Chocolate Candy Cookies: Recipe

It's been a while since I've participated in my own little Food Friday... which is disappointing since I've still been making things. I just haven't found the time to share the recipes.

Today's is a winner, though - super duper easy cookies... and all that chocolate. Mmmmm.

But really - these are SO easy. I made them when the Air Force Academy flying team was in Ohio to compete at Nationals. Dan was on the team while he was a cadet, so we drove to Columbus a couple times to see some of his friends and watch them compete. And who would I be if I showed up without goodies for them? Exactly. 

They loved these. And they were a big hit with my pregnant taste buds as well. Enjoy.

Easy Chocolate Candy Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package chocolate cake mix

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 2 tbsp chocolate syrup (or water if you don't have any)

• 1 1/2 cups M&Ms or other chocolate candies

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. In a large bowl, combine the egg, butter, syrup, and cake mix with an electric mixer on low speed until completely mixed.

3. Add candies, a little at a time, and stir in with a wooden spoon.

4. Drop rounded tablespoonfulls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet about two inches apart.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

6. Cool on wire racks.

Do you like chocolate?

What's your favorite kind of cookie?

The Month of May

May is not over quite yet, but it sure has flown by! I remember last May... leading up to Dan's Air Force Academy graduation and our wedding. The end of the school year and all the craziness that comes along with it.

This year has been slightly calmer, but I think May will always just be one of those months for us. It holds so many events of years' past, and Timehop sure doesn't help.

I have been aching to re-live last May. It was seriously such a magical month. But no worries - this month has been pretty great too! ...with the exception of another ER visit.

We bought some supplies to get started decorating Baby Cookie's room...

We went out together for Cinco de Mayo... don't worry, mine's a virgin daiquiri.

I had some hot cocoa to soak up the last few moments of cooler weather...

Gilligan was handsome as always... he loves hiding in the windows. 

I had another trip to the ER for kidney stones. This time, they admitted me to Labor and Delivery since that's where you go after 20 weeks, and I was 22 weeks. They didn't really know what to do, though... because they do babies, not kidney stones. 

We drove an hour to Columbus to watch Dan's old flying team from the Academy practice and compete at Nationals. It was so cool because I was never able to attend a competition when Dan was on the team because I was always busy teaching... so it was a lot of fun seeing them! 

I made delicious (and super easy!) cookies to take to the flying team... don't worry, I'll share the recipe for these bad boys soon! 

We pretended to be healthy eaters by devouring this berry salad. Just kidding. We both love fruit. We just eat a lot of other desserts too to balance it out. ;-) 

See? Carrot cake muffins stuffed with cream cheese. SO good. I'll share the recipe for these soon as well. 

I was trying to take a selfie with Smudge in our backyard last week... and somehow, this is the best we could get. He just wouldn't look at the camera and instead wanted to block my face. Maybe he was sparing you guys. 

On a random Monday night, we decided we had a hankering for something sweet (go figure, right?), so we went to our backyard fire pit and made s'mores. So worth it! And we had a great time sitting out there in the dark talking. 

How has May been for you?
Do you have one month that always seems busier than others?


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Easy Red Velvet Cookies: Recipe

When I first decided that I was going to do the 12 Days of Christmas for my husband, I knew that day one would entail something he loves: baked goods! I didn't want to be that mean lady and just give him ONE, though, just because it was day one... so I made him ONE batch of cookies.

He loves red velvet everything, so I knew these would be a hit. Little did I know that they'd be a hit with me too - because of how simple they are to make! Seriously!

Easy Red Velvet Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 1 tsp cornstarch

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)

• 1 box red velvet cake mix 

• 2 eggs (beaten)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375º.

2. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar and cornstarch. Set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine butter, cake mix, and eggs.

4. Roll into one inch balls.

5. Roll balls in powdered sugar mixture.

6. Place balls on baking sheet.

7. Bake for 10-11 minutes - until set. 

8. Store in a Ziploc container.

Make these. Seriously. It'll take you less than 20 minutes, and they are just incredible. 

• Do you like red velvet goodies?
• What is your favorite type of cookie?

Tangerine Butter Cookies: Recipe

Welcome to my very first installment of Food Fridays! One of my goals this year is to share one new recipe every week on, you guessed it, Friday!

Luckily for you, I have been baking my tail off since early December, and I've been documenting it all. I'll try to sneak in some actual food along with all the goodies, but I make no promises.

Today's recipe is my favorite cookie to share: Tangerine Butter Cookies. I made six dozen of these to take to a cookie exchange, and I made another dozen to take home with me for the holidays. They're different than any other cookie I've ever tasted, so they're always a winner! (I may or may not even have a bag of dough in my freezer so I can make more of these whenever I feel like it...)

Not only do these cookies taste light, fruity, and wonderful, but they are made with REAL tangerine peel. I love to zest it right into my cookie dough, and I'm anxious to try making these with lemons and limes as well. I think they'll turn out just as great, but I am a big lover of citrus fruit.

Don't they look so light and refreshing? They are, and they're EXCELLENT served with champagne. I haven't met anyone yet who hasn't liked these when they tried them. They're just so different from other cookies. If you try them, let me know what you think! 

