This is a Nestle Toll House recipe.  The Young Women are coming over to my house tonight for our activity so there must be treats!

crust:

4 1/2 teaspoons light margarine (I used butter, about 2 tablespoons)

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

3 cups Rice Krispies

fudge:

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

2 tablespoons light margarine (I used butter)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 cup Nestle Toll House Butterscotch Flavored Morsels

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup cocktail peanuts, chopped (didn’t have any)

for crust:

1  Coat 13 x 9″ baking pan and rubber spatula with Pam.

2  Melt butter over low heat in medium saucepan.  Add marshmallows and peanut butter; stir until melted.  Remove from heat.  Add cereal; stir until coated.  Press onto bottom of prepared pan, using prepared rubber spatula.

for fudge:

3  Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in medium saucepan.  Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 – 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

4  Stir in marshmallows, morsels, peanut butter and vanilla.  Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows and morsels are melted.  Pour over crust.  Sprinkle nuts over fudge; press in slightly.  Refrigerate until set.  Cut into squares.

Here is another variation on the cake mix bar cookie recipe from Stephanie Ashcraft’s “101 More Things to do with a Cake Mix”.  Courtney had some friends coming over tonight and they don’t like chocolate!  What?  So I pulled out my cake mix cookbooks and looked over all the yummy ones that I’ve never made for my family because they aren’t chocolate and this one looked pretty good and was the one that Cort chose.  And, I have to say, for not being chocolate, they are pretty good! 

bars:

1 butter pecan or white cake mix (I used white)

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped pecans

frosting:

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

2 – 3 tablespoons milk

24 – 30 pecan halves, optional

1  Preheat oven to 350.  With a spoon, mix cake mix, eggs, butter and vanilla together.  Stir in pecans.  Press dough into a lightly greased 9 x 13″ pan.  Bake 14 – 16 minutes or until light golden brown around edges.  Cool 15 – 20 minutes.

2  Mix butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk to make frosting.  Spread evenly over top of cooled dessert.  Cut into bars.  Place a pecan half in center of each bar if desired.

It is rainy and snowy and sleety and slushy here today so it’s the perfect day to make cookies and stay inside.  I went to Target a few days ago and found these Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate and Mint Limited Edition Morsels on clearance for $1.28 a bag, regularly $2.59 a bag so I grabbed 5 bags and started to walk away but then thought better of it and went back and grabbed 5 more bags.  This is one of the recipes on the back of the bag, there is also one for brownies which I’m sure will show up here sooner or later, probably sooner.  I’ll tell you this, they certainly live up to their name as they are truly delightful!

2 cups flour

2/3 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 2/3 cups (10 package) Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels

1  Preheat oven to 325.

2  Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl.  Beat butter, sugars and vanilla until creamy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in morsels.  Use cookie scoop or generous tablespoon, drop onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3  Bake for 11 – 13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and centers are set.  Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen

Here is what I found waiting for me on the kitchen counter when I got home last night!  Courtney made me this Winnie the Pooh birthday cake all by herself, I’m so proud of her!  Neither of us have ever made a fondant cake without the other so this is awesome.  Now I have to make her one by myself for her birthday in March.  Stay tuned! 

I just got back last night from spending 2 weeks with my parents (my dad had open heart surgery after suffering a heart attack in November so I went to try and help out a bit) and while I was there it was my birthday.  My mom asked what I wanted for my bday and since I have been wanting to try the ice cream cupcakes from Cold Stone, I told her that’s what I wanted instead of a birthday cake and it was a good choice because they were delicious!  I highly recommend them!  They were $10 for the 6 which I thought was a pretty good deal since regular cupcakes in all these trendy cupcakes shops are over $2 each.  Here is a description of each of the flavors:

The ones on the left with the pink frosting are “Cake Batter Deluxe”; here is the description:  “a rich Belgian chocolate cup filled with a layer of moist Red Velvet cake, fudge and Cake Batter ice cream and topped with fluffy pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles”.

The ones in the middle with the chocolate curls are “Sweet Cream”; here is their description:  “a rich Belgian chocolate cup filled with a layer of moist yellow cake, fudge and Sweet Cream ice cream and topped with fluffy white frosting and milk and white chocolate curls”.

The ones on the end topped with an Oreo are “Double Chocolate Devotion”; here is their description:  “a rich Belgian chocolate cup filled with a layer of Devil’s Food cake, fudge and Chocolate ice cream and topped with fluffy white frosting and an Oreo cookie”.

Can you guess which was my favorite?

This recipe comes from the January/February 2012 issue of the Food Network Magazine.  I’m eating some as I type this up and it is really good but I bet it will be even better tomorrow after it sits in the fridge for a day.  It isn’t hard to make but it is time consuming so if you’re going to make this for dinner some night, give yourself about 2 hours.  I made it today for my family because I am flying to my parent’s house in Illinois tonight to be with them for my dad’s open heart surgery on Thursday.  He had a heart attack right before Thanksgiving so they are going to fix him all up!  The blog will probably be pretty quiet for the next couple of weeks while I am back there.  I’m sure I’ll be doing some cooking but don’t know if I’ll have the time to be blogging.  Any good thoughts and/or prayers you might care to send our way would be greatly appreciated!

