Today’s Bills game was a crazy roller coaster of a ride. They were up big, but instead of an easy win, they actually had to come back to win. Yes, they were aided by a late penalty, but the Rams comeback was kicked off after a questionable call as well. Anyways, like last week, I wanted to bring in cookies for work tomorrow to celebrate. I decided to make chocolate cookies with mini m&ms! I also have chocolate chip cookies to bring in, but that recipe will not be posted bc they came out flat! Couple of things for this recipe – I recommend scooping out flour into your measuring cup, to avoid too much flour. If you pour the flour directly into the measuring cup, it packs in and you could wind up with too much flour, and a dry cookie (a grave offense). I chilled the dough overnight. And i preheated my oven to 350 for 20 minutes. Oh,and Go Bills!

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp chocolate extract
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup mini m&ms

Directions – cream butter, shortening, brown sugar and sugar. Add egg and extract. Stir in dry ingredients. Fold in candy. Scoop,out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 for 20 minutes. Scatter on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

If you want a simple dessert that can really impress people, this is it – cookie dough brownies! What’s not to like – you have brownies, you have cookie dough, you have melted chocolate on top! This is treat 2 for football Friday #3 at ESPN radio. I was in a hurry and melted the butter, which I do NOT recommend doing because it was too gushy and I had to add more flour. I used melted milk chocolate on some melted dark chocolate on the others. Why, you ask? Because I didn’t melt enough milk chocolate. Whenever I melt chocolate or make frosting, I make too much and don’t know what to do with it, or I don’t make enough and I have to make more and still end up with too much! Oh, and I cheated and used a brownie mix. Remember to preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking. Also, I microwaved the flour, in a microwave safe bowl for 25 seconds, stirred it, then microwaved another 25 seconds. (Some people have concerns about eating raw flour)

• Ingredients
• 1 pan of brownies, baked as directed and cooled completely
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbs milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour

Directions – cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add milk, vanilla. Stir in flour. (You may need to add a little more flour if you want it thicker). Spread over brownies. Microwave 2 cups of chocolate chips in 25 second increments until you can stir melted. Pour on top. Store in covered container.

Football Friday is nearly here, so I needed to bake for work (and good luck for the Buffalo Bills). Rob asked for chocolate chip cookie bars, so I opted for a recipe that uses browned butter. Not sure if you have ever used browned butter, but it is easy to make and gives a great flavor to treata. Browned butter is pretty simple – cook it in a fry pan over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until you see little brown flecks in the bottom. I think it might take about 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn it. (If you prefer, you can use plain melted butter.) These are simple to make and don’t take long in the oven. Remember to scoop your flour from your flour container into your measuring cup and to preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking. Also, only bake the bars for 20 minutes! They might seem not quite done, but they are!

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter, browned
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate

Directions – preheat oven to 350 for 20 minutes. Line a 8×8 inch square pan with tin foil,and spray with baking spray. In a bowl, combine butter, brown,sugar, egg and vanilla., add flour and salt. Stir in chips. Press evenly into prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes. Cool completely.

I made these chocolate chip cookies for Buffalo Bills game day. They were a little rushed and I was not happy with how they came out, so I decided to put some melted chocolate on top to improve on them. And, I think I did!That is one of my baking philosophies – if you don’t like it, frost it, or top it with melted chocolate!!

Some reminders – scoop the flour from your flour container into your measuring cup, and preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking.

• Ingredients
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Crisco
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, Crisco, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Scatter on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 10 to 13 minutes. There will be light golden patches on top. Cool completely. In a microwave safe bowl, melt 2 cups of chocolate chips in 40 second increments until you can stir smooth. Add 1 tsp vegetable oil. Spoon on top of cookies. Store in covered container.

These chocolate cookies are filled with mini m&ms and milk chocolate chips… And I dipped the bottoms of them in melted milk chocolate because the more chocolate, the better, right? I used instant chocolate pudding in these cookies. You can use another flavor if you want. I used chocolate extract, but vanilla extract is fine as well.

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3.4 oz instant chocolate pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 yolk
• 1 tsp chocolate extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup mini m&ms
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs, yolk, chocolate extract and pudding mix. Fold in flour, baking cocoa, baking soda and salt. Fold in m&ms and chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill a couple of hours. Preheat oven to 350 for 20 minutes. Stagger on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely. Microwave 1 cup of milk chocolate chips in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth. Spread on bottom of cookies.

