Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Remember these classic cookies? Five ingredients, 20 minutes, and you're on your way to warm peanut-buttery and chocolatey goodness. These totally hit the spot when I found myself having an unexpected peanut butter craving a couple weeks ago (I'm normally not a big peanut butter lover, but I had to have peanut butter cookies immediately). I'm thinking about trying these again but with Nutella instead of peanut butter...I'll keep you posted with how they turn out!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
adapted from allrecipes

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
18 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. With electric mixer, combine all ingredients except kisses. Beat on medium until completely combined. Roll into 1" balls and place on prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press 1 chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie. A big glass of milk is a MUST with these!

Magic Bars

These are super easy and delicious, perfect for the holiday season! Plus, they are totally customizable. Don't like nuts? Add more chocolate chips instead. You can swap white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, mint chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or even toffee bits for some of the semi-sweet or butterscotch chips. Just make sure you have a nice tall glass of milk to enjoy with these because they are nice and rich!

Magic Bars
Adapted from Eagle Brand

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
2. Mix melted butter and graham cracker crumbs in medium bowl. Press evenly along bottom of prepared pan.
3. Heat sweetened condensed milk in small bowl in microwave for 30 seconds - 1 minute, until melted slightly (this will make it easier to spread in the pan). Spread over graham cracker mixture. Top with coconut, chocolate and butterscotch chips, and nuts. Press firmly into pan.
4. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving. (I think they are best after about 10 minutes, so they're still warm and gooey. Pair it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream? To die for.)

Chewy Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies

I have made these twice in the past month, and Corey has declared them his favorite cookies ever. I never thought that anything would replace his deep and undying love for chocolate chip cookies...but if anything was going to, it makes sense it would be these. Chewy chocolate cookies with milk chocolate, semi-sweet, and butterscotch chips? Delish. I even substituted half whole wheat flour for the regular flour in these cookies and he still raved about them (shh...don't tell!)

I made some with white chocolate chips instead of the butterscotch chips, and while they were still really good (and slightly more photogenic), the butterscotch chips are definitely better. I suppose you could try peanut butter chips too, but why ruin a perfectly good cookie with those? (We are not big peanut butter lovers here!) I made my cookies small so that I didn't feel quite as guilty eating five of them before 11:00 a.m...but you can feel free to make them larger if you so desire, just up the cooking time accordingly.

Chewy Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies
adapted from Mrs. Harding Cooks

Makes 2 1/2 dozen small cookies (I used a 1 Tb. cookie scoop)

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tb. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips (or white chocolate chips or peanut butter chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly spray with cooking spray.
2. In medium bowl cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until completely combined, scraping down side of bowl to ensure everything is mixed well.
3. Add cocoa powder and mix until combined. Add flour, salt, and baking powder and mix until totally combined (do not over mix). Stir in baking chips.
4. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes (mine were perfect at 9 minutes). Be sure that you don't over bake, you want them to be firm around the edges but still nice and a little gooey in the middle. I think these are best warm right of the oven (maybe because I can't possibly wait for five minutes until they cool down) but Corey likes them cool with a tall glass of milk. Either way, they are amazing!

Ridiculously Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love pumpkin. Whether it's in pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin bars, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin gingerbread waffles, pumpkin cake, or these cookies, it always seems to hit the spot. I'll freely admit that I eat pumpkin treats all year round, but once fall hits and Halloween starts inching closer I can't think about much else (I only wish I was exaggerating). When a pumpkin craving hits and I don't have time to make anything labor-intensive, I like to whip these cookies up. There are 3 ingredients, and they can be mixed and in the oven in less than 5 minutes. This is the easiest, most fool-proof recipe I've ever made, and they couldn't be more delicious: moist, cakey, chocolatey and perfect every single time.

