Tag Archives: desserts

Smores cookies with toasted marshmallow frosting

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Happy summer!

With summer in full swing, I figured a smores recipe was in order. (Nothing like heating the oven up on a humid day!) These are a chocolate cookie topped with a Graham cracker cookie and frosted with toasted marshmallow frosting the topped with melted milk chocolate. This basically is a chocolate chip cookie dough, divided in half with a few ingredients added to each divided half to get the chocolate and graham cracker cookie dough. I tossed some milk chocolate chips in the graham cracker cookie. You can leave them out or also add some to the chocolate cookie too.

Yum!

I chilled these cookie dough mounds overnight. They still spread and are huge, but I felt the chilling of the dough was still beneficial. Remember to scoop your dough from your flour bag into your container so you get the right amount. Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so you get to the right temp.

  • Cookies ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • Additional 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions- cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in 3 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and cornstarch. Divide dough in half. To one half, blend in graham cracker crumbs. Divide into 12 even size pieces. Roll into balls and slightly flatten. To other half, add baking cocoa and remaining 1/4 cup flour. Divide into 12 even size pieces. Roll into balls and slightly flatten.

Graham cracker cookie dough on top of chocolate cookie dough

Place a graham cracker flattened dough on top of a chocolate flatten dough.

Chill a few hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. On a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners, stagger cookies. Bake 13 to 15 minutes (there will be light golden patches on the graham cracker cookie part). Cool completely.

Ready to be frosted!
  • Toasted marshmallow frosting ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 2-3 cups powdered sugar
  • Milk
  • 12 regular size marshmallows, toasted

Directions- beat butter and powdered sugar. Add enough milk to get the consistency you want. Set aside

To toast marshmallows – set oven to high on broil. Line a pan with tin foil and spray with Pam. Broil marshmallows, checking after increments of 45 seconds, to make sure they don’t burn. Immediately add to butter mixture. Fost cooled cookies.

Almost done!

Top with melted chocolate. Store in covered container.

Voila!

Thank you so much for stopping my today! I hope you have a wonderful day, filled with peace, love and happiness

Frosted Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

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My best friend from college, Susan, and her two daughters (who are my goddaughters) are coming to visit tonight for a few hours.. so being the good hostess that I like to think I am, I asked the girls what treat they would like. Lyndsey picked frosted chocolate chip banana cookies. These are nice, soft cookies that smell INCREDIBLE as they bake. and let’s face it, frosting, just makes everything better.

* One kind cool thing I learned for this recipe – how to quickly ripen a banana. you bake it at 170 degrees in 8 minute intervals until the skin turns really really brown and softens the banana. my husband wasn’t sure what i had done when he saw the banana on the countertop to cool off 🙂

a few tips – remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the correct amount, chill the mounds of dough for a few hours to prevent them from spreading too much, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so that it cycles to the right temperature.

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 ripe banana, smooooshed (see * above on how to quickly ripen a banana)
  • 1 yolk (makes cookies soft)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (i used mini ones in these cookies)

Directions – cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. Blend in banana, yolk and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Flour your hands (trust me on this). Scoop out 2 tbs of dough and roll into balls. Chill in fridge a few hours. preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. line a sheet with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper and stagger cookies. bake 12 to 14 minutes (likely browned on bottom. do not overbake or cookies will be dry). remove from tray after 10 minutes. Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 2 tbs butter, melted
  • powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • milk

Directions – place butter in a bowl, add a cup or two of powdered sugar. mix in vanilla. Add enough milk to get the consistency you want. Frost cookies. store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful day filled with peace and joy. Remember to be kind. Your kind gesture, no matter how small, may be what someone needs in their life at that moment.

Chocolate Chip (Tollhouse) Bars

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These are a request from my goddaughter Sara, who along with her sister, also my goddaughter, Lyndsey, and their mom, Susan (my best friend from college), will be visiting us for a few hours tonight. Sara’s treat requests mirror those of Rob – chocolate chip cookies (or something along that line), or brownies. So these are also a win for my hubby.

