CHOCOLATE COVERED OATMEAL COOKIES

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup regular sugar
2 egg yolks
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup Quaker rolled oats
Very large Hershey bar or
chocolate of your choice
2 tbsp butter
½ cup chopped nuts of
your choice (optional)

For a larger 10 ½ x 15 ½ pan
1 ½ cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup regular sugar
3 egg yolks
1 ½ cup flour
1 ½ cup rolled oats

Cream butter and sugars thoroughly. Beat in egg yolks. Add flour and rolled oats and mix well. Spread in a greased and floured 13 x 9 inch pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, cool.

Melt chocolate with 2 tbls butter. Spread over cooled cookie layer. Sprinkle with nuts. Cut into squares. Best when kept in fridge.

I usually omit the nuts and sprinkle (by hand) some Sea Salt over chocolate which adds a little extra to the taste.

Because you have the egg whites leftover you can use to make a Meringue type cookie.

LEMON MELTAWAYS

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour
Baking time: about 8 minutes
Cooling time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup butter softened
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon peel (I use more)

FROSTING
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon peel

In large mixer bowl, combine all cookie ingredients. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed (2 to 3 minutes).

Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 8 x 1 inch roll. Wrap in plastic food wrap. Refrigerate until firm (1 to 2 hours).

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

With sharp knife, cut each roll into 1/4 inch slices. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until set. (Cookies will not brown). Cool completely. They are VERY FRAGILE.

In small mixer bowl, combine all frosting ingredients. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until fluffy. (1 to 2 minutes). Frost cooled cookies.

Makes 4 dozen — depending on how large your rolls are.

NOTE:

In making these several times, I’ve made these changes. I now add more lemon peel and a little more juice to both the cookie and frosting. I also add a little yellow food coloring gel to the frosting. I like to make a double recipe as they usually go quickly. I also use a very sharp chef’s knife when cutting the COLD cookie dough. Only take one roll of dough out of the fridge at a time. Also, slice them carefully but quickly rolling down the plastic wrap as you cut. I try to slice the dough to as many as will fit the cookie sheet and then quickly lay them on the sheet. I found that moving quickly while the dough is cold, and holding it with the plastic wrap as you cut, makes the dough less fragile. Cut them thick enough so they do not crumble. Be sure the cookies are cold before removing them from the cookie sheet as this also eliminates breakage.

Frosting the cookies is another time when you may see the cookies break. What I have learned is to place the cooled baked cookies in the fridge before I frost them. Frosting can be made ahead of time. Just do not refrigerate it. Room temp frosting on the COLD cookies makes for less breakage. Time-consuming but good. Keep completed cookies in fridge.