Monster Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I’m on Pinterest minding my own business and BAM, I come across this suckers. Do you see how delicious those cupcakes look?! Anyways, courtesy of Something Swanky here is the recipe to remake these bad boys. Check out the site for more recipes that have step-by-step instructions (that include pictures) on fun recipes and check out the recipe below:

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 Tbsp. Peanut Butter
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
• 1/4 c. Flour
• 2 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1 Egg White
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Milk
• a teensy splash of vanilla
• a small handful of Chocolate Chips

For the Cookie Dough Frosting:

• 2 Tbsp. Peanut Butter
• 2 Tbsp. Margarine or Butter (softened to room temperature)
• 2 Tbsp. Flour
• 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1/2 c. Oats
• 3/4 c. Powdered Sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp. Milk
• a handful of plain M&Ms
• a handful of Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

For the Cake
1. Melt butter in the microwave for 10 seconds.

2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients until your batter forms.

3. Bake in cupcake liners at 350 for 19 minutes. Let cool.For the Cookie Dough Frosting:
1. Using a fork mix together the butter, peanut butter, and 1/4 c. powdered sugar.

2. Add 1 Tbsp. milk. Whisk with the fork until it’s pretty smooth.
3. Add the remaining powdered sugar (1/4 cup at a time, mixing after each addition), the brown sugar, and the flour. Add milk as needed to help with the consistency.

4. Stir in the oats (you can use more or less depending on your preferences), M&Ms, and chocolate chips.

Enjoy xo!

July 6, 2012July 14, 2012 by Nicole Ashley Categories: Cake, Cookies, CupcakesTags: Baking, candy, Chocolate, Chocolate Chips, Cookie dough, Cupcakes, Kitchen, M&M's, Oats 1 Comment

Carlo’s Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

Carlo’s has the BEST chocolate chip cookies ever! Everything they cake is delish. Check out their recipe below and visit their website as well! They’re offering classes now which is phenomenal!

Buddy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipes 

INGREDIENTS:
2 sticks butter (1 cup), room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 extra-large eggs, room temperature
2‑1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or chunks

PREPARATION:
1. Preheat oven 350°, middle rack. In a bowl, whisk cinnamon into flour. In a stand mixer with paddle, put butter, both sugars, baking soda, salt and vanilla. Beat medium just until ingredients come together as a mass.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated, stopping to scrape sides as needed. On low, add flour and cinnamon and beat just until incorporated. Add chips and beat just until incorporated.
3. On 1-2 baking sheets lined with parchment, drop batter by heaping tablespoon, up to 15 per sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes, turning midway until just golden brown on edges. Let cool on racks.

Enjoy! xo

May 15, 2012May 15, 2012 by Nicole Ashley Categories: CookiesTags: Baking, Buddy Valastro, Carlo's Bakery, Chocolate, Cookies, Hoboken, Hoboken NJ, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, New Jersey 2 Comments

Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

Oh glorious day! It’s one of my favorite days of the year (besides my birthday and Christmas of course)! Here is a recipe for Paula Deen’s Three Chocolate Cookie. Check out her site and enjoy the cookies!

Servings: 3 dozen
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 12 min
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3   large eggs
1 3/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1   (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup milk chocolate morsels
3   (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup almond brickle chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets.

With an electric mixer, beat butter and shortening at medium speed until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in chocolate morsels and almond brickle chips. Drop cookies by 1/4 cupfuls about 3-inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool for 2 minutes on baking sheets. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Enjoy! xo

May 15, 2012 by Nicole Ashley Categories: CookiesTags: Baking, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Cookies, Food, Kitchen, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, Om Nom Nom, Paula Deen, Yummy 2 Comments

Cinco de Mayo Piñata Cookies

Since tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, I thought I’d share this with all of you. While on Pinterest I came across this super cool cookie recipe. This recipe comes from She Knows and they give you the step by step instructions on how to make these cookies. It does involve it set overnight, but still…look how cool they look. Check out their site and the recipe below:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 5 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Mini M&M candies
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (frosting)
• 2 teaspoons milk (frosting)

Directions:

1. Make The Dough: Cream sugars with butter. Beat in eggs. Add oil. Combine dry ingredients together, and then gradually add them to the mixture. Mix in vanilla and almond extract.

2. Color the dough: Split dough into five, even-sized balls and one smaller ball (this will be the black one). Add food coloring to each of the dough balls until desired color is achieved. Gel food coloring gives you more intense colors than liquid.

