Snickers Brownies.......Week 4 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

Ever since I made these Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites, I've been obsessed with adding candy to my baked goods.  I was going to make Snickers Cookies (yes there is such a thing), but due to time constraints, I needed to do something that would be be quicker.  So, I googled Snickers Brownies and found this recipe by My Baking Addiction.  


How do I describe these?  Decadent. Rich. Chocolaty. Fudgy. 


Was it a good idea to add Snickers Bars to brownies?


Oh YES!


I know this is a little different for a Christmas treat but I don't think anyone would mind if these showed up on your cookie platter this year.   

Snickers Brownies

yield | 12 brownies

Ingredients

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate; coarsely chopped
3/4 cup butter, unsalted
1 ½ cups white sugar
3 eggs; lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
12 Fun Size Snickers Candy Bars; cut into fourths (I used 10 Snickers)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl at medium (50% power) for 3-4 minutes or until butter is melted.
3. Whisk until chocolate is melted. Stir in sugar. Add in eggs, extract and salt. Gradually add in flour and stir until just combined.
4. Spread ½ the batter into prepared pan. Add an even layer of Snickers and cover with remaining ½ of brownie batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes; do not over bake.
5. Remove to cooling rack. Cool completely before cutting.

Click here to print recipe from My Baking Addiction

The hidden special ingredient in these brownies.  All I can say is WOW!

Lining the pan with foil makes it easy to lift out of the baking pan and cut into squares.

It's Week 4 and I'm working my way through the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.  See the blog hop below for more shared holiday treats.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  Snickers candy bars have been around a long time.  They were introduced by Mars, Incorporated in 1930.  A candy bar that stays around for 81 years has to be pretty special.  Roasted peanuts, nougat, caramel and milk chocolate.....Snickers!

    

Molasses Cookies......Week #3......12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

Molasses Cookies!!!!  These are a wonderful Christmas cookie.  But they are the ultimate Fall cookie.  This spice cookie uses cinnamon, ginger, cloves, molasses and dark brown sugar.  What a perfect flavor combination.  The smells that will fill your kitchen will put you in a happy mood.  They are chewy with a light sugar coating.  I really can't stop thinking about these cookies.  A great idea for your Christmas cookie platter but an even better idea is to make them now for your Fall baking.

Molasses Cookies

Recipe by Joy of Baking

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

1/3 cup unsulphured molasses (I used Grandma's Original Molasses)

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup granulated white sugar (for garnish)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sift or whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

2. Beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. (about 2-3 minutes)

3. Add the oil, molasses, egg and vanilla extract and beat until mixed.  

4. Beat in the flour mixture until well incorporated.  Cover and chill the batter until firm. (about 2 hours or overnight)

5. After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.

6. Place 1/2 cup white sugar in a small bowl.  Add more sugar if needed.  Roll chilled dough into 1 inch balls.  Then roll the balls of dough into the sugar, coating them all around.  Place on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  With the bottom of a glass, flatten the cookies slightly.  

7. Bake for about 9-10 minutes or until the tops of the cookies have crinkles and will look a little underdone.  Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.  Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

   

(Print recipe here)

These cookies are so addicting.  I bet you just can't eat one.

  

More cookie recipes are below in the blog hop.  Keep checking back as additional people join.  You will have plenty of ideas and recipes for your Holiday baking this season.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  What is molasses?  It's the dark, sweet, syrupy byproduct that you get with the extraction of sugars from sugarcane, sugar beets and grapes.  It is created when the juices from these products are processed.  There is sulphured and unsulphured molasses.  Sulphured molasses has been treated with sulfur dioxide as a preservative.  Unsulphured molasses, which is used in these cookies, has a lighter, cleaner sugar flavor.    

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites.....Week 2 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

Is it a brownie?  Is it candy?  It's a combination.  Candy inside a brownie bite.  Oh my!  This is some serious goodness.  It's Week 2 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.  This week I decided to make brownies instead of cookies.  There's plenty of room for a variety of goodies on your holiday cookie tray.    