Let set. Store in covered container.

Treat number two for the 2nd football Friday – chocolate chip cookies. I swapped out the sugar and used corn syrup. I also used a combo of butter and Crisco. You can use all butter or all Crisco. There is cornstarch in this recipe. I am a big fan of using it in cookies to keep them from spreading too much.

Remember to scoop your flour from your container into your measuring cup. I chilled the dough overnight. Don’t forget to preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking so the temp is correct. Another tip – I open a new baking soda at the start of each month to make sure I am using fresh baking soda for optimal baking.

• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Crisco
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, Crisco and brown sugar. Add egg, corn syrup, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Stir in flour and cornstarch. Mix in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill a few hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Stagger dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners.

Bake 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. There will be light golden spots on top., cool completely. Store in covered container.

This Friday football treat for the second Sunday of 2020 – peanut butter cookies topped with melted chocolate! I know that usually these cookies have a Hershey kiss placed on top, but I decided a while back to melt the kisses instead. Yay me! One of the funny things about these cookies – they look remarkably the same before as after they are baked! I love puffy cookies!

I used a combo of Crisco and butter. You could probably use all butter or all Crisco if you want. Remember to scoop your flour from your container into your measuring cup to get the right amount. I chilled the dough overnight. Also preheat your oven for 20 minutes to get the right temp.

• Ingredients
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Crisco
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 1 tbs milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups flour

Directions – cream Crisco, butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg, vanilla and milk. Fold in dry ingredients. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough into mounds. Chill a few hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 for 20 minutes. On a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Stagger cookies.

Bake 10 to 13 minutes (golden spots on top). Cool completely. Store in covered container.

I didn’t start out with marbled chocolate chip cookies in mind. They just wound up that way because I made a late call on making them and possess no patience in letting the browned butter cool. But i think my impatience has paid off, in terms of a good cookie. Couple of things to remember – scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup to get the right amount. Chill your scooped out cookie dough for at least a couple of hours, so the cookies don’t flatten too much. And, preheat your oven to 350 for 20 minutes before baking.

• Ingredients
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup semisweet,chocolate chips

Directions – brown butter, stirring occasionally. you will see little specs of brown in the bottom. Remove from heat and pour in a mixing bowl. Add brown sugar and sugar. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Add mini chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chilla few hours. Preheat oven,for 20 minutes. Stagger dough on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Gently press semisweet chips on top. Bake 10 to 13 minutes. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Part two of my football Friday treats – black and white cookies. Pretty proud of myself I finally remembered to frost the bottoms of the cookies. I went with the traditional vanilla cookie base. I will share b&w cookies with other flavors another day. Remember to scoop your flour from your flour container into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. If you don’t have cake flour, you can add 2 tbs and 1 tsp of cornstarch to 2 1/2 cups flour and sift together. You could try all the flour as all purpose flour, but I am not sure how that will affect the cookies. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can add 1/3 tbs pf lemon juice or vinegar to 1/2 cup milk. I also chilled the dough after I scooped them out, so they didn’t spread as much.

• Ingredients
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup crisco
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

Directions – cream Crisco, butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients, then milk., scoop out 1/4 cups of dough (you may need to flour your hands to form them into mounds. Dough can be a little sticky). Chill a few hours. Preheat your oven to 375 for 20 minutes (to get the right temp). Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely.

• Vanilla frosting – combine together
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbs corn syrup
• 3 tbs hot water
• 1 tsp vanilla

• Chocolate frosting – combine together
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbs corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 3 /4 cup chocolate chips, melted

Place cookies flatside up. Frost half of each with vanilla frosting, the other half with chocoate. Store in covered container

So finally, week 1 of the NFL season is here. Last season, I baked each week during the season, and the Bills went 10-6 and clinched a playoff spot. So I am continuing the tradition in 2020. For our first football Friday, I made stuffed cake mix cookies and black and white cookies. These cake mix cookies a need just simple 5 ingredients. They are super easy! Use any flavor cake mix you want. I opted for chocolate. And these are stuffed with oreos. You can also use candy! Remember to preheat your oven for 20 minutes before you bake the cookies to get to the right temperature. (An LG tech taught me that trick)

• Ingredients
• 1 cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbs water
• Oreos, candy

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Combine cake mix, egg, oil and,water. Place 1 tbs on top of an Oreo and another tbs on the bottom. Seal edges. Stagger on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool completely. Store in covered container.