Election Night Menu!

Here is our election night menu:

"Pigs in Lipstick" (Turkey hotdogs wrapped in crescent rolls with a ketchup smile)

"It's Raining Democrats" Dip with Blue Tortilla Chips

This recipe was originally called "It's Raining Men" Dip (AKA Buffalo Chicken Dip). I got it from www. stiritupwithjackie.blogspot.com. It is FANTASTIC!

It's Raining Democrats Dip

Ingredients:
1-8 oz. pkg. Cream Cheese
1/2 C Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
1/2 C Buffalo Wing Sauce
Salt/Pepper to taste
2-3 C Shredded Cooked Chicken (from rotisserie chicken)
2 Scallions, sliced (oops...I forgot)
(I also added approx. 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese)

Celery Sticks & Tortilla Chips for dipping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the cream cheese into a medium-sized bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds to soften slightly. Whisk in salad dressing, wing sauce, cheese, salt & pepper until smooth. Stir in the shredded chicken until just coated. Spread the mixture in a pie plate and drizzle the top with additional wing sauce if desired. Bake the dip for 15-20 minutes until mixture is heated through and edges are bubbly. Cool slightly and top with scallions.





"Barack-olli & Cheese Casserole"

Broccoli & Cheese Casserole

From : http://www.allrecipes.com/

Ingredients:

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 C Milk

2 tsp. Mustard

1 (16 oz) Pkg. Frozen Broccoli Florets, thawed

1 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/3 C Bread Crumbs

2 T. Butter, melted

Directions:

Stir the soup, milk, mustard, broccoli and cheese in a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish. Mix the bread crumbs with the butter in a small bowl and sprinkle over the broccoli mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot.

"Joe Six Packs" (rootbeer)

Palin Ale (ginger ale)

"Biden Time to the Whitehouse Cupcakes" (white cupcakes with white frosting)

"McCain's Balls to the Walls" (Nutter Butter Balls)

Nutter Butter Balls

I'm not sure of the source of this recipe.

Crush one package of Nutter Butter Cookies and mix in 1 pkg of softened cream cheese. Make into balls and chill. Dip in melted chocolate. YUMMY!

We had a great time!

Halloween Cupcakes!

Recipe to follow...

Southern Red Velvet Cake

My friend, Rebecca, made this red velvet cake. WOW...was it ever good?! It was dense, rich and perfect! She got the recipe from Food Network...it's definitely one of my new favorites and I will try making is soon.

Southern Red Velvet Cake

Vegetable oil for the pans

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 3 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely. Frost if desired (Rebecca used a buttercream frosting which was delish!)

Note: Rebecca made this in a springform pan. I plan on doing the same because it was so dense & rich...YUM!

Thanks Rebecca!

Pumpkin Scones

Need I say more? What's not to love with a cup of coffee...aah. These were delicious and I plan on making them more. This recipe was adapted from http://www.handlelikecandy.blogspot.com/
The only things I did differently was to omit the pecans and add some chocolate chips (couldn't resist). Oh, and I used salted butter because that was what I had on hand.

Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients:
2 C Flour
1/3 C Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 C Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
1/4 C Toasted & Chopped Pecans (optional)
1/2 C Buttermilk
1/2 C Pumpkin
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Egg Wash:
1 Large Egg
1 T Milk or Cream
Turbinado Sugar for sprinkling on top of the scones (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.

Stir in the pecans, if using (or in my case, chocolate chips). In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, pumpkin and vanilla and then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix the dough!

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches round and about 1-1/2 inches thick. Cut this circle in half and then cut each half into 3 pie-shaped wedges. Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle a little turbinado sugar on top, if desired.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is one that my mother used to use. These cookies are so moist and delicious!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1 Can Pumpkin
2 T Milk
2 Beaten Eggs
1 C Vegetable Oil (I used Canola)
2 C Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla
4 C Flour (I actually used 2.5 cups of all-purpose and 1.5 whole wheat)
2 tsp. Baking Soda
4 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 pkg. Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Beat first 6 ingredients. Sift dry ingredients-mix together. Add chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonful onto lined or greased baking sheets. Bake at 275 degrees for 11 minutes. Yields approximately 6 dozen cookies.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bars

This weekend, I had the urge to decorate for Autumn (which ended up turning to Halloween!) and bake. Aahhh....Fall is in the air-I LOVE it! This recipe is from Buttercup Bakes at Home by Jennifer Appel. The bars were very good! I didn't have a 9x9 pan, so used an 8x8 and adjusted the baking time.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bars

Ingredients:

1 C Pecans, toasted & chopped finely

2 C Flour

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Allspice (I used Nutmeg)

1/4 tsp. Ground Ginger

1/4 tsp. Salt (I omitted this)

1 C Unsalted Butter, room temperature (I used salted)

1 C Sugar

1 Large Egg

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 C Pumpkin Puree

1-1/2 C Dried Cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x9 pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream the butter & sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Beat in the pumpkin until combined (the batter will look curdled at this point). Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing only until combined. Stir in the pecans and cranberries. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes (mine took about 50) or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cook. Cut into squares-enjoy!