 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are one of my favorite candies.  One of my favorite desserts are brownies.  Put the 2 together and I'm pretty much in heaven.  These are super easy to make and fun too!  

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites

Recipe by Savory Sweet Life

Yield: Approx. 40 Brownie Bites

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
40 miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray mini cupcake pan(s) with non stick spray. In a medium bowl, mix melted butter, sugars and vanilla.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Add flour, cocoa and salt.  Mix until combined.  Fill each cupcake section with batter, slightly more than halfway.  Do not overfill.  Place a peanut butter cup in each cupcake hole, pressing it down until it is almost level with the batter.  Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until done.  Cool the brownie bites for 5 minutes before removing from the cupcake tin.  

Note: Thanks to Alice from the blog Savory Sweet Life for this recipe.

(Go here to print recipe)

My daughter, Marissa, unwrapped all the candy for me and placed then in the batter.  What a great recipe for your kids to help make.

See the blog hop link below for some more wonderful cookie/treat recipes from other bloggers.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  I had a hard time getting out some of the brownie bites.  Some broke as I tried to remove them.  I may have overfilled the muffin cups.  Next time I will use mini muffin liners.  I think that will solve the problem.  But no worries....we enjoyed eating the warm broken ones.  They didn't go to waste.

Peanut Butter Caramel Corn

Welcome to October....can you believe it? This is one of my favorite months.  The weather is getting cooler, there's a briskness in the air, cooking my favorite fall foods like soups and stews, fall baking, getting ready for the upcoming holidays.  The first one is Halloween.  We always decorate our front yard for Halloween.  I love sitting on my front porch and giving out candy to all the kids.  


Do you like to have adult Halloween parties?  Here is a Halloween inspired menu from the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.  This month's theme focuses on Halloween....the spooky, orange or black.  


I made this "Devilishly Devine Peanut Butter Caramel Corn" which is in the October issue of Cooking Light Magazine.  Making caramel corn is so easy and so addicting to eat.  This one is a little different with the peanut butter and almonds but definitely a yummy treat.  A great little party snack.  


Click here for the original recipe on Myrecipes.com

Peanut Butter Caramel Corn

Slightly adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

Cooking Spray

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 regular-size bags of microwave popcorn, popped

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

2/3 cup light-colored corn syrup

2 1/2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2. Spray a jelly-roll pan with cooking spray (better idea would be to use parchment paper and spray the paper with cooking spray)

3. Microwave popcorn according to package instructions.

4. Place popped popcorn in large bowl or pot.  Add almonds.

5. Combine sugar, syrup, butter and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occassionally. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and vanilla.  Stir until smooth.  
6.  Spread popcorn with almonds on a large baking sheet.  Drizzle peanut butter mixture over popcorn and toss well.  
7.  Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Cool before breaking apart and placing in sealed container.  


Note:  Everytime you stir the popcorn, more pieces will be coated and the caramel will get harder.

(Print here for recipe)

The rest of our Spooky Halloween Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club menu is below.  Click on their links for more recipe details. 

Mary Ann (Meet Me in the Kitchen) - Sweet Potato and Black Bean Empanadas

Sandi (Whistlestop Cafe Cooking) - Devilish Eggs (Deviled Eggs w/Smoked Salmon and Herbs)

Val (More Than Burnt Toast) - Roasted Squash Soup with Turkey Croquettes

Jerry (Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants) - Dracula's Revenge (Baked Penne with Sausage and Garlic)

Roz (La Bella Vita) - Chocolate Spiderweb Cookies

This popcorn keeps well in a plastic container.  Great for opening up and grabbing a handful.  And another.  And another.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson:  I did not use parchment paper on my baking sheet.  I sprayed it with cooking spray.  My popcorn did stick some when finished baking.  I just used a spatula to get most of the popcorn off the pan.  If I would have used parchment paper, I'm sure it would not have stuck as much on the pan.  The lesson.....use parchment paper.