This time I even mixed things up and made some with cinnamon chips and butterscotch chips, as well as some with chocolate chips. They were all delicious and you better believe that I will be making these several times before winter comes!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 3 dozen cookies

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, just plain old pumpkin puree)
1 (18.25 oz) spice cake mix
1 - 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or your favorite flavor)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients (adjusting the amount of chocolate chips based on your personal taste). Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased baking pan, flatten slightly with back of spoon or fingers (otherwise they will be very round and puffy). Bake for 10 - 15 minutes (I used my 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop and baked for 13 minutes and they were absolutely perfect). Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie

This is one of my all-time favorite desserts. Whenever we go to Chili's, I try to talk Corey into getting this (it's not too hard to convince him, he loves it too). Since I know that I'll probably be full after eating my dinner, we get it as an appetizer instead. It's a whole lot easier to bring home the rest of my meal as leftovers than it is to bring this home! I adapted this recipe from one I found online and it is absolutely divine. I can't get enough of it!

Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie

Crust:
4 Tb. Butter, melted
2 Tb. sugar
1 cup cinnamon graham crackers, finely crushed (or 1 cup regular graham crackers, crushed plus 1/2 tsp. cinnamon)
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cookie:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For serving:
vanilla ice cream
chocolate syrup
caramel syrup
chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Prepare crust by mixing 4 Tb. melted butter and 2 Tb. sugar. Add graham crackers and press into baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
2. Prepare cookie layer by creaming 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add flour, soda, powder, and salt and mix until blended. Stir in coconut. Press cookie mixture over the chocolate chips. Sprinkle with 1/2 cups walnuts and press into cookie layer.
3. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, chocolate, caramel, and additional chopped walnuts.

Cookie Bars

My 10 year old nephew Jonathan made these on Sunday and brought them to my in-laws to share with everyone. I took one bite and was head-over-heels in love. I've (literally) been thinking about them ever since. It took every ounce of will power I possess (and a little willpower I borrowed from my husband) to not immediately make them when we walked in the door that night. I managed to hold out another 20 hours (mostly because I had a screaming baby to take care of), but the minute I had a chance to whip them up, I did. And proceeded to gobble down three. The rest are currently sitting downstairs taunting me, begging me to come and eat them (masochists). I'm pretty sure they won't survive the rest of the day.

The best part about these? There is only 4 ingredients, and if you're like me you probably have all of the ingredients in your cupboard right now. It takes only 20 minutes to make and bake them, so you're only a few minutes away from a sweet, chocolately fix. But the real kicker is that they taste like a combination of cake batter and chocolate chip cookies. Crispy and chewy like cookies, but with a cake-like flavor. These are sooo addicting! I used white cake mix and milk chocolate chips. Jonathan used funfetti cake mix and milk chocolate chips. I hear that chocolate cake and peanut butter chips is great too. All I know is I'm going to be trying many, many varieties in the next little while because I can't get enough!

Thanks for sharing Jonathan! I had him write down the recipe for me and he knew it off the top of his head. If that doesn't spell easy, I don't know what does!

Cookie Bars
by Jonathan

P.S. I greased the pan with non-stick spray so that they would be easier to get out, and I recommend you do the same. Isn't

Classic No-Bake Cookies

I'm pretty sure that everyone has had these at least once in their lives. I grew up on these babies and loved making them all the time when I was younger. They were also the first recipe I made in my foods class in 7th grade...which should tell you that they're quick and pretty much fool proof if a bunch of 12 year olds can make them. And I don't have to tell you that they're a crowd-please. Chocolate. Peanut Butter. Oatmeal. You really can't go wrong with ingredients like that. I brought these to a picnic with some friends recently and everyone was thrilled, and the tray was empty in no time. These are perfect for hot summer days when you're craving something sweet but don't want to turn on the oven or take a lot of time making something. I spruced mine up by drizzling them with semi-sweet and white chocolate, but even without it, they taste wonderful.

Classic No-Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/2 cup milk (preferably not skim)
1/2 cup butter (I use unsalted, if you use salted butter omit the additional salt)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky, I prefer smooth)
4 cups quick cooking oatmeal

1. Combine sugar, salt, cocoa, milk and butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and cool for one minute. Add vanilla, peanut butter and oatmeal and stir until peanut butter is completely melted and mixture is well combined.
3. Immediately drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper, and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon or your fingers. Cool completely before serving. Store in airtight container for up to 3 days.

Cookie Dough Topped Brownies

Have you ever made chocolate chip cookies and just wanted to sit there and eat the entire bowl of dough without baking it? Yeah...me too. So when I saw the recipe for these cookie dough topped brownies I knew I needed to try them. Brownies. Cookie Dough. No raw eggs so I don't have to feel guilty about eating it. Sounds perfect, right? These are delicious and super rich so you only need a tiny piece to feel totally satisfied. Enjoy!

