Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are my favorite cookies to make. I make them whenever I have to bake for a bake sale. I always double because they go quick.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup REESE'S Creamy Peanut Butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup HERSHEY'S Milk Chocolate Chips
1 cup REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips
1 cup Reese's Pieces, if desired.
Directions

1 Heat oven to 350°F.

2 Beat butter, sugar and peanut butter in medium bowl until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture, blending well. Stir in milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3 Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet. Remove to wire rack; cool completely. About 3 dozen cookies.

Sausage Bread

This is 1 recipe, that is my own. I make it for any special occasion and its gone fast. You can make any kind of bread with the recipe. I have tried pepperoni, buffalo chicken and cold cuts. Other things you can put in this bread is sausage and peppers, meatballs and pizza filling.

Whoppie Pies

I just fell in love With these. The marshmelloow cream filling is so yummy, I could of eaten the whole Bowl with a spoon. I didn't sandwich most of these pies, I frosted them like cookies, I thought Their was a bit too much cookie and not enough cream.


Adapted From The Novice Chef Makes: 15 pies Prep Time: 45 minutes Bake Time: 8-9 minutes (Printable Recipe)

Ingredients: Whoopie Pie
1 2/3 cups flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk

Cream Filling oh so good.
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/3 cups Marshmallow Fluff
1/4 teaspoon salt dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions Begin with sifting your flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large mixing bowl and set aside. Then in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine your butter, vegetable shortening, and brown sugar. Using your paddle attachment, mix on low speed until just combined. Then switch to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of your bowl, add your egg and vanilla extract, and beat on high for another 2 minutes. Then add half of your flour mixture and half of your milk and mix until just combined. Then add the rest of your flour and milk and mix on medium/high for 30 seconds until light and fluffy.

On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, spoon 2 tablespoons of batter. Make sure to leave 1 1/2 inches in between each mound so when they bake and expand they don't bake into each other. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-9 minutes.

Allow your whoopie pies to cool completely. Then spoon a heaping spoon full of filling onto the center of your flat side. Take a second whoopie pie and lay the flat side down over the cream filling. Gently press down to evenly push to the sides.






http://www.sprinklesofparsley.com/2011/06/whoopie-pies.html?m=1

Homemade Calzones

Part 1: The Dough

Here’s what you need:

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1 package)
1 teaspoon of honey
1 cup warm water
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (might need to add ¼ to ½ cup more)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil


In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in ¼ cup warm water. then, in a medium size bowl combine the flour and the salt. Add the oil, the yeast mixture, and the remaining ¾ cup water. Use a wooden spoon and mix the dough together. About 3 to 5 minutes of stirring should do. If it seems too dry do the opposite and add a bit more water.

Flip the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead it by hand for 2 or 3 minutes. dough should be smooth and firm. Place it in a lightly oiled bowl an cover it up with plastic wrap. Let it sit and rise for about 30-45 minutes. When ready the dough should stretch when lightly pulled.

Take the dough out of the bowl and divide it into 2 to 4 equal sized balls. Now knead each ball for a few minutes. Place them again inside a bowl. Preferably a separate bowl for each, and cover with a damp cloth. Let them sit for about 15 to 20 minutes.

You can either use it immediately or place it in zip-lock bags and freeze it. It’s good for a couple days.

Part 2: The Ingredients

Flip the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead it by hand for 2 or 3 minutes, the dough should be smooth and firm. Place it in a lightly oiled bowl an cover it up with plastic wrap. Let it sit and rise for about 30-45 minutes. When ready the dough should stretch when lightly pulled.

Take the dough out of the bowl and divide it into 2 to 4 equal sized balls. Now knead each of them for a few minutes. Place them again inside a bowl. Preferably a separate bowl for each, and cover with a damp cloth. Let them sit for about 15 to 20 minutes.

You can either use it immediately or place it in zip-lock bags and freeze it. It’s good for a couple days.

You Can add any of your favorite pizza toppings to the calzone. I used pepperoni, mozzerella, green pepppers and ham. You want to use 2 to 3 cups of ricotta Cheese mixed with an egg. Add any kind of seasoning you'd like.

