Oreo Truffles

These are absolutely amazing. That said, they are not the healthiest, or the most complicated truffles ever. This has 3 main ingredients, and lots of varieties!

First, process the Oreos until they are crumbs. Next, blend in the cream cheese. Blend these 2 ingredients together in a food processor or blender. This is the easiest way to incorporate the ingredients. Next, roll them out into balls. The balls should be however big you want your Oreo truffles. The best size for 2 bites is about 1 inch in diameter. 

Place onto parchment or a silicon baking mat. Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. I put mine in for 24 hours because I didn't have time to finish them. This made the chocolate harden very quickly and made it even easier to dip them as they did not become squishy.

Stick a toothpick into a hardened Oreo ball and proceed to cover in chocolate, rolling off any excess. Voila! You have made Oreo truffles.

Enjoy!

8 oz.   Cream Cheese

40      Oreo Cookies

12 oz. Chocolate Chips

3 T    Shortening

In a blender, crush the Oreo cookies until finely ground. When ground, add the cream cheese and blend until incorporated. Form the mixture into balls and place on a non-stick baking mat or parchment paper. Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. 

Heat the chocolate chips and the shortening at intervals of 30 seconds until completely melted. I suggest melting a in tall cup to make it easier to dip the Oreo balls. Take the Oreo balls out of the freezer and stick toothpicks in the centers. Dip the Oreo balls into the chocolate, twirling to let excess chocolate drip off. Place back onto the silicon mat and let sit, or place in the refrigerator to speed up the process. These are great for sharing with friends, if they survive that long!

Cowboy Cookies

So last night I had a dilemma, I really wanted to bake something for dessert but I could not decide no matter how hard I tried, I looked through all the cookbooks and probably wasted most of my time for baking. Finally I settled on some comfort cookies, Cowboy Cookies.

These cookies are quite similar to chocolate chip cookies, except they are a little healthier

First measure out the oats into a medium sized bowl

Next measure out the flour

Now measure the baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon

In a mixer, mix together the butter and the sugars

Get the chocolate chips

Add the chocolate chips to the cookie dough

Voila, these cookies may not be the most visually appealing, but they are certainly one of the biggest hits! This makes 24 very large cookies, or a bunch of smaller cookies. Keep in mind, if you make them smaller, do not cook them for as long.

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2/3 sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 
  
• In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, blend the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat until fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Blend in vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir the dry mixture into the butter mixture one half at a time. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts (if using). Refrigerate the dough for 1 to 2 hours. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil, then grease the foil. Using a cookie scoop, or ice cream scoop, shape the dough into balls and place them on the sheet about 2 inches apart. Use your fingers to flatten each ball to 1/3 inch thick. Bake 13 to 14 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Family Fun

Chocolate Chip Cookies

When somebody says cookie, it brings a certain image to mind. The most common cookie is the chocolate chip cookie, and it is the most popular for a reason! If you have never made chocolate chip cookies from scratch, I am proud to say that they are almost impossible to mess up! My second or third time making them I forgot to put in the dry ingredients, but that is a story for another time!

Here we go!

First, Mix together the dry ingredients in a small bowl. 

Next combine the butter, the sugars, and the vanilla!

Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.

Here is what it should look like, beat it until it is fluffy!

Ass the chocolate chips to the dough and mix until just combined.

Now you have two options:

Scoop the cookies onto a cookie sheet, or put them in a container for later!

And now you have plenty of cookies! I like them fresh so I make 8 or so at a time and keep the others in the refrigerator.

Below is the recipe:

• 
  
• Ingredients:
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon 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. 

Recipe courtesy of Nestle

Monkey Bars

I have been enjoying summer and I will say, it is hard to turn on the oven when it is hot outside! But sadly, summer is coming to an end. But that means more cooking and baking which makes me excited, so I guess I goes I break even. 

These bars can be eaten as cookies or as breakfast! Behold the monkey bars!

Yummy!

Mix together wet ingredients in your mixer, then add in dry ingredients.

Now add the chocolate chips or raisins, whatever your preference.

Spoon batter into 8 inch pan, then put it into the oven. And...

It is done! All the chocolate chips sunk to just below the surface but they are there! And enjoy your monkey bars!

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
• 3 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips/Raisins (Be generous)
• Cooking spray
• 
  

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2.  Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 3 ingredients (flour through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Set aside.
3. Combine brown sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add banana and next 3 ingredients (banana through egg whites), beating well. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Spread the batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool the bars completely on a wire rack.

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ginger Cookie Recipe

Ginger Cookies

Makes about 50 (2 1/4-inch) cookies

With crunchy edges and a chewy center, beautifully crackled on top, spicy, and loaded with diced crystallized ginger, this is my favorite spice cookie. You can tone down the heat by omitting the fresh ginger and cutting down on the crystallized ginger and still end up with a great cookie. They also make an amazing wintry ice cream sandwich when paired with vanilla bean ice cream. Alice Medrich

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and still warm (1 stick)
1/4 cup dark molasses (mild or robust)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar or light muscovado sugar
2 tablespoons peeled and finely minced or grated fresh ginger
1 egg
3/4 cup diced (1/4-inch) crystallized ginger (4 ounces)
About 3/4 cup Demerara or turbinado sugar or 1/4 cup granulated sugar, for rolling

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice and salt and mix thoroughly with a whisk or fork.
In a large bowl, combine the warm butter, molasses, granulated sugar, brown sugar, fresh ginger and egg and mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture and crystallized ginger and stir until incorporated. The dough will be soft.
Form the dough into 1-inch balls. (Refrigerate unrolled dough between batches.) Roll the balls in the Demerara or turbinado sugar and place them 2 inches apart on lined or ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies puff up and crack on the surface and then begin to deflate in the oven. Rotate the sheets from top to bottom and from back to front halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking. For chewier cookies, remove them from the oven when at least half or more of the cookies have begun to deflate; for crunchier edges with chewy centers, bake for a minute or so longer.
For lined pans, set the pans or just the liners on racks to cool; for unlined pans, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks. Cool the cookies completely before storing. May be kept in an airtight container for several days.
Milder variation: Turn down the heat by omitting the fresh ginger and decreasing the crystallized ginger to 1/2 cup.
Wheat-free variation: These are superb and also gluten-free if you use gluten-free oat flour. Make My Ginger Cookies or milder variation, substituting 2 cups oat flour and 1/2 cup extra-fine white rice flour for the all-purpose flour. Substitute 2 egg whites for the whole egg. After the flour mixture is completely mixed in, stir briskly for another 40 strokes to aerate the dough slightly.

Modified from the Oregon Newspaper