Cowboy Cookie Recipe - AKA Get Super Fat Cause You Can't Stop Eating Them Cookie Recipe

My MaMa gave me a recipe she clipped from the newspaper years ago and I made it for the first time yesterday. I had wanted to many times before, but I never had all the ingredients on had. I guess the stars were aligned yesterday though because everything was in my cabinet. (Except the pecans and I didn't want those anyway.)

So here is the cookie recipe that makes the best cookies I've ever eaten in my life!

Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 sticks butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups white 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)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

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

In 8-quart bowl, beat butter on medium speed till smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugars and continue beating to combine, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each.

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

For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake 17 to 20 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove to rack to cool.

**I made smaller cookies than the recipe instructs and I also took them out of the oven sooner so they wouldn't be crunchy. I like chewy cookies! This recipe makes a LOT of cookies so make sure you have a plan to either share them with neighbors or go to the store for stretchy pants. Your choice. I'm not saying what my choice was but I bet you can guess!**

Baked Potato Soup

I made baked potato soup last night and it was soooo good. I love soup but can't make many different kinds due to picky eaters in my house. This soup, however, has nothing to be picky about! (Unless you're Julia.) I've made potato soup before but this recipe was definitely the best I've used. I doubled it (so glad I did!) and served it with a spinach salad and a big loaf of french bread. John David asked if I could please make it every night for dinner. =)

Baked Potato Soup Recipe

Homemade Blueberry Muffins

I've never made any kind of muffin from scratch except for walnut muffins. We are blueberry muffin lovers but for some reason it has never occurred to me to make them without a mix.

For a long time I used the mix with the imitation berries (I'm gagging a little now that I think about it). I thought I was really stepping up in the world when I switched to the mix with the real blueberries in a can. While my kids gobbled those up faster than I could clean up the mess from making them, they just didn't have much flavor. They were bland.

This week Julia and I decided to try our hand at homemade muffins for some new neighbors we have. I found a recipe, we made them last night, and behold.......

I am now a homemade muffin snob!

I know you want the recipe. It's so simple it's ridiculous. And they are SOOOO good! They even have a fancy crumb topping that makes them perfect.

Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk (or a little more)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh blueberries

(topping)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 4oo. Grease muffin pan or use liners.
• Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
• Place vegetable oil in measuring cup. Add egg and enough milk to make 1 cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Add vanilla.
  
• Fold in blueberries.
• Fill muffin cups.
  
• To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
• Sprinkle crumb topping on top of muffin batter.
• Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.
  

**Muffin tops are the best part so don't be skimpy when you fill your muffin pan!
**Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before making any kind of muffin.
**Don't make these when you have just started a new diet. Trust me.

And if you want more muffin related reading, this is a great post. =)

Teacher Appreciation Treat

Every day this week we've had a different theme for what to take to the teachers. Monday was a special lunch we hosted (complete with massages for the teachers!), Tuesday was flower day, and Wednesday was sweet day.

I made these brownies (You will hate me forever for giving you this recipe because they are so easy to make and so stinkin' good!) I then had to figure out had to package them to look cute.

Do you know about howdoesshe.com? It's a great site! And it's where I got the free printable treat topper I used.

Here's the link if you want to use it or save it for later. All I did was put the best brownies ever in ziplock bags and then I put the card stock topper on there and stapled it. The kids signed their names on the back and delivered them to their teachers, who by now have surely gained 20 pounds each from all the candy and sweets they were brought. (I know I would have anyway!)

And just to make things easier, here's the brownie recipe from Lindsey's blog from the link above. =)

2 c. sugar
1 c. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 c. cocoa
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
dash cinnamon

Mix ingredients and bake in greased pan at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

* I think it works best to make them in a 9x13 pan lined in foil that you spray with Pam. Once they've cooled somewhat, lift the brownies out with the foil and fold the foil down on the sides and cut them with a plastic knife. They will be perfect thin brownie squares. You will probably also have to bake them closer to 35-40 minutes. Trust me - I've made them lots of times and have mastered this one!

Here's a Recipe for Tonight!

I tried a new recipe last night that was so good (and super easy!) and I just knew that all of you would want to try it too. I found it on the Taste of Home website and it's called Almond Chicken with Apricot Sauce. It reminded me a lot of the apricot chicken served at Olive Garden - one of my favorites! I'll definitely make this again.

By the way, Home Depot is running a $5 off of their Behr paint special through tomorrow so if you're planning on doing some painting soon you should get some! I've used Behr and it's good stuff. Maybe I should get some to redo our bathroom with the yellow tile on the floors and half of the walls. I painted it a chocolate kind of brown in there and John informed me it looked like a banana fudge pop......I think he's kind of right this time. ;)