Theses cookies are great–they’ve got a little bit of everything (hence the name) but without being too sweet. All of the flavors work together nicely and none of them over power one another.

The Everything Cookie Clusters

Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick salted butter, room temp
• 1/2 c peanut butter
• 1/2 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 c flour
• 1 c oats
• 1/2 c raisins
• 1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, and eggs.

2)  Mix in cinnamon, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir well. Hand stir in oats, raisins, and chocolate chips.

3)  Spoon onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cookies will start to brown slightly, but not much. Lightly lift up the cookies and if the bottoms are completely cooked, then so is the rest of the cookie. It only took me 10 minutes though, so it really shouldn’t take much longer than that (unless you have a weird oven).

Cinnamon-Apple Muffins

Yield: about 16 muffins

Ingredients:

Muffins

• 1 and 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 stick salted butter, melted
• 1 diced medium tart apple

Topping

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup uncooked oats
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp cold butter, cut

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients for the muffins.  In a separate bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, and butter. Stir into dry ingredients until well mixed. Fold in apple.

2)  Pour batter into prepared muffin tins. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for topping and cut in cutter with two knives or a pastry cutter. The topping will be crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins and bake at 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before handling.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Surprise! Cookies

Yield: about 2 dozen

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 stick salted butter, soft
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 and 1/4 cup flour (you might need a little more)
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

1)  In a small bowl, combine peanut butter and powdered sugar. It will be crumbly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for about 20-30 minutes.

2)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a different bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg white and vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, and baking soda and gradually add to butter mixture.

3)  Roll chocolate dough into balls that are about 1 and 1/2 or 2 inches big.  Flatten.  Roll smaller balls of the peanut butter mixture and place in the center of each chocolate circle. Fold chocolate up and around the peanut butter, sealing all edges. Flatten the dough once more using the bottom of a glass, until it is about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 10 minutes.

Lemon Tea Cookies

• Yield: about 2 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 and a half sticks salted butter, soft
• 1/3 cup sugar (maybe 1/2 cup if you like them to be sweeter)
• juice from 1 lemon
• zest form 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 and 1/4 cups flour

Directions:

1)  In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Slowly beat in flour and cornstarch until well combined. Beat in lemon juice and zest. Shape dough into a log that is 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. Be careful not to handle the dough too much.

2)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap dough and slice, about 1/4 inch thick. Bake for 10 minutes, until edges are golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Lime Cheesecake

Yield: about 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 prepared graham cracker pie crust
• 2 pkgs (8 ounces each) cream cheese, cubed
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• juice from 4 limes
• grated zest from 4 limes
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Mix in sugar and flour. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in the sour cream, lime juice, zest, and vanilla. Pour into crust.

2) Place in a large baking pan and add about an inch of hot water to the pan. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Cool on a wire rack for about an hour. Chill overnight.

Fudgey Brownies

Yield: about 18 brownies

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks salted butter, melted
• 1 cup baking cocoa
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 and 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. After butter has melted, remove it from the heat and stir in cocoa until completely mixed. Set aside.

2)  In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until creamy. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Mix into egg mixture until well incorporated. Stir in vanilla and chocolate mixture.

3)  Pour batter into a 13×9x2 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until completely cooked all the way through. Wait a few minutes to cool just enough so you can cut the brownies without them falling apart. Enjoy warm, perhaps with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Super Simple Chocolate Mousse

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons water
• 3 egg yolks
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1)  Melt chocolate with water in a small saucepan, stirring until completely smooth. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Pour about 1/3 of the chocolate into the eggs and beat. Return all to pan and return to heat, stirring constantly until slightly thickened.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and let cool.

2)  In a separate bowl, whip cream on high until thickened. Add sugar and continue to whip on high until soft peaks form. DO NOT over beat, or else it will turn into butter. I’m not kidding, you can make butter another time by just whipping some cream and adding salt. Fold in cooled chocolate and stir lightly, but make sure chocolate is evenly spread throughout. Cover and chill for several hours in refrigerator, until set.

Classic Coffee Cake

Yield:  9 servings

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk

Topping

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 stick butter, cold
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.

2)  Combine dry ingredients. Mix into shortening mixture. Cream in milk.

3)  Pour batter into a 9×9 in baking pan.  In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients for topping. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter or two knives. Sprinkle over top of batter. Add nuts if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until cooked all the way through. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving so it does not fall apart when you’re trying to cut it.

These muffins are a classic. Use fresh squeezed lemon juice to make them even better.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Yield: about a dozen

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds
• 1 pkg instant lemon pudding
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• zest from 1 lemon
• juice from 1 lemon

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, including poppy seeds. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk, and oil.

2)  Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients’ bowl. Mix until well combined. Stir in lemon juice and lemon zest.

3)  Pour batter into muffin tins and bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, until cooked all the way through.

The picture was taken after I, uh, made sure it turned out alright. *a third of a loaf later…* This is perhaps one of my favorite bread recipes of all time. What is it about Grandma’s recipes that are so good? I guess they’re tried and true, which makes them awesome. The nice thing about banana bread is that whether the bananas are ripe or overly ripe, where you don’t really want to eat them anymore, they still taste good in bread form. I like eating this bread warm with a big pat of butter.

Grandma’s Banana Walnut Bread

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

• 1 stick salted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• a dash of vinegar
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream sugar and butter for 2 minutes on low. Add eggs and milk. Mix well. Mix in vinegar and bananas until well incorporated.

2)  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to banana mixture, 1/2 at a time, until well mixed. Stir in walnuts. Pour batter into a 9 x 5 x 3 bread loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-70 minutes, until an inserted knife comes out clean.