Fresh Berries with Biscotti

For dessert, we wanted something somewhat healthy but still yummy! I thought of berries with light cream and Anand thought of the biscotti which was the perfect touch! This was delicious!

Simply place any combination of berries-I used strawberries, blueberries and blackberries-in a bowl and put a dollop of light cream on top. Place a biscotti in the berries. Enjoy!

"Bitchtastic Brownies"

Yes, the name is a bit crass, but if you've read the book you will understand! I decided to try this "healthy brownies" recipe. It has very healthy ingredients and I was definitely lured in by the thought of "healthy brownies"-I mean, come on, who wouldn't be intrigued??! My intention was to do full vegan-style, but when I went to the natural food store they didn't have unsweetened vegan chocolate. Since I have enough baking chocolate in the house to put Willy Wonka to shame, I figured at least the other ingredients would be healthy. A little chocolate never hurt anyone, right? I like to think of it as a gradual road to veganism! I'll get there!

So, I made the brownies and put my own twist by adding some natural peanut butter swirls to the batter. When I took the out of the oven, they seemed kind of "soft". I let them cook for a while (ok, not long enough). The wait was killing me! So, needless to say the pictures came out horribly. The first bite-I wasn't impressed. I think the look killed it for me. Then, I decided to try another bite with an open mind. WHOA...I'm glad I did. I don't know how it happened, but the second bite was much better than the first. Definitely not as good as a "REAL" brownie, but since these puppies are actually good for you, I'll take 'em! At least you won't feel guilty eating them!

Bitchtastic Brownies (Skinny Bitch in the Kitch-page 165)

Ingredients:
5 oz. Unsweetened Vegan Chocolate, chopped

1-1/4 C Sucanat (natural sweetener found in natural food stores)

3/4 C Silken Tofu

6 T Safflower Oil, plus more for the pan

1 T Pure Vanilla Extract

1/3 C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

2 T Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/4 tsp. Refined Sea Salt (I used Kosher)


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8x8 pan; set aside.
In the top of a double boiler or in a medium metal bowl set over a simmering pot of water, melt the chocolate, stirring just until smooth. Transfer the chocolate to a food processor (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer) and add the Sucanat, tofu, oil, and vanilla; process until smooth. Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt, pulsing until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Bake for 30 minutes (it was actually about 40 for me), until a toothpick comes out clean. Thoroughly cool on a cooling rack before cutting into 9 or 12 squares.

Cupcakes!

I've been craving cupcakes for about a month now, so I finally decided to make some! Yellow cake with chocolate buttercream frosting was exactly what I needed and Betty Crocker was my friend. I love cupcakes-they are so cute and pretty and you can decorate them in all sorts of ways. I think I need to get a cookbook full of just cupcake recipes-that would be incredible.

I think next time I'll try Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting-Yum!

Yellow Starlight Cake (Betty Crocker New Edition, page 106)

2-1/4 C Flour
1-1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Butter, softened
1-1/4 C Milk
3-1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla
3 Large Eggs

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of muffin tin (this recipe makes 18 cupcakes)-I used cupcake liners.

2. In large bowl, beat all ingredients on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full.

3. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

4. Cool completely and frost.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (Betty Crocker New Edition, page 117)

I decided to use the Betty Crocker Chocolate Buttercream frosting. My instinct told me to use cocoa powder, but the recipe called for melted chocolate. I melted the chocolate and then cooled it as the recipe instructed but it kind of clumped up. When I mixed the chocolate into the frosting, it looked like buttercream but with little bits of chocolate in it-definitely not the look I was going for. So, I added in a couple of tablespoons of cocoa powder and it looked much better (although you can still see the little chocolate bits). Next time, I will use just cocoa powder. It tasted really good though!

Ingredients:

3 C Powdered Sugar
1/2 C Butter
2 tsp. Vanilla
3 oz. Baking Chocolate, melted and cooled
3-4 T Milk

Directions:

1. In medium bowl, beat powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed until blended. Stir in vanilla and chocolate.

2. Gradually beat in just enough milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk. If frosting is too thin, beat in more powdered sugar.


All in all, these cupcakes were yummy and definitely satisfied my craving! I brought 8 of them to work and they disappeared pretty quickly!

