I really love oatmeal raisin cookies. It always surprises me to learn that so many people hate them, and hate even more biting into one of them thinking it’s chocolate chip only to find out it’s oatmeal raisin. I actually think I prefer oatmeal raisin to chocolate chip any day; they’re just better.

I love the cinnamon in the dough, the saltiness complimenting the sweet fruit, and the chewiness of the oats. I don’t make gluten-free cookie recipes often since they can be a hassle and a disaster, but these seemed worth it.

Make sure the oats you buy are tested gluten-free if serving these to someone with allergies.

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 1/2 dozen):

• 1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free oats
• 1/2 cups raisins
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup milk or water

Method:

1. Mix together the brown rice flour, oats, raisins, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
2. Mix in the eggs, butter, and liquid and mix completely.
3. Refrigerate the dough for about 20 minutes until it sticks to itself.
4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
5. Spoon about an ounce of dough into a small mound on a non-stick baking tray leaving about 3-inches apart for the cookies to spread. Repeat with all the dough.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the centers of the cookies are form. Remove from the oven and let cool before lifting off the tray.

When these first came out of the oven, they were a little cakey but once they cooled the texture got chewier.

Trader Joe’s makes the best trail mix. It’s called Tempting Trail Mix. The name really doesn’t do it justice; it won’t last long enough in your pantry to be tempting. Normally with trail mix I’ll just pick out the chocolate bits until there’s only fruit and nuts left, but not this one. It has chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, peanuts, cashews, almonds, and dried cherries. What’s not to love?

See, nothing but good.

Obviously these needed to be made into cookies to be enjoyed all the time. I mixed some of the trail mix into a super simple gluten-free peanut butter cookie batter; the peanuts and peanut butter chips in the trail mix and peanut butter in the cookie dough make for a delicious triple dose of peanuts.

I used 2 egg whites in place of the egg since I wanted to use up a container of egg whites and the cookies were slightly puffier and softer than normal and the batter was also looser to work with. I wouldn’t say one version was better than the other but I would be aware that subtle changes like that can change the end result.

Tempting Trail Mix Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 20 cookies):

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2/3 cup cane sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup Tempting Trail Mix

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.
3. Take off pieces of dough and roll into 1-inch balls. place the balls on a lined baking tray and flatten lightly. Repeat with all of the dough.
4. Bake for 15-17 minutes until the tops of the cookie are firm to the touch.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before moving.

These came out just as good—if not better—than the trail mix. I had trouble not just eating the batter. The chocolate chips melted perfectly in the oven and had just the right bitter flavor for the lightly-sweet dough. I also can’t get enough of how easy a Silpat mat makes baking. I don’t know what took me so long getting with the times.

After I made my first batch of gluten-free thin mints, I still had half the batter to bake and no chocolate chips left to coat them with. All I had was a white chocolate baker’s bar, so I used that. And I’m really happy I did.

Typically I’m skeptical of white chocolate. I don’t like it most of the time, but I think there’s something about pairing it with mint that makes it much more palatable. Coating the white chocolate onto the cookies is a little more challenging because where it’s too thin you can see the cookie part coming through; but I don’t think this is really a problem. If anything it adds to the homemade quality of the cookies.

I provided a link in the ingredients to the recipe for the chocolate cookies I used but you can use any that you prefer, or even store-bought cookies. 

White Chocolate Thin Mints

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 24 cookies):

• 24 chocolate shortbread cookies such as these or your preferred thin mint cookie recipe
• 12oz white chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon mint extract

Method:

1. Gently melt the white chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler.
2. When the chocolate has melted, mix in the extract until it is smooth and incorporated.
3. If you’re baking the cookies from scratch, be sure to let them cool to room temperature before coating in chocolate.
4. Dip the cookie into to chocolate, coating both sides. Smooth with a knife if necessary.
5. Put the cookie on a non-stick surface and repeat until all of the cookies and chocolate are used up.
6. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I actually preferred these to the dark chocolate Thin Mints. The white chocolate added a butteriness to the cookie that was missing in the others. 

If there’s one candy that can rival my love of chocolate and peanut butter, it’s peppermint patties. As soon as I made my egg-shaped Reese’s cups, I wondered why no one ever does the same with peppermint patties?

The ratio of filling to chocolate coating is a little ridiculous here; if you’re not a fan of super sweet desserts, this probably isn’t for you. I am, however, so I thought these were great. The chocolate coating certainly could have been prettier but it’s mostly my fault for hastening the process; this works best if you let the patties freeze well before being coated.

Easter Egg Peppermint Patties

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes a dozen):

• 2 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons agave nectar(or any liquid sweetener)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons water
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil, softened or melted
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 8oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

Method:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, sweetener, water, coconut oil and extract completely until it forms a dough-like consistency.
2. Break off pieces of the filling and roll it into a log in your hands. Gently press down until the shape resembles an egg. Lay this on a non-stick surface and repeat with the rest of the filling.
3. Refrigerate the filling until it’s cold and hard—about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a microwave or over a double-boiler.
5. Cover the filling eggs on both sides and all around in the chocolate. Try to work quickly since the filling will soften the longer it’s out and near the chocolate. Lay the eggs on a non-stick surface one by one.
6. Once you’ve used all the chocolate and filling, refrigerate the eggs until the coating hardens. These will last up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

These are like after dinner mints on steroids. I could never choose between these and Reese’s cups. Thankfully, we live in a world where no one ever has to.

I’m a huge fan of Reese’s. I don’t think there’s anything they make which I don’t like. Well, besides the inside out peanut butter cups. And the white chocolate peanut butter cups. Seriously, what were they thinking? Well, we all make bad decisions.

Anyway, any true Reese’s fan can tell you that the holiday edition items are the crème de la crème. Whether it’s the trees, eggs, or hearts, the peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio is so much more perfect.

Why make regular peanut butter cups when you can make delicious(and festive!) eggs? You wouldn’t. These were just as easy to make as regular cups, and I think I liked them more. I used peanut butter that was just peanuts and salt, but no-stir peanut butter should work as well. You could even use white chocolate instead of the semi-sweet chocolate, but I will judge you slightly(Just kidding… sort of).

Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 7 eggs):

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 4oz semi-sweet chocolate

Method:

1. Melt the butter and mix in the peanut butter and powdered sugar until there are no clumps(If you’re using no-stir peanut butter, you might want to melt that, too, so it’s easier to mix together).
2. Refrigerate the peanut butter mixture until it’s mostly solid.
3. While the peanut butter is chilling, melt the chocolate until smooth and silky. Let the chocolate sit at room temperature for 10 minutes once melted to cool slightly, but keep it hot enough so that it doesn’t reharden.
4. To shape the eggs, take about an ounce of chilled peanut butter dough and roll it in your palm into a log. Then press down slightly on both sides to flatten. If the dough gets too soft during this process, stick it back in the refrigerator or freezer for 10 minutes to make sure that it’s solid before touching the melted chocolate.
5. Drop the egg into the melted chocolate. Flip it using a spoon or a fork and spread the chocolate around the sides. Move the chocolate-covered egg onto a piece of parchment paper.
6. Repeat with all of the peanut butter and chocolate.
7. Refrigerate the eggs until the chocolate coating has hardened. Keep chilled for up to 2 weeks.

Just take my advice and double the recipe. 7 will hardly last a day.