Pumpkin lures me out of my baking hiatus

Well, I successfully went one month without baking. It was a long month, lol. I feel like I've gotten ahold of my compulsion to bake bake bake and eat eat eat. I'm trying to cut back to just doing it for special ocassions and focus on baking for others. This week we are celebrating a birthday at work as well as the first day of our new boss. I volunteered to make cornbread and pumpkin bars. I'm still trying to choose the perfect cornbread recipe but I made the pumpkin bars this afternoon. I just tried one and they are great! Thanks to bakingblonde for sharing her aunt's recipe with me. I made one batch for my sister and my parents and then I made a double batch in a 9x13 pan to take to work and share. These squares are not as fluffy as a sheet cake, but not as dense as a cookie bar or brownie. Somewhere in between I guess you'd say.



Pumpkin Squares
1/3 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves (I didn't have any cloves so I went without, but I'm sure it would add a great kick)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Cream cheese frosting (I used store bought instead of making it from scratch)
Chopped walnuts (I used candy corn instead, it's so festive! The candy corn pumpkins would have been fun too)

Preheat oven to 350 (I used a dark non stick pan for my double batch so I lowered the temp 25 degrees to keep the bars from getting too dark).

Lightly spray with 9X9 baking pan with Pam.
In a medium bowl, cream together the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder (I did this step in my KA mixer).
Gently fold in the flour, just until combined (I did this by hand).
Evenly spread the mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake bars for 22-30 minutes, or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean.
Frost cooled bars with cream cheese frosting and top with walnuts (or candy corn or whatever you choose!)

Feast your eyes!

Made the peach-raspberry cobbler again last weekend (had to find some way to use up the 12 peaches crammed in that little bag at the store!) Since I didn't have a picture last time I figured I'd share it now. Here's the original entry with the recipe. I used frozen raspberries this time and it tasted just as good!

Too easy, too yummy

I needed a dessert that I could whip up fast and I didn't want to go through the whole "from scratch trash my kitchen with flour and sugar" mess so I went the easy route. All you need are some peanut butter cups and a box of brownie mix with its required ingredients. The end result: yummy peanut butter cup brownies.



Peanut Butter Cup Brownies (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 box brownie mix
any ingredients that the box of brownie mix calls for + an extra egg
1 bag mini peanut butter cups


Directions:
Mix up brownie batter with an extra egg for fluffier brownies.
Pour brownie batter into muffin cups lined with paper or foil wrappers.
Stick one peanut butter cup (all wrapping removed of course) in the center of each brownie
Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until brownies are fluffy but not gooey inside.
Cool and then eat!

I used a box of pillsbury chocolate chunk brownie mix and it yielded a dozen brownies in a regular sized muffin tin. A mini muffin tin could also be used for bite sized brownies.

Yum, cobbler!

So I'm about to commit a big sin in the sphere of food blogging, I am not posting a picture with my recipe! The recipe is just too good not to share and I may not make it again until next summer, so I don't want to deprive you until then! I took this peach-raspberry cobbler to dinner at my in-laws this evening and forgot my camera and then we gobbled the whole thing up! Check out the original recipe here, it's from Cooking Light. I made some changes, the big one was adding raspberries, my favorite fruit! When I make it again I will probably use a little less milk (maybe 3/4 cup) since the cobbler came out pretty juicy and it was hard to tell when it was done cooking.

Peach-Raspberry Cobbler

Ingredients:

Filling:
3 cups sliced peeled ripe peaches (about 2 pounds)
1 cup raspberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Batter:
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash of ground cinnamon
1 cup milk (I prefer skim)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon white or turbinado sugar for topping.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare filling, combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside.

To prepare batter, place butter in an 8-inch square baking dish. Place dish in oven 5 minutes or until butter melts. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through dash of cinnamon) in a medium bowl. Combine milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter over butter, spreading evenly (do not stir with the butter at the bottom of dish). Spoon fruit mixture over batter, gently pressing the fruit into the batter. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar (or white if you don't have turbinado on hand), and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until crust is golden.

yields: 8 small servings or 6 good size servings!

