Hot Cocoa Cookies

In preparation for Martha's 2nd Annual Cookie Swap, LaDawna came over to my house for us to work together to make our cookies.  I had chosen the Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk Cookies, but she wasn't quite sure what she should make for her contribution.  Similar to what I did for my cookies, I let my fingers search google to see what we could come up with.  Somehow, we got our minds fixed on fluff, so I searched and found this Hot Cocoa Cookies recipe.  In regards to the fact that they are a cocoa based cookie, they were similar to mine, however these have fluff and marshmallows in them, and had ooey-gooey sweet consistency that was exactly like their name -- hot cocoa in a cookie!  These are definitely cookies we want to make again.

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ cup marshmallow fluff
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini marshmallows

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy.
3. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix until combined. Stir in marshmallow fluff.
4. Fold in chocolate chips and marshmallows.
5. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
6. Remove, and roll into 1 ½” balls.
7. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Make sure cookies are fully cooked, because they will be very sticky from the marshmallows.
8. Allow cookies to cool completely, even sticking them in the fridge for 15 minutes before removing from the baking sheet with a spatula. Be patient and gently remove cookies – let sit another 30 minutes.

Adapted from:

http://www.howsweeteats.com/2010/11/hot-cocoa-cookies/

Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk Cookies

My friend Martha hosted her 2nd Annual Cookie Swap for a combination of our friends and her friends.  There were over 20 different types of cookies represented this year.  The weekend before, I started searching the internet for a different kind of cookie -- different from what I have ever made before, and different from what the other ladies would be bringing.  I googled "oreo", since I had them on my mind.  I'm not sure if I thought that I would try making a homemade Oreo, or what, but I came across this recipe that called for crunched up Oreos, plus white chocolate -- two of my favorites.  With Catherine and LaDawna's help the weekend before, we made up this delicious cookie.

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¾ cup cocoa
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped white chocolate (or chips)
• 1 cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate (or chips)
• 1 cup chopped Oreo cookies

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat. Set aside. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside. 
3. With a mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugars together until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time. Next, add in vanilla extract. Mix until blended well, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. 
4. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix just until the flour disappears. Stir in the chocolate and Oreos. Drop cookie dough by scant ¼ cups onto the baking sheet. 
5. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. Don’t over bake – if the cookies are set around the outside but still soft in the middle, they’re ready to come out. Remove from the oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.

NOTE:  Recipe called for dutch processed cocoa, but I used regular Hershey’s.  I’m not sure if it made a difference or not.

Adapted from:  

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/09/01/triple-chocolate-oreo-chunk-cookies/

Thin Mints

A couple weeks back, my friend Martha hosted her 2nd Annual Cookie Swap.  My other friend, Tasha, brought these Thin Mints to share, but not to swap.  Everyone raved about them and insisted that they tasted as good as the Girl Scout Thin Mints.  Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of Thin Mints in general (or really, just mint), so I didn't partake, but I was so intrigued that I figured I had to make them.  I made them, first, for the NSOD Holiday Showcase bake sale.  But, I only had semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I was so confused why I was having such a hard time dipping them.  All of my other friends who were making them were saying that it only took them 20 minutes and it was super easy.  I was going well over an hour, and they were a pain in the bleep.  Since I had tons of Ritz crackers left, and if I didn't start to use them I'd eat them, I decided to give them another try, but this time buying the dark chocolate.  Let me say, I really think that made all the difference.  They were so much easier to make!  And Jim gave this batch a thumbs up, whereas the first round was just "eh".  I couldn't understand why everyone else making them was raving over them, and these were just "ok".  It had to be the dark chocolate.  Now, Jim is saying he can't stay away from these.

• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers (may need a few more)
• 1½ tsp. peppermint extract
• (1) 12 oz. package dark chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. Crisco

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt the entire package of chocolate chips in the microwave with one teaspoon of Crisco -- about 2 minutes at about 80% power, stopping every 30 seconds to stir for even consistency.
2. When fully melted, stir in peppermint extract.
3. Dip the Ritz crackers in the melted peppermint chocolate until all of the chocolate is gone.
4. Place on wax paper and put in the freezer to set up.

