M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

What better way to spend part of a Monday than baking large chocolate chip cookies?  Very few that I can think of.

I tossed in some mini m&ms too.  You can add different flavors of chips or nuts if you want too.  I used my quarter cup cookie scoop and chilled the individual doughs over night to keep them puffy. Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Do not pour into your measuring cup.  Packed in flour could lead to a dry cookie. 

  • 8 tbs butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup crisco
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1  cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbs water
  • 3 1/2 cups flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup mini m&ms

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, crisco, sugar and brown sugar.   Add eggs, vanilla and water.  Blend in dry ingredients.   Fold in chips and m&ms.  Scoop out 1/4 cups dough.  Chill a few hours or overnight.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on prepared sheets.  Bake 12 to 14 minutes, no longer. 

This is what I mean by staggering cookies

Cool completely.   Store in covered container. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Remember to be kind!  Wishing you a day of peace, love and joy

Football friday # 21 – sugar cookie bars sheet cake/ sugar cookie sheet cake bars

Ok, another Chiefs playoff matchup awaits my beloved Buffalo Bills.  The AFC championship game on Sunday at 630.  I remember when I was in college, one conference championship game was at 1, the other at 4.  I liked that a lot.  Now, I have to wait all day until 630.  But I am delighted to be in the afc title game for the first time in 4 years.

To celebrate the 21st football friday, I made this sugar cookie thing.  Not sure whether they are sugar cookie bar cake or sugar cookie cake bars.   Either way, I made them in a 15×10 cookie sheet and frosted them warm bc air  started baking late and ran out of patience, so I frosted them warm

  • Sugar cookie bar cake ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tbs water
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 15×10 cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with baking spray.  Set aside.  In a bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Mix in eggs, water and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Evenly spread into prepared pan.  Bake 12 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

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

In a bowl, blend all ingredients well.  Frost bars.  Cut and store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Life is hard for many of us, so remember to be kind.

Go Bills!

Football friday #20 – Divisional Playoff weekend – oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Not sure if you have heard, but we have a little game set for Orchard Park, NY Sunday night – Bills – Ravens.  Last game of the weekend.  I am excited.  Should be a good one! 

To celebrate, I am bringing in oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for football friday.  These are very easy to make.  Instead of butter or crisco, these use vegetable oil (i am sure another oil would be fine too). 

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  I recommend chilling the individual doughs for a few hours before baking to help them stay puffy.  And preheat your oven before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 2 1/2 cups oats (i used instant)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, blend oats and dry ingredients.  Mix in oil, eggs and vanilla.  Fold in chips.  You may need to mix the dough with your hands to help it come together.  Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough.  Chill a few hours.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners.  Bake 10 to 11 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.   Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Remember to be kind!  Go Bills!

Anginette/Italian wedding cookies

We went to a Christmas party at our friends’ house last weekend and one of the desserts was Anginetti cookies.  They go by a bunch of names – Anginetti, Italian wedding cookies, Italian christmas cookies.    One of my grandmothers called them biscotti.    They are simple to make, not super sweet.  They bring back nice memories at my grandparents’ house when I was young.  My grandma would always whip up some sort of Italian cookie when we visited.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  I  recommend chilling the dough for a bit before baking to keep them from spreading too much.  I made them on the larger side than a traditional recipe would (2 tbs as opposed to 1 tbs).

  • Ingredients
  • 4 tbs butter softened
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tbs baking powder (keeps the cookies puffy)
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, oil and sugar.  Add eggs and beat a couple of minutes.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Scoop out 2 tbs dough and roll into balls.  Chill an hour or so.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners.  Stagger on sheet.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes, no longer.  Bottoms will be light brown.   Cool completely.  

  • Frosting
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbs corn syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 tbs heavy cream

Combine these in a bowl.  Dip tops of cookies in frosting.  Let set before storing in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! 🇮🇹

football friday week 14- Easy Monster cookies stuffed with Reese’s pumpkins

Monster cookies stuffed with Reese’s pumpkins

I can NOT believe it is week 14 already!  Wow.  Football season goes so fast.  One day it’s the preseason opener and in no time at all, the regular season is almost over.   I needed something quick, so I used the Betty Crocker monster cookies recipe and stuffed them with Reese’s pumpkins.  Another day I will post a complete homemade version. 

I am glad the Bills night games are done.  Those are a killer to stay up for and get up early the next morning!  But last week, with Josh’s hat trick of touchdowns (throwing, running and receiving), it was worth it.

These are easy.  I do chill the dough to keep them from spreading too much.  Remember to preheat your oven  before baking

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 peanut butter cookie mix
  • 1 chocolate chip cookie mix
  • 11/2 cups oats (old fashioned or instant)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups m&ms
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • Peanut butter cups

Directions- In a bowl, combine cookies mixes and oats.  Blend in butter and eggs (I used a gand mixer).   Fold in chips and m&ms.  Scoop out 2 tbs dough and evenly form around Reese’s pumpkins.   Chill a few hours.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners.  Stagger cookies on sheet.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes (no longer).  Cool completely.   Store in covered container. 

Thank you for stopping by!