Gooey Chocolate Cakes

I found this recipe on my favorite dessert blog http://chelley325.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/twd-gooey-chocolate-cakes/



I'm telling you-every single thing Chelley makes looks fabulous! Mine certainly don't look as pretty as Chelley's-I didn't have any fresh berries on hand, so I thawed a couple of frozen strawberries. They tasted good, but would have been better with fresh raspberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Try these-you will love them!

Healthy (but Yucky) Muffins!

So, I had printed this recipe quite a while back, but once again I don't remember where I got it though. I had some cranberries and a couple of apples that I needed to use so I thought this would be the perfect recipe. Plus, I have had this outrageous sweet tooth lately and thought this would be a great healthy alternative. Boy, was I ever wrong. These muffins were horrible. Anand said he thought, overall, the muffins were good, but the cranberries were too bitter. Even our daughters spit them out! I was going to send some home with Mom & Dad but forgot (believe me, you'll thank me later!) so there will be 10 "Healthy Muffins" in our trash can tonight-unless I decide to bring them to work for more opinions! I'll take corn muffins (or chocolate chip) any day, thank you!

Healthy Muffins

Ingredients:

1 Egg

3/4 C Milk

3 T Oil

1/2 C Sugar

1 Medium Apple, peeled & chopped

1 C Cranberries

1 C Oats

1 C Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 tsp. Salt

1 T Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Nutmeg

2 tsp. Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Beat egg, milk, oil and sugar. Stir in apples & cranberries. Combine dry ingredients and stir in with the wet mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies!

Our daughters have been sick for the past couple of days so I've been home with them. This morning while they were napping I decided to bake some cookies. I happened to look at the back of a Craisins bag and saw this recipe-it sounded great! I love, love, love Craisins! They are really good in cereal. These cookies were really, really good and I would highly recommend them!

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 C Butter, softened

2/3 C Brown Sugar

2 Large Eggs

1-1/2 C Old-Fashioned Oats

1-1/2 C Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 C Craisins (Dried Cranberries)

1 C White Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using Kitchen-Aid mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add oats, flour, baking soda and salt and mix well. Stir in Craisins and white chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes approximately 2-1/2 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!

As if peanut butter cookies weren't good enough, Sage "upped the ante" by adding chocolate chips to them! They were fabulous! It's nice having a "personal baker" :)

Peanut Butter (& Chocolate Chip) Cookies (from Betty Crocker)

Ingredients:
1/2 C Granulated Sugar
1/2 C Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 C Peanut Butter
1/4 C Shortening
1/4 C Butter, softened
1 Large Egg
1 1/4 C Flour
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 Cup Chocolate Chips (optional)
Additional Granulated Sugar

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In large bowl (Kitchen-Aid Mixer), beat 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg on medium speed. Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips if desired.

3. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. On parchment lined cookie sheets, place balls about 3 inches apart. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped in additional granulated sugar.

4. Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Whoopie Pies!

I was soooo craving whoopie pies! Sage is on school vacation, so I figured he would LOVE to make them for me! Guess what? I was right! This is a family recipe-my mother has been making them since I was a kid and my grandmother made them for my mother! It is my absolute favorite whoopie pie recipe-ever. I've tried them everywhere, but they are just never as good as these. The filling is made with regular sugar so it's not so sweet since most are made with confectioner's sugar. They are PERFECT!

Mom's Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:

2 3/4 C Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp.Salt

1 1/2 C Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 Eggs

1/2 Cup Cocoa

1/2 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Sour Milk (I simply add 1 tsp. vinegar to the 1/2 cup milk)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in Kitchen-Aid mixer. Drop by spoonfuls on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake approx. 10-12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Filling:

Ingredients:

2/3 C Crisco

2/3 C Sugar

1 T Water

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/3 C Milk

Directions:

Place milk, sugar and water in bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add Crisco, Vanilla, & Salt. Beat 5-10 minutes until creamy.

King Cake

For the past couple of years I have wanted to make a King Cake for Mardi Gras. I've never had one before (never been to Mardi Gras either), but thought it sounded fun! Since tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, I decided tonight was the night! I found a recipe on www.mardigrasday.com and decided to try it-the website says it's an "traditional New Orleans recipe". Overall, it came out pretty good considering it was the first one I've made. I didn't have a plastic baby so I opted for a kidney bean...hee hee! I think next time I would add a filling, though, as the taste is a bit bland. It would be good with a big cup of coffee!

Happy Mardi Gras!

King Cake (from www.mardigrasday.com)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups flour unsifted
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest, this is lemon rind, grated
1/2 cup warm milk
5 egg yolks
1 stick butter cut into slices and softened, plus 2 tablespoons more softened butter
1 egg slightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1" plastic baby doll (or inmy case, a dried kidney bean!)

