SWIRLED PEANUT BUTTER & NUTELLA STUFFED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

SWIRLED PEANUT BUTTER & NUTELLA STUFFED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

YIELD: MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN LARGE COOKIES
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/stuffed-nutella-cookies/

These are so yummy!  Took them to YW they liked them as well.  They were hard to stay out of.  We used the homemade nutella we had made with the hazelnuts we harvested from Dorris Ranch.  I made 2 batches with nothing in the middle. They were yummy just as normal cookies.  Made the night before and kept in fridge.  Was nice already having the dough done.

I made really big cookies with this recipe (basically two regular size cookie dough balls pressed around the peanut butter/nutella swirl). If you'd like to exercise some self-control, you could definitely make smaller cookies, just adjust the size of the cookie dough and the scoop of peanut butter/nutella.

I liked the little melty nibble of peanut butter/nutella right in the center of the cookie, however, if you'd like that goodness to be spread out more, simply smooth the dollop into an even layer, but don't spread it all the way to the edge, before sandwiching with the top half of the cookie. The choice is yours.

INGREDIENTS

Cookie Dough:
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 21 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 sticks (24 tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 cups packed light brown sugar (14 ounces)
1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups (18 ounces) semisweet or milk chocolate chips
Peanut Butter/Nutella Swirl:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup Nutella

DIRECTIONS
For the cookie dough, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
Either by hand or with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until well mixed. Add the eggs, yolks, and vanilla. Mix well until the batter has lightened slightly in color, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips at the same time. Mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Cover and chill the dough for 2-3 hours (this will make it easier to mold the dough around the peanut butter/nutella swirl and also help the cookies hold their shape).
In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter and nutella and gently swirl a few times so that it starts to combine but you can still see ribbons of each. Cover and refrigerate while the cookie dough chills.
After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Take about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and form into a ball and then flatten slightly. Scoop a scant teaspoon of peanut butter/nutella and dollop it in the center of the flattened cookie dough. Take another 1 1/2 tablespoons or so of dough and form a ball and then flatten to the same diameter as the bottom round. Place it on top of the peanut butter/nutella and gently press all the edges to seal well. The cookie will be round but quite thick. Don't press to flatten.
Repeat with the remaining dough and peanut butter/nutella swirl. Place the cookies 1-2 inches apart on silpat- or parchment-lined baking sheets; they will spread quite a bit. I put about 8 cookies on each 12X18-rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate the filled, unbaked cookies that aren't ready to be baked (the longer they sit at room temperature, the more they will spread in the oven).
Bake for 14-16 minutes.

QUICK BASIC SALSA

QUICK BASIC SALSA

Lisa made this for a party we had.  It was yummy and disappeared quickly.

This is a great salsa for any occasion. Use in burritos, tacos or with your favorite tortilla chips. It's really easy and tastes great!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups seeded, chopped tomatoes (6-7 medium tomatoes)
• the leaves from one bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped*
• 6 cloves fresh chopped garlic
• 1/2 an onion chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• about 1 tablespoon lime juice

• Prep Time: 10 minutes

Mix all ingredients until well incorporated. Refrigerate overnight for maximum flavor.

*If you grab a handful of leaves from the top of the bunch and pull them out firmly, you will get mostly leaves. If a few stems are in there, it's okay.

None

Just ok. -Romas or sweet but firm hot house tomatoes. -Cut the cilantro and garlic in half. -Nix the ubiquitous jalapeno for a serrano or two. Refined heat. -Double the lime juice. -Add a tablespoon of wine or rice vinegar. Adds a tang and extents shelf life. -1/4 tsp white pepper, adds different kind of heat. What's unique about this salsa you get all five flavors. Sweet. Sour. Hot. Bitter. Umami.

IHOP PANCAKES

Copycat Recipe: IHOP Pancakes
Rating: 5
http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/copycat-recipe-ihop-pancakes/

We really liked these.  Need to double recipe to have enough.

Yield: 12 3-4" pancakes

Copycat Recipe:  IHOP Pancakes

This recipe will make enough to feed 4 people. I doubled it for my large family (there were 8 of us eating) and we barely had enough. I used a 1/3 measuring cup to pour the batter to the griddle.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 1/4 c buttermilk (see my substitute recipe)
2 Tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
Instructions

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl.
In a separate bowl mix the egg and buttermilk. Don't have buttermilk? Use 1 cup of milk to 1 Tablespoon of vinegar (so pour the vinegar in a 1 cup measuring cup first, then fill the rest of it with milk).
Blend with the dry mixture using a wire whisk until there are no lumps. Then stir in the melted butter and the sugar. Don't over mix otherwise they'll be too chewy.
Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Wipe a little butter on the pan (I used coconut oil).
Pour 1/3 cup of batter onto the hot griddle.
Flip it when bubbles appear. Pancakes are done when both sides are golden brown.
Enjoy!

