Cinnamon Chip Cookies

These cookies are some serious yumminess. They reminded me of a cinnamon roll in cookie form (without the frosting) and they take the normal snickerdoodle cookie to a whole new level with the addition of cinnamon chips. Aren't cinnamon chips a beautiful thing?

Cinnamon Chip Cookies
Adapted from Averie Cooks
Printable Version
Makes 22 cookies
Ingredients
1 egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt (optional)
1 10 ounce bag of cinnamon chips

Directions
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the egg, butter and sugars beat on medium high speed until well creamed about five minutes. If using a hand mixer beat for at least 7 minutes. Add the yogurt and vanilla and incorporate until fluffy again, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda and optional salt. Beat until just combined, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to over mix. 
Stir in the cinnamon chips. Place dough in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, until it is hard to the touch. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to brown. Allow cookies to cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling. 

M & M Cookies for Memorial Day

I spent the morning of Memorial Day this year making these cookies to take into my husband and his co-workers who were hard at work serving military families at our Naval Hospital. I adapted this recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook chocolate chip cookie recipe and was really happy with the results. They were really yummy and who doesn't love an M&M cookie? 

This recipe makes about 6 dozen cookies and I was worried I sent in too many, but my husband said that these were demolished in 24 hours. I am so glad that I was able to give back in a small way  on a Holiday that honors the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country. 

M & M Cookies
From Betty Crocker's Cookbook
Makes 6 dozen cookies
Printable Version
Ingredients 
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 large package of M&Ms (I used plain but any variety could be used)

Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix throughly shortening, butter, sugars and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients, making sure to gently stir in the M&Ms at the very end.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool slightly before removing from baking sheet. 

Margarita Pie

You can't have a Mexican Feast to celebrate Cinco de Mayo without a yummy dessert. I saw this recipe for Margarita Pie on my friend Elizabeth's blog and knew it would be a perfect, refreshing ending to our Cinco de Mayo dinner with friends. I love desserts that you can make ahead and this one you can freeze overnight. I definitely tasted the alcohol in this so it is most definitely not a kid friendly dessert, but you could omit the tequila and triple sec! A margarita in pie form - can't go wrong with that!

Margarita Pie
From Elizabeth's Dutch Oven 
Printable Version
Ingredients
For the crust:
8 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup crushed pretzels

For the filling:
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
3-4 tablespoons tequila
2 tablespoons triple sec
1 tub cool whip

Directions
For the crust:
Crush pretzels into bite sized pieces and measure out 1 1/4 cup. Melt butter. Mix sugar and butter then add pretzels and coat. Press into the bottom of an 8X8 square pan coated first with additional melted butter or cooking spray.

For the filling:
Stir together all ingredients in a bowl. Pour over the pretzel crust. Freeze for several hours or overnight before serving. 

Cream Cheese Brownie Batter Dip

This decadent dip is another Pinterest find. I made it for my play group and served it with fresh strawberries, graham crackers, sliced bananas and Ritz crackers. It was a big hit - kids love dipping things don't they? The original name for it was Brownie Batter Dip but I changed it because of the very strong cream cheese flavor. 

Cream Cheese Brownie Batter Dip
From Something Swanky
Printable Version
Ingredients - I doubled this because I was feeding a large crowd
8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar (varies by desired consistency)
5 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
5 tablespoons brown sugar
3+ tablespoons milk (varies by desired consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
In a stand mixer whisk together the cream cheese and butter. Add the brown sugar. Add the 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time and 2 tablespoons of milk. Add the flour, cocoa powder, vanilla and 1 more tablespoon of milk if needed. Whisk all until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and milk alternately if needed until dip reaches your desired consistency.  Serve with fresh fruit, crackers or eat with a spoon! 

Seven Layer Bars

I was told by my Aunt Chris that I have been neglecting my cooking blog and she is 100% correct. I have a very busy 9 month old on my hands and barely have time to cook these days, let alone take pictures of it, edit the pictures, and sit down to write it all up in a blog. But this blog was kind of my first baby (aside from our very spoiled pug Wendell) and I do need to give it some love and attention from time to time. Thank you for those of you still checking in on it. I hope you will forgive me for the neglect by sharing these delicious Seven Layer Bars! I had never made them before and really have only had them a couple times, but for some reason I got it in my head to make them a couple of weeks ago. I sent them in to work with my husband and when I asked how his co-workers liked them he told me that one lady said, "I love your wife!" And that makes it all worth it, knowing someone else enjoyed these tasty treats. They are fairly simple to make but plan ahead because they have to cool for TWO HOURS!

