Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

You might be able to tell from 3 recent posts that I am an Oreo kick right now.  I have already stated that Oreos are amazing, and I think I have proven various delicious options for baking with them.  This recipe is really popular right now so I decided to give it go.  Actually, my boyfriend specifically asked me to make these for a potluck tomorrow at his work. I don't think anyone will be disappointed!  Maybe just disappointed that there is only 21 cookies for everyone to share.   But these are huge so I think we will be cutting them in half.  Anyway, these are great cookies and I would recommend them to anyone!  





Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Cookies Recipe - Adapted from Becky Bakes
Yield - 2 dozen
Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter, 2 sticks unsalted and room temperature
3/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
3 1/2 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
24 Oreos, regular or double stuffed

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350.  
  2. Cream butter and sugars together with a mixer until well combined.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.
  3. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda.  Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined.  
  4. Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie.  Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo cookie.  Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is enclosed with dough.  
  5. Place onto a baking sheet and bake cookies 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. 
  6. Enjoy!!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Oreo Crunch Brownies

Oreos are one of my favorite store bought cookies (first would have to be Mint Milanos) and the great thing about Oreos is you can bake with them.  So far I have made Oreo chocolate chip cookies and Oreo cupcakes.  Both those treats got rave reviews so i figured why not make Oreo brownies.  I started searching and found this recipe on How Sweet It Is.  She has some amazing recipes on her blog but this particular one caught my eye.  So once again off to the store I went to get Oreo's on a rainy Sunday morning. Because of my work schedule, Sunday has sorta become my baking day.  I like baking on Sunday because then the treats sit in my apartment for less then 24 hours before I ship them off to Lakeshore Learning Materials, Working Wardrobes, or Nordstrom.  These Oreo brownies got shipped off to the lucky people in the accounting department of lakeshore and I don't think they lasted more then 10 minutes.  There is a layer of brownie, that has Oreo cookies baked into it, then a layer of crushed Oreos and chocolate chips, and its all covered with a melted chocolate and peanut butter topping to hold it all together.  I really don't think it gets better then that.  Maybe if you wanted more of the peanut butter flavor you could add peanut butter chips to the brownie, and/or the middle layer.  But I think its a chocoholic dream brownie just the way it is.  I think the best part is how the Oreos stay crunchy and add texture to each bite, that's how I got the name. I hope you enjoy these as much as my friends and family did!


Somebody took a bite....







Oreo Crunch Brownies - Adapted from How Sweet It Is
Yield - 16 squares
1/2 Cup Butter, room temperature
1 1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
1 1/4 Cup Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
2 Cups Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
20 Oreo Cookies

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Butter and flour an 8 x 8 cake pan. 
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Add in cocoa powder and mix until combined. 
  4. Add flour and salt, mixing well until batter is smooth and comes together. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
  5. Spread in the 8 x 8 pan. Sink 9 Oreo cookies into the batter and press gently. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 
  6. While baking, crush the remaining Oreos in a ziplock bag. When brownies are finished baking, remove from the oven and sprinkle with 1/2 cup chocolate chips and crush Oreos. Place back in the oven for about 2-3 minutes.
  7. During this time, melt remaining chocolate chips and peanut butter together. Remove brownies from oven and pour melted chocolate mixture over top, spreading with a spatula. Make sure chocolate gets down into the Oreo crevices, as it is the “glue” that holds the top to the bottom. 
  8. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
  9. Let brownies sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before cutting.
  10. Enjoy!!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies

The last few days I have been on the hunt for recipes with buttermilk.  I had the buy the 1/2 gallon size container the other day when I made the cinnamon rolls and I am on a mission not to waste any.  This recipe is not like every other chocolate cookie recipe, its almost bittersweet from the buttermilk.  Not only is the chocolate flavor amazing, the texture is great too.  The outside gets a little crispy but the inside stays gooey and delicious!  These cookies are so good my boyfriend rated these cookies in his top 3 favorite, which is saying a lot.  Also my co-workers loved them too.  All I can say is if you have any leftover buttermilk, MAKE THESE!  You will not be disappointed! 






