FB Cookie Swap: Chocolate Oreo Peppermint Bark

…and I’m back and with a replacement fridge, HOO-RAY! It is also the early morning hours and I am coming down from my work high. The job is not important at the moment however let’s just say it’s a blow to the ego. Whomp. Whomp.

Today’s post is all about cookies. It’s the holidays and welp,cookies and holidays go hand in hand. As soon as Thanksgiving hits it’s serious baking time. Every cooking website is releasing their top cookie recipes and there are tips for better cookie baking, cookies that ship well … you get the drift.

Well last year there was this cool thing called FB (Food Blog) Cookie Swap and of course I was a day late and a cookie short.  This year though, I was able to participate thanks to getting an email notifier. I had until December 5th to ship out my cookies and of course I waited until the last minute. I should call this blog “Last Minute Jenn”, for reals. I am always putting off what can be done and doing it later, much later. I know I have discussed this before yet let me say it again – I am a procrastinator. My motto is “Just Do It … later.” This is why I am typing this post at this exact moment (it’s due today). It’s like college all over again.

So, I had to send Cookie Mail to three bloggers and they all had to be the same cookies. I thought, and I thought, and I thought. I changed my mind like 50-11 times until I decided to make Chocolate Oreo Peppermint Bark cookies. These cookies are filled with the holiday spirit thanks to the Oreo cookies with the red creme centers and Peppermint Bark. My recipe is an adaption of Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk Cookies from the e-cookbook, “Cookie Cravings” by Maria Lichty of Two Peas and Their Pod.

My cookies did not turn out as planned but they tasted great. I let my cookie dough chill overnight and I should not have done that. These cookies should be baked as soon as they are mixed other wise you will get some dinky cookies as my picture illustrates. Dinky but tasty.

If you are looking for a gift for that baker in your family/friends then I would advise getting “Cookie Cravings”. It’s cookie heaven. There is a cookie for everyone and BONUS you don’t have to go into a store to purchase the book and can be delivered in time for the holidays!

I enjoyed participating in FB Cookie Swap and I look forward to doing it again next year. Thank you to Lindsay and Julie for organizing the fun! It’s a great way to be introduced to new bloggers and puts a different spin to “Secret Santa”.

If you want to add additional blogs to your RSS reader then let me introduce you to the bloggers I sent cookies to and the bloggers I received cookies from:

1-ThePescetarianandThePig.com

2-PrincessPea.blogspot.com

3-BethsBluePlate.wordpress.com

4-RufflesandTruffles.com

5-WhatJenDoes.com

6-BeingCheapIsEasy.com

So much creativity from all of these bloggers; I am simply in awe and I am not sure I would have heard their voices without FB Cookie Swap. Seredipity.

I posted all the delicious cookies I received on Instagram, so if you want to check it out – click on the link.

Until Next Time,

Chocolate Oreo Peppermint Bark Cookies
Adapted from Triple Chocolate Oreo Chunk Cookies by Maria Lichty

Makes 3 1/2 dozen

 Ingredients
1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/4 cups Cake Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dutch cocoa

1 cup butter, unsalted and room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon coffee liquid (2 parts instant coffee to 1 part hot water)
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup Peppermint Bark, roughly chopped
1 cup Holiday Oreos, roughly chopped
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375-F degrees.

Sift All Purpose Flour, Cake Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, and Cocoa; set aside. Roughly chop the Oreos and Peppermint Bark; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl cream the softened butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until mixed together, no sugar lumps! Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add coffee liquid and vanilla and mix into the creamed ingredients. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the “wet” mixture until mixed together; no dry spots. Stir in the Oreos, Peppermint Bark, Chocolate Chips (White and Semi-Sweet) to the dough.

Scoop dough ( I used a small cookie scoop) onto either a greased or parchment paper cover cookie sheet and bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool before inhaling.

{Sponsored Post} Steak and Cheese Dip

Today’s post is a sponsored post and it’s brought to you by Jarlsberg Cheese Dip. Thank you Kitchen Play for this opportunity, my first sponsored post!

If you reside in Virginia, like me, you can find it in your local Kroger. It can also be found at Safeway and Walmart, just verify with your favorite store before venturing out to them.

