Monster Cookie Bars with a Side of Landscaping

.  Lots to talk about.  So brace yourself.

First things first, remember how I mentioned that Robbie and I spent Memorial Day Weekend working on the front yard?  Well, we really did.  And I have the pictures to prove it.  

It might not look much different to you, but our backs would beg to differ.  We spent all of Saturday clearing out the front yard: [loads of] weeding, mowing, sweeping, and picking up rascaly branches from our ginormous tree.

Then on Sunday, I made a little trip to a nearby nursery and grabbed a fair amount of flowers and plants: rhododendrons, hostas, and a variety of annuals.  I also ended up having to make an extra trip to grab another Yew to fill in that little space you see there in the back hedge.  Neither Robbie or I know what happened to that little gap...but it's all fixed now with a Yew that is drastically smaller than the others.  Oh well.

Somehow during the weekend we managed enough strength to collect ourselves and head downtown for a nice little dinner while watching Creighton in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship [which they won!], which is the reason for our upcoming weekend trip.  We'll get to that though.

Anywho, we rarely get pictures together [or not near enough as I'd like!], so I thought it'd be nice to share a couple with you all.  What Robbie doesn't realize is that if he would just smile for one picture, we wouldn't have had to take three more.  Guys...

So back to this random trip Robbie and I will taking come Thursday afternoon.  As I mentioned, Creighton won the MVC Tournament, and they were placed in the UCLA Regional.  Soooo, Robbie and are jetsetting off to L.A. to spend a long weekend, watch some baseball, and lounge on the beach for a few hours.  Not a bad time, I would say!

I most definitely will have pictures from our trip, so be on the look out for those some time soon.

Okay, and for the final point of this post...the absolute star...Gooey Monster Cookie Bars!  As you know, it's Thursday, and that means Foamer time!  If you haven't noticed, there hasn't been a Foamer post in a few weeks because unfortunately I haven't been able to make the games for this reason or that.  And what do you know, I'll be missing this weeks game, too.  Boo.

But last week I did make the game and brought these little gems with me.  For some reason I felt a little nostalgic and wanted to bake something classic.  And this is what I came up with! I used a couple of recipes [one of them being Dorie's Best Chocolate Chip Cookie and adapting it] and came up with my very own Monster Cookie Bar.  Proud of me?  Just kidding, don't answer that.

I, and my teammates, absolutely loved these [well, I think they did].  What I think really makes them unique though is the addition of marshmallows.  I made a Kitchen Sink Cookie some time back and remembered how much I loved the addition of the marshmallows, because they become uber gooey and sometimes caramelize, so I had an inkling they would work in this creation.  And they did, they did.  The base is a buttery, soft peanut butter cookie dough, offering up the perfect chew.  The marshmallows add a wonderful texural element, like I said, gooey.  And then you add in those crunchy, chocolate M&Ms, oats, and white chocolate chips, and you have a winner all.  day.  long.

Robbie and I are obviously going to be away this weekend, so I wish everyone a fabulous next couple of days and I can't wait to share our trip with you all!  

Oh, any restaurant suggestions out there for the L.A. area?!  .

My Notes:

• Feel free to choose whatever add-in's your heart desires, that's one of the fun things about this recipe!  
• The peanut butter flavor in the cookie dough is rather slight, so don't be deterred from adding in peanut buttery things, it will only make this treat better!  If you like peanut butter, that is...

Ingredients:

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1 c. sugar

2/3 c. packed light brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

3/4 c. old fashioned oats

1 c. mini marshmallows

1 c. M&Ms

3/4 c. white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375F.  Grease 13x9-inch pan with non stick cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda.  In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until smooth (about 1 minute).
3. Add sugar and brown sugar and beat until well blended (about 2 minutes).  Beat in vanilla extract and then eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition.
4. Reduce mixer speed to low and add in dry ingredients in three portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated.  Fold in oats, marshmallows, M&Ms, and white chocolate chips. 
5. Slightly press down dough evenly into prepared pan.  Bake 28 to 32 minutes, or until golden brown and middle begins to puff slightly. 

Yield: 2 dozen bars

Sunday Special: Brazilian Cheese Puffs

.  Hey, hey!

How's everyone's long weekend going?  Isn't it the greatest feeling knowing you have an extra day?  Just one day makes all of the difference, huh?  Crazy how that works.

