Maple Bars

I am so excited to blog about this dessert!  Not only because I haven't posted a dessert for awhile, but also because it is such a delicious throwback to my childhood.  My grandma used to make these bars all the time.  And then my own mom made them a lot when I was young.  Last week I gave a lesson in church about our heritage and wanted to share a recipe that was part of my family.  And so I made these to share.  They are so phenomenal!  Now don't be scared away by the idea of boiling raisins.  All it does it make the raisins soft--like melt-in-your-mouth soft.  There is also a very slight cinnamon hint that pairs perfectly with the combo of the moist raisins and chocolate chips in this bar.  And the maple glaze is very subtle and creates such a fantastic topping to this soft, comfort food!  And they're the perfect dessert in that they're sweet and addicting--but not too rich.  I could probably eat a whole pan of them myself if they were calorie-free. But you have my premission to pretend they are!

Maple Bars from Barbs

Boil for 10 minutes:

1 1/2 C raisins

2 C water

Cool mixture and then add 1 1/2 tsp soda

In a separate bowl; Cream together:

1 C butter

1 1/2 C sugar

Then add 2 eggs and mix well

In a separate bowl from above mixture, sift:

3 1/2 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp salt

Then add dry mixture to creamed mixture. Add raisins.  Add 1 c chocolate chips.

Spread into two greased 9x13 pans.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or when center comes out clean with a toothpick. Watch them closely at the end as they can overbake quickly.

Maple Glaze

1/4 C butter

1 C brown sugar

4 T water

Bring mixture to a boil.  Remove and cool.  Add enough powdered sugar to make a glaze (I did about 1/3 to 1/2 cup).  Spread on bars while still quite warm.  Cut when cool.

Christmas Dinner

Wondering what to make on Christmas Eve or Christmas day?  I've compiled a list of a few of our very favorites--many that I'll be making this weekend as well.  I love the holidays and love getting in the kitchen and making our traditional meals and treats.  We always do ham on Christmas Eve and our favorite breakfast casserole on Christmas morning.  We also make sugar cookies to leave out for Santa with a big glass of milk.  So here are some of our tried and true holiday favorites.  Merry Christmas!
(Just click on the recipe names and it will take you right to the recipe)

SIDES

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Brown Sugar Carrots

Cheesy Potatoes 

Barbeque Green Beans

BREADS

Amazing Rolls!

Cinnamon Rolls (Christmas morning tradition)

Butterscotch Bundt Rolls

SALADS

7-up Salad

Spinach Salad

Berry Salad

APPETIZER/DRINK/SNACK 

Apple Brickle Dip

Creamy Crockpot Hot Chocolate

Candy Chex Mix

Cauliflower Soup

 DESSERT

Moist Orange Carrot Cake

Andes Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Divine Chocolate Mint Cookies

Gingersnaps

Not Pictured (but I just had to add them):

Sugar Cookies

Pumpkin Blondies

Oreo Truffles

Apple Spice Bars

Oatmeal Cake

Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Creamy Crockpot Hot Chocolate

 Don't you just LOVE Pinterest?  I adore it!  And if you're not on there...you must go check it out.  I saw this hot cocoa on there and knew I had to try it as it was touted as the "Best Ever".  I love a good hot chocolate. I used to mix up the instant cocoa and have it for dinner with toast when I was a poor college student (although that can't be considered a good hot chocolate).   And then in between my junior and senior year in college, I stayed in Vienna for a few weeks and loved the little cafes there and drank oodles of cocoa.  Although it did require a sugar cube or two to sweeten it up for this American.

Well, no sugar cubes required for this recipes.   It really does have the perfect balance of sweetness. Check out the line-up for this creamy, silky cocoa:  heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk,  real chocolate, milk, and vanilla.  How could that not be perfect?  And it really was no lie...it REALLY is the "best ever".  I often feel like I need to add or subtract something from hot chocolate because it never seems 100% right.  But I have found THE recipe. The ratio of milk to cream to chocolate is absolutely perfect!   You must try this!