Makes about 1 - 1½ sleeves worth of Ritz crackers

Corn Casserole

We had our first taste of this sweet corn goodness back in June when we celebrated the Triple Thanksgiving in June Birthdays.  LaDawna brought this fantastic side dish, that is probably not something you would want to count the calories for, but it's oh-so-good!  Catherine and I decided we just had to have it as part of our Feast of Christmas Eve, so as LaDawna was rushing up to her own family's Christmas up in Maine, she sent me the recipe for us to enjoy.  Thank you LaDawna (and Darolyn)!

• (3) 16 oz. packages of frozen yellow and white corn mix
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• ¼ cup butter
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 4 slices of processed cheese, cut into small pieces
  (We used Sargento's Cheddar/Mozzarella slices)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker, mixing well.
2. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Note:  I goofed and forgot to get this going by 9:00 a.m.  I didn't realize until 11:00.  DOH!  We quickly put everything in the crock pot and put the setting on high, for about two hours.  As it got closer to eating time, and it still wasn't quite heated through, we transferred everything into a casserole dish, wrapped it in tin foil, and put in the oven at 400° for about 30 minutes.  It was perfect!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies

Feast of Christmas Even, this year, was going to be a smaller affair than past years.  Knowing we were having only about 10 people, we weren't going overboard with the food.  I made the traditional Beast, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, and green beans for the main meal.  Knowing that no one would really be looking for a big dessert, we went in search of something that would be a nice closure to our feast, but wouldn't send everyone over the edge.  A few days ago, Catherine found this recipe, for Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies, on another blog. She knows that red velvet is a hit with us all, so she thought it would be an interesting recipe to try as a cookie.  I had seen a similar recipe a couple months back, but was afraid it was "cheating" to use a cake mix as one of the ingredients, but since Catherine seemed excited to make them, we went and bought the ingredients.  Last night, on Christmas Eve's Eve, she made the dough and put it in the fridge to chill, as the directions stated... and then promptly fell asleep for the night.  I made the cream cheese balls before I went to bed, and put them in the freezer so they would be ready for us to prepare during the day today.  These were definitely a hit, and something I think I will call dibbs on for next year's cookie swap.  Catherine even plans to take a couple to her dad's tonight so that Santa has a sweet treat when he comes down the chimney.  Merry Christmas 2011 everyone!

Cookies

• 1 box red velvet cake mix
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Cheesecake Filling

• 4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature 
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

White Chocolate Drizzle

• 1 ½ cups white chocolate chips, melted

DIRECTIONS

1. To make cookies, in a large bowl combine cake mix and flour, whisking until clumps disappear.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake mix, flour, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. The dough will be oily.
4. Refrigerate for at least two hours.
5. To make the cheesecake filling, using a mixer, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
6. Using a teaspoon, scoop out cheesecake filling into teaspoon balls.
   (I used a Pampered Chef small scoop)
7. Place plate in the freezer and freeze for at least two hours.  
8. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
9. To assemble the cookies, take about a 1-2 Tbsp. handful of red velvet cookie dough and flatten in your hands.
10. Cut each cheesecake filling ball in half.  Place one-half of cheesecake filling in the center of each flattened cookie dough and wrap the cookie dough around the filling.  Completely wrap the cookie dough around the filling before baking so it doesn't leak.
11. Gently roll into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet. Only bake 6 cookies at a time. The cookies are will spread.
12. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the cookies begin to crackle.
13. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.  
14. Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl or over a double-boiler.
    (We microwaved for approximately 2 minutes at 80% power, stirring after every 30 seconds)
15. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cooled cookies.
16. Let the cookies set until the chocolate hardens. Serve and enjoy!

Note:  If you are going to store the cookies for more than a day, you may want to keep them in the refrigerator.

Adapted from: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/red-velvet-cheesecake-cookies/