Buttermilk Chocolate Cookie - Adapted from Spache the Spatula
Yield - 3 to 4 dozen depending on size
Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup or 1 Stick Butter, unsalted and melted
3/4 Cup Cocoa Powder, best quality available
2 Cups Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2/3 Cup Buttermilk, regular or low fat
2 Cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In the bowl of your kitchen aid with the whisk attachment, combine the cocoa powder and melted butter until smooth. Add in the sugar, vanilla, and buttermilk. 
  4. Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
  5. Scoop the dough onto the lined baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool more.
  6. Enjoy!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Samoa Girl Scout Cookies

So every year my boyfriend and I order at least one box of Samoa cookies and one box of Thin Mints from the girl scouts.  This year we chowed down the box of Samoa's really fast and we both wanted more.  I have been seeing lots of other bloggers make homemade girl scout cookies so I decided to try it too.  As I was looking through recipes I noticed that the base cookie for Samoa's and Tagalongs was the same.  So this last Sunday I decided to make both.  It turned into an all day project and I think next year I will just buy more boxes of Samoa's.  Getting the coconut Carmel mixture on the cookies was not fun and very messy, as well as dipping the cookies in chocolate was long and messy too.  And in the end, the cookies were okay, but nowhere near as good as the ones that come out of that purple box!  If I make the cookies again, I would make the cookies a bit thinner and next time I wont do the center hole cutout.  Trying to shape the sticky Carmel coconut goop around the cookie was almost impossible!  Overall it was a good experience but I am not sure it was worth my time.  If you try them, let me know how yours turn out!







Recipe adapted from Baking Bites
Yield: about 3 dozen
Cookie Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter, unsalted and room temperature
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Tablespoons Milk


Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky.
  3. The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
  4. Divide the dough into 2-3 pieces, roll the dough out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter to make rounds, or whatever you have. 
  5. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and use whatever you can find to cut out the center hole, (try the end of a wide straw, or a knife to cut a smaller center hole, or the base of a pastry tip).
  6. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set.
  7. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Topping Ingredients:
3 Cups Shredded Coconut (I used unsweetened but you can use either)
12oz. Chewy Caramels
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Milk
1 Cup Chocolate (I used semisweet chocolate chips but whatever you have is fine)


Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 300. 
  2. Spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast 20 minutes(mine only took 5 minutes!!), stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Be sure to watch it because mine toasted REAL fast! Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
  3. Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes.
  4. Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie.  This is a messy step! 
  5. While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a zip lock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.
  6. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.
  7. Enjoy!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls


I am kind of a science dork; therefore I love Alton Brown and Good Eats.  His method of explaining recipes and science is great and his food/recipes are amazing!  I have made many of his recipes, mostly dinner stuff, but for a long time I have wanted to make his overnight cinnamon rolls.  I loved the idea of doing all the work the night before and in the morning just being able to pop them in the oven.   I decided today was just as good as any other day to try these so off to the supermarket I went.  I guess I bought the wrong kind of yeast and I didn’t realize it until after I had made the dough and was waiting for it to rise.  I was reading the reviews and someone had said that if you bought active dry yeast then you need to follow the directions on the package before adding it to the bowl.  I was very disappointed that I had made such a crucial mistake, but I decided to continue making them even though the dough didn’t rise much.  In then end the cinnamon rolls turned out ok, they were just very dense.  I didn’t want to make a cream cheese frosting so I just made a simple glaze to drizzle over the rolls.  I hope this recipe will encourage all the other bakers out there to try making cinnamon rolls for your families!  If you have only a few people in your house and don’t want to make all 12 cinnamon rolls, you can freeze them after they are rolled and cut up.  I have 3 more batches of 3 rolls that I can bake up any morning!  