Have you ever tried this stuff?!

Try it.

Try it alone with some crackers or 29 other ways, by the way I’m number 29.

If Paula Deen is the Queen of Butter then I am the Court Jester of cream cheese. I can’t get enough of the stuff! A dip that entails cream cheese is a winner for me. This appetizer is an idea that has been in my head for a bit.

So I had kind of a thought, what if I added all the components of my favorite steak and cheese sandwich and mix with cream cheese, heat, and serve — what would that taste like?

It tastes AH-MAZE-ING! Nirvana in your mouth and utilizing the Jarlsberg Cheese dip simply takes it to another level, the penthouse of levels. I am so glad that the thought in my head turned into a true winner in reality. When I am invited to a potluck this will be the dish I bring.

The nutty sweetness of the Jarlsberg Cheese Dip pairs extremely well with the green peppers, onions, mushrooms, steak, and cream cheese. The Jarlsberg dip is comprised of cheese, red onion, and mayonnaise; like I said good all on it’s own.

Steak and Cheese dip can be served with toasted French bread rounds, tortilla chips, mini Phyllo Cups, slathered on a piece of wheat bread ( what? I was hungry), and I plan to try wrapping it up in a crescent roll and serve it a la pinwheel. Perfect appetizer food!

Before I get to the recipe, be sure to head on over to Jarlsberg’s for a chance to win in their giveaway! You have until midnight Eastern time tonight to enter!

The giveaway will include a tailgate tote stocked with:
Jarlsberg Lite Cheese
new Jarlsberg Cheese Dip
Snofrisk (a Norwegian style cream cheese)
crispbreads
honey crèmes
honey vinegar.

Until Next Time,

Jennifer

Steak and Cheese Dip

An Original Licious Food Recipe

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces Neufchâtel Cheese, cubed
1 cup Jarlsberg Cheese Dip
1/2 cup green pepper, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, diced
2 Thinly Sliced Angus Beef Sirloin Philly Steak
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and Pepper to season

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.

In a casserole dish add cream cheese and Jarlsberg Cheese Dip, set aside.

In a heated skillet/pan saute the green pepper, onion, and mushroom. Remove from heat and add to casserole dish.

Cook Philly Steak in a heated skillet/pan with Worcestershire Sauce, salt, and pepper. Steak should be completely done and shredded.
Drain grease and add to casserole dish. Mix all the ingredients together and cover casserole dish with aluminum foil or lid and place in the oven.

Bake approximately 30-35 minutes until fully melted- no stringiness.

Serve with French Bread Rounds, Tortillas, or whatever you like.

Disclosure: I have been compensated for my time and groceries.

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 14,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Nutella Chocolate Toffee Cookies

… and I return.

I had this elaborate plan back in January to do at least two posts a week and well I did fantastic the first week and then …

I am great at time management when I am managing others’ time yet when it comes down to myself I suck. Would you believe I have been sucked up in a soap opera? It’s the sad actual truth. Long story short my favorite character on Y&R (The Young and the Restless) was shot and killed on the soap and I (think I) am grieving and campaigning.

I have a total nerdy part of my life that I try to keep secret but sometimes it escapes and seeps into my real life. *head falls to chest*

However, this post is not about my secret soapy life it is about cookies … rich, chocolatey, nutty, toffee laden cookies. Perfect for your Valentine or in my case a Anti- Valentine’s Day celebration.

These cookies were going to be my submittal to Dessert Wars January Challenge – Nutella. Then with my time issues, soap opera tragedies, and lack of sun it did not happen.

I am still a novice when it comes to this photo taking so I don’t have ego lights, tripod, or anything else the more professional photographer might have; I am a woman with a camera and the sun is my light. When my light decides to go in hiding for long periods of time then that can be problematic (another reason to move to California).

These cookies would be great with a large glass of milk, your favorite hot or cold coffee drink, or better yet a nice glass of cold water. Yes, these cookies can help you get in your daily requirement of water. I am only thinking about you. 😉

If you want to show your love through baking then this is your recipe! You know what they say, chocolate is an aphrodisiac. *eyebrow wiggle*

Until Next Time!