Robbie and I didn't really have any plans for the holiday weekend.  To be honest, I didn't even realize we had a three day weekend until Tuesday of this last week!  Shows how much I pay attention.  But we decided that we would spend the weekend tackling our front yard.  Our yard basically looks like no one even lives in our house, it's that bad.  Well, it WAS that bad.  We spent all of Saturday afternoon pulling out weeds, mowing the lawn, and getting the yard ready for some new flowers and plants.  We're heading out to the nursery today, as a matter of fact.  I'll be sure to throw some pictures in a post once we're done!

OH!  I guess I do have some [somewhat] exciting news!  Saturday night, the Creighton Baseball team played in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship and guesss whatttt?!  THEY WON!  Unfortunately Creighton had a bit of a rough regular season, but they obviously know how to finish it out!  They beat Southern Illinois and will find out on Monday what Regional they'll be heading to.

Remember how Robbie and I made the trip out to Oregon last year to see Creighton?  Well, you know we'll be heading out this year again!  Ad hoc trips are our specialty.  And I LOVE it.  More to come on that though.

Sadly to say I, again, have no story that ties in our Memorial Weekend to these Cheese Puffs.  Sorry guys.  I'll work on it.  But this is a Sunday Special, so only savories.  I guarantee once you make these ridiculous easy puffs though, you will tell me to take my sorry back.  Promise.

Have any of you ever been to Fogo de Chao?  It's a Brazilian restaurant and probably one of the most unique concepts I've seen in my extensively long life [wink, wink].  But really, it is.  And their food is so, so good.  They specialize in meats but also have one of the most outrageously delicious salads bars ever.  I always just get the salad bar, it's that good.  But easily our favorite part of this restaurant are the little cheese puffs they give to every table by the basket.  Completely dangerous, but well worth the calories.  

Anywho, these little suckers are the Fogo de Chao puffs reincarnated.  I can't even tell you the search I've been on for the puffs recipe ever since we first went to the restaurant.  So you can bet your bottom dollar that when Robbie and I took our first bite, we about died.  Just about.  And then Robbie proceeded to eat [literally] half of the batch.  I'll let you scroll down to see the 'yield' and your jaw may drop to the floor.  Sorry, Robbie ☺

They are cheesy, soft, chewy things.  Pull them apart and you'll know what I mean, they have this awesome elasticity that I've never seen in another bread.  Gosh, they.  are.  amazing.  Truly.  The key to the puffs is the use of tapioca flour, which is available in most grocery stores so do not get deterred by this small detail!  I'll admit, it made me hesitant but if I can find tapioca flour at a regular ol' grocery store in Omaha...you can, too.  So go get it!  .

My Notes:

• I used an equal mix of Parmesan and Aged Asiago cheese for my puffs and Robbie and I loved it.  I would be interested to use other combinations but I'm not exactly sure what cheeses go together.  Any suggestions?!

From Crustabakes

Ingredients:

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1/4 c. water

1/4 c. milk

3/4 tsp. salt

2 c. tapioca flour or gluten-free tapioca starch

2 tsp. minced garlic

2/3 c. scant, grated Parmesan, Romano, or Aged Asiago cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F.  Lightly grease two mini muffin pans.  Place butter, water, milk, and salt in a saucepan, over medium-high heat and heat until the butter has melted and the mixture has come to a full boil.  While the mixture is heating, put tapioca flour into a large mixing bowl.
2. Once boiling, pour the butter mixture over the tapioca flour, beating at high speed to combine and until the mixture becomes smooth and elastic-looking (this will happen very quickly).  Beat the garlic and cheese into the dough until well combined.
3. If the mixture is uncomfortably hot, let it sit for a couple of minutes to cool (you don’t want to cook the eggs when you beat them in).  If it seems hot but not burning hot, with the mixer going, gradually dribble in the beaten eggs, beating until well combined and smooth.
4. Pour mixture almost to the rim of the muffin cups.  Bake 20 minutes or until the puffs have a freckled appearance and they’re beginning to color.  Remove from oven and serve hot.

Yield: 2 dozen puffs

White Chocolate Macadamia Blondies

.  A weekend recap is a must.  And if you don't want to hear about it, tough ☺

So this last Saturday, two friends of mine and myself ran in the Mud, Sweat, and Beer Run!  Ha, I know, don't laugh.  As you can probably guess, it's a completely fun time!  Thousands of people, loud music, and of course, loads of beer.  

Now, I'm not a beer fan, so that wasn't my incentive.  But a crazy atmosphere and challenging 7K run through the country will get me every time.

And despite our lack of preparation, all three of us did great!  Now, you can probably guess that the Mud, Sweat, and Beer Run isn't full of Boston Marathoner-like people.  But no need to reiterate that point.  Each of us pushed ourselves and I think finished better than any of us were expecting.  So mission accomplished!

