Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies

Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies

This is our new favorite cookie.  I found the recipe on Pinterest.  I changed the eggs to egg beaters and omitted the banana chips in the original recipe. 

 

Ingredients

3/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 eggs or 1/2 cup egg beaters

1 Tbsp. honey

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

1 c. chocolate chips

1 c.  Reese's pieces

 

Instructions

1. In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and pudding mix and set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and honey and beat again. Slowly add the dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips and Reese's pieces by hand. (you can leave out the banana chips if you don't like those, or substitute pretzels or chips)
2. Drop by tablespoon onto a baking sheet, leaving 2 inches in between each cookie. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes. Cool on pan for 3-4 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. Store in a tightly covered container.

Read more at http://insidebrucrewlife.com/2012/04/peanut-butter-pudding-cookies/#lOPgWEHBdkOIgEyL.99

 

Enjoy!

~peace and blessings~

Lisa



Valentine's Day Treats

Our Valentine's Day was pretty mellow.  We went to school and work.  I made a heart shaped snack for Miss M and had it ready for her when she got home from school.  J brought home Chinese for dinner.  We then attended ds's hockey game against my school's team, then settled in for the night.   Below is a photo of one of my students (in black) and our son during the game.  I love this photo! 

 



 Miss M took in the treats pictured below for her classmates.  We packaged the starburst candies in a clear bag and stapled the printable tag from BHG.com onto each one.  Cute and easy! 

 

 

 

For dessert and my school friends, I made some peanut butter heart cookies.  I used a basic peanut butter blossom recipe, and used heart shaped chocolates instead of kisses in the center.  They were really tasty!  Who doesn't love peanut butter and chocolate together?!

 

 

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day!

 

~peace and blessings~

Lisa

Zucchini Bread Cookies

Zucchini Bread Cookies

First, sorry about the photo.  It doesn't really give the cookies justice.  They are a flatter cookies, but so moist and soft.  My kids, 7 and 13, love these "vegetable cookies".  I think the oatmeal provides a nice texture to the cookie.

Zucchini Bread Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Coarse salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 large egg or 1/4 cup egg beaters

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup finely grated zucchini

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Beat 1 stick butter and the sugars until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
2. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Mix in zucchini and oats. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop (about 2 tablespoons), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 17 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

~peace and blessings~
Lisa

S'mores Cookies

S'mores Cookies

These cookies are very good.  The original recipe comes from Nikki at Chef-in-Training 

I made them a little bit different to cut some fat and to get a larger cookie.   This is a perfect recipe for kids in the kitchen.  DD crushed the graham crackers for me, stirred together the dry ingredients and dumped them into the bowl.   Here's my recipe:

• 3/4 cup butter softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 (3.4 oz) box instant vanilla pudding dry
• 2 eggs or 1/2 cup egg beaters
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 sheets graham crackers finely crushed
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 - 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2-2/3 cup mini marshmallows
• 1 cup chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate)

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugars together. Add in pudding mix and beat until well incorporated.
2. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well blended.
3. In a small bowl, stir graham cracker crumbs, baking soda and flour until evenly mixed.
4. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until well incorporated.
5. Stir in chocolate chips and mini marshmallows until evenly mixed in. Add more if desired.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. You want these cookies to be slightly undercooked. It helps make them extra soft :)  I used a cookie scoop for each cookie.  They were nice sized.  You may want to use a teaspoon for smaller cookies.  I also baked them on a parchment lined baking sheet for 10 minutes, let them sit on the sheet for another 3, then cooled on a wire rack.  They were soft and yummy.

Enjoy!

~peace and blessings~

Lisa

Salted Caramel Cookie Bars



This is another recipe that I found via Pinterest.  I actually followed this one to the letter.  I'm pleased with how they turned out.  This is actually time consuming to make, but the sweet/salty/buttery combination can't be beat.  I hope you enjoy them too!

Salted Caramel Cookie Bars
(adapted from Cookies and Cups)


2 sticks, unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour

Caramel Filling:
30 pieces of caramel candies, unwrapped
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt or 1/2 tablespoon sea salt

For the crust:

Grease an 8x11 inch baking dish.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

In your stand mixer, cream butter on medium speed until softened. Add in both sugars and mix until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and mix until combined. Sift in the 2 cups of flour and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms.
Press a 1/3 of the dough into your prepared pan to form a bottom crust and prick all over with a fork. Cover the remaining 2/3 and chill in the refrigerator. Bake the crust until brown around the edges, about 20 minutes.Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

While your crust is cooling, either in the microwave or stove top melt your caramels with the vanilla and cream until smooth.  I melted mine in 1 minute intervals in the microwave at 50% power.  This took about 5 minutes.  I stirred the caramels and cream together at the end of each minute to help smooth out the caramels. 

Pour the caramel over your baked crust and sprinkle with salt.

Remove remaining crust from the fridge and crumble the chilled dough over the caramel. 

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares.

