Greenwood Fireball Brownies

Good friends and good food collide at times.  This recipe is in honor of our friends Mitch and Jenn.  I name brownies after my friends and their likes.  This brownie recipe is easy to make with the help of a Betty Crocker brownie mix

Greenwood Fireball Brownies

One 10.25 Betty Crocker Brownie Mix
Following the package directions but making the substitutions below
1/3 cup part canola part olive oil
2 TBS Fireball Whiskey
1 egg (with the white thingies removed)
a shake of ground cinnamon
6 ounces good quality chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  In a small bowl dump the contents of the mix.  Add oil and whiskey.  Stir.  Add the egg and cinnamon.  Stir again.  Add the chocolate chips and then stir again.   Spray the bottom of a small baking dish or line cupcake pan with liners.  For this amount I was able to fill a disposable 6 x 8 1/2 inch foil container and six cupcake liners. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Serve hot with ice cream or cooled plain.

Simply Delish Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love a chocolate chip cookie? There are so many recipes to chose from. This one is my go to recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Crunchy, chocolately, salty, gooey goodness.

Simply Delish Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup softened butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup vanilla bean sugar
1 egg with the white thingies removed
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 10 ounce bag Ghirardelli 60% Cocao Bittersweet Chocolate chips
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Blend butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix again. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour in half cup fulls, mixing after each addition. Once well combined add the chocolate chips slowly until well incorporated.

Using a teaspon measure, scoop teaspoons of dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.  If you would like to freeze some dough balls for later use now is a great time.  Otherwise place doughballs 2 inches apart on the parchement and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set.

Allow cookies to cool and store in sealed container.  Enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Fudge

Cookies and Cream White Chocolate Fudge

Candy making is part of holiday baking too. Don't be afraid to try candy making. There are many recipes and ingredient combinations to explore. Oh sugar, honey honey...

1 7 Oz. Jar Marshmallow Creme
1 tsp Almond Extract
12 oz bag White Chocolate Chips

Put these ingrediants in a large mixing bowl.

One stick butter
2 1/2 cups sugar
5 Oz. Lowfat 2% Evaporated milk

Chopped Oreo Cookies

In a large saucepan, combine 1 tsp butter, sugar and E. milk. Set remaining butter aside. Bring to a boil on medium heat until candy thermometer reads 233 degrees F. Stir continuously. Once the thermometer reads 233 degrees F, add the remaining butter and stir. Bring the mixture back to a boil and stir continuously. Once bubbled up, take off heat and carefully pour mixture into your large bowl of marshmallow, chips and almond extract. Stir until all chips are melted and the mixture becomes a smooth and combined snowy white mixture.

Pour half of the white chocolate fudge mixture into a lightly greased 8 x 8 square pan. Level fudge out with a spoon and let sit for a minute or two. Sprinkle Oreo cookies pieces on top of fudge. Using the palm of your hand or finger tip lightly press the cookie pieces into the top surface of the fudge. Pour remaining mixture on the top of the cookie pieces. Level again to make sure cookies pieces are covered. So the cream filled middles of the cookies don't melt put fudge in the freezer for about ten minutes. Remove from freezer and set on counter and allow fudge to set. Once cooled, cut and put in bags for gifting.

A Couple Days Late Posted, But Worth The Wait

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads!!! I made this recipe for all the Dad's in the family on Sunday morning. Most of the Dad's I know LOVE peanut butter and chocolate. Below you will find a simple recipe to make something truly delectable!

#1 DAD Peanut Butter Balls

1 1/4 cup Skippy Natural Peanut Butter
1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
12 ounces Plymoth Pantry Chocolate Candy Coating

In a large bowl combine graham crumbs, powdered sugar and peanut butter. Stir. Add Rice Krispies by 1/2 cup increments and stir until all combined. Refrigerate for one full hour. Shape peanut butter mixture into balls using a level tablespoon. Melt Chocolate Candy Coating as directed on the package. Dip each ball in chocolate until covered. Rest on waxed paper or parchement for about 20 minutes or until chocolate is set. During the summer months I store the PBB's in the 'frige. Store in an airtight container. Gift and watch the smile on your Dad's face. (:

Crispy Chewy Chocolate Powdered Sugar Cookies

I have been on a mission to find a recipe for these cookies a certain bakery on Ventura Blvd makes. No such luck. When I try to recreate them, they turn out funky. So after many tries... this recipe is not at all like them but an excellent substitute. These turn out similar to the Chocolate Crackle Cookie variety.