Update #3

Here's the last update for today! I'm giving you lots of reading material :) Last night we had a delicious dinner at a friend's house and I told her I'd bring something chocolate for dessert. I wanted to try something new and wanted something that had chocolate and raspberry, one of my favorite flavor combos. I wanted something quick and easy so I found this brownie recipe that fit the bill. Very tasty but VERY rich, do not attempt to eat without a glass of milk!




Chocolate Raspberry Brownies (source: Cooking at a Glance - Cookies, recipe as posted on cooking.com)

Ingredients:
For Brownies-
1/2 cup butter
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam

For Frosting-
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons boiling water

Directions:
For Brownies-
In a medium saucepan melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, lightly beat in flour until just combined.

Spread batter into a greased 8x8 baking pan, Spoon raspberry jam in dollops over batter, run a knife through batter several times to achieve a marbled effect. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 35 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on a rack.

For Frosting-
In a medium mixing bowl stir together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir in enough boiling water to make a frosting of spreading consistency (add it in one tablespoon at a time so you don't put in too much!) Spread over cooled brownies. Cut and serve.

Update #1

Time for some updates! I have been cooking and baking the last week but just haven't been updating much. I tried a couple of recipes from a fellow food blogger that I want to rave about! Amber has so many creative and "down-to-earth" recipes. I'm going to try her homemade pretzel recipe this week, can't wait!

I was out of brown sugar but craving cookies with oatmeal in them and found this recipe for no-bake cookies on Amber's blog. So easy to make but beware, they are SERIOUSLY addictive. We got about 3 dozen cookies out of this recipe and they were gone faster than any cookies I've ever made before. I've posted the recipe here with the changes I made, I used chunky peanut butter and added some coconut, delish! Check out Amber's original recipe for other recommendations on add ins.



No Bake Cookies (from Amber's Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 cups quick cooking oats
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup flaked coconut

Directions:

1. Line 2 large baking sheets with wax paper, parchment paper, or alum. foil and set aside.
2. Combine sugar, butter, milk, and cocoa in large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and cool 1 minute.
3. Add peanut butter and stir until melted. Add oats, vanilla, peanuts and coconut (if desired) and mix well.
4. Quickly drop mixture by heaping tablespoons onto lined cookie sheets.
5. Place in refrigerator until set. Once set remove cookies from sheet and place in air tight container in a cool, dry place.

Chocolate fix

This week definitely called for chocolate, thanks to Peabody for discovering and sharing this fantastic recipe from recipezar! I think I prefer them over the mint brownies I usually make, not quite so rich, just the right balance of chocolate and mint!

Andes Chocolate Mint Cookies
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
Andes mints candies, broken in half

Heat oven to 350°F.
Over low heat, combine butter, sugar and water.
Heat until melted and add chocolate chips until partly melted.
Remove from heat and stir.
Pour into large mixing bowl.
Let stand 10 minutes to cool slightly.
Beat in eggs one at a time on high speed.
Reduce mixer to low speed and add flour, salt and baking soda.
Beat until well-blended.
Chill one hour (dough is almost liquid before chilling but hardens and is easy to shape after chilling).
Roll into balls, place two inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Place an Andes Mint half on top.
Allow to melt slightly and spread with a spoon.

dessert revealed

Whoops a day late, sorry! Here's the dessert I ended up making this weekend, it was perfect on our picnic last night. Thanks to Deborah for the cake recipe.


Blueberry Almond Cake w/Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS:
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 cup blueberries (more for topping if you prefer, I just bought a pint and used the rest on top)

Cream cheese frosting (see recipe below or you can use the canned stuff)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8x8 baking pan.

2. In a large bowl combine butter and granulated sugar, beat until smooth. Beat in egg, sour cream, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined. Fold in almonds and 1 cup blueberries then pour into baking pan - spread evenly.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted in middle of cake comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting with cream cheese frosting and cutting into squares.

