Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

The only thing that could possibly make chocolate chip cookies better is to put Oreos in them.
I made these cookies once before but i crushed the Oreos too small and you couldn't even taste them so this time I made sure to barley crush them into chunks and they turned out ten times better, at least.
I brought them to work and they were eaten pretty fast, along with the leftover Oreos so I think that my coworkers liked them too. I used reduced fat Oreos, but you don't have to!
I got the recipe from my favorite cooking blog, Lovin' From The Oven

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

1 stick of butter, (softened)
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
11 broken Oreos
1 cup chocolate chip cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and sugars until well combined.
Add egg and vanilla until mixed.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, when mixed together, stir in the chocolate chips.
With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a baking sheet.
Bake for ten minutes or until cooked but still soft.
Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Cake Batter Bars

Cake batter is all the rage, didn't you know?
I've know this ever since I got hooked on cake batter ice cream but now there is so many things that you can make and buy that are cake battered and delicious.
I made Funfetti Cookie sandwiches last summer so I wasn't worried about the outcome of using the cake mix again, since everyone loved them.

I had a bit of an interesting time making these bars.
Everything was baking as usual and then I went to take them out of the oven and they had risen and were al the way to the brim of the pan! So I decided to just cut them into really small pieces to make up for how tall they were, simple solution, right? Well when I went back into the kitchen an hour later, the middle had sunk back down and the edges were still as tall as before! Just my luck. I brought them to work cut and hoped that no one would notice the difference.
I really don't know what would be the solution to my problem, any ideas?

I got the recipe from my favorite cooking blog, Lovin' From the Oven
The bars were still pretty amazing even with my mishap.
Jump on the cake batter wagon and take a bite.

Cake Batter Bars

1 1/2 cup funfetti cake mix
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, (melted & slightly cooled)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 heaping tablespoons sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 8x8 pan.
Cream together the sugars, butter, vanilla, egg and egg yolk.
Gradually mix in the flour, cake mix, and baking soda until just mixed.
Stir in the sprinkles.
Spread batter evenly into greased pan.
Bake 30-35 minutes, until top is lightly browned and middle jiggles slightly.
Cool completely before cutting.

Protein Bars

My mothers birthday is on leap year so she go to have a real birthday this year!
Don't feel bad for her though, when it isn't leap year, she celebrates her birthday the whole last week of February.
I really wanted to bake her something special for her birthday, but both my parents have been on a health kick for a while, working out all the time, watching what they eat; so I wanted to make something that she wouldn't feel guilty about eating later.
While looking through Crazy About Cookies by Krystina Castella ,(can be found at Kohl's  for 5 dollars), I found this recipe for protein bars and knew it was perfect for my moms 44th birthday.
She said that they were good, but I made the mistake of not realizing to get sunflower seeds without the shell and apparently that's hard to eat whole. Now we know!

Wild Honey Bran Protein Bars

1 1/2 flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups bran or bran oat multi-grain cereal, (uncooked)
1/2 cup golden raisins, (chopped)
1/4 cup dried apricots, (chopped)
1/4 cup dried cranberries, (chopped)
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 sesame seeds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon honey, (heated in microwave for 15 seconds to thin)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9x13 inch pan with vegetable oil.
Combine the flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, salt, and bran in a large bowl. Set aside.
Combine the rasins, apricots, cranberries, almonds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Beat the oil, brown sugar, egg, applesauce, vanilla and honey until combined.
Gradually add the flour mixture until just blended, then stir in the fruit mixture until combined.
Spread the dough into the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden.
Let cool in the pan, then cut into bars.

Creamy Tomato Soup

When I was a kid all i would eat was pizza, chili dogs, and tomato soup with grilled cheese.
The funny thing is that those are still some of my favorite things to eat today, (I do like much more though).
As much as I love tomato soup, it's kind of boring to eat with out grilled cheese because there really isn't a whole lot to it, until now.
Soup and chili are so much fun to make, they aren't hard, pretty much anyone can follow the recipe and the outcome is so delicious, filling, and satisfying.
I got this recipe off of Picky Palate.

Creamy Tomato Soup

1/4 cup white onion, (chopped)
4 gloved garlic, (minced)
2- 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
8oz Mexicorn
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup chicken broth
2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
1 cup cooked crumbled bacon

Place onion, garlic, and tomatoes into a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth.
Transfer to a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
Add corn, stirring to compine then add salt, pepper and cumin, stirring to combine.
Stir in buttermilk, chicken broth, chicken, and bacon pieces until combined.
Reduce heat to low until ready to serve.

