Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe & Image taken from http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. If your butter was still hot when you added it your dough may be really wet at this point. Let it rest at room temperature for a couple of minutes if this is the case and then it will be cool enough to scoop into cookies.

Roll a scant half-cup of dough into a ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull apart into two equal halves. Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, place formed dough onto cookie sheet (Or just put a dang ball of dough on the cookie sheet!). Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy (approximately 11-14 minutes). Do not overbake.

Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

White Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Cookies

Recipe & Image taken from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chopped macadamia nuts

1 1/2 to 2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl then set aside. Beat together the melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, egg yolk and vanilla with a mixer until creamy.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture until just mixed. Stir in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips by hand. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges look golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 4-5 minutes so the cookies can set before moving to a rack.

 

Lemon Crumb Bars

Recipe & Image taken from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, slightly softened

1 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk

½ cups lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine. Press half of oat crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch pan. You can use a 9 x 13 pan; it will just be thinner.

Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. The other half of the crumb mixture mix and knead together with clean hands so that the butter that you added earlier gets incorporated then crumble on top of lemon layer but don’t press.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.

Serve cool. Makes around one dozen.

Cranberry and Pecan Brie en Croute

Recipe & Image taken from www.the-girl-who-ate-evertrhing.com

1 sheet frozen puff pasry, thawed

18oz wheel of Brie

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon butter

¼ tablespoon cinnamon

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Soak dried cranberries in a small bowl of water for one minute so that they are not hard.

Lay thawed puff pastry sheet on a cookie sheet.

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in pecans and cinnamon and toast for about 3 minutes.

Place Brie in the middle of the puff pastry.

Place pecan mixture on top of Brie.

Place brown sugar on top of pecan mixture. The heat of the pecan mixture will help melt the brown sugar.

Drain cranberries. Place them on top of brown sugar.

Bring the edges of the puff pastry up and press them together making sure to seal the dough. If you have excess dough you can cut a leaf or decoration to add to the top of the Brie.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupckaes

Cupcakes:
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
1 1/3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
strawberry or grape jelly

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Insert 24 liners into a medium cupcake pan

In a large bowl cream together the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well. Mix in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to creamed mixture, alternating with the milk. Mix well.

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake! Cool cupcakes in the pan. Once cupcakes are cooled you can either pipe the jelly into the center using a decorating tip or just use an apple corer to take out the center of the cupcake and fill with 1-2 teaspoons of jelly. Decorate with frosting below.

Peanut Butter Frosting
3/4 cup smooth
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons milk
mini NutterButter cookies for garnish

Combine the peanut butter, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer beat until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the confectioners sugar along with the milk, and beat until well combined. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes using a decorating tip or a ziploc baggie filled with frosting with the corner cut off. Top with a teaspoon of jelly and garnish with NutterButter mini cookies.

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

Recipe & Image taken from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 cups soy sauce (See Note; the soy sauce and water just needs to be a 1:1 ratio)

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 bunch of green onions, chopped (reserve some for garnish)

1/4 cup of a white onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

1 (13.5 ounce) can of coconut milk

Trim chicken thighs of any visible fat. Mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, onions, garlic, sesame oil, and coconut milk in a large bowl. Marinade chicken for at least 8 hours or overnight to make sure the flavor gets infused.

Grill chicken at a low heat so that the marinade does not burn for 5-7 minutes per side or until done. If you do not have a grill you can use a indoor grill pan.

Serve over a platter of coconut rice and garnish with green onions and a some additional soy sauce.

Coconut rice can be made by just replacing half of the water in your rice recipe with coconut milk. A trick my SIL told me! So good with just the right amount of coconut flavor.

Cookie and Cream Brownies

Recipe & Image taken from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

Brownies:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate; coarsely chopped

3/4 cup butter

1 ½ cups white sugar

3 eggs; lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

8 Oreo cookies, crumbled

Cookies and Cream Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk

5 Oreo cookies, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 9×9 inch baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Microwave chocolate and butter or margarine in large bowl for 3-4 minutes or until butter is melted.

Whisk mixture until chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar. Add in eggs, extract and salt. Gradually add in flour and stir until just combined. Fold in crushed Oreo cookies.

Bake for 28-32 minutes; do not over bake. These taste completely different if they are overbaked!

Remove to cooling rack.

For the frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy with a mixer.

Add the powdered sugar slowly, mixing together until combined. Add vanilla and mix until combined.

Add milk to desired consistency. If your frosting is too thick add more milk and if it's too thin add some more powdered sugar.

Crush Oreos and fold them into the frosting.

Frost cooled brownies. Makes enough frosting for a 9X9 pan of brownies. Makes around 12 brownies.