Thursday, March 31, 2011

Pickles Bake Shop Review & Giveaway

If you follow me on Twitter you've heard of Pickles Bake shop.  If you haven't, then.. well.. what the heck are you waiting for?

Monday afternoon I came home to a package on my doorstep... and in the package were These!
Coconut cake with cream cheese frosting
Red Velvet
The Coconut cake that I had chosen when I last spoke with Ebony from Pickles Bake Shop last week.. and Surprise to me.. a Red Velvet cake jar just for The Kid!! And lemme tell y'all how happy he was to have one all to himself, lol. 

It wasn't easy to hold off until after dinner to dig in and try this cake.. but I did it and OMG!! The cake was so moist and the frosting.. Perfect!  It was a great thick, creamy consistency that held up wonderfully throughout shipping.. and even today, 3 days later as I'm picking little by little at my cake jar (Hey, I've got a family get together on Sunday, I've gotta watch what I'm eating, lol) the cake is Still moist and the frosting's still hanging out, perfect as it was on the first day.  Granted, it's all sealed up in that Mason jar, but still.  Amazing!

This lady is one amazing chick!! She's a momma, she's a teacher and she's one hell of a baker too!  I can't wait to order myself some more goodies from Pickle!  Trust me, it won't be too long.

Now.. Onto the contest!

You all know I'm not into crazy contests where you have to post 30 times, spin until you're dizy and follow me on facebook, twitter and all that crazy stuff.. I like to keep it simple.. so go on over to Pickles Bake Shop and leave a comment here telling me what cake jar you would choose if you could choose any combination and One lucky reader will win just that!  Limit one post per day, contest ends April 7th and winner will be announced on April 8th.

See, wasn't that easy?

Omnomnomnomnom!!! Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaake! In a Mason jar... that you can hide in the back of the fridge and keep all to yourself, lol.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Better Homes and Gardens Coffee and....

I was lucky enough to get 3 amazing BHG kitchen products to use & review.

The first 2 were the Bakeware and the Stand Mixer. The third, the Grind & brew coffee maker was a little tricky for me though. I couldn’t figure the right ratio of beans to water and wound up with weak coffee for days until I did a little asking around Twitter and a little research on my own. Now, I drink espresso, so the beans are smaller than regular coffee beans and you need a finer grind so through some trial and error I finally got the right mix and I’m happy when I smell the coffee brewing in the morning.

There is only one grind setting so I grind my coffee 3 times by pushing the on/off button for a few seconds until I hear the grinder slow then shutting it off and doing it once more before either just turning it on and letting it run a full cycle or setting the timer and having it brew for me before I get up. (I can’t even tell you how much I love that feature.)

This machine is Great! With a removable permanent filter (so no annoying paper filters!) The entire filter chamber comes out for easy cleaning and it’s so easy to use, just pull it out and drop it back in. The coffee maker also comes with a thermal carafe so no worries about dropping the glass coffeepot and breaking it and no worries about burnt coffee either since the stainless thermal carafe keeps the coffee warm for hours.

I love being able to grind my own beans for the freshest coffee possible and instead of buying a can of coffee that was ground who knows when for $7 I can get myself a pound of beans for $8.00 and get not only more out of that pound of beans than the can But some seriously fresh coffee. SCORE!

The BHG live better grind & brew coffee maker is sold exclusively at Walmart for $99 and is well worth it.

Check out the BHG Live better Facebook page and while you’re at it, vote for my entry in the BHG live better Coffee and... contest.

Cinnamon Rolls

I made cinnamon rolls for the first time since college on Sunday.

OMG, they came out amazing!

(I intended on posting pics here but someone got their hands into the cinnamon rolls and massacred them  before I got a chance)

Instead of hand kneading the dough I pulled out my BHG Stand mixer and worked the dough in there... and I learned 2 very important things about the mixer:

1. The spatter shield does not fit on the bowl well and is very frustrating.. I tried it once and that was it.. It went to the bottom of the cabinet, I won’t be using it again.

2. When using the dough hook to knead dough even on medium speed the machine (even being suction cupped down to the counter) Jumped around the counter.. So I had to watch it carefully so it didn’t fall clear off the counter.

The mixer is great otherwise, it kneaded up the dough in just a few minutes.