Overnight Cinnamon Rolls - Adapted from Alton Brown
Dough Ingredients:
4 Eggs Yolks, room temperature
1 Egg, room temperature
1/4 Cup Sugar
6 Tablespoons Butter, unsalted and melted
3/4 Cup Buttermilk, room temperature
3 1/2 - 4 Cups Flour
1 Package Instant Dry Yeast - Not ActiveDry - If you buy active then you must follow directions on package first
1 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
Cooking Spray for pan

Filling Ingredients:
1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Pinch of Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter, unsalted and melted

Glaze Ingredients:
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Tablespoon Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla


Directions
  1. For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. 
  2. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined.
  3.  Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. 
  4. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. 
  5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
  6. For the Filling, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.
  7. Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. 
  8. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. 
  9. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
  10. The next morning, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.  I accidentally skipped this step, but i already had dough rising problems.
  11. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  12. When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
  13. While the rolls are cooling slightly, 
  14. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.
  15. Enjoy!!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Lemon Sugar Cookies

For the longest time I have wanted a zester/mircoplane and yesterday I finally found one on sale at Home Goods.  I was so happy in the store people were giving me weird looks, but that's ok because I now have a zester!!  I have been saving up recipes that need a zester and this was my first choice.  I love sugar cookies and I love lemons, so this recipe was a no brainer.  While making them, I loved how my kitchen smelled, like fresh lemons.  I had a serious problem keeping my fingers out of the cookie dough.  I think I ate about 4 cookies worth of dough, which normally I don't do, but I couldn't resist with these.  Needless to say, I was very excited to take them out of the oven, but I was patient and let the cookies cool.  I ate one faster then you can say "lemon sugar cookie!"  A little later, when I was taking pictures, I took a bit out of one for effect, but then couldn't resist taking another bite, and by then end of the photo shoot the cookie was gone. All I can say is good thing I went on a run today...






Lemon Sugar Cookies - Adapted from My Baking Addiction 
Yield about 3 dozen depending on size
Ingredients:
1 Cups Butter, unsalted and room temperature
1 1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
Zest of 1-2 large lemons, I would recommend at least 1 1/2
4 Tablespoons of Fresh Lemon Juice
2 3/4 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
Extra sugar for rolling cookies

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a small bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and whisk together. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth.
  4. Beat in the egg, vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Mix until fully incorporated.
  5. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms.
  6. Roll tablespoon size balls of dough in the extra sugar.  Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
  7. Bake 8-10 minutes or until very lightly browned.
  8. Let cool, then ENJOY!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Nutella Brownies

I love Nutella, as you probably know by now!!  I found this recipe about 3 days ago and made these in my first moment of spare time. I literally couldn't wait for them to come out of the oven and cool!  They are so chewy and chocolaty and perfect!  There is only a slight flavor of nutella, which was kind of disappointing but the overall brownie was crazy good!!  I also liked the recipe because it made a large pan of brownies and they are over an inch thick.  I feel like most recipes are for small square pans and sometimes don't puff up very much, but not these.  Its a lot of batter and they grow a ton in the oven!  The other thing that I love about this recipe is you melt the butter in a sauce pan, so it doesn't have to be room temperature.  That bugs me when you have to wait an hour for the butter to come to room temperature before you can start baking.   So this is another plus for this recipe for me.  Overall, I think you should definitely make these if your a Nutella nut like me!





Nutella Brownie Recipe - Adapted from Ravienomnoms Blog
Yield - About 24 squares
Ingredients:
1 Cup Butter, Unsalted
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
4 Eggs
1 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup Baking Cocoa Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Cup Nutella, melted until runny
1 Cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
Some chocolate shavings for the top (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
  3. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter on low heat.  Then add the sugars and vanilla.  Stir until combined.  
  4. Remove from heat and move the mixture to the bowl of your mixer.  Let cool for about 15 minutes.
  5. Add one egg at a time and make sure that the egg is completely mixed in before add the next egg.
  6. Add the dry ingredients, stir til incorporated.
  7. Add the melted nutella, about 30 seconds in the microwave will do it.
  8. Add the chocolate chips and stir.  
  9. Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 pan.  Add the chocolate shavings to the top if you want.
  10. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
  11. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing.
  12. Enjoy with a glass of milk!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Oreo Cupcakes

