Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread

Christmas is almost here! This is an easy and delicious way to reward yourself for all of your hard work this year (or perfect for a last-minute party or guest). As an added bonus, your entire kitchen will smell like peppermint!

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/3 cup Andes peppermint baking bits

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 1 (9-inch) glass pie plate with cooking spray.

In large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in flour and cocoa. Stir in peppermint baking bits. Press dough evenly in pie plate.

Bake 22 to 24 minutes or until edges just begin to pull away from sides of pie plate. Cool in pie plate for 5 minutes. Cut into 16 wedges.

Yields 16 servings.

Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

This recipe was inspired by one I found on Cookies and Cups. It was such an easy cookie to put together because of the cake mix. It's a little sweet, so next time I'll cut the brown sugar in half. These tasted best warm and right from the oven. Yum!

Ingredients
1/2 cup margarine, room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar 
1 egg
1 cup devils food cake mix 
1/2 cup flour 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
3/4 cups mini chocolate chips 
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix together the cake mix, flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Gradually add in the cake mix and flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tablespooonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
Bake for 8-10 minutes until cookies are set.
Yields 2 dozen.

Specialty’s Cafe At-Home Semi-Sweet Chocolate Cookie Mix

Several years ago I tried Specialty's Cafe cookies for the very first time. Since then I have been a regular, and I was excited to try their at-home mixes so I could make my own Specialty's cookies. The cookie mix is $12 and comes in semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate varieties. Each box comes with a bag of sugar/flour mixture and a bag of chocolate chips. All you need to add is 5 Tablespoons of butter, vanilla, and 1 egg. They came together in a breeze and go right into the oven after mixing (not refrigeration time required). 12 minutes later I had delicious semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies that were very similar to the real thing. For me the only difference was the size (cookies from the mix were slightly smaller) and the texture (mine were a little gooier and softer in the middle than cookies from the bakery). I also froze a couple of balls of dough and made them two nights later. They turned out just as good as the first round and did not require any thawing. I just left them in the oven about three minutes longer. Overall, this mix is definitely worth a try and would make a great gift!

Langue de Chat

These "cat tongue" cookies were extremely easy to make, but I was hoping for a more crunchy/crispy treat. The flavor of these was light and perfect with my breakfast the next day.

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 egg whites
1/3 cup flour



Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg whites one at a time. Stir in the flour.
Drop tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets.
Bake for 4-5 minutes.
Yields 3 dozen

S'mores Bites

After the Blaze s'more earlier a couple of weeks ago, I wanted more s'mores! I made this quick bite sized treat. It was a little messy, but that makes it taste even more delicious!

Ingredients
3/4 cup marshmallow fluff
8 graham cracker squares, crushed
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions
Stir together marshmallow fluff and graham cracker crumbs. 
Melt chocolate in microwave.
Dip spoonfuls of the marshmallow mixture into the chocolate. 
Refirgerate for 15 minutes. 

Yields 5 servings

Easy Dark Chocolate Brownies

These brownies come together really quickly and are cakey and chocolatey. I made these for a movie night, and they were a hit.

Ingredients
4.25 ounces dark chocolate (I used Hershey Dark)
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 F with a rack in the lower third. Spray a 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Melt the chocolate and butter, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. When the mixture has cooled, add in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour and stir until well blended. Scrape the batter in the pan and spread it evenly.
Bake 30 minutes. Cool the brownies in the pan.
Yields 16 servings.

Ritz Thin Mints

A colleague introduced me to this quick way to make Thin Mint copycats. Don't worry about the cracker taste coming through too much or being too salty. Besides the more crumbly texture, you can't tell a difference between this and the original Thin Mint. I used melted Nestle chocolate and mint chips, but you could also melt chocolate and add a couple of drops of mint extract. My friend used mint chocolate candy melts. Either way, it's dangerous how easy these are to make!

Ingredients

24 Ritz crackers

1 1/2 cups chocolate and mint chips

1 Tablespoon Heavy cream, if necessary

Instructions

Melt chocolate over double boiler. If necessary, use heavy cream to thin out the chocolate. Remove melted chocolate from the heat.

Dip each cracker in the melted chocolate. Place dipped cracker on a cooling rack (with wax paper or parchment underneath) while the chocolate cools and hardens.

Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Yields 24

Vosges Sugar Cookie Mix

I love the Vosges Chocolate Chip cookie mix, and for a nice spring treat, I tried the Vosges sugar cookie mix. Unfortunately this was not the delightful spring dessert I was hoping for. The $12 box includes a dry ingredient pouch and sugar crystals plus instructions. The mix is easy (just add two sticks of butter, one egg, and vanilla), but the resulting cookie does not have much flavor. The sugar crystals that come with the mix are a cute decoration, but this cookie still disappoints. I'm glad this wasn't my first experience with Vosges because based on this experience alone, I would not be trying any more of their products.