Cream Cheese Frosting from allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Beat softened butter and cream cheese until well blended.
2. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy.

Tyler's new favorite cookie...

I made these cookies a week or so ago and although they tasted alright, they looked terrible. I hadn't yet figured out the temperature issues with my oven so I think the problem was that the temp was too high. I have since learned how to work with my unruly oven and the second batch I made yesterday turned out much tastier (and prettier!) Thanks to Amber for sharing this recipe, originally from Cooking Light.



Sweet and Salty Peanut Chocolate Chunk Cookies
(Source: Cookinglight.com)

1/3 cup coarsely chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place nuts in a small baking pan. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted; cool.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda, stirring well with a whisk.

Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add vanilla and egg; beat until combined. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until well blended. Stir in peanuts, chocolate chips, and salt.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

I doubled the original recipe and got about 3 dozen cookies.

Millions of peaches...

It's peach season, and I got some huge ones at the store the other day and let them ripen over the course of a few days. I originally intended to make a cobbler but changed my mind at the last minute and made a pie instead. I also intended to make my own crust...but the day was going so well and I get cranky when I make pie crust, so I went with the store bought kind instead. It's just so....easy. The pie was a hit with my family, and Tyler and I just polished off the last two pieces a few minutes ago.



Simple Peach Pie

Ingredients:
pie crust for a double crust 9 inch pie
5 cups fresh peaches, peeled and sliced (5 large peaches were enough, but you may need more if you have smaller peaches)
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir together flour, 1 cup sugar, and cinnamon, set aside. Wash, peel, and slice peaches. Mix peaches together with dry ingredients. Pour into pie crust (I did not prebake the bottom crust, it turned out fine). Dot with butter. Cover with top crust, cut slits in the top, seal the edges. Sprinkle top with 2 tablespoons sugar. Cover the edges with foil or a crust guard to prevent crust from burning. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through the slits in the crust. You can remove the foil/crust guard for the last few minutes if you want to brown the outer crust a bit. Serve with vanilla ice cream!

Baking the day away

If you like cookies with fruit in them and like more "cake-like" cookies I think you will like these! I actually am not a big fan of cakey cookies but these taste so yummy I don't even mind the consistency. I altered the original recipe so they would not be too sweet. Since I used Craisins that are already sweetened I used less white sugar in the actual dough. I rolled them in sugar for a bit of extra sweetness to balance out the orange flavor. I think they turned out just right, not too orangey, not too sweet. My altered recipe is posted below.



Orange Cranberry Cakey Cookies (adapted from an allrecipes recipe)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup white sugar for dough plus another 1/2 cup set aside for topping
  
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 egg
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups dried cranberries for dough plus another 1/2 cup set aside for topping
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets, or line with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the white sugar, brown sugar, and butter. Stir in the egg, orange juice, orange extract, and orange zest. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix into the orange mixture. Stir in the dried cranberries. Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop and shape each cookie, then roll it in white sugar and stick 3-4 dried cranberries on the top, place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are starting to brown. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

A no bake summer delight

I actually made this a couple of weeks ago right before we moved, all of our kitchen stuff is in a moving truck somewhere in Pennsylvania right now but will supposedly make it to Kansas by Wednesday. It better, because I am really getting the itch to cook and bake and prepare my own meals again! I feel like I haven't cooked in about a month and I think that's pretty accurate. I made this recipe when I noticed there were some really good looking raspberries on sale. I love the combination of raspberries and lemon so I went to the jello website and found this one. Hopefully by the end of this week I will be back in the kitchen!



Raspberry-Lemon Pie

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling

1 cup cold milk

2 tsp. grated lemon peel

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, divided

1/4 cup raspberry preserves

1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)

1 cup raspberries

BEAT cream cheese, dry pudding mix, milk and lemon peel in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Gently stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping.

SPOON preserves onto bottom of crust; cover with the pudding mixture. Top with the remaining 1 cup whipped topping and raspberries.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.

Separation anxiety...

