Girl Scout Thin Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

March 7, 2015March 5, 2015 / Jodi / 16 Comments

It is Girl Scout cookie time around here! Thin Mints are a perennial favorite for many – right?! Well – this “Kitchenista” (as my sweet blogging friend, Laura has dubbed me) is not satisfied with just a regular ole’ Thin Mint Cookie.

So last year I decided to try chunking them up in my Jodi’s Almost Famous Chocolate Chip Cookie dough, and POW! Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Nick (my son) awarded these his ALL-TIME FAVORITE version of my chocolate chip cookies.

So I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a box or two and make them for him again this year. After all, his birthday is coming up very soon, and for me, any excuse will do to bring a smile to my guys’ faces and bellies. 🙂

Hope you’ll give them a try! If you do, let me know what you think.

Girl Scout Thin Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: 5 dozen large cookies
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Ingredients:

1 lb (4 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 bag Nestle’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks (or Chips)
1 sleeve of Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies – crushed into chunks, but not pulverized

Mix softened butter and sugars with mixer until well blended. Add vanilla and eggs and mix until creamy. Add dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) until well incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips and thin mint chunks.

Refrigerate dough for several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Shape dough into 1 1/2 – 2 Tbsp balls and flatten slightly. Bake on baking stone for 8-9 minutes. Let cool on stone for approximately 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Cookies freeze well in Ziploc bags (and Nick actually prefers to eat them straight out of the freezer).

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Easy Rustic Apple Tart

March 2, 2015March 2, 2015 / Jodi / 17 Comments

We had some friends and family over yesterday for a winter “picnic.”

So often we have people over for the holidays and then don’t get together much until Spring and Summer because of the cold, snowy weather.

Well – heck with that. I say celebrate it.

So while the snow fell to the tune of another 6 inches or more, we lit a fire, Marty plowed the driveway, and I made a big pot of creamy loaded potato soup, some fresh baked bread, and this super easy rustic apple tart.

We had a great time enjoying simple food and sharing stories of love and friendship. Such cherished memories!

If you are looking for a quick and easy, but beautiful dessert, here’s the recipe:

Easy Rustic Apple Tart

Servings: 6-8
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Ingredients:

1 Sheet Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed
2 large apples, cored and sliced paper thin (with a mandolin is easiest)
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 415 degrees F.
In a bowl, mix together sliced apples, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon. Let set for 5-10 minutes.
Place puff pastry on baking stone (or baking sheet).
Curl up edges a bit and for circle (or simply leave in rectangular shape.
Place apples on top and bake for 18-20 minutes until puffed and golden brown.
Immediately remove to serving platter.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve plain or with whipped cream, ice cream, and or drizzle with caramel sauce.
Enjoy!

Happy Monday friends!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Grandma’s Easy Poppy Seed Cake

March 1, 2015February 28, 2015 / Jodi / 24 Comments

As a child, my Grandma made me a poppy seed cake every year for my birthday. Sound odd? Well – my birthday is on New Year’s Eve, and who isn’t sugared out by then after all the Christmas cookies and holiday treats?

So this poppy seed cake was always just right – not too sweet – no heavy, sugary icing – just a fun old-fashioned bread-like cake that speaks love to me.

Marty used to make it for me sometimes through the years; but the older we get, the more I just don’t want anything sweet by my birthday. (Red wine, however, is ALWAYS welcome!) 🙂

So I have had a hankering for poppy seed cake lately, and when I passed a package of poppy seeds in the grocery store yesterday, I just threw them in the cart and came home and baked it!

Don’t be surprised if it reminds you more of a sweet bread – more like banana bread or zucchini bread. It is yummy for breakfast with coffee or just as a treat. (And of course it goes well with red wine. What doesn’t?)

Here’s our recipe:

Grandma's Easy Poppy Seed Cake

Servings: One Yummy Cake
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INGREDIENTS:

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup vegetable oil

1 can evaporated milk

1/4 cup poppy seeds

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 10 inch tube or bundt pan.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients.

Make a well in the center and add eggs, vanilla, oil, and milk. Mix well.

Fold in poppy seeds.

Pour into prepared pan, and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn onto rack to cool.

