Tag Archives: cookie friday

Cookie Friday: Cookies & Cream Peanut Butter Cookies + A Super Fun Song!

Posted on February 17, 2012 | 12 Comments

Hi guys. These cookies are awesome. I thought they were going to dry, gross, and crumbly. Ever the optimist. Haha. But they are awesome!! The best part of it is that they are a “cool” cookies without a ton of busy work (dipping, rolling, etc.). Love that!

Cookies & Cream PB Cookies (via Plain Chicken)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 Oreo cookies, crushed
granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and flour. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Add crushed Oreo cookies and mix until combined.

Shape rounded tablespoons of dough into balls (small cookie scoop). Roll balls in additional granulated sugar to coat.  Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar.  Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.

And I didn’t use just any old Oreos!!! I used the Happy Birthday Oreos! They are awesome. I resisted one, because one = twelve when it comes to Oreo eating, but I did lick the bowl I crushed them in. They definitely smell like cake! And they have Sprinkles. So yes, I’ll pay $1 more for 10 or so less cookies! And I’ll do it with a smile!

I’m smiley this afternoon! I’m pretty happy to be home for the weekend. I changed into workout clothes within 5 minutes of walking in the door, and I’m off to try out a new workout dvd I got in the mail. It’s like a treat!! I’ll tell you about it later, I’m sure!

And now for the song!! I’m bananas for this song. I’ve listened to it 5 times since Kevin left to go back to work (haha – sucks to be him!!).

Kevin really loves it when I sing the chorus around the house. You’ll see why!!  And I haven’t even told him yet that the band is from Australia. His favorite place ever.

Anyways. It’s going to make you want to do a silly happy dance and you can download it for freezies.

What’s a fave song you’ve listened to lately? I’m working on a playlist to be shared someday in the near future. But my music snobbishness has really dulled over the last few years so it’s taking some work! ;)

→ 12 Comments

Posted in Cookie Friday, Food, Music

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Cookie Friday Fail + My Chocolate Cake Redemption

Posted on January 27, 2012 | 14 Comments

Today’s workout: 4.25 mile run + 2.10 on the elliptical. I know, it’s weird. I ellipticized. But I have this blister and after a mile of running, I didn’t think I was going to be able to hack it. So I got on the elliptical. Two miles on that thing seemed to numb the pain (and my brain), and I was able to run again!! The elliptical is not my friend, but I guess it helped me out today!

Let me be clear. I did not fail to MAKE cookies — it’s just that, the cookies were a failure.

You see, I really am firm in my belief that “too much of a good thing is a good thing”, and I put way too much marshmallow fluff. I’m sure this is a perfectly good recipe for Hot Cocoa Cookies – if you follow it correctly.

As you can see, that didn’t stop Kevin from scraping them off and eating a few! I decided to give myself a little grace since I was out of flour last night, and I was not in the mood for another flop!

And since I have to do everything I can to prove that I’m good enough for the baby of the family ;) , I decided to think up a super chocolatey recipe for my father-in-law.

And then I remembered Deidre’s famous chocolate cake. She even made it for our wedding! We were emailing it up (like always!), and she sent me the link.

I was really nervous about the bundt cake flipping, but I decided to go for it!

Too Much Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
  • 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well-greased 12 cup bundt pan.
  3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar + I added SPRINKLES!

YUMMY!! Kevin looks so dreamy! :)

Like father like son! ;)

For some reason we felt the need to eat dinner before dessert – lasagna magherit! I made it ahead of time this afternoon (while I was unfortunately not at an interview), and just popped it in the oven when it was time for dinner.  Just the pasta, the ricotta, basil, sauce, and cheese! So simple & delish.

After dinner was game time!

Aren’t they cute in their matching vests?

My husband has quite the game face. Man, I just love him so much!

And now, before bedtime, I have some very important questions for you.

Chocolate or vanilla? I’d probably choose vanilla. Vanilla fro-yo is definitely better than chocolate fro-yo. And everything goes back to fro-yo, right?

Cake or cookies? Cake. It’s more likely to have frosting!

Board games or movie night? Board games!! Unless I want to blog. Than movie night because I can rarely just watch a movie or tv. I have to multi-task!

P.S. That chocolate cake is the BEST! And it was super easy to whip up. You should definitely try it. Word on the street is that there’s also a lower cal version that uses fat free sour cream + sugar-free pudding. I should’ve read the reviews first…

→ 14 Comments

Posted in Family, Fitness, Food

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Cookie Friday: Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on January 20, 2012 | 11 Comments

Making chocolate chip cookies scares me. I hate it when they turn out poofy or flat or ugly!! What a girl needs is a reliable chocolate chip recipe. Yesterday as I was leaving work, a co-worker said,”And bake some cookies if you have time!!” I can’t resist a challenge, and she had mentioned before that she likes homemade chocolate chip cookies. As someone who loves to cook and bake, I have a little mental file on the food preferences of everyone I know. Can you believe my father-in-law dislikes peanut butter? He’s not allergic. He just dislikes it!

