August 24, 2009

Mix things up!

Cookie Stack

Yeehaaa… yum yum… it’s Cowboy Cookies. Or, in this case, Cowgirl Cookies.

A friend introduced these to me and I love them. Especially the name. Cowboy Cookies. Cowboy Cookies. Cowboy Cookies. Rolls off the tongue doesn’t it? Well, I took the traditional oats, chocolate chips and pecans this cookie is known for and added some pink m&m’s to make them, well, more girly.

Cookie Ingredients

But why stop there. I also made a few cookie mixes to try out as a test run for a gift idea. You see, I missed said friend’s birthday (sorry friend) and I wanted to make up for it. So, I took her basic recipe and made a few adjustments so I could fit all the ingredients into these jars.

Cowgirl Cookies

They’re smooth Ball jars made especially for crafts. Smooooooth. No embossed logos in the glass. Nice. And with a little fabric, labels and a brown suede bow, they’re perfect little gifts.

Four Jars

But which one should I give her? It actually matters because I made four different variations. If you notice in the photo above, some of them have more oats, more flour or more sugar. I was trying different combinations to get all the ingredients to fit.

Oh and note to self: Use a ruler when attaching labels next time.

Luckily, the first test batch I made, worked. Yes!

So, here’s the recipe:

Cowgirl Cookies

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup m&ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Stir all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Cowgirl Cookies

Add

1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Use the back of a large spoon to work it all together. You may even need to use your hands to get everything incorporated.

Unbanked cookies

Then roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. I got about 26-28 cookies out of these.

Here’s how they came out.

Cowgirl Cookies

Pretty and tasty. But I still want to try the other mixes later, and if one tastes better I’ll make sure and update the recipe. Besides, I want to know how long these will last in jars. Any ideas?

Want to make some cute cookie mix gifts, too? Here’s how.

Cookie Labela

Start with a 1 quart smooth Ball jar. I found these at Hobby Lobby craft store.

Layer the ingredients in like this:

First: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
Second: oats
Third: m&ms
Fourth: chocolate chips
Fifth: brown sugar
Sixth: white sugar
Seventh: chopped pecans

Pack each level down really tightly. I mean it. Pack it in. Or else it won’t all fit. Also, I added the chopped pecans last, because if the ingredients were too much or not enough, then I could add more or less pecans to adjust. I’d rather sacrifice nuts than chocolate, you know. The ingredients should be flush to the top of the lid when you seal it up.

Suede Bow

See. There’s some of the pecans peeking out from under the fabric.

To decorate the top of the jars, get a spool of suede cord and some fabric. I really wanted to find some pink western bandana fabric, but this will do.
Anyway, cut the fabric into 6 inch squares and the suede into 25 inch pieces. Place the fabric on top and tie ribbons around the lid to hold it in place.

Labeling

For the labels, you’ll need some card stock, a paper punch and double-sided tape.

You can use the pink labels I made if you want. DOWNLOAD THE PDF HERE.

Cookie Jar Labels

I also included one for the baking instructions and a label for Cowboy Cookies in brown if you want to gift these to boys or girls.

Cowboy Cookies

Note: you can change the color of m&ms and give them as Halloween gifts, or Christmas gifts, too. Check out the seasonal m&ms in the candy aisle. They are usually available in special holiday colors or themes. The pink ones were in the Breast Cancer awareness bag. Also another great gift idea.

Enjoy!

Categories: Chocolate, Cookies, For Her, More Topics, Sweet Stuff, Themes
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