Author Archives: Christine Lisi

Cookies to celebrate a Bills win and National Homemade Cookies Day

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I was alerted on Twitter that today is National homemade cookies day.. which is certainly a day to be celebrated… it was also a Bills victory day, something to be even more celebrated. Nothing to fancy, just browned butter chocolate chip cookies. You know what else, Bills win Christine is so much better than Bills lose Christine. (Just ask my hubby)

These candles below were given to me by my dear college friend, Patty. The Bills are 3-0 when I light them on game day. Just saying 😉

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. Also, chill the cookies for a few hours or flash chill them (I stuck em in the freezer for an hour to speed up the process). Preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, browned
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 3 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions – in a pan, heat butter over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until there are little brown specs in the bottom (it might take 10 minutes or so). Cool 10 minutes. Pour in a bowl, add sugar and brown sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Scoop out 2 tbs dough. Chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Stagger cookies. Bake 12 to 13 minutes. They will be a little gushy on top. They will firm up as they cool. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Peanut butter oreo cookies

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I had some extra crushed oreos leftover from my oreo topped chocolate chip cookie recipe, so I needed to make another treat to use them up. I figured peanut butter cookies was a good option.

Melted chocolate on the bottom

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. Also chill the individual mounds of dough for a few hours to keep the cookies from spreading. And, preheat your oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes before making so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup crisco
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 cup crushed oreos

Directions – cream crisco, peanut butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Mix in crushed oreos. Scoop out 1/4 cups dough. Chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, stagger cookies. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. Cool completely. I felt the bottoms of the cookies were a little too dark, so covered them in melted milk chocolate and let the chocolate set. Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Oreo topped chocolate chip cookies

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It is a rainy dreary Friday, so seems like a good time to bake cookies. These are chocolate chip cookies topped with crushed oreos. I made the cookies, formed them into mounds and them rolled the tops in crushed oreos. I chilled them for a few hours, then baked them.

These use a mix of regular all purpose flour and bread flour. Remember to scoop the flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. I also used some cornstarch to keep them from flattening too much.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups bread flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 10 to 12 oreos, finely crushed

Directions – cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add egg, yolk and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Roll tops in crushed oreos. Chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, stagger cookies, as shown below.

Bake at 350 degrees for 13 to 15 minutes (the edges will be golden). The middle may be a little gushy, but will firm up as the cookies cool. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today. I wish you a day of peace, love and joy. And, Go Bills!

Tollhouse cake mix bars

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I had 2 yellow cake mixes that are expiring in a few days, so I decided to whip them up and make them into tollhouse bars and frost them with a simple vanilla frosting. Of course, I frosted them when they were warm, so they will be gushy. I think these will go over well at work tomorrow

These use 2 cake mixes, 4 eggs, chocolate chips, 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp vanilla, and 12 tbs of butter, melted.

  • Ingredients
  • 2 yellow cake mixes
  • 12 tbs butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – spray a 9×13 pan with baking spray. Preheat oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes so it cycles to the right temp. In a bowl, blend cake mixes, flour, melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Blend in chips. Spread evenly into pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes (edges will be golden). Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Perfectly puffy triple chip cookies

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I know most people don’t love cooler weather, but honestly, I am ok with it because the puffy cookies are back! (Also my hair is less of a battle to straighten). Today, I present puffy triple chip cookies, featuring semisweet, milk chocolate and white chocolate chips.

I used butter flavor crisco in this recipe, as well as cornstarch.

A reminder to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. Chill the mounds of dough for at least an hour to prevent spreading. And preheat your oven for 20 minutes, so it cycles to the right temp.

  • 1 cup butter flavor crisco
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3.4 oz instant pudding mix
  • 2 1/4 cups flour (scooped from your flour container into your measuring cup)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, cream butter crisco, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs. Mix in vanilla and pudding mix. Blend in flour, baking powder, baking soda and cornstarch. Blend in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough and form into mounds. Chill at least an hour in the fridge. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and stagger cookies. Bake at 350 degrees for 11 to 13 minutes. The bottoms will be lightly browned. The tops will be a little gushy, but will firm up as they cool and set overnight.

Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today! Go Bills!

Brownies stuffed with a whole lotta stuff

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These brownies are a creation of my hubby, who discovered “junk bars” at a local cafe. They seemed to be a layer of brownies, topped with magic cookie bars, oreos, marshmallows and then another layer of brownies. So I went to work and tried to make the same thing.

These are very thick. They took 45 to 50 minutes to bake.

A reminder to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. Also preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Brownies ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup baking cocoa
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/4 cups flour

Directions – line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. in a bowl, combine melted butter, baking cocoa and sugar. Mix in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Blend in flour and salt. Spread half of mixture evenly in bottom of prepared pan.