Anyways…

Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies (via Two Peas & Their Pod)

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3.4 oz. package vanilla instant pudding mix
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat and set aside.

2. Using a mixer, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add in pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla extract. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slight golden and set. Remove cookies from oven and let cool on baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Isn’t the vanilla pudding a cool secret ingredient? It seriously made them turn out perfecto!

Mixing.

I just like to put filters on pictures when I have a particularly dark or shadowy picture (which is all the time in this apartment!!). I’m like so tricky, right?

Kevin eating his balanced diet – a cookie in each hand!

I have 1 hour and 14 minutes until gym time. I’m going to relax!! I have to rest up for race day tomorrow so I’m going to take it super easy.

Two other cool chocolate chip cookie recipes: Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies and Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

What do you do on Friday nights? Just curious what cool people do these days. Friday night is usually like my most tired night so I’m super lame. For us, it’s usually very similar to week nights with gym time, making dinner, blogging, and Kevin doing homework. I will say Friday is hands down the least busy night at our gym!

→ 11 Comments

Posted in Cookie Friday, Food

Tagged , , , ,

Cookie Friday: Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies + My Baking Uniform

Posted on January 13, 2012 | 16 Comments

Make these if you want your house to smell heavenly!

Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies  (via My Baking Addiction)

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl combine sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice and black pepper. Remove 1/4 cup of the sugar-spice mixture, set aside to reserve for rolling the cookies.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar-spice mixture until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

5. Beat in egg and vanilla extract, combine until fully incorporated.

6. Slowly blend in dry ingredients mixing until just combined.

7. Using a small scoop (2 teaspoons) roll dough into balls and then into the reserved sugar-spice mixture. Place dough balls on prepared baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.

7. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

8. Let stand on baking sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Don’t you even THINK about skipping the caradmom. It is KEY! I promise. Even if you have to pay over $8 for it. That was a painful moment for me in the grocery store today, but I am still on budget. And that cardamom will last me a while.

Do you want to see what I bake in?

I wish it was this.

But as you can see in the calendar behind me – that was in July! When I was blissfully unemployed, tanned, and manicured! :)

Today?

Head to toe sweatylicious black! It wasn’t until I saw this picture that I realized there was an actual HANDPRINT on my pants. It doesn’t get classier than that. But I figure, why not use my pants? They’re about to going into the washing machine as soon as I get these cookies in the oven.

I thought it would be cool to pose with some measuring spoons so kinda paint the picture. A better thought would’ve been to just get in the shower already.

Do you want to know the most upsetting part of my day? I know, my life is too easy, but they postponed Jeopardy! till 1:30 AM  so they could do more Tebow fangirl coverage in Denver. 6:00PM is my treadmill tv time, and I don’t appreciate it being messed with!! Haha.

What do you bake in? I wish I could say heels. When I used to bake in the DR, I would generally be in a swimsuit because it got so hot in the kitchen. That caused some close calls, but no serious burns!!

Just curious, do you have caradmom in your spice cabinet? I do now!

P.S.  Just for fun: July Cookie Fridays!

 

 

→ 16 Comments

Posted in Cookie Friday, Food

Tagged , , , , , ,

Cookie Friday: Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies

Posted on January 6, 2012 | 9 Comments

I knew Kevin would not be a fan of any cookie recipe with “itty bitty” in the title. He prefers his cookies with words like “monster” perhaps “cowboy” in the title.

However, he’s a huge carrot cake fan so I guess he decided to let this one slide!

Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies  (via Oh She Glows)

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I’m sure other flours would work!)
  • 1/4 cup regular oats
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4-1/3 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrots, packed
  • 1/4 cup raisins, soaked in water overnight
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, room temperature   <— I organic agave nectar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed for about 25 seconds in microwave <— I subbed Melt buttery spread – it has coconut in it!!
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F and line 1 baking sheet with parchment or a non-stick mat. Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and oats in a large bowl. Add in the nuts, coconut, raisins, and shredded carrots. In a small bowl mix the maple syrup, softened coconut oil, vanilla, and freshly grated ginger. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Drop about 1 heaping tablespoon of dough onto lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Shape into a ball with hands. Bake for about 12 minutes and cool for 10 minutes on a baking rack.

Yield: 15 bite-sized cookies.

Nutritional info: (per cookie): 54kcals, 2 grams fat, 8 grams carbs, 1 gram fibre, 1 gram protein, 5 grams sugar.

I’m sure the frosting adds a few extra calories, but I made two frosted ones for Kevin’s after-work snack! Today was another half-day for me — hooray!

These cookies came about because I found unsweetened coconut in Super Target last night!!! I was so happy! I’ve been looking for it forever… in all the wrong places, but still!!!

