After college, mom and her two best friends lived together in a one-bedroom apartment in Atlanta. The apartment came with 2 cats. None of them knew much about cooking, but they would make these cookies together from Kay’s grandmother’s special recipe.

This cookie has a delicate crumb, a cakey texture, and a subtle spice. Warm out of the oven is the best way to eat them. They are also amazing with chocolate chips in place of the raisins. I have grown up eating these delicious scone-like treats. This comforting, old-fashioned cookie goes perfectly with a tall glass of cold milk!

DoDo’s Oatmeal Cookies
from my mom’s friend Kay’s grandmother Dodo

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups chopped raisins
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
8 tablespoons buttermilk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add the oatmeal. Sift flour, soda, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the creamed mixture. Then gently stir in the raisins and the nuts – do not overmix. Drop on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

These are the perfect chocolate cookies, made only better by the molten chocolate mint candies that nest in the center of them. I am so glad that a friend recommended this recipe to me. You can tell just by reading it that it is a true retro recipe!

These chocolate cookies are chewy, with just a slight crunch around the edge. The texture is perfectly satisfying – chewy and gooey – and the mint centers melt in your mouth to make the perfectly decadent dessert after a weeknight meal. Their colorful swirls were a match made in heaven for our St. Patrick’s Day feast this week.

Chocolate Mint Paddies
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
36 chocolate covered mint candies (i.e. Andes Mints)

In a heavy saucepan, heat the butter, the sugars, the molasses, and the water until melted and completely combined. Remove from the heat, and pour in the chocolate chips, stirring until melted and incorporated. Set the mixture aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

Next, beat in the eggs, one at a time with the vanilla. In a seperate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, stirring until completely incorporated. Cover and chill the dough for at least one hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 large cookie sheets. Roll the chilled dough into walnut-sized balls, and place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and press a chocolate-covered mint candy into the center of each cookie. Allow the candies to melt for about 1 minute. Then, using a toothpick, swirl the mint portion of the candy in a decorative fashion. Remove the cookies to racks to cool completely. Yield 3-4 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

I think I need to start out by admitting the truth: I love Alton Brown. I have even considered going to stalk him in the finer grocery stores of north Atlanta. I’ve always been a bit of a science nerd, so his scientific approach to cooking and baking really appeals to me. I’ve been wanting to try his recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies, and over the weekend, I got my chance! They turned out beautifully – fluffy, doughy, chewy, delicious.

The only change I’ve made to his original recipe is to decrease slightly the amount of chocolate chips – when it comes to cookies I like to highlight the flavor of the dough so that it isn’t overpowered by the chocolate.

The Chewy
from Alton Brown

1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

In a large electric mixer bowl, measure the butter and the sugars. Blend until light and fluffy. Add milk, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Blend together again until completely combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt). With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg and butter mixture until a soft dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips. Cover the dough and chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and spray the paper with cooking spray. Using a 1/3 cup scoop, drop balls of dough onto the greased parchment paper, allowing about 3-4 inches in between the cookies because they will spread while baking. Bake for 13-15 minutes. I like to cool them on a plate instead of a cooling rack so that they stay extra moist, but it’s up to you. Enjoy!

These are a special treat I made for my valentine this year. Tender, buttery shortbread hearts sandwiched with red raspberry preserves. Delish!

So, let me tell you everything I know about shortbread. First and foremost, it’s a simple cookie with not very many ingredients. In order to get the best flavor, you have to use high-quality ingredients, especially when it comes to the butter – I used Kerrygold Irish Butter in this particular batch. Land ‘o’ Lakes is alright, but if you can splurge on some organic or Irish butter, then you will not regret it. It would be a mortal sin to try to use a butter substitute or even margarine, so just don’t go there.

Second, shortbread is extremely versatile. We love to make it at Christmas time with all of our favorite cookie cutters. Then we decorate them with festive colored sprinkles. But you can also flavor these cookies by adding any number of things: finely ground nuts, zest from oranges or lemons, chocolate chips, or instant coffee powder. Here, I’ve made sandwich cookies with seedless red raspberry preserves, but you could use any sort of fruit filling you desire, or use a cream filling or your favorite icing. The possibilities are endless.

Why do they call it short, you ask? Well, the answer is twofold. First, the “short” in shortbread refers to the “shortening” (or in this case, butter) that is used to produce a crumbly texture. Second, a crumbly texture is actually called a “short” texture. Think about it – shortcake has a crumbly texture, too!

And the final, and most important, thing that I can tell you about shortbread is that it is the absolute BEST treat that you can have with your afternoon tea. One of my greatest joys in life is a cup of Earl Grey tea with a nice shortbread cookie to dip into it. Heaven!

1 cup butter, completely softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour

Seedless red raspberry preserves (for making raspberry hearts)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large electric mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This step is particularly important since shortbread cookies have no leavening agent (i.e. no baking soda or baking powder), so the tiny air bubbles you’re beating in now are the only source of fluffiness in your cookies. Add the flour, and continue mixing until a stiff dough forms. If your mixture is too crumbly, add a tablespoon of butter, softened, until a nice pliable dough forms.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about a 1/4″ thickness. Cut the dough into desired shapes.

For these cookies, I cut all of the dough into hearts. Then I took half of those hearts and cut a smaller heart out of the center of each of them. That way, I had an equal number of solid-bottoms and window-tops to make my sandwiches! And I baked the smaller hearts, too, and made mini-sandwiches out of them.

Place your cookies on ungreased baking sheets, about 1/2″ apart. Shortbread cookies don’t spread like some cookies do, so they hold their shape well and you don’t have to worry too much if they are close together on the cookie sheet!

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cookies are “set” and starting to puff slightly. They do not need to be brown – just a very light golden color is good. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets, then remove to racks to cool completely.

Once your cookies have completely cooled, it’s time to assemble them! Place a large solid heart on a plate, spread about a tablespoon of your raspberry preserves around the center of the cookie. Gently place your window cookie on top and press down lightly. Voila!

And here is a photo of a few of the mini-heart sandwiches I made as well. I love how the jam is dripping out the edges! Are you drooling yet???