I am a newlywed on a budget, just trying to make healthy and inexpensive meals for my husband and I to enjoy. He eats a lot, so cost is a big factor. Though I work 3 jobs, I manage to find time 6 nights a week to cook a full dinner for us both. I am constantly looking for new recipes that are moderately healthy, taste great, and won't break the bank.

On the side, I also own a brownie business called Gersheybars. My passion and love for cooking started when I was just a small child, baking with my mom and grandmother. The brownie recipe has been passed down through 5 generations and I am thrilled to finally have an outlet to share them with everybody else. Friends and family have helped spread the word and made my business as successful as it is today.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Reese's PB Cookies

The best way I can brighten someone's day is by sending a giant box of homemade goods their way.  I knew I wanted to include my signature chocolate chocolate chip cookies, and a care package isn't complete without brownies, but I wanted to try some new recipes for the other cookies.  Headed to Allrecipes.com and found this quick and easy recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Cookies.  I never really made those Peanut Butter Blossom cookies that everyone makes at Christmas, but I suppose these are a pretty similar style of cookie.  Tender peanut butter cookie, stuffed with a dark chocolate Reese's peanut butter cup, and absolutely delicious.  They only bake for 8 minutes, and take about as long to prep.  I'd say the most time consuming part is unwrapping all those candies!  

The only change I made, was to unwrap the candies first, and place them in the freezer while I prepped and baked the cookies.  Besides that, I made the recipe exactly as stated, though I cut it in half, and I got exactly 20 cookies.  FYI, a bag of peanut butter cups has approximately 40 pieces, so for the full recipe, you'll need 1 bag.

Ingredients
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped
Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. Unwrap peanut butter cups and place on a plate in the freezer until cookies are done (this helps keep them from falling apart otherwise).
  3. Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
  4. Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
  5. Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.
  6. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes (do not overbake.  These really are done after 8 minutes). Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.


Sunday, February 7, 2010

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake Cookies

When it snows, there's really nothing else to do but eat! So I went on a mini cooking spree yesterday. We made chocolate chocolate chip cake cookies, garlic breadsticks, and some other random goodies for dinner. These cookies are delicious! Follow the directions exactly. Cream the butter for 10 minutes, don't overbake, cool slightly before moving to a rack and wait til they're cool to eat one. Oddly enough, these cookies are MUCH better when they're cool. They're fudgy, and chocolatey and absolutely perfect for a cold snowy day!

Ingredients
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This should take about 10 minutes! Add the eggs one at a time and mix to incorporate. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.
  3. In a 1 gallon plastic food bag, place the all-purpose flour, baking soda, kosher salt and cocoa powder. Seal the bag and massage the ingredients to combine. The mixture will appear homogenous with no separate ingredients showing.
  4. Add the flour and cocoa mix to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix together until the dough appears completely combined - about 3 minutes. Add all the walnuts and chocolate chips and stir them into the dough. Drop by two teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Or roll into balls, place about two inches apart on the sheet, and flatten slightly with your fingers.
  5. Bake for 11 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). The cookies will appear to be just barely firm with a sheen to their surfaces. Allow to cool on the sheet for about one minute before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in airtight containers.