Month: December 2008

Categories
Food

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I said I’d bring a dessert (and two appetizers!) to the NYE party tomorrow night. Jason had brought home a chocolate chocolate chip cupcake from Cafe Carolina last week and I wondered how to make that, so I recipezaar’d it. Well this recipe came up and I’m not a huge chocolate fan and I had most of the ingredients already on hand, so I decided to try it out. The first batch is in the oven right now so I’ll have to post pictures later.
Ingredients
1 package of yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 oz) package of instant vanilla pudding mix
1 c milk (original recipe called for whole, I used skim b/c its what I had)
1 c vegetable oil
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 (1 lb) package of frozen refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
frosting of your choice

Directions
Heat oven to 350. Grease muffin pans or line with paper liners.
Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl; blend with electric mixer on low for 30 seconds.
Increase mixer speed to medium and blend another 2 mins, scraping down side of bowl as needed.
Scoop a heaping 1/4 c batter into each cupcake well, filling at least 2/3 full. (recipe says you’ll get 22-24 cupcakes. it made 30 for me).
Cut the frozen cookie dough pieces in half to make enough for each cupcake; place a dough chunk on top of each cupcake.
Bake until cakes are golden and spring back when lightly touched; appropriately 23-37 mins.
Cool on wire racks for 5 mins, then carefully remove from pans and cool another 15 mins before frosting (they may sink a bit in the center). Serve warm.
Store cupcakes in a cake server at room temperature for up to 3 days or up to 1 week in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature and then microwave for 8 secons to “regoo” the texture. Enjoy!

Categories
Food

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

I found this recipe online about a year ago, saved it, but now can’t remember where I found it. I’m making cookies for a sorority alum cookie exchange that’s tomorrow night. Thought I’d share the recipe. Seems yummy from my taste of the dough! I’ll post pics later. I doubled the original recipe to make approximately 5 dozen fairly large cookies.
Ingredients
5 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 c butter, softened
2 2/3 c sugar
4 large eggs
3 c white chocolate morsels
2 (6 oz) packages of sweetened dried cranberries

Directions
Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; set aside.
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture gradually, beating at low speed until blended. Stir in white chocolate morsels and cranberries.
Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets.
Bake at 350 for 10-14 mins or until lightly browned on bottom (closer to 15 in my oven). Remove to wire racks to completely cool. Enjoy!

Categories
Everything Else

LOST Book Club

I saw a post about this on the Nest Book Club and thought it was really cool. Jason & I LOVE LOST & can’t wait for season 5 to begin! I’m not sure I’ll read all these, but I do think it’d be interesting to read some of these especially to rewatch the show that the book’s mentioned in. Here’s the link: http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=bookclub

Categories
Food

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these last year around the holidays and they were a hit. I decided to make these for the cookie exchange/tacky sweater party I’m going to tonight. I’d thought I posted this last year, but since I didn’t here goes. I doubled the original recipe.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (from northpole.com)
Ingredients
3 c canned pumpkin
3 c white sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c veg oil
6 c flour
3 tsp milk
6 tsp baking powder
3 tsp baking soda
2 packages chocolate chips
2 tsp salt
Directions
Mix ingredients in above order. Bake at 350 for 10-12 mins on a greased pan. Enjoy!

Categories
Food

Spinach Artichoke Squares

I found this recipe while looking for tailgate recipes on perfectentertaining.com. I thought it would be a great appetizer to either have when hosting a party or to take to holiday parties. I gave the recipe to a friend last week and she made it for our Bible Study and it was delicious! I hope I can make it as yummy to take to a cookie exchange Saturday night!
Ingredients
1 8 ounce can refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
8 ounces room temperature cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
10 ounces thawed frozen chopped spinach, squeezed until dry
14 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375.
Unroll the crescent dough and place on a 13 X 9 inch pan. Gently press though dough evenly into the pan and 1/2 inch up the sides of the pan to form a crust, paying special attention to seal the roll perforations. Sprinkle the dough with 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven.
While the crust is baking, beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add the egg, sour cream, and remaining Parmesan cheese and mix until smooth. Fold in the spinach and artichoke hearts. Spread the mixture evenly over the prepared crust.
Bake for an additional 13-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is set. Cut into squares and serve hot or cool to room temperature. Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. To reheat, bake at 375 degrees for 5-10 minutes, or until piping hot.