The Countdown Begins.....12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies 2011

Did I say Christmas Cookies?  12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies?  I know what you are thinking.....how can I be thinking of Christmas when we are just barely out of summer.  Well, this time of year flies by and before you know it, the holidays will be here.  

Last year I participated in the 12 weeks of Christmas Cookies hosted by April from Abby Sweets.  This year I am participating again and it will be hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic.  I hope to share a cookie or treat every week, depending on my schedule.  There will be a blog hop at the end of my post so you can see what others have made.  What a great way to share recipes and hopefully will inspire you to bake some sweet treats for the holiday season.

My first recipe is the classic chocolate chip cookie.  Every holiday cookie plate has to have chocolate chip cookies.  My go to recipe has always been Nestle Toll House Cookies.  But, I'm always game to try different chocolate chip cookie recipes.  This cookie comes from Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook.  It's a thin cookie.  Crusty on the edges but also buttery and chewy.  A really good chocolate chip cookie to share with family and friends.  But then again, have you ever had a chocolate chip cookie you didn't like.  Give this one a try.  I think you'll see them disappear. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe by Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened (original recipe calls for salted butter)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease cookie sheet(s) or line with Silpat.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt.  

In another large bowl, cream the butter and sugars.  Add the water and vanilla.  Mix the ingredients until they are just combined.  Add the eggs and mix them lightly.  Stir in the flour mixture.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Be careful not to overmix the dough.

Drop the cookies 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheet(s) using two tablespoons or a cookie scoop.  

Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges and centers are brown.  Remove the cookies a wire rack to cool.

(Print recipe here)

  

Come back every Thursday for a new Cookie/Treat/Sweet recipe.  Let the countdown begin!

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson: If you do not have a Silpat, you must butter your cookie pan or your cookies will stick.  I had to butter my pans generously so these thin cookies wouldn't stick and fall apart as I took them off to cool.

Grilled Chicken and Steak Fajitas......Featuring TortillaLand Tortillas

Have you ever heard or tried TortillaLand Flour Tortillas?  If not, I highly recommend that you see if your area sells them.  These are very different tortillas.  They are refrigerated and you make them fresh.  One of the TortillaLand's slogans is, "So Fresh They Haven't Even Been Made Yet".  


I was contacted to sample TortillaLand Flour Tortillas.  They asked if I would focus on a Back to School recipe.  My daughters started High School about a month ago.  We are extremely busy between work and school schedules.  I'm always looking for family friendly recipes that everyone will like.  


My daughters love tacos but I wanted to do something a little more interesting so I made Chicken and Steak Fajitas.  The great thing about Fajitas is that everyone can pick their favorite meat and toppings.  These were a huge hit.  The rub I used on the chicken and steak had wonderful flavor.  My daughters made their own Tortillas in a skillet since it only takes about 60 seconds.  The Tortillas taste so fresh.  We loved them!


Check out TortillaLand's website for their store locator.
http://www.tortillaland.com/where-to-buy/  


Stay up to date on Facebook (facebook.com/TortillaLand) and Twitter (@TortillaLand)


Go to http://www.tortillaland.com/ for recipe ideas, store locator and to enter their current giveaway where you could win 3 iPads!!!


Disclosure:  Representatives for TortillaLand Tortillas provided me samples and information but all thoughts and opinions are my own.  My entire family really like these tortillas.  Thank you TortillaLand!

Grilled Chicken and Steak Fajitas

Recipe by Jamie at Mom's Cooking Club

Recipe for Rub by How to Grill, Steven Raichlen

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs beef sirloin steak

1 - 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 limes

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1/2 yellow onion

Topping ideas:  salsa, sour cream, diced avocado, shredded cheddar cheese. (Colby and Monterey Jack cheese are also good choices)

Directions

1.  Place the sirloin steak in a glass or nonreactive baking dish.  Place the chicken in a separate glass dish.  Combine the chili powder, coriander, salt, cumin, garlic and onion powders, and black pepper in a small bowl.  Mix well.  Rub this spice blend over the steak and chicken breasts.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Squeeze the limes over the beef and chicken.  Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour, covered.