Jennifer

Nutella Chocolate Toffee Cookies

Adapted from Bon Appetit‘s Giant Chocolate Toffee Cookies

Ingredients:
½ cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4  teaspoon salt

1/2  cup of Nutella

1 bag of Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate (11.5 oz)

¼ cup of butter (½ stick)

1 3/4  cups brown sugar (packed)

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

5 regular sized Toffee Bars (I used Heath), roughly chopped

1 cup of toasted chopped hazelnuts

Directions:

In a microwave safe bowl combine butter and chocolate and melt at 50% power for approx 2:30 in the microwave (every microwave is different so my suggestion is to start at 1:00 and continue until ingredients have melted.) Once melted stir in Nutella and set aside to let cool.
In a small bowl add flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until blended.

Using your mixer (stand or hand) cream the sugar and eggs together; add the eggs one at a time. After sugar and eggs have been combined then mix in vanilla along with the melted Nutella chocolate mixture; mix well.

Stir in flour, toffee, and nuts. Refrigerate batter from 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line your large baking sheet with parchment paper and using a medium size scooper or large spoon drop dough onto the baking sheets. Be sure to allow sufficient space between the cookies.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes and allow to cool on the baking sheet. Cookies should be crackly and dry while the inside will be nice and soft.

Birthday and Cupcakes

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Today is the day that I am a little bit older but apparently not wiser since I just realized why my mixer was being a pain in the tuchus, it was set on the wrong bowl setting! I have had this mixer for over a year and never did it occur that the bowl setting was the problem. Since I have corrected my problem it creams, mixes, and whips like a dream!

My single requirement for this day is that I am off, no work allowed on my day. Thought being, why should I be stressed on my day ?? So it has been a great day and I have received many birthday wishes from family and friends and that means the world to me! Of course with birthdays having cake (or cupcakes) is an important thing. I began thinking on what to make … whattomakewhattomakewhattomake???

A great idea came to me last night – Brown Sugar Cupcakes and Chocolate Chip Buttercream!!!! I have dubbed this brizillant creation “Chocolate Chip Cookie” Cupcakes. Genius! This treat takes all the fabulous components of a Chocolate Chip Cookie yet in a cupcake form. The cupcakes are moist and the chocolate chip buttercream sweet. When I ravaged (yes, ravaged) my cupcake it reminded me of the rich “Dinky Doozie” from Great American Cookie Company, a favorite indulgence for me when I happen to venture into a mall (so twice a year).

Having a great birthday is always a good thing – this cupcake is pure sinful rich exquisite icing on my birthday. LOL

Brown Sugar Cupcakes

The Brown Sugar Cupcake recipe is from the book Demolition Desserts by Elizabeth Falkner (I have added this book to my wish list) which I located from fellow food bloggerMolly’s Menu; so with that being said, I am simply posting the link so you can get the recipe for yourself. I did not make any changes to recipe; I followed it to the letter. Don’t forget to let the cupcakes cool!

Chocolate Chip Buttercream

1 stick of room temperature butter

1/4 cup of vegetable shortening (Crisco)**

4 cups of confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste

4 Tablespoons milk

2/3cup Mini Chocolate Chips

In a mixing bowl cream softened butter and shortening. Add 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar and mix. Add remaining 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar. (Should resemble thick paste) Add Vanilla Bean Paste and milk. Mix until you achieve smoothness and consistency. (If mixture is too thick continue to add milk 1 Tablespoon at a time) Fold chocolate chips into buttercream until incorporated.

** I used Crisco Shortening “sticks”, they make for easy measurement and worth extra pennies to have in my opinion. You can omit the shortening, and subsitute with additional butter.  I find that the shortening gives me the little bit of stiffness I am in need of especially when shipping cupcakes or transporting cupcakes in the summer time.

Icing the cupcakes

Like before, you can either do the old fashion icing of the cupcakes – using a spatula or knife to ice the cupcakes or you can get all fancy with it and look like you just ran to your favorite Cupcake shop by using a pastry bag (tip or no tip – you decide!) and pipe the icing on the cupcake.  Today I chose to extra fancy and pipe the icing with a tip.

Until Next Time!