I have always stocked my cookie jar with fresh cookies. When Jack is home and Thomas, Chris and Caroline are here, I am rewarded in the morning with an empty cookie jar.  Amelia and Skates come home more often since they are closer than Jack is in Alabama. I made this cookie recipe for Skates with Reese’s chips and peanut butter M&Ms. Now, it is just the two of us.

The midnight snacker

Chip has a sweet tooth, and I often refer to him as the midnight snacker. I am an early bird and enter the kitchen sometime around 4:30 am. There I find the remnants of his snacking. It makes me smile because Chip’s dad, Poppi, was the original midnight snacker. Bizarrely, it validates that my baking skills are not as bad as I thought they were. No one has become violently ill as a result. I’ll take that as a win.

The search is endless for new cookies and snacks, and I pitch these tempting alternatives to Chip, who has no interest in the unknown. So, I thought about how to make different cookies while keeping the base recipe the same.

Introducing, Husband Cookies

What you need: Base cookie dough recipe:

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup rolled oats
• One stick + 1 tablespoon of softened butter
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Time to be creative:

• 1 ¼ cups of your husband, spouse, or significant other’s favorite candy. Chip loves Butterfingers.
• ¾ cup of an added treat such as chopped pretzels, nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, or even potato chips.
• You can also add cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices if you add raisins or apples. Why anyone would do that and not add candy is beyond my scope.

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and rolled oats.

Using an electric mixer, whip up the butter, and sugars until super creamy. Continue to beat on low-ish speed, adding the egg and vanilla.

Add the flour mixture to the mixer and blend until thoroughly combined.

Now- add in your signature ingredients. Place the mixing bowl in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes. The chill holds it all together.

Husband cookie dough with Butterfingers

Remove the bowl and grabbing a medium cookie scoop, place the dough balls onto a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet. Leave a little room for that delicious spreading of the dough.

Bake for about 9 minutes, check them and continue to bake in 1-2-minute intervals until set. Leave them on the parchment for a minute or two, then using a spatula, transfer to a wire rack to continue to cool.

Be true to your cookies.

You can be true to baking cookies and true to your inner cookie spirit. Try this recipe and let your creativity fly. Dunk, or don’t dunk; we don’t judge. (But Steven, no Easy Cheese is allowed.)