Cocoa Banana Bars

Cocoa Banana Bars Recipe:

 (Makes 20 slices/bars)

Ingredients:

1 cup oatmeal (not quick)
1 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup  milk
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 medium bananas, mashed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9 x13 inch pan.  Combine melted butter, cocoa powder, milk and banana in a small bowl.  Place oatmeal, flour and sugar in a mixing bowl, mix well.  Add wet ingredients into flour mixture, stir until well incorporated.  Spoon into prepared pan, and level the top with a back of a spoon or spatula.  Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Let sit in the pan for 5 minutes, slice while they are still warm.
(Recipe from Treat n’ Trick)

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Makes 24 cookies (2 ounces each)
2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups regular semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup large bittersweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light or dark brown sugar, tightly packed
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Heat oven to 375° F.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Mix together chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Set aside.
4. All medium speed unless otherwise noted: In a standing mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until well mixed and light. Scrape down the sides. Add one egg. Mix for 5 seconds. Scrape down the sides. Add second egg. Mix for 5 seconds. Scrape down the sides. Add vanilla. Mix for 5 seconds. Scrape down the sides.
5. You’re going to add the sifted flour mixture in 4 batches, stopping before adding the final batch. For the first 3 batches, mix at low speed just to combine, scraping down the sides between each addition. When you get to the final batch of flour, add the chocolate chip/nut mixture. They will get a bit crushed. That’s okay. Mix until there’s barely a trace of flour visible. Don’t over-mix. Sometimes, it’s better to be safe and do the final bit of mixing by hand.
6. Set up a sheet pan with a silpat or parchment paper. Bake one tray at a time or they will all cook at different rates. Make them spherical, not flat. The cookie size is up to you. I find the bigger they are, the better ratio you have between gooey interior and crisp exterior. 2 ounces is about right for that.
7. Leave a few inches between the raw cookies. Place sheet pan in the oven. They cook very fast at this temp. I never set a timer. I just hang around the oven and drink tea. They’re done when they’re brown and crispy on the outer border and raw in the very middle (8 to 10 minutes). Remove sheet pan. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then, with a spatula, transfer cookies to a cookie rack to cool. If you’re not going to eat them right away, they should be frozen.
8. If you’re not baking them off right away, portion them out with an ice cream scoop, place them on a sheet pan, and freeze. Once firm, store them in a Ziploc bag. Works great to bake them off when they’re frozen.

Save and print the recipe on Food52.
Photos by Phyllis Grant
This article originally appeared on Food52.com: The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ganache Stuffed Banana Pudding Cookie Muffins

Ganache Stuffed Banana Pudding Cookie Muffins

A couple of weeks ago I teased you guys with an Instagram of these Ganache-Stuffed Banana Pudding Cookie Muffins. Oh my word, I have never gotten such great feedback — or more requests for a recipe! — from just one photo! :) I am so, so sorry it took me so long, but I am thrilled to share the recipe for these bad boys with you today! It’s incredibly decadent, ultra swoon-worthy, and you can even use up leftovers to make it. Plus it’s got peanut butter, banana, and chocolate, which are Kev’s all-time three favorite ingredients. But you can totally customize these cookies to have YOUR favorite ingredients! Keep reading to see. Hope you love these as much as we do!

When I saw these Vanilla Pudding Cookies from Maria, I knew I absolutely had to make them. The secret ingredient in these ultra chewy cookies is a box of vanilla Jello pudding. You just dump it right in the mix for a totally unique and delicious flavor that leaves everyone wondering what your secret ingredient is. For Kevin’s birthday last month, he requested a variety of Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chocolate themed treats. Cookies are his favorite, and while browsing my Pinterest board of all the Treats I Want to Try I came across Maria’s pudding cookies. It suddenly hit me to use banana pudding instead of vanilla pudding to make him Banana Pudding Cookies! But I couldn’t stop there…
Let’s make these, shall we? :)

Here’s what you’ll need. Your basic cookie ingredients: Flour, butter, sugar, vanilla, and baking soda, plus your secret ingredient box of Jello pudding (in the flavor of your choice) and 2 cups of chocolate chips or mix-ins in the flavor of your choice — I used a combination of milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips here. Last time I used chopped up Reese’s Cups.

With a mixer, cream together your butter and sugars for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.

While the mixer is running, crack open 2 eggs…

And add a whole tablespoon of vanilla extract.

Ready your Jello pudding, and by this time, your butter and sugar should be fluffy and lighter in color.

Dump the eggs, vanilla, and dry Jello pudding mix right on in, and beat on medium speed until ultra smooth and silky, about 2 minutes.

While that’s going, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt until thoroughly combined and it has the texture of sifted flour. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix on low speed until just combined.

Now it’s time for your chips! Stir in two cups total of whatever flavor suits your fancy. I used one cup of peanut butter chips and one cup of milk chocolate chips. Look how massive these Ghirardelli chocolate chips are compared to the peanut butter chips!!

Now we’re about to turn these bad boys into cookie muffins. Using a medium cookie scoop or a spoon, drop about 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough into a well-greased standard-sized muffin tin.

Using the back of a spoon, or clean hands, gently press the cookie dough flat into the pan. This dough is a little sticky, so if you have time to chill the dough in the fridge first (you can even make it the night before) it’ll be a little easier to work with. But if you don’t have time (seriously, who can wait that long when cookie dough is involved?!) don’t worry about it at all — it still works fine. I didn’t chill my dough here. I did find it a little easier to press it down with my hands instead of a spoon though! :)

Now here’s where the magic happens. I just so happened to have leftover milk chocolate ganache in my fridge from another one of Kevin’s birthday treats. My Sweet Milk Chocolate Ganache is my go-to recipe for a basic chocolate frosting for cakes and cupcakes. I made a half batch of chocolate cupcakes for Kevin’s birthday, but I forgot to halve the ganache, so I had plenty leftover. I stuck it in the fridge hoping to figure out something to do with it later! (Besides sneaking spoonfuls of it every time I walked past the fridge!)
I’ve always wanted to make my Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies with ganache in the middle, and since I had this in the fridge, I knew I had to try it with these Banana Pudding Cookies!