So onto these bars.  Which have no connection to our race this last weekend whatsoever, so I won't even try to twist some crazy story.  Maybe I could say the macadamia nuts would give you some needed energy before your next big race...but let's not go there.  Let's just say that these bars are too simple and danggggg tasty!  I mean a seriously chewy blondie filled to the max with white chocolate chunks and toasted macadamia nuts?  Can't.  Go.  Wrong.  The end  .

From Erin's Food Files

Ingredients:

1 c. plus 1 tsp. butter, at room temperature

1-1/2 c. light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

3 c. plus 1 tbsp. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

2 c. white chocolate chips

1 c. macadamia nuts, toasted and rough chopped

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Grease a 13x9-inch pan with the 1 teaspoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour, or spray with cooking spray.  Set aside.
2. Evenly spread macadamia nuts on baking sheet and bake 10 to 15 minutes or until fragrant and slightly browned.  Set aside until ready to use.
3. For bars, place butter and brown sugar in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment and cream together on medium speed until smooth batter is formed (about 3 minutes).  While the mixer is running, add eggs and vanilla extract, until incorporated into batter.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of flour and baking powder.  Slowly add flour mixture to the batter and mix on low speed until a dough is formed.  Very gently, fold in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts into dough.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and evenly spread.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until set yet still moist.

Yield: 2 dozen bars

Improv Cooking Challenge: Strawberry Banana Cheesecake Bars

.  These are legit.

Too legit to quit.

Ha, just kidding.  About the second part.  Not about how scrumptious these [thick] fruity bars turned out.  And boy [or girl], are they thick, uber creamy, and strawberry banana fruity.  Very reminiscent of a banana split...particularly one from Dairy Queen.  Not that I would know though ☺

But I must give credit where credit is due.  First, a shout out goes to Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker for choosing the wonderful combination of strawberries and cream for May's ICC ingredients.  Second, I must thank Bakers Royale for coming up with a recipe that I could in no way resist [no matter how hard I tried...or didn't].

So as you can tell, I had a lot of fun with the ICC ingredients this month.  I mean, who wouldn't?  And the major plus about this go around was that I got to include bananas!  WITH STRAWBERRIES!  If you know me at all, you would know that strawberry banana used to [or still is] one of my favorite combinations.  I vividly remember buying Strawberry Banana smoothies from Orange Julius every time I stepped inside the Mall of America.  Now that I think about, maybe I only went 'shopping' so I could get my usual smoothie.  Yes, I would do that.

And like I said, these bars are a strawberry banana fiesta.  The cheesecake itself is packed with a strawberry banana pureed mixture as well as hunks of fresh bananas and strawberries!  GAH!  Oh, and the cheesecake is sandwiched between a thick traditional graham cracker crust and a layer of sugary-buttery streusel.  Hello, heaven.

So if you're feeling that Spring mood, and I'm betting those local farmer markets will be rolling out the strawberries soon, then I highly recommend you try these bars out.  Actually, I demand it .

My Notes:

• According to Bakers Royale, the addition of the pureed banana is the key to making these bars extra creamy.  And I'll admit, these bars are creamy deliciousness.  
• Also like Bakers Royale, I added chunks of strawberries AND bananas throughout the cheesecake before baking.  However, feel free to skip this step.  But I wouldn't recommend that.
• These are best cold, so keep them refrigerated until you're ready to eat.  Which may be all of the time...

Adapted from Bakers Royale

Ingredients:

Crust:

1-1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling:

6 oz. strawberries (about 1 c. whole strawberries)

4 oz. banana (about 1 banana)
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. all purpose flour
Additional strawberries and 1/2 banana, chopped (optional)

Streusel:
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. butter

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350F.  Line 8x8-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang.  For the crust, place graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a bowl and toss to combine.  Add in melted butter and mix to combine.  Press mixture onto bottom of prepared pan.  Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool while making cheesecake.
2. For cheesecake, place strawberries and banana in a blender or food processor and pulse until pureed; set aside.  
3. Place cream cheese in the bowl of standing mixer and beat until smooth.  Add sugar, egg and vanilla extract and beat until fully combined and smooth.  Add in pureed strawberry mixture and mix to combine.  Add flour and mix to combine.
4. Pour mixture over crust.  If desired, place chopped strawberries and banana throughout the cheesecake and gently press in.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, for streusel, place flour, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl and using a pastry blender or a fork, cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles crumbled wet sand.  Set aside.
6. Once cheesecake is done baking, remove from oven and sprinkle over streusel.  Bake an additional 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Let bars cool completely before cutting.