Now, Back to the cinnamon rolls:

Dough:
1 cup lukewarm milk
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, cut in cubes
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¾ tsp. salt
½ cup sugar
1 pkg. rapid rise yeast

Filling:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3 Tbs. ground cinnamon

Icing:3 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract


Start your dough by first adding the yeast to the lukewarm milk and adding 1 Tablespoon of the sugar from the ½ cup needed for the dough (you need to feed the yeast to make it happy) Let it sit about 5 minutes until it gets foamy..

Combine all the ingredients for the dough in a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer). Stir until the mixture begins to come together, it’s gonna look a little rough, but don’t worry, it will smooth out in the next step.

To knead by hand, transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5-8 minutes or until smooth.

To knead in a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and knead for 4-7 minutes at medium speed.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning it to grease all sides. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 60 minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll into a 16×21 inch rectangle. Leaving a 1-inch border at one of the short ends, spread the dough evenly with the 1/3 cup softened butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the buttered area of the dough. Be sure to spread the filling all the way out to the edges except on the one-inch border.

Starting at the opposite end from the clean one-inch border, roll the dough into a log. Pinch the end all the way across the log to seal the dough.

Using a very sharp serrated knife or dental floss Cut the dough into 12 equal slices and place the buns in a lightly greased 9×13 pan (I used my BHG nonstick pan) Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the buns rise for about 30 minutes or until nearly doubled.

While the buns are rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake until golden brown, 12-14 minutes.

While the buns are baking, make the icing: In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla.

When the buns are golden brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

Spread with the icing.

The Kid couldn’t wait to get his hands on one of these rolls (no matter that it was past 10pm when I was finished baking them) They are absolutely delicious! Next time I think I might add some golden raisins to the filling for a little extra oomph.



Monday, March 21, 2011

I tried the silk 10 day challenge


I’m a Bzzagent and I got an offer to try the Silk 10 day Challenge. I’ve never tried Silk so I decided to jump in. We drink a lot of milk in my house, we can go through 1-2 gallons a week between the kid and myself.

I jumped into the Silk 10 day challenge feet first, I was so excited when I got the coupons to try the Silk products and so I picked up plain almond milk and chocolate soy milk.

Meh.

I can do the chocolate Soy milk, it’s really good. It’s got a nice thick creamy texture and would probably be really good with a banana blended into a smoothie. I can totally kick my nesquick habit for chocolate silk and I can have a bit of it in my chai latte, that's absolutely delicious!

The Almond milk didn’t fare so well in my book though. The texture is very thick and the flavor of plain was just.. Plain. It was okay in a bowl of cereal. Nothing to write home about though. I’m sure the vanilla and chocolate varieties are good and I’m kinda kicking myself that I went with plain and not flavored.  I didn't like it in my coffee at all and I've heard so many things about almond milk latté's but nope, I wasn't getting it at.all.

I haven’t gotten a chance to try the coconut silk yet and since I’m not a huge coconut fan I’m sure I will try it and then use it in recipes but not to drink straight. I’m sure it’s wonderful in rice pudding.

Sorry Silk, but I’m not a convert. I’ve been a “real” Milk drinker too long to change over completely.

The final consensus is:
Silk products are wonderful, healthy and "green". 
Although I'm not a total convert I will use it for cooking, smoothies and in my latté.
I do need to try the Silk PureAlmond in the flavored varieties before I totally shoot it down, plain just wasn't for me at all.

Go ahead and take the Silk 10 day Challenge for yourself & let me know your thoughts too.

Friday, March 18, 2011

This week can flip the hell off

This week has been a total week from Hell.

Sunday started off well enough and then I went to get gas.. I parked, shut the truck off, filled up and then I couldn’t get my truck to start. it would kinda start, then stall.. I did this FOUR TIMES then it started up and I drove the 15 blocks home with my hands shaking kinda scared to stop for too long at a light waiting to just get home & call my aunt... who never called me back. (my uncle is my mechanic) so now I go to work, I go home & that’s it until someone calls me back so I can have my uncle take a look at the truck & get to the bottom of this issue.

Monday started off with a computer in my office that wouldn’t turn on. My calendar clerk here in the office NEVER shuts her computer down and I told her that she should shut it down once in a while so on Friday afternoon when we left (shocker) she listened and did. Monday morning comes around and.... the comp is dead. After hours someone came and fixed it because God Forbid we have an actual IT person here. 

