S’mores Cookies Yesterday was busy with swimming, BBQing, and relaxing. My Laundry Monday turned into Laundry Tuesday topped with an additional load of damp swimming towels. Being the good parents we are we counted swimming as baths for the kids and sent them to bed smelling of sunblock. Then as I snuggled on the couch to write a post about these cookies I brought to our BBQ I just…could not…keep…my eyes…open. *Snooze* These S’mores Cookies are a perfect hello to summer. These cookies have a graham cracker base with a chocolate chip cookie sprinkled with chocolate and marshmallows topping it. Ingredients 11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1 cup brown sugar, packed ½ cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon sea salt (optional) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 ½ cups flour 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 cup mini marshmallows 3 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces 1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares Instructions Notes
Peanut Butter Snickers Brownie Skillet Boy oh boy, why is it that every time I bake in a cast iron skillet I wanna just grab a fork and steal the whole thing to eat myself, lol! This brownie should be outlawed. That is all. Enjoy friends! Let’s start by melting your butter then stirring in your chocolate chips. Stir until melted. Time for some dry ingredients. Pinch of salt Sugar! Some brown sugar please. Give a good mix. Stir in some lovely eggs and a touch of oil. Mix and it will look like this. American Heritage Chocolate sent me some of their chocolate to sample and I used their block for these brownies. Yes Please! Stir in your chocolate chunks! Pour half of batter into your cast iron skillet. Spread evenly. Ahhh, the peanut butter snickers. Place them evenly over your brownie layer. Spread remaining brownie layer over top of Snickers. Bake and Voila’! See, told ya. Nom Nom Nom. [/donotprint] Peanut Butter Snickers Brownie Skillet Ingredients Directions Makes 9-12 Servings Other recipes you may enjoy...
Sex in a Pan Sex in a Pan – crazy name for a dessert, but it’s one of the best desserts you’ll ever have, it’s mostly a pudding dessert with a crunchy pecan bottom crust. Don’t laugh at the name of this dessert! OK, you can laugh, it is funny. I have no idea why it’s called sex in a pan, maybe because it’s so good. I remember a long time ago, before I was married, and used to live on my own, one weekend my friend came over and she introduced me to this dessert. Oh my God, it was unbelievable. I was in love, I had never had anything like it before. Here’s what the layers look like. I just had to share this wonderful dessert with you. Update: Since I originally wrote this post, I’ve made sex in a pan numerous time since it’s a favorite at my house. Sex in a Pan Author: Jo Serves: 10 servings Ingredients Crust 1 cup pecans, chopped 3 tbsp white sugar ½ cup butter 1 cup flour Cream cheese layer 1 8 oz package cream cheese 1 cup powdered sugar (use ½ cup for less sweetness) 1 cup whipped cream or cool whip Enjoy!
Two-Bite Strawberry Hand Pies This post comes to you from damply beautiful Seattle, Washington! Yes, kids, I am in Seattle for BlogHer Food 2012 and not just as an attendee, but I am speaking! I am nervous, but terribly excited, and ready to get the party started! I decided to make the filling for these little pies fairly rich. Two-Bite Strawberry Hand Pies Author: Kelly Jaggers Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: American Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Serves: 30 For the crust:2½ cups all-purpose flour2 tablespoons fresh grated orange zest2 tablespoons sugar1 teaspoon kosher salt1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cubed and chilled3-6 tablespoons ice waterFor the filling:2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar¼ teaspoon cornstarch½ teaspoon vanilla½ cup diced fresh strawberriesFor garnish:1 egg, beaten well⅓ cup coarse sanding sugar Begin by making the crust. To assemble the pies begin by placing a heaping ½ teaspoon of the filling into the center of 30 of the dough circles. Enjoy!
Recipe: Christmas Morning Mexican Breakfast Casserole with Chorizo and Veggies: Eat Like Me: Eat Like Me Seven Things Successful, Happy People Do: SELF Reports From the THRIVE Conference via @SELFMagazine Seven Things Successful, Happy People Do: SELF Reports From the THRIVE Conference : Arianna Huffington and Mika Brzezinski’s two-day conference is helping hard workers take some time for themselves. #SelfMagazine Huffington Post founder and media maven Arianna Huffington knows all about getting the corner office, but it wasn't until she suffered from a few injuries at work that she realized she wasn't focusing enough on herself -- or getting enough sleep.
Apple Pies 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. 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. Place the hollowed out apples in a muffin tin.
Spaghetti Sauce A-spaghetti without a-cheese is like a-kiss without a-squeeze! An Italian waiter at Sardi’s in New York City said that to me when I was a little girl. It stuck. A-spaghetti without a-cheese is like a-kiss without a-squeeze, and spaghetti without good sauce is like…well, limp, hopeless noodles. This spaghetti sauce…is good sauce, my friends. And it can be made in bulk and frozen, which makes me love it even more. *Shudder* The Cast of Characters: Ground Beef (I used ground round), garlic, onion, green bell pepper, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Parmesan cheese (not pictured), bay leaf, ground thyme, ground oregano, salt, pepper… and a mystery ingredient that’s either going to make you laugh or curse my name. Or both. Let’s go on this journey together. Please note that I’m doubling my recipe because I already have a double batch of sauce in containers in my freezer and that’s evidently not enough for me. Lop off the top of two onions, then peel them and cut them in half from root to tip. Amen.
