[donotprint]I love food.  I love to cook.  I love to bake.  I love to create and I LOVE to share.

Last month I shared a little about the Glad to Give campaign.  Today, I’m going to share a little bit more as well as give y’all some recipes for getting involved and recipes for some of my favorite cookies ;-).

When we have young kids it can often be difficult to take them to places where you can volunteer.  They can be too young to go to the children’s hospitals, or the shelters.  Yet, they’re never too young to help and learn the joy of giving back and helping.

A fantastic way to give back, especially with the gorgeous weather so many of us are experiencing is by hosting a bake sale.  Team up with friends, and ask local retailers if you can hold your bake sale outside of their establishment.  Explain that your bake sale profits will all go to a wonderful organization like, Cookies for Kids Cancer.  You may also mention that you’re teaching your children that they can and should make a difference.

You could up the ante by trying to find local businesses to match the funds that you raise.  To promote the bake sale, create a post on Craiglist, the local paper’s online website, or you can even try emailing your local news stations.

Once you’ve organized it, it’s time to get baking.  The more people that you have involved, the more cookies you’ll have to sell and the more fun you and your kids will have in the kitchen together.

Here are a few of my favorite cookie recipes.

os cookies

The first recipe is my Granny’s Granny’s recipe and when I made them yesterday I was immediately transported back to her kitchen, childhood, sticky fingers and carefree days.[/donotprint]

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Recipe: Granny’s Orange Slice Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 C plus 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 C flour
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 C finely (FINELY) minced pecans or walnuts
  • 15 orange slices (the candy) cut into small pieces (I use scissors)

Instructions

  1. Beat eggs and gradually add sugar
  2. Add remaining ingredients, spread out in a 2 qt baking dish
  3. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes, or until light golden brown.. DO NOT OVERCOOK!
  4. Cut into squares and place on a cake rack to cool

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Next up is my variation on another childhood favorite:  The Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie.

white choc cranberry cookies 2 I traded White Chocolate Chips for the Chocolate Chips and added in dried cranberries and a couple other touches, amazing.

I took them to school for Teacher Appreciation week last week and they disappeared pretty much before anything else.  Pretty much everyone requested the recipe and more cookies 🙂

These are light, and chock full of flavor, chewy and simply delicious![/donotprint]

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Recipe: White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2/3 C butter
  • 2/3 C brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 C oats
  • 1 1/2 C flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 6 oz dried cranberries or cherries
  • 2/3 C white chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F
  2. Beat butter and sugar together until soft and creamy, add eggs on at a time; mix well.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
  4. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture in small increments. Mix well after each addition.
  5. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, gently fold in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.
  6. Drop by Tbsp, onto an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-11 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
  7. Makes about 18 – 24 cookies, depending on the size of your Tbsp 😉

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Finally, I’m going to share with y’all my kids’ favorite cookies to make and eat!

Snickerdoodles

Sweet butter cookies rolled in cinnamon and sugar, these are a hit with everyone, they’re super easy to make and the perfect cookies for little helpers with little hands.

cookie thief[/donotprint]

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Recipe: Snickerdoodles

Ingredients

  • 1 C unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
  • 2 C sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 3 C flour Sprinkles
  • 1/4 C sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

  1. In a medium sized bowl, beat the butter for about 30 seconds on medium. Add the sugar, baking soda and cream of tartar, beating until well mixed.
  2. Slowly beat in the egg and vanilla until fully incorporated.
  3. Beat in the flour 1/2 C at a time
  4. When all the ingredients are fully mixed, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
  5. Pre-heat oven to 375
  6. In a bowl combine the cinnamon and sugar.
  7. Pinch enough dough to shape 1″ balls
  8. This is my kids’ favorite part, roll the dough balls in the cinnamon and sugar mixture to cover
  9. Place on a light un-greased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes.
  10. The cookies will not appear done. Let cool for a minute on the cookie sheet and then move to wire racks.
  11. This will yield a soft, delightfully chewy cookie. For crisper cookies, cook about 12 minutes. If they cookies become a golden brown, they will be very, very crisp

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I really hope that you’ll take these recipes, or your own, and cook with your kids.  The baked goods can be distributed at a bake sale for charity, or delivered to the neighbor across the street who doesn’t get enough visitors, or someone who’s just had surgery.

Cooking with your kids teaches them a priceless life skill, while teaching your children to give back is a lesson beyond measure.

Do you have a favorite cookie recipe?  A secret ingredient for the perfect bake sale cookie?  Will be hosting a bake sale for charity?

If you answered yes to any of those, please link up your recipe, secret or post about your bake sale!  If you share a post about this very important cause, please link it up, too.

This post was written as part of a partnership with the Glad to Give campaign.  My time has been compensated but, my opinions, thoughts, recipes and stories, those are all mine.



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I'm a deep-fried Southern belle, married to a cowboy boot wearin', Harley ridin’ Texan Prince Charming. I am the always proud and frequently exhausted mom to two 8th generation Texans My childhood was spent at my Granny's side learning to cook with cast iron, butter and that special southern ingredient -- love Today, I share my passion for food, family and photography with thousands of monthly readers on my blog, A Southern Fairytale. I love cute boots, my Canon camera, belly laughs with friends, the beach, my family and ellipses..."

14 Comments

  2. I can’t believe the you made orange slice cookies. They were your grandfather’s favorite and I made them for him every Christmas once I started having Christmas at our house. I WANT one. Glad you made them!

    Reply

  5. you truly amaze me… the white chocolate cranberry cookies sound divine!
    .-= Misty ´s most recent blog ..{You Capture- Yellow} =-.

    Reply

  6. Who doesn’t love cookies! Those white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies are calling my name : )

    Reply

  9. Each of your recipes sound so good. I am going to try your orange slice cookies…they sound unusual and yet so much like they’re filled with down0home goodness.

    I recently bought some Cranberry White Chocolate oatmeal cookies and my kids devoured them. They were wonderful so I plan to make these too!

    Thanks for sharing these great sounding, and looking, cookie recipes!

    Reply

  10. Awesome recipes Rachel. Unfortunately for us here in this school district and also in Girl Scouts, home baked goods are not allowed. At least I can still do it for church though and I will! Thanks for all you do and allowing us space to share!
    .-= Oystergirl@A Moderate Life´s most recent blog ..Two for Tuesday! Whey Soda and Sourdough Croutons! =-.

    Reply

  11. The orange slice cookies are a new concept for me – definitely would never turn down a plate of your cookies!! Not ever! 🙂 Beautiful photos! My hubby loves Snickerdoodles and I’ve never made them.
    .-= Jacquelyn´s most recent blog ..Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes Hope for a Cure =-.

    Reply

  12. I call my kids Snickerdoodles but have never made them any. Thank you for sharing this and inspiring me to try the recipe! 😀
    .-= Imelda´s most recent blog ..Links for 2010-05-18 [del.icio.us] =-.

    Reply

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