Raisin Snickerdoodles (9-17-11)

This is an alternative to the previous Snickerdoodle Cookie post.  After I made the Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies, my hubby asked if I could make Raisin Snickerdoodles... So... here are the short notes for them!

Have your 16.5 oz roll of refrigerator sugar cookie dough sliced up.  I also had about 1 cup of raisins and the 1/3 cup sugar (Splenda in our case), 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon nutmeg blend (i.e. "Snickerdoodle Spices").

To blend the raisins into the cookie dough, I just grabbed a bunch and smooshed it into the dough (yes - "smooshed"... We get real technical here at Nifty Novice! LOL).

Roll each one up into a ball, roll it into the "Snickerdoodle Spices" and place on your sprayed pan about 2 inches apart.  You'll notice 2 cookies on the far left side of the picture... My hubby asked me to put some coconut flakes on there, hoping the toasted coconut would taste real good...

Baked at 350 for 10-13 min until golden brown... Although... I couldn't really tell about the edges of the cookies... Since it turned into one huge cookie!

It did, however, split up easy enough to go on the cooling rack.

The toasted coconut didn't turn out quite as he had hoped.  There was a bit of a toasted coconut taste to it, but not quite enough.  Maybe next time, I'll give him a bit more coconut. ;-)

The cookies actually tasted pretty good.  I just wish there was a way to get them to hold their shape like the Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies did... I'll have to figure out what the deal is with that.  And, while the "Snickerdoodle Spices" tasted ok, I think we'll skip them next time and just have raisin cookies.  (But, check out the bottom of that cookie!!  PERFECTION AGAIN!!!)

We're getting a bit more creative... Definitely getting interesting!  LOL

Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies (9-10-11)

Here is another recipe from the wonderful book: The Ultimate Shortcut Cookie Book - Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Ingredients:
1 16.5oz Roll of Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
1/2 teaspoon Gound Cinnamon
1 Cup Raisins

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Break up your cookie dough into little pieces in a bowl and let it sit out for 10-15 minutes to soften.  Although, I'm not sure it really needs that much time... You're going to be working the dough, so use your best judgement...and listen to your tummy... Your tummy will tell you when it's time to move on! ;-)

Stir in the cinnamon and raisins!  And if a few extra raisins pop in, hey... I won't tell a soul!  ;-)

OK.  Now you can either mix it with a mixer (paddle attachment!), wooden spoon, or the Nifty Novice way - gloved hands!!  Get in there!!  FEEL THE DOUGH!!!!!  Connect with your inner child!!  You know you wanna!!

When it's all mixed, you should have a nice, moist hunk of dough.

Take a spoon and spoon out your cookie servings.

Roll that teaspoon amount of dough into a ball (or, in my case, an oval-shaped hunk of dough)!!!

Put them on the sprayed pan 2 inches apart.  (Ignore the previous burnt cookie stains that show up so stinkin' well in this picture.  I'm a little bitter from that excursion of my hubby's... He's still not allowed to touch the tray! LOL)

Bake for 10-13 minutes or until just set and golden at edges.  However, apparently, my view of "golden at edges" is a bit off...

I was happy they didn't expand as much as the refrigerated sugar cookie dough... I wouldn't say it was incredibly tasty... It lasted a few days here...and that's a long time for us!  Oh... and... ummmmm... raisins and chocolate...not a real swell idea to overindulge on both at the same time.  Just trust me.

As you can see though, the instructions are SO incredibly easy!!  And I was so happy that it didn't involve crazy ingredients!!  I may actually try it again, but maybe leave it in the oven a little bit less...