 ~Enjoy~

peace & blessings

Lisa

Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies

Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies

I made my version of these cookies today for the family.  They are really soft and yummy!  I used a recipe from BruCrew Life as my starting point and changed a few things to make them a bit more WW friendly.  My changes make each cookie worth 5 points +.  The cookies are large and filling.

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. reduced fat peanut butter
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. egg beaters
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 small box vanilla pudding
• 1 c. chocolate chips
• 1 c. reeses pieces

Instructions

• In a bowl combine all dry ingredients and set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and honey and beat again. Slowly add the dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips, reeses, and banana chips by hand.
• Drop by tablespoon onto a baking sheet, leaving 2 inches in between each cookie. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes. Cool on pan for 3-4 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. Store in a tightly covered container. Makes about 36 cookies.

~peace and blessings~

Lisa

Low Fat Chocolate-Chip Cookies

I started Weight Watchers Online 8 days ago. I have lost 4 lbs. so far. I'm eating better and exercising more than before. I've been on the hunt for "made-over" recipes and have found some great sites. Two of my favorite are http://www.skinnytaste.com/ and http://www.laurensmenu.com/ .

This recipe is from skinnytaste. I only made two changes. I only had whole wheat flour, not whole wheat pastry flour, so I used that. I also used cinnamon applesauce because that is what was on hand as well. The cookies are good. I like that they are crispy outside and chewy inside.

Skinny Low-fat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings:12
• Size: 2 cookies
• Old Points:4 pts
• Points+:5 pts

Calories:170.7
• Fat: 5.0 g
• Protein: 1.4 g
• Carb: 34.5 g
• Fiber:1.4 g
• Sugar:25.4 g

Sodium:113.1 mg


Ingredients:


1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 egg white
2 tbsp apple sauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:


Preheatoven to 350°.
Linetwo cookie sheets with non-stick silicone baking liners such as
Silpats(I highly recommend for best results) or
lightlyspray cookie sheets with cooking spray.

In a large bowl,
combinethe flour, baking soda and salt and stir to blend. In another bowl,
whiskthe sugars, butter, egg white, applesauce and vanilla together until light and fluffy.

Whiskthe dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions until the batter is very well blended. If the batter looks more “crumbly” than smooth,
addjust a drop of water at a time (ONLY if needed) until it smooths out.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by level spoonfuls about 1 inch apart onto baking sheets.
Bake 8 - 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and let them
stand 5 minutes before removing the cookies from the pans to cool on wire racks.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

~peace and blessings~

Lisa

Caramel-Peanut Butter Bars

This recipe comes from Betty Crocker. It reminds me of a Snickers bar, with the cookie layer, caramel, peanuts and chocolate. They were a bit time consuming, but well worth it!

Caramel~Peanut Butter Bars

Cookie Base
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
15 miniature chocolate-covered peanut butter cup candies, coarsely chopped

Filling
36 caramels (from 14-oz bag), unwrapped
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup peanuts

Topping
1 container (1 lb) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy milk chocolate frosting
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

1.Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in candies. Press dough in bottom of pan. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

2.Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat caramels and milk over medium heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Stir in peanut butter. Heat to boiling. Cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup peanuts. Spread over warm cookie base. Cool completely, about 2 hours.

3.Spread frosting evenly over filling. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut 9 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.
Makes 36 bars

Enjoy!

~peace and blessings~

Lisa

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a huge fan of the blog Comfy in the Kitchen. Her recipes are easy and homestyle, which I love. Janelle has a wonderful food ministry and is a Christian wife and mother. This recipe is from her blog. I'm always on the search for the perfect recipe and this one is it! Not one cookie was left over and they were gone in about 3 days. That's amazing in this house!

The only changes I made to the recipe was that I used milk chocolate chips and that I made my cookies a bit smaller using a cookie scoop, so I got about 24 instead of 18. The bake time was the same. These cookies were soft, which I prefer my cookies to be. I failed to take a picture of these beautiful cookies, but if you visit Janelle's blog, you can view a photo there.

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (18-24 cookies)

2 1/2 c all-purpose Flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 c butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg vanilla instant pudding
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375
Combine flour, baking soda and salt..set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugars, vanilla, and pudding mix. Beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour. Place heaping Tbsps of batter onto un-greased cookie sheet and bake until golden appx 10-12 mins. Take out of oven and let sit 2 mins on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack.

Enjoy!

~peace and blessings~

Lisa

Funfetti Cookies

Miss M and I made Funfetti cookies for the Fourth of July. They were easy to make and a yummy sugard cookie! The recipe is at the end of the post.

Miss M adding the sprinkles to our frosted cookies.



The finished product!

Funfetti Cookies

1(18.9-oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Moist Supreme® Funfetti® Cake Mix

1/3cup oil

2eggs

1/2(15.6-oz.) can Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Funfetti® Vanilla Frosting.

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With bottom of glass dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness.

2. Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

3. Spread frosting over warm cookies. Immediately sprinkle each with candy bits from frosting. Let frosting set before storing. Store in tightly covered container.

