First playoff win in 15 years celebration bars

These are quite a concoction to honor the Sabres first playoff win in 15 years in our first playoff game in 15 years.  I wondered how nervous I would be, as I would be working in studio for Sunday night baseball on espn radio.  The answer – very.  I was extremely antsy, much like for Bills playoff games.  And for 52 minutes, I did not take a breath.  We were down 2-nothing, scored 4 unanswered goals and beat Boston 4-3 in game one.  What i loved seeing is all the videos of people inside Key Bank Center and at various places indoors and outdoors, watching.   It was just awesome.  i am not sure how far this sabres team will go, but it just feels different.

Because it was such an impressive comeback win, these treats are a doozy- chocolate chip cookie layer on the bottom, a layer of oreos, a layer of brownies, and pieces of mini hershey bars pressed into the bars immediately after taking them out of the oven.

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

  • Chocolate chip cookie layer
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 yolk
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9×13 pan with baking spray.   Place parchment paper on top of sprayed pan.  Set aside.   In a bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and sugar.  Add egg, yolk and vanilla.  Blend in flour.   Mix in chips.  Gently press into prepared pan.

Top with a layer of oreos.

  • Brownie ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

Directions – in a microwave safe bowl, melt butter and chips in 45 second increments until you can stir melted.   Add sugar and eggs.  Blend in flour and cocoa.   Drop by large spoonfuls on top of oreo layer and spread evenly.

Bake 28 to 33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Gently press Press pieces of hershey bars on top. 

Cool completely.    Store in covered container.

Smores cookies (for the Sabres first playoff game in 15 years)

The Sabres play our first playoff game in 15 years tomorrow.  As I racked my brain to determine what treat might be special enough, I put the question to my husband – what kind of cookie – smores cookies, rocky road, brownie Rockies road, twix?  He settled on smores- a milk chocolate chip cookie dough with crushed graham crackers and mini marshmallow bits.  

Special enough?  I hope so. 

Note – my parents gave me this Sabres golf ball in 1999 and I have had it on display next to our kitchen sink since we bought our house in 2001.  Plenty of lean years since then, but my Fandom never left me. 

I started getting nervous/ excited on my drive home from work today at 5.   Not sure what i will be like tomorrow at work during Sunday night baseball.   Pray for my crew.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour  bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  preheat your oven to 350 degrees before baking.   I did not chill these and they puffed up nicely.  

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/3 cups brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/3 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 /2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups marshmallow bits
  • 2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Set aside.   In a bowl, cream butter and brown sugar.  Add vanilla and eggs.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Using your hands, mix in chips and marshmallow bits, like you would do with meatballs.  Scoop out 1/4 cups dough.  Stagger on prepared sheet.Bake 8 to 10 minutes, no longer (edges of bottoms will be golden brown)  cool completely.  

Store in covered container.

Celebrating another team USA win

I wanted to bake to celebrate the US men’s hockey team gold medal game victory, but there is also a super winter storm coming and I am staying at the Doubletree hotel near work tonight, and time is of the essence.  Rob asked for doubletree cookies.  I found the recipe put out by doubletree and tweaked it.   Another higher level treat will be made at a later date for our US hockey  men.  Hoping we don’t lose power so the treat can be made later this week!!!

The game was stressful.  So much play was in our end.  When Jack’s game winner went in, I couldn’t believe it!  And it was so wonderful to see the late Johnny Gaudreau honored and that 2 of his kids were on the ice for the team picture.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Chill the scooped out dough a few hours.  And, preheat your oven  before baking. 

These bake at 300 degrees, per doubletree. 

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup plus 1  tbs brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup bread flour
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup oats (either quick or rolled)
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – in a food processor, place oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cornstarch.    Process 1 minute.  Set aside.  in a bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend in oats mixture.  Fold in chips.   Scoop out 1/4 cups dough.  Chill an hour or 2.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 300.  Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheet.  Bake 20 to 23 minutes.  Cool completely.  Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by!

Celebrating a Team usa men’s hockey win  and gameday for Team USA women’s hockey

These are for another Team USA men’s hockey win (featuring a goal by Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson) and for gameday for the US women’s hockey team vs Sweden.

A while back, I found a recipe that had some sort of marshmallow swirl in brownies.  Of course I can’t find thst recipe, but it go me thinking of making a vanilla version of a treat with crushed golden oreos

and fluff. 

And instead of vanilla flavoring, I used cake batter extract for a different flavor.  For the frosting, I used some crushed oreos, fluff and cake extract too.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  (Same for the powdered sugar for the frosting).

  • Ingredients list
  • 3/4  butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 eggs
  • 1 tsp cake batter extract (you cam use vanilla instead)
  • 2 tbs water
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 11/2 tsp baking powder
  • 5 tbs marshmallow fluff
  • 10 golden oreos, finely crushed

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and a half, water and extract.  Blend in dry ingredients.   Mix in fluff then crushed oreos.  Scoop out 1/4 cups dough.  Chill a few hours.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheet. 

Bake 11 to 13 minutes.  No longer.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients list
  • 6 tbs butter, softened
  • 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tbs cream
  • 5 tbs fluff
  • 1 tsp cake batter

In a bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar.  Mix in cream, fluff and extract.  Frost cookies.

  Store in covered container.

