Chocolate Mint Brownies (Tastes JUST like an Andies Mint)

I am rather addicted to Pinterest.  If you have never been there, you should.  Go now. Click the link, but come right back please!  I have managed to get one of my great friends addicted as well.  The other week she pinned some brownies with the note saying "I think you should make these and I will come over and help you eat them. :)"  So I decided to make them!

Some friends and I started a craft group called "The (Not So) Crappy Craft Club".  Feel free to check it out on Facebook.  Basically once a month we get together and do a cheap and easy craft.  I made these brownies for our first official meeting.  They were a big hit.  They taste JUST like an Andies mint.

Hope you like them! Please don't pay attention to the amount of butter.  It is WELL worth it.

Ingredients: 

Bottom layer:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup  (I used 2 cups of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup.)

Mint Layer: (My kids aren't fans of mint.  I think I will substitute Vanilla extract next time)

• 2 cups powdered sugar 
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract 
• 3 drops green food coloring

Glaze:

• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips 
• 3 tablespoons butter

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°. 
2. To prepare bottom layer, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.  (Never EVER scoop out flour with the measuring cup.  You will pack too much flour into the cup and EVERYTHING you make will be very dense.)  
3. Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk. 
4. Combine granulated sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water, vanilla, eggs, and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. 
5. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. BATTER WILL BE VERY THIN! 
6. Pour batter into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. 
7. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. 
8. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
9. To make the mint layer, combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl.
10. Beat with a mixer until smooth. 
11. Spread mint mixture over cooled cake.  
12. To prepare the glaze, combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. 
13. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. 
14. Let stand 2 minutes. 
15. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top.  It doesn't look like a lot, but it will cover it.
16. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

When you go to serve it I would run a knife around the edges so it will release easily.  I found the bottom brownie part slides out easily once the seal is broken from the top edge with the glaze.

Enjoy!

Original Recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Crushed Oreo and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love Oreos.  I love Chocolate Chip cookies.  I have seen around online Oreos baked into a chocolate chip cookie.  The idea of that turned me off a bit.  I didn't want to crunch a big cookie inside a cookie.  So I got to searching and found this recipe!  SO GOOD!

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 6 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 11 Oreo cookies, broken/crushed
• 1 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet )

Directions:

1.  Put the cookies in a plastic bag, I divided them into two bags, and get a spoon.  

This is the fun part. Commence WHACKING!

2.  Once fully whacked, preheat the oven to 350F.  
3.  Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until well combined.
4.  Add egg and vanilla to mixture and mix well.
5.  In a medium sized bowl add flour, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well with a whisk.
6.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  I did this in about 3 parts.  Mix until combined.
7.  Stir in Oreos and chocolate chips until just combined.

8.  Scoop cookies onto your cookie sheet.  I used my cookie scoop.  This is about
     a tablespoon size and the  greatest thing ever invented.  You get round cookies
     and uniform size which means uniform cooking time.  If you don't have one, you
     need one.

I got this one at Bed Bath and Beyond.

See how nice they look with the scoop?

9.  Bake for about 9 - 11 minutes.  You want them soft, but not too soft.
10.  Cool on the sheet for 2 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack.

ENJOY!!

Why yes, Nate is eating his off a wooden spoon dipped in his milk. Doesn't your 3 year old do this?

From: What's Baking in the Barbershop?

Chocolate Chip and M&M Cookies

If you are like me you have a bunch of half used bags of chocolate chips. 
I am on the mission to:
a) use up said chips
b) develop the best chocolate chip cookies ever.

This is my first attempt.

Ingredients:

•  2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 bag mini M&M's
• 1 cup mixture of leftover chips (I used Ghirardelli semisweet chips and Tollhouse mini chips)

UNSALTED and farm fresh eggs.

My random bags.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F
2. Stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat the butter and two sugars together in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
4. Add the flour mixture and beat until well blended. DO NOT add all at once unless you want a large mess to clean up.  I added mine in thirds.
5. Stir in all your chips.

      6.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  If you don;t have one, I HIGHLY
           recommend you get a cookie scoop.  They make cookie making easy.  Your cookies are
           always the same size so they all cookie evenly!  I use the tablespoon size.

      7.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. 
      8.   Check on your cookie monsters:

NOT SO CLOSE!!!

     8.  Cool cookies on a cookie sheet  for 2 minutes.

   DO NOT skip the cooling part.  If you do, this can happen:

     9. Have a cookie and milk break and watch your three year old try to nibble all the M&Ms out.

Chocolate Chip Oat Bars

These are fabulous AND since it has oatmeal in it, you get to pretend it is healthy for you!  Score on two points!

 Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)

Make sure you get your helpers!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F. Grease pan.  I used a 8"x11" glass baking dish.  A 9" square would work as well.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
3. Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy.
4. To the sugar mixture add the egg, water, and vanilla.  Beat until well blended.
5. Add the flour mixture and oats to the butter mixture.  Mix well with a spoon!  It is getting thick!
6. With a spoon stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.  Spread dough into the baking dish and press down with a wooden spatula.  
7. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chunks on top.

     8.  Bake for about 30 minutes.  You need to check and make sure the center is
            firm.  Mine took about 32 minutes.
     9.  Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

   10.  Serve with a LARGE glass of milk.

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

Oh Paula Dean.  How do I love thee?  This is a FABULOUS cookie recipe.  I made them exactly how the recipe states.  They are SUPER moist and super good.    I made them on a Friday night and they were still wonderful for the fourth Of July that following Monday.  Well...the ones that made it to the cabin that is.

Make sure that you store them in a covered, airtight container!!  Best way to keep them moist and keep out sneaky fingers.

Next time I think I might try red velvet, or vanilla, or strawberry...

WARNING! These will be dangerous to your waist line. We are talking about Paula Dean here. Also, this batter is SUPER thick. I used my Kitchen-aid stand mixer and it was even struggling. I would NOT try this with a hand-held mixer. I read reviews that said it burned them out!

See how thick!  It baffles Aidan!!

Yields 24 cookies

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
1   (18 ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
1   (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1   egg
1   stick of butter, room temperature

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Beat in the egg.
Then beat in the vanilla extract.
Beat in the cake mix.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls.

Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner’s sugar.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
Bake 12 minutes.

Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners’ sugar, if desired.  (I did not.  When I rolled them in the sugar it was pretty thick. I think that might be over kill.)