Tag Archives: vanilla

Magic Middles take 2

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Last year, I tried to make the keebler magic middles cookies.  They were a shortbread cookies with mini chocolate chips, filled with a gushy fudge filling.  Last year, they were more like a stuffed chocolate chip cookie.   Today, I went for a more shortbread cookie, like a Mexican wedding cake.  I froze the fudge filling and cookies before baking.  Next time, I may just fill the cookies with a piece of chocolate baking bar. 

It is important to freeze the fudge filling if that is what you want to stuff the cookies with.  Then once you atuff them in the cookie dough, freeze the doughs before baking.  My goal is to not have the filling spill out of the cookie. 

Also, 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.

  • Fudge filling ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – in a pan, heat cream to a boil.  Remove from heat and add chips.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Stir smooth and put in fridge for an hour to firm up.  After an hour, scoop out teaspoons of dough, place on a paper plate in freezer for a few hours.

  • Cookies Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 3/4 to 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add vanilla.  Mix in salt, flour and baking powder.  Fold in chips.  Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough.  Divide in half and flatten each half.   Place a frozen scoop of filling on top. 

Place other flattened dough half on top and seal.  

Freeze for a few hours.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheet.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes.  Edges will be golden.  Cool completely.   Place in fridge to keep filling firm

 

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Sugar cookies

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These sugar cookies use vegetable oil instead of butter or crisco.  I wanted to make something quick for work today and thought these would work.  I did freeze the dough for a few hours before baking to keep the cookies from spreading too much.   I only used 3 cups of flour, I may use a little more next time and add some cornstarch too.

I ran out of frosting so one cookie got melted hershey kisses!

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag so you get the right amount.  Freeze the individual doughs for an hour or so before baking.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees before baking.  And only bake these 9 to 11 minutes, no longer.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 to 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Extra sugar

Directions – in a bowl, combine sugar and vegetable oil.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend in flour, baking soda and salt.   Scoop out individual doughs and form tall mounds.  Freeze and hiur or to.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and stack cookies on sheet.  Bake 9 to 11 minutes, no longer.   Pop in fridge to firm up and cool, as cookies may be gushy.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 4 tbs butter, melted
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Heavy cream/milk

Combine butter, powdered sugar and vanilla.  Add enough heavy cream or milk to get the consistency you want.  You may need to add more powdered sugar.  Frost cookies. 

I added some buffalo bills colored sugar!

Store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by!

Milk chocolate chip cookies (with finely ground macadamia nuts mixed in)

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Instead of traditional chocolate chip cookies with semisweet chocolate chips, I opted for milk chocolate chips and I added some finely ground macadamia nuts for a unique, salty, flavor twist.  

I melted the butter to speed up the process.  I probably won’t do so next time and will use softened butter.  These cookies spread out a little more than I prefer.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.   After scooping out the dough, chill them at least a few hours at least a few hours.  And preheat your oven before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed into measuring cup)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
  • 1 cup macadamia nuts, finely ground
Added a few mini m&ms to some. 
Go Bills!

Directions- in a bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix in dry ingredients.   If dough seems a little dry, add a tbs or two of water.   Mix in chips and ground nuts.  Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough.  Chill a few hours.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheet, like below, because these do spread a bit.  

Bake 10 to 14 minutes, no longer. 

Store in covered container.

Victory Monday cookies for week 13

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I stood for the entire second half of the Bills game, something I had not done in a long, long time.  It alleviated some of the Fandom stress for me, and we were playing well while I stood, so I did not sit down until the game ended.   We got a much needed win, so i asked Rob what the victory treats should be and he said triple chip cookies.  They are a chocolate chip cookie dough with an instant vanilla pudding mix added and uses milk chocolate, white chocolate and semisweet chocolate chips.  I was in a bit of a rush and didn’t have time to chill the dough, but they stayed niced and puffy anyways.

