Chocolate w/ White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2.In a large bowl beat butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla extract together untill light and fluffy.
3.Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and gradually add to sugar mixture until well blended
4.Mix in chocolate chips and drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets
5.Bake for 8-10 minutes or just until set (warning do not over cook..they will not be soft and brownie like)

Rating:
These are very yummy and tastes just like a soft brownie in the center. Using peanut butter chips or semi sweet chips instead of the white would be great as well. Make sure to press down the dough as you place it on the sheets-the cookies do not spread much.

Individual Lemon Cheesecakes

Happy belated Cinco de Mayo everyone! enjoy this cool treat:

Ingredients:
1 8oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lemon curd
6 mini graham cracker crusts (recommended keebler)
Whipped topping (recommended cool whip)
Sugared lemon slices for garnish

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in the lemon curd on low speed until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the graham cracker crusts. Place on a small baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes or more. Serve with a dollop of whipped topping and 1/4 of a slice of lemon that has been sprinkled with sugar.

Rating:
If you like lemons you will LOVE this creamy dessert. Perfect for parties, easy to make, and clean up was fast. You can easily substitute the lemon curd for lime, raspberry or blueberry curd, or even chocolate! Got great reviews from family members (especially those who are big lemon fans) and I was also asked to make them again for an upcoming family get together.

Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes

recipe from Magnolia's Bakery

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Icing:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
5 to 8 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.line two muffin tins with cupcake papers
3. in a small bowl cobine the flours and set aside
4.In a large bowl, on medium speed, cream the butter until smooth. add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addtion, beat unitl the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5.Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. Ice cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream icing.

icing directions:
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Rating:if you follow the directions exactly the cake will come out light, buttery and very yummy. The icing for me is a little on the sugary side...but most people like it that way but you can always reduce the amount of sugar you add. I used a small amount of red food coloring to make my icing a light pastel pink and used easter M&M's for the center.

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
36 Andies chocolate mint

Directions:
1.In a large pan over low heat, cook butter, sugar and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool off slightly.
2.At high speed, beat in eggs, one at a time into chocolate mixture. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, beating until blended. Chill dough about 1 hour.
3.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4.Roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes. While cookies are baking unwrap mints and divide each in half. When cookies are brought out of the oven, put 1/2 mint on top of each cookie. Let the mint sit for up to 5 minutes until melted, then spread the mint on top of the cookie.

Rating:
I've been told by multiple people that these taste just like the mint girl scout cookies! chewy on the inside, crunchy on the outside. the 1/2 mint on each cookie is just enough for a great mint taste without having it be over powering. very yummy and packages great. Make sure to allow time for the chocolate to harden before putting the cookies into containers. (9/10)

Peanut Butter Temptations

recipe from www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
36 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar and butter. Stir in the peanut butter, then the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the peanut butter mixture until the dough comes together. Shape into 1 inch balls and press them into the cups of an unprepared mini muffin pan.
3.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press a mini chocolate covered peanut butter cup down into the center of each cookie until only the top is showing. Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing from their pans.

Rating:
WOW are these yummy!! great peanut butter taste and just the right size. your family and friends will think you spent hours preparing them but they are really are very easy and fast. (10/10)

Grandma's famous baked stuffed mushrooms

This blog is only recipes on baking...since I'm not much of a fan of cooking, BUT I've been getting requests to post the recipe to my grandma's famous Thanksgiving stuffed mushrooms..so I asked her for the recipe. Some of her measurements were done by eyeballing it since she never uses measuring cups, lol, but I converted her system into regular measurements. Please let me know how yours turn out if you make them :)


Ingredients:
20 medium whole mushrooms
handful or 1/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 clove garlic
(1/3 cup cooked spinach if desired)

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.Remove stems of each mushroom(to base) and set the mushroom tops/caps to the side
3.Chop mushroom stems into small pieces
2.Get out a pan and set burner to medium high
3.Once pan is hot put in 2 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp olive oil
4.Crush garlic and stir in pan with the butter mixture for about 4 minutes. make sure not to burn garlic.
5.Throw chopped mushroom stems into pan, make sure they are covered in butter and all the way cooked through
6.Turn off heat and set the pan onto a COOL burner.
7.Grease a cookie sheet and place mushroom tops face up.
8.Add bread crumbs to the pan of mushroom stems(make sure they are Italian style..regular will taste bland), combine thoroughly. (if the mixture seems dry add a tiny bit more melted butter or even chicken broth)
9.Add in 3/4 cup shredded cheese (the cheese should melt slightly after combined with stuffing mixture)
10.Fill each mushroom cap with stuffing mixture (about 1-1.5 tablespoons per mushroom)
11.Top each mushroom with a pinch of shredded mozzarella
12.Melt remaining tbsp of butter and brush the top of each mushroom
13.Place into oven for 15-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling on the top of each mushroom

Egg Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.Cream the sugar, butter, and vanilla together. Mix until light and well combined, then add pumpkin.
3.Mix the flour, baking soda and ground cinnamon in seperate bowl. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Mix until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips
4.Drop by teaspoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes or until set. Let cookies cool

Rating:
A cake-like cookie that is simple and not overwelming. The dough does not spread when cooked so make sure to lightly press down on each round when placing it onto the cookie sheet. For those that would like a more fall/spice flavor add a dash of 'all spice' or 'pumpkin pie spice' into the mix. (7/10)