Looks we won't be cooking or baking much for the next 3-4 weeks. Unless you count grilling hot dogs on the Foreman grill...yeah. We are leaving for our much belated honeymoon to Maine soon where we will dine on lobster and blueberry pancakes and anything else we feel like indulging in. I had hopes of going to Eminger Berries and trying a cheesecake or tiramisu stuffed strawberry but it appears the store has closed down. The website is gone, her phone is disconnected, and word on the street is she has charged customers but not fulfilled orders for the last month. Very strange indeed.

After our trip we will return to D.C. for a few very short days before we pack up and move back to Kansas City where we can have some great bbq, mmmmmm. The bbq in D.C. is not impressive, but every other type of food is amazing, I will miss it all so much! Hopefully there are greener pastures ahead, even if the Indian food isn't quite as good. Maybe I'll post some pics of our vacation food when we return ;) I'll let you know what I think of lobster, I've never tried it before.

Tried this cookie recipe out at our last game night with some of Tyler's co-workers. They proved to be a hit! I'm pretty sure this recipe originated with Joelen, but I snagged the recipe off of Amber's blog. Sorry for the shadow, maybe I was leaning in to grab one ;)

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies (or "pudding cookies")

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cups packed brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix (or any kind of instant pudding you like)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

I got about 3 dozen cookies... and probably ate a couple more in dough alone ;) What can I say? I love cookie dough.

For my gainfully employed husband...

So in honor of Tyler's new job that he starts in just a few short weeks I made his favorite kind of pie for the first time. I decided to give it a wacky name ala the movie Waitress that we saw a couple of weeks ago (great movie!) We will be moving soon and will be able to afford a dog since we won't have to travel around the holidays anymore. We are getting a pug, and perhaps naming him CHUBBS if I get my way. So that's the backstory, and now I give you:

"No More Patent Examining, Now We Can Get a Pug Blueberry Pie"



Ingredients:

Two 9'' pie crusts (do not pre-bake) I used the refrigerated pie crusts you can buy in packs of 2 at the grocery store. You just unroll and go. Really fast and they are good quality pie crusts. Making pie crust from scratch makes me cranky, so I opted not to do that.

Filling:
4 cups (2 pints) fresh blueberries, all stems removed (frozen blueberries can also be used.)
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/4 t. cinnamon
2 t. lemon juice
2 T butter

Topping:
1 to 2 T. milk
2 t. sugar
dash of cinnamon

Directions:
Prepare crusts beforehand and place bottom crust in 9'' pie pan. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine blueberries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Toss gently to mix. Spoon into crust, dot with butter. Top with second crust, seal edges and flute. Cut slits in top crust.

Brush crust with milk, sprinkle with 2 t. sugar and dash of cinnamon.

Bake at 425 for 45 to 55 min. or until golden (middle will puff up). Cover edge of crust with strips of foil or a crust guard (pampered chef makes a great one!) after 15-20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning.

Serve ala mode unless you are crazy and like naked, lonely pie like my husband ;)

More cookies...

I played around with this recipe yesterday and today and now I'll share it with you :) I originally got the recipe from allrecipes.com but tweaked it a bit.



White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries (if using unsweetened dried cranberries increase white sugar to 1/2 cup)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the white chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. For best results, take them out while they are still doughy. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 18 cookies if using a medium sized scoop (love my Pampered Chef cookie scoop!)

Chocolate cake, meet my lovehandles.

Yikes this chocolate cake is sinfully good. It's my third from scratch cake and maybe the best yet, but how can anything beat chocolate cake? Not possible. This stuff is amazing. Warning: do not attempt to eat without a big glass of milk. Thanks to Michelle for recommending this recipe on her blog!



Texas Sheet Cake (from Cooking Light magazine)

Cake Ingredients:
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk (I used skim)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

ICING Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
optional: 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 F.