When cool, sprinkle generously with sifted powdered sugar.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Chocolate Chunk & Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

February 21, 2015February 20, 2015 / Jodi / 17 Comments

Some days just call for baking cookies… Like when you wake up and it is 13 degrees BELOW ZERO F!… What a great way to warm up the house – right?

And besides, my son, Nick, has been ~~whining for~~ requesting some chocolate chip cookies for a couple of weeks now. I’m kind of “famous” for my chocolate chip cookies, but I hate doing the same old thing. I’m a change junkie. So instead of the usual chocolate chip cookies, I kicked it up a notch by mixing chocolate chunks and peanut butter chips in my classic recipe.

They taste pretty awesome… with a glass of milk…. coffee… hot chocolate… red wine (LOL! Everything goes with red wine – right?).

Chocolate Chunk & Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Servings: 5 dozen large cookies
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Ingredients:

Refrigerate dough for several hours or overnight.

Cookies freeze well in Ziploc bags.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Chocolate Sprinkle Cherry Kiss Cookies

February 7, 2015February 6, 2015 / Jodi / 19 Comments

Chocolate Cookies… Sprinkles…. Hershey’s Kisses…. How can you go wrong?!?!

Before heading away for a week, I had to make a special sweet treat for the guys.

I had some Hershey’s Cherry Cordial Kisses in the pantry and thought it was time I used them. PLUS I was dying to eat one or two or ten or twenty.

I found a recipe for a Chocolate Valentine Kiss Cookies on The Kitchen is My Playground that sounded good, but since I didn’t have “Valentine” sprinkles, I just used some fun colorful ones and some chocolate ones. Tracey’s are really cute with Valentine sprinkles though, so check the out here if you want to see.

They are really chocolatey fudgy inside, a little crispy on the outside with the sprinkles and just the right amount of creamy chocolate cherry cordial in the center for a bite or two!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Sprinkle Cherry Kiss Cookies

Servings: 25-30 cookies
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Ingredients

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 T. (1 stick) butter, softened
2/3 c. sugar
1 egg yolk
2 T. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 to 1 c. assorted sprinkles
25 to 30 Hershey’s Cherry Cordial Kisses (or your own favorite flavor)

Directions

Combine flour, cocoa, and salt; set aside.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla; mix until incorporated. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture until just combined.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls and roll each ball in sprinkles completely covering the dough ball with sprinkles. Place balls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Gently press down into the center of each ball slightly to make a very small indentation.
Bake at 350 degrees 10-12 minutes.
After removing cookies from the oven, immediately place a Hershey’s Kiss in the center of each cookie. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes, remove to a cooling rack to cool.

Original recipe found at The Kitchen is My Playground – please check out Tracey’s yummy blog.

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Apricot Chocolate Chip Cookies

January 31, 2015February 3, 2015 / Jodi / 28 Comments

Apricot and semi-sweet or dark chocolate is such a yummy combination, so I thought I’d try it in a cookie – as a twist to my “almost famous” chocolate chips cookies.

and it’s a winner according to my guys.

I snipped a half pound of dried apricots into the batter.

and tweaked up my original chocolate chip recipe by exchanging vanilla extract with half almond and half orange extract (though I think vanilla might be yummy too) and used 1/2 a bag of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips to allow the apricot to be the “star” of the cookie.

The balance of flavors seemed just right.

Hope you’ll give them a try.

And can you believe it is the last day of January 2015 already!?!? We are hunkering down for a snow storm here in Mars this weekend, and of course, the Super Bowl, so we will be set with some sweet treats if “needed.” 🙂

How about you? What’s happening in your part of the world this weekend?

Have a good one!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

And here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Jodi's Apricot Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: 2 dozen large cookies
Time: 10 mins
Difficulty: Easy
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1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. orange extract
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) dried apricots, snipped into small chunks
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) Nestle’s Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Blend softened butter with granulated and brown sugar with mixer until well incorporated. Add in almond and orange extract and eggs and mix on medium-high speed until creamy. Add in flour, baking soda, and salt on low speed until incorporated. Fold in apricots and chocolate chips.

Chill dough for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll dough into golf ball sized balls and flatten slightly.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes.

I think I will share this recipe with my friends over at Fiesta Friday for the Anniversary Party, because every party needs cookies – right?! Check it out for lots of awesome recipes by some amazing foodie bloggers!

