Tag Archives: sweet

Red Velvet Milk Chocolate Chip cookies

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Red velvet milk chocolate chip cookies topped with melted milk chocolate

I have made a lot, and I mean a lot, of chocolate chip cookie recipes lately. I have over 30 varieties in my recipe box, which helps me make them differently each time. But tonight, I wanted to mix it up. So, I thought I would try out a red velvet chocolate chip cookie recipe. A very large cookie, with milk chocolate chips… and top – powdered sugar and melted milk chocolate.

Reminders – 1) spoon you flour from your flour container into you measuring cups so you get the correct amount. 2) chill the mounds of dough for at least a few hours. 3) preheat your oven to 375 degrees for at least 20 minutes. 4) take the cookies out after about 15 minutes. They Will seem a little gushy, but will continue to cook on the cookie sheet as they cook down. And if they wind up too brown on the bottom, you can slather them with melted chocolate!

Too dark cookie bottoms? Cover with melted chocolate! No one will know!
  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tbs red food color
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add eggs and food color. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in chips. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Chill mounds of dough for at least a couple of hours. Preheat oven to 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Stagger cookies on sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle warm cookies with powdered sugar. Cool completely. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Store in covered container.

Look at all that melted chocolate

Remember to be kind. We are all gping through something. Life can be really hard some times. Give other people a break. Give yourself a break. Take a few deep breaths and remember How much you matter and are loved.

King Sized Peanut Butter Cookies

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Peanut butter!

I needed a little something extra to bring into work tomorrow, along with my small batch of ganache-topped fudge brownies, so I thought peanut butter cookies would be a good option. I didn’t want to spend all day baking, so I opted to make only 8! And they are quite large. Instead of topping them with melted milk chocolate, I sprinkled them with sugar.

Reminders 1) spoon your flour from your flour container into your measuring cup, 2) chill the mounds of dough for a few hours before baking So the cookies don’t spread, 3) preheat your oven to 400 degrees for 20 minutes before baking so your oven cycles to the right temperature.

😋
  • Ingredients
  • 10 tbs butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • Extra sugar

Directions – cream butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. I actually used my hands to completely make sure the dough was blended together. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each in sugar. Store in fridge for a few hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees for 20 minutes. On a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners, stagger cookies. Bake 10 to 13 minutes (there will be light golden patches on top and bottoms will be a light golden color). Cool completely and store in covered container.

I think Gracie had some of this cookie!

Remember to be kind. It honestly isn’t that hard. Cut people a break. We never know what is happening with other people. This is a hard time for everyone. We are all doing the best we can, each day. That includes being kind to yourself. You are loved and you matter. Wishing you peace, love and joy today. ❤

White chocolate brownies with milk chocolate ganache and mini M&Ms

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I wanted to bring in another treat to go along with the very large chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips. I noticed I have a few bags of white chocolate chips, so I opted for white chocolate brownies. I usually toss in some milk chocolate chips, but decided to instead make a milk chocolate ganache to put on top. And then, top it all off with mini m&ms. Because m&ms make take everything to another level.

Reminders – preheat your oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes before baking So the oven cycles to the right temperature. Scoop your flour from your flour container into your measuring cup.

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 bag white chocolate chips (usually 10 oz)
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips (opt)

Directions – in a microwave safe bowl, heat butter and white chocolate chips in 30 second increments until you can stir smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend in sugar. Stir in flour and salt. Add milk chocolate chips, if using. Line an 8×8 pan with tin foil and spray with Pam. Spread dough evenly. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center basically comes out clean. Brownies will be light golden on top. Cool completely.

  • Ganache ingredients
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions – heat cream in a microwave safe bowl until hot (45 seconds -1 minute). Pour over chips. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir smooth. Leave in bowl for 10 minutes or so to firm up a bit. Pour over cool brownies. Top with M&Ms.

Let ganache firm on the brownies before cutting them (or don’t and be like Rob, my husband 😏) Store in covered container.

If you are struggling with something today, remember you are not alone. I wish you kindness, peace and love. To quote the great Bruce Springsteen “tomorrow there’ll be sunshine, and all this darkness passed.”

Very Large Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Larger cookies mean less time baking!

This recipe is pretty self explanatory. They are very large chocolate chip cookies. I decided to go big in celebration of Rob and I getting our first Pfizer shots. Great experience at CVS overall, topped off by 80s music being played in the store. First song I heard- “The Glory of Love” by Peter Cetera. How I love that song! (And the movie it was in – “Karate Kid 2”) I was (still am actually) a huge fan of a songs in that genre from that decade. Lionel Richie was the best! Anyways, I felt a huge relief after getting the shot.. Like a big step toward the road back to normal. This has been an incredibly difficult past 12 months for so many people. Our light is at the end of the tunnel. Anyways, to celebrate, I present these cookies. Yes, they are large, but if you eat two or three of the small ones, you may as well have a big one!

I subbed one yolk for an egg to make the cookies softer. I also added cornstarch to keep the cookies puffy. If you don’t have cake flour, you can sift together 3 /4 cup flour and 1 tbs cornstarch.

Remember – scoop your flour from your flour container into your measuring cup. Also chill your mounds of dough for at least an hour. And, preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking. The oven cycles through various temperatures and gets to the right temp after 20 minutes.

  • Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter (cold, I grated with a cheese grater to make it easier to use. You can also chop it into little squares)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 yolk
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup cake flour
  • 1 tsp Cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions – cream butter, brown sugar and sugar. Add egg and yolk. Blend in dry ingredients. It takes a while to come together. I actually used my hands like I was making meatballs at this point. Fold in chips. Divide dough into 8 equal amounts and form mounds. Chill a few hours. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick,baking liners. On a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners, stagger cookies. Preheat oven to 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Bake 8 to 9 minutes (light golden spots on top). Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Remember to be kind. We are all fighting some sort of battle each day.

Mrs Thomas’ Chocolate Chippers

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Mrs Thomas’ Chocolate Chippers

This recipe was given to me by my dear friend Jeff’s mom. Mrs. Thomas is a wonderful woman who I have know since my Geneseo days. She knows how much I love to bake and was kind enough to share this with me. These cookies are marvelous! They use melted butter, so you can whip them up in no time. (A big plus). I used milk chocolate chips and pecans this time. You can use whatever flavor chips you wish. And if pecans are not your thing, try walnuts or macadamias. I made these quite large (1/4 cup), so I think I got 18 total.

  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 11/2 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/2 to 3 cups flour (I used 3)
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions – In a bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, cornstarch, salt and vanilla. Add eggs. fold in flour. Mix in chips and nuts. Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough. Chill for a couple of hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. On a cookie sheet lined with nonstick baking liners, stagger cookies. Bake 11 to 15 minutes (light golden patches on top) cool completley. Store in covered container.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Happy Valentine’s day!

Happy Valentine’s day! This is a heart shaped fudgy brownie topped with milk chocolate ganache. I know, my decorating skills are not good, but I tried. 😁

This recipe is super simple. You can add cut up candy in the batter or in top,of the ganache or frostinf if you want as well. If ganache (which honestly, is just a fancy word for melted chocolate with heavy cream), is not your thing, you can leave the brownies plain, sprinkle with powdered sugar or use whatever frosting you want. I used one my two heart shaped cake pans, but you can them in an 8 or 9 inch Square cake pan. Remember to spoon your flour from your flour container into your measuring cup to get the correct amount. Also preheat your oven for 20 minutes before baking, to get your oven to the right temperature.

  • Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2/3 cup baking cocoa
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tsp chocolate or vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Line a baking pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. Combine butter and sugar. Add cocoa. Blend in eggs, beating one at a time. Mix in extract. Fold in flour and salt. Blend in chips. Spread into pan. Mixture will be thick. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted,in center comes out with a few crumbs. Cool completley.

  • Ganache ingedients
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

Directions – heat cream in a microwave safe bowl for 45 seconds. Pour over chips. Let sit 5 minutes. Stir smooth. Pour over brownies. let ganache set. Store in covered container.

❤❤❤❤

Celebration Monday treats

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Fudge topped devil dogs!

This could not be just any great for THIS victory Monday. The Buffalo Bills are back in the AFC Championship game for the first time since 1993. So this calls for something spectacular. Rob asked what I was planning (despite having 2 treats in the freezer bc I forgot to bring them in to work). I told him to pick something, so he chose devil dogs with fudge topping. Done. These use a cake mix. I added baking cocoa to make them extra chocolatey, but you can sub in 1/2 cup flour if you prefer.

  • Devil dog cake ingredients
  • 1 chocolate cake mix
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa (or flour)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 3 eggs

Directions – preheat oven to 350 for 20 minutes. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking liners. In a bowl, combine cake mix, cocoa, water, oil and eggs. Scoop out 1/4 cup batter and place on sheet. Spread into a rectangle. Bake 6 to 8 minutes. Cool completely.

  • Filling ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, soft
  • 1 1/2 cups fluff
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • Heavy cream or milk

Directions – cream butter and fluff. Slowly add powdered sugar. Add enough milk or cream to get the consistency you want. Spread between 2 devil dogs. set aside

  • Fudge frosting ingredients
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/3 cup evaporated milk
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions – over low -medium heat, bring butter, evaporated milk, and sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add chips. Stir until melted. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Spoon over devil dogs. Store in covered container.

Go Bills!

Celebrating a Bills playoff win with chocolate chip cookie bars!

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Go Bills!

This magical season for the Bills continued with their first playoff win in 25 years! Was it easy? No! Was it stressful? yes! Did someone yell and scare the dog, over the late fumble that wasn’t? Also yes, but it was not me. The yeller in question did request victory chocolate chip cookies bars, so here they are. I have to add that I love having playoff football both days this weekend, all day. After a terrible week, having sports as a distraction is wonderful for a few hours

😋
  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 yolk
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cups chocolate chips, plus extra for sprinkling on top

Directions – preheat oven to 350 for 20 minutes. Cover an 8×8 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray. Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, yolk and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips. Press into pan. Sprinkle extra chips,on top and lightly press in. Bake 30 minutes. Cool completely. Store in covered container.

Onto the divisional round!

Friday football #18 treat # 2 – brownie football cutout cookie sandwiches

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Go Bills!

My second treat for work is a brownie cookie cutout, using my football cookie cutter, again. It is the playoffs, so two treats are necessary. I didn’t make enough vanilla filling (doh), so I had to,whip up a little chocolate filling for the rest of the sandwiches. Go Bills! I love Josh Allen!

  • Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup baking cocoa
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes., cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Fold in,dry ingredients. Roll to desired thickness and cut. Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely. Spread filling between 2 cookies. Store in covered container.

Are you ready for some playoff football?