Outrageous Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Outrageous Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Ingredients:

• 8 oz semisweet chocolate chunks
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 package (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring between each, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (or serve warm with ice cream!)

Cook's Notes:

Don't worry if the batter seems thin. It should look like a brownie batter, so let it sit for 5 minutes and it should start to thicken up. But don't freak out if it isn't what your normal thick dough looks like :)

Do not over bake these cookies... they are meant to be soft and chewy.

This recipe is also a great cookie option for the Cookie-Stuffed Cookie Recipe

Makes 2 dozen

Cookie-Stuffed Cookies!

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2 COOKIES IN 1. . . YUM!
I wish I could take credit for this idea, but Jen actually found it and sent me the recipe (from this website: Cookie-Stuffed Cookies: Serious Eats).
Their web site has much better pictures than I do, but hey! I do what I can :)

The Recipe:
1. Start out with a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough* (use your favorite kind--mine is the original Nestle Toll House--or an easy-to-whip- up bag from the bakery aisle.

2. By the tsp,* scoop out your cookie dough balls.

3. Use mini Oreos or mini Nutter Butters (or another favorite cookie***)
and put it on top of the dough ball.

4. Use another tsp of chocolate chip cookie dough and press it on top of cookie to cover Oreo or Nutter Butter

5. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. (You do not want to over bake these cookies, so it is always best to keep an eye on them, checking every 5 minutes.)

6. Let cookies cool on their pan for 5 minutes and then move to wire rack to finish cooling.

* You can also use chocolate cookies and stuff them with mini Nutter Butters! (my favorite)
**You can use normal size Oreos and Nutter Butters, but then you'll need to use Tbsp dough balls, and your cookies will be bigger.
*** If you have girl scout cookies, those will work too. Think of the best kind of dough-to-prepackaged cookie combination. (Like how chocolate goes great with peanut butter, sugar with cinnamon...)

Remember that when you make these cookies, you'll only get half the amount of cookies you'd normally make.

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Finally got to put an apron on again... and it wasn't for work :)

Here's a twist to one of my favorite cookie recipes: 1952 City School Ranger Cookies.

I guess I would just call the cookies I made today: Ranger Cookies

Here's the recipe:

1 c. butter (room temp)

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

2 c. four

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. rolled oats

*2. c. corn flakes

*1/2 c. coconut

*1/2 c. chocolate chips

*1/2 c. chopped walnuts

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the rest of the recipe here is my twist... I used these ingredients instead of the asterisked ones (*) above:

2 c. Berry Yogurt Crunch Cereal 

1/2 c. chocolate chips

1/4 c. white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Cream butter with sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add oats, corn flakes, coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts. Stir until blended. 

Drop by Tbsps onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten cookies with spatula. 

Bake for 10-13 minutes. Cookies should be slightly soft when taken out of oven.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies. 

The Ranger Cookies I made today were really good! I wanted to bake something and saw that we had 4 boxes of this Fiber Plus Berry Yogurt Crunch Cereal, so I thought... 1952 City School Ranger Cookies!! I really like the twist to this recipe because it has a fruity twist (like how cranberries taste in a cookie). But, I really like the original 1952 City School Ranger Cookies... I mean, it is awesome. All the different ingredients put together make an awesome cookie :) So that's why I included both recipes... you choose what kind of Ranger Cookies you want to make. Hey, your pantry may decide for you :) that's how it usually is for me!

Southern Comfort Ice Cream Pie

• I made this for a friend's birthday... she said it was amazing, so good! 
• There are so many ways to tweak this recipe... have fun with it and enjoy!
• We love ice cream and this is the perfect way to make it a little more homemade :)
• 
  
• Recipe:
• 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
• *1/4 cup finely chopped peanuts
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• **3/4 cup coarsely chopped cashews
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
• 6 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
• *2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2/3 cup hot fudge topping



chocolate shell topping

• 1/4 cup chocolate shell topping

*instead of using chopped peanuts, you can use crunch peanut butter... it works great!

**instead of using cashews, you can use crushed Butterfinger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup finely chopped peanuts, sugar and melted butter until well blended . Press mixture into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely.
2. Combine chopped cashews and 1/4 cup coarsely chopped peanuts; set aside. In a large bowl, mix ice cream with peanut butter; set aside.
3. Spread half of hot fudge topping in bottom of crust. sprinkle with 1/3 of nut mixture. Spread half of ice cream in an even layer. Repeat layers. Drizzle with shell topping and sprinkle with remaining nuts. Freeze for at least 5 hours before serving.

The Food of Seattle

While we were in Tacoma we got to visit Pike Place Market in Seattle and saw some awesome shops!

Happy 26th Wedding Anniversary, MOM & DAD!

Our family went to Lawry's Five Crowns Restaurant to celebrate Mom and Dad's anniversary, and to save money, I offered to make desserts and we could enjoy them when we got home. Mom and Dad were all for it and I was excited to use my new cookbook. Jen's all time favorite dessert at Five Crowns is Créme Brúlée, so I had to make that and I also made Apple Pandowdy Pie. The Créme Brúlée I made was actually called Créme Brúlée Tartlets... as I told Jen, "Créme Brúlée will never be the same!" It was delicious and the pie was exquisite. There are so many versions of apple pie, and this was the first time I'd ever made a pandowdy pie. Soooo good! While both these recipes are fairly easy, I do not reccomned making both of these at the same time, especially if you are time constrained. Thankfully, Amy helped me by preparing the pie crusts and being my official "stirrer." We finished in time (including all the mess clean-up) and took the pie out of the oven as we were walking out the door to dinner... that's how it's done!

Here are links to the recipes:  Apple Pandowdy Pie, Basic Pie Dough, Basic Tart Dough,  Créme Brúlée (The Créme Brúlée Tartlet Recipe isn't available online, but use the "Basic Tart Dough" recipe link--put that dough in about 6 Créme Brúlée dishes-- and then after those are fully baked, fill with the "Créme Brúlée" recipe link.)

Apple Pandowdy in the oven

Créme Brúlée Tartlet crusts in the oven

Créme Brúlée filling on the stove... get it thick, as to cover the spoon

while those are baking, I got going on those dishes! :/

After the Apple Pandowdy Pie has baked for 30min, take it out of oven, cut the crisscross slits, and sprinkle with sugar.

At this time I put my silicone pie crust protector on too... it is awesome! The Fink family gave me this for Christmas, as well as a rolling pin, pie crust weights, & the Williams-Sonoma: Pie & Tart Recipe Book, that I got these recipes from :) Thank you... you know me well!

These are the Créme Brúlée Tartlet Crusts after baking. They sagged a little, but there wasn't much I could do and it wasn't a big problem. My only suggestion is that if you make this, make sure the tart crusts are thin. This Créme Brúlée Set was a present from my cousin Andrea, and was perfect for this recipe... thanks Andrea!! 

I poured the Créme Brúlée filling inside the baked tart crusts and then, put them in the fridge to set (3-4hrs). 

Apple Pandowdy Pie out of the oven... it looked great! No burnt crust... oh, and this crust is a new recipe as well (way better than Betty Crocker's--while hers is still in close 2nd!). Note: as you can see I put the pie on a pan to catch the drips, but I forgot to put foil down, so now I have to scrub the pan :( If that ever happens to you, fill the pan with water and soak it with a dryer sheet. It should help lift the char. :)

I thinly slice my apples, instead of 1/2 in. normal slices. They tend to stay in the pie--rather than falling out-- and it stacks nicely, letting you have more room for apples.

Enjoy á la mode! (aka with ice cream)