m&m cookies.....(a tradition for EVERY holiday)

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups candy-coated milk chocolate pieces

In a large bowl, mix sugar, eggs, shortening, and vanilla thoroughly. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to creamed mixture. Blend well. Add 3/4 cup of M&M candies.
Drop dough by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet. Slightly push a few candies on top of each dough ball with remaining candies.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 9 to 11 minutes, to your liking. Cool on wire racks.

*Our girls love to make these!!!

Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies (perfect for a cookie exchange!)

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon. baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened flake coconut
2 cups chopped pecans (8 ounces)

Directions

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Bake Time: 17 to 20 minutes
Yield: About 3 dozen cookies (see note below)

1. Heat oven to 350 F.

2. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl.

3. In 8-quart bowl, beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugars; beat to combine, 2 minutes.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla.

5. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.

6. For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.

7. Bake in 350 F oven 17 to 20 minutes, until edges are lightly browned; rotate sheets halfway through. Remove cookies from rack to cool.

Note: For 6 dozen small cookies, use 2 tablespoons dough for each. Bake at 350 F for 15 to 18 minutes.

Copyright 2000, Laura Bush

Oatmeal breakfast cookies

~Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies~

2 small or 1 large very ripe banana
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. ap flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 c. raisings
walnuts
2 c. unsweetened applesauce
3 Tbsp. margarine (smart balance)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. oatmeal
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Combine bananas, applesauce, margarine, eggs and vanilla. In large bowl, mix together oatmeal, flours, baking soda, salt, spices and currants or raisins. Add combined fruit mixture to dry mixture until just blended. Drop by rounded Tbsp. onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 25 minutes or until light golden brown.

old timey sugar cookies..

You do not frost these. You sprinkle them with sugar. My granny NEVER frosted her sugar cookies and I have never been a fan of frosted ones, I guess for that reason! These have an amazing flavor and they are so good straight out of the oven. The old timers used a whisky bottle to roll out their dough. We don't but I have used a glass jar. My granny also used a snuff lid to cut out her biscuits and sugar cookies. Maybe that's why mine don't have quite the same taste. Anyway, here you go, my all time FAVORITE cookie, ever!

1 & 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 & 1/2 to 3 c. flour
2 tbsp. milk
Sugar for sprinkling

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well. stir in vanilla.Combine the dry ingredients and add them alternately to the butter mixture with the milk. Turn out the dough onto a floured board and knead lightly. Roll out and cut into circles. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, sprinkle lightly with sugar, and bake in a moderate oven (350) until light brown (about 8-10 minutes). Makes approximately 2 dozen large cookies.Yummy Yummy! Enjoy!

Really good (almost perfect) choc. chip cookies

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies(yes, they REALLY are)

1 c. butter flavored shortening (highly recommend using ONLY this; it's what makes the cookies perfect)
3/4c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 & 1/4 c. cake flour (Julie's tip: if using all purpose instead, subtract 2 T for every cup of flour)
1 t salt
1& 1/2 t baking powder
2 eggs
1 & 1/2 t. vanilla
2 c. chocolate chips
chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 375. Cream shortening, sugars in mixing bowl. Cream until light and fluffy.Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.Add eggs 1 at a time to creamed mixture. Add vanilla. Mix well until well combined.Slowly add dry ingredients to the shortening mixture. Mix well. (on low speed)Stir in chocolate chips. Chill the dough app. 1 hour. (less if you don't have the time and sometimes we skip this step; patience is not the order of the day with a two yr. old and a hungry husband! lol)Bake for 13 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Check cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate for even browning. Cool and eat (or don't cool, whatever you like to do; I also eat the dough but that's another post entirely :o)

Julie