Blackberry Blondies

January 27, 2015January 29, 2015 / Jodi / 15 Comments

My son, Nick declared these Blackberry Blondie Cookie Bars “the best dessert” I’ve made in a long time! (I think he ate four last night – and he usually has extreme self control over sweets) Score! 🙂

Anyway, I have literally been longing to bake something…

I had a big, juicy carton of fresh blackberries in the fridge I bought to eat with my morning cereal, but when I found this recipe for Blackberry Blondies from Nicole Weston at BakingBites.com, I knew this is what I wanted to make. Thanks for sharing Nicole!

Blondies are basically the opposite of brownies in that they are the same idea of a bar-type cookie, but typically vanilla flavored instead of chocolate. Blondies can be plain or they can be the base for many different additions – like these yummy blackberries.

And since this recipe uses fresh, vitamin-packed blackberries (not a sugar-laden preserve or fruit filling) – they are a teensy bit healthy – eh? 🙂

I only had a bite of one, so I could know what they taste like, and it was so worth it! YUM! (And yes – I did go to the gym today)

These remind me of blackberry cobbler in a cookie. How divine is that?!?!

Here is the recipe from Nicole at Baking Bites with just a few small tweaks I made. I was out of vanilla extract (seriously don’t know how that happened!), so I used all almond extract, and you know what? I don’t think I would change it.

Hope you will try, and hope you enjoy. Let me know if you do.

Blackberry Blondies

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries

Preheat oven to 350F.
Line a square 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease.
Whisk together butter and sugar in a large bowl until well combined.
Beat in salt, egg, and almond extract until well combined.
Stir in flour and mix just until fully incorporated.
Gently fold in blackberries.
Transfer dough to prepared pan and spread carefully into an even layer.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until bars are set and golden.
Cool completely in the pan before cutting.

Makes 16.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Orange Creamsicle White Chocolate Chip Cookies

January 19, 2015January 18, 2015 / Jodi / 15 Comments

As promised yesterday, today I am sharing the other orange cookie recipe that I made this weekend: Orange Creamsicle White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

And they really taste like Orange Creamsicles! Remember that yummy ice cream treat we used to get as kids? A little orange citrusy tang, but oh so ice creamy!!

I have never made a cookie recipe that called for cornstarch before, but I love how tender these cookies turned out – just a tiny bit crispy on the outside, but softbatch-like on the inside.

They also get their intense flavor from using three extracts: vanilla, almond, and orange, as well as a couple tablespoons of freshly grated orange zest.

The creamy flavor comes from the addition of half and half and from the white chocolate chips.

I took both these and the Orange Slice & Oatmeal Cookies to our Chinese New Year’s Party yesterday, as oranges are supposed to bring good luck.

Come back tomorrow to see some highlights from that great celebration. (Here’s a little sneak peek – appetizer time with tender teriyaki beef on skewers.)

Here’s today’s cookie recipe:

ORANGE CREAMSICLE WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

INGREDIENTS: (As adapted from Averiescooks.com)

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 teaspoons orange extract
2 tablespoons half-and-half
2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
12 ounce bag white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

With electric mixer,cream together butter, sugars, egg, and extracts on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the cream, zest, and mix on medium speed until incorporated, about 1 minute.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, and add the flour, corn starch, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute. Do not overmix.

Add the white chocolate chips, and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Form heaping two-tablespoon mounds. Place mounds on a large plate, flatten slightly, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.

Preheat oven to 350F. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not overbake because cookies will firm up as they cool. Baking longer than 10 minutes could result in cookies with overly browned undersides.

Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooking. Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 4 months.

Orange Slice & Oatmeal Cookies

January 18, 2015January 17, 2015 / Jodi / 14 Comments

Looking for a way to take your oatmeal cookies to the NEXT LEVEL? How about add orange slice candies?!

We are going to a Chinese New Year’s Party this weekend, and oranges are meant to bring good luck.

In looking for recipes that included orange that wouldn’t interfere with the meal I knew our hosts would have planned, I came across a couple of orange cookie recipes.

I was looking for something different, so I tried two different recipes. Today I am featuring the Orange Slice and Oatmeal Cookies.

