Tomorrow, marks the return of Marty and McGee on Saturday mornings on ESPN Radio. I am looking forward to having the guys back. Thst make me (and everyone else) laugh a ton for two hours and we all need that, considering how bad the news has been in general. The guys always look forward to my treat breakdown as well.

These are a Graham cracker cookie with marshmallow bits!!!!…

and stuffed with brownie truffles! It is going to be super cold tomorrow, some extra sugar to keep people going at the world wide leader. You can also sub in chocolate chips or nuts if you want. Let me honest about my brownie truffles. Truffles sounds so “fancy” (insert Chris farley quote hands) mine are simply smooshed up brownies mixed with about a half cup of chocolate frosting. They are rolled into balls and chilled for an hour. You can also use oreos or candy if you prefer

• Ingredients
• 1cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 3 cups Graham cracker crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp,salt
• 1/2 cup marshmallow bits

Directions – cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in Graham cracker crumbs. Fold in dry ingredients. Mix in marshmallow bits.

Scoop out 2 tbs dough

and divide in half. Slightly flatten one half.

Place a brownie truffle on top.

Place other tbs of flatten cookie dough on top.

Seal edges.

Chill for a few hours. Preheat oven to 350. Stagger cookies on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 10 to 15 minutes. Cool.

Store in covered container.

The second gameday treat is super easy, but quite tasty and will satisfy any sweet tooth. They are brownie cookies with peanut butter chips and stuffed with peanut butter cups.

These are actually for our friends, who are expecting their first baby in June. A congratulatory treat, if you will. One note – the dough may seem a little sticky, so you might want to use a little flour on your hands to make it easier to deal with.

• Ingredients
• 1 brownie mix (do not add ingredients on box)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 3/4 cup peanut butter chips
• Peanut butter cups

Directions – preheat oven to 375. mix brownie mix and flour together. Blend in eggs and oil. Mix in chips. Take one tbs of dough and slightly flatten.

Place peanut butter cup on top.

Take another tbs dough, slightly flatten and place on top of peanut butter cup.

Seal edges.

On a cookie sheet, lined with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper, stagger cookies. Bake 10 to 14 minutes. Sprinkle warm cookies with powdered sugar.

Cool completely.

Store in covered container. In addition to the Bills, I am also rooting for the 49ers bc their starting quarterback, Jimmy G is beautiful.

I really upped my game for treats this week, trying to butter up the football gods for the Bills playoff game tomorrow (435 eastern, ABC, ESPN TV and the ESPN app). I have made carrot cake, peanut blossoms with milk chocolate chips and peanut butter cups. And today for tonorrow’s gameday,I made stuffed snowball cookies! Most are stuffed with double stuff oreos and one is stuffed with a peanut butter cup because I ran out of Oreos. As usual, I put an m&m in the top to label what is inside – blue and green for Oreos, orange for Reese’s.

Here’s to upping my record when I bake on gameday to 10-4!

• Ingredients
• 2 cups butter, soft
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1 bag mini chocolate chips
• Oreos!

Directions – preheat oven to 375. Cream butter and vanilla., add powdered sugar. Blend in flour. Mix in chips. Scoop out 1 tbs dough.

Slightly flatten.

Place Oreo on top.

Scoop out another tbs of dough. Slightly flatten and place on top of Oreo.

Seal edges.

Stagger on cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper.

Bake 10-13 minutes. Cookies will be lightly golden on bottom. Sprinkle warm cookies with powdered sugar.

Let cool. Store in covered container.

This is a request from my husband, who wanted something almond joy-ish. I decided to go with a version of hello dollies. They are also known as magic cookie bars and come in a variety of forms. The basic ingredients always include crushed Graham crackers, butter, condensed milk and coconut. The classic version calls for regular chocolate chips and walnuts. I subbed in almonds for the walnuts and chocolate graham crackers for regular Graham crackers. They are a big gooey sugar rush.

