This Week's Concoctions Ending 3/18

Here is the highlight of an item that I made this week other than the "Weekly Cookie"

This is a recipe for thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies from the magazine, Cook's Country. It came out pretty well however they don't keep well and got stale very quick.

March 17: Irish Cream Cheesecake Brownies

Irish Cream Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:
Filling:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate mini chips

Brownies:
1 box brownie mix for a 9x13 inch pan, plus necessary ingredients as directed on the package

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9x13 inch metal pan with nonstick foil, or line it with regular foil and spray the foil with flour-added baking spray.
2. Make the filling: In a medium-size bowl, using a handheld electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and sugar. Beat in the Irish cream. Reduce the mixer speed and add the egg whites, beating only until they are mixed in and being careful not to beat in a lot of extra air. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.
3. Make the brownies: Prepare the brownie mix as directed on the package and pour all but 1/2 cup of brownie batter into the 9x13 inch pan. Pour the filling over the top. Drop spoonfuls of the reserved brownie batter over the filling. Bake the brownies for the length of time designated on the package. Let cool completely in the pan, then chill for 2 hours before slicing.

Addition of Irish cream

Addition of egg whites

Addition of chocolate chips

Reserved brownie batter

Bottom layer

Filling layer

Spoonfuls of batter

Undercooked...

Thoughts: I thought these had came out fine. I cooked everything according to the directions. I stuck a knife in it and it had come out clean so I packed them up and took them to work. When we started cutting into them, we realized that the center (spoonfuls of batter) were like mush. However, people still ate them and they were pretty pretty good.

March 11: Apple Chip Oat Cookies

Apple Chip Oat Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (10 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups minus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1 tablespoon toasted wheat germ
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup dried apple chips

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and place a rack in the center. Have ready two ungreased baking sheets.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice together in a bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon zest, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in the oats, wheat germ, walnuts, and apple chips.
4. Shape the dough into 32 balls a little over 1 inch in diameter. Arrange about 2 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets, and press down slightly. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies appear set. Let cool for 1 minute on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dry ingredients

Addition of vanilla, lemon zest and egg

Addition of flour mixture

Addition of oats, wheat germ and walnuts

Thoughts: Apple chips by themselves are pretty gross. However the taste is masked in the cookie. It tastes more like a spice cookie. This first batch pictured came out a little darker than I would like at 10 minutes bake time. So in subsequent batches, I baked them for 9 minutes and was much happier. By the way, wheat germ is expensive for the 1 tablespoon that was needed ($4.19!).

This Week's Concoctions Ending 3/11

Here are some highlights of items that I made this week other than the "Weekly Cookie"

It was my co-worker's birthday so she requested this cake. It's a chocolate cake with dates with walnuts and chocolate chips on top. I guess it is more like a brownie because it didn't rise but it had the consistency of a cake.

This is a roasted vegetable and feta cheese dip. It's just a Tastefully Simple dry mix and cream cheese.

This is a blueberry dump cake. It's a can of blueberry filling on the bottom then cake mix/butter mix dumped on top and baked for a hour in the beanpot.

This Week's Concoctions Ending 3/4

Here is the highlight of an item that I made this week other than the "Weekly Cookie"

I decided to bring out the deep fryer for my friend's birthday so I made fried chicken and the next day, I made potato chips...

March 2: Green Egg Cookies

Green Egg Cookies

Ingredients:
1 (17.5 oz) pouch sugar cookie mix, such as Betty Crocker
5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 (16 oz) can vanilla frosting
A few drops of green gel or paste-type food coloring

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Have ready two ungreased baking sheets.
2. Prepare the cookies as directed on the bag for rolled cookies by mixing together the cookie mix, butter, and egg. Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface, and with a round cutter about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, cut out 18 circles. Arrange the circles 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets (9 per sheet). With your fingers, nudge the circles a little bit to make them less symmetrical and more like the white part of a fried egg. Bake one sheet at a time for 7-9 minutes (or use upper and lower racks and rotate the pans), until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. Shape the leftover dough into 18 little balls and press down slightly to make circles. These will be the yolks. Bake the yolks for about 5 minutes, or until they appear done. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
4. Place one or two wire racks over paper towels and set the egg white-shaped cookies on the racks. Spoon about two-thirds of the white frosting into a small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5-10 seconds, stirring after 5 seconds, or just long enough that the icing is soft enough to fall off a spoon. Spoon the icing over the egg whites and let it set. Now make the green yolks. Using the green dye, tint the remaining one-third of the icing green. Soften in the microwave on high for 5-10 seconds and stir well. Place the yolk-shaped cookies on the wire rack and spoon the green icing over the yolks. Very carefully place a yolk on each white to make the green eggs. Leave at room temperature until the icing sets.

I think this was only 3 drops of green dye

Thoughts: This turned out to be a pain in the butt. Well first off I knew there was no way that I was going to roll these cookies out unless it was the last resort. So I just flattened them and I think it worked pretty well. The batter was a little annoyingly sticky but it worked. I read the directions wrong so I cooked the bottom for 7 minutes then put the yolk on top and baked it for another 5 minutes. DON'T do that. It leaves you with a slightly overcooked bottom with an undercooked yolk. I had to throw everything out. The second time turned out fine. I baked the cookies for about 8 minutes and then the yolks for about the same. Frosting them went smoothly and they were good just like a sugar cookie.

This Week's Concoctions Ending 2/25

Here are some highlights of items that I made this week other than the "Weekly Cookie"

I used the beanpot again and tried this Tastefully Simple recipe for chicken stroganoff. I did cheat and bought biscuits instead of making them out of Bisquick. I don't think I have ever made successful biscuits from scratch.

For dessert, I used another Tastefully Simple mix for this caramel strudel cake. I had some extra cranberries so I threw those in the batter.

It was my co-worker's birthday over the weekend and she wanted a chocolate cake. So I used a standard cake mix with a can of sprite and lots of eggs. It was very moist.

It was also "salad" week at work this week so people were bringing in all different kinds of salads (taco, fruit, etc). I made this cold farfalle salad with pesto, olives, peppers, onions, scallions and peas.

In addition to the birthday and the food themed week, it was also the week of my recipe exchange program with the comfort food theme. I made creamy slow cooker macaroni and cheese. It was a little heavy and chunky for a Saturday morning at 11am, but it ended up coming out really nice.

February 25: Chocolate Chip Pecan Dulce de Leche Bars

Chocolate Chip Pecan Dulce de Leche Bars

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 (17.5 oz) pouch oatmeal cookie mix, such as Betty Crocker
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup dulce de leche, La Lechera Milk Caramel Spread, or thick sundae topping
1/2 cup toasted and chopped pecans
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9-inch square metal pan with nonstick foil.
2. In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer on low speed, mix the butter, cookie mix, egg, and cinnamon until you have a soft and crumbly dough. Press about three-quarters of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes, or until just set.
3. Spread the dulce de leche over the baked cookie dough. Stir the pecans and chocolate chips into the remaining oatmeal mixture ad crumble over the dulce de leche. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 15-17 minutes, or until the top is cooked. The bars will be jiggly, but will firm as they cool and chill. Let cool completely in the pan, then chill for 2 hours or until ready to serve. Using the foil as a handle, lift from the pan, set on a cutting board, and cut into 24 bars.

Before...

And after...

Caramel topping

Crumbly topping

Thoughts: I tried two stores and couldn't find dulce de leche so I just went the thick sundae topping route. I'd imagine the only difference is that maybe it would be thicker? When I poured the topping on (which was the whole jar), it seemed a little runny. Otherwise no issues. They were good and very well received :)