Chocolate brownie-like cookies

I topped these with pink vanilla glaze.

I made these cookies on the spur of the moment, and they were a very delicious surprise. You may notice that this is mostly my recipe for chocolate cake. I was in the process of making a cake when I suddenly remembered that I was out of white vinegar. Since I had already measured and combined all of the other ingredients, I decided to see what would happen if I mixed and baked them anyway. The batter ended up being thick and suitable for baking as cookies. When finished, they tasted a lot like brownies.

Ingredients/what you will need:

• An electric mixer. This batter came out thicker than usual, as I mentioned above, and I had a rather difficult time trying to stir it with a wire whisk.
• 2 medium or large baking sheets (I was able to put six to eight spoonfuls of batter on each sheet)
• 2 large bowls or mixing bowls
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cups water or cooled coffee (I highly recommend using coffee for a slightly stronger flavor)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In one bowl, combine and stir the vegetable oil, water or coffee, and vanilla. In the other bowl, combine and stir the sugar, cocoa, salt, flour, and baking soda.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the dry ones. Use the electric mixer to beat them all together for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Use a tablespoon to place globs of the batter onto the baking sheets, spacing each one about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 minutes.

Colored vanilla drop cookies with colored sugar

These are an easy dessert that you can make for holidays or bring to theme parties.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup margarine or butter
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 large egg
• Liquid food coloring of your choice
• Colored sugar of your choice

Note: I was able to make 25 cookies with this recipe.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat the egg, vanilla, sugar, and butter/margarine together.
3. Beat in the flour, salt, and baking soda.
4. Mix in a few drops of food coloring at a time until you like the color. I used 20 drops to get the pink shade of the cookies in the above picture.
5. Use a small spoon to drop clumps onto a baking sheet. Place them at least an inch apart.
6. Shake the colored sugar over each clump.
7. Bake for 9 minutes.

Chocolate cookies with peanut butter "swirls"

An experiment that I tried today. I made my chocolate-peanut butter drop cookies, but without mixing the peanut butter into the batter. Instead I loosely stirred it in with a large spoon.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Drop Cookies

* "Drop" refers to dropping spoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheet; it isn't meant to indicate a "drop" of peanut butter within the cookies.

These may not be very neat or fancy-looking, but that's why I like them - they're a nice, simple treat.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• A pinch of salt
• 3/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat the sugar, vanilla, butter, and egg together.
3. Mix in the the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa, then the peanut butter.
4. Place spoonfuls of the dough on a baking sheet (I used an 18 x 11-inch sheet and was able to make two batches). Space each one at least an inch apart.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes. They will still be soft after coming out of the oven, but will harden a bit after sitting for about 10 minutes.

"Robin's Revenge"

This is a twist on my recipe for chocolate cake. I jokingly call it "Robin's Revenge" because of the combination of white chocolate and regular chocolate flavors. I don't know many people who like both, so there is hardly anyone that I could serve this to.

Ingredients for my chocolate cake:

• Cooking oil spray
• 8” baking pan
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 tablespoon vinegar

Additional ingredients for this recipe:

• 3/4 cup peanut butter chips
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons milk

Notes:
- If you have your own regular recipe for chocolate cake, you can use that instead of mine.
- Another twist: replace the 3/4 cup of peanut butter chips with a mix of an equal amount, such as 1/2 cup peanut butter + 1/4 cup white chocolate; 1/4 cup each of peanut butter, chocolate, and white chocolate, etc. Use dark chocolate, mint chocolate, or butterscotch chips if you like those.

1. Prepare the cake according to my recipe here, or your own. Stir in the peanut butter chips before pouring the batter into the baking pan.
2. When finished, let cool.
3. Pour the white chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 10-15 seconds at a time, until the chips become soft. Add the milk and stir until a thick, creamy blend forms.
4. Use a small spoon or spatula to carefully spread the white chocolate topping across the cake. Before it cools and hardens, you can sprinkle a bit of cocoa powder (as I did for the cake in the picture).

Peanut butter cake

In the past, I've wanted to try making an actual peanut butter-flavored cake. I've come across several recipes that describe a dessert as "peanut butter cake" when they are actually cakes of other flavors, topped with peanut butter frosting. One day I added peanut butter to my usual recipe for a small vanilla cake, and it came out well.

Notes:
- This makes a small cake. Double the ingredients if you are using a larger pan.
- The batter going to be a bit thick. You may need a small spatula to spread it across the pan. It should still be soft when done.

Ingredients:

• Cooking oil spray
• 7" or 8" baking pan (I used a 7" pan)
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 medium egg
• 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup milk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Stir the flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the egg, vanilla, and butter. Beat them in with an electric mixer.
4. Beat in the milk, then the peanut butter.
5. Lightly coat the baking pan with the cooking oil spray and pour the batter in. As noted above, you may need a small spatula to spread it evenly across.
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Roasted almonds with cocoa and cinnamon

Ingredients:

• Cooking oil spray
• 1 cup whole plain almonds
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Sugar
• Cocoa
• Cinnamon

Note: I'm not listing specific measurements for the sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon since you may want to adjust them according to your own preferences. Use less sugar if you prefer a semi-sweet chocolate taste.