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar or brown sugar (brown sugar makes crust softer)
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 1 sleeve Graham crackers, finely crushed
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup flour
• 14 oz can condensed milk
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds

Directions – preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and spray with Pam. cream butter and sugar or brown sugar. Blend in egg and vanilla. Fold in baking powder, Graham cracker crumbs and flour. Press into bottom of pan and bake 5 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with 1 cup of chips, almonds and coconut. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of chips. Bake 25 minutes. They will be lightly golden in parts on top. Cool 10 minutes. Cool an hour in fridge. Cut.

Store in covered container.

I think I disappointed my people today. I arrived at work empty handed, no treats at all. But I had a reason. The 2 National CFB semifinal games are today and I know that means a potluck, so there is a ton of food. I didn’t think there would room for treats, so I decided to wait until tomorrow, which is gameday for the Buffalo Bills. My guys are already locked into the 5 seed in the AFC, as the top wildcard. Nothing at stake tomorrow, except hoping no one gets hurt. So maybe instead of a Bills win, these are “please God, let everyone stay healthy” treats. I would not play the starters at all. But that is just me. Anyways, these snowball cookies are simple and a huge hit. Dusting them with powderd sugar while warm, makes them sweeter, bc the sugar melts into the cookies.

• Ingredients
• 1 cup butter, soft
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 1/2 cup,powdered sugar
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 375. cream butter and vanilla. Blend in powdered sugar. Fold in flour. Mix in chips. Form 2 tbs dough into a ball, slightly flatten. Place on cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. 5 to 8 minutes. (Bottoms will be light golden) remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with extra powdered sugar. Cool completely and sprinkle with more powdered sugar.

Store in covered container.

Given the magnitude of tomorrow’s game for my beloved Buffalo Bills. I needed to bring in a second treat (to bribe the football gods, if you will). So i present peanut butter cutout football cookie sandwiches with a hersheys chocolate frosting filling. Btw, I forgot what it was like having your team play important games this time of year. I have missed that stress! I got a good dose of it watching the game in Pittsburgh last Sunday night.

• Cookie ingredients
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 3 cups flour (scooped from your flour container into your measuring cup)
• 1 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 350. cream butter and peanut butter. Blend in sugar well. Add egg and vanilla, then dry ingredients. On a floured surface, roll out to desired thickness and cut. On a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners, stagger cookies (they don’t spread much). Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool

• Frosting ingredients
• 2 tbs butter, melted
• 2 tbs baking cocoa
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions – blend butter and cocoa. Mix in powdered sugar. Add 2 tbs of milk. You may need to add more to get desired consistency. Stir in vanilla. Spoon a tbs or 2 between 2 cookies. Store in covered container.

Tomorrow is a huuuuuge matchup for my Bills, so I really had to step up my game day cookies for my ESPN Radio crew! Our opposition is the Patriots! (Cue the Dr Evil laugh from Austin Powers) so, in the spirit of the holiday season and football, I present treat # 1 – chocolate cutout football sandwiches with a buttercream filling, colored green! I also found a chocolate extract to use in this recipe. If you don’t have it, you can always use vanilla

• Cookie ingredients
• 2 1/4 cups flour (scooped from,flour container into measuring cup. Do not pour directly into measuring cup and pack it in)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 cup butter (softened)
• 1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed into measuring cup)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp chocolate extract (or vanilla)

Directions -preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and extract., fold in dry ingredients. On floured surface, roll out to desires thickness and cut. I used one of my 2 football cookie cutters.

On. A cookie sheet that has been lined with non stick baking liners, stagger cookies on sheet. They don’t spread too much. Bake 8 – 10 minutes. Cool.

• Filling ingredients
• 2 tbs butter, melted
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Milk
• Vanilla
• Green food color

Directions – mix butter and powdered sugar together. Add a tbs or two of milk. You may need to add more to get the desired consistency. If you add too much milk, add a little more powdered sugar., stir in vanilla then a few drops of food color. Spoon a tbs or two between 2 cookies. Store in covered container.