Seven Layer Bars
From Brown Eyed Baker
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
9 graham crackers, crushed or 5 ounces of graham cracker crumbs
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (I prefer pecans so used those)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Directions
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9X13 pan with two overlapping pieces of foil or parchment paper, leaving overhand to act as handles for lifting the bars out of the pan. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. 
Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until the outer flakes begin to brown, about 4 minutes (keep a very close eye on it!). Set aside to cool.
Melt the butter and combine with the graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl. Toss with your fingers until the butter is evenly distributed. Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan to form your first layer. 

In order, sprinkle the pecans, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and then coconut on top of the graham cracker crust. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the entire dish. 

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack until room temperature, about 2 hours. 

Remove the bars from the pan using the foil or parchment paper handles and place onto a cutting board. Using a sharp knife cut into small bars because these babies are RICH!

White and Milk Chocolate Nestle Toll House Cookies

This recipe may be from the back of the a bag of chocolate chips but I don't care! I am throwing all of my other chocolate chip recipes out the window because I have found my favorite one. These cookies are everything a chocolate chip cookie should be - soft with the right amount of chewiness and fluffiness, a little rich, a little buttery, a little salty with pops of chocolate in every single bite...basically chocolate chip cookie perfection. I made mine with both white chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips just to mix things up a bit.

White and Milk Chocolate Nestle Toll House Cookies
From Allrecipes.com
Printable Version
Makes 5 dozen cookies - so share with your friends!
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used my homemade vanilla pictured in vodka bottle)
2 large eggs
1 12 ounce package of chocolate chips (I used about half white and half milk chocolate chips)
1 cup chopped nuts, optional (I omitted these)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, both sugars and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in four mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. 

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for two minutes then remove to write rack to cool completely. 

Puffy Vanilla Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Last week I hosted a Valentine's Day cookie exchange at my house. All the ladies brought at least two dozen cookies to sample and share with one another. It was a lot of fun not to mention yummy! I made these Puffy Vanilla Peanut Butter Chip cookies. 

They are made puffy from using Crisco and also chilling the dough.  I love the strong flavor of vanilla that shines through from my homemade vanilla extract. There is also a slight cinnamon flavor in these cookies and of course a pop of peanut butter in every bite. I am a huge fan of these little babies and once you try them you will be too!

Puffy Vanilla Peanut Butter Cookies

From Averie Cooks

Makes 2 dozen cookies (I doubled the recipe)

Printable Version

Ingredients

1/2 cup Crisco (or vegetable shortening)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt, optional

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup peanut butter chips (can also use butterscotch, white chocolate, or chocolate chips)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with Silpat liners, parchment paper, or spray with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl beat together Crisco, sugars, egg, water and vanilla until batter is creamy. Add in the cinnamon, salt, baking soda and flour and mix until just combined. Fold in the peanut butter chips. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. Do not skip this part if you want puffy cookies!

Using a cookie scoop form 1 inch balls (or roll into 1 inch balls) and place about 2 inches apart from one another on cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until barely brown. Remove cookies from the oven when they look slightly under baked and allow cookies to cool and firm up on cookie sheet placed on wire rack for approximately 5 minutes. 

Then remove from cookie sheet and allow to finish cooking on wire rack. Store in an airtight container or freeze for up to 3 months. 

Butter Pecan Cupcakes

I was on the hunt for butter pecan cupcakes for my husband's birthday because that is one of his favorite ice cream flavors. There are tons of recipes for layered butter pecan cake, but since I wanted to take them into work for his coworkers to enjoy I really thought cupcakes were the way to go. I finally came across this recipe from A Cuppy Cake Life and spent the majority of the day whipping them up. Making cupcakes with a three month old is no easy task but a couple of hours later they were in the hands of hubby and his coworkers being gobbled up. Although this a great cake recipe and the toasted pecans were a tasty touch, I was not a fan of the frosting. I think there was too much powdered sugar and modified the recipe below. Honestly I suggest using a different frosting, perhaps your favorite buttercream! 

