S'Mores Cookies

These cookies tasted so good....that I never got a picture of them!  That's right, I made these a couple of months ago and they got eaten up before I remembered to get a picture, I debated on whether or not to post since I don't have a picture, but decided they are too good not to share, so you will have to click on this link to the original poster's blog and then you can start drooling!

I loved the idea of these, especially how you added graham cracker crumbs into the batter, it really did take these up a notch!  The next time I make them, I think I am going to leave the little piece of Hershey bar off of the top, and use jumbo marshmallows cut in half instead of a few little ones.  As much as I love chocolate, the Hershey bar mad them too chocolaty since there are already chocolate chips in the batter, it somewhat overwhelmed the flavor.  Also, the little marshmallows are a bit of a pain to try and put on the cookies halfway through the baking process, it would be much quicker to just plop one big one on top!  But other than that these are a fun cookie to make and to eat!

S'Mores Cookies

adapted from Macaroni and Cheesecake

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 c. miniature chocolate chips
1 1/2 c. mini marshmallows
2 Hershey bars, broken into rectangles

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, and salt.

In a second larger bowl beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, and remove from the oven. Push 3 to 4 marshmallows and a few pieces of Hershey bar into each cookies.

Return to the oven and bake an additional 3-4 minutes until fully cooked. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

A few weeks ago I hit an awesome sale on strawberries, just 99 cents for a package, so I picked them up thinking I would snack on them.  Well, I am a bad girl and put them in the fridge and forgot about them, until one Sunday night when trying to figure out dinner I found them and realized that they needed to be eaten, and quick!  Was I going to eat a whole container by myself that night, probably not, but I remembered seeing a recipe for these Strawberry Shortcake Cookies and figured at least they would be going towards a good cause! 

This is a Martha Stewart recipe, and she did not disappoint!  They tasted just like a strawberry shortcake minus the whipped cream, they were heavenly!  I did have a bit of a problem getting the strawberries incorporated into the dough, but I think it was my fault for bringing the dough together too much before adding the strawberries, so I had to mash pieces into the balls of dough.  I almost decided to throw the towel in because I didn't think they were going to turn out, but after tasting them, I would have been very mad at myself for missing out!  These really are best warm out of the oven and really should be eaten within a day or two of baking, but honestly, they are so good, you'll be lucky to have any left by day two!

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

adapted from Martha Stewart

12 oz. strawberries, hulled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1-2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
6 Tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 c. heavy cream
coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter to the flour mixture until coarse crumbs are formed. You can also use your fingers. Stir in the heavy cream until the dough starts to come together, then gently fold in strawberries.

Using a 1-1/2 inch cookie scoop, drop dough onto cookie sheets, evenly spaced apart. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 22-27 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mint Chocolate Chippers

I didn't get a chance to do any baking around the holidays, but the other night I got to thinking about some special edition Dark Chocolate & Mint chocolate chips that I had bought in anticipation of Christmas season, and how the poor bag was still just sitting in my cupboard.  Not wanting for it to go to waste, I logged on to my Google Reader and found a recipe for "Intimint Chocolate Chip Cookies" that was posted on Picky Palate that used these special chips....perfect!

I whipped these up in no time and boy were they good!  A soft, chewy cookie loaded with dark chocolate, white chocolate and mint chips; a fun twist on a classic.  I was also excited to try out my new non-stick baking mats when making these, they worked just great, and then cleaned up in a snap!  This recipe made about 4 dozen cookies, and knowing that I definitely didn't need that many around my house, I brought over half of them into work with me the next day.  I have a small office, and they didn't last past lunch; everyone loved them!  Unfortunately, it seems that I will have to wait until next year to make these again, as they don't seem to be in the stores anymore, but fingers crossed that they bring them back next holiday season!

Mint Chocolate Chippers

adapted from Picky Palate

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. real vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 bag Nestles Limited Edition Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels
1 c. white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to wet ingredients along with the chips. Mix until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until slightly golden on outside edges. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to cooling rack to finish cooling.

Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

Okay, so I just couldn't do it. Once I got myself up and started baking, the baking bug took over! The Chocolate Chip Cookie Pretzel Bars had to bake for 30 minutes, so I figured I would just go ahead and bite the bullet and get these ready to put in the oven when they were ready. Otherwise, I had planned to get up early and make them before work, but for those of you that know me well, you know that I am NOT a morning person!