This time of year, I love to make various cutout cookies and today I am am opting for gingerbread men. You can also turn them upside down and make them into reindeer. Because of severe decorating skills deficiency, I made them into cookie sandwiches. I used a simple buttercream frosting and colored it green. I used recipe from Bouchon bakery, in NYC. Like with a lot of gingerbread recipes, it can be hard to work with. I added 2 tbs water (I,may add 2 more next time). You have to mix it quite a bit and I even used my hands to blend it at the end.

Ingredients

• 6 1/2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 3/4 cup butter (softened)
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 2-4 tbs water
• 1 tbs vanilla

Directions – cream butter and brown sugar. Add molasses. Mix in eggs, vanilla and water. Stir in dry ingredients. Dough will be very stiff. Cover and chill. Take out about an hour before you want to bake them. Preheat oven to 350. Roll dough out on floured surface and cut. Stagger on cookie sheets lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Filling ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Milk
• Vanilla
• Food color

Blend butter and powdered sugar. Add milk, a tbs at a time. You may need to add more powdered sugar and/or milk to get the consistency you want. Stir in vanilla. Mix in food color. Spread a tbs or two between cookies.

Store in covered container.

Another chocolate chip cookie recipe? Yes, I know, but I have 2 huge bags of chocolate chips to use up, so here comes another ccc recipe.

This is the classic Nestle Tollhouse cookie, probably one of the first cookies most people bake. I did make some changes. I had no time for the butter to soften – so I opted for butter Crisco. You could also grate the butter with a cheese grater if you don’t value your knuckles or use regular Crisco. I also used more brown sugar because I wanted a puffier cookie and added a little more flour for the same reason.

Couple of notes on baking in general – make sure your baking soda is fresh. I actually buy a new box every month. I want puffy cookies. I also let my oven preheat for 20 minutes for all my baked goods. One of the LG techs gave me that tip because I felt our oven was off. He gave me long explanation, but the gist is – preheating for 20 minutes gets the temperature just right. I have found my treats come out great that way.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter Crisco (or softened butter or regular Crisco)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour (scooped from flour container into measuring cup)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips (or milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white chocolate chips, or a combo)

Directions – mix Crisco, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips., scoop put 2 tbs dough and form into tall mounds. Chill at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375. Bake 8-10 minutes. They will have light golden patches on top. They may seem too gushy, but will firm up after they cool.

Store in covered container.

The Bills won on Thursday and thus. are off tomorrow, which I thought meant I had a Sunday off from baking for work. Well, Bobby, one of the ESPN Radio hosts/football analyst and I were talking this morning about the Bills, as well as what I had brought in treat-wise and then he asked “what are you bringing in tomorrow?” Uh oh… He did say he thought the Bills will be 11-5, and make the playoffs.. Perhaps even win wildcard weekend. I could not discard potential good karma. I needed a plan then.. So my hubby suggested chocolate chip cookies. I tweaked a recipe and like how they turned out. I’ve learned you can change sweetening ingredients or change ratios of brown and white sugar, or change what fats you use. Instead of sugar, this recipe uses corn syrup. And since I made them after Mass, and wanted to speed up my process, I grated the butter with a cheese grater because it had no time to soften to room temperature, and because I didn’t have time to chill the dough, I added cornstarch to keep the cookies soft and puffy.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter (softened)
• 3/4 Brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour (scooped from flour container into measuring cup)
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1-2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350. cream butter and brown sugar. Blend in corn syrup, egg and vanilla. Stir in baking soda and salt. Fold in flour and cornstarch. Mix in chips. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out dough and form into mounds (you may want to flour your hands to make it easier). Stagger on cookie sheets lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 8 to 10 minutes (lightly golden on bottom). Cool on sheet 10 minutes. Remove to cool completely.

Store in covered container.