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
  • 1/2 cup butter, cold and cubed into small squares
  • 1/2 cup butter crisco (regular crisco also works)
  • 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup
  • 1 box vanilla instant pudding mix, 3.4 oz
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Set aside.  In a bowl, cream butter, butter crisco and brown sugar.  Add pudding mix.  Mix in eggs, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Fold in flour.  Blend in chips.  Scoop out 1/4 cup dough.  Stagger on cookie sheet.  Bake 10 to 11 minutes, no longer.  Remove from oven.  Tops may look gushy, but cookies will firm up as they cool.  Cool completely.   Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Oreo cheesecake topped with cookies and cream mousse and chocolate ganache

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After a rough sunday in Miami, I am making a plea to the football gods for my Bills for week 11 and am doing so with this request from my husband and a copycat of the cheesecake factory oreo dream extreme cheesecake.

This does take some time, but is worth it.  I used neufactel cheese, which is lower fat and lower calorie, so I added some cornstarch to help firm up the cheesecake layer.

  • Flourless Cake  ingredients
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 8 tbs butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

Directions – preheat oven to 375 degrees.  in a microwave safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and butter in 45 second increments until you can stir smooth.  Add sugar, salt, and vanilla.  Blend in eggs well.  Line a 9″ round pan with parchment paper.  Evenly spread batter into pan.   Bake 18 to 22 minutes.  Cool completely

  • Ganache ingredients list
  • 2 cups chocolate chips
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions – in a microwave safe bowl, heat cream for 3 minutes.  Add chips.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Stir smooth.   Place in fridge.

  • Cheesecake ingredients
  • 24 oz cream cheese (I used neufactel,  which is softer and lower calorie and lower fat)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 6 tbs cornstarch (if you are using neufactel or low fat cream cheese)
  • 3/4 cup greek yogurt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 yolk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 12 to 16 Oreo cookies

Directions – preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a 9 inch springform pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray.  In a bowl, cream cream cheese, sugar and flour (and cornstarch if you are using a lower fat cheese).  Blend in Greek yogurt and vanilla.  Fold in eggs and yolk.  Pour 1/3 into prepared pan.  Top with 6 to 8 oreos and press down gently.  Top with a other third of batter and gently press 6 to 8 oreos on top.  Top with remaining third of batter.  Bake 55 to 60 minutes (middle jiggles a little and edges are set).  Turn off oven.   Crack oven and leave cheesecake in for an hour.  Transfer to fridge for a few hours.

  • Cookies and cream mousse
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • Crushed oreos (8 to 10)

Directions – in a bowl, whip cream amd powdered sugar to stiff peaks.  Blend in crushed oreos.    Put in fridge.

When ready to assemble – beat chilled ganache for a few minutes so it is spreadable.   Place flourless cake on a plate.  Spread a thin layer of ganache on top.  Gently place cheesecake on top of ganache layer.   Smooth oreo mousse on top of cheesecake layer.  Use rest of ganache on top and sides.  Store in fridge.

  • Layer list
  • Flourless cake
  • Thin ganache layer
  • Cheesecake
  • Cookies and cream layer
  • Frost entire thing with rest of ganache

Thanks for stopping by today!

M&M Oatmeal cookies, topped with melted milk chocolate

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We had one last bag of leftover candy from Halloween – a bag of plain m&ms.   so I thought “why not bake with them?” 

Note the colors in the middle – red and blue!  Go Bills!

Instead of the usual chocolate chip cookie recipe, I went with oatmeal, for something different.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Chill the individual  doughs for a few hours.  And preheat your oven before baking

  • Ingredients list
  • 8 tbs butter, softened
  • 2 1/2 tbs crisco
  • 1 cup plus 2 tbs plus 2 tsp brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbs honey
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 1 1/3 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2  cups oats (I used quick pats)
  • 1 cup m&ms

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, crisco and brown sugar.  Add egg, honey and vanilla.  Blend in flour, salt and oats.   Mix in m&ms.  Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough.  Chill a few hours.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheet.  flatten cookies to desired thickness.

Bake 10 minutes, no longer. Cool completely.

Top with melted milk chocolate.

