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

Carnegie Deli and Wynn Gift Shop- Las Vegas

I love Las Vegas! I hardly gamble, but I find plenty to eat, see, and do. On our most recent trip, we saw LOVE- The Beatles Cirque de Soleil show. It was fantastic! On our way out, we stopped by Carnegie Deli in The Mirage for a late night snack. Everything there is huge! Plus, two cookies come standard with one order. These aren't ordinary cookies either. They were big, saucer-sized chocolate chip cookies. They had a texture of a muffin top and a lighter taste while still providing a full chocolate flavor. An order of two cookies is $4.75.

My next late-night cookie stop was at the gift shop at The Wynn. Since we were leaving the next morning, the packages of bite-sized cookies were perfect. I tried the Wynn's chocolate chip cookies (thin, crispy, chocolatey, and dangerously addictive!) and chocolate banana cookies from Byrd Cookie Company (strong banana flavor, crispy cookies). The Wynn cookie box was $9, and the Byrd cookie box was $7.95, which isn't too horrible for a Las Vegas gift shop. I'd get the Wynn cookies again to keep me entertained on the way home.

What's your favorite thing to do in Las Vegas?

Banana Oatmeal Walnut Cookies

I cannot get enough banana these days, although not in its whole state. It's banana baked goods that I cannot stop thinking about! I guess this is a better thing to be craving than chocolate... These not-too-sweet cookies turned out to be a great mid-morning sweet snack at work. Their soft texture is balanced out by the crunch and chew of the walnuts and oats.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 medium banana, mashed
1 cup oats
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Instructions
Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside.
Put butter and sugars into a bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in oats and walnuts.
Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Drop dough onto prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies until golden (about 12 minutes).
Yields 2 Dozen

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.

Catalina Island

A couple of weekends ago, we took a fabulous trip to Catalina Island. This was my first time, and I'm looking forward to going back again. I think what I liked most about it was the calm, relaxed atmosphere. It was easy to walk around, and there weren't a ton of people. Plus it's beautiful! During the day I was there, I tried three cookies. Here's the scoop!

Courtyard Coffee- I had a fantastic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie that reminded me a lot of this cookie I make. The cookie was full of oats and had lots of chocolate chips. It was almost like a big soft granola bar. $1.65 is not bad for this large, filling cookie. This was my favorite of the day.

Dessert Island- I was going back and forth about buying a cookie here ($2.00 each). The small selection of cookies looked like ones you would find in a grocery store plastic tub. Mr. Sleuth insisted, so I went with the peanut butter chocolate chip. The cookie surprised me and was actually pretty good- slightly crispy and chewy with a nice amount of chocolate chips and slight peanut butter flavor. I wouldn't go back for another cookie (they have amazing candy apples, though), but it will do in a pinch.

Lloyd's of Avalon Confectionery- Any sweet treat or specialty candy you are craving, Lloyd's has. It is easy to get a little too excited in the store. Snickerdoodle and chocolate chip cookies ($2.00 each) were available the day I went in. I selected the chocolate chip and intended to eat half and save the other half for later. It was so buttery and chocolatey that I could not do it! I'll be making a stop here next time I'm in Catalina, too.

Do you have any fun weekend trips planned this summer?

S'mores Brownies

Here's how I used the other half of the brownie mix box from earlier this week. These were excellent! Chocolatey, gooey, crunchy, and rich, these bars have everything. This is the ultimate s'mores treat!

Ingredients
1/2 box of brownie mix
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp water
1 egg
5 graham cracker squares
1 cup marshmallow fluff
1/2 cup chocolate chips


Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together brownie mix, egg, water, and oil.
Pour half of the brownie batter into the bottom of a loaf pan. Layer graham crackers on top. Spoon marshmallow fluff on top of the graham crackers. Cover with remaining brownie batter. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
Bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.
Yields 8 servings.