2 cups canned diced tomatoes (I used a 14.5 oz can)

2 cups tomato sauce (or 2 8 oz cans)

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper (forgot to get this at the store and didn’t want to go back for it)

2 cloves garlic, chopped (or pressed)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (left this out)

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

2 small bay leaves

1 1/2 pounds hamburger

8 ounces angel hair pasta (I used spaghetti)

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

1  Preheat oven to 350.

2  Combine tomatoes, tomato sauce, 1 cup water, onion, bell pepper, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, garlic powder, seasoned salt, sugar and bay leaves in stockpot.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and let simmer, covered, 1 hour.

3  Cook hamburger over medium high heat until fully cooked and no pink color remains.  Drain fat, then add to stockpot and simmer for 20 more minutes.

4  Meanwhile, bring large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook according to package directions.

5  Cover bottom of 3 quart baking dish with 1/3 of sauce.  Add 1/2 of pasta, the 1/3 of each cheese.  Repeat layers, ending with sauce.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Top with remaining cheese and continue to bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 more minutes.

Bob got me the ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixer for Christmas and I’ve been wanting to try it out so here is the first batch.  It was pretty runny as it needs to be put in the freezer after mixing it in the mixer but no one wanted to wait so we sampled it right away and it was really good.  This recipe is one that came with the ice cream maker attachment but of course you could use this recipe with any ice cream maker.  A few years ago Bob got me a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream cookbook so I’m looking forward to trying out some of those with my new toy!

2 1/2 cups half and half

8 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups whipping cream

4 teaspoons vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chopped Oreos or other cookies, nuts or candy (I used mint Oreos)

1  In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat half and half until very hot but not boiling, stirring often.  Remove from heat and set aside.

2  Place egg yolks and sugar in mixer bowl.  Using wire whip attachment, on speed 2, mix eggs and sugar for about 30 seconds or until well blended an slightly thickened.  Still on speed 2, very gradually add half and half and mix until well blended.  Return mixture to saucepan; cook over medium heat until small bubbles form around edge and mixture is steamy, stirring constantly.  Do not boil.  Transfer mixture to large bowl; stir in whipping cream, vanilla and salt.  Cover and chill thoroughly, at least 8 hours.

3  Attach ice cream mixer to mixer.  Turn to STIR (speed 1).  Pour mixture into freezer bowl.  Continue to STIR for 15 – 20 minutes or until desired consistency.  Add cookies during last 1 – 2 minutes of freeze time.  Serve immediately or freeze in airtight container.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 17,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Today just felt like a cookie day and a good way to send off 2011.  This recipe comes from the May 2011 issue of my favorite magazine, “Food Network Magazine”.  Zach, Courtney and I just ate about 6 between the 3 of us, yummy!  Happy New Year everyone!  I hope 2012 is kind to all of you and that you get some but not all of what you want as it’s good to have wants and dreams.    Thanks for letting me be apart of your 2011 and I look forward to lots more food blogging fun in 2012!  Please be safe tonight!

2 1/4 cups flour (I added an extra 1/4 cup)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

1 cup pretzel M & M’s (I didn’t have any pretzel ones so just used regular)

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 1/2 cup semisweet chips)

1/2 cup toffee pieces

3/4 cup peanut butter chips

1  Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Whisk flour and baking soda together in a bowl.

2  Cream butter, brown sugar and sugar on low until incorporated then increase to high and beat until light and fluffy.

3  Add salt, vanilla, egg and egg yolk; beat until thoroughly combined.  Add pretzel M & M’s and beat for a few seconds until slightly crushed.  Gradually add flour mixture, mixing on low until just combined.  Mix in bittersweet chocolate, toffee pieces and peanut butter chips.

4  Roll heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into balls (or use a cookie scoop) and place on baking sheets, about 2″ apart.  Slightly flatten each ball with your fingers.

5  Bake cookies until edges are golden brown and centers are no longer wet, 11 – 13 minutes.  Cool on sheets for a few minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely.

Christmas Day dessert!  YUM!!!  I got this recipe from the lid of a Sticky Toffee Pudding candle that I bought at Bath and Body Works.  It says “my candle recipe contest Best Recipe Winner”.  The candle smells so tasty and this pudding/cake tastes almost as good as the candle smells.

1 1/2 cups pitted and chopped dates (I left these out because I knew that no one in my house, except maybe Bob, would come near a cake with dates in it)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 cups water

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

3 1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks), softened and divided

2/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon maple extract (I used 1/2 teaspoon and could have added more)

1/4 cup toffee chips

1/4 cup chopped pecans (toasted)

1  Preheat oven to 350.  (The recipe didn’t have an oven time so I just guessed with 350 and it worked fine.)  Grease and flour bundt pan.  (I used the Pam for baking.)

2  Bring water, baking soda and dates to a boil.  Boil 2 minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in maple syrup.  Let cool while making cake.

3  Stir together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

4  Beat together 1 cup butter (2 sticks) and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in eggs 1 at a time.  Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and beat until just combined.  Add date/maple mixture; mix until just combined.  Add remaining 1/2 of the flour mixture; stir until just combined.

5  Spoon batter into prepared pan.  Bake 45 – 50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

6  Meanwhile, bring brown sugar, maple extract, whipping cream and remaining stick of butter to a boil over medium heat.  Let boil 2 minutes, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.

7  When ready to serve, invert cake onto platter.  Drizzle 1/2 of brown sugar/maple sauce over top of cake, reserving other 1/2.  Sprinkle toffee chips and toasted pecans over top of cake.  Spoon reserved sauce over cake slices.