Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

I don't make cookies very often, so when I do I want to make sure that it is a really good recipe.  Cherries and chocolate are one of my favorite combinations, so when I came across this recipe I knew it would be a keeper.  It definitely was!!  These cookies keep sneaking out of the freezer into my mouth every time I walk by the fridge...

Picture by ME.

Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
(from Elsie Marley)

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 tea salt
• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and mix on high speed to combine. Then add the vanilla.
*Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the mixer.  Mix just until combined. Add the oats, cherries, and chocolate.
*Place heaping tablespoons full of dough onto a lined or greased baking sheet.
*Bake cookies about 13-17 minutes.

I hope you enjoy these every bit as much as I did!

Enjoy!
-C :)

Linked to Sweet as Sugar Cookies - Sweets for a Saturday.

Chocolate Waffles

G wanted waffles for lunch the other day and I was out of the usual blueberry store bought brand that he likes.  I had recently borrowed my parent's waffle maker, so G and I decided to try something new.  All I have to say is YUMMY!  I'm not really sure that these could be classified as "lunch", more accurately "dessert".  We had ours with butter, but for dessert you could definitely add some ice cream or whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

image: Me, and my poor photography ;)

Chocolate Waffles
(adapted from food.com)

1 cup butter

4 beaten eggs

1 cup sugar 

1/2 cup cocoa

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water (or more)

*Mix all the ingredients together.
*Add by the scoopful to your hot waffle maker.
*Cook for 1-3 minutes.
*Remove from waffle maker and enjoy.

These were a little on the dry side but still wonderful...  Kind of like a brownie made in the waffle maker!  I might do a little experiment in the future and try some whole wheat flour to "healthify" these.

-C :)

Puppy Chow (for humans)

A few weeks ago we were having a potluck at work.  It was 12pm on a Sunday and I needed to have something ready to go by 3pm and I wanted to have a nap...  Quick and easy was the order of the day.  Thankfully I remembered a box of Chex that I had sitting in my pantry - 10 minutes later I was off to dreamland!

This is a super simple recipe that is open to many adaptations.  Have fun!

Puppy Chow

9 cups Chex cereal (any kind)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted (6oz.)

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, melted

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 -2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

*Measure the cereal into a large bowl.

*In a microwave safe bowl combine chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter.  Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until melted.

*Stir in vanilla.

*Pour over bowl of cereal and mix until coated.

*Place 1/3 of the coated cereal in a large ziptop bag.  Pour in 1/3 of the icing sugar and shake to coat.

*Spread on waxed paper to cool (can be put in the fridge to speed the process).

*Repeat the icing sugar step until all the cereal is used up.

Enjoy!

-C :)

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (Cupcakes)

These are likely my all time favorite muffin recipe.  They are super moist, super chocolatey and super good.  Lately I have been taking one to work, popping it in the microwave to make it all warm and gooey and enjoying it during my coffee break at work.  That means that in the last 9 days I have eaten 9 muffins, no wonder my scrub pants are getting tight!  (That also means in the last 9 days I have worked 9 shifts in a row.  I kind of think I deserved the muffins!)

This recipe comes from a cookbook created by the church I grew up in.  I love cookbooks like that.  You know everyone who put the recipes in and can pretty much guarantee that the recipes will be good (as long as you make the ones put in by the good cooks)!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

• 2 1/2 cups flour (I use 1 1/2 cups white, 1 cup whole wheat)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 3/4 cup oil
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups grated zucchini (fresh or frozen)

1.  Combine all the dry ingredients including the chocolate chips and nuts.
2.  Mix wet ingredients together.  Combine with dry ingredients.
3.  Stir in zucchini.
4.  Place in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

I hope that you enjoy these as much as I do.  If there is one recipe that I have made over and over, it would be this one!  Mom always gives me big overgrown zucchini so that I can grate it up and freeze it for the winter.

Enjoy!
- Carla :)

Toffee Pretzel Bark

Each year at Christmas time, I always have lofty aspirations that I will make all sorts of delicacies that involve plenty of time and talent.  As Christmas draws closer and closer those aspirations start to disappear and reality sets in...  Which means in the back of my mind I am always searching for one ridiculously simple and easy recipe.  This year it is Toffee Pretzel Bark.

A ridiculously easy recipe combining dark chocolate, salty pretzels, crunchy, buttery toffee bits and a bit of white chocolate to round it out.  It seriously takes 10 minutes of "busy" time mixed in with a few trips to the fridge to cool.

Doesn't that look great?  When I took it to work the nurses kept making trips the the staff room just to grab another bite!

Here's the recipe:

Toffee Pretzel Bark

• 12 ounces dark chocolate chips
• 2 cups broken pretzel pieces
• 1 1/2 cups Skor toffee pieces, divided
• 6 ounces white chocolate chips

*Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
*In a double boiler (or a metal mixing bowl placed over a pot of boiling water), melt the dark chocolate chips, stirring until the chocolate is melted and no chips remain. (You can also melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring it at 30 second intervals.)
*Remove from the heat, add the pretzels and 1 cup of the toffee pieces, and stir to combine.
*Spread the chocolate mixture out on the prepared baking sheet, and transfer to the fridge for about 30 minutes.
*While the mixture hardens in the fridge, melt the white chocolate chips.
*Remove the baking sheet from the fridge, and spread the white chocolate in a thin layer over the top.  The white chocolate and dark chocolate will swirl together a little.
*Sprinkle with the remaining toffee pieces, and return to the fridge for about 30 minutes.
*Once the chocolate has hardened break into pieces, using a knife if necessary. I just used the tip of my knife to break bite sized pieces off.  Or you can roughly cut it if you prefer a more consistent look. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!
-Carla :)