Cookie Dough Topped Brownies
adapted slightly from My Kitchen Cafe

9 x 13 pan of your favorite brownies, baked and cooled
1/2 cup (1 cube) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tb. milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Cream butter and sugars in medium sized bowl until light and fluffy. add milk and vanilla and beat until creamy. Add flour and salt and beat until incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls over cooled brownies and spread (I found it easiest to do this with an offset spatula dipped in cold water so it doesn't stick to the cook dough). If desired, sprinkle with flaky sea salt (I love that sweet/salty combo so I used just a little bit of sea salt on top, yum!) Refrigerate at least two hours so the cookie dough firms up and you can cut it (I cut the brownies with a pizza cutter dipped in cold water so it didn't stick). Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Creamy Banana Pudding

This dessert is based on a recipe I found online for Magnolia Bakery's Banana Pudding. I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant, and this is the only thing that I have been wanting to eat for the last week. I made some and ate it something like three times a day until it was gone. Good thing I'm almost ready to have this baby so that I (hopefully) won't be doing that again! But let me just say, it was totally worth. This is creamy, sweet, and delicious. Enjoy!

Creamy Banana Pudding

1 pkg. (4 serving size) Banana or Vanilla instant pudding
1/2 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup cold water
1 vanilla bean
1/2 pkg. (12 oz.) vanilla wafers
1 pkg. (16 oz.) light cool whip
6 bananas, thinly sliced

1. Mix pudding (I used sugar free) with sweetened condensed milk and water. Whisk until well combined. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into pudding mixture and stir to combine. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Fold in 1/2 of the cool whip.
2. In trifle bowl or large glass bowl, layer 1/3 of the vanilla wafers. Top with 1/3 pudding mixture, 1/3 bananas, and 1/3 cool whip. repeat layers three times, ending with cool whip. Top with a couple of crushed vanilla wafers or shaved chocolate. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours (but it is best if refrigerated overnight).

Oreo Truffles

I made these last year for Christmas, but in the midst of the 45 or so other things I cooked for our massive holiday party, they kind of got lost in the mix. I found Oreos for a great deal and decided to whip some up for New Year's Eve this year...and then wondered how I ever survived without them for so long. They were gone quickly, and I found myself making another batch just two days later because I didn't get enough of them the first time. They are super easy and have only three ingredients, you can't go wrong here! I adapted the recipe slightly from Kraft Foods; I added extra cream cheese because I like the truffles soft in the center so they're melt-in-your-mouth delicious.


Oreo Truffles
Makes 50-60 truffles

1 package Oreos
1 1/2 pkg. (12 oz. total) cream cheese, softened
12 oz. chocolate (I used half milk chocolate and half semi-sweet chocolate, I also did some with white chocolate and they were all great)
1 oz. white chocolate

1. In bowl of food processor, finely crush Oreos. Mix thoroughly with cream cheese until all the crumbs are mixed in and no white streaks are visible. Form into small balls (I used a small cookie scoop and then rolled them into balls) and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Melt 12 oz. chocolate over double boiler, stirring constantly. Dip each truffle into chocolate using a spoon, being sure to tap against the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Drop onto parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining truffles.
3. Melt 1 oz. white chocolate. Pour into ziploc bag and make a tiny hole in the corner. Drizzle over chocolates. Refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 72 hours (if they last that long!)

Peanut Butter Bars

A perfect back-to-school snack. Did you ever have these with your school lunches? I think it's the only way the school ever got people to eat lunch on fish stick day. It worked for me! These are super quick and easy and delicious. Every time I make them they literally fly off the plate. Enjoy! And make sure you have a nice tall glass of milk on hand, and plenty of people to share these with because they are addictive!

Peanut Butter Bars

Bars

1 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

2 cups oatmeal (quick cooking or old-fashioned, either will work)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray jelly-roll pan (or half sheet, 13 x 18 inches) with cooking spray.

2. In bowl of large electric mixer cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add dry ingredients and mix on low just until all ingredients are incorporated, 1 - 2 minutes.

3. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until very light golden brown (it will still look doughy, but you don't want to overcook it! This is the key to chewy and delicious bars). Cool completely.

4. In large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add remaining frosting ingredients and mix on low until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until light and creamy, 4-5 minutes. Spread evenly over bars and cut into squares to serve. Serves 35 - 48.

Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies

We grew up eating these frequently in my family. We always called them "soft chocolate chip cookies" because they have a soft cake-like texture instead of chewy like a regular chocolate chip cookie. They're mot much to look at, but they taste heavenly, especially fresh out of the oven. I've played around with these a few times and made a few changes, and they always turn out great. If you're looking for something a little different, feel free to add any of the following in addition to the normal ingredients: chopped walnuts (about 1 cup), oatmeal (about 1 1/2 cups) and butterscotch chips (about 1 cup in place of 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips), or cinnamon chips (2 cups or do half cinnamon chips and half milk chocolate chips).

Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup applesauce
1 - 2 cups chocolate chips (depending on how chocolatey you like your cookies)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
3. Add flour, salt, cinnamon and cloves and mix until just combined.
4. In small bowl combine applesauce and baking soda. Microwave for one minute until applesauce is warm (it will turn a brownish color while it heats because it is oxidizing, don't worry, it is just fine). Add the applesauce mixture to the batter and mix until well blended.
5. Fold in chocolate chips and any additional add-ons (see above).
6. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.

Gooey Chocolate Cookies

These cookies were adapted from a recipe on Stephanie's Kitchen. They are soft and chewy with a yummy melted chocolate filling. They're best when eaten warm and fresh out of the oven, but if you're eating them the next day, they're also delicious warmed up in the microwave for about 10 seconds each. Just be careful not to burn your tongue (not that I know that from experience or anything...)

Gooey Chocolate Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped or mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 3 minutes, until mixture is light and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined (do not over mix).
3. Shape dough into 1 - 2 inch balls (depending on how big you want your cookies). Push a couple of chocolate chunks into the middle of the ball and cover completely with dough.
4. Bake cookies for 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet two minutes. Serve immediately or move to a cooking rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Yes, you read right. Cookie dough cupcakes. Could life get any better than that? I submit that it cannot! Just be sure you eat something really, really healthy for dinner the night you eat these because they're not exactly a health food and they're really, really sweet. Enjoy!

Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Adapted from The Cake Mix Doctor

1 package yellow cake mix (I recommend Pillsbury low-sugar yellow cake mix)
1 package sugar-free vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup skim milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package chocolate chip cookie dough
Your favorite frosting, enough to frost 24 cupcakes

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake wrappers in 24 muffin pans.
2. Combine all cupcake ingredients (except cookie dough and frosting, of course) in bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low until combined, scrape bowl, then mix on medium for 2 minutes. Batter will be very thick.
3. Divide batter between cupcake pans (about 1/4 cup in each cupcake wrapper), each cupcake wrapper should be about 2/3 full. Roll cookie dough into 24 balls and place one on top of each unbaked cupcake.
4. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until tops spring back when touched. Cool 2 minutes and remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Frost with your favorite frosting (I used chocolate buttercream with a little extra salt to cut down on the super sweetness of the cupcakes) and garnish with a baked cookie, sprinkles, or toasted pecans.

Ok, I know this picture didn't turn out too great but I wanted to show the inside with the cookie dough. I promise, it tastes much more incredible than it looks!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know. Chocolate chip cookies. Who doesn't have a recipe for chocolate chip cookies? Plus, they're so boring and un-original. Sorry if that's how you feel, but I have to say that these are definitely blog worthy. They are soft and chewy and always turn out perfectly. I've tried plenty of chocolate chip cookie recipes and these are the best. Plus, who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies? They're the perfect all occasion treat!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Betty Crocker

1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 1/3 cups flour (for high altitude, if you are not at a high altitude use 3 cups)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips and/or butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and cream until fluffy and light yellow, 2 - 3 minutes. Add dry ingredients and mix until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Drop by rounded tablespoons (I use a small cookie scoop) onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes, then remove to cooling racks.

Make about 6 dozen cookies.