Enjoy!

~Peace and blessings~

Lisa

Oreo Stuffed Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Who doesn't love peanut butter and chocolate? These cookies combine the both into a huge, tasty cookie loved by young and old alike. Deidra at MHH shared the link to these cookies over at Tasty Kitchen . I used regular peanut butter and they turned out really good. Next time, I'd use about half a scoop of cookie dough to make them a bit smaller.

Oreo Stuffed Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

•2 cups Unsweetened Natural Peanut Butter, Well-stirred
•½ cups Sucanat (or Brown Sugar)
•2 whole Large Eggs, Lightly Whisked
•2 teaspoons Baking Soda
•1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
•½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
•12 whole Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the peanut butter, Sucanat (or brown sugar), eggs, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt until well-mixed.

Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop out two spoonfuls of the peanut butter cookie dough and place each on one side of a sandwich cookie. Using your hands, form the peanut butter dough around the cookies until they are sealed in. Place the cookie on the prepared cookie sheet.

Repeat with the remaining dough and cookies.

Bake cookies for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve with milk!


Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lisa

Sandy Sandwich Cookies

This weekend I made a new cookie. They're my favorite coconut cookie.

The Ingredients...

mix them together in a medium size bowl, making sure the butter is softened....

until a soft dough forms. I had to work it with my hands, so don't be discouraged if a spoon just isn't doing it for you.

Then roll the dough into walnut sized balls and put them on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam. Bake them in a 350 degree oven for 7-9 minutes until lightly browned on the edges.

Then Voila! Here are the finished cookies, cooling on a wire rack.

They're not done yet!

Next, you put a tablespoon of vanilla frosting on the flat side of half of the cookies and top it with another cookie. Smoosh it together until the icing oozes out of the sides. Then roll the sides in coconut.

Here's the finished product...so yummy!

This free printable recipe card created with Smilebox

Click play to see the complete recipe!

Enjoy!

Peace and blessings,

Lisa

Semi-homemade Snickerdoodles

I made these little bites of goodness today. The weather actually cooled down enough to turn on the oven without overheating the kitchen. I also made them as a pick me up for dh and to use up some ingredients in the pantry before we move to wherever it is we're moving until the house is ready. They're quick, easy and simple.

Snickerdoodles

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) sugar cookie mix
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon



1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, flour, butter and egg until dough forms.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. In small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 11 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute. Remove from cookie sheets. If desired, roll tops of warm cookies in additional sugar-cinnamon mixture. Cool completely, about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lisa

Chocolate Snowballs

Make a Smilebox recipe

Our kids love these cookies and I do too! They just melt in your mouth.

Blessings,

Lisa

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I tried this new recipe. The cookies are huge, chewy inside and crispy outside.

· 2 cups all-purpose flour
· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
· 1 cup packed brown sugar
· 1/2 cup white sugar
· 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
· 1 egg
· 1 egg yolk
· 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F ( Grease cookie sheets, or line them with parchment paper or use a Silpat .

Sift the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.

Mix the sugars and butter just until thoroughly mixed, then add egg, yolk and vanilla and mix until creamy. Add the sifted ingredients and mix until just blended.

Stir in the chocolate chips/chunks, then drop dough 1/4 cup at a time on a cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart, and bake for 15-17 minutes.

Leave them on the cookie sheet to cool a bit when removed from the oven (this is important… they fall apart if you move them too quickly).

Once they cool a few minutes, remove the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lisa

Italian Cookies

I made these cookies today. They remind me of the cookies we used to make with my Nana, Mom, Aunts and Cousins at Christmas time when I was a girl. I miss those times together in Nana's kitchen.

Italian Cookies


INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
6 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla or anise extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder

ICING:
3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
5 to 6 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DECORATIONS:
Flaked coconut or assorted sprinkles


DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and extract. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. For icing, in a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Dip cookies, allowing excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; decorate as desired. Let stand until set. Yield: 7 dozen. Enjoy!

Blessings,
Lisa

Tasty Thursday: The Cookie Edition

This is my most requested Christmas cookie. It's easy to make and very yummy!


Creamy Caramel Cups

Shells
6 oz. of cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups flour

Filling
14 oz. bag of caramels
½ cup canned evaporated milk
Topping
½ cup sugar
½ cup Crisco
1/3 cup canned evaporated milk
1 tsp. Vanilla
½ cup chopped nuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. To prepare the shells, combine cream cheese, butter, and flour. Press into miniature cup pans to form a shell. Bake in preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes until light brown. Remove from pans.

3. To prepare filling, place the caramels and canned milk in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave about 8 to 10 minutes on medium power. Stir. Pour into prepared shells and let cool.

4. To prepare topping, combine sugar, Crisco, canned milk and vanilla in a bowl. Mix until fluffy. I use the whisk on my mixer to make it fluffy. Decorate cups as desired. I prefer a cake decorator. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired.

Enjoy!