1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups chocolate chips

2 cups chopped pecans (optional, and I don’t usually add them)

Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. In a medium bowl combine flour, soda and salt and add to butter-sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by teaspoonfuls on baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes.

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups packed dark brown sugar

2 cups plus 2 T flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 T vanilla

Heat 10 T butter in a 10-in skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer browned butter to a large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 T butter into hot butter to melt; set aside for 15 minutes.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. In shallow baking dish or pie plate, mix granulated sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar, rubbing between fingers, until well combined; set aside. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in medium bowl; set aside.

Add remaining 1 3/4 cups brown sugar and salt to bowl with cooled butter; mix until no sugar clumps remain, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula; add egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.

Divide dough into 24 portions, each about 2 T, rolling into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (I used a small cookie scoop and made about 20 portions). Roll the balls in the reserved sugar mixture to coat and set on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Bake one sheet at a time until cookies are browned and still puffy and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), 12 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake.

Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; transfer to cooling rack to cool to room temperature.

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

16 T unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl, and set aside. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl. Mix in vanilla. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour.

Roll out the cookie dough on a floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8-11 minutes (the former for 1/8-inch cookies, the latter for 1/4-inch cookies), until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed. Cool on a wire rack.

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 T milk

1 tsp vanilla

Hershey kisses

Cream together the soften butter and peanut butter. Blend in the remaining ingredients. Roll into balls. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and place a Hershey kiss in each. Bake another 1 minute.

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup plus 2 T flax meal

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter, at room temp

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 T whole-milk yogurt

1 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, flax meal, salt, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add applesauce. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half of the flour mixture. Blend in yogurt and beat in remaining flour until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and freeze dough for 10 minutes.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Flatten slightly and bake about 12-14 minutes, until centers are set and biscuits turn pale brown on bottom.

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter, such as Skippy

6 T butter, softened

2 T powdered sugar

2 T honey

1 tsp kosher salt

Peanut butter cookie

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 2/3 cups rolled oats

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup plus 2 T butter, softened

1/3 cup crunch peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

To make the peanut butter filling, combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl using a whisk. Cover and chill the mixture until you are ready to fill the cookies.

To make the cookies, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir in the oats and salt.

In a bowl with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, chunky peanut butter, and sugars and cream on med-high speed until very fluffy and pale, at least 3 minutes.

Turn the mixer to med-low and add the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients on low speed in 3-4 aditions and mix until just combined.

Use an ice cream scoop to portion all the cookies in about 1 T scoops, placing the scoops on a parchment lined baking sheet. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange 8 cookies, spaced evenly apart and staggered, on each parchment-lined baking sheet. Set the baking sheet inside another baking sheet to double pan and place it in the oven. Bake until evenly golden, about 12 minutes (it took 18 minutes for two sheets in my oven), rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time. Remove the pan from the oven and cook on rack for 10 minutes before removing cookies. Allow the cookies to cool completely before filling them.

To make a cookie sandwich, spread one cookie with a little less than 2 tsps of filling and top with another cookie, pressing gently.

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cloves

2 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup diced dried apricots

1/3 cup golden raisins

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1 cup plus 2 T butter, softened

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

3/4 cup plus 2 T sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs (room temp)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and spices. Stir in the oats and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl combine dried fruits. In the mixer using a paddle attachment, mix on med-high the butter, both sugars, and the vanilla, creaming until pale and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time. On low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. Add the dried fruits and mix until combined.

Put on cookie sheets and flatten until 1/2 inch thick. Bake until golden brown around the edges and still slightly pale in the middle, 14-18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

Remove and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

2 1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

Cream together the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla or almond extract. Add the flour and salt. Roll the dough into a 2-inch diameter log, wrap in wax paper, and chill. Cut into 1/8-inch cookies and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

The cookies can be iced. Mom typically makes light green and pink icing for these cookies. Cream together butter and powdered sugar, adding enough cream and vanilla or almond extract for a spreadable icing. (One must guess on the quantities here.)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup chopped nuts, typically walnuts

Cream together the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough starts to come together. Add the nuts. Roll into 1-inch balls and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. They should not get brown.

While they are still warm roll them in powdered sugar. Let them cool completely and roll in sugar again.

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1 rounding tsp ginger

Cream butter and sugar; beat in egg and molasses, and stir in remaining ingredients. Chill (the most important step, for at least a couple hours). Ross in 1-inch balls, dip in granulated sugar and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

1 c sugar

1 c butter, room temp

2 eggs, room temp

1 tsp vanilla

3 c rolled oats

1 c plus 2 T flour

1/2 c wheat germ

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

12 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, 1 1/2 c golden raisins, or 10 oz. toffee pieces

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream sugars and butter in a mixer, starting on low speed and increasing to medium, until mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Ad eggs and vanilla, scrape down sides of bowl and beat to combine. Place oats, flour, wheat germ, baking soda and baking powder in a large bowl; stir. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix on low speed until just combined, 10-15 seconds. Stir in chocolate, raisins or toffee as desired. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Form balls of dough, either large (2 1/2 oz) or small (1 1/4 oz). Bake until cookies are golden and just set, about 18 minutes for large and 14 minutes for small. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack.

1 1/2 c flour

1 1/2 c packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 c quick-cooking oats

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 package (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Brush 2 8-inch square cake pans with butter and dust with flour. In a mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add flour, oats, salt and baking soda, mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide dough evenly between pans and flatten dough in fill pan bottoms. Bake until golden brown and set in center, about 35 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely before removing from pans.