Oreo magic cookie bars (hello dollies)

My hubby, who is certainly not a huge fan of coconut, asked if I could make “junk bars,” a treat he saw at a local bakery. I had no idea what they were. He said they had a brownie oreo crust and had coconut. A Yahoo search (yup I utilize yahoo) turned up nothing. So I wondered if he meant Hello dollies/magic cookie bars. So instead of a gram cracker crust, I used an oreo crust. They are very easy to put together. And you can have a very sweet treat in no time!

I used a food processor to crush the oreos. You could also put them in a freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

  • Ingredients list
  • 20 oreos, finely crushed
  • 4 tbs butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate whips
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 14 oz can condensed milk (no substitutions)
  • 1 cup coconut
  • 12 oreos, finely crushed

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 pan with tin foil. In a bowl, combine butter and 20 crushed oreos. Press into prepared pan. In a bowl, combine the 3 kinds of chips, condensed milk, coconut, and the remaining 12 crushed oreos. Spread over crust. Bake 25 to 28 minutes. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Triple chip cookies

Today is the first time in a month it hasn’t felt like you are sitting on the bleeping sun when you go outside. So to celebrate, I made triple chip cookies (Rob’s request). The humidity made so many of my cookies a big, flat disaster. I was assured they tasted good, but the fact that they were flat BUGGED me. (Plus the humidity bugged the hell out of me as well). These cookies did flatten a bit, but not as bad as some of the other ones.

Remember to scoop your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount, form your dough into tall mounds and chill them for a few hours, and preheat oven to 350 degrees before baking so your oven cycles to the right temp. (That last tip was a lifesaver from a tech who serviced one of our first ovens. Very valuable advice)

This is a mound of cookie dough
  • Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, cold and shredded with a cheese grater
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 1/4 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
This is how I stagger cookies on a sheet

Directions – in a bowl, cream grated butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Scoop put 1/4 cups of dough and form tall mounds or cylinders. Chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Stagger cookies on sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden and there are golden spots on top. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today. I wish you peace, love and joy. And remember to be kind. Everyone is fighting some sort of battle each day. Being mean helps no one.

Chocolate Reese’s Pieces cookies

I noticed a couple of boxes of Reese’s Pieces in my baking cabinet, so I decided to put them in some large chocolate cookies. These only make 8, so I cut them in half and put some melted chocolate chips on a few halves. Not sure why. Also not sure why I thought it was a good idea to turn on the oven and bake when it is hot and disgustingly humid. Anyways, we celebrate the home run derby with these tomorrow at work.

A few tips : Scoop your flour and baking cocoa from your containers into your measuring cups so you get the right amount. Chill your mounds of dough at least a couple of hours to prevent too much spreading. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • 8 tbs butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 egg
  • 1 yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 cups Reese’s pieces

Directions – combine melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, and baking cocoa. Add vanilla, egg, and yolk. Blend in flour, cornstarch and baking soda. Dough will be very soft. Fold in Reese’s pieces. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill a few hours on fridge. Preheat ovento 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. I put 4 on a sheet at a time bc they are 1/4 cups of dough each. Bake 12 minutes (no longer). Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Thank you for stopping by today. Please remember to be kind. We all need a little kindness.

The puffy cookies are back!

After a few batches of my chocolate chip cookies turning out waaaaaayyyy flatter than I prefer, the puffy cookies are back! I head read about using more baking powder to have cookies be puffer and more baking soda for flatter cookies. So, I used all baking powder here and am quite pleased!

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your flour container so you get the right amount. Chill the individual mounds of dough to prevent spreading. Preheat oven to 400 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • 2/3 cup butter, cold and shredded with a cheese grater
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount)
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup mini m&ms

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips and m&ms. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough and form tall mounds. Chill a few hours in fridge or overnight. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookies sheet with parchment paper. Bake 9 to 11 minutes. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today. I wish you peace, joy and happiness. Remember to be kind. You never know what someone else is going through. You may need that same grace from someone else.

