Mint Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies

 I made these with my son for St. Patrick's Day. 

They would also be perfect for Christmas and Halloween!

Mint Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies

2 C sugar

1 C shortening

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1 C sour cream

3 1/2 C flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 package Guittard milk chocolate chips

Cream sugar and shortening together. Add egg. Then sour cream. Mix in vanilla & peppermint. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Then add in chocolate chips. I use a 1 1/2" cookie scoop to place even amounts of dough on parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake @ 375* for about 7 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE! They will not look done when they are done. Take them out when they look dry. Golden around the edges means they are overdone. Let them cool completely. You will have chewy, moist, delicious cookies!

Mint Brownie Cookie Pizza

 Ingredients:

1 box brownie mix

3/4 C shortening

2 eggs

1 package mint chocolate chips 

1 package andes mint pieces (or just chop some bars up)

2 Tbls coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350*. Mix brownie mix, shortening and eggs until it forms a soft dough. It will be very dry at first, keep mixing! Now, I baked mine on a pizza stone because I wanted a crispy crust. A regular cookie sheet will do just fine. Roll dough into one big ball. Cover stone/cookie sheet with parchment. Shape dough into a flat round circle on parchment about 1/2-2/3 of the size you want it to be. It will spread while baking. Bake for about 15 minutes, give or take due to size of cookie. You want the top to look dry and barely begin to crack, then it's done!

While your brownie pizza is baking, melt your mint chips with the coconut oil over double boiler until melted, then set aside. When pizza is done and mostly cooled spread your melted chips all over like pizza sauce. Sprinkle with Andes bits. Let cool until set. Slice & Serve! This is a very easy, fun, rich dessert for St. Patricks Day or even Christmas.

Soft Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Valentine's day cookies!

 Chocolate covered chocolate sugar cookies you say?!?

 Pucker up baby!

Soft Batch Chocolate Sugar Cookies

2 C sugar

1 C shortening

2 eggs

1 C sour cream

2 tsp mexican vanilla 

4 C flour

1/2 C cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cream of tarter

1/2 tsp salt

Cream sugar, shortening and eggs. Then add sour cream and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients and mix well. I like to chill the dough for a few hours or overnight so I do not have to add as much flour when it's time to roll, cut and bake. You will need an additional 1/2 -3/4 cup flour for rolling out, about 1/4" thick.
Don't forget to lightly flour your cookie cutters before cutting! 

Bake @ 350* for 8-10 minutes. 

These will spread a little, to decrease spreading use 2 tsp baking powder and omit the baking soda.

Icing: I used chocolate!

I melted 1 bag Guittard Milk Chocolate Chips with 2 T coconut oil in a glass bowl over simmering water. The oil doesn't ruin the flavor of the chocolate but solidifies after its cooled and is still soft enough that it doesn't crack. Gently place the cookies face down in the melted chocolate mix until just the face of the cookie is covered. Let the extra chocolate drip off, because it is runny, then place on parchment covered cookie sheet to cool. 

Then decorate however you like...frosting, sprinkles, chocolate, etc.
 (I used royal icing on the chocolate)

Enjoy!

Shirt & Tie Cookies

I made these super soft buttermilk sugar cookies an LDS missionary homecoming. I made the dough, cut them into rectangles, baked them, covered them with white chocolate and piped on the lines and tie with white chocolate. I added food coloring to white chocolate for the blue tie. It does not get as smooth as the poured fondant or cookie icing, but it tastes delicious! 

2 C sugar

1 C shortening

2 eggs

*cream these together, then add

2 tsp vanilla 

1 C buttermilk

*mix, and add

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cream of tarter

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

5 c flour (one at a time)

*mix well

Roll out on floured surface, cut, and bake on ungreased cookie sheet @ 350* for 8-10 min. 

Don't over cook! Golden edges make for crisper cookies.

White Chocolate glaze

 1 pkg Guittard white chips 

 3 Tablespoons shortening 

Melt together in double boiler (or microwave)

Dip cookies face down in mix. 

Let excess drip off then gently shake cookie from side to side to smooth out the look of the chocolate.