Reminders – scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the correct amount and preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking.

  • List of ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled for 20 minutes
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking. Line an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray. in a bowl, combine brown sugar and butter. add egg and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Spread into prepared pan. Sprinkle with additional chips on top. bake 20 to 25 minutes, until edges are lightly browned but still soft. (I baked mine for 22 minutes. They seemed underbaked, but will firm up after you take them out of oven and cool down). Cool completely. store in covered container.

thank you for stopping by today. If you make these, let me know how they turn out. I wish you a day filled with love, and happiness.

Devil dogs

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Devil dogs/whoopie pies, Suzy q’s

Today’s recipe is devil dogs. They seem remarkably like whoopie pies, Suzy q’s or whatever other similar Hostess or Drake’s (or where I’m from – Stroemanns).. though for whoopie pies, I tend to use cake mixes and devil dogs, i opt for homemade. Anyways, I think these devil dogs came out ok.

  • Devil dogs ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 4 cups flour (scooped from your bag into your measuring cup)
  • 1 cup baking cocoa
  • 3 tsp baking soda

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Place parchment paper on a large cookie sheet or spray a canoe/twinkie pan with baking spray. (I used both pans). Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Scoop out dough and fill canoe pans halfway full. I used a medium cake batter scoop, which is 7 tsp of dough. On the parchment paper cookie sheet, scoop out dough (7 tsp) and form a square on the parchment paper. I made mine kinda large. Bake 11 to 14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely.

  • Filling ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup marshmallow fluff
  • 3 cups powdered sugar

Directions – blend butter and fluff. Mix in powdered sugar. If filling seems stiff, add a little milk to get the consistency you want.

Assembly – slice canoe/twinkie devil dogs in half horizontally. Spoon filling between the two pieces. Or spoon filling between two of them pieces that were baked on the cookie sheet with parchment paper. Store in covered container.

Kinda large!

Thanks for stopping by today. I wish you a day of peace, love and joy. And remember to be kind. The world needs your kindness

Portillo’s Chocolate cake

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Portillo’s Chocolate cake

From time to time, when I peruse chocolate cake recipes to bake, I come across the chocolate cake from Portillo’s in Chicago. It’s a restaurant known for Chicago style hot dogs, Italian beef and chocolate cake. The recipe I found on a couple different sites (including Hellman’s) uses a chocolate cake mix, eggs, water and mayonnaise (as opposed to vegetable oil). You could also add chocolate chips, but i forgot. I also went with a homemade chocolate frosting. It is 100 degrees in CT this weekend, so I kept the cake in the fridge. My hubby is not a cake person, but he loves himself some frosting and he was a fan of this frosting!

Check out the frosting!
  • Ingredients
  • 1 chocolate cake mix (i used devil’s food)
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 3 eggs,
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Spray 2 nine inch cake pans with baking spray. In a bowl, combine cake mix, water, eggs and mayo. Beat on medium speed with a mixer for 2-3 minutes. Add chips. Divide evenly into prepared pans. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. Remove from oven. Cool 10 minutes in pans. Remove from pans and cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups baking cocoa
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 tbs vanilla extract

Directions- combine ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed until creamy. Frost cake

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

Brookies cookies

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Brookie cookies

When you can decide between a chocolate chip cookie and a brownie, you combine them! No better way to celebrate a weekend of game 7s in the NHL and NBA Playoffs. 7 game sevens total. Wow! What an awesome time of year!

Cookie monster!
  • Chocolate cookie ingredients
  • 8 tbs butter
  • 2/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions – in a microwave safe bowl, melt butter and chips in 45 second increments until you can stir mixture smooth. In a bowl, beat eggs, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture. Blend in dry ingredients then chips. Chill for 15 minutes in fridge

  • Chocolate chip cookie dough ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, cold, shredded with a cheese grater
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 cup cake flour
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg, yolk and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips.

Cookie assembly – using a 1 1/2 cookie scoop (or measuring spoons), scoop out your dough. Layer a scoop of chocolate dough, a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough, another scoop of chocolate dough, and another scoop of chocolate chip dough (6 tbs of dough, total). Roll into a ball to marble the doughs. Chill a few hours or over night.

