Two Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are a bite of heaven in your mouth.  The original name for these cookies was "I want to marry you cookies"  but I made they and well I am still not married so I figured I would change the name.  They are made a little differently then most cookies and in the beginning I was a little worried but in the end they came out perfect!  You melt the butter and then add lots of brown sugar which give the cookie a caramel flavored base.  Then with the oatmeal and both white chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips you get a delicious cookie.  The real kicker here is the hint of cinnamon.  My boss told me they taste like Christmas and she wants to have me make some for her Christmas party this year.  You cannot go wrong adding these cookies to your holiday baking list.

I Want To Marry You Cookies - Adapted from Cookingchanneltv.com
1 Cup Butter, unsalted
1 1/4 cups Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg, room temperature is best
1 Egg Yolk, room temperature is best
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Cups Flour
1 Cup Rolled Oats
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
3/4 Cup White Chocolate Chips
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until melted. Remove from the heat.
2. Add the dark brown sugar and white sugar and stir until sugars are incorporated and smooth. Chill the mixture for 10 minutes or more.
3. Remove from the refrigerator and stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
4. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cinnamon and mix together.
5. Stir in the white chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips.  At this point it will look pretty oily, so I chilled the dough for the 30 minutes and then formed the balls and chilled a little more.  
6. Roll by hand into about 30 medium-size balls or use a cookie scoop, and place on a light-colored cookie sheet.
7. Chill for 30 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Choco-nilla Birthday Cake

Its that time of year again, my boyfriends birthday.  Every year I make him a cake and this year I was struggling with an idea.  He is pretty laid back and will eat whatever so that makes it even harder.  I found this cake (a cake for "fence-sitters") and I figured it would be perfect for everybody.  A little chocolate and a little vanilla, nobody can complain.  It was a huge hit and was gone in about 2 days.  I made the banner on the computer from a blank word document because I couldn't find any templates I liked.  It was easy enough, and then I used a needle and double thread to hang it all together.   I am very happy with how it all came out and I hope my boyfriend loved it too!

Happy Birthday Joe!

Idea adapted from Kingarthurflour.com

Chocolate Cake - 

1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix
1 4oz Box of Instant Chocolate Pudding
1 Cup Sour Cream
4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Water or Milk

Vanilla Cake

1 Box Vanilla Cake Mix
1 4oz Box of Instant Vanilla Pudding
1 Cup Sour Cream
4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Water or Milk

Chocolate Buttercream - MY NEW FAVORITE!
1 Cup (2 Sticks) Butter, Unsalted and Room temp
5 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, sifted
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2/3 Cup Milk

Directions:

1. For the cake, follow directions on box but with the listed ingredients. Bake according to the box. I did 4 - 8in pans and it was about 30 minutes each.
2. For the buttercream, cream the butter with the whisk attachment of your kitchen aid until light and fluffy. Alternate adding the wet ingredients and the dry until everything is in the bowl. Whip up until desired consistency, add more milk if needed. 
3. Frost you cake, and ENJOY!

Brown Butter Snickerdoodle

I have a love for cinnamon so these cookies were a no-brainer.  My boss has a love for soft and chewy snickerdoodles so I decided I had to make these for her as a thank you gift.  I texted her and told her not to eat breakfast because I was bringing her some amazing cookies.  She ate about 5 large cookies in maybe 30 minutes.  That's how good these cookies are.  The flavor is amazing and the texture is great.  I didn't have all the ingredients to follow the recipe but I still think they came out perfect.  I was a little ambitious though and made two little mistakes.  First, I didn't want to wait 2 hours to chill the dough so I put the dough in the freezer for about 20 minutes, and second I put way too many cookies on the cookie sheet which is why they are square!  Whoops.  Next time I will be more patient and make smaller cookies.  This recipe is a must for the holidays! 

Sorry for the crappy photo - Thats what happens in the winter when its dark by 5pm!

Browned Butter Snickerdoodles - Adapted from Ambitious kitchen

Yield: 24-30 Cookies

Ingredients:

2 3/4 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoons Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ Teaspoon Salt
2 Sticks (1 Cup) Unsalted Butter
1¼ Cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar ( I used light brown)
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Large Egg plus 1 Egg Yolk
1 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon plain Greek yogurt ( I didn't add this...)

For rolling mixture:
1/4 Cup Sugar
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon


Instructions:

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and set aside. 
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a 10 minutes.
3. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined.
4. Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator (important!), You want the dough cold.
5. Preheat the oven to 350F. Once dough is chilled measure about 1 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. 
6. Meanwhile mix 1/4 cup sugar and the 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a bowl. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
7. Bake the cookies 8-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Bake longer if you like crispier cookies. 
8. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 minutes. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
9. INDULGE!