Tailgate Cookies

It's football season again and what does that mean??? Tailgate time! These cookies are the perfect ones to bring along, there is something inside for everyone. Who doesn't love numerous kinds of chips and chocolate candies wedged into every corner of their dessert?!?!?! I found this recipe over on this fun blog and instantly had to make them, and my daughter's cheer team gave them two thumbs up. Now I'm making another DOUBLE batch for the fundraiser at school tomorrow! I decided that if I was going to make these I might as well really make them, so I doubled my recipe, but the one listed below is the single version.

Ingredients
1 c butter, softened
3/4 packed brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
1 (3.5 ounce) instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 c milk chocolate chips
1 c semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 white chocolate chips
1/2 butterscotch chips
1/2 c M&M's
1/2 Reese's Pieces

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugars together. Add pudding, eggs and vanilla and combine. Mix flour and baking soda then add to creamed mixture and mix until incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips and candy.

Drop by TBSP onto a prepared cookie sheet ( I either line mine with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Slightly flatten balls of dough with hand and bake in oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches

One of my daughter's friends was turning 16 this week and I wanted to send a fun and unique treat into school for her; this recipe was a quick and easy way to make decadent looking treats. Of course you can make everything from scratch, or you can cheat like I did and used store bought ingredients. I will admit that it's best to use my homemade frosting recipe.

Ingredients

1 package store bought cookie dough

1 container vanilla frosting

Almond bark, melted

Directions 

Bake cookies according to directions and let cool. Once cooled turn half over and using either a spoon or piping bag pipe frosting onto center of cookie. Top with second cooke and slightly smoosh down. Next melt 3 pieces of almond bark inside small ziploc bag in microwave for 1 minute, kneed. Cut small hole in one side of bag and drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the cookie sandwich. Let set and serve. This version makes 6 large cookies (since I bought the 'big delux' cookie dough)

 Place cooled cookies upside down

Put a big squirt of frosting on top of cookie

You can stop here if you want, but who wants that??

Almond bark ready for the microwave

Ready to drizzle

Enjoy!

Let The Christmas Baking Begin!

Christmas means baking season and I'd like to highlight a few of my favorite cookie recipes.
 I make all these every year and they never disappoint.  They are super simple and freeze nicely.

Orange Chocolate Log Cookies

Another great recipe is the Perfect Florida Christmas Cookie, these are so yummy you'll gobble them up, so make a double batch! 

Perfect Florida Christmas Cookie

Last but not least is my favorite Sugar Cookie recipe. These cookies are so popular every year my girlfriend makes them with me and then takes them to Alabama for the holidays. You can never have too many "good" sugar cookie recipes. 

Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

Chocolate Chip Pie

I've been wanting to try this recipe for years and I've never made it a priority until today. I absolutely love chocolate chips and have been known to hide an open bag in the freezer just for me. This pie goes together so quickly and I'm almost positive you'll have most of the ingredients already in your pantry and fridge, so get baking!

Ingredients
1 unbaked 9 inch Deep Dish Pie Shell
2 large Eggs
1/2 c Flour
1/2 c Sugar
1/2 c packed Brown Sugar
1 1/2 sticks Butter, softened
1 c Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 c Nuts (optional, I didn't use them)

Preheat oven to 325.

Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Spoon into pie shell. Place on cookie sheet before baking.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. ( I ended up baking mine for closer to 70 minutes, but every oven is different) Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

Ingredients

After mixing up filling

Pour into pie shell an bake

Enjoy!

Treats for Football Games

I made some cute treats for the football game tonight, one is for the football players and the other for the cheerleaders. Go Rams!

For the boys

Oreo stuffed brownies for the girls

(there are half the number of girls than boys 

so that's why the girls are getting a "bigger" treat this week)

Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Chunk Oreo Cookies

I absolutely love baking, need I say more? I love measuring out the flour and sugar, creaming together butter and eggs, smelling the vanilla as I pour it in. Yumm,  I love it all! I also love trying new recipes, especially ones that have three different kinds of chocolate in them, I refuse to count white chocolate as chocolate. These came together super easy and the dough has a rich dark look and flavor. I hope you enjoy eating them as much as my family did!

Ingredients
2 1/2 c Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 Dutch Processed Cocoa
1 c Unsalted Butter, room temp
1 c Sugar
1 c Light Brown Sugar
2 Large Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
1 c Chopped White Chocolate Chips
1 c Chopped Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 c Chopped Oreo Cookies

Preheat oven to 375.
In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa, set aside.
In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Next add vanilla, mix until blended.
Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture until flour is completely blended in. Stir in both kinds of chocolate chips and Oreos. Drop cookies onto prepared sheet two inches apart.
Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, don't over bake. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Move to cooking rack to cool completely. Makes 3 1/2 dozen.

Ingredients

Chopped chocolate chips and Oreo cookies

The dough is thick and tasty

Drop onto cookie sheet 2 inches apart

Enjoy!