Creamy Hot Cocoa in Crockpot from Mrs. Happy Homemaker

1.5 cups heavy cream

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz) 

2 cups milk chocolate chips

6 cups milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir all the ingredients together in your crockpot.  Cover and cook on low for 2 hours--coming back to whisk it every so often.  Garnish with whipped cream or marshmallows

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

This amazing, chewy, addicting cookie is going to be my new "go to" cookie.  We were going on a vacation last week and so I went on the search for a new, delicious cookie to take on the road with us.  Oh my.  These are insanely good. Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe claimed that they were her favorite cookie EVER.  What an endorsement!  And I must say that I agree with her.  My husband kept talking all weekend about how amazing they were. The coconut and abundance of brown sugar make for one moist, perfectly chewy combination.  I froze a ziploc bag of them to take with us and they were even better frozen, in my opinion.  I hate how cookies are sometimes only good for a day before they start to taste old.  Well, this recipe was not that way at all!  We had a tupperware of them sitting out for a good three days and they almost tasted better as the days wore on.  This is quite a feat, in my opinion.  I was so grateful we doubled the batch because we all gobbled them up and were so sad when they were gone.  I will definitely be making these again and again!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut from My Kitchen Cafe

1 cup oatmeal (not quick)
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoons vanilla
1 cup coconut
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the top 4 ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend about 30 seconds until coarse. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter for 30 seconds until light in color. Add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Next, add the dry ingredients then add the coconut and chocolate chips. Shape cookie dough into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Let the cookies cool slightly before removing them from the pan to a wire rack. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Tips:  I didn't have any dark brown sugar--so we just used light brown in it's place.  I'll let you know if the texture or taste is different once I make it again with the dark brown.  But they were pretty amazing when we made it!  Also, we doubled it and didn't want to use 4 cubes of butter--so replaced 1 cube with 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce and it was still great!

Laurie & Amy's Amazing Chocolate Cake

I was going through old pictures on my computer today and ran across this cake and couldn't believe that I had not posted this recipe yet!  It is truly one amazing chocolate cake--just as the name states.  My mother-in-law is a chocoholic and loves all things chocolate.  So I went in pursuit of a chocolate cake worthy of her for her birthday last year.  I couldn't pass up trying this cake after the rave review it got from A Bountiful Kitchen.  We were not disappointed in the least.  My cute mother-in-law is still talking about it!  She declared it one of the best she's ever had and had to have the recipe.  She even took it to share with her siblings when they celebrated her birthday and said that they were all dying over it.  It is very dense and moist and chocolatey!  I know that it you are also a chocoholic that you will love this recipe, too.

Laurie and Amy's Amazing Chocolate Cake from A Bountiful Kitchen

1 3/4 cups boiling water

6 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, OR chocolate chips (for a double recipe, use 15 oz. chocolate chips, which equals 2 1/2 cups.)

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder*

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

10 oz (2 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 9-inch round cake pans with circles of wax paper or baking parchment.

Pour the boiling water over the chocolate chips. Add cocoa and stir until mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool. Cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and half of the chocolate mixture. Beat on low to combine, then on high for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the remaining chocolate mixture and beat on low until mixed.

Pour batter into pans and bake 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out completely clean. Cool for 10-15 minutes; remove from pans. Wrap in double layers of plastic wrap while still warm and freeze. Double recipe makes two 10" layers plus two 8" layers or four 9" layers. Never fill pans more than 2/3 full.

Frosting:

1 1/4 cups plus 2 T. butter, softened

4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (For really dark frosting, use part Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa, about 4 T.)

2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup plus 2 T. Milk

Cream butter with electric mixer. Whisk together sugar and cocoa. Beat one-third of the sugar/cocoa mixture into the butter. Mix in vanilla. Add the rest of the sugar/cocoa mixture alternately with milk and beat until frosting is smooth.

When cake is frozen solid, frost between the two layers and spread a thin layer over the whole cake. Freeze again for about 20 minutes. Frost again. Repeat if desired. (Frost the last time on the day you plan to serve the cake and let it stand at room temperature to thaw.)

Rocky Mountain Cookies

It has clearly been way too long (once again) since I have posted.  The good news is that we have officially sold our house!!! Hallelujah.  It has been a long fourteen months but we are just so thankful to finally have it off our hands.  I didn't want to post anything about it being in contract so I didn't jinx it. But we signed a couple of weeks ago and so it's all official. 

