Martha Stewart Gold Standards

So let me share with you a few Martha Recipes that I have made many times with good results. These cookies are delish and always come out great- unlike a very crappy corn muffin recipe of hers that I tried the other week. I ended up feeding that one to the neighbor dogs. Very disappointing Martha. I am in the process of finding a new cornmeal recipe that will make a bangin muffin. I have one to try later this week possibly. But I digress... back to Martha:

Healthy Oatmeal Cookie:

This cookie is for anyone who likes a honey taste. It is also made with oil instead of butter so it's a dense, heart-healthy cookie.

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
1/2 cup dried currants or raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours and baking powder; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add flour mixture, and stir to combine; mix in oats and currants.
Using two tablespoons of dough per cookie, roll into balls; place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper, 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
Cool 5 minutes on sheets, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Cornmeal Cookie:

I have made this cookie a hundred times. It is a huge fave at work, even with non-sweet lovers. It's really easy to make and comes out perfect every time. Sometimes I add chocolate chips to it as well.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, lemon zest, and salt.
In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar, and egg until combined. Gradually add dry ingredients until moistened.
Pinch off and roll dough into balls, each equal to 1 1/2 tablespoons; place on 2 baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. With fingers, flatten balls to 3/4-inch thickness.
Bake until lightly browned around edges, 20 to 25 minutes; transfer to racks to cool completely.

Outrageous Chocolate Cookies:

These cookies are a lot like a "brownie cookie" so I have made them on request for my best friend, Lauren. This is a recipe that takes melted chocolate and chocolate chips, if you replace a couple of Tbsp of flour with cocoa powder they would be a triple chocolate treat!! This is big crowd pleaser too but I tend to make them sparingly because I bake on a budget and they require a lot of chocolate. You could probably do the cocoa and melted chocolate and leave out the chocolate chips at the end and they would still be great while saving some choco-money.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, lemon zest, and salt.
In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar, and egg until combined. Gradually add dry ingredients until moistened.
Pinch off and roll dough into balls, each equal to 1 1/2 tablespoons; place on 2 baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. With fingers, flatten balls to 3/4-inch thickness.
Bake until lightly browned around edges, 20 to 25 minutes; transfer to racks to cool completely.

Cook's Note

Don't worry if the batter seems thin. It should look more like a brownie batter than a cookie dough.

Photo Credits: Martha Stewart