It’s kind of like substituting chopped candy orange slices for the raisins in your oatmeal cookies.

If you’re a fan of these sweet jelly gum drops, you’re gonna love these cookies.

And if this doesn’t strike your fancy, or even if it does, tomorrow’s post is going to kick it up a little bit more with Orange Cookie #2: Orange Creamsicle White Chocolate Chips Cookies! oooooo laaaa laaa!

Happy Baking!

ORANGE SLICE & OATMEAL COOKIES (as found on AllRecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups orange-flavored fruit slice jelly candies, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
In large mixing bowl, cream together sugars and shortening till fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into creamed mixture.

Stir in the oats and chopped orange slice candies (Hint: dip a pair of kitchen shears into a glass of hot water or spray with a non-stick spray to make snipping the orange slices easier)

Using about one tablespoon of mixture for each cookie, roll into one inch balls. Place on greased cookie sheets.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Breakfast Energy Bars – Getting Back in the Groove

January 5, 2015January 5, 2015 / Jodi / 23 Comments

My glorious two-week holiday “vacation” has come to an end, and it is time to get back to work – – – and back in the groove – of a structured work schedule – and a better eating and exercising habit too after a month or so of glutenous indulgence!

So yesterday, I made a batch of breakfast energy bars to have a go-to breakfast or protein and energy-packed snack. I have made a similar version of these before and blogged about. The beauty of this recipe is you can use whatever you have on hand (within reason) to create a unique bar each time.

I received several gorgeous sets of measuring utensils as Christmas gifts, so I was excited to get to use some of them for photographing below. (Really don’t need to measure these things precisely…. but it made for a fun photo to share 🙂 ). I gathered some creamy peanut butter, coconut oil, honey, oats, shredded coconut, a variety of seeds (pumpkin and sunflower), dried cranberries, and chopped some dates and some beautifully healthy English walnuts.

To begin, melt the peanut butter, coconut oil, and honey in a good size saucepan.

When melted, remove from heat and add your chosen dry ingredients.

Mix all ingredients until incorporated.

Then spread in a 13 x 9 pan and chill for several hours until firm.

Once completely chilled, cut into bars.

I packed them in pairs in Ziploc bags and placed in the freezer – ready to grab for a quick breakfast at home…

or on the go…

Here is the recipe you can use to tweak with the ingredients you like:

Breakfast Energy Bars

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil (solid form)
2 1/2 cups oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped dried dates
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup sunflower seeds

Melt peanut butter, honey, and coconut oil in a saucepan.
Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.
Spread in a 13 x 9 pan.
Refrigerate approximately 2 hours.
Cut into bars and wrap or bag individually.
Return to refrigerator or freeze.

Feel free to substitute other dried fruits (golden raisins, dried blueberries or cherries) or nuts (slivered or chopped almonds, cashews, pecans, peanuts) or even chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, white, peanut butter, butterscotch).

I am going to share this recipe as my first at Fiesta Friday #49. Fiesta Friday is an online ‘party’, where bloggers share posts in a link up. Everyone ‘brings’ (shares) a recipe, photograph, craft, memorable story, etc. to the party I have been hearing about it from several others and decided to join the party this year. Gotta love a good party – right? 🙂

Groovy Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

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the creative life in between

cherishing the moments and exploring my passion for creativity… through art, photography, food, and writing

Baking

Girl Scout Thin Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Girl Scout Thin Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy Rustic Apple Tart

Easy Rustic Apple Tart

Grandma’s Easy Poppy Seed Cake

Grandma's Easy Poppy Seed Cake

Chocolate Chunk & Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chunk & Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Chocolate Sprinkle Cherry Kiss Cookies

Chocolate Sprinkle Cherry Kiss Cookies

Apricot Chocolate Chip Cookies

Jodi's Apricot Chocolate Chip Cookies

Blackberry Blondies

Orange Creamsicle White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Orange Slice & Oatmeal Cookies

Breakfast Energy Bars – Getting Back in the Groove

Girl Scout Thin Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Easy Rustic Apple Tart

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Grandma's Easy Poppy Seed Cake

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Chocolate Chunk & Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

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Chocolate Sprinkle Cherry Kiss Cookies

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Jodi's Apricot Chocolate Chip Cookies

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