S'more Cookies

These are fantastic and unique cookie! I love the graham cracker crust and chewy marshmallows inside the cookie dough and then when you bite down into that chunk of chocolate...heavenly. In the first batch I made the graham cracker burnt, but I really liked it, tasted like a burnt s'more, which i happen to love. The second batch I used a little less cookie dough and that seemed to do the trick. 

Make some today! 

• 11 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 3 regular sized Hershey's bars, broken into pieces (I used the fun size Hershey's)
• 1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

In your stand up mixer, cream the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and combine on low. Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in fridge for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350. Line your cookie sheets with parchment papers (marshmallows will stick to your cookie sheet so don't skip this step!) Lay out your graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible, they should be touching. Place a scoop of cookie dough (about a tablespoon full). Bake for 5 minutes and then remove from oven and top each cookie with a Hershey's. Bake for another 6-8 minutes or until the cookies edges begin to turn a golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool. To cut, make sure cookies are completely cook and cut down the seam of the graham cracker squares.

Makes about 2 dozen.

Recipe from:

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/06/smores-cookies.html

Chocolate Chip Cookie Tiramisu

This dessert is a lot like a tiramisu, but instead of layers of ladyfingers there are delicious chocolate chip cookies. And in between those layers of chocolate chip cookies? A creamy mascarpone mocha mousse. And it's perfect for these hot steamy days when you don't want to turn the oven on.

• 2 cups cold heavy cream
• 12oz container mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup coffee liqueur, such as Kahlua
• 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 24oz chocolate chip cookies

Using the whisk attachment of your mixer, combine the heavy cream, mascarpone, sugar, coffee liqueur, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and vanilla. Mix on low speed to combine and then slowly raise the speed, until the mixture forms firm peaks.  To assemble the dessert: arrange cookies in a 9x13 dish fitting as many as you can. Spread half of the mixture onto pan. Place another layer of cookies and then the remaining mousse. Top with sprinkles, cocoa powder or chocolate shavings. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight (the longer you refrigerate the better it will taste!).
Serves 12-16 people.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies

My little family and I recently relocated to Colorado.

Moving is the worst. Seriously. I never need to do it again. But the biggest thing that made it worth it? The kitchen.

Oh and the views. The views are amazing.

(That's 2 apples and a cherry tree in the backyard AND to the right we have some amazing views of Mesa Verde!)

And the little fox that comes to visit our backyard at the same time every night. Or the deer that make their way through our backyard. Or the fact that the cool crisp mountains are just a 10 minute drive away. I could go on and on.

The first thing I did (with the help of my MIL) when we moved in was put together the kitchen. Today I was itching to make (and eat!) some cookies. I'm calling these the "Everything But the Kitchen Sink" cookies since I just threw in a bunch of bags of leftovers I had in the pantry. You could easily sub or leave out whatever add-ins you like. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 ½ cups flour (¼ cup added for higher altitude)
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups sweet add-ins (I used a mixture of dark chocolate, semi-sweet and butterscotch chips. Others you could try: milk chocolate chips, raisins, dried fruit, toffee bits, caramel bits, M&M's, etc...)
• 1 cup nuts (I used toasted pecans, again, you could use whatever nuts you prefer, or leave them out)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In your food processor, pulse the oats until semi-fine. Set aside. In your stand up mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until well blended. Add the cinnamon, vanilla, eggs and lemon juice. Mix well. Slowly add the oats, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Fold in the nuts and sweet add-ins. Scoop out onto cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Yields: 50 cookies (using a medium cookie scoop).

My Favorite Scone Recipe

I love a good scone recipe. And it's taken me a few years, but I have found the perfect scone recipe. And it can be easily adapted to pretty much any type of scone you could want! I've listed a few of the ones I've tried and liked. 

• 2 cups flour
• 6 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (½ cup) cold butter, cut into pieces
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• course sugar (optional)
• heavy cream, milk or buttercream (for brushing) - Also optional.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper, set aside. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in your stand up mixer. Add the butter, piece at a time. Slowly stir in heavy cream, egg and vanilla. Mix just until incorporated. Roll out into an 8 inch circle. Brush with heavy cream, milk or buttermilk and sprinkle with course sugar. Cut into triangles and place about ½ an inch from each other and bake for 12-16 minutes, or until set and edges are starting to brown. Let cool 5-10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 8 scones.

Recipe adapted from:

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/05/18/strawberry-lemon-poppy-seed-scones/

Make these delicious scones using the above recipe:

Cranberry - Orange Scones

To the flour mixture (before adding butter) zest 1 orange into the flour. Add butter. After adding the liquids, add the juice of the orange and blend well. You might need to add more flour if your orange is super juicy. Fold in 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (I've also used dried cranberries and actually prefer the sweetness of the dried better). Bake as normal.

Maple Pecan Scones

Add ¾ cup chopped pecans to the flour mixture (after adding the butter). Follow directions above. While baking make the maple icing: blend 4 cups powdered sugar, ¼ cup milk, 4 Tablespoons butter, melted, 1 Tablespoon brewed coffee, and 2 teaspoons maple extract until well blended and lump free. Once scones have cooled completely ice with maple icing and top with pecans. Let icing dry completely before storing in an airtight container.

Strawberry Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

To the dried mixture (before adding butter) zest in one lemon and add 2 teaspoons poppy seeds. After you've mixed everything together slowly fold in 1 cup chopped strawberries (fresh or frozen). Then bake as normal. Drizzle cooled scones with lemon glaze (if desired): Juice of 1 lemon, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon heavy cream. Mix together until well blended, adding more powdered sugar as needed to get a good drizzling consistency. 

Cherry Almond Scones

After scones have been mixed, carefully fold in 1 cup (fresh or frozen) cherries (halved is a little easier to work with) and bake as normal. While baking make the Almond glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons milk or cream, ½ teaspoon almond extract. Mix until well combined. Drizzle over cooled scones and top with sliced almonds. 

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

Just like the cranberry orange scones, except fold in mini chocolate chips instead of cranberries. 

Caramel Apple Scones

To the flour mixture (before adding butter) add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. After scones have been mixed with wet mixture, fold in 1 apple that's been chopped into bite size pieces. Bake as normal. After scones have cooled drizzle with your favorite caramel sauce. I like to use my homemade salted caramel recipe.

More scone ideas to come! :)