CAKE POPS

CAKE POPS
Love, love, love these.  We tried to win these at an auction and they were too much.  Amy Cunningham (Myah made them) gave me the recipe and the holder to use.  I since have seen on pinterest (also pinned some different ones) that you can use an egg carton to hold them while they dry.  I ran out of sticks so I just used a fork hold the pop while I poured chocolate over it then put on sprinkles (next time roll in sprinkles or topping) then dried on parchment paper.  They dry really fast.

1 cake mix (don't buy one with  pudding in the mix - make them hard to roll)
1 can of frosting (milk chocolate)
sticks
plastic to wrap pops
ribbon
springkles
melting chocolate (I used from the bulk at WinCo 1/2 dark chocolate 1/2 milk) almond bark would be good too.
egg carton or craft foam to hold the suckers

1st - bake cake
2nd - once slightly cooled break and crumble in a bowl
3rd - Mix about 1/4 of the can of frosting -a little bit more if you want brownie type pops.
4th - with a mixer mix until it creates a big ball
5th - cover really well and freeze for at least 2 hours
6th - remove from freezer and form into individual balls (scoopers work really well)
7th - refreeze for a couple more hours
8th - melt chocolate and cover balls
9th - decorate balls right after putting on chocolate - it hardens really fast
10th - put in bag if giving away or on a plate for serving

EASY, HEALTHIER CARAMEL CORN

EASY, HEALTHIER CARAMEL POPCORN

http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/easy-healthier-caramel-corn/

Abagail didn't like this, but Jackson and I both did.  Will take to a party at Lisa's tomorrow night and see how it does.  Didn't go over too well (but maybe because we had lots of food?)  Kylan was so excited to have popcorn and then when he tried it he said, "I am never having another piece of that popcorn in my life."

Next time try same amount of popcorn and 1/2 of the sauce. Maybe it won't be so overpowering? 

UPDATE 4/2019: Abagail is trying to eat no added sugar (honey ok) so thought I would try this again.  I did 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup coconut oil and everything else the same.  I also cooked in the oven for about 30-40 min at 250.  Then sprinkled some dark chocolate chips on top.  Was yummy!

UPDATE:
2 batches in air popper works well.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Start with the sauce first. In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil and honey on a low heat until thoroughly melted. It will look nearly transparent and slightly separated. Whisk together. Remove from heat. Add salt and vanilla. Whisk again. Then set aside.
2. Pop up a bunch of plain popcorn, about 4 quarts (I did 1/3 cup yellow & 1/3 cup white). Sift the popped popcorn with your fingers, from one large bowl to another in order to lose most of the unpopped kernels.
3. The sauce is ready when it has cooled a bit. It will be thicker and have more of a milky honey appearance. Drizzle the sauce over the prepared popcorn.
4. Then fold the sauce into the popcorn until the popcorn is well coated; this will take a few minutes, then it is ready to enjoy!

OATMEAL WAFFLES

OATMEAL WAFFLES
Got this recipe from Jessica Egbert.

2 eggs, beaten
2 c buttermilk (1 c milk, 1 cup yogurt (greek works best) works too) 
1 c quick cooking oats
1 T molasses
1 T oil
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder

In a large bowl, mix eggs and buttermilk.  Add oats and mix well.  Stir in molasses and oil.  Combine flour, salt, soda and baking powder.  Stir into egg mixture.  If batter is too thick, thin with a little milk.  This recipe works well for pancakes as well.

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
by Ree | The Pioneer Woman on May 12, 2013 in Cookies, Desserts
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/chocolate-chocolate-white-chocolate-chip-cookies/

These are so yummy!  They cooked flat - maybe it was our oven?(cooks really weird right now).  Maybe next time try chilling dough.  Took to Daniel's graduation BBQ (July 2014).

Dark chocolate cookies filled with semi-sweet and white chocolate chips. So rich and yummy, and must be eaten with a glass of cold milk!

Ingredients
2-½ sticks Butter, Softened (cut up and let sit at room temp for 30 min)
2 cups Sugar
2 whole Eggs - room temp (can put in warm water for 10 min)
3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups Flour
¾ cups Cocoa Powder
1-½ teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1-½ cup Good Quality Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
2 cups Good Quality White Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, scraping the sides once.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix in vanilla.

Sift together dry ingredients, then add in batches to the mixer, mixing until just combined after each addition.

Gently blend in chocolate chips and white chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop, add 1 tablespoon portions to baking sheet. Dot the top of each cookie with 3 white chocolate chips if you’d like them to really show up on top (or M&M’s instead of white choc chips). Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until cookies are barely done but still soft and chewy.

Let cool on a baking rack. Yummy!