Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Yield: 30 muffins
Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 (16 ounce) cans pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil ( yes, 1 1/4 cups)
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips ( Regular or mini, I like mini best)

Directions

1. In large mixing bowl beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla and oil until smooth.
2. Mix dry ingredients together and mix into pumpkin mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full.
4. Bake at 400 F for 16-20 minutes.

Chocolate Cherry Cake
                (or 24 cupcakes)

1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
1 (18.25 ounce) package Devil's Food cake mix
3 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup oil (I prefer olive oil, but vegetable is fine)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13X9X2-inch pan.

In a medium bowl, mix cherry pie filling, cake mix, eggs, oil, and
almond extract by hand. Add chocolate chips. Pour batter into
prepared pan or muffin/cupcake tin.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out
clean.

Frost with "No Escape" Hot Fudge Sauce (see recipe below) or cream
cheese frosting (if making Valentine cupcakes). Make/shape red roses
out of cherry Fruit-by-the-Foot to embellish top of cupcakes.


"No Escape" Hot Fudge Sauce (optional)

On medium-low heat, melt in a medium-sized saucepan:
1 c, butter
4 sq. unsweetened chocolate

Add:
3 c. sugar (add 1/4 cup at a time, mixture will become very thick).

Add:
1/2 tsp salt

1 can evaporated milk

Cook, stirring constantly. When thickened, add 1 tablespoon vanilla.
Wonderful served over a warm Cherry Chocolate Cake or any ice cream.

Cinnamon Cookie Crunch Popcorn

Posted by Jenna Mullen
Taken from www.ourbestbites.com

Cinnamon Cookie Crunch Popcorn
recipe by ourbestbites.com
Ingredients
About 12 cups popped popcorn: natural, or lightly salted works best, avoid butter flavored
1 pound almond bark
1/2 cup red hot candies
10 Oreo cookies
optional: 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon flavored oil (see note in post about using extract)
2 tablespoons semisweet or dark chocolate chips
kosher or sea salt
Instructions
Place red hots in a heavy duty ziplock bag and smash with a meat  mallet or hammer to crush.  Alternately you could pulse them  in a food processor until they are just roughly chopped.  Break up cookies into rough chunks, either by hand, in a ziplock bag, or in the food processor.  Do not crush into crumbs.
In a medium sized microwave safe bowl, melt almond bark according to package instructions until smooth.  Gently stir in red hots and chocolate cookies and then add cinnamon oil to taste.
Pour mixture over popcorn and stir well to coat.  Pour popcorn mixture onto a baking sheet lined with foil, parchment or a silicone mat and set aside.  Melt chocolate chips and drizzle over popcorn mixture.  An easy way to do it is to place the chips in a ziplock bag and heat in 20 second intervals, squishing in between, until melted.  Cut the corner off the bag and squeeze chocolate out.  Sprinkle kosher or sea salt lightly over mixture to taste.  Let popcorn mixture harden, place in fridge to speed it up.  When completely dry, break into chunks and just try to stop yourself from eating it all in one sitting.

Note: Extract can causing clumping. I didn't use the oil, but I would next time because the cinnamon flavor wasn't very strong.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

Posted by Jenna Mullen
Recipe taken from www.ourbestbites.com



Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Recipe by Our Best Bites, inspired by Martha Stewart
1 chocolate cake mix (we prefer Duncan Hines)
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
2 eggs
12 large marshmallows
1/2 c. melted butter
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine cake mix, eggs, and shortening in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer and mix until well combined. Drop dough by the tablespoon onto a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the cookies appear done but are still soft in the center.
While the cookies are baking, use a pair of kitchen shears to cut each marshmallow in half. When the cookies have baked, remove the pan from the oven and place a marshmallow half on each cookie, cut side down. Return the pan to the oven for about 2 minutes. Remove from oven and very gently push each marshmallow down. Allow to cool completely and repeat with remaining cookie dough.
When the cookies have cooled completely, combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add melted butter, vanilla, and evaporated milk and beat on high until smooth, light, and fluffy. Transfer the frosting to an icing bag fitted with a large tip and swirl onto the cookies. Makes 24 cookies.

PS I didn't have quite enough frosting when I used their recipe and used the large tip. I was just a couple of cookies short, so make a little bit extra frosting.

Gluten/Egg Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted by Maryn Coughran


1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 T brown sugar (don’t sub!)
3 T plus 1 tsp white sugar (If you have no sweet tooth you can omit)
4 T chocolate chips
2 T oil or pre-melted margarine (I use olive oil)
4 T *milk (But if you are doubling this recipe, use 6 or 7 T)

Blend first 5 ingredients together. (I use a my regular old blender.) Mix with other ingredients, form into cookie shapes, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cook 6 minutes at 375 F.

