Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

A few years ago, I bought my first jar of Nutella.  One bite, and I was hooked.  When I needed a chocolate fix, I would just grab a spoon and the jar out of the cabinet and sneak a few bites.

I forgot about it for a while, and then one day I ran across it, and shoveled a spoonful in my mouth only to be disappointed.  It definitely didn’t taste the way I originally remembered it, so I just shoved it back up in the cabinet and forgot about it. 

Turns out, it had gone bad, hence the reason it didn’t taste how I remembered.  I thought it was like peanut butter and could last forever, but apparently it has about a 2 week shelf life after opening.

I was having a Nutella craving the other day, and convinced myself to buy a jar ONLY if I could find a recipe to use the majority of it.  I hit up Google and of course found a million different recipes, but since I already had the ingredients to make this one, I thought this was a good place to start.

Glad I did because they were yummy!

Sorry for the terrible quality, it was taken on my cell phone :) 

Recipe (slightly adapted) from Lovin’ From the Oven

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temp.
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips)

Directions

1. Mix together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.
2. Cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in Nutella and vanilla extract. Mix in egg.
3. Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add chocolate chips.
4. Chill for at least 1 hour.  (This is important because I made two batches and the second batch got a little warm before going in the oven and they didn’t turn out as well)
5. Drop tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for about 11 minutes until the edges look set. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then carefully remove to cooling racks.

I’m serving them to the fam tonight so I’ll see if they like them, but I know I did.

I found another recipe that used hazelnuts in it, so I may add those next time just for something different.  We’ll see though!

Let me know how they turn out if you try it :)

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

Although my Alex will eat pretty much anything, my family (parents and brother) are EXTREMELY picky.

From my dad not liking tomatoes, my mom eating like a four-year old (macaroni and cheese, burgers, chicken fingers), and my brother who refuses to eat anything that might go in a salad, it is quite difficult to come up with anything that they will all eat.

I was at home for the weekend and needed a recipe that I could try that they all would eat.  I saw this while browsing my favorite cooking blog, and thought it would be a good recipe to try.

It was a hit!

Terrible picture, but it is from my cell phone.  I’ll fix it later though ;)  Visit the original recipe here for a better, more appetizing picture

Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta

serves 4-6

• 1 pound pasta (I used shells)
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 ounces grated monterey jack cheese (I used half a brick) + more for topping
• 1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese + more for topping
• 2/3 cup mild buffalo wing sauce (original calls for 1/3, but I added more for more flavor)
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• salt and pepper to taste

for garnish: additional buffalo wing sauce  (She added additional garnishes on the original recipe found here)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Prepare water for pasta and cook according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, and once it’s melted and bubbly add the flour. Whisk together to create a roux and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture gets a bit golden in color. Add milk, stir and turn down heat to low. Continue stirring until milk thickens. Add in grated cheeses and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in buffalo wing sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Spray a baking dish (9x13) with non-stick spray. Add pasta and chicken, then pour cheese sauce over and mix thoroughly until everything is coated. Sprinkle with additional grated cheese and bread crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.  Drizzle with buffalo wing sauce.

Mocha Coconut Frappucino Cupcakes

Earlier this summer, I found the Mocha Coconut Frappucino on the menu at Starbucks and I tried it.

Bad.idea.  I could seriously drink them every day, all day (which is saying a lot because I never finish an entire Starbuck’s drink and I slurp these down).

Anyway, it got me on a coconut kick and I purchased boxes of Keurig (yes, boxes.  They are a limited edition so I stocked up), coconut creamer, and anything else “coconutty” I could get my hands on.

When this recipe popped up on my favorite cooking blog, I couldn’t get to the store fast enough to buy the ingredients.

They were more amazing than they sounded, and even my non-sweet loving boyfriend couldn’t get enough of these (another item he requested for me to make again for him and/or his parents).

