Wonderful pumpkin cookies

I don't even like pumpkin. Really. I don't. Having said that, these pumpkin spice cookies are amazing! My family loves them! Give them a try, you won't be disappointed!

Sugar Cookie Frosting

You can't have great cookies if you don't have a great frosting! Here's the one I learned from my mom:

Sugar Cookie Frosting

By Jan

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tablespoons  Milk

1 stick              butter

1 Tablespoon    vanilla

1 pound            powdered sugar

Dash                salt

DIRECTIONS:

Combine wet ingredients until smooth.

Slowly add powdered sugar until desired consistency.

Sugar Cookies

Back in college, I used to make these sugar cookies just to have dough in the freezer. There were times friends would even pay me money to make the dough for them to eat. It's my mom's recipe and I consider myself lucky that she's been willing to share it with me.

In addition to great tasting dough, these make the best sugar cookies I've ever tasted, very similar to a pink frosting cookie sold in stores.

There are two tricks to baking these cookies.

First, be sure to combine the butter & sugar and beat until very light in color. Add the eggs and beat until fluffy. Don't rush this step!!!!

The second important step is to take them out when they've just finished baking. If you wait until they turn brown, the cookies will be very dry and crumbly.

Sugar Cookies

By Jan

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ sq.      Butter

1 cup        Sugar

3               Eggs

1 TBSP     Baking Powder

3 ½ cups   Flour

¼ tsp        Salt

2 TBSP     Vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Cream sugar and butter together. Add eggs and beat until fluffy.

Add remaining ingredients.

Bake cookies at 350 for 6-7 minutes - do not over bake!

The BEST Chocolate chip cookies

This cookie recipe is the best we've ever had. It's the perfect balance between salty, sweet and chocolatey. They come out having a slightly toffee taste. YUM!

The first trick to making these cookies perfect is to start with butter that's almost to room temperature. It should still be a little cold when you hold it. If it's too warm, the cookies will not raise as well.

The second trick is to combine the butter, white sugar and brown sugar forever. I mean it. It'll take about 7-8 minutes of mixing to get them to a light and fluffy texture. Be sure to scrape down the sides or it won't all get light and fluffy. Don't skimp on this step, or you won't have the toffee taste. When you first put the ingredients in the mixer, the color is a dark tan. By the time it is finished, it should be almost the same color as the butter you started with, but a bit lighter.

Other than those two things, you just dump in the rest of the ingredients.

Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Combine flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.
2. Mix butter, sugar and brown sugar until it is light and fluffy
3. Add eggs, vanilla and salt. Cream well, scraping down the sides to make sure it is all incorporated.
4. Add the flour and baking soda.
5. Add the chocolate chips
6. Scoop onto a baking sheet in balls slightly smaller than a golf ball.
7. Bake at 350 for 11 minutes.

In case you fall in love with this recipe and wonder what else could be in the best cookie cookbook ever, this recipe came from Martha Stewart's Cookies.

Lynn Valley Lodge Coconut Cookies

When I lived in North Vancouver, we volunteered at a fun little rest home. I just loved the ladies there! My adopted 'Aunt Phil' was such a hoot, telling me about her escapades in her youth. There was a group of women that played Yahtzee every Tuesday and we would eat these cookies. I'm sure they've all long since left Lynn Valley one way or another, but I'll always imagine them dueling over the little tables every time I eat these cookies.

Lynn Valley Lodge Coconut Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

2 sticks butter
1 ¼ cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/3 cups flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 ½ cup rolled oats
¾ cup coconut

DIRECTIONS:

Beat butter, sugar and egg until smooth and creamy.

Combine remaining ingredients.

Bake at 300 for 10-12 minutes.