I have made peanut butter blossoms before, peanut butter cookies topped with a Hershey's kiss, but this were taking things to a whole new level with a mini Reese's peanut butter cup! I found these on Coleen's Recipes, and she referred to them as the "Ultimate" filled peanut butter cookie, they sure did live up to their name! Everyone loved them so much, that they were gone before some of our guests even arrived (sorry, Karen, Kyle, Drew & Liz)! I couldn't believe how incredibly easy these were to make, they look rather tedious, but really the hardest part is just unwrapping all the little Reese's cups!

Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

adapted from Coleen's Recipes

24 mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, frozen
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter flavored Crisco (I didn't have butter, so I used regular, it seemed to work fine)
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the Crisco, peanut butter, sugars, egg and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy. Next, add the dry ingredients and beat just until smooth. Roll the dough into 24 1-inch balls and place in ungreased mini-muffin pan.

Bake for 10 minutes until they puff up and are slightly browned. They will look like this below.


After removing them from the oven, immediately press a FROZEN mini Reese's cup into the center of each cookie, pressing down until the top of the candy is at the same level as the top of the cookie.

Let them cool in the pan for about 2 minutes before you try to remove them. To remove, insert just the tip of a thin knife between the cookie and the pan. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely. The chocolate will melt from the heat, so allow them to fully re-set (you can even pop them in the fridge to speed up the process) before serving.

Lion Cookies

I was over at my sister's house a few weeks ago browsing through the new Pillsbury cookbook that she had gotten when I came across these adorable cookies. There were many great ideas in the cookbook, but these stood out to me because they were LIONS!! You see, I love lions! Part of it is because my astrological sign is a Leo, and the other part is because lions are my sorority mascot. Because of this, I collect all things lion related, and I find nothing more thrilling than finding a new lion "something" for my collection! So far I have a garden statue, piggy bank, a lamp, and even a spatula; along with various other figurines and an entire collection of Christmas tree ornaments! So when I spotted theses cookies I knew I had to try them out. We are having a sorority alum meeting on Tuesday, so I thought that they would be the perfect audience for these cookies debut appearance!

My sister came over to my house to help me make these, and they are fairly easy to put together, just a bit time consuming, but oh so worth it! We ended up making about 4 dozen, and I will admit it, we sampled a few and they are delicious! So if you like lions or are just looking for something different, give these a try!

Lion Cookies

adapted from Pillsbury

1 (16 oz.) pkg. Pillsbury refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough (Or any peanut butter cookierecipe of your liking, we ended up also using a bag of Betty Crocker Peanut Butter cookie mix)

1/2 c. sugar

Chow Mein noodles

Reese's Pieces Baking Bits

Brown decorating gel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar. Place on an ungreased baking sheet at least 2-inches apart (make sure to have enough space, because they do expand!) Flatten balls with the bottom of a glass. Place candies on the cookies to make eyes and a nose. Use chow mein noodles to form a mane and don't forget the whiskers! Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool for 1 minute and then remove to cooling racks. Once cookies have cooled enough, use the decorating gel to draw on the mouth.

Here is our little pack of lions.

So cute!

Chocolate-Marshmallow Pillows

When I got home from work yesterday, I was fiddling around on-line looking at blogs and such. I happened to go to to the Betty Crocker website, and these yummy looking cookies popped up as the recipe of the day. I looked at the ingredient list, racked my memory banks, and realized I had all the ingredients on hand to make these...jackpot!!! Whitney was coming over for dinner and to watch the Grey's Anatomy finale, so I figured we needed something sweet to keep us going during the two hour show.

These were very quick to whip up, and were very, very chocolaty.....just the way I like my desserts!! I brought the rest of them into my office this morning....and they didn't last long....so this recipe is definitely a keeper!

Chocolate-Marshmallow Pillows

adapted from bettycrocker.com

Cookies
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker double chocolate chunk cookie mix
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water
1 egg
1 cup mini-marshmallows

Frosting
1cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup half and half
1teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350°F.

In large bowl, stir cookie mix, oil, water, and egg until soft dough forms. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart.

Bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven; immediately press about 4 marshmallows, on top of cookie. Bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or just until marshmallows begin to soften. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in 1-quart nonstick saucepan, melt chocolate chips over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Add half and half, butter and vanilla; blend well. Stir in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread frosting over each cooled cookie, covering marshmallow. Let stand until frosting is set.