Thin Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

As if you need another excuse to buy extra Girl Scout Thin Mints this year, this recipe will have you stocking your freezer with them! Sometimes the easiest recipes are the best, and this is certainly easy and produces a delicious snack in record time. I typically like my Thin Mints plain and at room temperature, but this may now be my favorite way to enjoy them.

Ingredients

1/2 tube of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough

18 Thin Mints, broken into small pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, use a large spoon to break apart the cookie dough. Stir in 3/4 of the Thin Mint pieces.

Form dough into tablespoon sized balls and drop two inches apart onto cookie sheets. Top the cookies with the remaining Thin Mint pieces.

Bake for 12-14 minutes. 

Yields 12 cookies

Nestle Cookie Brownie Delight

This past weekend I needed something easy to bake. I was worn out from a long week, but I still wanted the sweet taste of a homemade treat. Nestle's Cookie Brownie Delight was just what I needed. The box makes an 8x8 pan of brownie-chocolate chip cookie goodness. To the dry mixes I added melted butter and egg. The cookie portion was a little underdone, but the brownie portion was a little dry. For a $5.99 price tag, I had hoped for something a little better. It also required a lot more time than regular box mixes. Next time I will stick with box brownie mix if I want something fast and dependable.

I do like the idea of the cookie brownie combo, so if you are in the mood and want to make your own, try a combination of this brownie recipe and 1/2 of this chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Do you have a favorite cookie/brownie mix?

Coconut Oreo Brownies

When I was in college, the dining hall had these really great cookies and cream brownies. I was addicted to them! I love brownies, and I love Oreos. I have a really hard time controlling myself around both of them, so this was a double whammy. I decided to give this same recipe a try with coconut cream Oreos. Delicious! Since these were thinner than regular Oreos, the cream filling played a bigger part. I could not taste coconut in the finished product, so I recommend adding 1 teaspoon of coconut extract if you want more of that flavor. Also, I was short on time, so I made this with boxed brownie mix. If you prefer to make your brownies from scratch or want to make a smaller batch, try this brownie recipe.

Ingredients
1 box of fudge brownie mix (sized for a 13x9 pan)
1 package of Coconut Delight Fudge Creme Oreos (about 30 cookies)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray.
Prepare brownies per the instructions on the box. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan.
Layer the Oreos on top of the brownie batter. Pour the remaining brownie batter on top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.
Yields 36 bars

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

I think people either love or hate pumpkin. I'm one of those who loves it! I cannot get enough of the pumpkin flavored drinks, treat, soups, breads, etc at this time of year. My favorite is the pumpkin spice frappucino at Starbucks. I've also had pumpkin bread every day for breakfast the past two weeks... I guess there could be worse addictions. :)

Ingredients
1 box of fudge brownie mix (sized for a 13x9 pan)
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray.
Prepare brownies per the instructions on the box. Pour the batter into the prepare pan.
Using a hand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and pumpkin. Add in the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well.
Spoon dollops of the pumpkin cream cheese mixture into the brownie batter. Using a knife, lightly swirl the pumpkin cream cheese through the brownie batter. Do not mix it in. Just lightly swirl.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.
Yields 36 bars

Butterfinger Sugar Cookies

I love Halloween and Halloween parties, but last minute events are not always the most fun. I like to have time to plan and prepare when I need to bring something. I admit to not being the most spontaneous type... Boring, I know... Oh well! For most people a couple of days notice would be enough, but I like at least one week. 

These turned out OK, but the Butterfingers themselves were a little chewy. I recommend freezing them before wrapping them with dough. You can certainly swap out any other Halloween candy you have extra of.

Ingredients
1 tube of sugar cookie dough
20 miniature Butterfingers


Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Surround the Butterfinger with cookie dough (put one ball of dough on top and another ball of dough on the bottom and press around the cookie).
Refrigerate the cookies for 15 minutes.
Bake for 14 minutes. Cool completely.
Yields 20 cookies

No Bake Butterfinger Bars

As if you need more sugar at this time of year, these crunchy chocolate no-bake bars are sweetly delicious and easy to make. It’s a great use of extra Butterfinger candies, too. This recipe is very versatile. Use any extra Halloween candy you have around. You can even omit the peanut butter (add in butter to replace it) and put in candy canes for a holiday treat.