Tuesday the neurotic one comes in, who’s been aptly renamed The Work Nazi. I hate this lady. She is the wife of one of my guys here... she worked here before she had kids and 17 years later decided it was a good time to come back to work. She thinks she knows it all. She thinks nothing of going through my desk, pulling papers and being nosy in areas that she doesn’t have any right thinking her advise belongs. She tattles to her husband when I’m online even if I’m doing research for something. Tuesday I almost opened my mouth and told her off though... I’ve been here 6 years and I have a very easygoing rapport with the clients here, it’s the way I am and people are very comfortable with it.. she wasn’t happy with the way I was talking with a longstanding client and proceeded to REPRIMAND me and then instruct me how to properly answer the phone and speak with clients.

Oh yeah? Screw you lady.

Wednesday, wasn’t So bad but ya know.. whoopie pies.

Thursday is a blur even though it was just yesterday. I’m not going to complain.

Today started off with me getting the first ticket I’ve ever gotten IN MY LIFE. But luckily the cop was nice so he told me I just have to show up in court and it will be dismissed. Thank God. because, really the last thing I need is another thing I have to worry about paying.  Then the Nazi was here for about 3 hours while I was removing a virus from a computer and proceeded to tell me it's impossible to remove viruses from a computer.  I told her "Not if you know what you're doing" and shut her right up.

I’m still apartment hunting. I’m still being rejected by homeowners who will not rent to me because I have a kid without even meeting him, as soon as I say I have a fifteen year old they freak.the.hell.out.

Now, in complete honesty I haven’t had much trouble with the fucktards upstairs lately.. but we’re literally growing out of the apartment. Kid’s hair officially touches the beam on the ceiling between the kitchen & his room and he’s only getting taller... so, yeah it's just a matter of time before he smacks his head on it.

In General this week can just flip the hell off.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Cannoli filled Chocolate Whoopie Pies

I love when my kid Texts me in the middle of the day and says “mom, we’re having Food Day tomorrow in Italian class, can you make something?” yea.. Just Love that. *not*

Anyway, since as my kid put it last night I’m “the awesomest of awesome mom’s” I made whoopie pies.. But not just any whoopie pies.. Cannoli cream filled whoopie pies. Yup, you read that right.

First I searched online for the perfect cannoli cream recipe, I needed something sturdy because I always seem to have issues with runny cannoli cream, not that it matters when I make it at home for us because it’s gone in no time flat.. But this had to hold up for 4th period Italian. When I asked the kid how many kids were in his class I was blown away.. Here I’m thinking an average class in his school has 25-30 kids but no.. since in his school there is only 1 Italian class per grade there are 45 kids in his class. Sheesh, talk about overcrowding.


Anyway.... 


I went over to the grocery store by my office at lunchtime to pick up a container of ricotta, cream cheese, and mini chocolate chips. When The Kid called when he got home from school I told him to take the bowl for the stand mixer and put it in the fridge so when I get home I can get the Cannoli filling made as soon as I get home so it had time to set up. 

I got home and made the Cannoli filling went and got my regular whoopie pie recipe and quickly realized I didn’t have enough oil.. Crap! I started to panic and then I just settled myself down and went ahead and got another recipe that I had saved a while back... no oil or shortening in this recipe.. Just butter.. Perfect. I mix together the dry ingredients and realize I don’t have enough brown sugar. Seriously? Now it’s 7pm and I’d already had the day from hell between the work Nazi and my boss acting like a complete jerk at the end of the day and I’m ready to call it quits... but instead I tell the kid to get his shoes on we’re going to the store to get brown sugar. (Yes, I could have just gone by myself but my truck’s been acting up lately and doesn’t want to start right back up after just being shut off so I needed the kid to sit and wait for me while I ran in the store) 

Now, I had to double up this recipe because it was new to me and I wasn’t sure how many mini whoopie pies I was going to get out of it and it’s always better to be safe than sorry and I had to make sure I had at least 50 sets. I’m beating together the butter & sugar and MY HAND MIXER DIES ON ME! I wanted to cry.. Seriously, what else could go wrong? I was already in a bad mood and I wanted to just give up right there and then... but.. No, I didn't.

I went ahead and pulled out the big guns. 

