A few diet-friendly recipes

Well, not really. But diets aren't any fun, and cookies are, so here are two of my favorite cookie recipes. I'm big on soft cookies and both of these are soft and stay that way, but they're not crumbly. I chill the dough on both of these recipes so they are easier to handle. I also think they are both better the next day, after they've had a day to set up and become the cookie they are destined to become.

Soft Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Caramel-Filled Chocolate Cookies (Rolo Cookies)

1 Chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Rolos
2 tablespoons white sugar

Mix cake mix, eggs and oil. Place about 1 tsp of dough in hand and flatten. Place 1 Rolo in the center and roll into a ball. Roll in sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7-10 minutes at 350. Note: I use the small Pampered Chef scoop and it makes exactly 36 cookies. The dough is pretty thick so I use my bosch to mix it with the dough hook, but you can use your muscles if you are so inclined. And one more note: there are 8 rolos in each package, so you will need 4 1/2 packages for this recipe. What you do with the other 4 rolos is up to you. Or, you could just buy one of those big bags, but then you have to unwrap the little buggars.


So there you have it. Two reasons to bag your diet. Oh, and thank you to everyone for your nice comments on my last post about Abby. I have the nicest friends in the world! Maybe I should just make you all some cookies...