Bake or Break

Oatmeal Date Cookies

View a printable recipe or more photos Fun fact: I do not like raisins. Not even a little bit. I do, however, very much like oatmeal cookies. They're chewy and cinnamon-y and just plain yummy. Of course, oats and raisins have long been joined together in cookiedom, so finding oatmeal cookies without raisins is usually a challenge. So, I usually make my own oatmeal cookies, substituting something like dates or currants for the raisins to make them more me-friendly.

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Black-Bottom Cookie Bars

View a printable recipe or more photos Having lived in the South all of my life until last year, summer has always meant unbearable heat and a few months of staying inside as much as possible. I won't say that it doesn't get plenty hot here in New York. It certainly does. Thankfully, though, it's not quite as long-lived as all of the other summers I've known. As I write this in mid-August, it's already feeling a little bit like fall outside.

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Chocolate-Butterscotch-Oatmeal Chippers

View a printable recipe or more photos For these cookies, I found my inspiration on a bag of Guittard's butterscotch chips, which are one of my favorite baking ingredients. I was lured in by the added appeal of chocolate and a simple recipe. And Quinn's enthusiasm about having some homemade baked goods, which have been few and far between of late.

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Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies

View a printable recipe or more photos Not only am I posting two cookie recipes in a row, but they both also feature pecans. That probably doesn't surprise many of you, as I am a proud pecan fan. One of the beauties of these cookies is how easy they are to make. They are one of those elusive one-bowl recipes for when you want to bake but you don't want to clean up endless bowls, beaters, etc. Honestly, that's most of the time for me these days.

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Pecan Sandies

View a printable recipe or more photos I loved, loved, loved pecan sandies as a child. You know, the store-bought ones that have been around for ages. In my adult years, I have come to appreciate and prefer homemade baked goods. I simply couldn't pass up the chance to make my very own pecan sandies. This recipe comes from Martha Stewart Makes Cookies, an iPad and iPhone app that's been around for a few months now. I was first introduced to the app when I was invited to The Martha Stewart Show to live Tweet her cookies episode in November. As you can imagine, that was quite an experience, and I'm still in awe of both her and that set.

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Chocolate Espresso Cookies

View a printable recipe or more photos I must preface this post by saying that I am not a coffee fan. I have repeatedly thought through the years that I could develop a taste for it as I get older. Not so much. Quinn, on the other hand, has become a believer over the last few years. So, these cookies are all about him. Other than a bite of cookie dough (to check consistency, of course!), I did not partake.

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