So without further adieu, here is my recipe, slightly adapted from the original here at How Sweet It is (She uses dark chocolate – I used milk - and takes gorgeous pictures so definitely visit her blog and check out the original recipe!)

Mocha Cupcakes

makes 12 cupcakes

• 1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth, then stir in sour cream. Fold in chocolate chips and mix. Line a muffin tin with liners and using a 1/4 cup measure, add batter to each cup. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Frosting (Note:  This makes a lot of frosting.  Since I like light frosted cupcakes, I had a TON left over.  Next time I will play with halving this to see if I can reduce the amount :))

• 2 sticks of butter, softened (1 cup)
• 3 2/3 cups powdered sugar + more if needed
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons of coconut extract
• 1-2 tablespoons of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted

Cream butter in the bowl of an electric mixture until completely smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar slowly. Gradually increase mixer speed and add vanilla and coconut extracts, then beat for 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue to whip for another 4-5 minutes, continuously scrapping. If frosting is too thick, add coconut milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached If it’s too thin, add powdered sugar gradually until it thickens. Fold in shredded coconut and mix until just combined. Frost cupcakes, then sprinkle toasted coconut on top.

Mocha Coconut Drizzle

• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 1-2 teaspoons coconut milk

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then add in one teaspoon of coconut milk. Really mix to combine, as you want it to be glaze-like and easy to drizzle. If too thick, add a drop of coconut milk and stir again. If it accidentally gets too thin, just add a bit more powdered sugar and mix.

Linguine with Clams Casino

Alex was coming into town and I was determined to try out a new recipe on him while I had him here.  I ran across this recipe and between the bacon, pasta, and clams, I knew it was perfect (and fairly reasonably priced, which made my financial analyst boyfriend love it even more ;))

We actually ended up cooking it together (because Alex can’t stay out of the kitchen), but it was really easy and it tasted AMAZING!  Alex even went as far as to say that I will have to make it again so far, and maybe even for his parents (both requests are a big deal coming from him).

I served it with a store-bought tomato basil focaccia (sorry, only one new recipe a night ;)), and had planned on adding a salad, but forgot to pick up the salad ingredients.  Oh well, just more room for pasta ;)

Recipe from How Sweet It Is (my new favorite cooking blog ;))  I didn’t make any changes to it and wouldn’t change a thing!

Clams Casino Linguine

serves 3-4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped red peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans minced clams in clam juice, 13 ounces total
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
• 1/2 pound whole wheat linguine
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese + more for garnish
• freshly chopped parsley for garnish

Boil a pot of water for pasta and cook according to directions.

While pasta is cooking, heat a skillet on medium heat and add olive oil. Add chopped onions and peppers with a pinch of salt and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add in both cans of clams + juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Add white wine and let mixture simmer for about 5 full minutes. Stir in butter.

Turn heat down to low and add cooked linguine. Toss to allow the noodles to soak up the sauce. Add in parmesan cheese, crumbled bacon and parsley.

Serve with additional parmesan and crusty bread.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

In honor of St. Patrick’s day today, I thought I’d share my recipe for my Irish Car Bomb cupcakes (I made them for Alex’s b’day and they were a huge hit!) :)  I’ve never had an Irish Car Bomb so I don’t know if they taste the same, but they were inspired by the Irish Car Bomb ingredients :)

Time (Including Prep and Cook Time):  Approximately 1 hour

Yields:  24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 cup Guinness
• 1 stick, plus 1 tbsp, unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet cocoa
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Icing

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup Irish cream (the original recipe calls for 1/3 cup of milk, so you can do that if you prefer :))

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350; butter a muffin tin if not using cupcake liners.

• Combine the Guinness and the butter, chopped into 1-inch chunks, in a large sauce pan, and heat to melt the butter.
• Remove from heat, and whisk in the cocoa and sugar.
• In a bowl, whisk the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla, then add to the beer mixture. Sift together the flour and baking soda, and fold into the batter. Pour into muffin molds and bake for 25 minutes, or until inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes, remove from muffin tin, and cool completely on a rack.

