Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with M&Ms

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

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3/4 cup (1  1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp vanilla (yes, 1 tbsp!)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
plain M&Ms, optional

Cream the melted and cooled butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well. Add the vanilla and beat well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, soda  and salt. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheets and bake 325 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Cool on cookie sheets a few minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack.

I like to top these with plain M&Ms before baking. I also will form some dough into a log and wrap it in parchment paper, and then freeze it for up to a month. When ready to bake, simply cut the log into slices, about 1/2" thick and bake. You don't really even need to thaw out the dough first.

Salted Nut Roll Bars

Sometimes I add the peanuts and sometimes I don't. Either way, they are very good!

Printable Recipe

Crust

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking pwd

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Middle  

3 cups mini marshmallows

Topping   

1/4 cup butter

12 oz pkg peanut butter chips

2/3 cup corn syrup

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups Rice Krispies

2 cups salted peanuts

Cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat well. Stir in the flour, baking pwd, soda and salt. Press into a greased 9 x 13" pan and bake 350 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle on the mini marshmallows. Return to the oven for 2 minutes, and then remove and spread the marshmallows over the crust. Cool slightly.

In a saucepan, combine the butter, peanut butter chips, and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, until butter and peanut butter chips are melted and mixture has come to a boil. Stir constantly. When mixture has come to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and mix well. Stir in the Rice Krispies and peanuts until evenly combined. Using a fork or spoon, carefully spread over the marshmallow layer. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Breakfast Cake or "That Yellow Cake"

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When I was little, my mother would read a story to me about a little girl whose mother would, once in a while, allow her to eat a big bowl of ice cream for breakfast (and that's all I remember about the story). For a 5 year old, that was a wonderful concept! Oh how I envied that little girl! Now I know this is a regular cake and not so much a coffee cake, and it's probably more along the lines of something you'd prepare for dessert; but ... every now and then, it is good to have something sweet for breakfast. Sort of like in the storybook. :) Let's just say the ham and eggs cancel out the cake - especially if you drink orange juice with it!


Print

1(18.25 oz) pkg Yellow or White cake mix (here, I used white cake mix because that is all I had - I usually use a yellow cake mix)
1 (3-oz) pkg butterscotch or vanilla instant pudding mix (here, I used butterscotch)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.


Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the cake mix, pudding mix, vegetable oil, water, eggs and vanilla for 1 minute on low speed; then for 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour one-third of the batter in a greased 9 x 13" pan, and sprinkle one-half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture over that. Pour the next third of batter over the sugar-cinnamon, sprinkle the remaining half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture over the batter; then top with the remaining batter. You don't necessarily have to pour the cake batter evenly, it will spread out as it bakes. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool slightly, then spread with the Glaze.


Glaze
1 cup pwd sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla


Mix together until smooth.

Grinder Sandwich

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You can make as many of these sandwiches as desired. To spice them up a bit, you can add some pepperoni, or browned hot Italian sausage. Maybe add some chpd jalepenos, or use pepper-jack cheese. Really, the sky is the limit. The recipe calls for sliced tomatoes, but I never add those.

olive oil
onion, sliced
green pepper, sliced
salt and pepper

thinly sliced deli ham
thinly sliced Provalone cheese
additional olive oil for drizzling
dried oregano leaves
hoagie buns, split almost all the way through

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion and green pepper and saute until tender-crisp. Drain the oil and season with salt and pepper.

Layer the ham, cheese and sauteed vegetables on the hoagie buns. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with oregano leaves. Wrap each sandwich in foil and bake 350 degrees for about 25 - 35 minutes, or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Ho-Ho Cake

Printable Recipe

This is one of my kids' favorite cakes. It is surprisingly light and moist.

Bake a German Chocolate Cake Mix according to pkg directions in two greased 8" cake pans. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, split the cakes in half, using thread or a serrated knife, so that you have 4 rounds.

Filling  
Because my kids like the filling so much, I make 1  1/2 times the recipe. Amounts are in parentheses.

3 tbsp flour      (4  1/2 tbsp)
1 cup milk      (1  1/2 cups)
1 cup shortening      (1  1/2 cups)
1 cup granulated sugar      (1  1/2 cups)
1 tsp vanilla      (1  1/2 tsp)

Add flour to a saucepan and gradually whisk in the milk. Cook over low-medium heat until thick. This will only take a few minutes. Cool.

When the milk mixture has cooled, in another bowl, cream the shortening, sugar and vanilla. Add the milk mixture and with an electric mixer, cream until thoroughly combined. It should be thick, and smooth. Cream for about 5 minutes. (You will see a difference, the longer you beat the mixture.)

Place one cake round on a platter. Spread with the one-third of the filling. Top with the another cake round and spread with another one-third of the filling. Top with another cake round and spread with the last of the filling. Top with the last cake round and if desired, frost just the top of the cake. (I actually make just half a recipe of the frosting when making a layer cake. When I bake this in a 9x13" cake pan, I will make a full recipe.)


Silky Chocolate Glaze

3 (1-oz) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
4 tbsp light corn syrup
2 cups pwd sugar
4 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the above until smooth.

Store cake in the refrigerator.

Note: Sometimes I bake this in a 9 x 13" pan. After it has cooled thoroughly, I split the cake in half, lengthwise. I return one cake half back into the pan. I spread with the filling, and top with the other cake half. Sometimes I use the glaze, but most times I don't.