Soft & Chewy Molasses Cookies

Apparently I failed again and didn't take any photos of these cookies?! This one is from Food.com

Ginger is not a flavor that's just for Christmas anymore. Haven't you heard? :) There's nothing like some delicious, soft & chewy molasses cookies any time of the year. These particular cookies have a really strong flavor from the molasses. I think they tasted great & had the perfect texture- so  chewy- no crunch in sight! You can always tone down the molasses if you want a weaker flavor. Grab a glass of milk and give half away before you sit down on your couch or you will eat them all & have no idea why you can't stop... that's my last warning. :)



Soft & Chew Molasses Cookies
Recipe adapted from Food.com
Makes about 40 cookies

• 3/4 cup butter-flavored shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• white sugar for rolling dough in

Cream brown sugar & shortening in mixing bowl. 

Add egg and molasses & mix well.

Fold in dry ingredients & mix well.

Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and chill dough in fridge for 1-2 hours or until firm. Don't skip this step or your dough will be too sticky to work with & the flavors won't come together as nicely. 

Preheat oven to 350. Roll dough into small balls & roll in bowl of white sugar. 

Place on parchment-covered baking sheet & bake 9-10 minutes. Let cookies set for 1 minute on baking sheet before moving to cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container.

Enjoy!

Easy 3 Ingredient Vanilla Ice Cream

Believe it! It's true! You can make yummy ice cream with 3 ingredients or less. Apparently you don't even need an ice cream maker to make this (I did use one). You can also experiment with add ins, extracts, candy, etc. to find your favorite flavor. The best part is that seriously you don't have to make a custard over the stove and burn yourself like I did! Anyone can make this! One mistake I did make was to use milk instead of all the cream- mine was a little icy. Next time I would stick to 100% cream or at least do 50% cream, 50% milk.

Easy 3 Ingredient Vanilla Ice Cream
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

• 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• splash of vanilla extract

If you have an ice cream maker- In a large bowl, mix together cream & condensed milk until combined. Condensed milk should be mostly dissolved. Add vanilla. Pour into ice cream maker & freeze as directed.

If you don't have an ice cream maker - Whip cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Pour condensed milk into a large bowl. Slowly fold cream into condensed milk until combined. Spread evenly in an airtight container and freeze until firm- about 6 hours.

Enjoy!!

Oatmeal Cream Pies

I'm not going to go on and on about how behind I am on posting, but I'll just share with you that my friend Nicole and I made these little pies of goodness sometime in October- I think. They are meant to be just like Little Debbie's Oatmeal Cream Pies- only better. They are WAY better + no chemicals = a win, right? The cookie is soft & chewy and the filling is light & fluffy- its much lighter than a butter cream, which I usually prefer.

We added chocolate chips to half the batter, but I think I prefer the simple pies without them.

P. S. Check out my little helpers (Gavin & Noodle). Aren't they cute?

Ghiradelli Classic Brownies & Hot Fudge Brownie Sundaes

I just posted this delicious & easy hot fudge sauce recipe. These brownies I made to enjoy with the sauce in a delicious brownie sundae. They are classic, fudgy & delicious.

A friend passed along another recipe for Truffle Brownies in which she recommended using this as the base, but G is not a fan of PB in baked goods, so I went with the simple version instead. These did not disappoint- they were perfect and I was very sad when the last brownie was taken from pan after I was looking forward to enjoying it in my sundae ALL day at work. That's OK- it was probably a sign...

P.S. Brownie sundaes are not complete without hot fudge, a dollop of marshmallow fluff & sprinkles. Fresh strawberries will take it over the top!

America's Test Kitchen: The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

There are so many chocolate chip cookies out there and they are all a little different. Everyone has their favorite. My normal chocolate chip cookie recipe is the one on the back of the Nestle chocolate chips- why mess with perfection? These cookies are truly wonderful too, but in a different way. I think they are the new favorite around my house!

The browned butter and dark brown sugar really add another layer of flavor you didn't think was possible with cookies- also they are HUGE. Let's face it, everything I've tried from my The Best of America's Test Kitchen Cookbook has been AWESOME (i.e. Baked Ziti). I can't wait to try the rest of the recipes!

One of the best parts? I froze half of the balls of dough to bake when the craving strikes! Just place frozen balls on parchment and bake in preheated oven (375) for 15-18 minutes.

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie
The Best of America's Test Kitchen

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 14 TBSP unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup backed dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg , plus 1 large yolk
• 1 1/4 cups semisweet chcolate chips or chunks

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour and baking soda in amedium bowl- set aside.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat and melt 10 TBSP butter. 

