Chocolate Peanut Butter stuffed cookies
These are somewhat labor intensive, but fun to make and mucho delicious. Found in an old magazine with some modifications, of course.

Ingredients

Flour: 1.5 cups
Cocoa: 1/2 cup
Baking soda: 1/2 tsp
Butter: 1/2 cup, softened
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Brown sugar: 1/2 cup
Peanut Butter: 1/4 cup
Egg: 1
Vanilla Yogurt: 1 tblsp
Vanilla: 1 tsp

Powdered Sugar: 3/4 cup
Peanut Butter: 1/2 cup
Vanilla: 1/4 tsp

Sugar: About 2 tblsp

Directions

1. Mix flour, cocoa, and baking soda in a bowl
2. In a different large bowl or the stand mixer, beat together butter, 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup peanut butter. Mix in egg, yogurt, and 1 tsp vanilla.
3. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and combine.
4. Form dough into balls, about 1.5 in. in diameter. Set out on wax paper.
5. Make the filling: Combine the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup peanut butter, and 1/4 tsp vanilla.
6. On wax paper, flatten a chocolate dough ball a little and put a 3/4 in. blob of the peanut butter filling in the center. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling to completely cover it. Roll the dough back into a ball. Repeat until all of the dough is used up. You may have some extra filling, but that's better than not having enough.
7. Place the dough balls on parchment paper on cookie sheets, about 1.5 in. apart. Lightly coat the flat bottom of a glass (or other small flat surface) with cooking spray, so sugar will stick to it. Dip in sugar, and slightly flatten each dough ball with the coated glass bottom.
8. Bake at 350 deg., convection, for about 12 min. A little longer for regular bake. Some cracking on the surface means they're done.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies
This has been modified slightly from the original recipe. This is a very rich chocolate cookie, a little brownie-like.

Ingredients:

Unsweetened Chocolate: 4 oz.
Semisweet Chocolate chips: 1 cup
Butter: 6 tablespoons
Eggs: 3
White sugar: 1 cup
Vanilla: 1.5 tsp.
Flour: 1/2 cup
Cocoa: 2 tbsp.
Baking powder: 1/4 tsp.
Salt: 1/4 tsp.
White Chocolate chips (or Chocolate chips): 1 cup
Chopped nuts: 1 cup

Directions

1. In the microwave, melt the unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup chocolate chips, and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Stir frequently. When smooth, set aside to cool to room temperature. You could also do the melting in a double boiler.

2. In a separate, large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for about 2 minutes.  Add the chocolate mixture and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

3. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in another bowl.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate/egg/sugar mixture gradually, and mix together. Add the white (or chocolate) chips and the nuts. I prefer the white chips, Whole Foods brand is good.

5. Cover dough with wax paper in the bowl and refrigerate 8 hrs., or overnight.

6. Roll dough into 1 to 1.5 in. balls and place on parchment paper, on cookie sheets about 2 in. apart.

7. Bake at 350 deg. for 16-18 min. Let them cool for 5 min. on the cookie sheets before moving to cooling racks.

Nuts

You can enhance the flavor of chopped nuts and give them more crunch by roasting them before adding them to the mix. Spread the nuts out on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 5-10 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Another recipe modified from something found on the net. Most recipes have about the same proportion  of peanut butter to other ingredients.

Ingredients:

Butter: 1 cup, softened
Brown sugar: 1 cup
White sugar: 1 cup
Eggs: 2
Peanut Butter: 1 cup, creamy or crunchy
Vanilla: 1/2 tsp.
Vanilla pudding mix: 3.8-4 oz. package
Flour: 2.5 cups
Baking soda: 1 tsp.
Salt: 1/2 tsp.

Directions:

1. Mix butter and sugars until smooth. Mix in eggs.

2. Mix in peanut butter. If you use the type which only has peanuts and salt as the ingredients, then this is a little runnier and the cookies will spread a little more. This is OK, I think the flavor is better with this type of peanut butter. I also like crunchy a little better.