 My shiny new BHG Stand mixe
(isn't she beautiful?)

 I had to take the Cannoli cream out of the stainless bowl, transfer it to another bowl and move the butter & sugar into the stainless bowl... seriously 1 minute later I had perfectly fluffy butter & sugar. I added my chocolate mixture a little at a time and was done in no time flat.

I made mini pies, so each was slightly bigger than a quarter and I fit 20 per sheet pan. All together I made 194 mini pie halves and 12 huge ones (because towards the end I was exhausted after having to run back into the kitchen every 8 minutes to remove the pies from the oven, cool, transfer to a cooling rack and pipe more onto the pan) I had more than enough for the kid to take to school, bring a whole bunch to work and have a few left over for us. By the time I was done I had 2 sheet pans and a dinner plate jam packed and stuffed in the fridge. More than half were filled with the cannoli cream and the rest were filled with cream cheese icing (recipes for all of these are at the end)

This morning I loaded up a box of the mini’s for the kid (I don’t know.. I guess I put around 90 in the box and took a ziplog bag full into the office leaving 6 at home for us. I got a text from the Kid a little while ago saying that they ate up all the whoopie pies :) ) He’s got 3 huge ones stashed in his backpack to share with his 2 best friends later too.

It was a lot of work, but as always it was worth it to make my kid happy :)  I have to tell y'all too, that these are The Best whoopie pies I've ever made.  I've tinkered with a few recipes, one with oil, one with shortening and one with buttermilk, and while they were all good in their own ways and the buttermilk ones tasted very very similar to Drakes cakes devil dogs minus all the crap in the manufactured ones, I didn't really care for them all that much.  These are intensely chocolatey and super moist.  This is the recipe I will stick with from now on, as well as both the fillings.  Absolute perfection in my book.


Whoopie Pies


1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease cookie sheet or cover with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

In medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and continue beating 1-2 more minutes. Beat in milk and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until combined.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a wide mouth tip and pipe batter onto cookie sheet. Bake 8-12 minutes until top springs back when touched.

Cool completely, then pipe or spoon a heaping amount of frosting on flat half of one cookie and make a sandwich with the flat half of another cookie.



Cannoli filling


This is good, sturdy Cannoli filling that isn't runny at all and will hold up in between cake layers. 

32 oz. whole milk Ricotta cheese
16 oz. cream cheese (softened)
2 cups confectioners sugar (divided)
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract 

Mix Ricotta and cream Cheese until smooth in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, Add confectioners sugar, sugar, vanilla and beat until smooth.


Cream cheese filling


8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
5 tbsp butter, room temperature
3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 to 3/4 tsp vanilla extract

While the cookies are cooling, prepare the filling. In the bowl of your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and the butter until light and well blended. Add the sifted powdered sugar in batches until the filling is perfectly smooth. Add the vanilla extract, mix well.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Tofu is actually really good.

Don’t worry, I’m not gonna go all health nut on y’all.  But really.. If you work it just right Tofu is pretty damn tasty. Really. Trust me, I wouldn’t lie to you.

I bought a package of extra firm tofu about 2 weeks ago on a whim.. And it sat in the fridge staring at me while I decided what the heck I was going to do with it. I was told that if I freeze it for a while and then thaw it that it made the texture more firm and you would be able to squeeze more moisture out of it. So, I did just that and then I sat it in my big metal pasta colander in the sink with a heavy glass bowl filled halfway with water on top of it to squeeze the moisture out (you can use a brick or a bag of flour, rice... whatever you want as long as it’s heavy enough to squeeze the moisture out.) I turned it once to make sure it was squeezed evenly and left it for about 10 minutes on each side When the tofu was ready I cut it into 1/4" slices.

In a shallow dish I mixed together
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup flour 
  • 1 Tbs old bay
  • 1 Tbs garlic powder

Heat enough canola oil to lightly coat the bottom of a pan.

Dredge the slices of tofu in the dry mix and carefully place in the hot pan, about 3-4 at a time over medium-high heat until they’re golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side, adding a little more oil to the pan as necessary.

I served this with salsa and a side of roasted broccoli and the kid gobbled it up.