So to celebrate our move back to the Rocky Mountains--I wanted to share this recipe.  The secret in this recipe that makes then unique and that gives them that extra little crunch is the rice crispies in them.  It is a really delicious variation on the standard chocolate chip cookie.  My friend brought the batter for these cookies to a dinner we were having when we were first living in Ohio.  She baked the cookies while we were eating dinner and we all inhaled them before she had even scooped out another batch to bake.  They are soft from brown sugar and oats with the perfect amount of crunchy.

Rocky Mountain Cookies from "The Essential Mormon Cookbook"

1 C sugar

1 C packed brown sugar

1 C butter or margarine, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 C flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 C old-fashioned oats

2 C Rice Crispies cereal

1 (12 oz) bag chocolate chips

In a large bowl cream together sugars and butter.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Sift dry ingredients into a separate bowl.  Add to mixture.  Fold in oats, cereal, and chocolate chips.  Drop by tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly browned.  Makes 6 dozen.

Pumpkin Blondies

We were able to get away and go to a cabin as a family this last weekend.  My little brother is moving to North Carolina tomorrow with his wife and brand new baby :(.  So it was our last hoorah before they move.  My uncle has this fabulous cabin where we just relaxed, played games, talked, read books, and ATE lots of good food.

I brought along this recipe to share while we were all together.  I guess it attests to how good they are when we made a trip into the teensy little town nearby to buy more white chocolate chips to make these AGAIN.  We seriously polished off the pan before they had even cooled!  The second pan of blondies had a small sliver that survived to the following morning and we all decided that they were even MORE delicious the second day.  In fact, I'd recommend following the directions (we were just too enticed by their scent while baking) and letting them cool completely before slicing into them.  They were so, so, so delicious!  The white chocolate pairs perfectly with the pumpkin and I'm sure you'll be wanting to make a second batch after you make them, too.

Pumpkin Blondies from Dinner & Dessert (see blog for original source)

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 package (12 ounces) white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled).  Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

Lift cake from pan (using foil as an aid). Peel off foil, and use a serrated knife to cut into squares.

Tips: I used unsalted butter for the first batch because I had brought it.  However, I only had salted butter for the second batch. I reduced the salt to about 1/4 tsp and we all agreed that there was no difference between the two.

Applesauce Cookies

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. Ours was great here. I officially entered the "adult world" (I guess having two kids and a mortage might count for something, too) on Saturday when I turned 30 :-)--so it was a fun, celebrating weekend.

Anyways--on to the food. These are some of my favorite cookies that my mom used to make when I was growing up. They are really soft and a little cakey and have a great, subtle flavor of spices mixed with the applesauce. I love making them with chocolate chips! They aren't so overly sweet and so you can eat quite a few without feeling on a sugar high. I love that these are also a kind of cookie that I always have the ingredients for in my pantry! I made these to take to a family function on Sunday and had forgotten have delicious, soft, and yummy they are.

Applesauce Cookies from Barbs (aka my mom)

1/2 C shortening
1 C granulated sugar
1 egg
2 C flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 C applesauce

Cream everything except applesauce and soda. Put them in a separate bowl and mix--add to rest. Add raisins, nuts, or chocolate chips. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.

Decadent Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

Today is my little girl’s first day of kindergarten! I can hardly believe it. She goes to the afternoon session in another hour or so and is anxiously, excitedly counting the minutes down. I, on the other hand, am trying to stop the tears from starting… So in the spirit of taking my mind off it, I thought I’d blog about the most amazing cupcakes! A few weeks ago we were on a family vacation and found this great little bakery where they sold chocolate cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting. They sold them for $1 a piece after 7pm and we found ourselves there every single night buying their cupcakes. They were to die for! And the four pounds I gained on the trip proved how great they were! So that started the desire to try and replicate those cupcakes. I think these are pretty darn close. I took these to a family party last week and my sister-in-laws sister raved that they were the best cupcakes she’d ever had. I often feel narcissistic saying that all the recipes I post are “the best”—but I feel it’s less self-absorbed because I didn’t make up the recipes (or at least that's how I justify it). The buttercream was featured on Martha Stewart’s show and many of you may have already seen it on the Web because it seems to get rave reviews from everyone. It is not too sweet and so smooth, creamy, and the perfect flavor. I adapted it to fit the strawberry/chocolate craving I’d been having. We also made these for my sister-in-laws shower and they were a hit! The combo might sound a little weird—but it is amazing…trust me!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

Chocolate Cupcakes

Click on link above for recipe used--I used a recipe I've posted before for chocolate cake and made it into cupcakes. They were incredibly moist and paired well with the buttercream. It yielded about 24-30 cupcakes.

