Andes Mint Cookies

How is it possible that something so simple can be so amazingly good? I made these cookies for a Christmas cookie exchange party and they were a hit. I needed something fast since we had a busy day with no time to slave over cookies, and I never expected them to taste like I spent 2 hours on them.

But they did. Wow, did they!

Even though they've got more of a holiday taste to them, I may just be caught making these all year round.


Andes Mint Cookies

1 Devil's Food Cake mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 package of Andes Mints, unwrapped

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet (I smashed mine down slightly with the palm of my hand for a little bit flatter cookie). Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes. Don't cook any longer than that or they will be overdone.

Take sheet out of oven and while the cookies are still very hot, place an Andes Mint on top of each cookie. In about 5 minutes, the mint will be melted. Take a spoon and smooth out each mint like frosting, swirling slightly as you go.

I personally thought these tasted best when they were cooled off a bit. But delicious either way.


Original recipe from here.

Over the Top Cookies

No, they really are over the top! But that's not why they're called that. Apparently there's a cookie shop in Salt Lake called Over the Top Cookies and this is a copycat of one of their cookies. I've never had the original version, but I do know these are good. Better than good! Light, crispy outside, soft, gooey inside...not to mention they're quite a bit bigger than normal cookies. I know. Perfect cookie, right?

We tried them with both Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and M&Ms and I liked the M&Ms a lot better. Both are yummy, though.


Over the Top Cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup peanut butter

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chip

M&Ms (medium-sized bag should work) OR other candy bar, chopped into bite-sized pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Sift baking soda, salt, and flour together, then add to peanut butter mixture. Mix in chocolate chips.

Using an ice-cream scoop or large tablespoon, scoop dough. Press dough with palm of hand until slightly flattened. Cook for 12 minutes.

Remove cookies from oven and lightly press candy into tops of cookies. Return to oven for 2 more minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 2 more minutes before moving to cooling rack.

Original recipe from here.

S'mores Cookies

I was looking for something different to take on our road trip to Yellowstone last week. I probably could have just stuck with a traditional chocolate chip cookie, but I saw this recipe on The Girl Who Ate Everything and thought, "Bingo!" We usually have S'mores when we camp with my husband's side of the family and they're, of course, a favorite treat. But there were no campfires this time around. The weather sentenced us to hotel stays, and hotels really aren't conducive to cooking around a fire. Enter: S'mores Cookies! The crunchy graham cracker bottom and little pockets of melted marshmallows were the perfect combination with a plain old classic chocolate chip cookie. They were almost as good as the real thing. :)


S'mores Cookies

11 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate because they're my favorite)
1 cup mini marshmallows
3 regular-sized Hershey bars, broken into pieces
1-2 pkgs. graham crackers, broken into squares

Line baking pan(s) with waxed paper. (I used one 12x16 cookie sheet and I had less than a cup of cookie dough leftover. I could have used it up in a second pan, but I really didn't want to bother. Plus the dough was really yummy, so it may have disappeared soon after anyways.) Lay out graham crackers side by side as close as possible. I could fit 24 graham cracker squares on mine, with a bit of extra room around the edges.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon to combine. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine on low speed. Fold in chocolate chips and marshmallows. Cover dough and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a heaping tablespoon of dough on each graham cracker. Press down slightly with fingertips.

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from oven and press one Hershey bar piece on top of each cookie. You could also break the Hershey bar into smaller pieces and place 2-3 on each cookie, depending on how much chocolate flavor you want.

Bake for 5-7 more minutes or until dough turns golden brown at the edges. Let cool for 1-2 minutes, then cut between graham crackers to form separate cookies and remove to wire rack (this is important - if you let them cool all the way, the marshmallow gets stuck together and makes them kind of hard to get apart).

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

There's a famous chocolate version of no-bake cookies out there that I think just about everyone has tried. While I really like that version as well, there's something about straight peanut butter that makes me choose this recipe almost every time. Of course, I should also mention that I'm a peanut butter-aholic. (Is that a word? It should be.) I love peanut butter. Like, eat-it-straight-off-the-spoon-for-a-snack kind of love.

If you're anything like me (and I know there are others out there!), this is the recipe for you. Even if you just like peanut butter without having a strange love affair with it (ahem.), you'll probably still think these are good.

But be warned: You will most definitely need a big, tall glass of milk with these babies!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup margarine or butter

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3 cups oatmeal (I prefer the quick oats because they grains are much smaller, but any kind will work)

Spread a piece of wax paper or aluminum foil out on a flat surface. You'll need about 2 feet.

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar, milk, and salt and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil for exactly one minute, then remove from heat. Add vanilla and peanut butter; stir until smooth. Mix in oatmeal.

Immediately drop in rounded tablespoonfuls on wax paper or foil. Let cool completely and enjoy.