Yield: 16 bars

TWD Baking with Julia: Pecan Sticky Buns

.  Dang, Dorie.

You've gone and done it again.  Completely over the top and there ain't no comin' back.

Well folks, there isn't much to say about these Pecan Sticky Buns because no matter how much I rave about them, the words will never suffice.  The catchy phrases will in no way do these ooey gooey buns any justice.  They just won't.

For the first post ever, I'll have to let the pictures do the talking.  And for the first time ever, I actually had to cut out some of the pictures I took because these [big] little things looked so dang scrumptious!

But no worries, I guarantee you all would rather look at the pictures of these buns than hear me rant and rave to no end.  Because I would do that.  And maybe eventually, you would take my word and get bakin.'

So what makes these buns so particularly phenomenal is that they're made out of brioche.  Say it with me, bree-o-sh.  Not sure if that's quite accurate, but work with me.  Anywho, I'd never had brioche before this recipe [let alone made it!], but it may just be the most memorable thing I've ever tasted.  If you've ever heard any of the wonderful things about brioche, well they're all correct.

Despite the fact that you need to plan ahead before making this recipe [not gonna lie, it is a bit time consuming], the wait is well,well, worth the wait.  The onlything I can think to compare brioche to are croissants.  You know, those flakey little pastries that no one can resist?  Yep, those.  Well, brioche is extremely similar to those except maybe a bit more dense.  In a good way though.

Okay, enough of my jibber jabbering.  Head on over to hosts' blogs for this month, Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat and Cookies on Friday, for the complete Pecan Sticky Buns recipe.  And also check out the tips and tricks for this recipe straight from fellow TWD bloggers!

To the Best of Mother's

.  Wow, I can't believe a year has flown by since last Mother's Day.  I remember writing that post dedicated to my mama and seriously struggling to write the words that would most express my feelings and gratitude towards her.  But in the end, I realized I never could.  Are there really powerful enough words out there to say thank you to the person who raised you, taught you the difference between right and wrong, molded the morals of your being, and sacrificed their very own life to make sure you had it all?

I think not.

Well at least in my own little vocabulary there isn't.

But what I can say is that my mom means the absolute world to me.  As I've grown older, I've realized all of the crap she had to deal with when I was a teenager, all of the time she took out of her life to be there for me and my sports, all of the lessons she so wisely told me I would come to appreciate [and dang it, I did].  And she did it all with that lovely smile of hers.  And loved me unconditionally along the way.  What more could a daughter ask for?

I'm sure if we could give the world to our moms, we would.  And I'd do it without a second thought.  But regardless, it would never be enough to express my admiration for my mom.  Not even close.  And though I can't give the world to her, I'll do what I can through my small token of appreciation she should be opening right about now.  And through a few simple words on this little corner of the world wide web.

So to my mom, thank you so very much for unselfishly deciding to make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that I turned out all right.  Well at least I think I did ☺ I'll continue to live my life to make you proud and maybe somewhere along the way, I'll be half of the strong, beautiful woman I am blessed to call my mother.

Dark Chocolate Lava Cookies

.  Sad day.  Sad, sad day.

Okay, not that sad.  But I bet you can guess what I'm referring to since it's Thursday.  

Sad to say, but The Foamers experienced our first loss last week.  I know, I know.  We're still trying to work through it.  But all good things must come to an end, right?

But I'm fairly certain drinks at the bar after the game cured all woes.  So don't feel sorry for our team.  We rebound rather quickly ☺

Oh, and these gooey, fudgy, outrageously chocolatey cookies helped a bit, too.

So what is there to say about these cookies except that they may be one of the most unique cookies I've made to date.  Truly.  First, they're flourless.  And butterless.  HUH?!  I know.  How in the world could they be even remotely good?  Well they done one better than that.  They were PHENOMENAL!

In some magical fashion, these cookies were gooey goodness 24/7.  See these pictures here?  These are after a night of sitting AND absolutely no microwave action.  Yet look at all of that melted deliciousness?!  I still have yet to figure out how they stay this way but you won't hear any complainig from me.  The cookies actually remind me of an episode of the Food Networks's The Best Thing I Ever Ate, when Rocco Dispirito featured a double chocolate cookie from a New York bakery.  To his wonder [and the bakers amusement], Rocco could never figure out their secret.  So...I won't even try.

But regardless, it shouldn't take much convincing for you to try these out.  Short ingredient list.  Simple to make.  Easy to stuff your face with.  Good combo, I would say!

Wish The Foamers good luck tonight!  I think we might start needing it  .