Strawberry Buttercream adapted from Billy's Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup (2 stick) UNSALTED butter, room temperature
6-8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 C milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-2 tsp strawberry extract
1-2 drops red food coloring
2 strawberries, chopped finely

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups sugar, milk, extract, food coloring, strawberries, and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy. If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired conistency.

Update: You MUST use a kitchenaid or Bosch mixer to make the frosting.  It won't turn out very well with an electric hand mixer.

Cookie Dough Topped Brownies

I'm sure I'm not alone in LOVING Melanie's blog over at My Kitchen Cafe. I found this recipe on her blog earlier this week and knew that I HAD to try it for our church's BBQ today. I had never heard of this recipe before and was salivating while reading her post. I was not dissappointed in the least with the final results. How could anything topped with cookie dough be bad? I honestly wanted to just sit down and eat the whole bowl of cookie dough while I waited for the brownies to cool. The brownies were perfectly soft and chocolately and the cookie dough on top was such a decadent, yummy finish. There were at least a couple of dozen desserts brought to the BBQ and this one was the only one that had every single morsel gone--with many requests for the recipe. Thanks, Melanie! I'll definitely be making these again.

Cookie Dough Topped Brownies from My Kitchen Cafe

Brownie Layer:

1 12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 2 C)
1 cup (2 cubes) butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate chips. Stir constantly and remove from heat when chips are fully melted. In the same pot, blend in the sugar. Then add eggs, blending fully one at a time. Add flour and salt and beat until air bubbles form in the batter. Pour into a greased 9 X 13-inch pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn heat down to 325 degrees and bake for 10 more minutes.Cool completely and then top with the cookie dough layer.

Cookie Dough Layer:
1/2 cup (1 cube) butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown Sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a small bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in milk and vanilla. Gradually add flour and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls over cooled brownies; carefully spread over top (this can be tricky but I found the best way is to slightly wet my hands and pat the dough down gently so it doesn't pull up the brownies). Cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator.

Tips: UPDATE: I double the cookie dough and it makes it less of a frosting and you can taste it more.  And how could more cookie dough be bad, right?

I followed the directions to the tee and they turned out perfectly cooked. I did, however, leave the cookie dough topping sitting out while I let the brownies cool in the refrigerator. I think that made it even more difficult to spread it over the brownies. So I put it all in the fridge (after the cookie dough was on in teaspoon full portions) and once it had chilled a bit it made it significatly easier to pat down on the brownies. Also, I didn't have dark brown sugar (just the "regular" kind) and it still tasted awesome.

Scotch-A-Roos!

I'm finally back! It has been a crazy, whirlwind few months. The main source of craziness being that we moved across the country to live with my in-laws while our house is still on the market in Ohio (anyone looking for a great house?). Thankfully my husband's new job took us to the West where our family lives and so we can live with family in this limbo state?!? Anyways--so in the midst of moving and then getting settled, it's taken a little while to get our internet up and running and to get back into the swing of actually cooking instead of having our dinner mainly consist of some form of drive-thru.

So I'm excited to get back into the swing of blogging and reading all of your great blogs! I have been wanting to make this recipe since a friend brought it to our New Year's party. But be warned....they are extremely addictive! I made one pan with my sister and after we all devoured it I came home and made another pan. They are really soft and chewy and have the perfect amount of peanut butter. And then you add the yummy butterscotch chocolate icing to the top and it really is the perfect combination.

Scotch-a-roos from Mykette

1 C corn syrup
1 C granulated sugar
6 C Rice Krispies
1 C peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 C chocolate chips (I used 1 1/2-2 C)
1 C butterscotch chips (also used 1 1/2-2 C)

1. Combine corn syrup and sugar in a large pot. Cook over medium heat to a boil; boil one minute.

2. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and vanilla. Add rice krispies. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

3. Chill. Melt chips in bowl in microwave and spread over treats. Chill again until chocolate sets up. Enjoy!!!

Lower Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies

 These are my new favorite chocolate chip cookie! My friend made these a few weeks back when we were having a playdate at her house. I was instantly hooked! They are a lower fat version (I take that with a grain of salt....because anything with a stick of butter can't be low fat)--but compared to most recipes they do have less butter. They are really chewy and have such an amazing flavor. I have many favorite chococolate chip recipes--but these are now #1. I just love their consistency. They are perfectly chewy, sweet, and addictive.