Gaufres de Liege, the waffle that has made me forget about all others I have come down with a cold, so yesterday I amused myself by making Gaufres de Liege, known to me as Belgian sugar waffles. These are amazing, and have left me uninterested in most all other waffles. They are made from a yeast dough and studded with big coarse sugar that melts and caramelizes as it cooks. They are so, so good. I had my first one of these at Arosa cafe here in Seattle. First I needed to find pearl sugar (though the recipe calls for turbinado sugar and only pearl sugar “if you choose”). This brand had two kinds, Swedish Pearl Sugar (like described above) and this Belgian Pearl Sugar which is far larger than I was expecting: But, right there on the back of the box is a recipe for Belgian Sugar Waffles: I don’t know if you need sugar this large, but it certainly seemed to work well. The recipe calls for 140 grams of sugar, which for me worked out to just over 3/4 cup, but I didn’t use all of it because the dough seemed so crammed with sugar. Here is my DIRE WARNING.
Pizza Pretzel Bites | Cooking with Grace These pretzel bites are kind of pizza-flavored, stuffed with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, fresh basil, and spices, then brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and dipped in warm homemade marinara sauce after they’re done baking. The pretzel recipe is pretty basic, although I used olive oil here instead of butter for a more Italian flavor. To start making the pretzel dough, I mixed together yeast and warm water and let it stand until it started to bubble Then I poured the yeast mixture over some flour, salt, sugar, and stirred it together with a little olive oil too I used a knife to stir (instead of a spoon, which dough will stick to) and then kneaded it until it formed a ball. Greasing the bowl that a dough rises in is very important, otherwise the dough will stick to the sides and it’s a big mess. And rubbed it on the inside of a glass bowl, then put the dough ball inside and covered it and let it rise for an hour After an hour, it had become about double the size it was before
Cream Cheese and Jelly Turnovers | Ordering Disorder | Work It, Mom! Aren’t these so yummy looking? I call these cream cheese and jelly turnovers for the lazy among us who are feeling wracked with guilt and trying to buy their children’s love via their stomachs. But that seems a little long for the name of the recipe so I will just call them cream cheese and jelly turnovers for short. This is actually the first time that I am away from my kids for something that is solely work related, with no fun factor built in. I was also just away last week and when I returned home Sunday evening my daughter gave me a drawing she made. So when my kids requested this yesterday morning as I was tossing random crap into my suitcase packing, I couldn’t refuse. This recipe is fun for kids to do themselves. It is a nice addition to brunch or even just as an afternoon snack. You need: 2 refrigerated premade pie crusts 1/2 block cream cheese, softened 1 egg, separated 2T sugar, plus additional for sprinkling 1/8 tsp salt 8T jam, I used strawberry Open and unroll your pie crust.
Ooey Gooey Rocky Road Cookies Ever since the idea of rocky road cookies popped into my head a month ago, I have been tweaking recipe after recipe so I could come up with a cookie extraordinary enough to be posted on my website. …because let me tell you, I don’t post ANYTHING on here that I don’t think is COMPLETELY scrapeworthy and delicious). These cookies are complete ooey gooey chocolate goodness (I mean, flourless chocolate goods usually are). And the marshmallows on top are all crispy and golden brown on the edges and gooey in the middle. Just like if you roasted them on a fire! You might be wondering why we don’t just mix the marshmallows into the batter, and the reason is they sort of melt and disappear that way. The golden brown crispy shelled marshmallows on top make this cookie truly incredible and rocky road-esque. Copyright Notice: Fifteen Spatulas images and original content are copyright protected. Ooey Gooey Rocky Road Cookies Ingredients: Directions: Notes © Fifteen Spatulas LLC More recipes you might enjoy:
Greek Pasta Salad Coming from a Greek dad, I have fallen in love with all the yummy Mediterranean flavors! The flavor combination in this recipe makes for a light, fresh and delicious meal. This Greek Pasta Salad is so delicious and so easy to throw together! It can be served warm or cold to fit whatever mood you are in! By Chef in Training August 3, 2012 Course: SaladSkill Level: Easy A fast and delicious meal! Ingredients Print This Recipe1 box bowtie pasta 2 medium cucumbers sliced and quartered4 Roma Tomatoes diced into large pieces3/4 cup Kalamata Olives 1 cup fresh Parmesan shredded1 cup feta crumbled2 cups Italian dressing more or less depending on your taste Instructions Cook bow tie pasta as directed on the box.Toss all ingredients together. Enjoy!
bee in our bonnet: The Basics of Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing Now be sure to mix it thoroughly! It will end up streaky/marble-y if you don't and this has happened to me so many times when I'm in a rush. One solid color is prettiest! Many decorators use piping bags and tips, but I prefer to use my squeezie bottles. They are just easy to work with, for me. I have several different types, and my favorites are the ones that you can attach a decorating tip to. I fill them by spooning the icing in, then tapping the bottle on the counter. As I go to prepare the other colors, it is important to cover the top with the little lid, or if you've lost them in the disposal (like me), then just put a toothpick in it. Now we must talk about bubbles. To show you how important this is, I spooned out some frosting onto some parchment. Whew, we made it through all of the nitty gritty. Typically, you frost by piping a border (20 seconds or above on the consistency). You can decide if you want the outline to pop, or not be noticed at all. Planning your Cookie: Marbling: