Orange-Cranberry Crumble Bar Cookies
Recipe by Theresa M. Burke, DVM, Columbus, Ohio
First place, Cookies and Pastries (Bar Cookie), 2015
Baking temperature: 350 degrees
Baking time: 40-50 minutes
Yield: 12 bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 cup cold butter, cubed
- 1 ½ cups quick-cooking oats
- 1 cup flaked coconut
- 2 tsp. grated orange peel
- 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
- 1 can (14 oz.) whole berry cranberry sauce
- 1 cup orange marmalade
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and ginger; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Stir in oats, coconut and orange peel.
- Place 3 cups of this mixture in another bowl; stir in pecans. Set aside for topping.
- Press remaining oat mixture into a greased 15” x 10” baking pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Combine cranberry sauce and orange marmalade. Spread over crust.
- Top with reserved oat mixture.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool on a wire rack. Once cool, cut into bars.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe by Lyle Linerode, Heath, Ohio
First place, Cookies and Pastries (Chocolate Chip Cookie), 2015
Baking temperature: 375 degrees
Baking time: 9-11 minutes
Yield: Approximately 4 dozen cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup shortening/butter (Editor’s note: I like using half butter and half shortening, but some people prefer all shortening or all butter. As a general rule, cookies made with all butter tend to be flatter and crispier, and cookies made with all shortening tend to be a little taller and slightly softer.)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugars.
- Add eggs, vanilla and cream.
- Add dry ingredients, chocolate chips and mix well.
- Drop by teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (Editor’s note: I love using parchment paper for easy clean-up. Lay a piece down on your cookie sheet so the treats will slide off easily and your cookie sheet is easy to clean.)
- Bake 9-11 minutes at 375 degrees.
Molasses Ginger Cookies
Recipe by Bernadette Harvey, Powell, Ohio
First place, Cookies and Pastries (Oatmeal Cookie), 2015
Baking temperature: 350 degrees
Baking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 6 dozen cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 ½ cup butter, room temperature
- ½ cup molasses
- 2 eggs
- 4 ½ cups flour
- 1 Tbsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. cloves
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
- Additional sugar for rolling
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, molasses and eggs until light and fluffy.
- In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
- Add dry mixture to the butter sugar mixture; mix to combine.
- Refrigerate dough for at least two hours.
- Shape dough into 1” balls and roll into additional sugar.
- Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.