Part 3: Assembling the Calzone

Get out the dough balls and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a few pizza pans.
Take your first ball of dough and begin flattening it out on your first pizza pan, Get it as round as possible. Don’t make it too thin. You want the dough to be about ¼ inch thick.

Once you have the dough flattened out into a nice circle it’s time to add the ingredients. Add ingredients to only one side of the dough, and don’t get too close to the edge. Keep your filling about ¼ inch way from the edge of the dough. Start with your ricotta. Then add in your meat and veggies, finally top that off with mozzarella cheese. Don't over stuff..

Now, once you have all your fillings in place you need to grab the empty side of the dough and wrap it over the fillings. Now you should have a half-circle. Roll the edges of the dough together and close everything up.

Get one more egg and beat it in a small bowl. Dip a paper towel in the egg and use that to brush egg over the top of your dough. Just enough to wet it. This will make the crust bake up nice and crispy. Now sprinkle a little more Romano cheese on top.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes till golden brown. It’s going to rise a bit more in the oven. Once you take it out of the oven let it cool, before cutting.

Use your favorite pizza or spaghetti sauce for dipping.



http://thingsbymike.com/mikes-calzone-recipe/

French Dip

This is Jason's favorite dinner. Very easy and I got it from Rachael Ray a few years back and probably have made it once a month, since I found it.

1 wide baguette
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 small onion, chopped
2 large clove garlic, divided, 1 chopped, 1 crushed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups beef stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound sliced roast beef
6 slices provolone cheese

Preparation

kitchen tips Slice baguette open lengthwise just shy of actually completely splitting it open; you want it to open like a book and stay together. Then cut the bread in half so that you have 2 books. Transfer the bread to a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown, 8-10 minutes, or toast under the broiler but keep an eye on it so it doesnt burn! Once the bread is toasted, rub cut side with the crushed clove of garlic then drizzle it with a little EVOO and cover it with grated cheese.

While the bread is toasting, heat a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add onion, chopped garlic, tomato paste and rosemary, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook until the onions start to get soft about 2-3 minutes. Add beef stock, bring up to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes to let the flavors come together.

Using tongs swish a few slices of roast beef at a time through the hot broth then transfer to the cheesy garlic bread. Once all the roast beef has been mounded on the bread, top each half with 3 slices of provolone cheese and transfer to the broiler or oven to melt the cheese.





http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/french-dip-with-italian-attitude/

Granola Bars

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. 2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. 3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

I got this recipe from Allrecipe.com

Cookie dough truffles

These are so good, you can't just eat 1. I had seen a bunch of recipes of these that calls for sweetned condensemilk which I didn't have so I found this recipe that works great without it. Delaney loved helping me make And roll These.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

(recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar d
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons skim milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

beat on medium speed until well combined. Add the milk and vanilla and mix again. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the flour.

Put the whole bowl in the fridge for about 15 minutes, so the dough hardens a little bit – this will make it easier to shape it into balls since it won’t be so sticky.

Next, just shape them into 2 inch balls.
You can dip these in chocolate or rolling them in coconut or crushed nuts.

Sarah's Pasta Salad

I know pasta salad isn't hard to make. You can add just. About anything you want to it. But I have been pasta salad crazy, this summer and making it as much as possible. Here is my versionn of pasta salad.

1 lb of bow tie pasta, cooked, drained and rinsed with cold water
1 cucumber, cut up
1 tomato, cut up
1 pepperoni stick, cut up
1 cup of deli ham, sliced
1 1b of pepper jack cheese, cut up
1 bottle of Zesty Italian dressing (I Prefer Walmart brand)

Mix all ingredients and only a small amount of salad dressing. Refrigerate until Ready to use. Right before serving mix in more salad dressing. Mix well.

*Of course you can add whatever else you want to it. Black olives, salami.

Lemon Bars

I made these for Jason, since he loves anything lemony. I didn't think it had enough lemon flavor to them.



