Orange Toffee Almond Sandies

This is another great Paula Deen recipe and it makes a ton of cookies!

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp salt
3 TBSP orange zest
2 cups sliced almonds
2 cups English toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, add butter, oil and sugars.  Beat until combined, then add extracts.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well each time.  Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in separate bowl.  Gradually add to the creamed mixture.  Stir in orange zest, almonds and toffee bits.  Drop by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.  Cool on wire rack before serving.

(Recipe from Paul Deen.)

Lime Glazed Shortbread Cookies

Oh my, these cookies melt in your mouth. Delicious! Next time I might experiment with a different glaze and I also want to try using my cookie press to make some cute shapes.

Shortbread Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1 tsp vanilla
white sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar, then add the other ingredients, except the white sugar, and mix well. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheet. Flatten each ball to 1/4 inch thick and sprinkle with white sugar. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool completely.

Lime Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 tsp fresh lime juice

In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and lime juice. Mix well. Brush glaze over cooled cookies and let set for 30 minutes or until glaze has hardened.

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

These cookies are delicious! Thanks Paula Deen!

1 (8 oz) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 box Devil's Food chocolate cake mix
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

You can view the original recipe here.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I think this is the best peanut butter cookie recipe I've tried so far (and I've tried many).

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix butter, sugars, and peanut butter together. Add eggs, flour, baking soda, and vanilla extract and mix well. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 30 cookies.

I found the recipe here on cooks.com.

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

These are my all time favorite cookies and have been since I was a little girl.

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 stick butter
4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter

Combine sugar, cocoa, milk, salt, and butter in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, vanilla, and oatmeal and mix well. Drop by tablespoonfuls on foil or parchment paper and let cool.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are fantastic (I've made them many times) and they would be a nice addition to any Thanksgiving feast.

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup milk chocolate chips (not semisweet)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray.

Using a mixer, beat butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in egg, then mix in vanilla and pumpkin. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter. Stir in the chips. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Let cookies cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet, then transfer them to cool completely on a wire rack. (Makes about 30 cookies.)

You can find the original recipe on foodnetwork.com.