Chocolate Whoopie Pies

The cookies are soft and keep very well when stored in an airtight container for several days - assuming that they last that long, of course. The two-bite sized cookies are awfully hard to resist.


Whoopie Pies
(recipe from The Good Cookie)
Cookies:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
3/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, very soft
1 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light, then beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.
Add the baking soda to the hot water.
Adding 1/3 of each ingredient at a time, stir in hot water, buttermilk and flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, making sure to end with an addition of dry ingredients and to mix only until just combined.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheets, flattening slightly.
Bake cookies for 5-7 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are cracked and cookies look set.
Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

Filling:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
4 tbsp butter, very soft
3 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
small pinch of salt

With the mixer on a low speed, beat together the sugar and butter until combined. Mixture will be somewhat crumbly. Add in cream, vanilla and salt and beat at high speed until smooth.

Spread the cooled cookies with the filling. Double filling recipe if you want more, but the book recommends using one heaping teaspoon per sandwich.

Makes 24-28 whoopie pies.

Potato Skins

potato skins (I had 8 skins from 4 potatoes)
cheddar cheese, shredded
bacon, crumbled
Kosher salt and pepper
olive oil
green onions and sour cream if you like

Brush olive oil over the potato skins, inside and out. Sprinkle with salt. Bake them at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn them over and bake for another 10 minutes.

Pull them out of the oven and fill them with cheese and bacon. I coulda/shoulda put in more cheese than I did, but they were still fine. Pop them under the broiler for a couple minutes to melt the cheese. Serve with sour cream and green onions

Chili

2 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
6 tomato paste cans water
1 clove garlic, minced
salt (I use1 tsp.)
1 tsp. pepper
1 large can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 pkg. chili seasoning mix
Simmer for two hours. Add beans. Heat 15 minutes.

Here’s what I used:

2 lbs ground beef (I used 1 lb. pork sausage + 1 lb. ground beef)
1 onion, chopped
2 cans tomato paste (6 oz cans)
6 tomato paste cans of water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 packs low-sodium chili seasoning mix
1 can Fire Roasted tomatoes, undrained (Judy’s addition)
salt and pepper to taste
Brown the beef, onion and garlic. Drain and rinse under hot water. Add all the other ingredients. Simmer for a few hours or toss it in the crockpot and cook it on low for 5 or 6 hours. I didn’t have much time, so mine only cooked 45 minutes or so. It was still yummy.

Cut out Sugar cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract or a mix of both
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 30 minutes before baking the cookies
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in the eggs and the extract and beat to incorporate.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
Divide the dough into 2 portions and roll to 3/8" thick in between 2 sheets of parchment paper and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Remove the dough and cut your desired shape. Place the formed cookies back in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Take the scraps and re roll them to 3/8" in the parchment paper and re chill befor cutting out again.
Bake your cookies on an un greased cookie sheet for 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of your cookie.
Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
Cool completely before icing.

*I have no clue the origin of this recipe, I have had it forever and it was handwritten*







ROYAL ICING COOKIE GLAZE
by antonia74


6 oz(3/4 cup) warm water

5 Tablespoons Meringue Powder

1 teaspoon cream of tarter

2 1/4 pounds powdered sugar



*If your meringue powder does not have any vanilla flavor in it, you can add a teaspoon of CLEAR vanilla.


In a mixer bowl, pour the warm water and the meringue powder in and whisk for about 30 seconds until frothy.

Add the cream of tarter and whisk for another 30 seconds.

Pour all of the sugar in at once and place on the mixer.

Using your paddle attachment, on the lowest speed, mix slowly for 10 full minutes.

Icing will be thick and creamy.(like Elmers Glue)

Cover the bowl the a damp cloth to prevent drying and crusting.

If you find the icing too thick, you can thin it by adding in water by the Tablespoon.


For GREAT tips on making these please check out the following links its a recipe from Hungy Housewife and her tips..so helpful and yummy!

http://thehungryhousewife.blogspot.com/2009/10/sugar-cookie-and-icing-tips.html

Brownie Cookies

Brownie Cookies
Source: Brown Eyed Baker
Makes 24 large cookies

Ingredients
2 2/3 cups (about 16 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper of a silicone baking mat.
2. Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until completely melted and smooth.
3. In the meantime, stir together the eggs, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.
5. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and stir to combine well. Slowly add the dry ingredients, folding them into the batter. Once all of the flour is incorporated, stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Scoop 1½ tablespoons of dough (a medium cookie scoop’s worth) onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm on the outside. Like brownies, do not overbake! Leave to cool completely on the baking sheets.