Large puffy triple chip cookies, in honor of the 2005-06 Sabres

Tonight, the Sabres are celebrating the 2005-06 team, which was quite a team.  If not for all those injuries to defenseman, I believe we would have beaten Carolina in the East final and Edmonton in the Stanley Cup final.  I loved those 05-06 and 06-07 squads (as well as 97-98 and 98-99), so tonight’s festivities will be fun to watch.  So these cookies are celebrating them and the current Sabres team, which is playing great 🏒!

These use a combo and bread flour and all purpose flour.  I like the thicker texture bread flour gives to cookies.  But you can use all AP flour if you want.  just remember to scoop it from your flour bag to your measuring cup so you get the right amount.

And these feature 3 types of chips!

I also froze the dough for about a half hour before baking

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 2 tbs water
  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
  • Extra chips

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs, water and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Mix in chips.  (I used my hands here near the end to get dough to come together).  Divide dough equally into 12  pieces.  Roll into balls and slightly flatten.   Chill or freeze for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on it.

Bake 16 to 18 minutes, no longer. Remove from oven and press extra chips on top. 

Cool completely.  

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

May the Sabres run their winning streak to 10 treats

For my final treat of 2025, I made lemon frosted cake mix squares.  I didn’t have a lemon cake mix, so I used a white one and added some lemon extract, along with the other ingredients.  These are for my friend rib’s birthday and as luck for the Sabres, who go for their 10th straight win tonight against the Stars, one of the best teams in the NHL.

These are super simple, don’t require a ton of ingredients or time.  You can leave them plain or frost them.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 white cake mix
  • 1 sugar cookie mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 2 tsp lemon extract

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9×13 pan with baking spray.  In a bowl, combine mixes.   Blend in butter, then eggs and extract.  Evenly spread into prepared pan.   Bake 18 to 20 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tbs lemon juice

In a bowl, combine ingredients.  Frost bars.  Cut and store in covered container.

Go Sabres!!

Puck cookies for the Frozen Four and to welcome the Stanley Cup to campus

The Frozen Four begins tomorrow on ESPN2 (5 pm and 8 pm eastern), and the Stanley Cup will be on campus at ESPN Friday.   So to celebrate, I made puck cookies – soft chocolate sugar cutout cookies shaped like pucks.  Some are frosted with chocolate frosting and since I didn’t make enough of it, I topped the rest with melted Hershey kisses.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount (same goes for the baking cocoa).  Also preheat your oven before baking for the best cookies.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour (scooped from flour bag into measuring cup so you get the correct amount)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa (scooped from the container into measuring cup)
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  in a bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Blend in egg and vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredients.   Flour a flattened surface and rolling pin.  Roll and cut.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on it.  Bake 9 to 11 minutes.  Cool completely

  • Frosting list
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 tbs water
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tsp cornstarch syrup
  • 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips, melted

Directions – in a bowl, mix powdered sugar, water, vanilla and corn syrup.  Blend in melted chips.  Frost cookies.  Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brownie stuffed M&M chocolate chip cookies for Championship week

This is a big week – championship week in men’s college basketball, amid the start of NFL free agency, and races are tightening in the NHL and NBA ahead of the postseason.  So I felt stuffed cookies were in order.  Specifically – M&M chocolate chip cookies stuffed with a brownie.  Sounds about right. 

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup butter crisco
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 1/4 cups flour
  • 3.4 Oz instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 cups M&ms
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • One batch of brownies cut into small cubes

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, butter crisco, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend in pudding mix.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Mix in chips and m&ms.  Scoop out 1 tbs dough and slightly flatten.  Place a brownie cube on top.  Scoop out another tbs of dough and slightly flatten.  Place on top of  brownie cube and seal edges to hide brownie.  Chill and few hours or over night.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners.  Stagger cookies doughs on sheet. 

Bake 12 to 14 minutes, no longer. 

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

Black cocoa/crushed oreo puck cookies

In honor of the four nations faceoff championship game, I wanted to make black cocoa cookie resembling a puck.  These are puffer than pucks, but they’ll be just fine.  These also used finely ground oreos. 

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 mounds of dough for a bit before chilling.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup crisco
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 1 cup black cocoa
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 top salt
  • 20 double stuff oreos, finely crushed (30 if using regular oreos)

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, crisco, brown sugar and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Mix in crushed oreos (i used my hands).  Scoop out 1/4 cups dough.  Chill and hour.  Preheat oven to  350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with nonstick baking liners or parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on prepared sheets.  Bake 10 to 11 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.   Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

My team gave up 5 goals in the first period cookies

This has not been a good night for my Sabres.  In the blink of an eye, we were down 1-0.  I grab my coat so we can walk Gracie and bam!    We return from our walk, and it’s 3-0 Ottawa.   The Senators stretch their lead to 5 nothing after the first period.  What treat could possibly help one cope with such a debacle.  Super large triple chip cookies.   It is now 5-2 Ottawa. 

  • Ingredients list
  • 9 tbs crisco
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions- in a bowl, cream crisco,  sugar and brown sugar.  Blend in egg and vanilla.  Fold in dry ingredients.  Mix in chips.  Divide dough into 8 even mounds.  Freeze a half hour.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners.  Stagger 4 cookie mounds.  Bake 14 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.   Store in covered container.

Thank you for stopping by today.  Football season can NOT start soon enough.