Easy Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies

Yum! Yum! Yum!

If you like Reese's, or brownies, or cookies or any combination of the 3, then you are in luck my friend.  This easy homemade recipe will become one of your dessert (or dinner :)) staples because its got something for everyone!

Here's what you need:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate chopped

1 cup peanut butter chips (or chopped up Reese's)

6 Tablespoons Butter

3 Eggs

1 Cup White Sugar

1 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour

2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Here's what you do:

1. Melt unsweetened chocolate, semi sweet chocolate chips, and butter stirring occasionally until smooth.

2.  Whip eggs and sugar in a separate bowl for about 2 minutes or until it thickens.  Stir in the vanilla and the melted chocolate mixture.

3.  Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, coca powder and salt in a separate bowl. Once well mixed, gradually add this combination into the melted chocolate mixture.  Mix the remaining peanut butter cups into the mixture.

4.  Cover dough and chill for at least and hour or overnight.

5.  Heat Oven to 350 degrees F.  Roll chilled cookie dough into 1 inch dough balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

6. Bake for 9-11 minutes and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet.

7. Enjoy!!

*Instead of using peanut butter chips you can experiment with white chocolate chips, candy bar pieces, etc.
**Recipe should make 3 Dozen cookies
*** The original recipe that this recipe was adapted from was for Chocolate Truffle Cookies

Spicy Chicken Pasta

A Few Months ago I pinned a recipe for Spicy Chicken Rigatoni.  The picture looked delicious, and I had every intention of making the recipe.

Well, months later I got around to browsing through my old pins and took a gander at this recipe.  To my excitement I had all the ingredients to make it!  Well, almost all the ingredients... I improvised a few things here and there, but for the most half part I stuck with the recipe.

It was delicious!

*Insert: Delicious looking picture

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the finished meal.  Next time I make it I will be sure and take a picture (because let's be honest, aren't the pictures what we choose our meals by?) but I didn't want to wait to give you all the recipe!  So here is my version of Spicy Chicken Pasta:

3 Chicken Breasts

1/4 Cup Oil

1/2 Tbs Crushed Red Pepper

1/8 tsp Groung Black Pepper

1 Tbs Minced Garlic

1 Cup Marinara Sauce

3/4 Cup Alfredo Sauce

Half a Box of Pasta

Additional 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (for garnish)

1.  Cook your pasta according to the box.

2.  In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add the crushed red pepper, ground black pepper and the minced garlic and saute it long enough for the garlic to carmelize.

3. Add sliced chicken and saute' it until almost fully cooked. 

4. Add both the marinara sauce and alfredo sauce and bring to a simmer.  Cook until the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked all the way through.

5.  Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the cooked pasta.  Serve and add the additional red pepper for garnish.

6. Enjoy this spicy goodness!

Best Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies!

{picture from tonight's batch of cookies, featured on my mother's pottery}

I've done it!  I have found THE recipe, and by THE I mean the yummiest gooiest most superb recipe for chocolate chip cookies!  Here's how it happened:

Our neighbor across the street, Ed, watched our sweet lil pup for us while we were out of town so I wanted to make him a "thank you" treat.  I was browsing on the internet for inspirationg and just happened to see a good looking picture for cookies on pinterest.  I clicked on the link and followed my way to macdaddy recipe itself.  I just happened to have all of the ingredients to conjure the cookies up, so conjure up I did....

Well, it just so happens that I am not really a big fan of chocolate chips cookies (who would have thunk?) so I didn't even try the cookies before I packaged them up and walked them over to Ed's.  There were a few cookies left though, so I gave some to Wil for work and took some to my work as well.

It wasn't too long after that that Wil exploded with enthusiasm on how amazing these cookies were.  His co-workers agreed they were fantastic.  My coworkers ate them up before I even knew what happened and Ed and his wife have said they were the best chocolate chips cookies they have ever had.

Wow.  And I didn't even try one.

So after all that fuss, I made them again tonight and tried one.  Yup.  They were right.  They are absolutely fantastic!

So, without further ado, make your way to the original recipe at allrecipes.com OR follow the recipe I have posted below.  (The original recipe has nuts in it, but I make them without.)

You will Need:

1 Cup Butter, softened

1 Cup White Sugar

1 Cup packed brown sugar

2 Eggs

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

3 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

2 Teaspoons Hot Water

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

2 Cups Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2.  Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.  Beat the eggs in one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.  Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water and add it to the batter along with the salt.  Stir in the flour one cup at a time.  Then add the chocolate chips.

3.  Drop spoonful portions of the batter onto an ungreased pan or baking stone. (I use a baking stone and they turn out perfectly gooey and crispy)

4.  Bake each batch about 10 minutes or until they are slightly brown.

Makes about 25-30 cookies.

Hope you enjoy!  I'd love to hear how you like them!