Happy Mustache Day! November has drawn to an end, and December has successfully allowed men (and unfortunately, boys) of all shapes and sizes to grow mustaches. Ranging from Burt Reynolds to dirty Frenchman, these mustaches are everywhere. Aren’t us girls lucky? In honor of the cause, I hope all you boys have grown some glorious staches, and that you ladies are throwing on a fake one to celebrate. BTW, fake eyelash glue really helps secure those suckers to your face.

On another note, when did December get here?? I swear, November didn’t even happen. It’s only the first of December, and I’m already sick of Christmas music, gingerbread and commercials that think they’re being holiday witty (it’s been done, homies!).  So, to get away from it all, I’ve been killin’ time by baking cookies. What up Friday evening. Once my belly is full on gooey, chocolate, coconut deliciousness, I’m going to throw on the dirty Frenchman and my red stripey dress and hit the town. Happy weekend!

DOUBLE CHOCO-COCONUT COOKIES:

Bake at 375 for about ten minutes

Makes about 15 cookies

Cream:

1/2 cup butter (room temp)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/8 tsp salt

Add:

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Add:

3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Bring dough together, and roll into about one inch balls. Press each ball to about two inches, so that it resembles a small hockey puck. Press the dough into coconut flakes on a flat surface and place on the cookie sheet!

~1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake them babies up, and you’ve got a little hockey puck of heaven

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, “EVERYTHING is better with bacon.” Absolutely everything, guys. One of my missions in life is to perfect each kind of cookie. Okay, that’s not true…but at least all the good kinds. This week I decided to tackle the peanut butter genre. Naaaaaailed it. Know why? I added bacon. Know why else? I also added chocolate chips to some (I have a hard time making a dessert that doesn’t involve chocolate…I mean, what’s the point?). But, I’ll be damned if you don’t like these cookies. The heavenly combo of savory and sweet. The perfect balance between mmm, mmm tasty and tooth ache inducing. You really just can’t go wrong. Now, I’m a crunchy peanut butter person, but feel free to use creamy (if you’re too weak for the crunch). Enjoy!

PEANUT BUTTER & BACON COOKIES (and maybe some chocolate chips)

Bake at 375 for about 9 minutes

Makes about twenty, 2.5″ cookies

Combine:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)

1/2 cup butter (room temp or grated)’

1/2 cup cruuuunchy Adam’s peanut butter

Yes, I added the egg too early…learn from my mistakes

Add:

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp salt (watch the salt if you’re using salted peanut butter)

1 egg

Add:

1/2 bacon bits

Optional!

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix it, mix, mix it. Mix it like a Polaroid picture! No? I tried…

Roll into about 1.5″ balls and flatten with your palm. Push down the center with a fork to make that signature peanut butter cookie look.

Bake for nine minutes!

Nailed it.

I can’t really believed this happened. I was going to make some classic chocolate chip cookies, but I only had five tablespoons of butter and no chocolate chips. Uggghhhh, why don’t you ever have the ingredients you need?? So, I was all geared up and ready to go to the store on my bike. Jacket on…shoes on…purse on…but I just really didn’t want to leave! So, I took everything off and moped into the kitchen. If I keep opening the cupboard, chocolate chips are bound to appear, right? Wrong. They never did. What did I see, though? Cocoa powder, graham crackers, and marshmallows. Light bulb, baby! I was immediately on a mission to invent the s’more cookie. I did. No big. Oh, wait…biiiiig friggin’ deal.

S’MORE COOKIE:

Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes

Makes twelve, 3″ cookies

Dough:

Combine:

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar (packed)

5 tbs butter (room temp)

Add:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

1/2  tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

Mix until combined, and roll into about 1.5″ balls.

Graham Cracker Coating:

1 egg white

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

Slightly whisk one egg white in a bowl, and use to coat the dough balls. Fill another bowl with graham cracker crumbs and roll each cookie until covered.

Place each covered dough ball on a cookie sheet and indent with a teaspoon (or anything about that size…).

Bake for about ten minutes, and then repress with a tablespoon. The indent will go away while in the oven, but a quick press right when taken out will fix that up!

Once cooled, make up your marshmallow goo! Now, I’m sure some of you are scoffing at me for not making my own goo, but I didn’t have the ingredients for it, and I had marshmallows. Get over it.

Marshmallow Goo:

10 marshmallows (normal sized)

2 tbs sweetened condensed milk

On a low heat, place the marshmallows and sweetened condensed milk into a small saucepan. Keep and eye on it so it doesn’t burn! Mix until smooth and pourable.

Pour about one teaspoon of goo into each cookie.

Boom! Try and tell me you don’t feel like you’ve instantly been transported to a campfire. You can’t. And if you can, you didn’t make them right.

In the midst of my sleep last night, I groggily threw a second blanket onto my bed.  Know what that means? It’s Fall! It’s time for comfort food, pumpkin spice and a constant smell of cookies coming out of the oven. There’s something about that fresh baked cookie smell that just makes a person feel warmer. So, what did I do today? I made peanut butter cookies, and then I added a sweet morsel of chocolate goodness to the middle. Boom. Instant warmth.

CHOCOLATE DROP, PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES:

Bake at 375 for 11 minutes

Makes about eight, 3″ cookies

Cookie dough:

Combine:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick at room temp/grated in)

1/2 cup CHUNKY! peanut butter

Add:

1 2/3 cup flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

Mix it all together and plop those suckers onto a cookies sheet!

Immediately after taking out of the oven, use a tablespoon (any deep spoon, really) and make indentations in the middle of the cookie. Something big enough to hold the delicious drop of chocolate ganache.

Chocolate ganache:

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup half and half

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Simmer the half and half and pour over the chocolate chips. Let sit for about 20 seconds, then mix together. Add the vanilla. Next, once  the ganache is at a pourable consistency, fill up your cookies!

Try and resist. Go ahead. Just try.

I admit it! I went to the store, bought all my cookie ingredients, AND I bought a trashy magazine. So, sue me. Nobody can judge you when you create a little bite of heaven like this.

One of the many things I learned from my Mama…everything is better with Haagendazs, vanilla ice cream.

Oh, and what’s that you ask? Is the ice cream all melty because the cookies are still toasty from the oven? You best believe it. Indulge my friends. Indulge.

CHOCOLATE CHIP, COCONUT, OATMEAL COOKIE ICE CREAM SANDWICH!

Bake at 375 for 10 – 12 minutes

Makes about ten 3″ cookies

Combine:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)

1/4 tsp salt (If butter is not room temp, grate it with a cheese grater into the bowl. Works like a charm!)

9 tbs butter

Add:

1 1/2 cup flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Final step…add as much damn ice cream as you want!