Makes 12-16 cookies (depending on how big you like them!)

*to make this dairy free, just use and non-dairy milk.

I know these are gluten free, egg free and potentially dairy free and might sound a little scary but trust me, they are AMAZING! We have made them about a dozen times in the last two months we like them so much. If you want them to taste even more fluffy, add 1/4 tsp of baking soda. 

Billionaire's Shortbread

Posted By Jenn Iverson

This is my recipe from the cookie swap that I never got around to submitting until now.  It is a conglomeration of many recipes, created in hopes of recreating an amazing bar I had at a Starbucks in London 10 years earlier.  I think these bars measure up -- they fulfilled my dreams anyway.  But the recipe is pretty intense.

Billionaire’s Shortbread

Shortbread Layer:

3 sticks butter, softened

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

¾ tsp. salt

2 cups chopped pecans, optional

Caramel Layer:

4 cups sugar

2 cups corn syrup

4 sticks butter

1 cup cream

1 cup evaporated milk

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Chocolate topping:

12 oz. good quality white chocolate (I used Ghiradelli bars)

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tsp. shortening

Shortbread Layer:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a large jellyroll pan with cooking spray.  Coat with flour, tapping off excess.  Place flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.  Mix in butter with pastry blender or knife until mixture resembles peas.  Press shortbread mixture into prepared pan and bake 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely.  Sprinkle with chopped pecans, if desired.

Caramel Layer:

In a large, heavy pot, melt butter partially in pan, then add sugar and corn syrup and cook on medium heat while it boils gently until mixture is light and thick and beige in color, about 15-20 minutes.  Stir often with wooden spoon.  Meanwhile, mix cream and evaporated milk.  Pour mixture into the pot SLOWLY so boiling doesn’t stop, and stir CONSTANTLY.  Cook on medium heat until 230-235 degrees, using a candy thermometer.  At this point, test the caramel using the ice water test.  Pour a small amount of caramel into ice water and gather into a ball with your fingers.  Taste.  If the caramel is starting to get a chewy texture, it is done.  If it’s not yet chewy, keep repeating the ice water test every few minutes until it is chewy.  For these bars I like to stop cooking right when it starts to get chewy.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Pour immediately over shortbread layer in jellyroll pan.  I actually think it’s better to NOT pour the entire batch of caramel in, because it makes the bars too thick.  I reserve about a cup of the caramel and use it for something else (apple dip, hot chocolate spoons, just eating).  Cool or refrigerate until caramel layer is firm enough to spread with chocolate.

Chocolate layer:

Break white chocolate bars into small pieces in a glass bowl.  Microwave at 50% power for one minute.  Stir.  Continue to microwave at 50% power  for 30-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.  Pour and spread evenly over caramel layer.  In another glass bowl, microwave semisweet chips and shortening at 50% power for 30-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.  Transfer to a Ziploc bag.  Trim a small corner off the bag.  Drizzle chocolate over white chocolate in diagonal criss-cross pattern.  Refrigerate just until chocolate layer is hard to the touch.

Cut bars into small pieces, and prepare to discover why I would have the audacity to call these Billionaire Shortbread Bars!  Makes 40-60 bars.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

Contributed by Jenn Iverson
From Martha Stewart's Everyday Food

Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• Coarse salt
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until water is absorbed and rice is just tender, 16 to 18 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a blender, combine cilantro, lime juice, oil, garlic, and 2 tablespoons water; blend until smooth. Stir into cooked rice, and fluff with a fork.

This recipe is great how it is.  Sometimes I get lazy and just put the rice and salt in the pot, add lime juice, oil, 1 frozen Trader Joe's garlic cube, and 3 frozen Trader Joe's cilantro cubes.  Then I just cook the rice like normal and then mix it all together when it's done.  It turns out great and is super easy!

Chicken Fajita Tostadas

Contributed by Jenn Iverson
From Martha Stewart's Everyday Food 

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 2 bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
• 1 box (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup prepared fresh salsa
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 4 corn tortillas (6-inch)
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• Cilantro-Lime Rice, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. On foil, combine onions, bell peppers, corn, 1/4 cup salsa, and 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper.
2. Roast, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Add chicken, stir to combine, and continue to roast until warmed through, 5 minutes more. Transfer chicken and vegetable mixture to a serving bowl, discarding foil (reserve sheet).
3. Arrange tortillas on sheet. Dividing evenly, brush with remaining tablespoon oil; top with cheese. Bake until edges are golden and cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Dividing evenly, top tortillas with chicken-vegetable mixture and remaining 3/4 cup salsa. Serve with cilantro-lime rice, if desired.