Dark Chocolate Nutter Butter Truffles

This past weekend I hosted Bunco at my house and wanted to come up with a new, bite sized dessert. After all, there are twelve of us and by the time dessert rolls around, we're generally full from picking on snacks and drinking our favorite beverages. I was already making a batch of the Oreo Truffles to give to my friends husband who helps plow my driveway when my hubby is away on business, but I've made those before and you know me....I have to make something new! So I used the same concept as the Oreo Truffles and made these Dark Chocolate Nutter Butter Truffles. 

If you LOVE peanut butter and chocolate, you will LOVE-LOVE-LOVE these! This recipe is so simple too. All you have to do is chop the cookies (I used my food processor, but if you don't have one put the cookies in a Ziploc bag and pound them with a meat mallet or the bottom of a glass. Hey...maybe I'll try that anyway next time I'm feeling a bit stressed! haha), blend in the cream cheese, freeze, dip them into the melted chocolate and top with the chopped honey roasted peanuts. 

I opted to use dark chocolate instead of milk or white chocolate as it's not only healthier for you, but that deep, rich color is certainly more appealing. The nuts just gave it an extra layer of peanut-y goodness. I have to say, these Dark Chocolate Nutter Butter Truffles were a HUGE hit and everyone enjoyed them. These would make a great dessert for your Valentine, but you can show the love any day of the week. I dare you to eat just one! ~Enjoy! 

Cinnamon Apple Spice Shortbread

When I was reading a recent article in Family Circle Magazine, I came across a recipe they shared for Earl Grey Shortbread. I never hear of putting tea leaves into cookies before and wanted to try it out for myself. I don't particularly care for Earl Grey tea so I didn't have that on hand, so I decided to give my shortbread a distinctive flavor and used Cinnamon Apple Spice tea instead.

National Cookie Day

When I first saw it was National Cookie Day, I thought to myself,  "Self, you have so much on your plate this year, are you really going to make a ton of cookies like last year?" My first reaction was "Of course I am! I love blaring Christmas music throughout the house while baking up a storm in my kitchen. I do it every year!"

And then my chest started palpating and anxiety started to set in. When would I make these cookies? Which new ones am I going to make, photograph and share? How many commitments do I have in the next month?

And there it was in black and white. "How many commitments do I have in the next month?". 

Pumpkin Spice M&M Cookies

Today is National Homemade Cookie Day and to celebrate Fall (and all things pumpkin!), I've created a new cookie recipe for you: Pumpkin Spice M&M Cookies. I love finding new products when I go shopping and this time it was Pumpkin Spice M&M's. They also had a candy corn flavor, but I'm not a huge fan of candy corn. I try not to bake cookies often because they don't last long in this house. Seriously...just because I have girls doesn't mean they don't eat me out of house and home like those teenaged boys I hear about! These...gone in under 24 hours. I guess they liked them. :)

If you're looking for other homemade cookie inspiration, download my Desserts eBook! For only $2.99, you can get a jump start on some baking ideas this holiday season. The instantly downloadable book contains over 50 reader favorite dessert recipes including cheesecakes, bundt cakes, quick breads, muffins, pies, crisps, tarts, biscotti, chocolate, candy, truffles, bars and cookies.

Pumpkin Spice M&M Cookies
Adapted from Nestles Toll House Cookies
Total Time: 30 minutes          Yield: 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 c. All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1 c. Butter, softened
• 3/4 c. Granulated Sugar
• 3/4 c. Light Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1- 9.9oz. Bag Pumpkin Spice M&M Candy

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin spice in a small bowl. Set aside. 
3. In a large bowl, combine the butter, both sugars, vanilla and eggs. Mix well. 
4. Gradually add in the flour mixture until the dough forms; then stir in the candy. 
5. Drop a kitchen teaspoon full of dough onto a nonstick baking sheet (or lined with parchment paper) and repeat keeping 2" apart. 
6. Bake for 9-11 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool. 

Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts per Cookie

Calories 165, Carbs 22.6g, Fat 7.7g, Protein 1.5g, Fiber .5g, Sugar 15.5g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into Calorie Count and may not be 100% accurate. 