Puffy frosted chocolate cake mix cookies

These are the exact opposite of my recently posted flatter than pancakes milk chocolate chip cookies. These chocolate cake mix cookies do not spread at all. If you want them flattened, you can do just that… put some flour on your fingers before doing so. 🙂

These are super easy. Just a cake mix, melted butter, and eggs. I tossed in 1 cup of chocolate chips. I also frosted them. But you could sprinkle powdered sugar on top of warm cookies instead, if you prefer.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees before baking so it cycles to the right temp. Don’t overcook these either. You do not want a dry cookie. They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet after removed from the oven.

  • Ingredients
  • 15.5 oz chocolate cake mix (i used devil’s food)
  • 5 tbs butter, melted
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. In a bowl, combine cake mix, melted butter and eggs. Stir in chips. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, scoop out 3 tbs of dough and form mounds. Stagger cookies on prepared sheet – a row of 2, a row of 1, a row of 2, a row of 1, a row of 2. You can fit 6 or 8 on a sheet, depending on the size of a sheet. Bake 10 to 14 minutes. You don’t want the bottoms too brown. Cookies will still continue to bake on sheet after removed from oven. Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 3 tbs butter softened
  • 3 tbs baking cocoa
  • 1 tbs corn syrup (or honey)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • Milk

Directions – combine butter and cocoa. Add corn syrup. Mix in powdered sugR. Add milk, 1 tbs at a time, until you get the consistency you want. Frost cookies. Store in covered container.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I wish you a day filled with peace, happiness, and joy. Remember to be kind. We need more kindness!

Blackout Brownies

Blackout brownies

As we close out another week, I thought blackout brownies would be a good treat to bring into work. Rob gave them a 👍 and I think my work friends will enjoy them too.

Remember to scoop your flour and baking cocoa from their containers into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp. And right after taking brownies out of the oven,make the frosting. I frosted the brownies while still warm.

A little messy, but good!
  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup corn syrup (or honey)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup black cocoa
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees so it cycles to the right temp. Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray. In a bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Add chips. Spread evenly into pan. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Now, onto the frosting!

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 3 tbs butter, softened
  • 3 tbs black cocoa
  • 1 tbs corn syrup (or honey)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 to 3 tbs milk

In a bowl, combine butter and baking cocoa. Add corn syrup then powdered sugar. Add milk, one tbs at a time, until you get the consistency you want. Frost warm brownies. Let them cool completely and store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today! I wish you a wonderful day, filled with happiness, peace and love.

Chocolate peanut butter chip cookies

I have made a LOT of chocolate chip cookies (or some version of them) lately and was looking to break out of the box. I noticed I had some Reese’s peanut butter chips among my morsels collection, and thought I would put them in some large chocolate cookies. So here is that recipe.

Remember to spoon your flour and cocoa from their bag or container into your measuring cup so you get the correct amount. If you directly pour into the measuring cup, it gets packed in, and you can wind up with a dry cookie. Also, chill the mounds of cookie dough for a few hours to prevent spreading of the cookies in the oven. And, preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 1/2 cups flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup, so you get the right amount)
  • 1 cup unsweetened baking cocoa (scooped from your container into your measuring cup)
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 bag peanut butter chips

Directions – cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Blend in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill in fridge a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes so it cycles to the right temp. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Stagger cookies on prepared sheer – a row of 2, a row of 1, a row of 2, a row of 1 (I fit 6 or 8 on a sheet, depending on size of sheet). Bake 10 to 12 minutes (no longer. You don’t want the bottoms to burn). Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I wish you a day filled with peace, joy and happiness!

7

A tribute to Little Debbie brownies

A Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies tribute

I loved Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies (and Oatmeal Cream pies, too) growing up. With the brownies, I always thought the topping was magical, so delicious. I’m not sure how I would like the cosmic brownies now (processed foods have not been my thing for a long time), so I present to you homemade version. These have cornstarch in them to make them softer. I err on taking them out a little earlier (about 20 minutes) than too late because a dry brownie is a grave sin.