My Notes:

• Before I started baking, I read a lot of the comments on the post I got this recipe from to see what kinds of things people had to say about these.  And am I glad I did!  There was a TON of great tips on correct ways to make meringue, which is essentially what you're making with the egg whites and powdered sugar.  But the one tip I highly recommend is making sure your egg whites are at room temperature, otherwise you won't be able to stiffen them up.  Also, make sure to NOT use a plastic bowl, always use a metal or glass bowl when making meringue.
• I do recommend clicking on over to Divine Baking to take a look at her picture tutorial of how to make these cookies.  I found them very helpful when determining what consistency I needed, etc. 

Adapted from Divine Baking

Ingredients:

1-1/2 c. dark chocolate chips, divided

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

2-1/2 c. powdered sugar, divided

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350F.  Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.  Melt 1 cup of dark chocolate chips in microwave, stirring after 30 second intervals, until melted and smooth.  Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Using electric mixer, beat eggs whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form.  Gradually beat in 1-1/4 cup of powdered sugar and continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 1-1/4 cup of powdered sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt.  On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue.  Add in melted chocolate and remainig 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips (dough will become extremely stiff).
4. Place 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a bowl.  Scoop out 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball.  Roll in powdered sugar, coating thickly.  Place on prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake 10 minutes or until  puffed and tops are cracked.  Let cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before removing to wire rack.

Yield: 18 cookies

White Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

.  1-0, my friends.  1-0.

But did you really expect anything less from The Foamers?  I sure hope not.  But I'll admit, last week's game was not an easy win, we ended up going into extra innings (I know, it's intense) but ultimately came off the field as victors.  Good thing, too, otherwise I probably wouldn't have handed out the most delicious oatmeal cookies I've ever laid my hands on.  Just kidding about not handing these out though.  Well...kind of.

But true statement about these White Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies being the best oatmeal cookie I've ever taken a bite [or 28] out of.  Seriously.  First things first, I will never again not plump cherries before using in any goodie [unless the directions specifically say not to.  Sorry, I'm a rule follower].  I've now realized all of the delicious, tart, juiceness I've been missing out on by using non-plumped cherries.  And yes, non-plumped is a valid word.  At least now it is.  Anywho, I think they completely took this already out-of-this-world cookie straight over the edge.  Completely over and never looked back. 

But aside from the succulent cherries, we have a cookie dough that is pure quality.  The cookie alone would be enough to satisfy me: a brown sugary, oatmeal base that lends itself to the most soft, yet chewy, cookie I've had in quite some time.  It's making my mouth water even thinking about them!  And you all know I love those classic recipes that allows for adaptation, and this is a clear cut winner, winner.

I really can't rave about these cookies much more.  Well, I can.  But you would probably tell me to shut up already and get to the recipe so you can make these ASAP.

As you wish  .

My Notes:

• The original recipe called for white chocolate chips, but I used bars and cut them into rather large chunks.  I absolutely loved the big bites of white chocolate, but like always, it's your call!
• Be careful to not over mix your dough!  This is stressed several times throughout the recipe because over mixing them will give the cookies a lousy, dry texture.
• Make sure to leave a good amount of space in between your cookies on the baking sheet. If the dough isn't fairly cold, the cookies will spread quite a bit and you could end up with one big monster cookie.  Actually, is that bad...?

Adapted from Milk and Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c. orange juice

2 c. dried cherries

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 c. sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

3 c. old fashioned oats

9 oz. white chocolate, chopped into chunks

Directions:

1. Put orange juice in small saucepan over medium heat and bring to boil.  Immediately remove from heat and put in cherries.  Set aside to plump for 30 minutes.  Once plumped, drain cherries thoroughly.
2. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.
3. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.
4. In large bowl, beat butter on low speed.  Add brown sugar and sugar and increase speed to medium, beating for 4 minutes or until light and creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, and beat to incorporate.  Beat in vanilla extract until blended.  Slowly beat in dry ingredients and oatmeal.  DO NOT OVER MIX.
5. While the dough is still streaky, lightly flour work surface and remove dough from bowl.  With lightly floured hands, finish mixing dough by using a gentle kneading motion until just blended.  Put dough back into bowl.
6. With a wooden spoon, gently stir in white chocolate and cherries.  Place bowl into freezer for about 10 minutes or until dough has hardened slightly but still pliable.
7. Using a tablespoon or small scoop, scoop out mounds of dough.  Gently form the dough into cylinders and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.  
8. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges (centers should be slightly soft to the touch).  Remove from oven and let cool for 1 minute before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.  

Yield: 2 dozen cookies