Pumpkin Spice M&M Cookies Shopping List

Irish Bunco and Other Ideas for a St. Patrick's Day Celebration

This past weekend, I hosted our monthly Bunco party (if you're not familiar with Bunco, you can read about it in this post) and since it was March I made it into an Green/Irish Bunco theme; including all of the food. It was a fun time and everyone arrived at 7pm and the last one to leave left around 1am. Needless to say I was a little tired the next day, but I did manage to win $25 that night and we had a TON of laughs so it was all worth it! 

And now for the food...

First, I always try to have some healthier options for my guests and I to snack on and usually make a crudite, but I was at a loss as to what type of dressing to use. Then I remembered Green Goddess Dressing was green, but there are so many different ways to make it so I just purchased one pre-made from my grocery store and...IT WAS HORRIBLE!!! So I had to do the next best thing and pulled a Sandra Lee using ingredients I had at home to make this Semi-Homemade Green Goddess Dressing. You can use any buttermilk dressing you prefer, but I just happened to have the regular Hidden Valley Ranch at home. A healthier alternative would be to make the Low Fat Ranch Dressing I made several weeks ago or if you're short on time (like I was) you can opt for a light version of the same dressing. This was so easy to make and tasted great with our fresh vegetable platter. 

Crudite with Semi-Homemade Green Goddess Dressing

2c. Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing

1 Scallion, chopped

1 c. Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and pulse until creamy. 

2. Refrigerate until ready for use. Makes 2 cups 

Up next was this Pesto and Goat Cheese Crostini and makes a nice treat for a small get together like we had or an elegant passed hors d' oeuvre at a cocktail party. The only thing I'll note is that once the air hits the pesto, it will start to oxidize and turn a darker green and won't look as apetizing. So I recommend spreading the pesto on the toasted baguette right before you're ready to serve. I like to make my own pesto as it hardly takes any time at all, but in the winter months, when large quantities of basil might be harder to find, you can usually buy pre-made pesto at your local grocery store. 

Pesto and Goat Cheese Crostini

1 Baguette, sliced

3.5oz. Alouette Crumbled Goat Cheese

Prepared Pesto
Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. Line the sliced bread on a baking sheet, spray with cooking spray and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 5 minutes per side or until they are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool completely. 

2. Spread the prepared pesto (about 1 tbsp) on each toast round; then add the crumbled goat cheese. Makes 16-22 depending on the size of the bread. 

Pesto

2c. Fresh Basil

2 Garlic Cloves

1/2 c. Pine Nuts

2 tbsp. Pecorino Romano Cheese

1/4 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions: 

1. Add the basil, garlic, pine nuts, and cheese to your food processor or blender. Pulse until all ingredients have been mixed together. 

2. With the processor or blender running, gradually add the olive oil until it forms a thick paste. Makes approximately 1 cup. 

This next recipe for Hot Creamed Spinach Dip was a family favorite when I made this last March and I haven't made it since so it was time to bring it back. I made too much, as I doubled the batch, but it was delicious! Click on the name for the original post.

Next up, every "green" party has to have Guacamole.  My family and friends just LOVE it and it's no surprise no matter how much I make, it's usually the first thing to go. I served these with those new Hint of Lime tortilla chips from Tostitos and they even added to the zesty lime flavor of the guacamole!

Guacamole

5 Ripe Haas Avocados

2 Plum Tomatoes, chopped

1 Jalapeño Pepper, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. Red Onion, finely chopped

1 Lime, zest and juice

1 tbsp. Fresh Cilantro, chopped

1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt

Directions:

1. Cut each avocado in half lengthwise, remove the pit, make cross-marks in the pulp with a knife; then scoop out the inside and place in a bowl. 

2. Using the back tines of a fork, smash the avocado until it's smooth, but still chunky. 

3. Add the tomatoes, pepper, onion, lime zest and juice, cilantro and salt. Mix well and refrigerate. Makes approximately 2 cups. Serve with Tortilla Chips.

So far so good...now time for DESSERT!

For our healthy option, I made these fruit kabobs out of green fruit: honeydew melon, green grapes, kiwi and green apples. To keep the apples from turning brown I cored them, cut the apples into thick chunks; then placed them in a bowl with some cold water and the juice of one fresh lemon. I let them sit for about 5 minutes before placing them on the skewers. For the base, I cut the top of of the honeydew melon and stuck the sharp part of the skewers into the flesh. 

