Chewy Oatmeal “Monster” Cookies

Posted on 02/06/2012 by Layne

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Yes, I put the word “Monster” in quotation marks.

Why, you ask?

Because evidently “real” monster cookies do not have flour in them.

According to some cranky ladies in cyberspace, anyway.

Not that I’d know anything about that.

It’s probably better if you don’t ask.

Moving on….

I made these to take to a Super Bowl party yesterday.

The girl and I were craving “real” monster cookies,

so I compiled a few different recipes and came up with these.

They turned out perfectly chewy and a little crispy.

They went over really well at the party.

Even if they aren’t “real” monster cookies.

 

Chewy Oatmeal “Monster” Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 T Vanilla

1 tsp salt

1 cup AP flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups oats

2 cups crispy rice cereal

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet chips, but you should do what’s in your heart)

1 cup m&m’s

Directions:

Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, oats, cereal, baking soda and baking powder. Slowly add to creamed mixture; mix until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and m&m’s. Bake at 375° for 13 minutes, or until golden brown. Cookies may look slightly underdone, but don’t worry; that’s what makes them chewy!

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Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Posted on 09/27/2011 by Layne

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Fall has (sort of) come to Texas and it’s about dang time.

I say “sort of” because it’s only been about a week and I am treading lightly for fear that summer could come storming back without notice.

I say “it’s about dang time” because if the temperature reaches 100 one more time in 2011, I am buying a one-way ticket to Minnesota and am never coming back.

But by the time I got there it would already be –40 and then I would buy another one-way ticket back to Texas and then…and then…ugh.

All of this speculation is making me hungry. And if you are still here, you are probably hungry, too.

At least I hope you’re here because you’re hungry and not because you were hanging around waiting for me to say something profound.

Because that’s definitely probably not going to happen.

You should go make this pumpkin bread.

That is all.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

adapted from browneyedbaker

Ingredients:

3-1/3 c all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1½ teaspoons salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup vegetable oil

2-2/3 cups granulated sugar (I used 2-1/3 c. white and 1/3 c. brown sugar)

4 eggs

15 oz. canned pumpkin

2/3 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two 8½x4½-inch loaf pans.

In a medium bowl whisk together the dry ingredients; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and sugar until combined. Add the eggs, pumpkin, water and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix gently until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 60 to 80 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Note: my loaves took exactly 75 minutes. You should check them at 60 and add in 5 or 10 minute increments until done.

Cool bread in pans. Once the breads are completely cool, turn out of the pans. Store uneaten bread (if any) wrapped in plastic wrap until it’s gone.

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Gooey Butter Cake

Posted on 05/27/2011 by Layne

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I got an interesting call early this week. It was my husband. He called at approximately 5:00 PM and asked me to bake something a coworker’s birthday.

For the next day.

No big deal, I live for requests like these!

Disclaimer: I fully realize that requests such as this would cause hostile feelings in some households. Husbands – if there are any out there – it’s probably not the best idea to spring things like this on your wife. It could be considered as bad as calling on your way home for dinner and letting her know that you have invited 5 of your buddies over for dinner. Smile

So, I asked him if they all had anything in mind. He told me to make my specialty.

Uh, whatever that is.

Really, I can only aspire to have a “specialty”. You know, the thing that everyone asks you to bring to the next potluck.

Not that we are frequent potluck-ers. I don’t think we’ve been to a potluck in ages.

In case you were wondering.

Anyway, since I don’t consider anything (except maybe these cookies) to be my specialty, I decided to see what Jessica had up her sleeve. I just knew she would have *something* in her recipe archives that would include ingredients that I always have on hand (helloooo butter + bacon) and be quick and easy to whip up at 8:00 PM. Plus, I’m pretty sure we could be baking soul mates.

Except that she has absolutely no idea who I am. That’s probably a little creepy, huh?

…

Don’t answer that.

Anyway…I was right. I came across this post and happened to have everything in my kitchen at that very moment.

That, and I’m pretty sure you can’t go wrong with two sticks of butter.

It was baking fate! Don’t you just love when that happens?

Gooey Butter Cake

Recipe from How Sweet it Is and The Newlywed Chefs

Ingredients:

For the “crust”–

2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c milk

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 egg

For the topping –

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 stick unsalted butter , melted

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare crust, mix the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt together. Stir in melted butter and then egg. Add milk and mix until moist. Press into bottom of greased pan. Set aside.

Next, prepare the filling. Beat softened cream cheese in mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and melted butter and mix until smooth. Add the powdered sugar slowly until it is all combined. Pour filling on top of crust. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.

Center may still be jiggly – that’s okay. A little jiggle never hurt anyone.

I would know!

