this recipe ... you can find these in the kitchen gadget section in your grocery store or at a Walmart type store and of course a kitchen specialty store)
parchment paper (you can find this with the foil and plastic wrap in your grocery store)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat softened butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Add corn syrup and egg. Mix well. Place 1 cup of cinnamon chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute, then stir. (it will look like it didn't melt but if you stir it, the rest of the chips will melt) If necessary, microwave an extra 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating just until chips are melted when stirred. Stir melted chips into butter mixture. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Tip: I always use a whisk to stir together flour mixtures even when it calls for sifting the flour ... it works great for this. Add the flour mixture to the cinnamon butter mixture and beat just until blended. Use a cookie scoop to scoop out cookies onto the parchment paper paper topped cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden around the edges. Cool completely. While cookies are cooling, make the cinnamon drizzle by putting the other 2/3 c. of cinnamon chips and 1 1/2 tsp. of shortening (NOT butter, margarine or oil) in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave it on high for about 1 minute and stir until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Drizzle this mixture on top of the cooled cookies. You can use a fork or spoon to do this or you can put it in a quart freezer bag and cut the corner off. I usually just use a fork or spoon to drizzle it on the cookies. Makes about 3 dozen cookies depending on the size of the scoop.

Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

These are always a HUGE hit, and a recipe I'm often asked for. They have oatmeal in them, which is good because I'm always looking for ways to get more fiber to the kids. The recipe is an old recipe from Betty Crocker and one of the few recipes I've come across that I follow exactly. You can't really experiment too much with baking. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/2 C. of sugar
1 C. of butter, softened (I usually soften butter in the microwave ... heat for about 20 seconds on 50% power)
1 egg
1/4 C. water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 C. of all-purpose flour
1/3 C. of cocoa
1/2 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 C. of quick cooking oats
1 six ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Mix sugar, butter, egg, water and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls (a cookie scoop makes this MUCH faster and makes a prettier cookie) about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. (I ALWAYS use parchment paper on my cookie sheet to bake my cookies on. It makes the process go MUCH faster. You can just slide the cookies and parchment sheet off onto the counter and put another piece of parchment on the cookie sheet, and it's ready for more cookies. You can find the parchment paper with the Saran Wrap and foil. If you've never used it, try it. You'll never bake cookies without it again.) Bake until almost no indention remains when touched, 10 to 12 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen cookies depending on how big of a scoop you use.