Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Cookies

Is everyone ready for the big game this weekend? I’m still putting the finishing touches on my Super Bowl menu, but I know for sure that we will have plenty of chicken wings, barbecue meatballs, and chips & dip to munch on while we watch the game.

Oh yes, and to satisfy our sweet tooth’s, I made a batch of super-sized Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I folded a large amount of mini peanut butter cups into the dough, in addition to semi-sweet chocolate chips.

The cookies are big, soft, chewy, and because they’re so chock-full of peanut butter cups and chocolate chips, we’re guaranteed to get a gooey nugget of sweetness in every bite.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, and for you football fans out there – have fun watching the game!

~Enjoy~




Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups Reese’s Minis Peanut Butter Cups

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and peanut butter cups.

Drop by large cookie scoopfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes approximately 40 big cookies.

(To print this recipe, click on the ‘Print & PDF’ button below)

Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Skillet Cookie

Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Skillet Cookie

Earlier this week, we had 40 degree temperatures and it was raining. On Wednesday it started snowing, and by Thursday we had about 9 or 10 inches of fresh, fluffy snow. I wake up this morning to find that the temperatures have taken a nose dive and have dropped down into the teens. It’s a bit windy this morning too, which makes it feel much colder outside. It’s shaping up to be the kind of day where I just want to stay indoors and do some household chores. Better yet, maybe I’ll just do some more baking.

Speaking of baking, have you ever made a giant cookie in a cast iron skillet? If you haven’t, you might want to give it a try. I made this ooey, gooey, rich and chewy Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookie in my Lodge cast iron skillet, and it is fantastic! The outside is slightly crisp, while the inside is soft and moist.

I’m seriously contemplating warming up a slice of this cookie, placing a scoop of ice cream on top, and having it for breakfast. That probably won’t do my diet any good, but it sure would make me happy.

~Enjoy~




Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Skillet Cookie

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups dark chocolate & mint morsels (plus 1/3 cup more for sprinkling on top)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10″ or 12″ cast iron skillet with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, chocolate syrup, and vanilla; mix until smooth. Gradually add in the dry ingredients; mix until well combined. Fold in the 1 1/3 cups dark chocolate & mint morsels.

Press the dough evenly into the prepared skillet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cookie is just set.

Remove skillet from oven and place on a wire rack. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup dark chocolate & mint morsels. Let cool, then cut into wedges.

Spiced Spritz Cookies

Spiced Spritz Cookies

I have got a busy cookie baking weekend ahead of me, and I’m starting it all off with these Spiced Spritz Cookies – Christmas Cookie #3. Now I ask that you please try not to laugh too hard at my spritz cookies; I’m not very skilled with a cookie press. Just kidding. Feel free to go ahead and laugh… I did.

I love spritz cookies, but I sometimes find that they can be a little lacking in flavor. This recipe includes ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, which adds tons of flavor to the cookies.

Later on today, I’ll be baking up a big batch of Eggnog Snickerdoodles (Christmas Cookie #4) for the annual office cookie exchange on Monday. Of course, I’ll have to be sure to make extra to add to my own Christmas cookie platter, or my family will never let me hear the end of it. (They are one of my family’s favorite holiday cookies)

If you’d like to view the recipe for the Eggnog Snickerdoodles, you can find it here.

Well, I think it’s about time for me to head on back into the kitchen.

Tis the season to be busy, fa la la la la, la la la la.

~Enjoy~

Spiced Spritz Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer, beat butter, egg, powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour, mixing until blended.

If desired, divide dough into sections and color each section with food coloring. (one section could be green, one red, etc…)

Push dough through cookie press onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, or until cookies are set.

Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Makes approximately 48 cookies.

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

Wow, for the first time in several days, the morning temperature here is above zero. Granted, it’s only 5 degrees outside this morning, but since our high temperature for the past couple of days has only reached 4 degrees, the warmer morning temperature looks promising. They are forecasting that our temperatures will climb into the 20′s this weekend, and we’ll even get a bit more snow. I’m sure all the winter outdoor recreation enthusiasts out there will enjoy the snow, since we’ve only received about 3 inches of it so far this season.

Even though it’s still pretty chilly out this morning, at least I have my baking to help keep me warm. Today we have Christmas Cookie #2 – Christmas Pinwheel Cookies! These light, crisp, peppermint flavored cookies are perfect for the holidays. I think the swirls of red and green look so festive, and I just know these cookies are going to look great on this year’s Christmas cookie platter.

~Enjoy~




Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
red food coloring
green food coloring

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; approximately 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the peppermint extract. Add the flour mixture and beat on low until just combined.

Divide the dough in half. Add several drops of red food coloring to one half of dough, and several drops of green food coloring to the other half. Mix until well combined. Form red dough half into a 4″ x 4″ square; wrap in plastic wrap and set aside. Form green dough half into a 4″ x 4″ square; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate both dough halves for at least 30 minutes.

On parchment paper, roll red dough into a 16″ x 12″ rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. On another sheet of parchment paper, roll green dough into a 16″ x 12″ rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Place green dough over red dough; peel away parchment paper. Cut dough horizontally in half. Roll each half into a tight log. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Slice logs into 1/4 inch pieces. Space 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

Let the Christmas cookie baking begin!! Christmas cookie #1 – Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies.

I love the flavor combination of dark chocolate and mint, so I was thrilled when I found the limited edition Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels at our local Target store. Limited edition items like these go pretty quickly around here, so you have to snap them up when you find them. Unfortunately, there were only a few packages left on the shelf when I found them, so I was kind and only purchased one.

After sampling these soft & fudgy Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies though, I may have to go back to the store and see if they’ve received another shipment.

~Enjoy~




Dark Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Stir in the dark chocolate & mint morsels.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.