3. Layer the dough: Use a container the same approximate width of your donkey/burro piñata cookie cutter, and line it with plastic food wrap. Split all of your colored dough balls in half (except the black) and begin layering the dough in the container, starting with the black dough on the bottom. Alternate the colors so that you end up with two layers of each color by the time you’re done.

4. Wait: Cover the layered dough and freeze for four hours or overnight. This is the perfect time to conserve your creative juices for what lies ahead.

5. Bake the cookies: Remove the dough from the container and unwrap from the plastic. Cut slices, approximately 1/4-inch wide. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake them at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes.

6. Cut the cookies: Immediately after you take them out of the oven, use your burro piñata cookie cutter to cut the cookie shapes. Working in sets of three, be sure to cut two burro piñata cookies in one direction and one burro piñata cookie in the opposite direction. (Just flip your cookie cutter over.) That way, when you go to assemble them, the finished cookie will look “pretty” on both sides — because the baked, bottom sides will be hidden.

7. Create the hidden pocket: For the middle cookies in each set, cut off the ears and legs, and cut out the center where the M&Ms will go. I used a small square cutter, and made three cuts to get a narrow rectangle. Try to work quickly, because as the cookies cool, they are more likely to crumble or break. Let them cool on the baking sheet before you move them and remove the excess, outer cookie.

8. Assemble the pinata cookie: To assemble, take the first piñata cookie and lay it upside down so that the baked bottom is facing up. Outline the center of the piñata body with a “frosting glue” mixture of milk and powdered sugar. (I used 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and two teaspoons of milk. If you put it inside a Ziploc bag and cut off a tiny tip of the bag’s corner, you can pipe it onto the cookie easily.) Put the middle cookie on top of the frosting glue and add the M&Ms to the open center. Put another outline of frosting glue on the middle cookie and place the opposite-cut piñata cookie on top (so that the pretty side is facing out). Let these sit and harden for at least 30 minutes before you stand them upright.9. Show off your cookie and enjoy!

May 4, 2012 by Nicole Ashley Categories: CookiesTags: Baking, Cinco de Mayo, Cookies, Food, Goodies, Kitchen, M&M's, Pinata, Rainbow 2 Comments

Lace Cookies

With the holidays approaching rather quickly I need to start baking once the semester ends. One of my favorite types of cookies are Lace Cookies. I’ve never made them. Courtesy of Real Simple magazine they give a simple recipe for their Lace Cookies. Check out the recipe below:

Makes 36 cookies| Hands-On Time: 10m | Total Time: 1hr 00m

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, sugars, corn syrup, and salt over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat and mix in the flour and almonds just until incorporated.
3. Drop level teaspoons of the batter onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 4 inches apart. Bake until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Cool on the baking sheets until firm, 8 to 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

 

Enjoy! xo

December 8, 2011 by Nicole Ashley Categories: CookiesTags: Baking, cookie, Cookies, Cooking, Food, Kitchen, Lace, Lace cookies Leave a comment

S’mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

This woman is a genius taking the two things I love and baking them together! Picky Palate has some awesome ideas and this one is by far the best! Not only does she explain step by step  on how to make these cookies, but these photos along with it. Check out the recipe for her S’more Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies below:

What you’ll need:
2 sticks softened butter
1 Cup granulated sugar
3/4 Cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
3 1/2 Cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 Cups semi sweet chocolate chips
24 graham cracker quarters or 12 full sheets separated at perforations
3 Hershey Bars, broken into rows of 3 bars
12 large marshmallows cut in half lengthwise

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silpat liner.
2.  In a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla, continue to beat until well combined.
3.  Place flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl; mix to combine then add slowly to wet ingredients along with the chocolate chips.
4.  Layer a graham cracker quarter with 3 Hershey chocolate squares and 2 marshmallow halves.  Close with another graham cracker.  Top s’more with a large scoop of cookie dough.  Place in hands and place another large scoop on bottom then front and back sides as needed.  Form dough around s’mores.  Will get messy, but stick with it, it does not have to be perfect.  S’mores will move around but it’s no big deal.  Place large cookies onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes or until edges are golden and centers are cooked through.
5. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack or serving plate.

Makes 12 large stuffed cookies.

Enjoy!

November 14, 2011 by Nicole Ashley Categories: CookiesTags: Baking, Chocolate Chip, Cookies, Cooking, Dessert, Food, S'mores Leave a comment