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Southern Fried Chicken

Posted on 04/21/2011 by Layne

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In an effort to become a “good Southern woman” (whatever that means) I decided that I need to be able to make certain things.

Like sweet tea…and pie…and cobbler…and red velvet cake…and biscuits…and fried chicken.

Did I ever mention that I *LOVE* the South?

After searching high and low for the perfect fried chicken recipe, I ended up doing my own thing and hoped for the best.

Here’s what I did:

I marinated the chicken breasts in a mixture of buttermilk, seasonings and hot sauce. Frank’s Red Hot to be exact.

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PS – How did I not know that Frank’s existed? We are obsessed with it!

 

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I let the chicken soak up the goodness for about 8 hours, flipping half way through. This bath is totally necessary and MAKES the chicken. Whatever you do, don’t skip this step!

After 8 hours I decided to cut each breast into two pieces because I was worried that they would take to long to cook. Patience is not my strong suit, obviously.

I (read: my husband) heated the oil in our (read: his) deep fryer. I then mixed the batter ingredients together and then coated each breast with the mixture.

No picture, just use your imagination…

Each breast was dropped into the deep fryer (oil preheated to 350 degrees) to cook for approximately 15 minutes.

What resulted is heaven on a plate.

Southern Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

For the marinade –

2 cups buttermilk

2 T hot sauce (I like Frank’s Red Hot)

black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, to taste (I used about 1 tsp. each)

8 boneless chicken breasts, skin on — you can buy bone-in chicken breasts and just cut the bones out. Don’t be afraid, it’s not difficult. There are a few videos on youtube if you’re not sure how to do it.

For the breading –

2 cups flour

2 tsp sea salt

1.5 tsp ground pepper

Directions:

Marinate chicken breasts for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. The longer, the better!

Remove chicken from fridge and heat your oil to 350°. We used a deep fryer, but you could also use a large pot. While your oil is heating up, mix together the flour, salt and pepper in a pie plate and generously coat each piece of chicken. Drop chicken in hot oil a few pieces at a time and cook for about 15 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165°.

Remember: Make sure your oil reaches 350°. If you don’t your chicken will absorb the oil, not cook in it. BAD NEWS! Also, be sure to give the chicken room to cook – no overcrowding! If you jam it in there, it will cook unevenly. I ended up doing three separate batches.

Posted in Chicken Dishes, Main Meals, Southern Food | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Posted on 04/07/2011 by Layne

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I happened to stumble upon these photos today, and had to share!

I made this dip awhile ago (for the Super Bowl, perhaps?) when we had friends over.

I served it with animal crackers, but really I could’ve just set out a bunch of spoons.

It didn’t last long.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Recipe from Jessica at How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and mix together until sugar dissolves and mixture starts to bubble. Stir in vanilla and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar. With mixer on low speed, add in brown sugar and butter mixture. Mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and eat it with a spoon serve.

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Posted in Appetizers, Dessert, Snacks | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Chicken with Mango Kiwi Salsa

Posted on 03/21/2011 by Layne

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Okay, I know I promised fried chicken but I couldn’t help myself when I stumbled across this recipe.

You see, our family is experiencing something completely new.

Something we never thought was possible.

Something that makes us want to never leave the south.

Ever.

It’s called: “holy-crap-it’s-only-March-and-we-have-the-air-conditioning-on-because-it’s-85-degrees-outside”

We have been walking around with goofy grins on our faces, stopping people on the street and saying things like, “Can you BELIEVE this weather?! Is this normal?!”

They all look at us like we are crazy.

Yes, we are those people.

Anyway, you should make this recipe even if it isn’t quite summer where you are.

You can trick yourself into thinking it is!

That could work, right?

All we did was grill up some chicken breasts and topped each with a pile of this awesome salsa. Easy!

This salsa was incredible and could be served with chicken, fish or just chips.

In fact, we used about half with our chicken and ate the rest with chips over the course of a couple days.

Kiwi Mango Salsa

Recipe from Kristin at Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients:

2 kiwi, chopped

1 mango, chopped

1 cucumber, seeded and diced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

1/4 red onion, diced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

juice of one lime

salt + pepper, to taste

Directions:

Chop all ingredients and mix together. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy with chicken, fish, or chips. This salsa can be made ahead of time and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. It makes for an easy weeknight dinner!

Or with a spoon standing in front of your refrigerator. No one will ever know.

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Posted in Chicken Dishes, Grilling, Main Meals | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Get Ready

Posted on 03/09/2011 by Layne

 

Hi everyone!

As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t been around lately.

I’m sure you’ve missed me!

Wait, you haven’t?

You didn’t even realize I was gone?

Oh. Never mind.

Well, whether or not you noticed that I haven’t updated this blog in approximately one month, I’m back.