Directions:

Pour the warm water into a small shallow bowl, and sprinkle yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar into it. Allow the yeast and sugar to rest for three minutes then mix thoroughly. Set bowl in a warm place for ten minutes, or until yeast bubbles up and mixture almost doubles in volume. Combine 3 1/2 cups of flour, remaining sugar, nutmeg and salt, and sift into a large mixing bowl. Stir in lemon zest. Separate center of mixture to form a hole and pour in yeast mixture and milk. Add egg yolks and, using a wooden spoon, slowly combine dry ingredients into the yeast/milk mixture. When mixture is smooth, beat in 8 tablespoons butter (1 tablespoon at a time) and continue to beat 2 minutes, or until dough can be formed into a medium-soft ball.
Place ball of dough on a lightly floured surface and knead like bread. While kneading, sprinkle up to 1 cup more of flour (1 tablespoon at a time) over the dough. When dough is no longer sticky, knead 10 minutes more until shiny and elastic.
Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of a large bowl evenly with one tablespoon softened butter. Place dough ball in the bowl and rotate until the entire surface is buttered. Cover bowl with a moderately thick kitchen towel and place in a draft-free spot for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in volume. Using a pastry brush, coat a large baking sheet with one tablespoon of butter and set aside.
Remove dough from bowl and place on lightly floured surface. Using your fist, punch dough down forcefully. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top, pat and shake dough into a cylinder. Twist dough to form a curled cylinder and loop cylinder onto the buttered baking sheet. Pinch the ends together to complete the circle. Cover dough with towel and set it in draft-free spot for 45 minutes, or until the circle of dough doubles in volume. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Brush top and sides of cake with egg wash (I sprinkled green, purple, and yellow sugars on at this time since I decided not to ice the cake) and bake on middle rack of oven for 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Place cake on wire rack to cool. If desired, you can hide the plastic baby in the cake at this time. (I actually put the kidney bean in after I shaped it).
Cake is served in 2" - 3" pieces.

Happy 16th Birthday Sage!

For Sage's 16th Birthday, I asked him what kind of cake he would like me to make for him. He decided chocolate with peanut butter frosting, which was great for me since it's my favorite (thank you Sage)!! I decided to try the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake that everyone raves about. It definitely lived up to it's reputation-it was chocolately, moist and simply delicious!

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

(http://www.hersheys.com/)

Ingredients:

2 Cups Sugar

1-3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

3/4 Cup Hershey's Cocoa

1-1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1-1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Salt

2 Eggs

1 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 Cup Boiling Water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl (I opted to use my handy dandy Kitchen-Aid Mixer!). Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. 10-12 servings.

Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting

(http://www.allrecipes.com/)

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Butter, Softened

1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter

3 T Milk, or as needed

2 Cups Confectioner's Sugar

Directions:

Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer (again, I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer). Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes to get it good and fluffy.

Happy Birthday Sage!

Fake Oreos!

Again, I apologize for the horrible picture (come on honey-fix the camera setting, please!). I found this recipe on my favorite baking blog (http://chelley325.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/an-oreo-knockoff/). Chelley found it on Shawnda's blog ( http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/). I knew I had to try these little babies! They were delicious (even after I adapted the recipe based on ingredients I had)!

Imitation OREO (Chewy Chocolate-White Chocolate Chunk) Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/4 Cups Flour

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

2/3 Cup Cocoa (original recipe calls for Dutch Process, but I used Hershey's regular cocoa)

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, room temperature and cubed

1/2 Cup White Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar (original calls for dark brown, but I used light brown)

1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1/3 Cup Milk

1 1/2 Cups White Chocolate Chips (original calls for chopped white chocolate)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mat (I used parchment but want to get some silicone baking mats!).

Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa and set aside. Beat the butter on medium-high until light and add sugars, creaming well. Add the vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk in one batch, mixing well. Add white chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes.

Scoop the dough (I used a Pampered Chef cookie scoop), press down on them slightly and bake for approximately 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet and store in an air-tight container (if they last long enough to store!). YUM!!

THE BEST Brownies EVER!

I have been dying to try this recipe. They are from a blog that I frequent often-especially when I'm looking for something to satisfy my never-ending sweet tooth! The name alone reeled me in-Quintuple Chocolate Brownies! These were the best brownies-EVER! They were rich, dense, fudgey and just simply divine. Unfortunately, my pictures came out horribly. But, here is a link to Chelley's blog-she has a great picture and the recipe. You HAVE to try these...

http://chelley325.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/twd-quintuple-chocolate-brownies/

Thanks Chelley for making my day! Coming soon...Chelley's Oreo knockoffs!

Easy Sweet Treat!

I still had one pie crust left, so I decided to do what my mother always used to do-make cinnamon rolls! I simply unrolled the crust and sprinkled some cinnamon and sugar, rolled it back up and sliced. Then, I placed the rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and baked at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Yum!