Double Chocolate Mint Cookies

I went to the library this weekend and I found this great little cookbook called Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook.  I have heard of Tate's before.  Apparently, she rubs elbows with the Barefoot Contessa.  If you have EVER watched the Food Network, then you know who THAT is.

Anyways, there are quite a few recipes I want to try out of this small book.  The first one I did was these double chocolate mint cookies.  Forgive me, I was playing around with my new favorite app on my phone.  Instagram rules!

What you will need:
1 1/2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup salted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (it calls for dark, but I only had light...they were still wonderful!)
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 large eggs
1 box of Andes Mints
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

First step is to unwrap all of your Andes Mints and break them in half.

Melt the 1 1/2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler.  Once the chocolate is stirred smooth, set it aside so it cools a little.

Now take the flour, baking soda, and salt and combine it in a small bowl.

Now to the mixing.  Cream your butter, sugars, and vanilla together in a bowl until creamy.  Add the eggs and scrape down the bowl.  Now add your cooled melted chocolate to the egg butter mixture and combine until light and fluffy.  Throw in the flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Now stir your mints and remaining chocolate chips in by hand.

Drop the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet or use a portion scoop so they come out all nice and neat. Bake the cookies at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  I did a small test batch at 10 minutes like the recipe suggests.  The cookies were good, but seemed a little over-baked.  I dropped the time to 8 minutes and let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes when they came out of the oven.  I transferred them to a rack a few minutes later.  There was a HUGE difference in the cookies that were cooked the smaller amount of time.  They were soft and gooey in the middle and the perfect compliment to my glass of milk last night.

Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies - Print Recipe

Tropical Cereal Bars

Here is another recipe from my Paula Deen magazine I get in the mail.  Think Rice Krispie treats meets the Bahamas....and cholesterol.  Because you can't have a Paula Deen recipe without butter.

I couldn't help myself.  Yes, these bars have a little bit of butter in them.  Don't worry, I think the Cheerios and pineapple help cancel it out.

What you will need:
4 cups of miniature marshmallows
1/4 butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
5 1/2 cups of toasted oat cereal
1/2 cup chopped dried pineapple
1/4 cup of sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

First step is to chop up your pineapple.  I bought mine at the grocery store near the produce section.

Next toast up some coconut.  As the magazine suggests, you can always go for unsweetened coconut flakes. But sometimes they are a little harder to find.

Throw your marshmallows and butter in a saucepan and turn on low heat.

Once the butter starts to melt, start stirring so the marshmallows are coated with the butter.  This will help them melt a little faster.  Once the marshmallows are melted and stirred smooth, take the saucepan off the heat.  Add in your vanilla.

Pour in your cereal and pineapple and stir.  Sorry.  No pictures.  It's a little hard to stir and click at the same time.  Pour into a lightly greased baking pan and press the mix down.

Sprinkle your toasted coconut on top.  Let the bars cool and then cut into shapes.


And now for something new...

Tropical Cereal Bars - Print Recipe


Slowly, but surely, I am going to have this option on my recipes I blog about.  Just check at the bottom of the post and you get a super easy-to-read version of the recipe to print out if you would like to try some of the desserts at home!

Cinnamon Butter Cookies

As he was shoving two of these cookies in his mouth, I think I heard my husband say that they would be good with ice cream.  I personally can picture them with hot chocolate.  But since it's 10 billion degrees in Florida right now, I would be insane to try out this hypothesis.  Maybe I should go the ice cream route.

What you will need:
1 1/2 cups of pastry flour ( or cake flour )
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Topping
1/8 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

The main star of the cookie

and its supporting cast

Start off by mixing your topping.  Set the bowl aside for use later.

Measure out your flour, baking powder, and cinnamon and throw them in a bowl together.  Stir them up and set the bowl aside.

Cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until fluffy.  Add in the egg.  Once the egg is mixed in, add in the vanilla and salt.  Slowly add in the flour mixture.  The dough will be super thick.

Once the dough is mixed, drop onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.  Flatten the dough with the bottom of a small glass.  You may have to cover the glass with a little powdered sugar first so the dough doesn't stick too much.  Don't worry...the sugar will disappear.

Once the cookies are flattened, sprinkle on the topping you mixed earlier.

Bake in an oven set at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  And as summer is coming into full swing, take my husband's mumbled suggestion and try them with some ice cream.

Cinnamon Butter Cookies - Print Recipe

Frozen Lemonade Pie

This is another recipe courtesy of Shine.  Super yummy, super tart, super easy....

What you will need:
1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk
1 small package of lemon instant pudding mix
1 Tablespoon of lemon zest
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened (really really softened)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 (12 oz) can of frozen lemonade concentrate
1 9 inch ready-made graham cracker crust

Whisk together the evaporated milk, lemon pudding mix, and lemon zest for about 2 minutes.

Beat the cream cheese and vanilla together in a bowl until it is light and fluffy.  Make sure the cream cheese is super soft like I mentioned in the ingredient list.  If the cream cheese is too cold, then it will separate when you mix in the liquid ingredients.

I didn't include the picture here because my cream cheese was too cold.  Not that the final product tasted bad, it just looked a little funny.  Again...it didn't slow me down when it came time to eat the pie.

Add the lemonade concentrate to the cream cheese and mix until smooth.  Add in the milk mixture and mix until blended.  It will be really soupy.

Pour into the prepared pie crust and freeze until firm.

Top off slices of the pie with cool whip when serving.  It will help cut down on the tartness of all the lemony goodness.

Frozen Lemonade Pie - Print Recipe