I’M BAAACK!

You see, just because I haven’t been blogging, doesn’t mean that I forgot about you. Or butter.

I could never forget about butter. It completes me.

You all are pretty great, too.

And by saying that I haven’t forgotten about you, I am actually confessing that I have a problem.

A recipe hoarding problem.

Is there a show for this? Because I should probably be on it.

Needless to say, I have some crazy things in store for you all.

Like fried chicken.

And biscuits.

And cookie dough balls.

And macaroons.

And approximately 14 different types of cupcakes.

And bars.

And cookies.

.    .    .    .    .    .

You get the idea.

Get your stretchy pants ready…

Posted in Random Ramblings | 1 Comment

Peanut Butter Cup Bars

Posted on 01/26/2011 by Layne

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When I first saw this recipe, I knew I had to make these bars immediately.

This seems to happen quite often, I must admit.

So I did.

And they are amazing and dangerous.

Amazingly dangerous, if you will.

If you have ever loved a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, you NEED to make these.

If – no, WHEN – you make these bars, it is in your best interest to make them for a crowd.

Trust me. I’m only looking out for you.

So make these ASAP.

That’s an order.

Peanut Butter Cup Bars

Recipe from browneyedbaker

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Line an 8×8-inch square pan with foil, letting the foil hang over the sides. Butter the foil and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt ½ cup of the butter over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs until completely combined and smooth. Spread the peanut butter mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

In the empty saucepan, melt the ¼ cup unsalted butter. Add the chocolate and stir until almost completely melted. Remove from heat and continue stirring until completely melted. Pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter layer.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set. Remove from the pan and place on a cutting board. Use a pizza cutter to slice into 16 bars.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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Posted in Bars, Dessert | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Magic Cookie Bars

Posted on 01/20/2011 by Layne

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Do you remember my ridiculous holiday baking extravaganza?

I do. Vaguely.

Remember this picture?

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Well, that cupboard still looks like that, minus a few things. Only a few.

What can I say? I tend to overestimate when it comes to food purchases.

Except that this doesn’t happen with vegetables. I wonder why that is? Smile

You can say it: I have issues.

Needless to say, I have some baking to do!

I decided to start with these bars.

It may or may not have had something to do with the three jumbo-sized bags of

coconut I have in that cupboard.

It is also because this is one of the easiest recipes I have ever made. EVER.

It uses few ingredients and requires only a few steps.

The best part: there is virtually NO CLEANUP! No bowl, no mixer, NOTHING!

You NEED to make these. Soon!

Also, please ignore the fact that these are not at all photogenic.

They are delicious, and that’s what really matters anyway.

Magic Cookie Bars

aka Seven-Layer bars

Yield: 24 bars? (It helps to cut the bars before people start eating them from the pan with a fork. Trust me.)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 cup coconut

1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans, but any will work)

Directions:

Melt butter in 9×13 pan. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Mix and press into bottom of pan. Pour milk evenly over crust. Top with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

See, I told you it was easy!

Posted in Bars, Dessert, Holiday | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

Posted on 01/11/2011 by Layne

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As promised, I am back with a healthy(ish) recipe!

Like many other people, we (my husband + I) indulged a little too much over the holidays.

We came home tired, bloated and ready to get back on track.

Notice how I vow to get back on track, and therefore, decide to bake brownies.

I figured that making brownies with black beans counts for something, right?

Well, let me be honest, I was mostly curious to see if I could get my family to enjoy brownies made with beans – especially my husband. He hates beans.

They scare him a little.

Note to self: when asking your husband  to test a recipe, do not stare intensely at him.

Especially not with a smug look on your face. He will know something is up.

It will creep him out.

The verdict: If you make these brownies expecting to bite into a typical dense, fudgy, bakery-style brownie you will be very disappointed. This recipe will NEVER replace my buttermilk brownies. However, I thought the flavor of these brownies was good. I couldn’t taste the beans in them at all. The husband and daughter enjoyed them, and had no idea that there were bean in them! Success!

Clearly, they were awful Winking smile

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Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

Source: The Meal Makeover Moms

Ingredients:

15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed*

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons canola oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (optional)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch salt

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the black beans in a food processor (or blender) and process until smooth and creamy.  Add the eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, peppermint extract (if using), baking powder, and salt and mix until smooth.  Add ¼ cup of the chips and mix until the chips are incorporated.

Pour the batter into a prepared 8×8 baking pan and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the brownies comes out clean. Cool in pan and cut into 16 squares and enjoy!

*Pay attention to the canned beans you purchase. Some brands contain crazy ingredients. The beans I bought had only three: black beans, water, salt.

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Posted in Brownies, Dessert, Snacks | Tagged , , | 3 Comments