Oreo's are amazing and that is a fact.  Not only are they delicious to eat when dunked in milk, they are also delicious in a cupcake!!  I found this recipe a while ago and made them for the first time before I had started my blog.  They were a huge hit with everyone and so I decided to make them again and feature them on my blog.  The cupcake recipe alone is great for everyday use, or you can add the Oreo at the bottom to make these.  The frosting is the Swiss Meringue buttercream that I have made a few times, you just add crushed Oreo at the end.  I made regular size cupcakes and mini's as you can see in my photos.  I like the mini's better because they are bite size and amazing!  The perfect chocolate cupcake with a great light Oreo frosting is like heaven in your mouth!  If you love Oreo's like I do, you will love this cupcake!!





Oreo Cupcakes Recipe from A Cup Full of Cake
Yield: 30 Regular Size Cupcakes or 12 Regular and 24 Mini

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients:
3 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, best quality possible
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Whole Milk
1/2 Cup Bittersweet or Semisweet Chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 Cup and 1 Teaspoon Boiling Water, have this ready to go
3/4 Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
2 Eggs, room temperature
2 Tablespoons Vinegar, not wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 Package of Regular Size Oreo's and 1 Package of Mini Oreo's

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare the cupcake tin with paper baking cups, and carefully twist off one side of the Oreo and place one in the bottom of each cupcake liner with the cream side up.  Use the regular size Oreo for the regular size cupcake, and use the mini Oreo for the mini cupcakes.
  2. Whisk together the 5 dry ingredients in a medium size bowl; flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of your Kitchen Aid, whisk the eggs together until slightly thicken and a pale color.
  4. Add the milk, vanilla, oil, and vinegar, beat until combine
  5. Add in the melted chocolate and beat until combine. Be sure to scrape down the sides.
  6. Add all of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just to combine.
  7. Add the boiling water and mix just to combine. Be sure to scrape down the sides.
  8. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full.
  9. Bake for 15-18 minutes for the regular size, and a little bit less for the minis, about 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  10. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Oreo Swiss Meringue Buttercream adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cup Sugar
6 Egg Whites
Pinch of Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
2 Cups of Butter, unsalted and room temperature, cut into tablespoons
1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla
Oreo Cookie Crumbs (12-14 whole Oreo's and the cookie tops from cupcakes, pulse in food processor until it is fine crumbs, or I just put them in a Ziploc back and crushed them myself with something heavy because I don't have a food processor. The smaller pieces would have been better for piping the frosting but that's okay.)

This recipe makes enough to frost a 2 layer cake or frost 24 or more cupcakes, depending on the amount of frosting per cupcake...
Directions:
  1. Heat sugar and eggs: Bring a saucepan filled with about 2 inches of water to a simmer. Meanwhile, combine sugar, egg whites, and salt in a large heat-proof mixing bowl. Set bowl over (not in) simmering water, and whisk until whites are warm to the touch and sugar is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. (Heating the eggs relaxes their proteins, enabling the eggs to whip up higher and more quickly; the sugar also melts, for a silky smooth consistency.) Test by rubbing between your fingers; the mixture should feel smooth.
  2. Whip meringue: Attach bowl to a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on low speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form and mixture is cooled completely, about 10 minutes.
  3. Mix in butter: Reduce speed to medium-low; add butter 2 tablespoons at a time, beating to incorporate fully after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled at this point; it will become perfectly smooth again with continued beating. After all the butter has been incorporated, beat in vanilla.
  4. Finish: Switch to the paddle attachment. Add the Oreo crumbs and beat on the lowest speed to reduce air bubbles, 3 to 5 minutes. Let stand, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature. (If not using the same day, transfer to airtight containers and store in the refrigerator up to 3 days or the freezer up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature; beat with paddle attachment on the lowest speed until smooth and pliable, about 10 minutes.)
  5. I frosted the cupcakes with a large pastry bag and a 1M tip, and added another mini Oreo on top for decoration. 
  6. Enjoy!!!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