Continue cooking, swirling the pan constantly until the butter is a dark golden brown color and has a nutty aroma (1 - 3 minutes). Remove from heat and use a spatula to transfer melted butter to a large heatproof bowl. Stir in the remaining 4 TBSP butter into hot buter until melted.

Add both sugars, salt and vanilla to the butter mixture and whisk until combined. Add egg and egg yolk and whisk until smooth (30 seconds). Let the mixture stand for 3 minutes and whisk for another 30 seconds. Repeat the whisking and resting process 2 more times until the mixture is thick and shiny.

This may seem silly, but apparently a scientist contributed to this recipe and the process of allowing the sugars to rest before baking allows them to be dissolve more and therefore have  more caramely flavor. I can't disagree!

Stir in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined (about 1 minute). Stir in the chocoalte chips and give it one final stir to make sure there aren't anymore flour pockets.

Divide dough into 16 portions (each about 3 TBSP). These are BIG cookies! Place onto prepared baking sheet (or freeze in parchment paper in plastic containers. Make sure they are at least 2 inches apart to allow for spreading (no more than 8 balls per sheet, depending on the size of your sheet). Bake 1 tray at a time until the edges are set but the center is still soft and puffy and they are golden brown all over - 10-14 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack and cool completely on sheet before serving.

Enjoy!

Died and Gone to Heaven Reese's Trifle

Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope you are enjoying a day off of work, or at least a lest hectic day because everyone else is off...

I made this trifle a while ago for a potluck BBQ party and it was a HUGE hit! Everyone came up to me and asked me about it and raved about how delicious it was. The guys in the corner were heard saying "It has brownies AND candy!" ha. I made it in a hurry and did not take any photos, so all I have is this horrible iphone photo. It really does not do it justice. It is VERY rich and will disappear fast at the next BBQ you go to. I cannot take credit for this recipe. I was inspired by Died and Gone to Heaven as well as this Peanut Butter Cup Trifle. I mixed the two and came up with this recipe!

I hope you make it soon!

Lion Cookie Cake

Cookie Cake is not a newbie to my blog. It is a frequently requested baked good. Its actually so much easier to make than cookies since you don't have to waste time forming dough balls and patiently waiting while you bake 52 batches. The frosting really takes this over the top. You can have fun with your decorations, but my friends Brittney and Kelly had a jungle themed birthday party and requested a lion.

This was my first time decorating like this, and I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Also, do you like my custom cookie cake box? :)

I just stopped by a local pizza parlor and asked for a box- they gave me one for FREE! It may or may not be because I go there very frequently for lunch.

I used the same recipe found here. And in the mini cookie cake sandwiches here. I made a few alterations this time due to the ingredients I had on hand, and actually, word on the street is that this was the best yet!

• Used dark brown sugar instead of light brown
• Used all milk chocolate chips

My next cookie cake design request? A monkey! We'll see if I can pull that one off...

Brown Sugar Crack Pie

 The original name of this recipe is "Crack Pie." It is very intriguing. It MUST be good if that's what its called, but I had to Google it 10 times before I could figure out what kind of pie it was. I think this name fits it better and tells you what's in it. Yummy goodness, that's what. Its almost too hard to describe. Brown sugary. Caramely. Salty. Sweet. Gooey. Custardy. Almost like a pecan pie without the pecans and with an oatmeal cookie crust. Its perfect after a long day. Who am I kidding? Its perfect after a short day too.  I forgot what blog I originally saw this featured on, but the recipe is from Epicurious. Apparently its crafted after a famous pie at Milk Bar in NYC? Never been, but I don't think I need to now!

Note, this includes a lot of chilling time. Don't skimp on that or it won't set up properly! I made mine the night before and it was perfect.

Award Winning Lemon Bars

I love when there is a work party. Sign up sheet for food items? Yes please! I usually always volunteer to bring dessert, if possible. I have to hurry so all the slots are not filled up. Its OK, usually the first to go are plates, napkins and utensils. :) I don't mind. These are the perfect opportunities for trying a new recipe. This particular event was a DESSERT PARTY. Um, hello, welcome to my calling! All the chocolatey items were already called for, so I decided to make these delicious lemon bars. They are the perfect amount of tart and sweet and buttery crusty. I know that did not make sense. Also, yes, you caught me. I have made these before.... it was a long time ago though. So really its fine. It seemed really fine with everyone else too. I received several compliements on these being not too tart and not too sweet. The biggest tell-all? The pan was empty! :) I love when I don't have to take home any leftovers.

These are pretty perfect for a summer BBQ, just make sure you allow enough time for them to cool before cutting and serving. I've done that before and it just does not work out.

Last little note, this recipe is actually from About.com. I have to admit that that is not the first place I would go to look for a recipe these days, but I had this from a while ago and I knew it was fab! :)