Today has been perfectly gloomy and rainy. I say perfectly because it’s exactly the kind of weather that makes me crave something warm and comforting and I found just the thing inside my blue notebook – Ginger Spice Cookies.

Some times I have no idea where I got the recipe cut out from but in this case I owe my gratification to a Karla Cogghe of Chatham, Ontario, who submitted her grandmother’s recipe for these cookies to Chatelaine magazine.

These cookies are incredibly easy and quick to make and are ready in a flash – or it seemed that way to me because before I knew it I was popping a warm and soft cookie into my mouth. The outer layer has a delicate crunch and inside is soft and almost chewy. Once the cookies have cooled they are little more crunchy. The cut out explains that Karla found her grandmother’s version of these cookies to be a bit too spicy for her (cloves and ginger) so she played around with the ingredients until she found the right formula. There was enough spice in the cookies but I think next time I make these I may add a bit more to give it an extra kick.

Makes about 30 to 35 cookies

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

3/4 cup vegetable oil – I used safflower

1/4 cup molasses

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt and set aside. In a large bowl whisk the egg. Mix in the oil and molasses and then mix in the brown sugar until smooth. Add the flour mixture bit by bit until you have a nice sturdy dough. Put the granulated sugar in a bowl. Form tbsp sized balls with the dough and roll them in the granulated sugar. Place on a greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350F for 7 to 10 minutes, rotating halfway through baking, until cookies start to crack.

These cookies are crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Filled with chewy dried cranberries and crunchy pecans, each bite is an absolute delight.

I’m not sure where I found this recipe as it was cut out from a magazine but here’s how to make one dozen cookies:

2 egg whites

1/3 cup plus 2 tsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup plus a sprinkle more of semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 tbsp pecan pieces

3 tbsp dried sweetened cranberries

In a metal bowl placed over a pot of simmering water whisk together the sugar and egg whites until warm and thickened – about 5 to 10 minutes whisking often. Remove from heat and beat on high with an electric mixer until shiny and very thick. Add the cornstarch and vanilla and beat for about a minute. Gently add the chocolate chips, cranberries, and pecans. (Unceremoniously) drop tbsp measures of the mixture onto a lined cookie sheet (I used a Silpat sheet) and bake at 350F for about 20 minutes or until the cookies are dry and golden. I got a bit worried that my cookies would burn and I took them out a little early so they didn’t turn out as golden or as dry. Don’t worry, they won’t burn. Once out of the oven let cool completely.

Makes about 30 cookies
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
Dash of salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325F. Beat together the sugar and butter until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour, rolled oats, baking soda, and salt until combined. Add the raisins, walnut pieces, and chocolate chips. Use a tablespoon to scoop out the dough, roll slightly with your hands and place on a lined cookie sheet, spaced well apart. Press each mound down slightly with your fingers but don’t flatten too much. Bake for about 12-15 minutes. Let them cool completely. The cookies turned out sweet and chewy.

It’s with this love of Nutella that I eagerly baked a batch of chocolate hazelnut cookies, filled with none other than Nutella. God I love that stuff.

This is another recipe from 1 Dough, 100 Cookies by Linda Doeser.

Makes about 30 cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup ground hazelnuts

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

4 tbsp chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella)

salt

Preheat oven to 375F. Mix butter and sugar until creamy and smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Sift into the mixture the flour, cocoa powder and a pinch of salt. Add the hazelnuts and chocolate chips. At this point you will probably have to knead the dough with your hands. Don’t worry if it looks too dry and hard, it’ll turn into cookie dough texture once it’s kneaded. Use a tablespoon to scoop the dough and roll into balls with your hands. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to make a hollow in the centre of each cookie. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely before filling them with Nutella. I snipped off a corner from a plastic sandwich bag to “pipe” the Nutella into the cookies.

Makes about 30-34 cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup golden yellow sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 semi sweet chocolate chips

salt

For the coating:

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375F. Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy, then beat in the egg yolk and vanilla. Sift together the flour and a pinch of salt into the mixture. Add the chocolate chips and combine. At this point I stared, confused, at the dry and crumbly “dough” in my bowl. It looked more like pie pastry before it’s kneaded together, which is what I decided to do. I had to knead the dough with my hands until it had the consistency of cookie dough. Once that’s ready, scoop out tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. For the coating, mix the cinnamon and sugar in a shallow bowl and roll the cookie dough balls around to coat. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten each ball slightly. The book says to bake for 12-15 minutes but I’d say bake 15-20 minutes, depending on how crappy or awesome your oven is. In my case I took them out after 20 minutes because they never changed their shape, I thought the butter would melt and they’d transform into flatter cookies. Instead they kept their original shape.

The first cookie I tried was kind of a let down. I was expecting a hard and crunchy cookie but it was just crumbly and the flavour seemed a little weird, like old oil. The next cookie I ate was a thousand times better, crumbly, sweet and full of cinnamon. So I’m thinking that maybe the first cookie touched a part of the Silpat sheet with oil residue? I’m not sure. Anyway, these things are a little addictive and I’ve eaten about 10 of them now, so be careful.

Cookies with a glass of almond milk.

At this party there was a plate of cookies that were so chewy and yummy. All I could taste was coconut and that was enough for me to fall in love with them. I must have eaten about six of those cookies that night. The hostess was kind enough to send me the link for the recipe.

As soon as I finished scanning through the list of ingredients I didn’t think twice before turning on my oven and pulling out ingredients. I had to use shredded coconut in my version. It’s all I had in my fridge but it made no difference; the cookies are fantastic and super easy to make.

I love making chocolate chip cookies because they are so easy to make and require very little preparation time. Mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, mix wet and dry together, bake. They are also very delicious and comforting.

These cookies are no exception. Since this is a recipe I hadn’t tried before I had to sample one to make sure it was edible (haha). The cookie was nice and chewy and the contrast between the sweet white chocolate and unsweetened bitter dark chocolate made it so that it was perfectly sweet. The best part about this cookie is that it comes from a Weight Watchers dessert book and at 2 points per cookie it won’t feel like you’re eating away your points all at once. Yea, eventually I’ll get back on a diet but I have to ease my way in. Starting with cookies.

Recipe for 24 cookies

1/2 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oats

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 oz white chocolate, cut into 1/4 inch pieces, or chips

2 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4 inch pieces, or chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Process the oats in a blender until finely ground. Mix the oats, flour, salt, and, baking soda in a small bowl. Beat the sugar, butter, egg, and, vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add the flour mixture to the egg  mixture and mix until blended. At this point, you have the option to combine 1 tbsp each of the white and bittersweet chocolates in a small bowl to be placed on top of the cookies before baking. I didn’t do this and instead I mixed all the chocolate with the batter. Drop the dough by level tablespoons onto a baking sheet and bake 9-11 minutes.