Chocolate Chip Cookies from Mykette

Whisk by hand:

2 1/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Then combine in a separate bowl:

1 stick butter, very softened
1 C brown sugar
3/4 C granulated sugar

Combine two sets of ingredients. Then add and beat for 1 minute:

1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1 C chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes.

Tips: My friend told me to make them following the ingredients exactly. The first batch of made of these, I had some oldish brown sugar that ended up getting really crystally and the cookies didn't turn out too well. So this last batch I opened a new bag of brown sugar and they were perfect (just as an FYI). Also, I'm not sure where the original recipe came from, but I think it might be Cooking Light.

One more tip: I asked Mykette if the dough sometimes comes out dry. She said she uses "extra large" eggs and so to add another egg white if you're using smaller eggs. Hopefully that way the consistency will be a little more moist. Given that they're lower fat, the dough isn't quite as moist as others and so I had to kind of roll them into a ball. They still tasted great, though!

Amazing Chocolate Cake

This is seriously one of the BEST chocolate cakes I have ever had! I am not a fan of how dried out homemade chocolate cake can get. This one stays moist and amazingly is more moist the second and third day. We found this last year when we were having a blizzard and found ourselves stuck in the house for the whole weekend. My husband LOVES chocolate cake and wanted to make some while we were holed up. We didn't have any milk or eggs and so he searched and found this one that doesn't have either of those ingredients--pretty crazy, right? We were completely hooked from that first making! My husband travels a lot for business and tries chocolate cake at a lot of fancy, shmancy restaurants and swears that this recipe is so much better than any he's had before. I think it is best served with homemade icing. It's amazing served warm or cooled. I just can't say enough about how much we love it!

Crazy Cake from Allrecipes

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups cold water

DIRECTIONS
Sift flour, sugar, salt, soda, and cocoa together into a 9 x 13 inch ungreased cake pan. Make three wells. Pour oil into one well, vinegar into second, and vanilla into third well. Pour cold water over all, and stir well with fork.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Frost with your favorite icing.

Tips: Although the direction are rather unusual--follow them to a tee.

Divine Chocolate Mint Cookies

 I have been waiting for a good excuse to make these decadent cookies for a long time. I found the perfect excuse when I was invited to a cookie exchange and I couldn't wait to try these out! I love that they are a little bit unusual and not your standard chocolate chip cookie. My friend, Melissa, made these for a BBQ at her house this summer and I unabashedly ate almost the whole plate of them when she pulled them out. I just couldn't stop! The chocolate cookie gets all soft inside while the Andes mint firms up in the refrigerater--the ooey, gooey cookie and slight crunch go together so well. If you like the girl scout thin mint cookies you will LOVE these. But beware....they are super addicting!

Chocolate Mint Cookies from Allrecipes

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 (4.5oz) packages chocolate covered thin mints (ie. Andes mints)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the butter, sugar and water, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from heat, stir in the chocolate chips until melted and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

2. Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl, and beat the eggs, ont at a time on high speed. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the chocolate mixture on low speed. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll cookie dough into walnut sized balls and place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets (I did about 20 per sheet).

4. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven. When cookies come out of the oven, immediately press one mint water into the top of each cookie and let sit for 1 minutes. When the mint is softened, swirl with the back of a spoon or toothpick to make a pattern with the green filling of the mint wafer.

Tips: I think they are best when refrigerated until serving. The recipe calls for using a toothpick or spoon to make a pattern. I tried this on the first batch and it was harder to swirl--I ended up using a small fork (kid sized...since my house is full of kid stuff). I also think that next time I'll move the chocolate around more of the top of the cookie instead of keeping it mainly in the center--that way all of the cookie has that minty chocolate on it.

