Jeff's Favorite Chocolate Cookies

I adapted this recipe from ambitiouskitchen. This is a crowd-pleaser for sure! My kids will ask for this instead of regular chocolate chip cookies. Jeff loves them too. He's not all that into baked desserts, but he'll eat these by the handful.

Ingredients:

• 2 cup all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened special dark cocoa powder (the secret is using the dark cocoa powder)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbs vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Cream oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon onto baking pan and slightly flatten the dough ball. Bake 8-10 minutes. Bring out of oven before they look done because they will continue baking as they cool. I take mine out at 9 minutes. This recipe makes about 36 cookies.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Brownies

I almost always make brownies from a box because it's easy and more often than not, I think they taste better. But these from-scratch brownies fill a special niche of comfort food. If you want a brownie that is almost indistinguishable from a piece of fudge, these are the ones you want to make. The fresh strawberries on top send this dessert to gourmet level!

Adapted from: Here

Ingredients:
Brownies
1 cup plus 2 Tbs chocolate chips
1/2 C butter, cut into pieces
3 Tbs cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 1/4 C sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 C flour
1/2 tsp salt

Topping
1 C fresh strawberries, diced
1/2 C chocolate chips
1 Tbs shortening

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x9 square baking pan. Melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave, pausing to stir every 30 seconds until smooth. Mix in the cocoa and set aside to cool. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt until well mixed. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and then fold in the flour until just combined. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few sticky crumbs. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature before adding the strawberries (about 2 hours).

When the brownies are cooled, sprinkle the strawberries evenly over the top. Melt the chocolate and shortening together in the microwave and pour evenly over the strawberries. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens (at least 1 hour).

Note: I doubled the recipe to make a 13x9 and cooked them for 10-15 extra minutes.

Cinnamon Breakfast Bites

These are a very yummy breakfast treat.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 C flour
1 C rice Crispies, coarsely crushed
2 Tbs sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C butter flavored shortening
1/2 C milk

Coating:
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 C sugar
1/3 C butter, melted

Directions:
Combine flour, cereal, 2 tbs sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then cut in shortening. Stir in milk just until wet. The mixture is going to be dry but you can add 1 extra tsp of milk if it's too dry. Shape into 1 inch balls. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and 2/3 C sugar. Dip each ball into the melted butter, then roll into the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place in a greased baking dish. Bake at 420 for 15 to 17 minutes. Makes 24 breakfast bites.

Pizza Lasagna

Adapted from here.

I've made these Lasagna roll-ups several times now. I find them easier than a regular lasagna. I love that you don't have to slice the finished lasagna; a nice serving size roll is just sitting waiting for you. And my picky kids love these too! The pepperoni is so much easier than browning sausage or ground beef. And if you are like me and have more energy in the morning, you can prep these ahead of time and just stick them in the oven an hour before dinner!

Ingredients
12 Lasagna Noodles, cooked, drained and laid out on parchment paper
1 (16oz) jar of your favorite pizza sauce
1 egg
1 (15oz) container of ricotta cheese
1 1/2 C mozzarella cheese, divided
3/4 C grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 Tbs dried parsley
1/4 tsp black pepper
pepperoni (50-60 slices)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13x9 inch pan and spread a bit of the pizza sauce on the bottom to prevent sticking.

In a medium bowl, mix together the egg, ricotta, 1 cup of mozzarella, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, parsley, and black pepper. Spoon the cheese mixture over the lasagna noodles, using about 2 Tbs of the mixture per noodle.

Place 4-5 pepperoni slices on each lasagna strip.

Roll up the lasagna noodles, starting from a short end. Place seam side down in the prepared 13x9 dish.

Spread remaining pizza sauce on top of the rolls. Make sure to cover the noodles to prevent them from drying out in the oven. Top with remaining 1/2 C mozzarella and 1/4 C of grated Parmesan.

 Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 45-50 minutes, removing foil for the last 10-15 minutes so the cheese can brown. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

My go-to Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. The one I always return to because it just makes a great cookie.

Ingredients:
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
1 C butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
2 1/4 C flour
1 tsp salt
2 C chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Beat sugars and butter until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips.

Place heaping tablespoon sized balls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown.

Cold Oil French Fries

I can't remember where I first saw this idea for making french fries. It looked so much easier than trying to maintain a constant oil temperature while doing small batches of spuds that my interest was piqued enough to give it a try. I didn't have to use an oil thermometer?! I was sold.

It may seem counter-intuitive but I think potatoes fried this way even turn out less greasy than the conventional method! And they turn out delicious!

Ingredients:
Cooking oil
Potatoes
Salt

Directions:

Start by washing your potatoes (I did not peel mine) and cutting them into shoe-string slices (about 1/4-1/3 inch wide). The important thing for even cooking is that they all be relatively the same thickness.

Here is where the magic happens: Put your potatoes in an empty pot. Pour in enough oil to cover the potatoes. Make sure your pot is big enough to have 1.5-2 inches of extra room between the oil and the lip of the pot.

Here is what it will look like

Put your pot on the stove and turn the burner to high. No thermometer necessary! When the oil starts to boil (5-10 minutes later), turn the heat down to medium high. You want the oil to be at a rolling boil the whole time.

After another 5 or so minutes, use some tongs to gently stir the potatoes. This keeps them from sticking together and helps them cook evenly. Check the potatoes every 5 or so minutes and stir gently. First they will go limp. Then they will start to crisp and brown. When they reach your desired level of brownness (for me, usually 30-35 minutes after I start), take them out of the oil and spread on some paper towels to drain. Salt to taste. Let cool for a minute before eating or you will burn your mouth (and fingers)!

Yum!

Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

These are the most dense, fudgy brownies I have ever made. Topped with a marbling of cheesecake and brownie, each bite is the perfect mix of flavors.

Adapted from Here

Ingredients:
Brownie Layer:
1/2 Cup butter, chopped into pieces
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 C flour
1/4 tsp salt

Cheesecake layer:
8 ounces cream cheese (full fat), at room temperature
1/3 C sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325. Line an 9 x 9 square baking pan with aluminum foil. Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave, pausing to stir every 30 seconds until completely smooth. Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Stir in the flour and salt until the entire mixture is smooth and glossy (the secret to a dense brownie is to not over-mix so do this by hand, not with an electric mixer). Set aside 1/2 a cup of the brownie mixture. Pour/press the rest of the brownie mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside.

In your electric mixer, begin the cheesecake layer. Whip the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla, and egg and beat until just smooth (don't over mix). Spread the cream cheese mixture over the brownie layer. Then add the reserved 1/2 cup of brownie mix, one dollop at a time to the top. Run a knife or wooden skewer through the batter to create a marble look.

Bake for about 30 minutes. The brownies should be set, the cheesecake should just be starting to brown, and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs.

Let cool on a wire rack and then in the fridge until the brownies are set enough to cut into squares. You can store these in the fridge for several days. I enjoy eating mine cold with a large glass of milk!