Tofu is pretty inexpensive, I got this block of tofu for $1.99 at the grocery store and that’s an excellent deal considering dinner that night cost me less than $3 to put together. Tofu is extremely good for you with 3-oz. piece of firm tofu having about 13 g of protein, 4 g of fat and about as much calcium as a glass of milk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration acknowledges that at least 25 g of soy protein per day may have beneficial heart benefits.

According to LiveStrong,  the soy tofu is made from is touted as an aid for reducing high cholesterol, preventing certain cancers, reducing the bone loss associated with osteoporosis and improving the symptoms of menopause. Tofu is also high in protein and contains all essential amino acids, referred to as the building blocks of protein. Food items that provide all essential amino acids are considered complete protein foods.

So, it’s good stuff. I’m definitely going to work it into the menu at least once a week now and I will definitely post recipes as I go along.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Better Homes and Gardens Non-Stick Bakeware 5-Piece Set Review

I’ve been given an unbelievable opportunity to review 3 products made by Better Homes & Gardens. In my eyes, this is HUGE and I am so incredibly grateful to the wonderful people who are allowing me this wonderful opportunity.

The first product that I received is the Better Homes and Gardens Non-Stick Bakeware 5-Piece Set. This set is HEAVY, with all 5 pieces in the box weighing in at 8.5 pounds. The box was sitting on the front porch when I got home Saturday afternoon and when I went to grab the box I was all.. Whoa! This is pretty heavy stuff! I got home, tore the paper off the box and carefully took all the pieces out.

This set includes:
  • 1 round cake pan 9" diam. 
  • 1 baking pan 15" L x 10" W 
  • 1 cake pan 13" x 9"
  • 1 square baking pan 9" sq.
  • 1 round cake pan 9" diameter

All pieces are made with a Unique Triple Performance Grid for superior browning, great taste and easy clean up, features a Non-stick surface that truly releases easily for excellent results and has a Light colored nonstick exterior for even baking.

On Sunday it was rainy and nasty and after I made dinner I decided I was going to take a stab at making some Samoa type cookies in one of the new baking pans.

HOLY NON-STICK BATMAN!! These things are AMAZING!


I went ahead and used this recipe from The Galley Gourmet with just one slight change.  I didn’t have quite enough chocolate so I didn’t coat the bottoms, which I was just fine with because I knew I was going to bring these to work and nobody likes chocolate all over their hands or their paperwork.

I pressed the dough into the bare pan and set it into the oven and when all was said and done the whole thing slid.. It Slid right out of the pan with not a crumb in site! Cleanup was a breeze, I just rinsed the pan, swiped it with a reusable dishrag with a dab of dishwashing liquid (I don’t use sponges.. Eww, I use disposable, biodegradable cloths instead) and I was done. Easy as pie :)

These pans retail at WalMart for $34.97 and for a 5 piece non stick set that is an absolutely Unbeatable price.

These are Good, solid pans with silicone grips on the handles for a non-slip grip, which is excellent. These pans are also covered by a Quality Assurance Guarantee that promises replacement of products with manufacturing defects.

You really can’t go wrong with these pans, they’re an excellent value for an absolutely outstanding product.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Just a little rant: I’m frustrated beyond reason

I'm so frustrated I could scream, I could cry, I could pitch a monumental fit... oh wait, I did that last night in the confines of the shower where the kid couldn't see me having a breakdown.

Really, this apartment hunting crap is getting old, it’s getting frustrating and it’s wearing me down to the point where if my kid wasn’t going to an excellent school I would pack our stuff up and move out of NY. I’ve seriously just had it. I’m tired of living in someone’s basement. Within the next few months my kid’s not going to be able to even walk through the doorway without smacking his head on the door jamb. Yea, he’s really that tall.

I went to see an apartment this past Friday with a broker (which I really didn’t want to do because that extra months rent is something I really need to save, but lately seems my only option).  The apartment was OK... it had a nice size living space and the bedroom was big.  It was on the 1st floor and had lots of light, but it had no kitchen space:  Sink/stove/fridge, one foot of counter space and three cabinets.  More importantly, I didn’t like the neighborhood. I called the broker yesterday and said I liked the apartment but I wasn’t going to take it. It just wasn’t in the neighborhood I wanted to be in. She was nice and agreed that the neighborhood wasn’t so great but went on to tell me that people are unwilling to rent to two people for what I could afford.  Hello, this is MY KID not my husband. Shit! What am I supposed to do? Make my kid get a job and have him help me with the rent? No. He’s not even legal to work yet and I’m not about to have my kid helping me pay the rent.