Sugar Cookie Bars

1 cup butter; room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla & mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt & soda & stir with a whisk to combine. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan).

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and frost.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter; room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
4 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
food coloring (if desired)

Combine butter and shortening until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cookie.

Simple One hour homemade Bread

*If you click the title it will take you to La Fuji Mama's Blog where she has a video posted on making this bread, I advise you to check it out =) Also these are pictures from her blog I have not made this myself yet but its on my to make list =) ENJOY!

Simple One Hour Homemade Bread
Makes 2 loaves

5 1/4 cups white bread flour
2 – 4 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. (rounded) saf-instant yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp. oil
2 cups hot water

1. Mix dry ingredients. Add oil and water. Mix for 1 minute and then check the consistency of the dough. The dough should be very sticky. If it is too dry, add more water.

2. Mix for 5 minutes. (Do not add any more flour after the dough has finished mixing.)

3. Spray kneading surface with cooking spray and turn dough out onto surface. Knead dough briefly until it has a smooth even consistency (this will only take several turns of the dough to accomplish).


4. Divide dough into 2 pieces (or more if you wish to have smaller loaves) and shape loaves into desired shapes and place on greased baking sheets. Cover with a large dish towel and let rise for 25 minutes.

5. While loaves are rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When loaves are ready to go into the oven, use a sharp knife (you can lightly spray your knife with cooking spray to prevent dragging) to make several slashes in the top. Make each cut about 1/4-inch deep at a 30 degree angle. Bake loaves for 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown.


* Why bread flour? In short, bread flour helps make bread loftier and chewier. For a more longer explanation, read this article on the difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour.

* Why saf-instant yeast? Saf-instant yeast is a high-potency, fast-acting yeast that can be added directly to your dry ingredients without it having to be put in a starter first.

* Why slash the top of my loaves? bread101 explains, “First, for a beautiful visual appearance and second, this scoring allows the dough to expand quickly during baking so it reaches its maximum volume. It also prevents a ‘blow out’ from happening if bubbles appear under the crust and then burst.”


* Thank you to my FIL for putting together such a great video for LFM! We did this in one take without any cue cards–not bad!

Complete BBQ Chicken dinner in Crockpot

Here’s what you’ll need:



boneless chicken breasts
barbecue sauce
potatoes, chopped
cheddar cheese, shredded
onion, diced
salt and pepper
a bit of olive oil
frozen corn on the cob
plenty of foil
Place the chicken in the bottom of the crockpot. Pour on some barbecue sauce. You don’t want to add too much, because the goal is to have as little liquid as possible in the bottom of the pot.

Stir the potatoes, a bit of olive oil (that didn’t make it in the photo), onion, cheese and salt and pepper together in a bowl. Make a large packet out of foil and wrap the potatoes in it, loosely.

Wrap each corn in foil. Place the potato packet on top of the chicken. Add the corn. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 7-8.

Reeses Cup Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Stick Butter
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
6 Large Reese Cups (I would double this next time)
3/4 Cup Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips


Directions:
Chop up Reese cups; set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl beat the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture until fully incorporated. Fold in the Reese cups and chocolate chips. Drop tablespoon size mounds of dough onto a cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 15 to 15 minutes or until light brown around the edges.


***Finally got around to making these they are soooo Good! Mine baked up just right for about 10 mins, 15 I think is way too long. I am so glad I followed her opinion about doubling the Reeses cups and I omitted the Choc chips and for our taste they were just right....So go and make these right now =)

French Dip Sandwiches

French Dip Sandwiches
Thanks Angela!

Ingredients

1 (4 pound) boneless beef roast (Mine is often smaller than this, 2-3 pounds works fine too. And I usually cut it into a few pieces so it will cook faster/better.)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 beef bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
3 whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used minced garlic)
2-3 cups beef stock or water
package of onion soup mix (optional)
French Bread or Rolls for sandwiches

Directions

Remove and discard all visible fat from the roast. Place trimmed roast in a slow cooker.

