CHOCOLATE TOFFEE COOKIE DOUGH BITES

Adapted from http://family.go.com/food/recipe-639377-cookie-dough-bites-t/#memberViews

Ingredients:

1 cup salted butter, softened
1½ cups packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
6 ounces Chocolate Toffee Bits (Heath Chocolate Toffee Bits in the chocolate chip section)

Directions:

Using a mixer, Cream butter and sugar together.

Add remaining ingredients and mix well .

Roll into 1-inch balls.

Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Store in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

All Mixed

Ready to Chill

Ready to Serve

SOFT PRETZELS & VANILLA CINNAMON SUGAR DUST

Ingredients, Pretzel Dough:

2 ¼ teaspoons (or one 0.25 oz. package) active dry yeast

1 1/8 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 ½ cups warm milk

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups bread flour

¼ cup butter melted (to brush on pretzels after they come out of the oven)

Ingredients, Baking Soda Bath:

2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons baking soda

Ingredients, Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar:

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

DIRECTIONS:

To make the pretzel dough:  In a large mixing bowl dissolve yeast in the brown sugar, warm milk and salt.  Add the granulated sugar and the flours.  Stir until well combined.  Knead dough (or use bread hooks on your mixer) until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 6 – 8 minutes).  Place in a greased bowl  and coat the dough with the grease or use baking spray.  Cover and let rise in a warm area (I place my bowls of dough in my car and let them rise in a nice sunny place) for 1 hour.

In an 8X8 container, measure 2 tablespoons of baking soda…have 2 cups warm water on hand.  Next, prepare the cinnamon sugar dust (also in an 8X8 container).  Mix vanilla cinnamon sugar ingredients together.  (if you don’t have vanilla powder, just omit it and cinnamon sugar will be just fine).  Set aside.

Line 3 or 4 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.   Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  After dough has risen, roll dough into a flat square.  Cut into 12 even strips (or as even as you can get them).  Roll the strips into ropes about 3 feet long.  Shape ropes into pretzels.  Warm your 2 cups water and pour into your container with the baking soda.  Stir until baking soda has dissolved somewhat.  Dip each pretzel into the baking soda bath and place on prepared baking sheets.  Let rise 15 – 20 minutes.  Bake for 7-8 minutes in preheated oven.  Remove from oven and brush melted butter on pretzels.  Dip in the Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar and cover the tops completely.  Serve and enjoy.  (May also be sprinkled with salt, dipped in mustard, garlic butter, etc. if you wish to omit the Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar step.)

Ingredients

Ready to Bake

Just Out of the Oven

Buttered and Dipped in Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar

WHITE CHOCOLATE LEMON PUDDING COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant Lemon Pudding mix 

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda 

2 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon extract

Zest from two medium lemons

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups - 2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in pudding mix and lemon zest until blended. Add the eggs and lemon extract and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Stir in white chocolate chips. 

Place golf ball sized dough balls on a cookie sheet .  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (rotating after 5 minutes). Do not over-bake! Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before moving to a cooking rack. Store in air-tight container (I suggest doing this while they're still a little warm if you like your cookies on the chewy side)

Ingredients

lemon zest

creamed butter

adding sugar

adding pudding and zest

adding egg

all mixed

adding dry ingredients

adding white chocolate

NACHOS, SUPER FAST, EASY, MELTED CHEESE ON TORTILLA CHIPS

INGREDIENTS:

Some Tortilla Chips (I like Late July Multi Grain Tortilla Chips)

Some Grated Cheese (Colby, jack, mozzarella, Mexican, Cheddar, etc)

DIRECTIONS:

Place tortilla chips in a single layer on a plate or serving boat.  Generously Sprinkle grated cheese of your choice over the tortilla chips.  Microwave for about 40 seconds on HIGH until the cheese is just barely melted.  Enjoy your snack.

Ingredients

Cheese on Chips

Layering

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP SHORTBREAD WITH PEANUT BUTTER GLAZE

Adapted from: http://theviewfromthegreatisland.blogspot.com/2012/03/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-shortbread.html

makes about 21 small cookies 
1 stick, (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temp 
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour  
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
scant 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips

·                     Cream the butter and the peanut butter together in a stand mixer, with a hand mixer, or a wooden spoon.  Beat in the vanilla.

·                     Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the butter mixture.  Mix until the dough comes together. 

·                     Stir in the chips, and turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap layed out on a pastry mat.  Gently pull the dough together and form it into a log.  If it is still crumbly, work it with your hands until it holds together smoothly. Roll it up in the plastic wrap, smoothing the shape as you go.  Twist the ends securely and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.

·                     Slice the log into slices with a sharp knife or a pastry cutter. Not too thick, not too thin, about 1/3 inch.  If a slice crumbles a bit, just smoosh the dough back together.  These don't have to be perfect disks.

·                     Bake on a parchment lined baking stone or baking sheet at 325 for about 12-14 minutes.  The cookies will not be browned, and they may look undone, but don't over bake. 

·                     Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack.

·                     Cool completely, then glaze (see recipe below)

Just out of the oven

Peanut Butter Glaze (my recipe)

¾ cup powdered sugar

2 ½ Tablespoons milk

1/8 cup smooth peanut butter

Dash of sea salt

Mix all ingredients together until smooth.  Add a dash of salt.  Using a small teaspoon, top each cookie with the glaze and smooth all around the cookie.  If desired, shake a small amount of sea salt on top of each cookie. (the salt adds that yummy salty and sweet combination).  Let set for approximately one hour before serving.  Serve with milk. 

Glaze

Just after the cookies were glazed

Ready to Eat

Plate of Cookies