Sugar Cookies

I don't remember a single Christmas without eating sugar cookies. We always make my Aunt Hattie's sugar cookies, but this year I decided to branch out a little bit and try another recipe. It's almost the exact same as Aunt Hattie's recipe, but it has sour cream instead of sour milk, butter instead of shortening, and one extra egg. These additions made the cookies much softer, and I love them! I'm not a crunchy sugar cookie person, and these were the perfect softness. I scaled these down so they don't make quite so many cookies (I still got about 4 dozen small to medium cookies out of the batch). I hope you enjoy them (and family, please don't throw things at me! I know it's not the same recipe, but it's really close. And you love me, remember?)

Sugar Cookies
1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
2. Combine sour cream, butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Chill dough in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
3. Roll out dough on well floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut dough into shapes. Place on cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes and move to cooling racks to cool completely. Frost with your favorite icing and crushed candy canes, if desired. Store covered for up to 1 week. They stay really soft even after a couple days. Enjoy!

Rice Crispy Treats

So I know that everyone has a recipe for rice crispy treats, and it's always pretty simple: butter, marshmallows, rice crispies. But these are much, much better. I promise. They're originally supposed to be made with Special K cereal, but I always use rice crispies instead. Enjoy!

Rice Crispy Treats

2 Tb. corn syrup
1 cube butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
24 marshmallows
6 cups rice crispies
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

1. Combine corn syrup, butter, sugars, and vanilla in large saucepan. Cook until well blended. Add marshmallows and cook until melted.
2. Pour mixture over rice crispies and walnuts, if desired. Pour into buttered 9 x 13 pan and cool for at least 2 hours. Cut into squares.

Chocolate Scotcheroos

These are a classic in Corey's family, they always have them at Christmas time. I made them for our holiday party this year and they were a hit! Who wouldn't like peanut butter, butterscotch, and chocolate?

Chocolate Scotcheroos
1 c sugar
1 c light corn syrup

1 c peanut butter

6 c rice krispies

1 c chocolate chips

1 c butterscotch chips

1. Combine sugar and syrup in saucepan and cook to boiling.
2. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and stir until well blended.
3. Add rice krispies. Spread in 9x13 pan. Melt both chips together in small saucepan over low heat. Spread over the top of rice krispy mixture and cool. Cut into small squares and serve.

Molasses Cookies

This is a great holiday recipe. These are some of my father-in-law's famous cookies and we always love it when he makes them. They're pretty much homemade ginger snaps, only way, way better than anything you could buy at the store. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Molasses Cookies
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups flour
1 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg (optional, I leave it out because I can't stand the taste, but if you like nutmeg feel free to add it)
additional granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together shortening, butter, and sugar. Add molasses and egg. Slowly add dry ingredients.
3. Roll dough into small balls. Roll in sugar. Place on greased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 7 - 8 minutes. Cool 2 minutes and move to cooling racks. Serve warm with milk!

Rocky Road Cookies

I saw some delicious looking cookies on a new blog I found yesterday, Priscilla's Baking Adventures. They looked so beautiful and so tasty that I just had to come home and make them. The cookies are a simple cake mix cookie filled with orange frosting. I made some of those, but then decided to be creative and make some rocky road cookies, too...and those turned out amazing! They are very moist and super easy. For the original recipe, see Priscilla's post here

Rocky Road Cookies
1 box chocolate cake mix (I used devil's food)
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs

1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
1/4 cup slivered almonds
20 caramels, unwrapped (optional)
1/4 cup milk (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix oil and eggs. Stir in cake mix (mixture will be very thick).
3. Form dough into small balls (I used an ice cream scoop for this). Press 3 or 4 mini marshmallows into the center of each ball, making sure that marshmallows are completely enclosed in dough. Flatten slightly between hands. Sprinkle with almonds (or put almonds in a small bowl and press the top of the cookie into the almonds).
4. Bake for 8 minutes, cool for a 3 minutes on the pan, move to a cooling rack, and cool for 5 more minutes.
5. For caramel drizzle, if desired: Heat caramels and milk in a small saucepan until melted, stirring well so mixture does not burn. Cool 3 minutes and drizzle over cookies.


Make sure to check out Priscilla's blog! I'm so impressed with a sixteen year old girl that has her own food blog with such delicious looking food!


Here's a picture of the cookies filled with orange cream-cheese frosting like Priscilla made. Yum! Corey loved them!