Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Hey there, this is the sister that normally eats the cookies; now I'm making the cookies! Who would've thought that I can BAKE!?! Well, I love to bake and cook oh yeah I can't forget I LOVE to eat! I made these cookies a few years back and forgot about them. I forgot where the recipe was and once I remembered I just had to make them once again! I remembered that my family devoured them within a short period of time (who am I kidding though, anything with sugar in it doesn't last very long in our household). These cookies are delicious and I suggest you make them ASAP!

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 10-12 minutes
Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 oz. (1 heaping cup) craisins
2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375*F.
• Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
  
  
  
• Add eggs, mixing well.
• Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate mixing bowl.
  
  
  
• Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition.
  
  
  
• Stir in craisins and white chocolate chips.
  
  
  
• Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool on wire rack.
  
  
• Store in an air tight container may be kept in the freezer (when using after freezing allow 15 min. for cookies to thaw out).
  

Alterations:
- I didn't have enough butter so I added 1/2 cup of apple sauce
- I used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour
- I made the cookies really small and got just a little more than 4 dozen cookies
-I stored them in an ziplock... BIG note to self do not do that!!! Because I used applesauce they were very sticky and began to have a stale taste.
-I used egg beater type eggs.

I couldn't tell that I had made alterations to the recipe, it's that good!


Oh, these cookies made my kitchen smell so yummy! (I stand corrected they made my sister's kitchen smell yummy, my kitchen a.k.a. my parents kitchen is under construction (seriously it looks like a war zone)). I hope you get baking so you too may taste the deliciousness of these oatmeal cranberry white chocolate (goodness) cookies!

Kaitlin took all but the last pictures herself!  I edited them though. :)

Girl Scout Cookie

This is one of my favorite winter drinks!  It's warm, and leaves you a little fuzzy feeling. 

Ingredients:

Hot Water

Hot Cocoa mix

Peppermint Schnapps

Candy Cane and/or Marshmallows (optional)

Instructions:

Make yourself a cup of hot cocoa, leave out an oouch of water.  Top off with peppermint schnapps.  Quite honestly, you be the judge of how much booze you want mixed with your hot chocolate.  I put in 1/2-1 shot worth.  If you're a goober and still have candy canes left over from Christmas like me, then put one in and finish "stirring" with it.  Marshmallows are a must for me in hot chocolate, but it's totally up to you if you want to use them.

Now, go put your pj's on, build a fire (if you can), pop a movie in, and curl up under a blanket.  Those are direct orders.  Go!

Maple Glazed Sweet Potato and Sausage

This is so yummy!  It's the perfect fall/winter dish.  And it's healthy!  A friend made it at a dinner once.  I was the only one that liked it.  So he gave me the recipe, the original recipe.  I've made it once before, but that was awhile ago, so I decided it was time to make it again.  And my family loved it.

I've decided that my friends that didn't like it, well, their taste buds are dead.

Maple Glazed Sweet Potato and Sausage
Prep Time:  17 minutes
Cook Time:  12 minutes
Serves 14 (small servings...)
Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 to 3/4" cubes
3 tbs butter
1 lb. smoked sausage, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 medium onion, halved crosswise and cut into thin wedges
1 large apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbs packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne

Instructions:

1. Bring 1" water and 1/2 tsp salt to boil in dutch oven or large saucepan.  Add potatoes; return to boiling.  Cover and cook over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender.  Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Add sausage, onion and apple.  Cook and stir 5 minutes.  Stir in maple syrup, brown sugar, salt, nutmeg and cayenne, mixing well.
3. Stir in sweet potatoes, stirring to coat.  Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until lightly glazed.

Per serving:  163 cal; 3g fat; 7mg cholestrol; 146mg sodium; 32g carbohydrate; 2g protein; 4g fiber
WW: 3 pts.

Notes:
-Looking back through the ingredients, I realized that I used 2 apples instead of 1.
-Substituted regular maple syrup with light/low sugar syrup.
-Subbed normal smoked sausage with Jennie-O turkey smoked sausage.  I quartered the sausages pieces.
-Have everything chopped before you start.  I got the potatoes going first, then started the rest.  The potatoes were more than fork-tender.
-Recipe says serves 14, but it's more like 7-8.

What I Made this Holiday Season...

I've made these yummy Lil' Smokies.
And Hot Buttered Rum.  Which has made me gain 3 pounds alone in one week.  And I don't even use rum...
Oh, and these mushrooms...delish!
Cookies , always a winner.
So is this onion dip.  You must make it!
And I made these...Oreo Truffles.  Watch out, yum!
Speaking of dough balls, I made Chocolate Covered Cookie Dough.
Did you say cookies?  Yep, how about Crunchy Jumble Cookies?
A dip is always good!  So I made a southwest one.

