S'more Cookies

What screams summer more than s'mores? I'm not too sure. I don't think a summer has gone by that I haven't had s'mores. More so now in my adult life than when I was a child. I LOVE a fire pit. It's pretty much mandatory for my backyard. Perfect for spring and fall when some nights get too cold. It's also ideal for roasting marshmallows. Who roast marshmallows without going all the way and making s'mores? I'm not too sure about that either. 

I came across this recipe for s'more cookies. What fun! A nice twist on a classic summer treat. The recipe comes from the one and only, Martha. I was a little surprised that the recipe called for semisweet or bittersweet chocolate. Honestly, I only know Hershey's milk chocolate when it comes to s'mores. Since I only had semisweet chocolate on hand, I used that. I was a bit nervous about the outcome but it actually ended up working quite well.

These cookies were a hit, at home & work too. Although I learned that a lot of my coworkers don't like marshmallows. Didn't know that was possible. Aside from tasting so good, they look really cute too...at least I think they do. 

Make these for your next summer barbecue. The 4th of July is right around the corner! I promise you'll be the talk of the barbecue (in a good way for a change...I kid, I kid)!

S'more Cookies

Everyday Food July/August 2009

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 30 squares
• 15 large marshmallows, halved horizontally

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse oats until finely ground. Add flours, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; pulse to combine. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, scraping down side of bowl. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture just until combined.

Drop dough by tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Top each with a chocolate square. Bake just until lightly golden, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove sheets from oven; heat broiler. Top each cookie with a marshmallow. One sheet at a time, broil until marshmallows are lightly browned, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

Blondies with Chocolate Chips

I had full intentions of bringing these blondies to my cousin's graduation party; however, after sampling one they slowly started to disappear. They're dangerous to keep around. 

(Sorry they never made it to your party, Aunt T! )

Believe it or not, this was my first time making blondies. I haven't had a good past with  brownies (I'm determined to change that) so I assumed I wouldn't be good at making blondies. Boy was I wrong!  Martha (yes, we're on a first name basis) sends me daily emails with the cookie of the day recipe. I usually get the email while I'm at work and spend about 2 minutes drooling over whatever the day's recipe is before I file it away in the 'cookies to make' folder in my email. There are a lot of cookie recipes filed away. I better start crossing some off my list, especially if they're all as good as these were. 

Blondies are a cookie cake like goodness. The recipe called for walnuts which surprisingly I didn't have on hand so I omitted them. Walnuts or pecans would add a lovely flavor. I'll be sure to add them next time. If you're planning on bringing these to a party, keep in mind this recipe only yields 16. You might want to make 2 batches.

Blondies with Chocolate Chips

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8-inch square baking pan with butter; line pan with a piece of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter paper.
   
2. In a large bowl, whisk butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix just until moistened (do not overmix). Fold in 1/2 cup each chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips and walnuts.
   
3. Bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack, and let cool completely. Using parchment overhang, lift cake from pan and transfer to a cutting board; cut into 16 squares.

Peanut Butter Icing

Are you mad at me? Are you sick of looking at the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies? Forgive me please for leaving you guys in the dark for so long! I really have no excuse!

I'll find my way back into your hearts with this super sweet treat! I just know I will! 

Nadya has been recovering...(Hey, that's my excuse for leaving you in the dark! I've been busy nursing her back to health.) Anyway, while she's been recovering she has had quite the sweet tooth. This girl wants cookies, ice cream, chocolate, etc. 

Her favorite treat these days just happens to be a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter icing. A great combination. There are tons of cupcake boutiques in the city and just about all of them offer this flavor. Some even use peanut butter alone for the icing. I'm on a mission to find the right peanut butter icing, my friends! I'm sorry to report this is not the one. (tears.) The flavor was just not working for me (nor was it working for the patient). I thought the cream cheese was too strong. Nadya really thought the little bit of salt ruined the flavor. Try it yourself or give me a better recipe! 

This might be the only time Martha has let me down. I'll be back with another recipe. I'll keep you posted.

