Cookie Mondays Gets the Axe

Remember that “genius plan” I had to bake cookies for Dennis’ co-workers once a week so that I could get my bake on while losing weight since I wouldn’t be as tempted to eat something meant for others?  Yeah, that didn’t work out so well.  Almost four months into the year and I’m actually a few pounds heavier than I was on January 1st.  And cookie Mondays was definitely a factor that played into the weight gain. 

Despite the fact that I was making cookies for others, one batch of cookies usually makes plenty so that they’d never miss a few.  And in the case of the brown butter chocolate chip cookies, I ate more than two dozen.  I kid you not.

So when Dennis got a new supervisor and was switched to a different team of all-new co-workers that had no idea about Cookie Mondays, I took advantage of the situation and decided to stop the madness.  If you were wondering why I hadn’t posted any cookie recipes in a while, now you know.  Cookies seriously are my favorite of all sweets and I must have been insane to think I could keep my paws off of them.  I now realize why, despite loving them so much, I rarely make them.  I just can not resist homemade cookies, so it’s better not to make them at all!

All told, I made 11 batches of cookies:

Jan 4 – Easy Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Jan 11 – Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Jan 18 – Millionaire Bars (Twix Bars)

Jan 25 – Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Feb 1 – Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

Feb 8 – Cherry Tea Cookies

Feb 15 – Peanut Butter Blossoms

Feb 22 – Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies

Mar 1 – Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

Mar 8 – Black Gold Cookies

Mar 15 – Loaded Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter Icing

The co-workers voted on their favorite cookies for the months of January and February.  January’s favorite was the Brown Butter Chocolate Chip (no surprise there!) and the Peanut Butter Blossoms and Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies tied for February’s favorite.  No votes were cast for March’s cookie since Dennis left his team, but one co-worker, upon gobbling a Black Gold cookie, proclaimed “I know which cookie I’ll be voting for this month!” 

The Loaded Oatmeal Cookies never made it to the co-workers because the switch was sudden, so most of them went in my belly, some to friends, and the rest remain in the freezer because the recipe makes a very large batch.  I’ve posted the recipe before, but I’ll include it here as well since I now have prettier pictures than the first time I made them. 

They are my favorite oatmeal raisin cookie because they really are loaded with all the good stuff and I really think the brown butter icing puts them over the top (brown butter makes everything better!).

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
recipe from Paula Deen

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Brown Butter Icing, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 1 or more cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until mixture is light in color. Add buttermilk. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in oatmeal, raisins, walnuts, and vanilla, blending well. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with Brown Butter Icing.

Brown Butter Icing:
1/2 cup butter
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons water

In a small saucepan heat the butter over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown and the milk solids have separated and turned chocolate in color.  Remove saucepan from heat; stir in 3 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in enough water (3 to 4 tablespoons) to make an icing of drizzling consistency. Drizzle on warm cookies. (I left mine fairly thick and used a pastry bag with the end snipped to drizzle. Ideally you’d want a thinner icing that you could drizzle with a spoon or fork.)