After I pulled the cookies out of the oven, I headed to the apartment’s gym armed with my trusty envelope notes & my mat.

I did a 1-mile walk/jog warm-up, and then jumped into this little treat (via BodyRock). Each move was performed for 50 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest. The 10 seconds of rest is a joke. Trust me. That’s how long it took me to look at the envelope to see what the next move was.

  • 10 x High Knees & 10 x Mountain Climbers
  • 2 x Squat Jumps & 2 x Push-ups & 1 x Tuck Jumps
  • Centre to Elbow Jump (L&R) & 2 x leg jumps
  • Clean & Press & Squat & Press & Push Up
  • Tuck Jumps x 5 & ½ Burpee & squat hold x 5
  • Spider Knee Push up & Straight Leg Push Up (L&R)
  • Switch Lunge & Press
  • Side Lunge x 2 & L & R Side Punch  & 2 Tuck Jumps
  • 10 x Squat & 10 x Squat Jumps
  • Elbow to Knee jumps 10 x each side
  • Wide leg jumps & Push up
  • Speed run

It was brutal, but only 12 minutes. My legs are crazy sore from all the stairs I’ve been doing  so I have no clue why I decided to do this workout. I just wanted to try it. A new workout is like a new treat for me! Haha.

Plus I had this new app to play with:

It’s actually a Crossfit tool (it’s called like 4 Time Crossfit – just search for Tabata Timer), but can be adapted for any kind of Tabata or HITT workouts. I loved this workout because it doesn’t waste time. I hate wasting time in workouts. I mean, you have 10 seconds “off”, but I promise you it’s nothing. I finished off running for a grand total of 5.8 miles (including the warm-up).

And now I’m ready for some weekend. Unfortunately, Kev-kev was not at the gym with me all weekend so he’s dragged me to our real gym. I’m just going to watch Jeopardy! :)

Are you a carrot cake fan? If not, what’s your favorite kind of cake? I think carrot cake IS my favorite, but I love the frosting the most!!!!!!

Have you ever tried Tabata/BodyRock/Crossfit? On & off. I always have a tendency to seriously overdo them and not be able to sit up for a few days. It’s all those burpees!!

Some historic Cookie Friday cookies:

Soft Gingersnap Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies

Best, Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

→ 9 Comments

Posted in Cookie Friday, Fitness

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Cookie Friday: Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies + 2 New Healthy Packaged Snacks

Posted on December 30, 2011 | 9 Comments

So happy to be back in my kitchen this Cookie Friday! I DID make cookies last week, but they went unrecorded. In fact, I made eggnog fudge again + peppermint mocha truffles for Kevin’s work potluck, and then I made an old fave – Almond Joy Coconut Macaroons for Christmas Eve.

This week, I decided to go with a super kid-friendly cookie. Kevin likes these more “normal” cookies, and I think he was super excited I didn’t got for anything too fancy.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies (via Keep It Sweet)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 3 cups salted creamy natural peanut butter
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 2 cups salted pretzel pieces

Cooking Directions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda, set aside
  3. Using a mixer, in a large bowl beat peanut butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy
  4. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined
  5. Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture just until combined
  6. Stir in chocolate chips and pretzel pieces
  7. Use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to place cookie dough balls (about 2 tablespoons each) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (Note: the dough will be a little greasy, that is OK)
  8. Bake for 8-11 minutes until or cookies are brown around the edges

A real winner! Kevin was forced into eating another cookie for this picture.

I felt we haven’t had enough pictures of Kevin salivating over cookies lately!! Don’t be a perfectionist. The cookies have pretzel chunks in them. They are not going to turn out exactly uniform. Who cares. Your husband will eat them by the time you get home from the gym anyways!

Quote from Kevin today: “I wonder when the last time was that I went a 24 hours without getting my picture taken.”

Nice.

By the way…

I actually STRUCK GOLD while traveling this week. I found a healthy snacks section in the airport (still no Sbux, wah!!), and picked up this Gnu bar. I had seen them on Neon Blonde Runner, and of course, I had to sample it. The trip from Denver to Minneapolis is tricky because it always falls over lunch time. Especially when you throw in car rentals/returns, baggage pick-up, etc. We always think we’re going to make it to Point B at a decent time to eat, but it never happens!! So I was really thankful to have this bar. It was delicious! I was nice and shared some with Kevin James. I’ve already been looking into ordering them in bulk! Haha. I need a little late afternoon pre-workout snack, and this might just do the trick.


What’s your favorite healthy packaged snack?

Isn’t this just sad? They’re packing up Christmas!!! Lame!! At least we have a 3-day weekend to look forward to!!! I’m thinking lasagna for New Year’s! :) And maybe some champagne cupcakes if I get crazy!

→ 9 Comments

Posted in Cookie Friday, Healthy recipes

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,