  • Magic cookie bar layer
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 3/4 cup coconut
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • Pieces of oreos
  • Marshmallows

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees. cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Add graham cracker crumbs. Blend in chips and coconut. Spread evenly over brownie dough.

Top with pieces of marshmallows and oreos.

Then drop blobs of remaining brownie batter on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes (toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs) cool and top with melted chocolate.

Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by! These bars could also be called “congrats to all the NFL teams who won the Super Bowl, by winning in week one.. and to those who lost your season is over brownies” 😉

Triple Vanilla Brownies

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These were made in obscene humidity, and frosted while they were still warm. I also doubled the following recipe. I do not recommend doing any of those 3 things if you bake them…

I almost did not bring these in bc i felt they were not presentable. However. they are a big hit at work today.

  • Brownies
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 bag of white chocolate chip (10 oz)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the correct amount)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray. In a microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips and butter in 45 second increments until you can stir mixture melted. Blend in sugar and vanilla. Mix in eggs one at a time. Fold in flour and salt. Stir in milk chocolate chips. Evenly spread into prepared pan. Bake 15 to 23 minutes until a toothpick is inserted in center basically comes put clean (you will see golden patches on top). Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 4 tbs butter, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbs hot water

Blend together. You can add more water or powdered sugar to get the consistency you want. Frost brownies. Store in covered container.

Happy NFL Opening night

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For opening night in the NFL tomorrow, I present smores cookies. They are a graham cracker cookie, topped with a fluff frosting and melted hershey kisses. These cookies spread out more than I wanted because I didn’t have time to chill them. The graham cracker cookie is really a chocolate chip cookie without the chips. I also took out a little flour and added crushed graham crackers. I used a range for the flour because I think adding a little more could prevent the spreading.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. Pouring the flour directly from the bag packs it in. It’s too much flour, and you get a dry cookie. Also preheat the oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Cookies ingredients
  • 3/4 cup butter, cold, and shredded or cubed
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 3/4 -2 cups flour (
  • 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Blend in rest in ingredients. Scoop out 2 tbs dough and form tall mounds. Chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes vefore baking. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Stagger cookies on sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. They will seem a little underbaked on top, but they will be fine. Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup marshmallow fluff
  • 2-3 cups powdered sugar
  • Milk (enough to get the consistency you want)

Frost cookies and store in covered container.

Now to figure out what I make for the Bills opener Monday!

Oreo stuffed m&m cookies

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Our new ESPN Radio lineup debuts tomorrow, and I wanted to bring in something fabulous (or semi-famulous), so I went with m&m chocolate cookies stuffed with oreos.  

Do they need to be stuffed?  No.  But I have a ton of oroes and feel stuffing them in treats is always a wise choice. Plus, who doesn’t love m&ms?

A few notes – remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Also chill the stuffed cookies a few hours to prevent spreading.  And, preheat your oven to 350 degrees before baking so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients list
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 yolk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mini m&ms
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
  • Oreos

Directions -cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add egg and yolk. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips and m&ms. Scoop out 2 tbs dough and divide in half. Slightly flatten one half

Top with an Oreo

Flatten other half of dough and place on top.

Seal edges so oreo is completely covered.

Chill dough a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Scatter cookies on sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, you will see a few golden patches on top. Remove from oven. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

A big chocolate blob of a cake

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This actually was the second cake I made for Rob’s birthday. The chocolate mid cake was a disaster.. took forever to cook and looked like this. Not acceptable for a cake

This cake will have another purpose as a crust for a cheesecake

So after the above pictured fail, I made a second cake for Rob after I worked out on his actual birthday. Got it in the oven at 510 am. He loved it. It is pretty easy to make. It is quite dense thanks to greek yogurt and has a fudgy frosting and is topped with pieces of oreos. I wanted to finely grind them up in my food processor, but ran out of time.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 chocolate cake mix
  • 3.4 ounce instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Spray a bunt cake pan with baking spray. In a bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Blend in water, oil, and Greek yogurt. Add chocolate chips. Mixture will be thick. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake 30 to 40 minutes in preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Invert onto plate. Cool completely.

  • Fudge frosting ingredients
  • 8 tbs butter
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa
  • 6 tbs evaporated milk
  • 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Milk

Directions – in a saucepan, over low -medium heat, combine butter, baking cocoa and evaporated milk, stirring occasionally, just until it boils. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Mixture will be thick and clumpy. Add 3 cups powdered sugar. Again, mixture will be clumpy. Add a tbs or two of milk. Add more milk or more powdered sugar until you get the texture you want. Frost cooled cake. Top with crushed oreos.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!