 Let cool until firm. 

Then take extra melted chocolate and pour into piping bag and draw lines/ties or whatever detail you want.

Sunflower Cupcakes

 

 

These were made for a bridal shower themed "Meant to BEE", how cute is that? The sunflowers were made by cutting fondant (store bought fondant works great for these) with a daisy cutter and textured with a fondant tool for lines.  The shape of the flower was created by placing them on a mini cupcake liner that was slightly flattened. I was able to use my awesome airbrush kit for the orange/red fade on the center of the flowers. You could probably get the same affect using a powder color or luster dust applied with a clean blush brush. The center was a fondant circle that I striped like a grid and then cut out. The bees bodies were made of fondant that I shaped into tear drops and painted stripes with black color paste. I used black and white royal frosting to 1. glue the bee to the flower and 2. pipe on the wings and head. I let them dry completely before placing on cupcake.

Royal Icing:

2 egg whites whipped to soft peaks

then add 2 1/2 c powdered sugar

plus 1 tsp cream of tarter, mix

thin with lemon juice or water 1 tsp at a time to get the consistency needed 

(Use the rule of it holding it's shape for 10 sec before fading)

Chocolate Cake Recipe 

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup  Cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Mix dry ingredients together and wet ingredients together minus the water. Then combine wet and dry, then add hot water. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake @ 350* for about 20 minutes.

The flour in this recipe can be substituted with a Gluten-free all purpose flour mix.

Chocolate Butter-cream:

1 stick butter melted (1/2 c)

1/2 C cocoa

3 C powdered sugar

3 Tbls corn syrup

1/4 C milk

Mix butter and cocoa. Then add 1cup sugar,1 Tbls syrup, and a little bit of milk and mix well. 

Repeat until all sugar and corn syrup is incorporated adding enough milk to thin to the consistency you want. Whip for 1-2 minutes.

This is very fudgy and delicious!

Peppermint Swirl Cupcakes

These were fun, cute and delicious! These were made with a moist vanilla cake recipe from The Cake Boss' cook book. The frosting was a yummy experiment. I remembered always loving those homemade butter-mints you'd get at weddings or your grandma's, so I tried to make a frosting with the same flavor, mission accomplished! I found a gingerbread man chocolate mold at Baker's C&C and created the peppermint swirl with this technique. I used disposable bags just to make it easier. 

Butter-Mint Frosting:

2 sticks butter softenend

5+ C powdered sugar

1-2 tsp vanilla

1/4 -1/2 tsp peppermint extract

up to 1/4 C milk

Cream butter & flavoring. Add sugar 1 cup at a time, thinning with milk as needed, always adding sugar last! Whip it with your mixer, and whip it good! Lots of air will make the frosting light. Enjoy :)

PB & C cake

I made this cake for a YW fundraiser/auction. 

The cake is double chocolate, covered in creamy peanut butter mousse, and slathered in fudgy milk chocolate ganache, topped with peanut butter mousse rosettes. 

Holy Cow! I so did not want to send this but keep it for myself :) 

Fudgy Ganache:

1 cup chocolate chips

3 T butter

3 T cream

*Melt butter and chips over double boiler, then add cream. Mix until smooth. Enjoy!

This is also great over ice cream.

Valentine's 2013

 If you start your swirl in the middle of the cupcake instead of the outside, it looks like a rosette!

Cream filled strawberries... always a hit 

 Cute packaging, found at Wal-mart.

 Mousse swirled, raspberry topped brownies.

Cute packaging found at Dan's for about a quarter!

I was asked to teach another class on Valentine's desserts, and again it was so much fun! While I was walking into the building, the tray of cupcakes slipped out of my hand. Some fell on the plastic wrap, some fell on the ground. We saved what we could, re-frosted some and put the rest in the kitchen to throw away later. Funny note* some ladies liked them so much they decided they would eat the ones that fell on the asphalt anyway, I suppose that 's a good sign :) 

Some ladies asked me about using milk/dark chocolate mousse instead of white in the strawberries. We tried it and it was delicious. It tasted a bit like a chocolate covered strawberry without the crunch!

