Tame that Tiger: Little Bit of Everything Cookies





Last week was totally stressful. And while I'm sure going to the gym is a fantastic stress reliever, I thought that baking might help soothe my frazzled nerves. Because there is nothing like a little butter and brown sugar to caramelize those jitters into a puddle of sweet calm.




I used an old tried and true recipe and went a little nuts on the mix-ins. Normally, I love this recipe because it's simple and if you choose your ingredients correctly (like dairy-free chocolate chips and vegan sugar and vegan margarine) you can whip up a batch that will please vegan and non-vegan cookie lovers alike! These cookies are egg-less which makes them perfect for days when your fridge is nearing empty or you just never buy eggs for whatever reason.


Like I said, I went a bit crazy and in went the half empty bag of butterscotch chips, some mocha chips (seriously, I can't remember even buying this bag), and some good old-fashioned semi-sweet chocolate chips to keep things real. If I had cinnamon chips you can bet I would have added in a big ol' handful here. But I also added in some chopped salted peanuts which were like a godsend of cookie baking. Seriously, the salted peanuts thing is a bit genius.


I know it seems odd to mix in some boiling water with a bit of baking soda. You'll have to trust me here. I've made this recipe no less than 10 times in the past 8 years and these cookies always turn out perfect.

Little Bit of Everything Cookies
1 cup butter (or vegan margarine)
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cup oats
2 1/2 cups mix-ins (your call: chocolate chips, nuts, toffee chips, salted peanuts, coconut, sunflower seeds, raisins, etc.)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Cream the butter with the sugar until well mixed.

2. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water and add it to the butter/sugar mix, followed by vanilla.

3. Stir together the dry ingredients and add it slowly to the creamed mixture. Mix well.

4. Stir in the mix-ins and combine. Form small balls, flatten a little, and bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.

By Jeannette Ordas of Everybody likes Sandwiches

Jan Halvarson

5 comments:

Lauren said...

Yum! I love the creativity that comes with using whatever is in the pantry -- sometimes one can surprise one self with combinations and tastes. These look delicious -- and they're the perfect size, too!

LR said...

now here is my kind of cookie recipe.

Sarah Wilson said...

Yum, these look divine. And your pictures look awesome too!

Anonymous said...

Yum! Triple chip mania! Salted peanuts is something I never buy because I'd likely eat the entire package but now I have a perfect excuse!

eatme_delicious said...

I love that these are easily veganized and adaptable to whatever you have on hand! They look delicious.