Jenny's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

INGREDIENTS
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup peanut butter--I used chunky, Dorie's favorite too:)
1 cup sugar ~1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 1/2 cups store-bought chocolate chips or chunks (I used chocolate and peanut butter chips)

Getting Ready: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating only until blended. Mix in the chips.

If you have the time, cover and chill the dough for about 2 hours or for up to one day. (Chilling the dough will give you more evenly shaped cookies.) If the dough is not chilled, drop rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets. If the dough is chilled, scoop up rounded tablespoons, roll the balls between your palms and place them 2 inches apart on the sheets. Press the chilled balls gently with the heel of your hand until they are about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 7 minutes. The cookies should be golden and just firm around the edges. Lift the cookies onto cooling racks with a wide metal spatula - they'll firm as they cool.

Yield: About 60 cookies
Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod via the cookbook Baking: From My Home to Yours

Meg's Anise Biscotti

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2 large eggs
2 tsp anise flavoring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon aniseeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, beating after the addition of each. Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the anise flavoring. Add the vanilla and mix well, then fold in the aniseeds.

Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each under your palms to make a log, about 12-inches in length and two inches in diameter (you'll want to flour your hands well - the dough is sticky). Place the logs on your baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 30 minutes and then remove from the oven and let cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Once the biscotti logs have cooled, transfer them to a cutting board and using a serrated knife, cut them into 3/4 inch think slices. Spread the cookies on the baking sheet, on their sides, and bake. After 15 minutes, flip them over for another 15 minutes. Then remove and allow to cool.

Yield: Approximately 2 1/2 dozen

Ming-Wai's Cherry-Nut Mudslides

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup hazelnuts
2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons flour
2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup salted pistachios, chopped
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 350°. Toast the hazelnuts in a pie plate for 12 minutes, until the skins blister. Transfer to a towel and rub to remove the skins. Coarsely chop the nuts.

In a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt 1 pound of the bittersweet chocolate with all of the unsweetened chocolate. Let cool completely.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Beat in the sugar until sandy. Beat in the eggs, then beat in the melted chocolate. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients. Fold in the pistachios, cherries, hazelnuts and the remaining bittersweet chocolate.

For each cookie, scoop 2 tablespoons of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and roll into a ball; space them about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake in batches for 15 minutes, just until the tops are lightly cracked; shift the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through for even baking. Transfer the sheets to racks to cool slightly, then transfer the cookies to a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: At least 5 dozen cookies
Recipe from Food & Wine

Cookie Swap 2011