Ingredients
⅓ cup butter
¼ cup peanut butter
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 ½ Tablespoons light corn syrup
¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
8 graham cracker squares
8 fun-sized Butterfingers
¼ cup mini marshmallows

Instructions
In a small saucepan, melt together butter, peanut butter, corn syrup, cocoa powder, and chocolate.
While this is melting, crumble the graham crackers and chop the Butterfingers.
After the butter mixture has melted, remove from the heat. Stir in graham crackers, Butterfingers, and marshmallows. Press mixture into a loaf pan and refrigerate for one hour. Slice and serve. Store extra in the refrigerator.
Yields 10 servings.

Snack Mix Granola Bars

I've been hearing so much about the new M&Ms Snack Mix. The combination of M&Ms, pretzels, almonds and raisins sounded really good, so I picked some up last week while it was on sale. The snack mix itself was good, but I won't be getting it again to eat on its own. I made these granola bars and some blondies that I'll share with you later this week. These granola bars were fantastic. I had them for a morning snack every day last week and only had half of my lunch each day since these filled me up. 

Ingredients
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup snack mix

Instructions
Spray a 8x8 pan with cooking spray.
In a large sauce pan, add butter, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture begins to boil.
Stir in the oats and snack mix. Pour into the prepared pan and press down the mixture.
Refrigerate the bars for one hour. Cut into eight bars.
Yields 8 bars

Fast Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have no idea where this year is going! The summer just flew by, and the year always seems to really speed up after Labor Day. This week I was in need of a quick and easy recipe, and this was just what I needed in a time crunch. I was able to check a few items off my to-do list while the butter and sugar mixture cooled. This recipe results in a very cakey cookie.

Ingredients
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and stir until smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla and stir until blended. Add the flour mixture and stir blended. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes and then move to a cooking rack to cool completely.
Yields 24 cookies
Adapted from Cookie Madness saucepan cookies

Sugar Cookie Oreos

This has been a busy few weeks, so in need of an easy recipe and a way to use the remaining half tube of sugar cookie dough from earlier this week, I made a variation of a friend's recipe. (She covers Oreos in homemade chocolate chip cookie dough.) Be sure to refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. They will spread a lot otherwise. 

I had promised myself I would just eat one, but after eating one (and waiting ten minutes as the experts suggest!), I gave in for a few more. Delicious!


Ingredients

1/2 tube of sugar cookie dough
10 Oreo cookies


Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Surround the Oreo with cookie dough (put one ball of dough on top and another ball of dough on the bottom and press around the cookie).
Refrigerate the cookies for 15 minutes.
Bake for 14 minutes. Cool completely.
Yields 10 servings

Marshmallow Sugar Cookie Cups

This was a fast, easy recipe that produced delicious little bite-sized treats. I used half of a tube of sugar cookie dough (about one cup of dough). Next time I will use baking cups to make them a little easier to get out.

Ingredients
1/2 tube of sugar cookie dough
36 mini marshmallows
48 chocolate chips


Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini muffin tin with baking cups or grease well with cooking spray.
Press balls of sugar cookie dough into the center of the mini muffin tins, pushing down in the center (so you can put in the marshmallows and chocolate chips later).
Bake the cookie cups for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place 3 mini marshmallows and 4 chocolate chips into each cookie. Return them to the oven and bake for about 3 minutes more.
Allow to cool slightly in the pan before removing to cool on a wire rack.
Yields 12 servings

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

I found this incredibly easy recipe in the June issue of Woman's Day. With so few ingredients, I was very skeptical they would turn out well. They actually were very tasty and had a soft chewy texture. I'll be making them again, especially when I am short on time.

Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 tsp baking soda

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together. Scoop tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.
Yields 18 cookies.



A few weeks ago I tried Pizzeria Mozza in Newport Beach. Wow! What a delicious meal! The service was a bit snobby, but the great food made up for it. Our dessert came with two bite-sized rosemary cookies. It was the perfect sweet and savory combination. For more details, visit www.pizzeriamozza.com.

Ranger Cookies- Happy 4th!

I hope you are looking forward to a great 4th of July holiday! Since it's on a Wednesday, it's kind of a hard day to plan a lot. I'll just be doing some indoor grilling, relaxing, and watching fireworks with the rest of the neighborhood. For the 4th, I made some red, white, and blue ranger cookies. Ranger cookies are some of my favorite cookies to make. They're chewy and incorporate so many flavors and can be customized to include whatever you'd like. This recipe I adapted from Better Homes and Gardens is one of my favorites. I found a trail mix with dried cranberries, dried blueberries, dried pineapple, cashews and white chocolate chips to add some patriotic color.

Ingredients
1⁄2 cup butter, softened
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup trail mix

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to
high for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until
combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon,
stir in any remaining flour, the oats, coconut, and raisins.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake
for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are golden and centers are set. Let stand for 1 minute on
cookie sheet. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Yields 36 cookies.