White Chocolate Covered Brownie Bites

Well, what do you do when you set out to make brownies and then they don't release from your pan? This is what happened to me a couple of months ago. We were having company for dinner on a Sunday and the kids wanted to make a last minute dessert. I usually have a box of brownie mix in the house just in case we need a chocolate fix so I decided to make those. Instead of making them in a square pan, we decided to make them in the mini muffin pan instead so that they were smaller servings. I did spray the pans with cooking spray, but for some reason when they came out and cooled, they were breaking in half and didn't want to release themselves from the bottom of the pan. Normally, I would have just thrown them away or threw them in a bowl to pick on, but I decided to make these brownie bites out of them. This particular brand of brownie mix from Betty Crocker is the only kind I buy and it's loaded with chocolate chunks and is so moist..all the time, every time. Because of this, I didn't even need to add anything to it! Just rolled them into balls, dipped them into chocolate and voila! Instant dessert. 

White Chocolate Covered Brownie Bites
1 Box Betty Crocker Hershey's Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix
6 oz. White Chocolate, melted

Prepare brownies as directed and let cool. Add the brownies to a bowl and using your hands (make sure they're clean!), crush them up and form into 1" round balls. Place on a baking sheet covered with wax paper and put in the freezer for 30 minutes. Melt chocolate and dip each brownie ball into the melted chocolate. Place back on the wax paper and refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes approximately 2 dz. bites. 

Enjoy!

Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti

I thought I was done with baking for a while after the holidays but I needed to make a dozen bake sale items to sell for my daughters school function last weekend. And for me, nothing is easier to pull together last minute than biscotti. Since I had to make some anyway, I decided to experiment with a different kind and these did not disappoint!

Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti
2 c. All-Purpose Flour
1 c. Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
3 Eggs
1 c. Dried Cranberries
1 c. White Chocolate Chips 

In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla extract and eggs. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, mixing well. Next fold in the cranberries and chocolate. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is no longer sticky, then form a 12" long log and flatten down so that it is no higher than 1". Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, add the dough and bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool, then slice diagonally into 1/2" slices and put them back on the baking sheet. Bake for an additional 10 minutes per side and remove from oven. Let cool and allow to harden before serving. Makes 2dz. 

Enjoy!

White Chocolate Dipped Oreo Truffles

When Nikki from Chef-in-Training posted her recipe last month for these No Bake Oreo Truffles, I couldn't run downstairs fast enough to get the page off of the printer without my kids seeing it and screaming "You HAVE to make these!". I agreed but told them I would add it to the holiday baking list. Well, this week, I tried them out and I have to say, they are AWESOME and I'm not a huge Oreo fan (I'm  not really a sweets in general fan). They were SO easy to make, only 3 ingredients AND no baking so I can't burn them. :) I did however use the full 8oz. of cream cheese where she prefers 4oz, but these will definitely be on our holiday cookie platter this year! 

No Bake Oreo Truffles
Adapted from Chef in Training
1 pkg. Double Stuffed Oreos 
8 oz. cream cheese, softened 
12oz. White Chocolate 

Chop Oreos up fine in a food processor.  Add them to a bowl along with the cream cheese and mash together until well combined. Roll into 1" balls and place on a wax covered cookie sheet. Put in the freezer for 15 minutes.While balls are in the freezer, melt chocolate according to directions. Pull the truffles out of the freezer, and dip into chocolate.  Garnish with  sprinkles before the chocolate sets. Let chocolate set, refrigerate or you can also store these in the freezer in a resealable freezer bag until ready to serve. Makes approx. 2 dz. 

*Tip 1: Make sure you use wax or parchment paper to place the truffles on after they have been dipped in the chocolate. I made the mistake of putting a few on my baking cooling rack (the one w/ the grids) and the truffles stuck to it and ripped off the bottom of the truffle.

*Tip 2: If, when you melt your chocolate you find it too thick, you can add a drop of oil to it and mix well. It will help to thin it out. 

Enjoy!

White Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Cookies

I don't even know why I buy bananas. Half of the time I buy them, and I wind up with 3-4 rotten ones a week. I even tried buying a smaller bunch. But then when I don't buy them guess what happens? Murphy's Law of course..the family complains that "Yes, we have no bananas!" Sorry, little joke there, but in all honesty, as much as they love my banana bread, how many times can I make it? So with this weeks rotten bananas, I wanted to make some cookies and my husband's favorite is oatmeal. I figured I'd just throw in some mashed bananas, but when I started making them, I realized I didn't have any vanilla extract left (what a surprise, I have to go to the store...again!) so I used almond extract instead. I didn't have any almonds so I chopped up some white chocolate pieces I had left from when I made the football chocolate lollipops last month but you could use the white chocolate chips instead. I also use salted butter in my baking for several reasons. 1. I don't bake cookies often, really just around the holidays. 2. I can't tell the difference in a baked product one way or the other.  And 3.  If you're going to add salt to the mixture after using non-salted butter, it just doesn't make sense to me. Ok, all of you bakers can comment...NOW!! :) These cookies were so tasty and "puffy" more like a cake than a cookie. The kids devoured them, well at least the ones I left out for them to eat. (Shh...I hid some in my freezer downstairs for the holidays!).

White Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Cookies

1/2 c. Salted Butter, softened

3/4 c. Light Brown Sugar

1/4 c. Granulated Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp. Almond Extract

4 Overripe Bananas, mashed

2 1/4 c. All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

3 c. Old Fashioned Oats (I use Quaker®)

1/2 c. White Chocolate, chopped

In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, almond extract and bananas and mix together. Add in the flour, baking soda and oats and mix together using a spoon. Then, fold in the chocolate. Using a kitchen teaspoon, drop cookie dough onto a greased baking sheet about 1" apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool on a rack. Makes 4 dz.

Points+=3 per cookie

Enjoy!