Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles I’ve never liked chocolate chip cookies. Go ahead and throw tomatoes at me if you’d like, but I don’t like ’em. They’re just a plain old cookie, after all, with a few studs of chocolate chips in them. They’re nothing special to me, unless you get some cookie dough-action before it meets its fate in the oven. I know there are plenty of cookie-dough-nay-sayers out there… you know, the salmonella scare and all . Chilled dough is rolled into 1-inch balls. Those chilled dough balls are dipped in chocolate and then placed onto waxed paper to set. I dipped a few in Ghirardelli White Chocolate Bark and a few in the Chocolate version too. Oh yeah! Yield: 3 to 4 dozen truffles Prep Time: 45 min + chilling time Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles Best served cold, these treats are for cookie-dough lovers. Ingredients: Directions: 1. 2. 3. Tips: *I used the Ghirardelli Candy Making Dipping Bar- both Double Chocolate and White flavors. *Have your own favorite cookie dough recipe?
Easy Halloween Snacks: Candy & Caramel Apple Bites and Mummy Dogs (UPDATE: I've posted more from O's party! Don't miss our healthy caramel apple muffins, JD's homemade strong man costume, toddler craft table, O's DIY Baby Lion Costume & my reflection on O turning 1 and how JD handled it.) I have been scouring Halloween editions of magazines and Pinterest for easy Halloween snacks to serve at O's first birthday party. Here are a couple I've practiced recently. First, I attempted bite-sized caramel apples. I had seen this pin that involved a melon baller and drizzled caramel, and that sounded too complicated for me! So I planned to cut the apples into bite-size chunks and dip them in melted butterscotch chips. It was all going well until I got to the melting part. So it ended up pretty lumpy, but very yummy.Since that wasn't the look I was going for, I picked up these mixes at the store hoping to simplify things. Take 2! I read a tip to dry the apple pieces to help the caramel stick, but caramel did still pool at the bottom a bit more than I would like.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip It’s time for a little confession. I realize this may get me shunned (especially in my hometown of Pittsburgh!), but….I don’t like football. I don’t like to watch it, I never liked playing football with my friends, I don’t even like playing catch with a football. If there was one thing Mike could change about me, I’m pretty sure this would be it. I saw this recipe on Jessica’s blog and made it the very next day. *Note: Jessica also has variations of this dip on her blog. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip Ingredients:1/2 cup butter 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 8-ounce block of cream cheese, softened 3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar (*to taste) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, plus extra for sprinklingDirections:In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
TFF & FIC - Grilled Cheese Forever! This past month has been bewildering for me. It's gone by so fast, and I feel like I've accomplished so little! But I've enjoyed a lot of it, so I should satisfy myself with that. I do have one teensy regret though; that I couldn't celebrate Grilled Cheese Month the way it deserves to be celebrated! Anyway, back to grilled cheese (see?! The thing with Tyler is that he has excellent timing (hmmmmmmmmm, perhaps in more ways than one, eh?!). And now see the magic that Mother Nature has crafted, yet again! Tyler's Mozzarella Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (find original recipe on Food Network's site)Serves: 2 Click Here For Printable Recipe Ingredients8 slices rye bread4 quarter-inch slices of fresh mozzarella3 plum tomatoes, cut into thick slices1 cup fresh basil pesto, recipe follows (or use the store-bought stuff)Freshly ground black pepperExtra-virgin olive oil Method: 1. 2. 3. 4. Verdict: Oh for pity's sake, just look at the darn thing, would ya?
Apple Pies in Apples I know, I’ve made a few pies lately. But see how these are different? Look at how adorable these are! I mean, come on. Could you resist? I sure couldn’t. We ate them before I had a chance to think about pictures. Oops. This is why I had leftover dough for that impromptu dinner. Although this recipe is a little time consuming, it’s no harder than making any sort of real pie. It still involves slicing fruit. Rolling out crust and making it look pretty. Mixing fruit and sugar and cornstarch. And taking bites with your eyes closed so you can focus solely on each flavor. Please give these a try. Apple Pies Inspired by Pinterest 1 prepared pie dough, rolled out and sliced into strips 6-8 large apples (really any kind of apple will do) 1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling onto the crust 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 or 1/2 tsp cardamom, if desired 1 tsp cornstarch Juice of a lemon or lime, mixed with 1 cup of water 1 tbsp melted butter Preheat the oven to 375F. Like this: Like Loading...