Mini m&m/ mini chip cutout cookies for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Bills are on a bye this week, so I am busy baking on a stress free Sunday (for Bills Mafia) with Cowboys/Commanders on in the background.  We had been watching Patriots/Dolphins, but I got frustrated watching Miami do what it wanted, so NFC East game, it is

This is a different cutout recipe.   I used a mix of mini chocolate chips and mini M&Ms.  You can do all chips or all M&Ms, but do not use regular size versions… Too hard to use cookie cutters with those!  And speaking of cookie cutters, I used these today for Thanksgiving!

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  I also cut out the cookies then chilled them before baking them, to help them keep their shape better.  Also, remember to preheat your oven before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbs water or milk
  • 4 cups flour (scooped from your flour bag into your measuring cup)
  • 1/8 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup mini m&ms
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, milk/water and vanilla.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Mix in chips and m&ms.   On a floured surface, roll out dough to desired thickness, between 1/4 and 1/2 inch.  Cut out cookies.  Chill a few hours.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners.  Stagger on sheet.  Bake 9 to 10 minutes (no longer).  Cool completely. 

You can frost these or make them into sandwich cookies (either chocolate or vanilla would work).  I am making these into sandwiches because the turkey necks are on the thin side.   Store in covered container.

Football friday # 11 – XXXL Frosted M&M Sugar Cookies

For Chiefs week, I am going big, well, it is a huge game.  We are 8-2, KC is 9-0.  And let’s face it, all games between my guys and those guys are massive.  Waiting until 4:25 Sunday isn’t great, but I am glad it is not a night game.

Something cool happened today at work.  I got to interview Bills receiver Khalil Shakir for our ESPN Radio pregame show before KC-BUF Sunday.  Shout out to my friend and producer, Ryan, for letting me do the interview.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Also, I recommend chilling the individual doughs to keep them as puffy as possible.  You don’t have to frost them, but I opted to.

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup crisco
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup M&Ms

Directions – cream butter, shortening cream cheese and sugar.  Blend in eggs and vanilla.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Stir in M&Ms.    Divide dough into 11 equal pieces.  Chill a few hours.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on prepared sheet.  Bake 15 to 17 minutes (no longer).  Cool completely.  Pop in fridge to firm up.  Frost. If desired.  Store in fridge overnight.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Wishing you a wonderful day filled with joy, love and hope!

Go Bills.

Victory Monday treats – brownie cookies with crushed Butterfinger and topped with melted hershey kisses

To celebrate the Bills win over the Colts today, I made brownie cookies with crushed butterfingers.  And I topped them with melted hershey kisses.   Of course, you can use any candy you want.  I did smash the butterfingers with a rolling pin, which was a fun way to get out any frustrations.

Remember to scoop your flour and baking cocoa from their respective containers into the measuring cup so you get the right amount.  I  recommend chilling the individual doughs mounds for a bit to prevent too much spreading. 

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup oil (I used olive)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 tbs water
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 5 fun size butterfingers, crushed
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • Hershey kisses
  • Additional crushed butterfingers

Directions – in a bowl, combine oil and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.   Blend in flour and baking cocoa.  Stir in baking soda and water.  Add crushed butterfingers and chips.  Scoop out 2 tbs dough.  Form tall mounds.  Chill in fridge at least an hour.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheets.  Bake 10 to 12 min, no longer.  Cool completely.  

Top with melted chocolate and crushed butterfingers.  Store in covered container

Thanks so much for stopping by today!   Huuuuge game next Sunday- The Chiefs at home.  💙❤️💙❤️🦬🦬

Week 9 victory treats part 2 – fudgy brownies

Such a big Bills win was worthy of not one, but 2 treats.  Plus not everyone loves peanut butter, so i present an alternative – fudgy brownies with chocolate chips. 

  • Ingredients list
  • 10 tbs butter
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tbs unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray.  In a microwave safe bowl, melted butter, sugar and cocoa for 45 seconds.  Stir smooth.  Blend in eggs and vanilla.  Add flour.  Mix in chips.  Evenly spread into prepared pan.  Bake 20 minutes (toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs)  cool completely.   Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

XXXL peanut butter cookies with peanut butter chips and peanut m&ms

To celebrate a week 9 Bills heart stopping win over the Dolphins (thank you, Tyler Bass),  I present XXXL peanut butter cookies with peanut butter chips and peanut m&ms.  It was a wonderful win and I felt these cookies were the appropriate victory treat. 

I was so happy for our kicker, Tyler Bass.  He’s had some rough times this season and he nailed a 61 yard field goal for the win.  After the game, I was really touched to see how emotional he was, his coaches and teammates were for him to hit such a big kick.

 

  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup peanut butter chips
  • 1/2 cup peanut m&ms

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, sugar and peanut butter.  Mix in eggs.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Blend in chips and m&ms.  Divide evenly into 8 mounds of dough.  Chill at least an hour.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.   Stagger 4 cookie mounds on each sheet.  Bake 12 to 14 min (no longer).  Cool completely.   Place in fridge for an hour or so to firm up.  Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope you have a wonderful day! 

Go Bills!