To prepare the cake, coat a 13x9 cake pan with cooking spray, and dust with 2 teaspoons flour. Set prepared pan aside.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour and next 3 ingredients (2 cups flour through salt) in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine water, 1/2 cup butter, and 1/4 cup cocoa in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; pour into flour mixture. Beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add buttermilk , 1 teaspoon vanilla, and eggs; beat well. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake at 375 F for 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Place on wire rack.

To prepare the icing, combine 6 tablespoons butter, milk, and 1/4 cup cocoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and gradually stir in powdered sugar, pecans, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Spread over hot cake. Cool completely on wire rack.

Fondue night

We are always looking for reasons to celebrate and bust out our fondue pot. Birthdays, valentine's day, anniversaries...but this week we wanted fondue and decided to use the series finale of Gilmore Girls as our reason. Not that we are happy it has been canceled, but celebrating 7 great years of my favorite show (though the last year was a little less than stellar!) Obviously this was my idea, not Tyler's ;) We whipped up fondue and it was good but not as good as last time. I skimped on cheese and bought Kraft shredded sharp cheddar, I should have gone for extra sharp and bought a block of the good stuff to grate myself. One should not skimp on cheese. I found the original recipe by googling "the melting pot's cheddar fondue" and we've tweaked it a bit to our liking.



Melting Pot Cheddar Fondue (made by Julia and Tyler)


3 to 3 1/2 oz beer (our chef at The Melting Pot said they use Miller High Life so that's what we use)
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1-2 Tablespoons worcestshire sauce, however much you prefer, it can be strong.
2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup swiss cheese

Grate cheese and mix in some flour to very lightly coat the cheese and keep it from clumping.

Mix beer, mustard powder and garlic in the fondue pot, bring to a simmer.
Add in cheese in small batches, and stir until the consistency is right. Add in worcestshire sauce and continue stirring until thickened.

Serve with whatever dippers you prefer. We use Italian or French Bread, Pumpernickel & Rye, and granny smith apples.

For dessert we had chocolate covered strawberries, very yummy. I was not impressed with the microwaveable tub of bakers dipping chocolate. It worked and tasted fine but it clumped up terribly so I wasn't able to use all the chocolate. Next time I will melt the chocolate in a double boiler on the stove so I can better control the temperature.

5 minute dessert

I whipped these up as fast as instant pudding. Sooooo tasty. A great Monday night dessert to eat while watching Heroes :)



Peanut-Butterscotch Haystacks

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
• 2 cups chow mein noodles

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butterscotch chips and peanut butter on top of a double boiler, or in a microwave. Blend together.
2. Stir noodles gently into the melted peanut butter mixture.
3. Drop dough by forkfuls onto waxed paper. Cool until set. Keep refrigerated.
   

Outrageous Brownies

I thought I'd give from-scratch brownies a try this weekend since we need a delicious dessert for our Cinco de Mayo party. This recipe has been getting raves and I saw Ina make it on her show recently. They taste intensely chocolatey! Ina recommends keeping these brownies in the fridge instead of serving them at room temperature.



Ina's Outrageous Brownies

1/2 pound unsalted butter
1/2 pound plus 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 extra-large eggs
1.5 tablespoons instant coffee powder (I omit this ingredient)
1 tablespoons real vanilla extract
1cup + 2 tbsp sugar
0.625 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1/2 cup for batter and 2 tbsp cup in the chips and nuts)
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1.5 cups diced walnut pieces (also optional, I left them out)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan. (325 degrees if using a dark non-stick pan)

Melt together the butter, chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler (I did this step in a glass dish in the microwave at 30 second intervals). Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and chocolate chips with flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not overbake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Love.These.Cookies.

I discovered this recipe about a month ago. Not much to say about them except that they are so delicious! I'm taking them to work tomorrow to share the yumminess. This recipe makes 3-4 dozen cookies if you don't eat too much of the dough!



White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (made by Julia)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter, softened
  
• 1-1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs (at room temp)
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 10 oz white chocolate chips
  
• 5 oz. chopped macadamia nuts
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the white chocolate and nuts. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. When cool, store in an airtight container.