Lovin' From the Oven

Texas Governor’s Mansion Cowboy Cookies

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As you may or may not know, every First Lady has a unique dessert recipe that they share with the public. At my work, we sell a book called Presidential Cookies. Each page gives a summary about every President and their First Lady, along with one or two of their favorite recipes. Fun, right? The only sucky part about the book is that the pictures included are terrible! No offense, but every picture is taken on the same plate– same scene– same ol’ dim lighting. I especially love cookbooks with great pictures of each recipe, so I wasn’t a fan of the visuals in this one.

It’s funny because you can tell how much the cookies have improved from the 1700’s. They start out with three ingredients and gradually increase as time goes on. I chose to try one a bit closer to our time period, one from Laura Bush. To be honest, a coworker baked them and brought them into work. They were so good that I had to bake some for myself. I opted to make them smaller rather than putting 1/4 cup of dough into each cookie. I also omitted the coconut, because I can always do without that. These cookies would be easy to sub some ingredients into depending on your liking.. Just take out one and replace with another! Try them for yourself!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated 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)

    • Directions

    Prep Time: 25 minutes
    Bake Time: 17 to 29 minutes
    Yield: About 3 dozen cookies (see note below)

    1. Heat oven to 350 F.
    2. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl.
    3. In 8-quart bowl, beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugars; beat to combine, 2 minutes.
    4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla.
    5. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.
    6. For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.
    7. Bake in 350 F oven 17 to 29 minutes, until edges are lightly browned; rotate sheets halfway through. Remove cookies from rack to cool.

    Note: For 6 dozen small cookies, use 2 tablespoons dough for each. Bake at 350 F for 15 to 18 minutes.

    Cookie Dough Brownies

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    Sorry about the pictures– I didn’t enough lighting to take a decent picture and it was the best I could do before I had to rush off to work. I can’t stand the shadow in the second picture and tried to brighten them up the best I could without photoshop 🙁

    My friend, Ian, turned 23 this past week and he celebrated by having a dessert pot luck at his place after dinner at Macaroni Grill. He’s a vegan, but makes an exception for my baked goods, so I knew I had to include lots of good ol’ fatty dairy products in it 🙂 What a good friend I am, right? Haha.

    I saw this recipe on Let’s Get Cookin’! and had to give it a shot with my favorite brownie recipe. I used my favorite brownie recipe posted numerous times before here on my blog, but to make it easy for you, I’ll repost it again. You can also opt for using a brownie mix rather than making brownies from scratch to cut down on time if that tickles your fancy. This dessert is very decadent and rich. A bite was plenty for me, and I’m usually a monstrous dessert eater. Don’t get me wrong, they’re delicious.. it’s just a bit overload for me!

    Brownie:

    • 1 cup butter
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 4 eggs
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 1 cup AP flour
    • ½ cup cocoa
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 8″x8″ pan.
    2. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Once melted remove from heat and add sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Blend together.
    3. In separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, and salt. Add dry mixture to the wet and mix well.
    4. Pour into greased pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.
    • 1-1/2 sticks butter, softened
    • 3/4 cup brown sugar
    • 1/3 cup sugar
    • 4-1/2 tbsp milk
    • 1-1/2 cups flour
    • 1-1/2 cups mini chocolate chips.
    1. Prepare your brownies according to the package in a 9×13 pan. Let cool completely.
    2. Next, combine the butter, sugars, milk and flour until well combined. Then stir in the mini chocolate chips.
    3. Spread the cookie dough on the cooled brownies.
    4. Then chill the brownies until the cookie dough is firm. Cut into bars and serve.

    P.S. Thanks so much for all your Seattle suggestions! I’m such a foodie and can’t wait to try out some of the restaurants/cafes/bakeries that you all have suggested. I’ll be gone the 26th-29th (Mon-Thurs), but I’ll make sure to document and keep you guys posted on all the good food!

    My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

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    You can never have enough chocolate chip cookies and you can never bake enough of them. I used to search high and low for the perfect CCC recipe while experimenting with all the different ingredients to see what made the best difference. This is my one and only CCC recipe that I use and I don’t even bother glancing at another one anymore. It’s perfectly thick, chewy, and crispy, while maintaining the perfect amount of flavor. I’ve posted the recipe on here before, but I’ll post it again to make sure you don’t miss it. Just look how photogenic these cookies are! They’ve pleased everyone so far and I’ve baked them at least a dozen times!

    These cookies go great with the snuggly weather, which I sure do miss. I’d gladly give up a week of sun for a week of overcast and rain. Good thing I’ll be going to Seattle next week with my boyfriend! That way, I get to soak in the lovely cold weather and cuddle with my love! Speaking of Seattle, does anyone have any places to recommend going besides my favorite cupcake shop, Trophy’s? I’d love to hear any suggestions! We’ll be going for 4 days, 3 nights and will be staying in downtown Seattle, so anywhere nearby is fair game! 🙂

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
    • 1 cup packed brown sugar
    • 1/2 cup white sugar
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • 1 egg
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
    1. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
    2. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.
    3. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour. When it’s time, Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
    4. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
    5. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

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