Photo Credit: Couponing and Cooking

I found this next recipe for Lucky Leprechaun Bark on Pinterest from Kaylee at Couponing and Cooking and knew I had to make them for my party! This photo is theirs; however, I made a few changes to her recipe as I like mint, but only in small doses and of course, I forgot to take a picture of mine and they're all gone..go figure! 

Change 1: Instead of layering the green chocolate on top of the chocolate, I dropped spoonfuls on top, then swirled it around with a butter knife to form a marbled look. 

Change 2: I didn't use Andes candy or the green sprinkles; only the mint M&M's. It was just enough mint for my taste. 

The last dessert I served were these special Irish Bunco Cookies that my sister in law Barbara made for us. I first saw something similar around Christmas time and showed them to her to see if she could make them. She couldn't wait to try them out, but since I wasn't hosting Bunco that month, I kept it on my back burner for when I was. She was able to use the same premise as the Christmas looking ones and make them a green-theme for my Irish party and they were FANTASTIC! If you live in the north Jersey area and are looking for specialty type desserts for your next party or get together, you can email her for pricing information. See, now you know why I don't make that many desserts at our family functions. With her as our pastry chef doing our "sweet" and me doing the "savory", we've got it all covered! 

I also made the Table Signs and Bunco Score Sheets a little more festive. You can download them to use at your next Bunco Get Together by clicking on the title in red!  

Irish Bunco Table Signs 

               

Irish Bunco Scoring Sheets 

If you're looking for more of a traditional St. Patrick's Day Menu, here are a few recipes you might want to give a try from some previous posts. There's only so much you can do with corned beef! 

Horseradish and Mustard Corned Beef

Crown Royal Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Gremolata Roasted Potatoes

Honey Mustard Carrots

Thyme and Butter Roasted Carrots

Sauteed Cabbage with Bacon

Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

*I was not compensated by any products listed in this post. I purchased them on my own and use them in my home on a regular basis. All opinions are my own. 

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

My husband has two favorite cakes. Carrot and Red Velvet. So when I saw a recipe in a magazine for Red Velvet Cookies using Betty Crockers bagged sugar cookie mix, I figured I could recreate this one  easily enough on my own. And since it's almost Valentines Day, I made them heart shaped and topped them with his favorite frosting as well. These were the perfect cookie. Soft and not overly sweet and the family loved them. If you don't have a heart shaped cookie cutter, you can use a glass and make them round or even make them a bit smaller than I did here. 

Red Velvet Sugar Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
1 c. Butter (I used salted), room temperature
1 1/2 c. Confectioners Sugar (aka powdered or 10x)
1/2 c. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 Large Egg
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 c. Sour Cream (I used reduced fat)
1 tbsp. Red Food Coloring
2 1/2 c. All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Cream of Tartar
3" Heart Shaped Cutout
Cooking Spray
Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe below
Red Sugar Crystals, optional

Directions:
1. Cream together the butter, sugar and cocoa powder with an electric mixer until smooth. 
2. Next, add in the egg, vanilla, sour cream and food coloring and mix well. 
3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; then gradually beat into the butter mixture. The dough will be sticky. 
4. Remove the dough from the bowl, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, then roll out the dough on a smooth, lightly floured surface until it is 1/4" thick. I like to break the dough in half to work with smaller pieces. 
6. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray; then cut out the hearts and place on the pan about 1-2" apart. They won't spread, but will "puff" up. 
7. Bake at 325 degrees for dark coated pans or 350 degrees for glass or aluminum pans for 18-20 minutes. 
8. Allow to cool, then frost with Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkle with red sugar crystals while the frosting is still wet. Makes 18 cookies

*Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories 202, Carbs 24g Fat 11.2g, Protein 2.7g, Fiber 1.3g
*Calculations based on ingredients entered into CalorieCount and may not be 100% accurate. 

Cream Cheese Frosting
8oz. Cream Cheese
1/4 c. Butter (I used salted)
1 c. Confectioners Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:
1. Cream together all ingredients until smooth. If you like your frosting a little sweeter, add more sugar.

