Lemon squares

A request for these were from a friend from work- lemon squares.  They were super easy to make and are topped with a lemon frosting.  

I used fresh lemon juice and lemon zest.  You can use bottled lemon juice if you prefer.  Honestly, zesting a lemon seems like unnecessary work!

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Also preheat the oven before baking.. and, take these out after 16 or 17 minutes, even if they don’t look completely done.

  • Bars ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled for 10 minutes
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp lemon zest (opt)
  • 1 tbs lemon juice
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line and 8×8 pan with parchment paper.  Set aside.   In a bowl, combine butter, sugar and powdered sugar.  Add eggs, juice and zest.  Blend in flour and salt.  Spread evenly into tapered pants.  Bake 16 to 17 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbs lemon juice

Directions – combine and evenly spread over bars.  

Let frosting set before cutting.  Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Frosted brownie cookies

Today’s treat frosted brownie cookies… so simple because they  use a brownie  mix and a few other ingredients.  

You probably could leave them unfrosted, but i think the frosting adds a little extra goodness.

I do recommend chilling the dough and few hours to keep them from spreading too much.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 brownie mix
  • 2 tbs cocoa powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 tbs chocolate syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions – in a bowl, mix all ingredients.  Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough and chill a few hours.   Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners.  Stagger cookies on prepared sheet.sheets.  bake 9 to 11 minutes.  They were a little gushy in the middle, but I did not cook them any longer because I was worried about the bottoms burning).  I did pop them in the fridge to firm them up.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla

In a bowl, mix ingredients well.  Frost cookies.   Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Frosted Heath Bar Blondies

Rob bought some mini heath bars and asked me to bake something with them,  so I opted for blondies with vanilla frosting.  There are crushed heath bars in the blondies and in the frosting.  Really, these use one of my many chocolate chip cookies recipes, but instead of chips, I put in heath bars. 

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  And, preheat your oven before baking.

  • Blondies ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup crushed heath bars

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray.  Set aside.  In a bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Blend in eggs and vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredients.   Fold in heath bars.  Evenly spread into prepared pan.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbs milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Crushed heath bars

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar.  Add milk and vanilla.  Frost bars.  Sprinkle with crushed heath bars. 

Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Brownies with chocolate chip cookies baked in

I did not have time to make for the first round of the NFL draft, so I made up for it for rounds 2 and 3 – brownies with chocolate chip cookies baked in.

BTW, I loved the Bills pick of Maxwell Hairston last night.  Filled a need… and, ow cool was it to see him congratulate everyone who was drafted before him?  He will fit right in with Bills Mafia. 

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  And preheat your oven before baking.

  • Chocolate chip cookie ingredients list
  • 1/3 cup butter softened
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbs sugar
  • Egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 cup flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup)
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and sugar.  Add yolk and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Fold in chips.  Scoop out tbs of dough and roll into balls.  Freeze them as you make the brownie batter.

  • Brownies ingredients
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray.  Set aside. in a microwave safe bowl, heat butter and chips in 45 second increments until you cam stir them melted.   Blend in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Evenly spread into prepared pan.  Gently press cookie dough mounds into top of brownie dough.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until toothpick inserted in brownie batter comes out with a few mois crumbs.  Cool completely.   Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! 

Hot Cocoa Cookies

What better way to celebrate a perfectly, sunny, spring, 80 degree day than with hot cocoa cookies.  I am always looking for new tweaks for cookies, so I thought adding some hot cocoa mix and marshmallow bits would be a nice way to accomplish that. 

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  I also recommend chilling the individual dough mounds after scooping them out.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 1/4 cups flour (scooped from flour bag into your measuring cup)
  • 4 packets hot cocoa mix
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1 cup marshmallow bits

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Mix in eggs and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Mix in chips and marshmallow bits.  Dough will be very soft.  Chill 30 minutes to an hour.  Scoop out 1/4 cups of  dough.  Chill a few more hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners.  Stagger cookies on sheet.  Bake 12 to 14 minutes.  Let set on cookies sheets 15 minutes or so.  Pop in fridge for a bit to firm them up (I left them overnight).  Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Smores cookies

My latest treat for work was a request from my hubby, Rob, who saw these smores cookies in a store.  A graham cracker like cookie, topped with melted chocolate and a toasted marshmallow.

So that is what I made today.  I have to be honest, putting a toasted marshmallow on top was no easy on some of these and I have no idea why!

A little messy with the marshmallow on top

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount. And, I recommend chilling these individual doughs a few hours or overnight.  I might make these a little bigger next time and make them a little flatter too.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup crisco (or butter flavor crisco)
  • 1 1/3 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • Milk chocolate
  • Large marshmallows

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, crisco, and brown sugar.  Blend in eggs and vanilla.  Fold in dry ingredients and graham cracker crumbs. 

