Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Cookie

#2

It's the week before Halloween, and I wanted to find a cookie recipe that would be appropriate for Halloween.  I went back and forth on what I wanted to do.  I found cute recipes where the cookie looked like a monster or a spider, etc.  But then I realized I wanted the cookie to be more sophisticated.  So I found this black and orange cookie.  But really it's just dark cocoa with a Milky Way candy bar on the inside.  And there's a bonus - it's topped with sea salt.  

Loving this cookie!

(photo and recipe courtesy of LifeLoveAndSugar)

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup salted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Fun Size Simply Caramel Milky Ways Bars, cut in half

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

3. Mix in egg and vanilla extract.

4. Add flour, cocoa and baking soda and mix until well incorporated and thick.

5. Make balls of cook dough about 2 tbsp in size.

6. Break balls of dough in half, add candy bar to the middle, then press dough halves back together and seal edges.

7. Place cookies on a parchment or silicone baking mat lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with sea salt.

8. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Center might look a little undercooked, but edges should be done.

9. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, the remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

My final product.

Happy early Halloween!!

One Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Alfredo Pasta

We love any recipe that includes cajun seasoning!  In fact, this skillet jambalaya is Brent's favorite meal that I cook.  So when I came across this recipe with cajun seasoning, I knew I had to add it to the menu for the week. 

If you don't care for too much spice, then I'd cut down on the amount of cajun seasoning the recipe calls for.

Ashlan ate every bit of the meal, but did add "wow, this is spicy"

This recipe will remain on repeat.  It was quick, easy, and delicious.

(Photo and recipe courtesy of Number2Pencil)

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound of chicken cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 14 oz smoked sausage sliced on the diagonal
• 4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 quart of low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 1/2 cups of heavy cream
• 1 pound of dried penne pasta
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning plus more for topping
• 4 oz of freshly shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 cup of Italian flat leaf parsley minced

Instructions

1. Start with a large covered cooking pot.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper and brown in olive oil over medium high heat.
3. Add sausage and continue to cook until lightly browned.
4. Stir in garlic and cook for for about two minutes.
5. Add chicken broth, heavy cream, dried pasta and cajun seasoning to pot.
6. Stir together and bring to a simmer over medium high heat.
7. Reduce heat to low and let cook covered for 15-20 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
8. Remove pot from heat and stir in parmesan cheese.
9. Stir in chopped parsley and sprinkle with additional cajun seasoning to taste.

   
   

   
   

   My final product.  

   Served this with a side caesar salad.

   
   

   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Now that we are living in Washington, 

I've learned that if I want Mexican food then I'm going to have to cook it myself.  

I haven't made enchiladas in forever, 

so I decided this recipe was going to be my mexican food fix for the week.  

It didn't disappoint.

(photo and recipe courtesy of CentsLessDeals)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 rotisserie chicken shredded, or about 2-3 cups of shredded chicken
• 10 flour tortillas
• 1 small onion diced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 4 ounce can green chiles 
• 16 ounces monterey jack cheese shredded
• *I also added a can of corn and a can of black beans, both drained and rinsed*

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for about a minute or until golden brown.
2. Slowly add chicken broth and whisk until completely smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Turn heat to low. Stir in sour cream and green chiles.
3. In a large bowl combine chicken, onion, and 1 cup of cheese (and anything else you want to add...again, I added corn and black beans)
4. Place 1/3 cup of chicken mixture in the middle of each tortilla, roll up and place into baking dish.
5. Pour 1 cup of sauce into a 9x13 baking dish. Place chicken rolls in the baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over the top of the tortillas in the dish. Top with cheese.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until browned and bubbly.
   
   
   
   
   My final product.  
   YUM!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Chewy Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Cookies

#1

Those that follow this blog probably remember years ago when I took on the challenge of 52 different bundt cakes in a year.  Yep, one a week.  That was such a fun challenge!
(if you want to see the bundt cake recipes,
they are under the BUNDT link in the column on your right)

  And I have decided to do another challenge.  

52 different cookie recipes in a year.  One new recipe a week.

I will post them all on the blog.

Since it's Fall, and Spokane is really rocking this Fall weather, I had to begin with a cookie that included pumpkin.  I came upon this recipe and it looked delicious!  Only problem is it included cinnamon chips....I have never seen cinnamon chips in the store and I didn't find them today in the store either.  So I had to make some adaptations to this recipe with what I had.

I guess you could call my adaptation of this recipe

Chewy Chocolate and Toffee Pumpkin Cookies

Here is the recipe below and my adaptations will be in (italics)

(photo and recipe courtesy of BakerByNature)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 15 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 1/2 cups cinnamon chips (I used 1 cup toffee bits and 1.5 cups milk chocolate chips)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, pumpkin spice, and salt; set aside.
3. In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth - about 1 minute. Add in the sugars and vanilla and beat on medium-speed until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin puree and beat until it's just combined, about 45 seconds. Gently fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula, stirring only until the flour begins to disappear. Fold in cinnamon chips.
4. Roll 3 tablespoon-sized balls of dough between your palms to form a ball (they should be big; almost a 1/4 cup), then place on prepared sheet (make sure to leave enough room in between each cookie for inevitable spreading). Continue this process until all the dough has been rolled.
5. Place baking sheets in preheated oven and bake for 15-16 minutes, or until golden at the edges and set in the middle. Allow cookies to cool for 30 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire wrack to cool completely.

They turned out just like I hoped.  Thick, chewy, and delicious!

Cookie #1 of this challenge was a success (minus having to adapt the recipe)

And if y'all ever see cinnamon chips in your store, can you buy me a bag?

Enjoy!!

(photo of my final product)