Chocolate Chip Cookies

The best chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. This recipe is from The Mennonite Treasury (page 173 in the edition I have).

Ingredients

1 cup shortening
2/3 cup white sugar (1/3 is plenty)

2/3 cup brown sugar (1/3 is plenty)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1½ cups flour

1 tsp salt (if you reduce sugar, reduce salt!)

1 tsp baking soda

1 pkg chocolate chips (2/3 cup is a good amount)

2 cups oats
1/3 cup nuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cream shortening, add sugars gradually. Add eggs and beat well. Add vanilla.

Sift flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture.

Add nuts, chocolate chips, and oats last.

Drop by teaspoonsful on greased cookie sheets and bake in 350 degree oven for 12 minutes.

Notes

I've made many variations of this recipe. You could replace some of the flour with bran. You could use a multigrain flour. You could use chopped up chocolate bars instead of chocolate chips.

Leftover Chocolate, Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is based on the chocolate chip cookies my sister and I have made since we were kids. It's a great way to use up leftover chocolate. I made a double batch, so that's how I'll write it.

Ingredients

1 cup butter

1 ripe banana, mashed

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups quick-cooking oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 cup of chocolate (chocolate bars chopped up, M&M's, Smarties, etc)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter until it's nearly white. Add sugars, beat it more. Add banana, beat it more. Add eggs, beat it more.

Add vanilla. 

Add in dry ingredients. Mix to combine.

Drop by teaspoonful on greased baking sheet (or use parchment). Bake for 12 minutes.

Notes

You can use butter, shortening, margarine, whatever you prefer. I wouldn't swap out more than half of it when adding in banana or apple.

This dough freezes well. Fill a container with cookie dough balls, take out as many as you want to bake at one time. If baking from frozen, you may need to add 2 minutes to the baking time.

Breakfast Waffles

This recipe is inspired by, and uses Pioneer Meat farmer sausage. I adapted a tried and true sourdough waffle recipe.

Ingredients

1 stick of Pioneer Meat farmer sausage, scramble fried

1 tsp epicure Oh Canada seasoning

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup shredded cheese

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sourdough starter

2 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions

Scramble fry one section of farmer sausage. You could even do half of one section. Once it has been browned, add the Oh Canada seasoning

Preheat waffle iron.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.

In a separate, medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Gently stir until just combined. The batter may have lumps but there should be no dry spots.

Sprinkle desired amount of meat crumbles onto the waffle iron, top with waffle batter. Cook until golden brown.

Remove waffles to a cooling rack while you cook the remaining waffles. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven if desired.

Top with maple syrup.

Notes

epicure's Oh Canada seasoning is a blend of maple, onion, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper

In place of farmer sausage, you could easily use fried bacon or breakfast sausages (scramble fried, well-drained)