Chocolate Mousse:

1 c melted chocolate chips cooled but still liquid, any flavor

1 8 oz package cream cheese (may use only 4 oz to make it lighter)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla 

8 oz container cool whip

-Melt chips in double boiler, set aside to cool. Beat cheese, sugar & vanilla in separate bowl until creamy. When chocolate is cooled gently stir in to cheese mixture. Fold in 1/2 of the cool whip until combined. Then fold in the rest until completely combined. Then mix with beaters. You can use right away or set in fridge until ready to use. 

*This is also great in cakes, fruit, alone etc... enjoy!

We also made a raspberry frappe!
1/2 gallon raspberry sherbet
1/4-1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
1-2 cups 7up
fresh raspberries for topping
 *Mix together in large bowl with beaters until milkshake consistency, top with berries.

I hope everyone has had an amazing Valentine's Day!

Mint Choco Chip Sandwiches

I made these for family night last week and they were delicious!

Cake mix cookies, (recipe here) and mint chocolate chip mousse.

Basic mousse:

1 8oz pkg cream cheese softened

1 8oz container cool whip

1 Cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

approximately 1 cup melted chips (any flavor) cooled slightly- too hot will cook the cheese!

* I prefer Guittard or Ghiradelli

Mix cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth.

Then fold in cool whip.

Slowly poor in some of the melted chips and fold in.

Poor in remaining chips and fold until incorporated.

The mix with blender until smooth.

This will be thick!

For this cookie, I used mint chips for the mousse and then chopped up regular chocolate chips and mixed in after mousse was made. 

The mousse should be refrigerated or can be frozen if not using right away.

You can use this with cakes, cookies, cupcakes, brownies, fruit, etc...

Ladies Night

Bite sized desserts are easy and you don't get caught with your mouth full as easy :)

Recipes from- Hershey's Best Brownies, Pampered Chef's Chocolate Silk Mousse, Costco Raspberries....mmm.

Mini Cheese cakes: FIlling-1 pkg cream cheese, 1 egg, 2/3 c sugar
Crust- 3/4 pkg crushed graham crackers, 4 T butter melted
1 can cherry pie filling (or fruit of choice)

Strawberries to go along with the colors.

I had some girl friends from my hometown over one night to catch up, 

the food was great, the company was great, it was a blast!

Cake Mix Cookies

                        

 

I had to make a treat at the last minute for my daughters last soccer game, so I went for cake mix cookies.

Recipe:

Any flavor cake mix

2/3 c shortening

2 eggs

Mix ingredients well, roll into balls, place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart, bake @375 for 7-8min. 

(just until the tops look dry, don't overbake!)

The best ones are made with devil's food cake & sandwiched together with cream cheese frosting, mmm.

I did end up buying frosting from the store, especially the black tube of decorator frosting.

Go Pink Panthers!!!!

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

These were sooo good! FYI I did have to double the glaze. Here's the recipe:)

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Makes: 2−3 dozen doughnuts

Raised doughnuts:
2 pkgs. regular or rapid rise yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105−115 degrees)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all−purpose flour
Vegetable oil
Creamy glaze or chocolate glaze

Dissolve yeast in warm water in 2 1/2−quart bowl. Add milk, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups flour. Beat on low speed scraping bowl constantly, 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed scraping bowl occasionally, 2 minutes. Stir in remaining flour until smooth. Cover and let rise in warm place, until double, 50−60 minutes. (Dough is ready when indentation remains when touched.) Turn dough onto floured surface; roll around lightly to coat with flour. Gently roll dough 1/2−inch thick with floured rolling pin. Cut with floured doughnut cutter.

Cover and let rise until double, 30−40 minutes. Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 350 degrees. Slide doughnuts into hot oil with wide spatula. Turn doughnuts as they rise to the surface. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. Remove carefully from oil (do not prick surface); drain. Dip the doughnuts into creamy glaze, set on rack, then when slightly cooled spread chocolate glaze on top. Can dip in sprinkles or other toppings after chocolate if desired.