To save the recipe, just click on the image, and then right click to save the recipe card. It is 4x6 inches, and if you print it on cardstock, you can add it right in with your other recipe cards! 

• Do you like tangerines?
• What is your favorite type of cookie?
• Do you enjoy baking?

Hectic Holiday Season

Whoa, has it been a busy holiday season or what?!

My husband has been busy with his grad school classes. He is taking his finals this week, so he's been holed up in his office procrastinating studying for his finals.

I've been working so hard in my Etsy shop. Just a month ago, I was bragging about reaching 300 sales... and now I'm at over 460 sales. Yes, it's been a CRAZY month of custom orders, buying a new printer so I can make my prints at home, and lots and lots of magnets. It's well worth it, though - I've made a substantial chunk of change, and we're planning on using it when we hopefully make it back to Europe this spring.

We've also hosted our family for Thanksgiving, babysat the cutest little boy from good friends, taken way too many pictures of cats, enjoyed donuts at the cutest little shop, made six dozen cookies for the Wright-Patterson Cookie Drive, served in the youth group at our church each week, almost completed (this week!) our 12 week course at church to become members, saw the Nutcracker, attended the AFIT Holiday Ball, and drank copious amounts of coffee.

It's been hectic but fun.

It's been a busy month and a half, but it's been fun as well! 

• What have you been up to this holiday season?
• Do you prefer to be busy all the time or to have free time?

Oatmeal Pumpkin Cream Pies: A Recipe

Recently, I needed to make a dish to take to a recipe club event, and the theme was "fall favorites". I LOVE everything pumpkin, and I knew this would be the perfect time to make the Oatmeal Pumpkin Cream Pies I had pinned on my Pinterest desserts board. The recipe comes from Sally's Baking Addiction, and it was a big hit. I'm even considering making these again for Thanksgiving when my family visits. 

INGREDIENTS

OATMEAL SANDWICH COOKIES

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 large egg

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1 2/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 1/4 cup pumpkin purée

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

• 2 - 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (to thicken)

• salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS

OATMEAL SANDWICH COOKIES

1. With a mixer, cream butter and sugars until smooth.

2. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix well.

3. Slowly stir in the baking soda, cinnamon, oats, and flour.

4. Mix together until just combined.

5. Chill the dough for at least one hour in the fridge. 

6. Preheat the oven to 325º. 

7. Roll 2 tsp of dough into a ball, and place on cookie sheet.

8. Bake for 9 minutes. Let cool for one minute before moving to a wire cooling rack. 

*I had to bake mine for about 15 minutes for them to be at the right consistency for me, but that may just be my oven or preference. 

PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1. With a mixer, mix the cream cheese, butter, pumpkin purée, and spices on medium speed until creamy.

2. Add powdered sugar, and continue mixing.

3. If frosting is not thick enough (mine was definitely NOT thick enough), add flour, a little bit at a time.

4. Add salt to cut the sweetness, if desired.

5. Spread a generous amount of frosting on the bottom of one cookie, and sandwich it with another cookie, until all cookies are gone. 

*Cookies stay fresh for up to five days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

ENJOY! 

• What is your favorite "fall" food?
• Are you on the pumpkin bandwagon this year?

Cookie Candy Brownies {Recipe}

A couple years ago, I made a delicious treat to share with my students, and they loved them so much. I posted this recipe on my old blog (that I do NOT use anymore), and I want to transfer everything over to this current platform. 

This recipe sure did go over well with a group of ravenous eighth graders at an after school Halloween party way back in 2012. I have since made them a few more times, and they are ALWAYS a big hit!

For lack of a batter name, I just call them the "Cookie Candy Brownies" because, well, they're made of cookies, candy, and brownies... clever, huh? 

(The full recipe will be posted at the END of this blog post!) 

Basically, you create the bottom with chocolate chip cookie dough, then add a piece of candy, and cover that with brownie batter before baking. It's simple, but it was still time consuming because of all the steps and the amount that I made. If you make just one batch, though, it won't take too long - AND you can always use the rolls of pre-made cookie dough and just cut off enough to fill the bottom of each cupcake liner instead of making your own dough!

THE RECIPE

1. Make cookie dough. (Directions for MY cookie dough are found below if you want to use that, but feel free to use the pre-made rolls in the refrigerated section of your grocery store - that works well too.)

2. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners. *This step is a MUST because I tried them without liners, and I had to scoop them out with a spoon, and they were AWFUL looking!

3. Smoosh cookie dough as flat as possible into the cupcake liners.

4. Cut Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in half (or whatever candy bar you prefer - the beauty of this recipe is that you can EASILY customize it however you like!)

5. Place one half of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on top of cookie dough in each cupcake liner.

6. Make brownie batter according to box mix.

7. Pour brownie batter over cookie dough and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. *Make sure you cover the entire thing for best results.

8. Bake for 18-20 minutes on 350º. 

ENJOY! :) 

Cookie Dough Recipe

·       1 cup butter, softened

·       3/4 cup packed brown sugar

·       1/4 cup white sugar

·       1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

·       2 eggs

·       1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·       2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

·       1 teaspoon baking soda

·       2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.