1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
6 eggs
1 3/4 cups white sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. 2. Combine the flour, 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, and butter. Pat dough into prepared pan. 3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until slightly golden. While the crust is baking, whisk together eggs, white sugar, flour, and lemon juice until frothy. Pour this lemon mixture over the hot crust. 4. Return to the preheated oven for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust the top with confectioners' sugar, cut into 2 squares.

Rachael Ray's BBQ Chicken 1 Pot Pie

We have a lot of Rachael Ray dinners that we really enjoy and this is one of them. I save a little money and make my own corn muffins and it tastes just as good.

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/bbq-chicken-1-pot-pie/

Ingredie
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 to 3 onions, chopped 4 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 to 1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce, to taste
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 store-bought corn muffins
2 to 3 tablespoons butter, melted (eyeball it)

n a large sauté pan, heat EVOO and begin browning the chicken pieces in small batches making sure not to over crowd the pan. Add the onions, garlic, salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Cook until onions and garlic are soft, about 2-3 minutes. (If your pan is too small to cook all the chicken at once without overcrowding, work in batches, reserving cooked chicken on a plate. Add additional EVOO, if needed, to sauté onions and garlic.) In a bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, tomatoes and chicken stock. Pour into the pot with the chicken. Let this mixture cook for about 15-20 minutes or until reduced. To serve, split the muffins horizontally. Cover a cookie sheet with some foil and arrange the split muffins on the tray cut-site up and brush with melted butter. Toast under the broiler for 1 minute. Place the toasted corn muffin halves on top of the skillet stew.

Magic Cookie Bars

1/2 cups butter, melted
1 1/2 c crushed graham crackers
2 c choc chips
1 c white chips
1 1/3 c coconut
1/2 c Reece's Pieces *I had these on hand and decided to use them.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for glass dish). Coat 13x9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray. 2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with a fork. 3. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.

Chocolate Crock Pot Cake

Crock Pot Cake is so easy, I let Delaney make it. Its a great recipe for kids, since they don't have to worry about a hot oven. Just put it all in, stir and let the crock pot do the rest.
There is many different variations of this cake, you can mix it up.

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
8 oz sour cream
1 c chocolate chips
1 c oil
1 c water

Mix well and cook on high 4 hours. You can serve it with vanilla ice cream, or whip cream. Chocolate or caramel syrup would be good drizzled on top.

You can also use a yellow cake mix, white chips, vanilla pudding. Or even chocolate chips. So yum!

Cream Cheese Ball

One of our favorite recipes to bring to parties. Everyone loves it. You can serve graham crackers, teddy crahams.

1 8oz cream cheese (softened)
1 stick butter (not margarine), softened
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 tbs brown sugar
3/4 c confec sugar
1 c mini choclate chips
beat together until smooth. Chill 2 hours. Roll into ball, then roll in crushed pecans.

Halfmoon Cookies

I have always loved halfmoon cookies, and thought they'd be fun to make. I used. A recipe from a blog. http://andreasrecipes.com/2006/02/12/chocolate-half-moon-cookies/ I used the Wilton's recipe for buttercream frosting

Wilton's Buttercream Frosting:
1/2 c veg shortening
1/2 c (1 stick) butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
4 c confec sugar
2 tbs milk
For Chocolate add 3/4 c cocoa



I found a recipe for Hemstroughts, next time ill have to try this one.
FOR THE COOKIES:
3 3/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 1/4 cup sugar
16 tbsp. margarine, cut into pieces
3/4 cup cocoa, sifted
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
FOR THE FUDGE ICING:
3 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate
3 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate
butter 4 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
extract
Pinch salt
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM ICING:
7 cups confectioners’ sugar
16 tbsp. room temperature butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
7 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Pinch salt
FOR THE COOKIES: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. Put sugar, margarine, cocoa, and salt in bowl of standing mixer and beat on medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and continue to beat. Add half the milk, then half the flour mixture, beating after each addition until smooth; repeat with remaining milk and flour
Spoon or pipe batter onto parchment-lined baking sheets, making 3-inch rounds 2-inches apart. Bake until cookies are set, about 12 minutes. Allow to cool, then remove from parchment.
FOR THE FUDGE ICING: Melt bittersweet and semisweet chocolates and butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water over medium heat. Add confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, salt, and 6 tbsp. boiling water and mix to a smooth, stiff paste with a rubber spatula. Thin icing with up to 8 tbsp. more boiling water. Icing should fall from a spoon in thick ribbons. Keep icing warm in a double boiler over low heat.
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM ICING: Put sugar, butter, shortening, milk, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer. Beat on low speed to mix, then increase to medium and beat until light and fluffy.
TO FROST THE COOKIES: Using a metal spatula, spread about 1 tbsp. of warm fudge icing on half of the flat side of each cookie. Spread the other half of