BIY: Girl Scout Cookies. Samoas! Everything is DIY nowadays. Well, I'm one-uping DIY. BIY: Bake it Yourself. Not that I condone cheating the Girl Scouts out of your order, but when they aren't knocking on your door and you are craving some of that purple boxity goodness -- your have to be resourceful. While visiting Uncle John in San Diego, I decided to "whip up a batch" (over several hours) of one of my favorite Girl Scout Cookies -- Samoas. Cole hates coconut so I agreed to make him some Do-Si-Dos as well. I must say, it was extra sweet to bake in Mary's kitchen. Here are some step-by-step shots and the reason why this batch took me so long... Starting with 12 ounces (or 11 ounces, if you buy two 5.5 ounce bags like I did) with some good quality caramels...I chose Werther's Chewy Caramels. Carefully remove each wrapper. And set aside in microwave safe bowl. In a large mixing bowl, throw in 1 Cup of Unsalted Butter (room temp, cut into tablespoons) and ½ Cup of Granulated Sugar. a Cream together until light and fluffy.
Brownie Cookies Love brownies. Love their shiny, flaky top that shatters into micro-thin shards that shower onto your fingers as you eat. Love their dark, gooey center. Their “chocolate nirvana” flavor. Sometimes can’t deal with the bake, wait to cool, cutting into squares messiness and fuss of brownies. Want something I can enjoy within 5 minutes of its exit from the oven. Every time I make these cookies (which, truth be told, is quite often), I think of a former colleague, Ana, who left King Arthur last year in order to be a full-time mom to her 2-year-old twins. The test kitchen bakers loved Ana. Ana still visits occasionally, 2-year-olds in tow. And when she does, she’ll invariably nose out any chocolate, and treat us to her classic reaction: “Perfect! These cookies are basically brownies: flat, round, 2 ½” brownies. First task: Combine the chocolate and butter. Melt in the microwave till softened… …then stir till smooth. Stir the chocolate into eggs and sugar, which you’ve beaten together. Buy vs.
Strawberry 2 Ingredient Fudge This 2 Ingredient Strawberry Fudge has consistently been one of the most popular recipes on my site! It’s sweet and creamy and SUPER simple to make! So Valentines Day is coming up. We aren’t big Valentines people in our house. Not that I don’t WANT Valentines stuff. I mean, if my husband came home with flowers and chocolates and jewelry I certainly wouldn’t turn him away. But the thing is, one of our kids has a birthday on Valentines, so I lose. Valentines is now, “all about the children”…much like EVERY OTHER DAY OF MY LIFE! So instead of romance, I get Star Wars Lego assembly and video games and instead of a candlelit dinner, I get kid’s choice, which many years has meant McDonalds. I mean, can you imagine that they can choose any place to eat dinner and they choose McDonalds? So, yeah, kids ruin everything. Moving forward, remember a few months ago when I was all angry at the universe for keeping fudge secrets from me? Well, the universe and I are officially BFFs again. We made up. Or hearts.
Chocolate Chip Cookies I’ve already posted about my one of my newfound favorite chocolate chips cookies. The recipe calls for butter – very common in cookies. Well, I have another all-time favorite cookie recipe and this one uses shortening. I know some of you are cringing. Shortening is kind of on the outs with trendy cookie-baking these days, and I understand why – many of the cookies I eat using shortening don’t have a lot of flavor and taste. Aunt Alecia’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients 1 cup butter-flavored shortening 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup brown sugar 3 extra-large eggs 1 tablespoon hot water 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 3 1/2 cups flour 2 cups chocolate chips Directions Beat together the shortening and both sugars. Printed from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (www.melskitchencafe.com) Recipe Source: From my awesome Aunt Alecia