Store in covered container

Victory Monday week 8 treats # 2 – white chocolate brownies with 🎃 sprinkles

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For all my non chocolate loving coworkers – white chocolate brownies, with Halloween sprinkles and vanilla frosting.   Super simply and easy.

I added  some of my homemade white cocoa powder to these.  You can absolutely leave it out.  

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag so you get the right amount.   Preheat your oven before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 8 tbs butter
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Sprinkles

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.  Set aside.  In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter and white chips in 45 second increments until you can stir smooth.   Add sugar.  Mix in eggs and vanilla.  Fold in flour and salt.  Mix in sprinkles.  Spread into pan.  Bake 20 to 23 minutes (you will see light golden patches on top).  Cool completely. 

Frost with vanilla frosting if you want.  I combined 2 tbs butter, melted, 1 to 2 cups powdered sugar, vanilla and heavy cream

Halloween Cutout Sugar cookies

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This is the sugar cookierecipe I use for all my holiday cutout cookies – halloween, Thanksgiving,  Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, football ( i know football is not a holiday but if i have cookie cutters for something, it is a holiday for me)   This recipe  is from a friend of my family.  They bring back a lot of wonderful memories of baking with my mom when I was younger.  And these were my dad’s favorite cookies and he loved the dough too!

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

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 1/2 cups crisco
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
A plethora of pumpkins!

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  in a bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Slowly blend in dry ingredients.    Sprinkle flour on your countertop and roll out dough to desired thickness.   Cut out cookies.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheet.  Bake 8 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

A gaggle of ghosts
  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 to 3 tbs heavy cream (depending on consistency you want)
  • Food coloring or sprinkles

In a bowl, combine ingredients. Frost cookies and sprinkle with sprinkles.  Store in covered container.

Week 4 victory treats – Cookies and cream cookies stuffed with brownies

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Whew!  That was a very stressful Bills win today!  But a win is a win and worthy of victory treats!

I feel like I haven’t made stuffed cookies in a while, so I decided to whip some up.  These are a cookies and cream cookies, with crushed oreos and milk chocolate chips stuffed with brownies.  

You can use your favorite brownie recipe or a mix for these.  After they are completely cooled, I recommend cutting them in squares and putting them in the fridge.  

When baking the cookies – remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.   Also, after assembling the cookie dough stuffed with a brownie, chill the doughs a few hours.  And, preheat your oven before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 3/4 cup crisco
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbs  sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 yolks
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbs flour
  • 1 cup plus 2 tbs cake flour
  • 2  tsp cornstarch
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 15 oreos, chopped into pieces
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • Brownie squares

Directions – in a bowl, cream crisco, brown sugar and sugar.  Blend in egg, yolks and vanilla.  Mix in dry ingredients.   Fold in chopped oreos and chips.  Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough.

Divide in two pieces and flatten each. 

Top with a brownie square

Place other flattened half on top

Seal edges, completely covering brownie.  Chill a few hours.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Stagger cookies on sheet. 

Bake 10 to 14 minutes.  Cool completely..

store in covered container

Week 3 victory treats – vanilla little debbie cookies

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The other treat for the Bills win over the Dolphins – a vanilla version of little debbie brownie cookies.  I made my own white chocolate cocoa powder and used that.  I probably could have bought white chocolate cocoa at the grocery store,  but didn’t feel like going out again, so I made my own.

White chocolate cocoa ingredients

  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup instant milk powder
  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup sugar

Directions – in a food processor, chop up white chips for about a minute.  Add remaining ingredients and run food processor until a fine powder forms. 

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

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup crisco
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tbs white chocolate cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions- in a bowl, cream crisco, butter and sugar.  Add egg and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients.   Scoop out 1/4 cups dough.  Chill a few hours. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Stagger cookies on prepared sheets. 

Bake 12 to 16 minutes.  Cool completely

These came out a lot larger than I planned!
  • White chocolate frosting ingredients
  • 1/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbs heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla

In a bowl, cream butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla.  Blend in melted white chocolate.   Frost cookies.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!