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with the cooking oil spray.
2. Stir the oil, sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon together in a bowl (a “gooey” or “grainy” texture may form depending on how much of each ingredient you are using). Then stir in the almonds until all are evenly covered.
3. I recommend tasting a couple of them to check the flavors. Add more sugar, cocoa, or cinnamon until you are satisfied with the taste.
4. Transfer the almonds to the baking sheet. Use a spatula or spoon to spread them into a single layer. Bake for 8 minutes.

Serving idea: Mix these in a bowl with pretzel twists, a candy of your choice, and chocolate or white chocolate chips.

Colored cream cheese frosting

Ingredients:

• 9 tablespoons whipped cream cheese
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 tablespoons butter
• Food coloring of your choice. I used about 10 drops to get the shade of green in this picture. You may want to use more or less, depending on the color and shade you would like.

1. Use an electric mixer to combine the vanilla, butter, and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix in the powdered sugar.
3. Add the food color and mix again until an even color is formed.

Chocolate glaze

This is enough to spread over a 9” x 13” cake or about a dozen cupcakes.

Try inserting a small butter knife halfway into the center (don’t poke through to the bottom) of each cupcake, or make a few holes in a cake. Wiggle the knife slightly to make each hole a little wider. When you cover the cake with the glaze, the holes will fill with some of it.

For the cake in the picture to the right, I sprinkled a bit of cocoa and powdered sugar across the surface before the glaze hardened.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa

1. Stir the powdered sugar and cocoa together.
2. Add the milk, butter, and vanilla. Whisk until a dark, smooth blend forms.
3. Use a spoon or spatula to gently spread.
4. Place the cake or cupcakes into the refrigerator for at least an hour, or until the glaze has hardened a bit.

Chocolate cake or cupcakes

I topped the cupcakes in this picture with my peanut butter frosting.

Ingredients/what you will need:

• Cooking oil spray
• 8” baking pan or 2 small cupcake pans (I was able to make 6 medium-sized cupcakes and 12 little ones)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 tablespoon vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Stir the sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa together in a large mixing bowl. Stir the vegetable oil, water, vanilla, and vinegar together in another bowl.
3. Pour the contents of the second bowl (the liquids) into the mixing bowl. Stir everything together with a wire wisk or an electric mixer on low to medium speed.
4. Lightly coat the baking pan or cupcake pans with cooking oil spray. Pour the mixture into baking pan if you are using it. If you are making cupcakes, fill each cup about 3/4 of the way.
5. Bake for 35 minutes if you are making a cake, 15 minutes if you are making cupcakes. Remove and insert a small knife or toothpick into the center of the cake or each cupcake. If it doesn’t come out clean, bake for another 3-5 minutes.

Peanut butter or chocolate-peanut butter frosting

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter or a little more
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (You may need a bit more if you are adding cocoa)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup cocoa, or a little more, if you want a chocolate-peanut butter taste

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir the butter and peanut butter together.
2. Add the milk, sugar, and cocoa, if you’re using it. Mix again until a thick, creamy texture forms.
3. If you wish, mix in more powdered sugar for more sweetness, or more cocoa if the chocolate-peanut butter taste isn't balanced to your liking).

"Dark" peanut butter balls

I first made these as an experimental change from regular peanut butter balls. If you want, you can add more sugar.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup peanut butter (I prefer creamy, but use crunchy if you like)
• 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

1. Cover a plate or tray with wax paper.
2. Put 2 tablespoons of the cocoa and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl, or on a small plate. Blend the two with a spoon.
3. Combine the rest of the powdered sugar and cocoa in a medium or large mixing bowl. Stir together.
4. Add the milk, peanut butter, and vanilla to the bowl. Stir until all ingredients are blended and a sticky brown mixture forms.
5. Use a spoon - or your fingers - to drop clumps of the mixture into the remaining sugar/cocoa blend. Don’t bother covering each one completely with the sugar/cocoa; you only need to drop them in and partially cover them. Pick up each clump and roll it between your palms until a ball shape is formed.
6. Set each finished ball on the plate/tray with wax paper.
7. When all of the balls are made, use your fingers to sprinkle any remaining cocoa/sugar blend over all of them.
8. Set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preacher cookies

These are well-known cookie-like treats that you don’t have to bake. They can be eaten after they sit for ten or twenty minutes, but I prefer to put them in the freezer for at least two hours. They will still be somewhat sticky, but a bit firmer and easier to hold.

I sometimes make them into ball shapes and add sprinkles, as I did in the picture below. To do this, refrigerate the finished cookies for about twenty minutes, until they are somewhat firm. You should then be able to roll them between the palms of your hands. Lightly/roll press each one across a plate of sprinkles of your choice.

Ingredients:

• About 1/2 cup of butter or a little more
• About 1 1/3 cups peanut butter (crunch or creamy, whichever you prefer) or a little more
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 4 cups oatmeal
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Cover a tray or large plate with wax paper.
2. Combine the sugar, butter, and milk in a medium or large pot over medium-high heat. Stir together for and allow the mixture to simmer for four or five minutes.
3. Add the peanut butter, vanilla, cocoa, and oatmeal. Stir until well-blended.
4. Set spoonfuls of the mixture on the tray/plate with wax paper.