3. Add the vanilla.

4. Mix in the pudding mix.

5. Mix in the flour and salt and baking soda.

6. Make tablespoon size balls of dough and place on parchment paper on cookie sheets about 2-3 in. apart. Use parchment paper whenever possible, it's great.

 7. Mush the cookies with a fork to get the traditional peanut butter cookie look, if you want.

8. Bake at 375 deg. for 18-21 min. The tops should start to crack a little when they are done. You've gone too long if they start to brown on top.  

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
This is a nice, fairly standard recipe. It is modified from a recipe on the internet.

Ingredients

Eggs: 3, beaten
Raisins: 1 cup
Vanilla: 1 tsp.
Butter: 1 cup, softened
Brown sugar: 1 cup
White sugar: 1 cup
Flour: 2.5 cups
Cinnamon: 1 tsp.
Baking soda: 2 tsp.
Salt: 1/2 tsp.
Oatmeal: 2 cups
Nuts: 1 cup, chopped

Options:
Substitute 3/4 cup raisins + 1/2 cup dried apple chopped into small pieces, in place of 1 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Mix eggs, vanilla, and raisins(or raisin/apple mix) in a bowl and let stand for 1 hr.

2. Mix butter and both sugars until creamy. A power stand mixer is nice, but you can use any type of mixer, or do it by hand for more exercise.

3. Mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl, add to the butter mixture.

4. Add raisin/butter mixture, oatmeal, and nuts to the mix.

5. At this point, you can cover the dough with wax paper and refrigerate overnight. This is an option, but not required.

6. Make slightly flattened cookies, 1.5 in. diameter, and place on parchment paper on cookie sheets.
Bake at 350 deg. for 17-21 min. They should be lightly browned.

Refrigerating Cookie dough

Refrigerating the dough relaxes the gluten in the flour and also allows more liquid to be absorbed by the flour. Both of these things give the cookies better texture and taste. Some sources say up to 36 hrs. is even better. This is the short version, there are much more involved scientific explanations for the refrigeration technique.

Original Chocolate Cookie Recipe

This recipe has been refined over many years and is a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:
Oatmeal : 1 cup
Water
Butter: 1 cup (Softened)
Brown Sugar: 2 cups
Eggs: 2
Dry Vanilla Pudding mix: 1 4oz. package
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Cocoa: 1 cup
Vanilla: 1.5 tsp
Flour: 2.5 cups
Chocolate Chips: 12 oz. package

Options:
In place of 12 oz. Chocolate chips:
Chocolate chips: 18 oz. total  or
White Chocolate chips; 12 oz. + 6 oz. regular chocolate chips

Chopped Nuts: 2 cups

Directions:
1. Place Oatmeal in  small bowl and add enough water to just cover oatmeal, let sit for at least 5 min.
2. Mix butter and brown sugar until smooth. I use a power stand mixer- it makes things very easy and it's awesome.
3. Mix in eggs
4. Drain most of the water off of the oatmeal and add. Continue mixing.
5. Add pudding mix and salt. Mix in. The pudding mix is crucial.
6. Mix in cocoa and vanilla. I like Rapunzel brand cocoa from Whole Foods.
7. Mix in flour gradually- the dough gets thick, so this is where the power mixer helps.
8. Add chocolate chips, do this with a spoon or spatula. I think the Whole Foods brand chocolate chips are the best I've ever had. (Not the Vegan kind, the regular ones)
9. Options, if you want.
10. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and flatten out the surface of the dough. Place a sheet of wax paper directly on the dough to completely cover the dough.
11. Refrigerate the dough at least 8 hrs., overnight is best. This is another key to the success of this recipe.

12. The next day, form cookies 1.5 to 2.5 in. diameter, flatten to about 1/2 in. thick, and place on parchment paper on cookie sheets.
13. Convection bake at 375 deg. for 12-14 minutes or Regular bake for 16-18 minutes. You know your own oven, so you can adjust the time accordingly.

You should get 28-30 large cookies or 36-40 smaller cookies.