2.  Cut bell peppers into strips.  Cut onion in slices.  Saute in skillet with a little olive oil until onions get tender and peppers get a little charred in spots.  Place in a serving dish.

3.  Grill steak until desired doneness and chicken until cooked through.  Let rest a few minutes.  Cut steak and chicken in strips and place on serving platter(s).

4.  Cook TortillaLand Flour Tortillas or warm other packaged tortillas.

5.  Place steak, chicken or both in center of tortillas.  Top with pepper and onion mixture.  Add favorite extra toppings as desired.  Fold up, eat and enjoy!

TortillaLand Flour Tortillas have just 5 simple ingredients: Wheat Flour, Water, Canola Oil, Salt and Sugar.

TortillaLand Flour Tortillas take about 60 seconds to cook. They will puff up as they cook and get lightly golden.

Sauteed Green Peppers, Red Peppers and Onions

The Fajita Spread.....Grilled Chicken and Steak, Peppers and Onions, Salsa, Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Avocado.  Serve with freshly made TortillaLand Flour Tortillas for a family friendly meal.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson: Does your grocery store carry TortillaLand Flour Tortillas?  If not, then take this Store Manager Product Request Form to your local store. 

See attached link: http://www.tortillaland.com/deliver?id=17 

My grocery store, Publix, does not carry TortillaLand Tortillas so I'm planning on taking this request form to my store manager.

Ham and Swiss Egg Sandwiches......Let's Have Breakfast for Dinner!

Who loves Breakfast?  I do.  Who loves Breakfast for Dinner?  I do.  So, for this month's Cooking Light Virtual Club, I chose the theme of Breakfast foods for dinner.  There's just something fun about breakfast at dinnertime.  It can be savory, salty, sweet or a combination of all these flavors.  Breakfast foods are usually quick to prepare which makes it perfect for those busy nights.  

I love eating eggs, prepared anyway and anytime.  This ham and swiss egg sandwich appealed to me because I usually eat eggs in between toast or a biscuit.  Sometimes, I'll sneak some bacon or a sausage patty in my egg sandwiches.  This is a healthier version.  It was super good.  Easy over egg, sauteed ham slice and swiss cheese....yummy!

Click here for recipe on Myrecipes.com

Ham and Swiss Egg Sandwiches

Recipe by Cooking Light

Ingredients

         Cooking spray (or butter)

        4 ounces thinly sliced lower-sodium deli ham

        4 large eggs

        4 English muffins, split and toasted (I used Honey Wheat)

        4 (1-ounce) slices Emmentaler or Swiss cheese

Preparation

         1. Preheat broiler to high.

        2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add ham to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Crack eggs into pan. Cover and cook for 4 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.  (I made my eggs over easy and I used butter in the pan instead of cooking spray) Remove from heat.

        3. Place 4 toasted muffin halves, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Top each half with 1 cheese slice. Broil for 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Divide ham among cheese-topped muffin halves; top each with 1 egg and 1 muffin half.

        Note:  I put a small amount of butter on the toasted English Muffins.  Also, the cheese melted much quicker than 2 minutes so check your oven when you melt the cheese.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the breakfast menu from the other members of the Cooking Light Virtual Supper group.

Mary Ann from Meet Me in the Kitchen made a Fig-Swirl Coffeecake.

Val from More than Burnt Toast made Blueberry and Maple-Pecan Granola Parfaits.

Roz from La Bella Vita brought Hash Brown Casserole with Bacon, Onions and Cheese.

Sandi from Whistlestop Cafe Cooking brought a Grits Souffle.

Jerry from Jerry's Thoughts, Musings and Rants made Breakfast Cookies.

Enjoy!

Mom's Cooking Club Lesson: Take your favorite Breakfast dishes and have them for dinner every so often.  Your family will be all smiles when you announce, "It's Breakfast for Dinner night!"