Source: Two Peas & Their Pod

Giant Cookie Cake

Not everyone likes birthday cakes, I know shocker!!!! I personally feel like we should eat cake to celebrate every occasion, whether it be a birthday or just the fact that the sun is shining. Today celebrated my daughter's 15th birthday and she requested a cookie cake instead of a regular birthday cake, I was excited to try something new.  Can you imagine two huge chocolate chip cookies with awesomely good buttercream frosting in the middle, then this recipe is for you. I made one batch of cookie dough at a time, so you will need to double the recipe below. 

Ingredients for Cookie

2 1/2 c Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

2 Sticks Butter, softened

3/4 c Sugar

3/4 c Brown Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

2 Large Eggs

2 c Milk Chocolate Chips

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. 

Preheat oven to 350. I used a stone pizza pan to cook my giant cookie. Take a piece of parchment paper and place cookie dough in the middle of it. Spread dough out to 1 inch from edge of pizza stone. Cookie will spread during baking. Bake for 20 minutes or until cookie no longer jiggles in the middle. Let cool on counter for 2 hours.

Make second cookie and let cool.

Ingredients for Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks butter at room temp
2 cups Crisco shortening
1 tsp clear vanilla (when making white frosting I sub almond flavoring here)
1 tsp butter flavoring
2 lbs confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 TBSP meringue powder, found at Joanne's or baking supply stores

1 TBSP milk (if needed)

Mix butter, crisco and salt together on low speed for 5 minutes. Add extracts and beat until well blended. Turn off mixer and add meringue powder and 1/2 confectioners sugar. Turn mixer on the slowest speed the mixer has, add remaining sugar 1/2 cup at a time until sugar is mixed in. turn mixer up to medium and beat until smooth and creamy, this should take about 5 minutes.

Take cooled cookie and place on large serving tray, spread a good amount of buttercream frosting on top of cookie, next place second cookie on top of frosting. You can always leave it just like this, but I like to color the remaining frosting, throw it into a piping bag and decorate the cookie. 

Serves 15 

Spread cookie dough out to an inch from edge of pan

Out of the oven and cooling

Spread frosting all over cookie

Now place second cookie on top making a huge sandwich!

I did a pretty good job of making them the same size

I used the remaining frosting and turned it into a Gator inspired birthday cake

Olivia and her Pop celebrating their joint birthday party

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls Stuffed with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Yes, you read the title correctly, these sweet little nuggets of yumminess are just that, yummy! My mother makes incredible cinnamon rolls yet I've never been able to master them. My dough always seems flat and doesn't rise like I'd like it to. This recipe, based on the Pioneer Women, is so easy and tasty. I love how it raised up nice and high and the rolls came out of the oven nice and fluffy. The whole stuffing them with cookie dough was brought to my attention by my son's girlfriend. She read about it here and I thought I'd give it a whirl.... I wasn't disappointed. The unique taste and smell that these rolls offer is worth the effort it takes to make them. For the cookie dough I used Toll House's recipe. 

Ingredients for Cinnamon Rolls
2 c Whole Milk
1/2 c Vegetable Oil
1/2 c Sugar
1 pkgs Dry Yeast or 2 1/4 tsp
5 1/2 c All Purpouse Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
Melted Butter
Cinnamon 
Sugar


Mix the milk, sugar and oil in a large pot. Scald the mixture, then let cool for one hour. When it has cooled, but is still a little warm, sprinkle the years into the milk mixture and let sit for a minute. Add 4 cups flour and mix until dough forms, cover and let rise for at least an hour.

Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough 
2 1/2 c Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2 Sticks Butter, softened
3/4 c Sugar
3/4 c Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Large Eggs
2 c Milk Chocolate Chips


Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels


After an hour, add the remaining 1 1/2 c flour, baking soda, baking powder and mix. Flour the workspace and roll the dough with rolling pin until thin and rectangular shaped. Cover dough with melted butter and cinnamon and sugar. Next drop spoonfuls of chocolate chip cookie dough over the dough. Roll dough into a long roll and slice into 1 inch thick pieces. Lay in butter brushed 9 inch cake pans. Let rolls rise for 30 minutes, make sure to cover bowl with clean dishcloth.  I made two pans worth and then placed the remaining sliced dough on to a silicone covered cookie sheet and froze. I then was able to place the individually frozen rolls into a ziplock bag for future baking. 


Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes

Ingredients for Vanilla Glaze 
2 C Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 fat free half and half


Mix until smooth. Pour over rolls once they are out of oven.

Scalding the milk

Add the yeast

Mix

Rise

After rising, add additional flour and baking powder and soda

Roll out and cover with butter

Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar

Dot with chocolate chip cookie dough

Roll up

Can you spot the lumps of cookie dough?

Doesn't this look great?

Place in a 9 inch cake pan, let rise 30 minutes

Fresh out of the oven

Drizzle with glaze

This is what the outside looks like

Yummy inside!

Enjoy!!`

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