Swirl a spoonful of ganache on top of each cookie. Now, let me tell you, with the ganache, these turned out super chocolaty and gooey, but if you don’t have leftover ganache, and you don’t want to make ganache (it’s super easy though) you can use anything here. You could simply use melted chocolate chips, hot fudge topping, chocolate syrup, or if you wanted to be extra sinful… even Nutella! :)
And while we’re on the subject of semi-homemade, you can even use store-bought cookie dough here to make this the easiest most decadent dessert you’ve ever made! :)

Top with another spoonful of cookie dough onto each muffin tin.

You don’t even have to press these down.

Oh my gosh, how crazy are these going to be?!

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes and you have this ooey, gooey, bursting with chocolate, fabulously delicious mess. As soon as they come out of the oven, run a knife around the edges to make for easy removing later. If your cookies are a little overflowing like mine, just gently press the warm, soft cookie back into its tin.

When the cookies are thoroughly cooled and have set up (you can stick them in the fridge to speed up the process, but it’ll probably take at least an hour), run the knife around the edges again and gently remove the cookie muffins from the tin. If you can’t wait that long, don’t worry! You can still eat ‘em. You’ll just have to use a spoon and dive right into the pan. ;)

You’ll be rewarded with this ultra gooey, decadently soft cookie that’s absolutely exploding with peanut butter and melty chocolate.

It’s hiding right under the surface, just waiting to be discovered.

When you open it up the chocolate overload is revealed!

To make it extra melty, warm the cookie muffin in the microwave for about 20 seconds before serving.

So ridiculously good.

I even made a Nutella one! Here’s what it looks like on the inside. You have to try these!!

Ganache Stuffed Banana Pudding Cookie Muffins

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3.4 oz package Banana-flavored instant Jello pudding mix
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Thoroughly coat a standard-sized muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. With a mixer, beat together butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add in dry pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla extract, and beat on medium speed for an additional 2 minutes until silky and smooth. Meanwhile, 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 and peanut butter chips.
3. Using a medium cookie scoop, drop about 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough into the bottom of the muffin tin, and press down to flatten. Top with a tablespoon of chocolate ganache (recipe follows) and then top with another scoop of cookie dough. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the edges are just browned. As soon as they come out of the oven, run a knife around the edges to make for easy removing later. Cool completely before removing from the muffin tin, using a knife around the edges to help loosen.
Recipe slightly adapted from Vanilla Pudding Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod.

Sweet Milk Chocolate Ganache
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Place chocolate chips in a glass or heat-proof bowl. In a medium saucepan, whisk the heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar and bring to a simmer. Pour over the chocolate chips, let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk until completely smooth. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour or until the ganache sets up and reaches a thick, frosting consistency.

Makes about 20 cookie muffins.

Read More http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/#ixzz2B8JsG8Ha

Zucchini Cookie Bars

Yield: 24-30 cookies

Ingredients:

For the Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup raisins

For the Lemon Glaze

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a whoopie pie pan with nonstick cooking spray or line a regular baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg, zucchini and lemon zest and vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in raisins.
4. Use a medium cookie scoop (1 ½ tablespoons) to drop dough into the center of each whoopee pie well or simply drop them directly onto the prepared cookie sheet. If you are using a cookie sheet, be sure to leave a few inches between each cookie.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
6. Make the glaze by mixing together the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Drizzle the glaze over cooled cookies.

Notes: These turned out flat as cookies so I put them in a cake pan and made bars out of them and they are great.  Andrea

-If you are using a regular a regular sheet, your cookies will be a bit thinner than the ones pictured above.
-Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
-Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com.

LoftHouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies

Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies

Cookies:

6 cups flour, divided 
1 t. baking soda 
1 t. baking powder 
1 c. butter, at room temperature 
2 c. granulated sugar 
3 eggs 
2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. sour cream

Frosting:

1 c. butter, room temperature 
1 t. vanilla extract 
4 c. powdered sugar 
6 T. heavy cream 
Several drops food coloring 
Multi-colored Sprinkles

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater attached, cream the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined. 

Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a bit “sticky”. Divide dough into two sections. Flatten into rectangles about 1 1/2 inches thick, then wrap with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator overnight or at least two hours until firm. 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray, set aside. 

Use the plastic wrap that you chilled the dough in. Dust the top of the dough and then flip and flour the other side, keeping it on the plastic wrap. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes, until pale golden. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. 

To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired spreading consistency is achieved. If desired, add food coloring and beat until combined. 

Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container. Let cookies sit for several hours before serving to allow the flavors to develop.

Makes: 4 1/2 dozen cookies

Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Yellow Cake Mix
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2/3 C Chocolate Chips
1 cube soften butter
2 eggs
1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)

Mix Cake Mix with Butter, vanilla, and eggs till smooth. Then add Chocolate Chips and nuts.

Bake at 350 10-12 minutes

These are so good and so easy! Your family will love them!

Golden Oreo Cookies

Golden Oreo Cookies

Super Easy and So Good!
1 Yellow Cake Mix
1/4 Cup Oil
2 Eggs

Mix together and form into small balls and bake at 350 on greased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes
Then I took cream cheese frosting and spread between two cookies and my kids loved them!