Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have used!  I made my previous recipe for about ten years with fave reviews, but this one is far superior.  Prepare to be amazed!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
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• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions


1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.


2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

 3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. 

4. Stir in the chocolate chips using a wooden spoon.  Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto prepared cookie sheets.

5. Flatten cookies slightly.

5. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Cookie Dough Truffles

A hard candy shell covers a sweet, chocolate chip cookie dough filling

·         1/2 cup butter, softened

·         3/4 cup packed brown sugar

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

·         1 1/2 packages semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1) In a bowl cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla.  Gradually add flour alternately with sweetened condensed milk, beating well after each addition.

  

  2) Stir in the partial bag of chocolate chips.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes or until slightly firm.  

  

  3) Shape into 1 inch balls and place on waxed paper.  Put back in the refrigerator about an hour or until firm.

  

    4) Partially fill a saucepan with water and top with a metal bowl with the rest of the chocolate chips.  Heat over low heat, stirring until all of the chocolate chips have melted.  Dip the cookie dough balls in the chocolate until covered.  Place on waxed paper and refrigerate until chocolate is firm.

Chocolate-Mint Brownie Cookies

With Valentine's Day approaching, I thought a chocolate series would be appropriate for all of you that want to make sweets for your sweetie!

Chocolate-Mint Brownie Cookies


These rich, decadent chocolate cookies are enriched with a hint of mint that will delight any palate!


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup shortening 
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract or 2 drops peppermint oil
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2-2 cups mint chocolate chips (or mixture of mint and regular chocolate chips-I did half and half)

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine brown sugar, shortening, water, vanilla and peppermint extracts in large bowl; beat at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix well.

Combine flour, salt, cocoa and baking soda in medium bowl; add to shortening mixture.  

Beat at low speed just until blended.  Stir in mint & regular chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheets; transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.

Glazed Spiced Apple Cookies

Glazed Spiced Apple Cookies

A sweet, creamy glaze covers flavorful, spiced apple cookies.  These live up to the promises made by the creator of the recipe: "I've been making these for about 25 years, and never met anyone yet who didn't like them."  I will definitely make these again next fall. 




Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup apples - peeled, cored and finely diced
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 tablespoons half-and-half cream

Directions

1. Beat shortening and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and blend thoroughly.


2. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

3. Stir half the dry ingredients into creamed mixture. Stir in  then stir in remaining apples and half of dry ingredients and milk. Mix well.

4. Drop from tablespoon 1 1/2 inches apart onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove cookies to racks and while still warm, spread with glaze.




5. To make Glaze: Combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and enough cream to make glaze of spreading consistency. Beat until smooth. 

Amazing Apple Crisp

Apple Crisp

A crunchy oatmeal crumble tops this spiced apple mixture. My husband loved it!

**The original recipe listed here makes a 9 x 13 pan of apple crisp, but since I was only cooking for two, I made an 8 x 8 version.  If you decide to make the smaller batch, use six cups of apples and one teaspoon cinnamon, but half everything else.  You can also use a little less water.

• 10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup water
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• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).

Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.

Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. 

Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes

Brownie Bites

Brownie Bites

Another amazing use for your neglected mini muffin pan!  These delicious bite-size chocolate heavenly delicacies are rich and creamy with a chewy center.  You will not be able to eat just one!

1/2 cup butter, melted
1-1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs

3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1) Combine butter, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat in the eggs one at a time and blend thoroughly.

2) Mix together flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a separate bowl.  Mix the butter combination with the dry ingredients.  Stir in chocolate chips.

3) Line the mini muffin pan with liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Spoon brownie batter into the liners.

4) Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

**If you would like to make a 9 x 13 pan of brownies, double the recipe and spoon batter into pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

There are not many recipes for my mini muffin pan, so I decided to do a short series with recipes for the most neglected pan before I start the apple series.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

These are the best peanut butter cups I have ever tasted!  They are easy and only involve a few ingredients.  They just take time to harden, but the refrigerator does the work for you!  They are not as pretty as the cups from the store, but taste ten times better.

The original recipe made twelve servings, so I reduced it to four servings and it was plenty.  It made sixteen cups in the mini muffin pan.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cool Time: 2 hours

7 ounces Chocolate Chips
1/3 cup Peanut Butter
2 1/2 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1) Grease muffin tins.

2) Place half of the chocolate chips in a metal bowl and place a saucepan with a little water underneath.  Bring the water to a boil and allow the chocolate to melt.  Stir occasionally.  DO NOT let the steam escape because it can stiffen the chocolate.

3) Spoon melted chocolate into muffins cups and fill halfway.  Draw the chocolate up the sides of the cups until coated evenly.  Cool in the refrigerator until firm (about an hour).

4) Blend the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Spread the peanut butter mixture on top of the firm chocolate in the cups.

5) Melt the remaining chocolate using the previous method.  Spread the melted chocolate on top of the peanut butter.  Put back in the refrigerator until top is firm and cups come out easily (about an hour).

6) Remove from muffin tins and enjoy!

Dutch Peach Pie

I love the crumbly, granola-like crust of dutch apple pie, and since I have a ton of peaches, I thought that I would try out the recipe with peaches.  Firm, but chewy crust with a warm, gooey peach filling makes a delicious pie!

Original Recipe

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
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• Filling:
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• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 cups peeled, diced tart apples
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine all crust ingredients; set aside 1 cup for topping. 

Press remaining crumb mixture into an ungreased 9 inch pie plate and set aside.

2. For the filling, combine sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and water in a saucepan until smooth; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. 

Remove from the heat; stir in peaches and vanilla. 

Pour into crust; top with reserved crumb mixture. 

Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  Allow the pie to cool completely.