Crispy Chewy Chocolate Powdered Sugar Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1 box Brownie mix, milk or dark chocolate (whatever you prefer)
1 cup flour
a few shakes cinnamon

In your mixing bowl combine dry ingredients and mix. Then add the following wet ingredients. Mixing after each addition.

1/2 cup water or milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 bag chocolate chips
1/4 cup coconut flakes (optional)
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Powdered sugar

The dough will be sticky using a teaspoon drop spoonfulls of dough into powdered sugar. Roll until dough ball is covered in powdered sugar. Place cookie on parchment covered cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until edges are set. Edges should be a bit crispy and centers chewy and browine like.

I took these to work and no one complained!

Chocolate Caramel Chewy Cookies

Chocolate chewy goodness. That is what these decadent chocolate concoctions are. A simple recipe with only a few ingredients. Quick to whip up and not too long in the oven and wha-la, instant YUM.

Chocolate Chewy Cookies

One Box Devil's Food cakemix
one packet Maple and Brown sugar oatmeal
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup milk
1/2 stick melted butter (1/4 cup)
1 tsp Kahlua
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 or 3 rolls of Rolo candies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, combine cakemix, oatmeal and cinnamon, stir a bit. Add liquids. Mix slowly. It will start out crumbly add egg and mix until well combined. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips. Unwrap the Rolos and set aside. Spray cookie sheet lighty with cooking spray. Using a small gravy ladel, scoop up some dough. Round it off a bit and place on the cookie sheet. Take a Rolo and place it in the middle of the cookie. Do this until you run out of dough. Approxiamately 18 cookies. You can use a tablespoon if you would prefer smaller cookies. Bake in the oven for 13-15 minutes or until edges are set.

Remove from cookie sheet and cool. Store cookies lined on wax paper in an air tight container.

Chocolate Crescent Pockets

I had a special guest in my kitchen today. Her name is Katie and she is visiting her Grandpa, our friend Juan for the next couple of weeks. I thought she might like to hang out and do some girlie stuff, so I asked Juan if she could hang out with me. She came to my house at 6 am. I had made her a little bed on the couch, I left her to slumber and I lumbered back upstairs. Beauty sleep was our first girlie thing to do.

Our second girlie thing was to bake up a yummy breakfast. Yes a breakfast that included chocolate. When I told her what we were going to make she didn't even look at me like I was crazy. We washed our hands and then prepared a "very rich" breakfast as Katie put it.

Chocolate Crescent Pockets (will make 8, or 16 small ones if you feel like cutting the 8 triangles in half)

one roll Pillsbury Crescent rolls
1-2 tablespoons butter
Cinnamon sugar
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll Crescents and place on baking pan. Spread a little butter on the larger end of triangle. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top of the butter. Place 12-15 chocolate chips on top of that. Fold the the two larger ends of triangle together and press with fingertips to seam the sides. Pull the skinny pointed end up and press the new sides together forming a pocket. Style the remaining dough from pointed end over the top of fold it, as long as pocket is formed. Spread a tiny bit of butter on top of that and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Repeat until all of your rolls have been transformed into chocolate pockets.

Bake for 13 - 15 minutes. Allow to cool just a bit. Serve and enjoy the chocolaty flaky warm goodness.

After we had breakfast we painted her toenails and fingernails in a Patriotic Zebra Pattern. Then swam all day long, had lunch, Swam more, came home and watched Hairspray. She had a great day and said her breakfast was the best one she had ever had and she would like to make them for her Grandpa.

Variety Brownies In One Pan

Make them think you slaved for hours in your kitchen. Really you only use one large brownie mix or 2-3 smaller bagged ones, one bowl and one Jelly roll type pan and you have 3 different types of brownies. Quite genius I think and when you taste the variety you will go out of your mind.

Mix your favorite Brownie mix (sometimes I replace the water the recipe calls for with milk or flavored alcohol) and spread batter into the greased jelly roll pan.

Coconut Brownies
Sprinkle coconut on one third of the batter in the pan. The coconut will toast up so nicely and add such a great taste and texture to your brownie!

Chocolate Heath Bar Brownie
Take 2-3 Heath bars and crack them up. Place toffee pieces on brownie batter on the next third of the pan. Sprinkle a handful or two of semi-sweet chocolate chips on top of toffee.

Smore Brownies
Cut large marshmallows in half or use 1-2 cups mini marshmallows, a dozen Unwrapped Hershey Kisses, and a handful of walnuts. Pull brownies from oven when they are 3-5 minutes from being done. Sprinkle the marshmallows on brownies. Pop them back in the oven and bake the last few minutes. Once they have plumped, pull the brownies out and top your marshmallow with the kisses and nuts.