Butter Pecan Cupcakes
From A Cuppy Cake Life
Makes about 30 cupcakes

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 1/4 cups butter, softened and divided
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins and set aside. In a large skillet melt 1/4 cup of the butter. Add the chopped pecans and toss to coat. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until nuts are toasted and fragrant, about 10-15 minutes. Do not over cook. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl cream the sugar and remaining cup of butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix throughly after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add the dry mixture in thirds alternating with the milk. Mix well after each addition. Stir in 1 cup of the toasted pecans. The remainder will be used to top the cupcakes.

Spoon 1/4 cup of batter into each liner. Bake for 13-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 3 minutes before removing to a write rack to cool completely.

For the Frosting
1 cup butter, softened
8 cups powdered sugar
5 ounces evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Cream together the butter, vanilla, and 3 cups of the powdered sugar. Once well incorporated add the evaporated milk alternating with a cup of sugar at a time until all ingredients have been added. Beat on high for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Spread on cupcakes and top with remaining toasted pecans.

Coconut Flour Brownie Cake (Gluten Free)

I bought a packet of coconut flour to make low carb pancakes and then wasn't sure what do to with the rest of it, so I searched for recipes that used coconut flour. I am so happy I came across this one. A rich chocolate cake with the flavor of coconut makes this a decadent dessert. It was a tad dry and so I added a dollop of cool whip but regular whipped cream or even a scoop of vanilla ice cream would be delicious on top. 

Coconut Flour Brownie Cake
From The Nourishing Home
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3 eggs
3/4 cup maple syrup 
1 cup warm filtered water
1 tablespoon vanilla
Optional: Additional chocolate chips to sprinkle on top

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X9 inch baking dish with coconut oil. In a small bowl combine the coconut flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Cut the butter into chunks then place the butter and coconut oil into a small saucepan and melt over medium head. Add the cocoa powder and chocolate chips; stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is well combined. Set aside to cool. 

In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer add the eggs, maple syrup, warm water, and vanilla. Whisk together until well combined. Then whisk in the cooled chocolate-butter mixture. Next slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet while whisking vigorously. Continue whisking until no lumps remain. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top with an additional 1/4 cup chocolate chips. (I also sprinkled a little more sea salt on top) 

Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the baking dish. When ready to serve, slice and top with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Sea Salt

In the past month I've made these delicious cookie bars three times. Yes - three times! They are that freaking good! They are not your average chocolate chip bars because they are sprinkled with sea salt before they are baked. This takes them to a whole new salty/sweet level. I made them for a potluck at hubby's work and people raved about them, so I made them again for a party and then one more time for hubby's coworkers. They are best warm and make a nice big batch so make them when you want to share - and believe me they will go fast!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Sea Salt
From Two Peas & Their Pod
Printable Version
Ingredients
2 1/8 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temperature (can be scaled back if you would like)
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chip
Sea salt for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9X13 inch baking pan. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. In the bowl of a stand mixer mix together the melted butter and sugars until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients at low speed until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Pour the dough into the prepared pan and smooth so it evens out. Sprinkle the bars very lightly with sea salt. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the bars are light brown and start to pull away from the pan. Allow bars to cook on a wire rack before cutting into squares and serving. 

Chocolate Oat Bars

It is bad that I made these chocolate oatmeal bars solely because I wanted to use up a can of condensed milk? Well that and because I love the combination of oatmeal and chocolate. It's pretty terrific. 

But mostly this dessert came to be because I had a can of condensed milk that was going to spoil soon. After you make these and take a bite and discover how rich, moist, (thanks to the condensed milk) and decadent they are, I know you'll be in gooey chocolate heaven. I had a handful of white chocolate chips left over so used them up in this recipe as well. Another good decision! 

Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
From About.com
Printable Version
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick cooking oats
For the filling:
1 (15 oz can) sweetened condensed milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired (I omitted these)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla. In another bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt. Then stir in oats. Stir dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until well blended; set aside. Pat about 2/3 of the oat mixture into the bottom of a greased 10X15X1 pan. Set aside remaining oat mixture. In a heavy saucepan over low heat combine sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. 

Stir until melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla and pecans or walnuts if desired. 
Spread filling mixture over bottom crust of oatmeal in the baking pan and then crumble the remaining oat mixture over the top. 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool before cutting into squares.