It’s been cold and a little dreary lately, so I decided to remedy that with chocolate.. and dark chocolate at that.  These mudslide cookies are made with bittersweet chocolate chips (the 60 percent cacao kind).  I opted for milk chocolate chips as an add-in.  Feel free to use semisweet, white, peanut butter, mint etc.  You could also add coconut or nuts if you want too.  

Ingredients – 1 1/3 cups bittersweet chips, 3/4 cup sugar,  3 tbs butter, 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tbs baking cocoa,  1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 cup milk chocolate chips.

Directions -preheat oven to 350.  In microwave safe bowl, melt bittersweet chips, butter and sugar for about 1 minute (or until you can stir the mixture smooth).  Add eggs and vanilla.  Fold in dry ingredients.   Add milk chocolate chips.  Place mounds of 3 tbs of dough on cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes.  Sprinkle warm cookies with powdered sugar, if desired.

These sugar cookie cups and cookie sandwiches are another contribution of mine for tomorrow’s bake sale at ESPN Radio.   The proceeds benefit a group that my friend and coworker,Adrienne Lawrence volunteers for.  It seems like with the way things are  going, we may need to band together for some big  bake sales for Meals on Wheels,  after school.programs and other programs that benefit those in need.  🙂

Sugar cookie cups /cookie sandwiches-    1 1/2 cups shortening, 1 1/3 cups sugar, 4 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 4 cups flour (scooped from your flour container nto measuring cup ), 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder.

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray standard size muffin cups with bajing spray.  Cream sugar and shortening.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Gradually  mix in flour, baking soda and salt.  Roll 3 tbs of dough into a ball and gently press into bottom of each muffin cup.  With the rest of the dough,  roll 3 tbs of dough, slightly flatten and place on cookie sheets that have been lined with nonstick baking liners.  Bake 10 minutes  (bottoms will be light golden).  Let cool and frost.

Frosting -1/4 cup shortenjng, 1/4 cup butter (softened), 2 1/2 cups powdeed sugar, 3 tbs water.

Beat at high speed 2 minutes.

My friend and coworker, Adrienne, asked if I wanted to bake treats for a bake sale at work to benefit  some folks in need, who are part of  a group she does some volunteer work for.  Of course, I love to bake and if it helps people, that’s even better.  There is so much meanness out there nowadays, I think we all need to combat it with a little love when we can. Being kind really isn’t that hard! Love always wins!  These treats are brownie cookies with a peanut butter -crushed oreo filling, topped with melted Reese’s peanut butter cups.

Ingredients for cookies  – 1 brownie mix, 1/4 cup butter (melted), 4 oz cream cheese (slightly softened ), 1 egg. 1 cup finely ground oreos

Filling – combine 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 -4 tbs of milk or cream, 1 cup finely ground oreos.  (Make your filling while cookies are baking)

Directions – preheat oven to 350.  Combine brownie mix, egg, cream cheese, butter and 1 cup finely ground oreos.    Roll 1  tbs of dough into balls.  Place on cookie sheet, lined with nonstick baking liners.  Bake for 11 minutes. Remove from oven.  Immediately place a ball of filling on top of each cookie.  Let cool completely.   Top with melted Reese’s peanut butter cups or milk chocolate.  (I microwaved reese’s in 45 second increments until incould stir them smooth) .  Store in covered container. 

Hi again friends!  Here is my latest baking video on my youtube channel.  They are chocolate cutout cookies!

I was so sure that for the first time ever, I would bake and decorate a cutout cookie that could  be easily identified.  Sadly, I don’t think that is the case.  (as long as it  it tastes good, who cares what it looks like, right) 🙂  Anyway, I present my recipe for chocolate cutout cookies.  The traditional sugar cutout cookie  is always tremendous, but I like that have some other recipe options  too.  And this chocolate version is one of them.

Btw, the one on the left is a shamrock, the one  on the right is a basketball.  :0 (today is St. Patrick’s day and the first Friday of the NCAA tournament)

Ingredients – 1 cup of butter (softened at room temp for a few hours), 1 3/4 cups sugar, 2 eggs, 2 tsp vanilla, 2 3/4 cups flour, 3/4 cup baking cocoa, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder.

Directions – preheat oven to 350.  cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Fold in dry ingredients.   Flour a countertop or table with flour.  Roll a mount of dough out 1/2 inch thick.  Cut out your cookies.  Place on a cookie sheet, lined with a nonstick baking liner.bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  (Cookies will be slightly soft)  let cool.  Frost with your favorite frosting.

Frosting – 1/2 cup butter (melted), 4 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, milk or cream

Combine butter and powdered sugar.  Add vanilla.  Add milk or cream, 1 tbs at a time, until you get the desired consistency.

