Cookie Dough Catch-up

Ever feel like your constantly trying to catch up with things? This week blogging is one of them! I took advantage of the 3 day weekend to relax and get a lot a few necessary things done, but the rest of the time was spent celebrating Valentine’s! I get to pick out a deep fryer this week from the boyfriend. He also won us sweetheart tickets over the radio—they shut the whole movie theatre down except for the winners and they give away lots of prizes (which we did not win) and then watch a movie. The movie was Duplicity which we did not follow at all, but it was still fun! Have you watched that movie?

So needless to say, I didn’t get around to posting about the last and best Valentine’s treat..but it’s not too late—these are perfect for any occasion when your looking to wow a crowd or just your significant other. Sure, homemade truffles may seem like a daunting task, but they really don’t take much longer than a batch of cookies—possibly just a bit more mess, but SO worth it! What is your favorite truffle recipe?

Who needs a expensive chocolate shop when you can make your own?

Cookie Dough Truffles

**Hint—give your truffles away in egg cartons. Perfect size!**

Makes approximately 33 truffles

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted this)

1-1/2 pounds dark chocolate candy coating, coarsely chopped

I decorated mine with assorted toppings—coconut, mini white chocolate chips, and chocolate jimmies.

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour, alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Shape into 1-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip balls in coating, allowing excess to drip off; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. If desired, remelt remaining candy coating and drizzle over candies. Store in the refrigerator.

Clearance and Cookies

Hello everyone!

I am really excited for the weekend because we are supposed to have weather in the 60’s! In November? I must be dreaming! What are you up to this weekend?

So now it’s the official holiday season. The Halloween things are being pulled off of shelves and replaced by Christmas decorations. Does anyone else notice how stores just kind of “skip” Thanksgiving? Well I particularly like the end of one holiday because then I rush to the clearance shelves and score some cheap deals—here’s what I scrounged at Target this year!

Wilton fall cookie cutters—turkey, leaves, apple, pumpkin, and an acorn. $1.50 each.

White candy melts--$1.25 a bag, I got four.

Brach’s caramel apple candy corn and gourmet pumpkin spice candy corn. $0.94/bag

A brownie pops pan, and a mini pumpkin pan for only $2.49 each!

So I was happy with all my purchases and can’t wait till Black Friday and after Christmas sales!

Did you score any after Halloween steals?

For the last couple of days, every time I visit Google, I am reminded that it is Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary. Do you know where this is going? I am celebrating by being a Cookie Monster! But for once, I am not making them from scratch! I was very fortunate to get a chance to try out Best Maid Cookie Company’s new Trans Fat Free Home Style pre-formed frozen cookie dough. 

First off, when you order these, they come in a very uniformed fashion, with each layer separated by waxed paper.

They are very easy to remove—then all you do is pop em’ on a cookie sheet(at this point I was very tempted to eat just the cookie dough!), follow temperature instructions, wait a very short time, and almost instantly you have homemade cookies! Perfect for the time-crunched, or even those who are not because they’re delicious no doubt!

I got to try the Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter w/Rieces Pieces, White Chunk Macadamia, and the Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut.

They smell so great even before they bake!

About 7 minutes later..

They baked up beautifully! These are my kind of cookie, because like I mentioned before, I am a chewy cookie gal—not so much for the crunch. These were crisp on the outside, with that lovely chewy inside. I’d have to pick the Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut as my favorite because oatmeal cookies are always great, but with the additional cranberries and nuts makes for a treat! The White Chocolate Macadamia  comes in a close second because the chunks of chocolate are huge & satisfying! The Peanut Butter w/Rieces Pieces is an obvious good one—creamy peanut butter taste studded with M&M’s? Yes please! And the Chocolate Chip was great dipped in some soymilk—perfect for that chocolate craving.

The Best Maid Company has TONS of great cookies and flavors. Be sure to check em’ out here ASAP!

Double Whammy

That is the exact word to describe me when this recipe turned out fab! I had been brainstorming a double kind of dessert for quite some time. After perfecting the measurements, I nailed it! I could barely contain myself and knew I needed to share it immediately. Are you sitting down?(obviously you are if your on the computer hehe!)

Let me introduce to you….

Mini Cookie Dough Pies

What do they consist of you ask? Well only some of the best things—a healthy Fiber One crust with a “raw” cookie dough taste(they are not really raw), a mix of peanut butter and chocolate chips with a piping of chocolate syrup! Whoo, that’s a lot of goodness in one dessert—good thing they’re mini! ;-) So grab your mini-muffin tin and get going!

Makes: 16

Ingredients:

• 1 c. Fiber One cereal (original)
• 2 Tbsp whipped butter
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 c whipped butter
• Water
• 1/2 c sugar (I used Splenda)
• 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 c mini chocolate chips
• 1/8 c peanut butter chips, chopped
• Chocolate syrup, if desired

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350  F.
• To make crust, place 2 Tbsp butter in a bowl and mix with 1 1/2 Tbsp water and cinnamon. Place Fiber One in a food processor or blender. Add in butter mixture and pulse until a crumb consistency forms. Like this-->

• Mix together flour, sugar, chips until combined. Add in butter, egg whites, extract, and mix until just combined.

• Spray 16 mini muffin cups with non-stick spray. Take 1 tbsp of “crust” and form a pie-like bottom, making sure to get about halfway up the sides. I found an easy way—>

• Once that is done, take 1 Tbsp of cookie dough filling and pour over each crust.
• If you want to add a shot of chocolate syrup (I did just for fun!), then squirt a little in the middle of each pie.

• Now they’re ready to bake—mine took about 17 minutes, but start checking around 15 because all ovens are obviously different.
• Now the hard part—wait and try not to drool at the yummy smell!
• As soon as they’re done, get them out of the muffin tin and put on a cooling rack. (They should pop right out—if not take a knife and run it around the cookie pie gently.)

 

You may or may not be able to eat just one! The other cool thing about these is they’re totally customizable! Add in coconut, butterscotch chips, cherry chips, caramel chips, mint chips—whatever suites your taste!

Hope you guys liked these! How would you customize your cookie dough bites?