Peanut Butter Frosting:

6 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream 

Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Add salt, then peanut butter, then vanilla. Whisk cream until soft peaks form, and then fold into peanut butter mixture. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. (Bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using.)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

two words: snow day! 

Yes, there was 14.9" of snow this morning when I woke up and looked out my window. No, I was not going to deal with SEPTA to make it in to work. So what did I do with my day off?? Lots! One of the things I did today was make these easy (I mean easy) oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Yum!

I was flipping through the January/February Issue of Food Network Magazine and came across this recipe. The recipe called for raisins since I really don't like raisins I substituted chocolate chips for them! Which makes a great combination!! 

I promise you these cookies are easy! I started to make them at 2pm and had them on the table ready to eat by 2:45! That's quick, right?

Oatmeal Cookies:

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg 

2 egg white

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup raisin, chocolate chunks, walnuts or a combination of all (I only used chocolate)

Whisk brown sugar and eggs in a bowl. Whisk in vegetable oil. Stir in rolled oats, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, baking soda, salt. Add raisins, chocolate chunks and walnuts. Drop large spoonfuls onto lined baking sheets and gently flatten ( I used the bottom of a glass which worked great). Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Did I mention they're easy to make? 

Oreo Truffle Goodness

When I tell you this is one of the easiest desserts I really mean it. This is a Popil family favorite, actually it's a lot of people's favorite. However, when I think of this treat, there really is only one person I think of...LIZ, my cousin, friend, college roommate, etc. who LOVES Oreos! She sorta has a problem with Oreos but we love her for it!

This recipe yields about 40 truffles but you're better off doubling the recipe since it won't take long for those 40 truffles to disappear! The Oreo balls are good on their own but even better when dipped in chocolate (my opinion, of course). Try them both ways. I used milk chocolate but dark chocolate and white chocolate would work nicely too. 

I'm pretty sure Santa will leave an extra nice gift, if you're kind enough to leave him some!

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened

1 pkg.  (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed

2 pkg. (8 squares each) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted 

Crush Oreos in food processor (if you don't have a food processor a Ziploc back with a rolling pin works just as well). Mix in cream cheese. Roll into 1 inch balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or microwave...roll balls in melted chocolate and let cool on wax paper. Keep refrigerated.

Peppermint Bark

I'm not a huge fan of white chocolate and I'm not a huge fan of peppermint...so you might be asking yourself... "why in the world did Lynn make peppermint bark?" Well I'll tell you why...1.) Remember I'm trying to make 10 different holiday goodies?? I can't only make cookies! 2.) It's very festive and 3.) because I wanted to. Those are good enough reasons, right?

A lot of you probably have a holiday party to attend or you're throwing one yourself. Peppermint bark is a good snack to bring or serve! It can also make a great gift in a pretty little holiday tin! It's really easy and you can make as much or as little as you'd like.

I chose this recipe from Joy of Baking since it also uses semi sweet chocolate along with white chocolate. I know I said I'm not a fan of white chocolate or peppermint but I actually ended up liking this! Try it, you'll like it!

6 ounces (170 grams) semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

6 ounces (170 grams) white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/3 - 1/2 cup (50 - 80 grams) crushed candy canes

Line the bottom and sides of an 8 inch (20 cm) square baking pan with aluminum foil, smoothing out any wrinkles. Melt the semi sweet chocolate and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan

of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted chocolate into the prepared pan and tilt the pan so the chocolate makes an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Then, melt the white chocolate and remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted white chocolate over the dark chocolate and tilt the pan so the chocolate is in an even layer. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes evenly over the white chocolate. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Remove the Peppermint Bark from the pan by lifting the edges of the aluminum foil. Peel back the foil and break the bark into small irregular pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

        

Chocolate Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

6 tbsp melted cooled butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, & salt into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and chocolate chips.

Lightly beat the eggs in a large pitcher or bowl, then beat in the milk and butter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the beaten liquid ingredients. Stir gently until just combined. Do not over mix.

Bake for 20 minutes