These are for my husband, Rob, to thank him for shovelling our driveway, as well as a path on the deck and though the backyard for Charlie, during yesterday’s storm.  To show my appreciation, I made these brownies.  I am Italian and I thank people with food. 🙂

Ingredients  1 brownie mix, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup oil, 1  individual Friendly’s sundae cup (I used chocolate chip cookie dough) 1 container  hot fudge.  * (see note at end)

Directions – preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8″ square pan.  Combine brownie mix, eggs and oil.  Blend in Friendly’s sundae and 1/2 cup hot fudge.  Pour into pan.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes (until toothpick pick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs).  Heat up remaining hot fudge and pour over warm brownies.  Let cool completely.   Store in covered container. 

*you can also add  1 cup of chocolate chips (or any flavor), nuts or coconut to the brownie batter.

I have a ton of chocolate chip cookie recipes in my “rotation.”  Each one is a little different,which is good for me, because I never like making the same things over and over. The unique ingredient is active yeast.  One more thing, the cookies are large, so this recipe makes only 15.  You can double the recipe to make more, or you can make the cookies smaller.  If you make them smaller, adjust your cooking time to 6 to 8 minutes. 

Ingredients – 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup butter (cubed, then slightly softened ),      2 1/4 cups flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp active dry yeast, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 cup chocolate chips.

Brown 1/2 cup of the  butter – this takes about 5 to 8 minutes.  Stir occasionally.   Once you see it turn a little brown, remove it from the heat and put it in a bowl.  It should look like this.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda and yeast, and cut in the 1/4 cup cubed butter.  I used my pastry cutter.

You can use a fork if you want.  I liked to have the butter softened because it is easier to work with.

In another bowl, combine browned butter, sugar and brown sugar. 

Add eggs and vanilla

Fold in dry ingredients, then mix in chips.

Grab your ice cream.scoop, cookie scoop, coffee scoops or spoon

Scoop out 3 -4 tbs of dough and roll into balls. I like puffy cookies, so I left kine in ball form.  If you want them flatter, gently press them down.. they don’t spread much.  Chill dough a few hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375. Place on baking sheet lined with non stick baking liners.  Bake 9 to 12 minutes.  Once completely cooled, store in covered container.

hello!  I wanted to share my latest baking video from my youtube channel for peanut butter cookie cups!

I love the rainbow chip/funfetti cake mixes… so bright and cheery.  Instead of making a cake to bring to work, I opted to make cookie sandwiches and I used a brown sugar frosting as the filling.   

Cookies  – 1 funfetti or rainbow chip cake mix,  2 eggs, 1/3 cup oil.

Directions – preheat oven to 375.  Mix cake mix, eggs and oil.  Roll 2 tbs dough into balls.  Place on cookie sheet, lined with a nonstick baking liner.  I put 6 on each sheet.  Slightly flatten the cookies.  Bake 6 minutes.  Let cool completely.

Frosting/filling – 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup butter, 3 tbs heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cook brown sugar and butter over low heat until it boils.  Remove from stovetop.  Add cream.  Let cool 30 minutes.  Add powdered sugar.  You can add extra cream if you want to thin it out a little more.

Place frosting between cookies.  My cookies are on the large size, so I cut the cookie sandwiches in half.  You can make the cookies smaller if you want and make more of them.

I know cookie cups are big sellers at mall cookie shops, but rest assured, what I make is far superior.  I GUARANTEE I would win a bakeoff!

Peanut butter cookie cups were my dad’s favorite treat.  Whenever my mom and in would go shopping at the McKinley or Galleria Mall in Buffalo when I was home on break from Geneseo, we always made sure to bring my dad a few of these from the Original Cookie Company.  He loved them!   But who doesn’t love peanut butter and chocolate?  March 12th is the 4th anniversary of my dad going to heaven after a long, excruciating battle with MS, so that is another reason I made these treats.  He was just the greatest, in so many ways.  Some of the most important things he taught me -, the importance of faith (no matter what you go through),  how to throw like a boy, and  what it means to be loyal.  How else can I explain my devotion to the Bills after all these years? 🙂

Ingredients – 1 cup butter (softened), 1 1/2 cups peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 1/2 cups flour (scooped from flour container into measuring cups so you get the right amount), 2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 4 tbs milk (or more if necessary)

Directions – preheat oven to 350.  Spray muffin tins with pam.  Cream butter and peanut butter.  Mix in sugar and brown sugar.   Add eggs and vanilla.  Fold in dry ingredients.  You may want to add the flour gradually.. that way it’s easier to blend in and you don’t have flour flying everywhere!  Add milk.  The dough is really thick, so if you want to add a little more milk, feel free. 

Scoop out 3 or 4 tbs of dough and roll it a ball.  Light press into muffin tin.  Bake 12 to 18 minutes.  Will be lightly golden in spots on top.  Let cool completely.  Frost with your favorite frosting (homemade or canned).  Or you could even top with melted hershey kisses, chocolate chips, etc.  Store in a covered container.

If you still have one or both of your parents around, you are very lucky.  Cherish your time with them.