Remember to spoon your flour and baking cocoa from your flour bag and cocoa container into your measuring cups so you get the right amount. Pouring directly into the measuring cup would pack in the flour, and that makes for a dry treat. I also preheated my oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so it cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted then cooled for 5 to 10 minutes
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups flour (spooned from your flour bag into your measuring cups)
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. Spray a 9×13 pan with baking spray and set aside. In a bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar and sugar. Blend in eggs. Fold in dry ingredients. Mixture will be thick. Evenly press into prepared pan. Bake 18 to 22 minutes (a toothpick inserted in the center will come out with a few moist crumbs). Cool completely.

  • Ganache ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I combined semisweet and milk chocolate)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

In a microwave safe bowl, microwave chips and milk in 1 minute increments until you can stir smooth. Stir for a few minutes to thicken up. Spread over cooled brownies. Sprinkle with mini m&ms. Let ganache set. Cut and store in covered container. I put mine in the fridge to help with the ganache setting.

Look at all that fudgy goodness

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you try these, let me know how you like them. Have a wonderful day and remember to be kind!

An ode to Keebler Cookies Magic Middles

Fudge filled chocolate chip cookies

Rob and I were talking about store bought cookies from childhood and I mentioned the only ones I really liked were magic middles by Keebler and Mystic Mint (which I know may gross some people out, because they can’t accept mint in a dessert, but I loved them). Anyways, Rob had never heard of magic middles, but I told him I remembered them as a chocolate chip cookie with melted chocolate inside. I looked them up and it was more of a shortbread cookie, but I decided to do my own version with chocolate chip cookie dough. Of course, I did not make enough fudge, so I used leftover Reese’s eggs for the remainder of the dough and added mini m&ms so the cookies could be told apart.

Filled with mini Reese’s eggs

Reminders – scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. Do not pour directly from the bag and pack it in. Give yourself time with these. The fudge needs to harden a bit (I scooped put individual scoops of 1 1/2 tbs, put them in the fridge. Once I stuffed the cookies with then, I popped them in the freezer to make sure the fudge didn’t leak all over the place).

  • Fudge ingredients
  • 14 oz condensed milk
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
  • In a saucepan, combine condensed milk and chips over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Grease a sheet of tin foil with butter (I sprayed with butter spray). Scoop out 1 1/2 tbs fudge and place in the fridge for about an hour to firm up.
  • Cookie dough ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of cough and divide in half. Slightly flatten and place a ball of fudge on top.

Top with second half of slightly flattened dough.

Seal edges

I ran out of fudge, so I used mini reese’s eggs for the rest of the dough.

And I used mini m&ms for the Reese’s, so people can tell the difference between them and fudge filled cookies

Chill cookie dough for a few hours or freeze for an hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. Bake 12 to 15 minutes (light golden patches on top). Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Very puffy triple chip cookies

As we enjoy another night of Stanley Cup playoff hockey, I decided to make some chocolate chip cookies. These are made with browned butter and 2 oz of cream cheese. The cream cheese helped them stay thick and they did not spread out at all. You can not taste the cream cheese at all! They stayed nice and puffy and are loaded with 3 kinds of chocolate chips.

A few notes – browned butter is super easy. Place the butter in a sauce pan, cook over low heat . A few minutes after it completely melts, brown specks will appear. Turn off the pan and pour butter in bowl. Let it cool for 30 minutes. Spoon your flour from your flour bag into your container so you get the right amount. And preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so your oven cycles to the right temp.

1/2 cup butter

2 oz cream cheese (I used low fat)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 yolk

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cup flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup)

1 tbs cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup white chocolate chips

2/3 cup milk chocolate chips

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3 kinds of chips!

Directions – place butter in a pan, cook over low-medium heat until there are small brown specks. Cool in a bowl for a half hour. (Otherwise, the chips may melt and you will have marble cookies). Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. In a bowl, combine cooled butter, cream cheese, brown sugar and sugar. Add egg, yolk and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients (you may need to use your hands and mix them like meatballs). Mix in chips. Scoop our 1/4 cups dough. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Stagger cookies on the sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes (no longer). Cool completely.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!