In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, bouillon, bay leaf, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, and garlic powder. Pour mixture over roast, and add enough water (i used beef stock) to almost cover roast. Cover, and cook on Low heat for 10 to 12 hours, or until meat is very tender (mine completely fell apart after sitting on high for seven house, mmmm).

Remove meat from broth, reserving broth. Shred meat with a fork, and distribute on bread for sandwiches. Used reserved broth for dipping.
(Sometimes I'll make up some beef broth & mix it with the remaining broth if I want more dipping sauce.)

Gooey Turtle Bars

1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 cup melted butter
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup pretzels
1 cup chocolate chips
1 jar caramel sauce
Mix the cake mix with butter and milk. Pour half the batter into a 9×13 pan. Spread it out with a spatula. Bake 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Pull the cake out of the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Add the pecans. Pour the caramel over the top of all of it as evenly as you can. Add the rest of the batter. Spread it with a spatula to cover as much of the surface as possible. It might not be totally covered and that’s okay.

Bake it again for 20 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

Foccacia Bread

Foccacia is such a delicious variety of bread..I love that you can top it with whatever meats/cheeses/herbs & spices that you'd like. It's a very satisfying bread, so much so that my husband and I sometimes will just have it for lunch by itself. You can try it how I made it, or you can take the base of the recipe, and make it to suite your taste!
-
Ingredients:
2 Cups White Bread Flour, plus extra for kneading
1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley
1/4 Teaspoon Granulated Sugar
1 Teaspoon Rapid-Rise Yeast
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil, plus extra for oiling
1/2 Cup + 1/8 Cup Warm Water
1/2 Cup Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
2/3 Cup Diced Tomatoes
2/3 Cup Thinly Sliced Onion
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper


Directions:
Finely chop up 1/2 of the parsley, leave the other half whole, and set aside. Place the flour, chopped parsley, sugar, yeast, and salt in a bowl. Combine the water and oil and mix with the dry ingredients to form a soft dough, adding more water if the dough appears too dry. Turn out onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Once dough is ready, knead it again briefly on the counter and shape into a rectangle and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet, turning the dough over to oil both sides. Make rough indentations in the dough using your fingers. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, then add the onion, tomatoes, and the remaining parsley leaves, ripping the leaves as you place them on the dough. Let stand in a warm place for 10 minutes to rise again. Bake for 15-20 minutes in a pre-heated 425 degree oven.

Gingerbread Men

I baked mine at 350' for 10 minutes.

Gingerbread men
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp (freshly) ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and cinnamon.In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in molasses, water and vanilla, then gradually add in flour mixture until a smooth dough forms. Divide dough into two or three pieces (dough will be quite soft), cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until firm.

Preheat oven to 375F.
For softer cookies:
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to just under 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters of your choice (2-3″ gingerbread men are ideal!) to cut dough. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on size of cookie cutter. Cookies should be slightly firm to the touch at the edges. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For crispier cookies:
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to just under 1/8 inch thickness. Use cookie cutters of your choice (2-3″ gingerbread men are ideal!) to cut dough. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on size of cookie cutter. Cookies should be slightly firm to the touch at the edges and will be lightly browned. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
When cool, decorate with icing.

Makes about 30-40 gingerbread men, depending on size of cookie cutters used and whether you make them thick or thin.

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

24 Ice Cream Sandwiches (can use reduced fat, or mint)

12 oz. whipped topping (used light)

Your favorite chocolate sauce

Here is the step by step:


Get those ice cream sandwiches out of their wrappers!

Layer 1/2 of the sandwiches in glass 9 x 13 dish.


Top with 1/2" of whipped topping

Repeat layers.

Drizzle top layer with chocolate sauce.


Freeze until ready to serve.

Note: You can add toffee chips, chopped peanut butter cups or whatever your heart desires on the whipped topping layer. This is a great time to teach creativity and self expression!

This dessert serves 12

Crunchy Oven Bacon

1 lb bacon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange bacon on baking sheet in a single layer with the edges touching or slightly overlapping.
Bake in preheated oven to desired degree of doneness, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove bacon from the baking sheet with tongs or a fork, and drain on a paper towel-lined plate