Fudge Lovers Strawberry Truffle Cake

Fudge Lover's Strawberry Truffle Cake Indulge in a decadent chocolate cake dessert bursting with fresh strawberries and enrobed in rich ganache. Makes 12 servings
Cake:
1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist chocolate fudge cake mix Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box Ganache Filling and Topping:
2 packages (8 ounces each) semisweet baking chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/3 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup butter (do not use margarine)
2 cups cut-up fresh strawberries
Garnish: 6 fresh strawberries, cut in half lengthwise through stem
1/4 cup white vanilla baking chips
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 13 x 9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. Make cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs. 2. Bake as directed on box for 13 x 9-inch pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour. 3. Meanwhile, in large bowl, place chopped chocolate; set side. In 2-quart saucepan, heat whipping cream and butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted and mixture comes to a boil. Pour cream mixture over chocolate; stir until smooth. 4. Line bottom of 9-inch springform pan with waxed paper round. Cut cake into 1-inch cubes. In large bowl, beat half of the cake cubes on low speed until cake is crumbly. Add remaining cake cubes and 1 3/4 cups of the ganache (reserve remaining ganache for topping). Beat on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed until well combined (mixture will look like fudge). Fold in 2 cups cut-up strawberries. Spoon mixture into springform pan; smooth top. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 45 minutes or until firm enough to unmold. 5. Run knife around side of pan to loosen cake mixture. Place serving plate upside down on pan; turn pan and plate over. Frost side and top of cake with reserved ganache. Arrange strawberry halves on top of cake. 6. In small microwavable bowl, microwave baking chips and 1/2 teaspoon oil uncovered on High 45 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted. Place in small resealable food-storage plastic bag; cut off tiny corner of bag. Drizzle over top of cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Cake is best served the same day.

From Woman's World magazine

Tie Dyed Justin Bieber Cupcakes

I made these for Delaney's 7th birthday. I used a white cake mix and made it normally. Then I divided the batter and put different color food coloring in each bowl, put them in cupcake liners and baked.
I made buttercream frosting and dyed them purple. And put sprinkles on top.
The day before I took white chocolate chips and melted them and dyed pink and purple. I used a cake decorating bag and wrote out some Justin Bieber songs and other cute things. Let them dry.
After they were hard I put them on top of the frosted cupcakes.

Wilton's Buttercream Frosting:

1/2 C shortening
1/2 C (1 stick) butter, shoftened
1 tsp vanilla
4 C confectioners sugar
2 tbs milk

confetti cheesecake cupcakes with cake batter frosting

From: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=227008443995265
INGREDIENTS
Confetti (or Funfetti) cake batter, use your favorite homemade or boxed version)8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 and line 24 muffin tins with liners. Spoon cake batter into each tin until it is about 1/2 full. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Spoon one spoonful over the top of each cupcake. Bake for about 15 minutes or until set.

Cake Batter Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 stick salted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Baker's Mystery Flavor (you could omit this, but I really liked the baked flavor it adds)
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup white cake mix (MIX--NOT BATTER)

In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter, cream cheese and extract(s) on medium speed until smooth. Add powdered sugar and cake mix and beat on low until just combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes. If frosting is too thick, mix in a bit of heavy ix in a bit of heavy cream or milk until desired consistency is reached. Once cupcakes are cool, frost generously. And add sprinkles.

Royal Wedding Scones

8 scones
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet. 2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter. Mix the egg and milk in a small bowl, and stir into flour mixture until moistened. 3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll dough out into a 1/2 inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedges, and place on the prepared baking sheet. 4. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Shea's 1st Birthdayy Cake