Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

These are well liked in our house and are SO easy to make.  I do have another chocolate cookie recipe that I like better, but it takes A LOT more work, so these are the go to, straight off of the Reese's Peanut Butter Chip package!

Ingredients

1 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
10 oz package peanut butter chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
3. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.
4. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture.
5. Finally, fold in the peanut butter chips.
6. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.  I used my 2t. cookie scoop and it made a TON of cookies.
7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
8. Let cool on pan for a few minutes to set up well, then transfer to wire racks.

Gingerbread Muffin

Well, I needed to make two kinds of muffins for this baby shower, and Brandon also LOVES ginger, so here's another first for us. The flavor on these was GREAT. A very nice ginger taste and very moist. They were slightly dense, but tasted great in every other way.

Ingredients

2c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 T. ground ginger
2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground allspice
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar (10 1/2 ounces)
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled slightly

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and allspice in medium bowl until combined.
3. Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, and buttermilk in large bowl until combined. Add melted butter and whisk vigorously until thick and homogeneous.
4. Whisk half of dry ingredients into wet ingredients until two begin to come together and then add remaining dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just combined (do not overmix).
5. Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop batter into greased muffin tin. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating pan from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in tin for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack and cool for 10 more minutes. Serve warm.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Brandon loves lemon poppy seed anything, and I needed to make some muffins for a baby shower, so I thought I'd give it a try. I used Greek yogurt since my local store didn't have any full fat plain yogurt. I think it made them a little too dry. Also, I was expecting them to get this nice brown look, but they were actually over cooked. I should have checked with a toothpick a little bit sooner. I do think I'll have to try them again sometime.

Ingredients

3cups flour
1 T. baking powder 
1/2 t. baking soda
2 1/2 T. poppy seeds
1 1/2 T. grated lemon zest
1/2 t.salt
10 T. butter , softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. plain whole milk yogurt

Directions

1. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray; set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds, lemon zest, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and beat in half of the flour mixture, followed by one-third of the yogurt. Beat in half of the remaining flour mixture, followed by half of the remaining yogurt; repeat with the remaining flour mixture and yogurt. Portion the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin.
5. TO STORE: Wrap the muffin tin tightly with plastic wrap sprayed with vegetable oil spray and refrigerate for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to 1 month. (After the muffin batter is completely frozen, about 6 hours, the batter balls can be transferred to a zipper-lock bag to save space in the freezer. Transfer the batter balls back to an oiled muffin tin before baking.)
6. TO SERVE: Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap the muffins and bake until golden brown, 15-20  minutes if refrigerated, or 25 to 35 minutes if frozen. Let the muffins cool in the pan 5 minutes before serving.

Nests

Well, it's N week at preschool and we thought we should make a fun snack to go along. These nests were VERY easy and the kids just loved them. No 'real' recipe here. I basically melted marshmallows with some butter, and then stirred in some peanut butter for taste and some chow mein noodles. I formed them in a very well greased muffin tin. For the (dinosaur) eggs, I used Jordan Almonds, since Easter egg candy aren't quite available yet. Another option, would be to just melt some chocolate almond bark and pour in the chow mein noodles.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

I tried out this new recipe for my husband's birthday. Personally, I think that I like plain snickerdoodles better, however, these had a nice taste and were something different. It's kind-of fun to switch it up every once in a while, right? I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour 
2 t. cream of tartar 
1 t. baking soda 
1/2 t. salt 
1 t. pumpkin pie spice 
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. unsalted butter, softened 
1 large egg 
3/4 c. pumpkin puree 
2 T. ground cinnamon

1/4 c. sugar
    

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda,  salt and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
4. Add the egg and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
5. Add the pumpkin puree and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds.
6. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.
7. Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon for rolling in a shallow bowl.
8. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1 1/2 inch ball (I used my 1.5 T. cookie scoop), roll the ball in the sugar mixture, and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart
9. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.
10. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 5 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Sour Cream Raisin Pie

Okay, so this is a family tradition and with my family doing Christmas in January, I had to make it. Surprisingly, this is the first time I've made the pie, and the first time I've actually tried the pie. Sorry, Grandpa, but it's not my favorite, but at least I tried it this year. I'm not a big fan of cloves, but otherwise I might like it. Everyone else seems to enjoy it, so if you like Sour Cream Raisin Pie or you are adventurous, give my family's traditional pie a try.

Ingredients

1 c. sour cream

1 T. vinegar

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. cloves

1 c. raisins

3/4 c sugar

1/2 t. salt

2 eggs

Directions

1. Simmer raisins in water until soft; drain.
2. Mix other ingredients.
3. Add raisins to sour cream mix.
4. Pour into an unbaked 9 inch pie shell.Bake until light brown at 325-350 degrees. (These are my Grandma's actual directions. I baked this one at 340 for about 40 minutes (I think), It doesn't have much in it, so when it's all set and the crust is brown it's ready to go!)