So I found this company online called Sof'ella Gourmet Natural Foods.  They made all kinds of gourmet box mixes from breads, to cupcakes, pancake mixes and more.  I found a couple of mixes that I wanted to try and ordered them!  I was so excited when they came in the mail, and I couldn't wait to try them.  I wanted to make the red velvet first because I have not made cupcakes in a few weeks.   So all you have to add for the mixes is butter, eggs and water.   These are fool proof for beginning bakers or if you do not have the supplies, resources, or energy for baking from scratch.  I have never made red velvet from scratch, but I have tried some delicious red velvet from various bakeries, and this box mix is amazing in comparison!  If you don't tell anyone that this is a box mix, no one will know, just keep it a secret between you and your kitchen!  Be sure to check out their website Sof'ella.  The best part is these mixes are very reasonably priced!  They range from $4 to $6 and have gluten free options too! I hope you enjoyed these as much as the hard working team at Working Wardrobes did!!  In the next few weeks I will also be baking their lemon bars and sea salt caramel brownies, so be sure to check out those reviews too!





Recipe Yield: 12 Cupcakes, or 1-9"Cake, 12 Whoopie Pies
Cake Ingredients:
1 Box Cake Mix
1 Stick of Butter, unsalted and room temperature
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup Water

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease the cake pan if needed.
  2. Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer.
  3. Add the eggs and mix until combine.  Then add the cake mix and water and mix just until combine.
  4. Add the batter to the pan, or muffin tins.
  5. Bake as directed by the box.  For cupcakes it takes about 18-20 minutes.
  6. Allow to cool before removing from the pan.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Ingredients:
1 Bag of Frosting Mix
2 Sticks of Butter, unsalted and room temperature

Directions:
  1. Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your Kitchen Aid mixer.
  2. Add the frosting mix and water, mix until smooth.
  3. Once the cupcakes are cooled, frost the cupcakes.
  4. Enjoy!!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Butter Toffee Cookies

I was shopping the other day and felt like splurging on the peanut butter chips I used in the last recipe and these toffee bits I used in this recipe.  To find this recipe I just googled toffee bit cookies and I found this on the Land O'Lakes website.  Coincidentally, I used Land O'Lakes butter too, but just because it was on sale at the grocery store.   So I realized that the toffee bits are just chopped up heath bar, so if you don't want to buy the toffee bits, just buy a couple of heath bars and chop them up yourself, I will do that in the future.  Anyway, these cookies are amazing!  I love Heath Bars so this cookies are dreamy!!  The toffee bits stay crunchy after baking so these cookies not only have great flavor but they have great texture!!  They are a little thin, but I like them anyway!




Recipe Adapted from Land O'Lakes
Yield about 4 dozen
Ingredients:
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Butter, unsalted and room temperature
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 1/2 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Package of Toffee Bit

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla until creamy.
  3. Add the flour, baking soda and salt, mix until  combined.  Be sure to scape the bowl.
  4. Stir in toffee bits.
  5. Drop dough onto cookie sheet and bake for 10- 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.
  6. Cool for a few minutes and move to cooling rack.
  7. Enjoy!!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Reece's Pieces Cookies

As you might have already guessed, I LOVE peanut butter.  I saw this recipe a few days ago and it went straight to the top of my baking to-do list.  This cookie has Reece's Pieces, peanut butter chips, and chocolate chips.  I think the cookie might have been better if it was a peanut butter cookie with the add-ins, but this cookie was still delicious!  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as i did!!





This recipe is adapted from The Sweet's Life
Recipe - Yield 4 dozen
Ingredients:
3 1/2 Cup Flour
3/4 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Butter, unsalted and room temperature
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
2 Cups Mix-ins (A combination of Reece's Pieces, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips)

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Mix together flour, salt and baking soda is small bowl.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, or in your Kitchen Aid mixer, cream the butter and sugars.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combine.
  4. Add the flour mixture, and beat until combine.  Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  5. Add the mix-ins, and mix just until combine.
  6. Drop the dough onto the cookie sheet, and bake until lightly brown.  About 8-10 minutes.
  7. Cool the cookies and Enjoy!!