Using a mixer, whip cream cheese until smooth, sift in sugar, and beat. Add irish cream, and beat until smooth. Spread icing over cooled cupcakes.

PS:  Let the icing soak into the cupcake a little while before serving…it makes the cupcake much more moist :)

ENJOY! :)

Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

Alex has been dying for me to cook for him, so while I was in Arkansas…I thought I would do just that.  I found this recipe on the Kraft Foods website and with chicken, pasta, spaghetti sauce, and cheese I didn’t see how you could go wrong!  The original recipe was semi-healthy and with my changes, it definitely took that aspect away, but it was so good!  I’m sure it is delicious without the additions as well…we were just about to go out of town for the weekend and didn’t want a lot of leftover ingredients :)

I hope you enjoy as much as we did! :)

*Note:  As always, my additions/substitutions are in bold italics

From:  kraftfoods.com (It has a video if you need extra help, but honestly, if I can handle it, I’m sure you can too! ;))

What You Need

1-1/2 cups multi-grain penne pasta, uncooked (I used regular penne and I used the entire box)

1 pkg.  (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves (I coarsely chopped it to make it easier to eat – this could be easily left out without compromising the dish)

1 lb. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (I used 2 pounds)

1 tsp.  Dried basil leaves

1 jar (14-1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 can  (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained (I didn’t drain them)

2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed (I used 4 oz.)

1 cup  KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided (I used the whole package)

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese (just tasted it and added as I saw fit)

 

Make It

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

COOK pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water the last minute.

COOK and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 3 min. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer on low heat 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in Neufchatel.

DRAIN pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole or 8-inch square baking dish (Because I upped the ingredients, I used a 9 x 13 baking dish)

BAKE 20 min.; top with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted.

Like I said, it definitely wasn’t healthy, but it was definitely yummy!  It made a lot (with my alterations of course) and it was just as yummy as leftovers :)

As always, if you try it, let me know how it works for you!

Oreo Truffles

I LOVE Oreos and my cousin used to make Oreo truffles for me every Christmas.  For Thanksgiving, I wanted to see if I could find a recipe and try them out myself!  This recipe was from kraftfoods.com although it doesn’t seem to be there anymore :(.  Anyway, although I changed my recipe some (which I’ll note at the bottom), here is the original recipe.

Prep Time: 30 min            Total Time: 1 hr 30 min  

Makes: 3-1/2 doz. or 42 servings, one truffle each

What You Need!

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided

1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Make It!

MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.

DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

How to Easily Dip Truffles

To easily coat truffles with the melted chocolate, add truffles, in batches, to bowl of melted chocolate. Then use two forks to roll truffles in chocolate until evenly coated. Remove the truffles with forks and allow excess chocolate to drip back into bowl before placing truffles on prepared baking sheet.

Special Extra

Sprinkle truffles with colored sugar or sprinkles in addition to or in place of the cookie crumbs.

How to Soften Cream Cheese

Place completely unwrapped package of cream cheese in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 10 sec. or just until softened. Add 15 sec. for each additional package of cream cheese.

Notes:  Here are my changes to the recipe:

• I didn’t have the recipe with me so I ended up using the entire package of Oreos in the mixture.  It wasn’t bad, just really rich.
• I made the truffles way too big (as in two bite truffles) so I’m definitely going to make them smaller next time.
• Instead of semi-sweet chocolate, I used Almond Bark and White Chocolate.  I started out with the bark and although it had a really good taste, it wasn’t very smooth.  I then moved to the white chocolate and it looked better, but added even more richness to the truffle.
• Conclusion:  Although everyone loved them, I’m going to have to play with this recipe a little more to perfect it :)

My truffles.  The really white ones on the bottom are made with the bark, and the others are made with white chocolate.  Mom packed them on top of each other so you can see they are missing chocolate in some places! :)