Scoop out 2 tbs of dough, roll into a ball and slightly flatten.  Chill a few hours or overnight.   Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Stagger cookies on sheet, like below.

Bake 10 to 11 minutes, no longer.  They will be a little gushy on top.  It is ok.  Let them cool a bit and pop them in the fridge to firm them up. 

While their cookies are baking, melt your chocolate.  I melted some milk chocolate chips for most of them.  I ran out of that and called an audible and melted some Reese’s eggs for the final 6.

To toast marshmallows – preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  I sprayed a little pam on the parchment paper.  Bake these 5 to 7 minutes or until the marshmallows are as toasted as you want.

Take a cookie and lay it on a flat surface.

Top with melted chocolate.

I sprayed my hands with pam and place a marshmallow on top.  Sometimes I did a fine job.

Other times, I did not.

Store in covered container. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I wish you a day filled with happiness, joy and love and remember to be kind

Yellow cake mix- sugar cookie bars with fudge swirl frosting

For Championship week Friday. I present yellow cake mix sugar cookie bars with fudge swirl frosting.  How did i get the frosting to swirl?  I pressed chocolate chips on top of the bars immediately after taking them out of the oven and then I was in a hurry, so I frosted them with vanilla frosting while the bars were warm and the melted chocolate chips swirled in with the frosting!

These are super easy.  You can use any cake mix you want and any flavor frosting you want.  I baked these for 25.  I would probably go a little less next time, checking them around 20 minutes.

  • Cake mix, any flavor
  • Sugar cookie mix
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • Chocolate chips (opt)

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9×13 rectangular pan with baking spray. Set aside.  In a bowl, combine cookie and cake mix.  Blend in butter, eggs and vanilla.  Press evenly into prepared pan.  Bake 20 to 23 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Immediately, gently press chocolate chips on top, like below.

Cool completely.  Or frost while warm and get fudge swirl frosting!

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 6 tbs butter, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Milk

In a bowl, blend powdered sugar and butter.  Add vanilla.  Mix in milk, one tbs at a time, until you get the consistency you want.  Frost bars. 

Store in covered container. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Brownie cookies

These cookies are super simple, sweet and chocolatey.   All you need is a brownie mix, 2 eggs, some melted butter and a cup of chocolate chips.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 brownie mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with non-stick baking liners or parchment paper.  In a bowl, combine brownie mix, eggs and butter.  Blend in chocolate chips.  Scoop out 2 tbs dough.  Stagger on prepared sheets.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.    If you feel they need to firm up a little more, pop them in the fridge for an hour or so.  Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Frosted smashed red velvet cookies

I attempted to make red velvet cookies for today’s treat, but I did not have enough red food color, so I added some blue to try and make them purple velvet.  That did not really work.  But I think they are still good!  I frosted some with a vanilla buttercream and others with a chocolate fudge frosting.

Remember to scoop your flour and baking cocoa from their containers into the measuring cups so you get the right amount.  Also, after scooping and smashing the dough into individual parts, i chilled them  to keep them from spreading too much, but if you don’t have time, that is fine.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 11/4 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tbs water
  • 5 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup baking cocoa powder
  • 1 top cream of tartar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbs food coloring

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, sugar and powdered sugar.  Add eggs, water and oil.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Scoop out 3 tbs of dough and roll into a ball.  Using a glass that’s been sprayed with pam, lightly smash each dough ball.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Chill and few hours.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line cookie sheets with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheets.  Bake 12 to 14 minutes,  no longer.  Let cool slightly and pop into fridge to firm them up.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbs milk

Blend well.  Add more powdered sugar and/or milk to get the consistency you want. Frost cookies.

  • Chocolate fudge frosting
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 3 tbs milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions- in a saucepan over low-medium heat, combine butter, milk and sugar, stirring occasionally.  Once it starts to boil, remove from heat and add chocolate chips.  Pour in a bowl and place in the fridge to thicke .  Frost cookies.

Store in covered container. 

Thanks for stopping by today!  Wishing you a day filled with love, peace and joy.

Celebrating Josh’s MVP.  Treat #3 – frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

To cap off the hat trick of treats celebrating Josh’s MVP, I present sugar cookie bars.   Not everyone loves chocolate, so here is the non chocolate option.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  And preheat your oven to 350 degrees before baking

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract ( you can leave it out if you don’t have it)
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and set aside.   In a bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs and extracts.  Fold in flour and salt.  Evenly press into prepared pan.  Bake 15 minutes (no longer).  Remove from oven and cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 4 tbs butter softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 to 3 tbs heavy cream/milk

bowl, a bowl, cream butter and vanilla.  Blend in powdered sugar.  Add cream/milk.   You may have to add more cream/milk and/or powdered sugar to get the consistency you want.  Frost bars.  Cut and store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by.  Please remember to be kind.