 People are greedy with rents in my area and there’s no F’n way I’m going to give someone $1,100 to live in their basement even if I could afford it. Not.gonna.happen. No wonder so many people are moving out of NY. It’s almost impossible to make a living here on an average salary and survive. I don’t have someone to help me with the rent, I don’t have any supplemental income other than what I make working and I’m not about to go to the county for help either thankyouverymuch.  

So what do I do? Pray for a miracle? Pray I win the lottery? Pray my boss stops being a tightwad and pays me the salary I deserve? Well.. Yes and no.. But I have to just keep truckin’ Keep looking and keep hoping that I find the apartment that I need with the right amount of space for the kid and myself.

I mentioned last week on Twitter that I’m tired of my job. Granted I really do enjoy what I do, but I've lost my passion for what I do here and I really want to get back into cooking professionally.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Southwest style chicken & veggies with pasta

My local grocery store had the new Philly cooking creme on sale for 2/$4, I had a coupon with me for a free container.  Now, I hadn't planned on going to the supermarket at all today.  Actually, in all honesty it would have been nice to just stay in my PJ's and clean on this rainy Sunday.  But since we were out anyway to pick up The Kid's reserved copies of both Pokemon Black & Pokemon White and I was out of my favorite black cherry flavored water I figured I'd grab some groceries for the week while I was at it.

I picked up the Italian Herb and the Southwest style Philly Cooking creme along with a pack of Chicken thighs.  Now, you can use whatever kind of chicken you want.. I tend to stick with thighs for everyday cooking because they're cheaper than breasts and are easy to cook pretty much any way you want.

Cook the chicken (skin removed) in a preheated skillet (because I used thighs I didn't bother adding any oil to the pan)  Cook about 10 minutes on each side, turning twice until they're cooked through.

Into the pan add 1 thawed bag of broccoli florets (I use frozen because they're cheaper, I know they're fresh and they're there whenever I need them) and 1/2 box of mini rigatoni or any shaped pasta you'd like.

Stir in 1/2 container of Santa Fe style Philly cooking creme until incorporated.

The cooking creme holds up very well and has a great flavor.  Next time I'm going to try it with rice.   I didn't add any seasoning to my chicken before I cooked it and the cooking creme alone was just enough to give everything in the pan a wonderful flavor with light creaminess.  I didn't use the entire container because I was making just enough for myself & the kiddo.. so if you're cooking for more than 2 you should definitely use the entire container.

The final verdict was 2 thumbs up from The Kid & myself.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

S'mores cookies

So the marshmallows that I made last week have been hanging around.. I'm not a huge marshmallow fan and I didn't make them for any other reason other than for the plain fact that I could.. but they weren't gonna go to waste.

I decided I was going to make cookies with them, because Everyone likes cookies and who doesn't like S'mores?  So I hit the 'net and went searching for a recipe for Graham crackers.. now I wasn't gonna go and make graham crackers per say.. but I wanted cookies with that flavor and I hit it right on the mark :)  These are really simple and come together fairly quickly because the only "real" baking involved is the cookie base, which, in all honesty can be baked ahead of time.

I've made this cookies before for the "sticky cookies" and I doubled the cookie recipe because I like my cookie a little thicker, but you can half the cookie recipe very easily.

S'mores cookies
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark whichever you prefer)
1 cup butter, softened
1 Tbs Vanilla extract
Cinnamon sugar
16-20 large marshmallows
1/2 - 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat oven to 350°

In a large bowl stir together flour and brown sugar. Cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.Press flour mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking pan.

Sprinkle with a dusting of Cinnamon sugar and Bake 40-45 minutes or until set.

Remove the cookies from the oven & shut it off

Top the cookies with chocolate and marshmallows and put them back in the oven (that's been turned off, we don't want the cookies to cook much more but we do want the chocolate & marshmallows to melt) leave in the oven for 10-15 minutes and remove.. if you want a bit of a toasty marshmallow stick them under the broiler for a minute or 2.

These were Fantastic.. too good to even share with my co workers.

Next time I'm making these with the chocolate marshmallow mess that is currently sitting in my freezer.