Red Velvet Blossoms

Valentines Day is my favorite holiday, so I wasn't about to let being single ruin it for me!
My friend and I decided that we would be each others Valentines. I knew right away that I wanted to bake her something delicious for Valentines Day, at first I was going to make red velvet cookie sandwiches, but then I saw these Red Velvet Blossoms on The Galley Gourmet and absolutely had to try them.
The only thing I changed on these were that she used hugs and I used dark chocolate kisses.

Red Velvet Blossoms
makes 3 dozen


1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil 
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon liquid red food color
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
36 Hershey's dark chocolate kisses

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the oil, brown sugar, and sugar until no brown sugar lumps remain.
Add the egg and mix until creamy.
Mix in the food color, vanilla and vinegar.
Add the flour mixture and mix until completely combined.
Using a 1/2 ounce ice cream scoop, scoop the dough into balls, rolling gently between the palms of your hands making a smooth uniform surface.
Place the balls onto the prepared baking sheet, bake until puffed and edges are set, about 12 minutes.
Remove the cookies and press a chocolate candy into the center of each cookie.
Let the cookies rest for 1 minute, then transfer to rack to cool completely.

Get Ready For A Sugar Rush!

Valentines Day is coming up in a few days and it's not too late to make something delicious for your Valentine, whether it be for your significant other, your child, or like me, your friend.
Even if your single you can celebrate Valentines Day! Don't let not having a significant other ruin the big day for you! Call up a friend and make some plans to see one of the movies out or go for lunch!
If you do end of baking for your Valentine, check out these Cotton Candy Cupcakes, I got the recipe off of  Bakingdom, and I love cotton candy so another perk of making them is you get to eat the left overs!

Cotton Candy Cupcakes
makes 14 cupcakes


For the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, (softened)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
.5 (1/2 cup) ounce cotton candy 

For the frosting:
3 teaspoons heavy cream
1 (1 cup) ounce cotton candy
1 stick unsalted butter, (softened)
8 ounces powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line muffin pan with your paper liners.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Add the butter, sour cream, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Scrape the bowl before stirring in the cotton candy, be careful to not over mix the batter.
Scoop 3 tablespoons into each liner.
Bake 18-22 minuets until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:
In a small bowl pour 1 1/2 teaspoon heavy cream over the cotton candy to melt it.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth.
Stir in vanilla and cotton candy.
Beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 45 seconds.
Add remaining cream if necessary.
Make sure cupcakes are completely cool before frosting.

Loaded Baked Potato Grilled Cheese

Welcome to my first new recipe of 2012!
Working retail during the holiday season is crazy, especially when your parents visit and you're starting to make friends in a new place. But now I'm back and have some great stuff coming for you all, starting with this delicious loaded baked potato grilled cheese sandwich, I know it's a mouthful!

I'm basically a sucker for anything with cheese and bacon, but add potatoes and you have the trifecta.
Seriously, how can you go wrong with potatoes, cheese, and bacon? You know it's going to be good!
And oh it was! I made it for dinner tonight with tomato soup ( I'll post that next), and my grandfather devoured it. They really aren't that hard to make, and the end result is going to be a regular on your table.

I got the recipe from BS in the Kitchen
I used honey wheat bread, turkey bacon, and fat free sour cream to make it a little healthier.

I just got an awesome recipe box to keep all my recipes in. So excited, (it's easy to make me happy), I've been trying to fill it with everything I've posted in the last year.

Loaded Baked Potato Grilled Cheese
1 sandwich


3-4 strips of bacon
1 potato
2 tablespoons of sour cream
2 slices of cheddar cheese
Green Onions 
2 slices of bread
butter
olive oil
garlic powder
pepper


Preheat your frying pan on medium heat and put the olive oil in the pan, enough to lightly cover the bottom.
Cut your potato into even slices, you will need 4-5 sliced for the sandwich, as thick as you would like.
Put the potato slices in the pan, cooking each side until browned and crispy.
While cooking, pepper the potatoes to taste and sprinkle a pinch of the garlic powder.
In another pan, cook your bacon on medium heat, you can either cut and crumble the bacon or leave its at strips.
Butter each side of your bread, and spread some sour cream on the side of the bread that will be on the inside.
Remove the grease from the bacon and potatoes with a paper towel and begin assembling the sandwich.
First put a slice of cheese, then the potatoes, then some more sour cream, (to keep the bacon and green onions on), then the green onions and bacon, then the other slice of cheese and finally the top slice of bread.
Grill the sandwich in a pan or panini maker on medium head on each side until golden brown.
Cut in half and enjoy.