This is how I stagger my cookies

When ready to bake – preheat oven to 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper, stagger cookies on a sheet. I fit 7 to a sheet. They do spread a little. Bake 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I wish you a day filled with peace, love and joy.

Happy NFL draft day!

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Chocolate chip cookies!

I love the NFL draft. I actually like all the pro sports drafts and seeing the joy of all these young people and their families celebrating the realization of a dream, after all the years of hard work and dedication. Four years ago, my beloved Buffalo Bills drafted quarterback Josh Allen. I was hoping at the time, we finally had our franchise QB, and it turned out for the first time since Jim Kelly retired on 1997, we did. I think Josh wins us a couple of Super Bowls too.

My recipe is based on the Nestlé Tollhouse classic. These chocolate chip cookies use crisco instead of butter because I wanted them puffy. I also added some cornstarch to keep them soft and puffy.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. I like to chill the dough before baking, but you don’t have to. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so your oven cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup crisco
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper. I stagger my cookies evenly , putting 8 on a sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. There will be some light golden patches on top. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Triple chip cookies celebrating the NHL debut of Owen Power!

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These cookies are to celebrate the NHL debut of Owen Power, the Sabres top overall pick last year. I’m pretty excited to see him play at the NHL level, after watching him play at Michigan. The Sabres have had a tough go the last few years, but I love our coach and the guys we have now after some moves. I think the team is heading in the right direction. Here’s hoping!

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup crisco
  • 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3.4 oz instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 2 cups flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup)
  • 1/4 cup bread flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup
  • 1/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1-2 tbs heavy cream or milk
  • 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, Crisco, butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in pudding mix. Fold in remaining dry ingredients. Mix in chips. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill. Preheat oven to 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Stagger cookies on sheet (alternating a row of 2, a single dough, a row of 2, a single dough, etc. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Thank you for stopping by today! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Brownie stuffed sugar cookies

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I made some brownies and didn’t want to bring in “just brownies” to work, so I decided to stuff most of them in sugar cookies. I say most because I ran out of cookie dough, so a few “just brownies” will arrive with me tomorrow morning.

Didn’t do a good job of covering the brownie 😀

Reminders – scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. Also, preheat your oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes before baking, so your oven cycles to the right temp.

  • Ingredients
  • One pan of brownies, baked, cooled and cut in squares
  • 14 tbs butter softened
  • 2 tbs crisco
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Directions – preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. In a bowl, cream butter, crisco, and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Scoop out 2 tbs of dough. Divide in half. Flatten one half. Place a brownie square on top. Flatten other half and place on top of brownie square. Completely cover brownie with dough. Place cookies on prepared cookie sheet. I fit 8 on a sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. (Lightly golden on bottom) cool completely. Store in covered container.

This is how I stagger cookies on a sheet so they don’t spread into each other

Thank you for stopping by today. I wish you a wonderful day filled with peace, love and happiness. Remember to be kind. Your kindness might be just what someone needs in their day.

Golden oreo chocolate chip whoopie pies

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Golden oreo chocolate chip whoopie pies

This is crushed oreo treat 2. ( I have a LOT of oreos.) This is a chocolate chip cookie recipe using crushed golden oreos. They came out a little flatter than I prefer, despite chilling the dough in the fridge.. so,I made them into half whoopie pies.! I will work on the puffiness another time. Perhaps adding more flour, or some baking powder will help. But i think my coworkers will be ok with them tomorrow.

Too flat!
  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients and oreos. Fold in chips. Divide dough evenly into 12 mounds and chill in fridge. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Bake 10 to 12 minutes (light golden spots on top). Cool completely. Divide each cookie in half

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1-2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
  • Heavy cream

Blend butter, powdered sugar and fluff. Add enough cream to get the consistency you want. Place a scoop between 2 cookie halves. Store in covered container.

Thank you for stopping by. Wishing you a day filled with peace, joy and love.