Blonde Brownies

This yummy, ooey, gooey, sweet treat is a throw back to junior high for me--in a very good way. My close friend, Michelle, made these during a group project we did together in home economics in 8th grade. I was instantly in love! They are so good and so easy to make. After I got married, I had to call Michelle up and ask for the recipe since I'd misplaced it during college. I think it says something about these blonde brownies if I remember when I first tasted them and still crave them many years later?!? I always have the ingredients on hand and often take them when I need to bring dessert somewhere. They have a similar taste to a chocolate chip cookie without all the work of cooking batch after batch of cookies. I love that they are soft and chocolatey (is that a word?) in the middle. They are a perfect treat! Luckily I'm taking them to a baby shower tonight because they are just too tempting to eat just one!

Blonde Brownies from Michelle

2/3 C butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
2 C brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 C sifted flour
1/4 tsp soda
1 C chocolate chips
2 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients together. I truly just dump it all in and it always turns out well everytime--I guess I'm still using the 8th grade method on this one...Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Cut into squares

I used to undercook these too much. So I've learned that if you put a toothpick in and it comes out really wet--then let it cook for a couple of more minutes. But it won't be completely dry or they'll be overcooked (does this sound confusing enough). So as the top gets golden and rises slightly as it bakes and the toothpick (inserted in the middle) is more of a stickier, not drippy wet--you'll know they're done. Because with the brown sugar, they will solidify as they sit.

I tried adding 1/2 C butterscotch chips to this batch. I did like it--I think you could add white chocolate, nuts, peanut butter chips, etc. and see how you like it best. After doing the butterscotch with the chocolate I'm thinking I'll just stick with cholate chips next time. It wasn't bad--but I tasted that more than the chocolate this time.

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake

I had some buttermilk that I wanted to use up today and so I decided to make my mom's delicious Texas sheet cake that calls for buttermilk. However, I couldn't get ahold of her (sorry Mom, I know I wrote the recipe somewhere so I was asking for it again) and so I decided to try Pioneer Woman's version. I was SOOO not disappointed. It was extra moist and so decadent. It seemed a lot more soft and almost melt-in-your-mouth than our usual recipe.

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake

Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 C flour
2 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinammon (this is a variation from her recipe...my normal recipe calls for this and I think it adds an extra yummy flavor to it)

In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 C boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 C buttermilk.
Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanillaStir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:
Chop 1/2 C pecans finely (I omitted this. Nuts...blech)
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
Add:
6 T Milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 C powdered sugar
Stir together.
Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

And in the words of Pioneer Woman, "Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you've just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever." Amen!

Oreo Truffles

I love the blog My Kitchen Cafe! I needed something yummy and creative for our Church's girl's camp fundraiser and I found this recipe on her blog. These have become my "signature" item at our church since then. I have taught the young women how to make them (like I'm any type of expert...ya, right) and have had three requests since to bring them to a church function. They are SOOOO good!

Oreo Truffles adapted from Bakerella

1 package (18 oz.) Oreo cookies, crushed into small pieces
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 package Almond Bark
Chocolate chips or chocolate bark for drizzling


Mix crushed Oreos and cream cheese until well-combined. The best way to do this is using your fingers - it will be messy! Roll into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheet or tray. Refrigerate until firm, 3-4 hours (or stick in the freezer for about an hour).Melt white almond bark according to package directions. Using 2 forks (or a spoon, but forks always work better for me), dip Oreo balls into white coating and place onto waxed paper to harden. Once dry, melt chocolate bark (or if using chocolate chips, melt chocolate chips with a bit of shortening) and scoop melted chocolate into a ziploc baggie. Snip a very small corner off the bag and drizzle back and forth over the truffles. Let dry. Chill them and serve after chilled (they taste best cold!).

I made chocolate ones out of the extra leftover milk chocolate. I still think the white chocolate are the best, though!

Oatmeal cookie bars

My sister-in-law, Amy, was nice enough to share this recipe with me. She made them when we were all together for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago and I haven't forgotten them. They are really, really good!

Oatmeal Cookie Bars

2 C rolled oats (not instant)

2 C flour

1 1/2 C brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 C butter--melted

1 C chocolate chips

1/2 jar Mrs. Richardson caramel

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients but chocolate chips and caramel. Press 1/2-2/3 of mixture into a 9x13 pan and bake 10-15 min. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Drizzle caramel sauce over top. Crumble remaining mixture on top. Bake another 15-20--don't overcook! Cool completely before eating.