Jenn’s Everything but the kitchen sink cookies

As Christmas is coming super fast I am starting to make a list of gifts for teachers/the crossing guard/and after school staff. I usually just make something. Last year I made home made chocolate covered pretzels (with sprinkles by my daughter!)

This year I am just making a ton of cookies and I varied my usual recipe so I wanted to test it out last night.

This recipe believe it or not is based off a recipe on my bag of flour!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg
2 cups quick cooking oats (which I smashed in zip lock bag with a rolling pin)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
6 TB. chocolate chips (chopped to make it seem like there is more!)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flax seed

In a big mixing bowl, beat the brown sugar and butter until smooth. Add the egg and beat again. Add the rest of the ingredients until its all combined. I put 11 cookies on each cookie sheet. These don’t spread a lot, so its ok if they are close together.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until they are lightly browned on the top.

Leave on the cookie sheet for a good 5 minutes before taking them off. They are super soft right out of the oven.

Once cooled I melted a little Chocolate Flavored Almond Bark (chocolate used for making candy). It’s right next the the chocolate chips in the baking aisle. Drizzle the chocolate over the top. The best part about the Almond Bark is that it dries super quick!

This is what the package looks like:

The best part about these cookies is that they are super moist but chewy. I kind of like that vs. a crunchy cookie.

I plan to get cute cookie tins at the dollar store. They even have really cute Holiday plates that I may use as well and cover with colored saran wrap.

AND, just because I was curious, (and because I had to try one….or two!) I figured out the calories.

It made 44 cookies and each cookie was 138 calories and 8 grams of fat…. so not too bad!

Do you make/bake gifts for the Holidays to give to teachers, helpers, babysitters, etc???

Other ideas with almond bark:

You can melt a package of almond bark in a microwave safe bowl and add a bag of almonds. Stir until combined, and put a tablespoon at a time on waxed paper to make chocolate covered almonds.

You can dip pretzel rods in the chocolate and cover in sprinkles.

Take a sheet of graham crackers, and separate into 4 pieces. Take 2 pieces and put peanut butter in between, then dip in the chocolate. I make these ever Holiday and they taste like home made kit kat bars!

You can also make peppermint bark using the white chocolate variety:

2 lbs. white almond bark
1 1/2 c. crushed peppermint candy

Melt white almond bark in a microwave safe bowl until melted (about 2 minutes, stirring after each 30 seconds in the microwave). Crush either peppermint candy canes or peppermint hard candy in blender until it is powder. Meanwhile, line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Mix hard crushed candy with melted white almond bark. Spread on lined cookie sheet. Let it dry and chop into pieces.

YUM!