Southwest Corn Dip

First off let me say this, if you're not a member of Tasty Kitchen then something is wrong with you.  So go join.  And add your own recipes.  It's totally free!

Moving on.  I saw this recipe on Tasty Kitchen and decided that I had to make it.  Like soon!  Luckily I had a reason to make it soon, like for the next day.  To take to my friend's birthday party.  And it was a smashing hit!

Southwest Corn Dip
Serves 10 (according to the recipe, but it serves way more than that, but it could be used as a side salad I suppose)
Ingredients:
4 (15 oz.) cans corn, drained
1 (4 oz.) can chopped chilies, drained
1 (4 oz.) can chopped jalapenos, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 whole red bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch scallions/green onions, chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 (8 oz.) bag finely grated Mexican cheese
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped (or to taste)

Instructions:
Drain corn, chilies, and jalapenos.  Put in a large bowl with the beans, and tilt the bowl on its side while you chop the other veggies.  Add the rest of the veggies and drain - there will be liquid accumulated in the bowl.  Stir in the sour cream and grated cheese.  Add the cilantro last.

Refrigerate before serving if you have time and the self-control to keep from eating it.  Recommended to serve with Fritos Scoops or lime Tostitos.

My alterations:
-I used light sour cream.
-I added a little bit of salt and lime juice.
-Served with regular tortilla chips.

Chocolate Covered Cookie Dough

My favorite thing from Old Tyme Pastries is their chocolate covered cookie dough.  So where I came across this recipe I knew I had to make them.  You know, to compare.  Yea, purely for comparison reasons.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
14 oz. can sweetened, condensed milk
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
Shell: 1 1/2 lbs chocolate disks or chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy.  Add vanilla.  Gradually beat in flour and add sweetened, condensed milk.  Add chocolate morsels, mixing well.  Shape into 1" balls.  Place on waxed paper, chill 2 hours.
   *Since the dough is sticky, you can roll your fingers into flour.  This will make it easier to roll.
   
2.  Melt chocolate disks or chips in a double boiler.  Using 2 forks, dip cookie balls into candy coating to cover.  Place on waxed paper and chill to set.  Store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

These were good!  Not as good as Old Tyme.  But maybe because I: 1) didn't have milk chocolate chips, and 2) used semi-sweet chocolate chips for melting too.  I think they would have been better had I used the 2 different chocolates.  And, I again had problems properly coating the chocolate around the dough ball.

Make it.  Try it.  Enjoy it.  Just don't eat it all.

Crunchy Jumble Cookies

Who likes chocolate chip cookies?  Who likes rice krispie cereal?  So why not put the 2 together!

I came across this recipe on Megan's Munchies site last week and decided to make them.  Granted, I kinda messed up, but they were still yummy!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups rice cereal
1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease cookie sheets.
2. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
3. In large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add egg and vanilla; beat well.
5. Gradually add flour mixture.
6. Stir in rice cereal and chocolate chips.
7. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet.
8. Bake 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned.
9. Remove immediately from cookie sheets onto wire rack.  Cool completely. 

Yield:  3 dozen.

My mistake...?  Well, for some reason, I took 1/2 cup of butter for 1/2 cube of butter.  So, ah, there was 1/2 the amount of butter.  Needless to say, they were dry, dry, dry cookies.  The dry batter was still good though.

Oreo Truffles

2 things about these little treats:
1.  They're easy.
2.  They're good.

'Nuff said!

There are about 3 million versions of this recipe floating round the 'net, and I got mine from How Sweet It Is.

Ingredients:
a package of Oreo cookies
8 oz. block of cream cheese

1. Using a food processor, chop up the oreos to smithereens.  Once oreos are processed into fine crumbs, add the cream cheese.  Just keep running it until the two pretty much ball up. 
2. After you end up with one large ball, it's time to break it down to small balls.  Roll them into 1" balls, put them on a cookie sheet, and stick them in the freezer for about an hour to harden. 
3. Melt some chocolate in a double boiler and dip the oreo balls in.  Once dipped, through them in the freezer again.

Alterations:

• I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese AND reduced fat oreos.  I don't think the flavors were altered at all.
• I also had major issues when it came to dipping them in the chocolate.  So if you have any advice I'd love to hear it.
• 10/31/10 - I used peanut butter oreos... SO GOOD!  I'll be trying other flavored oreos in the future.