*Nutritional Information per Serving: Calories 93, Carbs 7g Fat 6.9g, Protein 1g, Fiber 0g*Calculations based on ingredients entered into CalorieCount and may not be 100% accurate.  

Enjoy!

If you are not going to eat the cookies right away, store them in an air tight container at room temperature. Once they are frosted with cream cheese, you must keep them in the refrigerator. Cream cheese will go bad if not refrigerated. 

Walnut Crescents

Here it is, Recipe #12 for the Holiday Baking theme. I have many favorites around the holidays and this one has been a favorite of mine since I first ripped it out of the pages of Parents Magazine back in 1998. I mean, this is so old after many internet searches, I still can't find the exact recipe online which was created by Penny O'Connor from Waterloo, Iowa. 

They are SO easy to make and like she says, they truly melt in your mouth and disappear quickly from my cookie platters as well.  I hope you enjoyed my baking theme the last few weeks. Tomorrow I'll be back to savory recipes; which are more my forte. :)

Walnut Crescents
2 Sticks Butter (I used salted, but she calls for unsalted), room temperature
1 1/4 c. Confectioners Sugar (aka 10x sugar or powdered sugar)
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 tsp. Water
2 c. All-Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt (I omitted since I used salted butter)
1 c. Walnuts, finely chopped (you can also use pecans)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Add the butter and 1/4 cup of sugar to a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy; then add in vanilla and water. 
3. With the mixer on low, gradually add in the flour (and salt if using unsalted butter); beating until well blended. 
4. Stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon. 
5. With lightly floured hands, roll dough into 1 1/4" balls, then shape the balls into crescents (or moon shapes). 
6. Arrange 2" apart on ungreased baking sheet and bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned (my oven tends to be set higher so I cooked mine on 350 for about 12 minutes). 
7. Remove from oven and while cookies have cooled slightly, toss the cookies into the remaining 1 cup of sugar to coat; then cool on wire racks completely. Makes 33 cookies

Enjoy! 

Hazelnut Biscotti

I know. You're probably tired of my variations of biscotti, but this is the last one...well for 2012 anyway! I just love adding different nuts to biscotti and this hazelnut version brings us to Holiday Baking recipe #11. Besides, I had to find more uses for that Frangelico my brother in law gave me recently. ;)

Hazelnut Biscotti
2 c. All-Purpose Flour
1 c. Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 tbsp. Frangelico (hazelnut liquor)
3 Large Eggs
1/2 c. Hazelnuts, chopped
Cooking Spray


Directions:
1. In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda until well blended. 
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, Frangelico and vanilla. 
3. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix well until all of the ingredients have been incorporated.  
4. Next, fold in the hazelnuts. 
5. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is no longer sticky, then form two, 12” long log shapes and flatten down so that it is no higher than 1”. 
6. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, add the dough and bake at 325° F for 30 minutes.  
7. Remove from oven and let cool, then slice diagonally into 1/2" thick slices and put them back on the baking sheet. 
8. Bake an additional 8-10 minutes per side, then remove from the oven. Let cool and allow to harden before serving. Makes 2 1/2 dz.

Enjoy! 

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

Here is another recipe that I twisted, because you know I wouldn't have been able to come up with this on my own! Many years ago, I printed out a recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies online and, like many other of my printed recipes, they are torn and tattered. I wanted to try something new and document it here online, so instead of adding chocolate chips, I used toffee bits and walnuts. These were amazingly good and what I did find out over the years (I guess you could call it my baking "a-ha" moment) is that in some cookie recipes, you get a softer cookie if you mix butter and shortening versus using all butter. If you prefer a crunchy, flat cookie, then by all means, use all butter. :)

Here is Holiday Baking recipe #8 for...

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

Adapted from Quaker Oats

1 Stick Butter, softened

1/2 c. Crisco Vegetable Shortening

2 tbsp. Water

1/2 c. Granulated Sugar

1 c. Brown Sugar, packed

2 Eggs

2 tbsp. Milk

2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 3/4 c. All-Purpose Flour

2 1/2 c. Oats (I use Quaker regular oats, not the quick ones)

1 c. Heath Toffee Bits

1/3 c. Walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, water and sugar (I use a wooden spoon). 

2. Add eggs, milk and vanilla; then mix well. 

3. Next, add in the flour and baking soda and mix well. 

4. Add in the oats, toffee and walnuts; mix well. 

5. Using the top half of a kitchen teaspoon, drop the cookie dough onto a greased baking sheet, leaving about 1-2" between them. (I like to make them smaller for the holidays so they're bite-sized)

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Let cool. Makes 4 dz. 

Enjoy! 

Oh and one other thing! Just a reminder that I will be on LIVE with Basilmomma tonight on her online radio show Around the Kitchen Sink! You can call in to speak to us live at 877-864-4869, listen online or come back tomorrow and go to the Announcements and Events Tab on the top of the page and I'll post the link to listen to the podcast at a later date. I would love to talk to you!

Thursday, December 13, 2012 

Around the Kitchen Sink Radio Show on Toginet

with Heather Tallman aka Basilmomma 

11:00pm est/10:00pm cst

Honey Roasted Peanut Chocolate Cookies

When my dear foodie friend Ally from Ally's kitchen came out with Ally's Kitchen eCookbook Holiday Series Sweet Treats, I just had to download it right away. For only $1.99 you get so many wonderful recipes all written in her Bohemian style.

I didn't have a chocolate cookie to make on my list, but when I saw hers it looked so easy, I just had to give it a try (especially since she's a lot like me when it comes to baking...if it's not a straight forward recipe and easy, I'll move on!)

These cookies were INCREDIBLE and she gives you several options of toppings, but I chose to use one of my own by adding chopped honey roasted peanuts because that's what I happened to have on hand and thought they would taste pretty darn good and boy was I right! Here is Holiday Baking Recipe #6 for these Honey Roasted Peanut Chocolate Cookies. 

Chocolate Walnut Bars

I hope you are all enjoying my Holiday Baking theme so far. This week, I'll have four more desserts for you to try.

I can't tell you how long I've had today's recipe in my recipe box or even where I originally got it from, but I can tell you that I never even made them! You know how it goes. You copy a recipe down, think to yourself "Self, I'm going to make these next year for sure", and then, Christmas comes and goes and you forgot. Well, at least that's what happens here (or maybe it's just because I'm over 40!) Anyway, for the longest time, especially when my kids were younger, I went YEARS without baking for the holidays at all...who had time! I was lucky enough if I had time to buy a 5lb. tub of refrigerated sugar cookie dough so that I could roll it out for the kids to decorate the cookies they leave for Santa on Christmas Eve (a yearly tradition in our home). 

So here is #5 on the list--Chocolate Walnut Bars. Like I mentioned last week, I like to cut my holiday cookies smaller than usual so this does make quite a bit, but they are so rich and chocolatey and nutty that a small taste is all you need! 

Chocolate Walnut Bars
1-13oz. Box Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 1/2 Sticks Salted Butter, melted
1-14oz. Cans Sweetened Condensed Milk
24oz. Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
3 c. Walnuts, chopped

Directions:
1. Combine the graham crackers with the melted butter and mix well. Press the mixture firmly onto a non-stick baking sheet; then bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes until the edges start to turn a light brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. 
2. Next, add the milk, chocolate and vanilla to a pot and melt; stir constantly so that it doesn't stick. 
3. Pour the chocolate mixture over the crumbs, carefully spreading it out without releasing the crumbs from the pan. 
4. Top the chocolate with the nuts and gently press down on them. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting. Makes 4 dz. 

Enjoy!

I put pan in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes after the pan was cool enough to make sure they were really cooled as the first time I made these, I don't think I used enough butter or my pan was too deep and the crust never set. 

Kisses® Peanut Butter Blossoms

 For as long as I can remember, Holiday Baking Recipe #4 Kisses® Peanut Butter Blossoms have ALWAYS been on every holiday cookie platter. They're timeless and classic with just the right amount of peanut butter and chocolate. 

Comment below if you make these each year too! 





Did you know that these cookies were create in 1957 by Freda Smith from Gibsonburg, OH who entered them in the Pillsbury Bake Off Contest and lost?