Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies...

from recipes.com

I have no idea how I have never had these before!!!  A friend brought them to a halloween party last night and I had to have the recipe!!!  These are definately delish!!

Ingredients:

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 package, 2 layer sized, spice cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk 

1 recipe marshmallow-spice filling (see recipe below)

Marshmallow-Spice Filling: Up to 2 hours before serving, beat together 1/2 cup softened butter and one 8-ounce package softened cream cheese until smooth. Add 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1/2 of a 7-ounce jar marshmallow cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Beat until well combined. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil (grease foil, if using). In a large mixing bowl beat pumpkin and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add cake mix, eggs, and milk; beat on low speed until combined, and then on medium speed for 1 minute.

2. By the heaping tablespoon, drop mounds of batter 3 inches apart on cookie sheet; keep remaining batter chilled. Bake 15 minutes or until set and lightly browned around edges. Carefully remove from parchment or foil; cool on wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, lining cooled cookie sheets each time with new parchment or foil. If desired, place cookies in a covered storage container with waxed paper between layers to prevent sticking. Store cookies at room temperature for 24 hours. Prepare Marshmallow-Spice Filling up to 2 hours before serving. Spread about 2-1/2 tablespoons filling on flat side of one cookie; top with a second cookie. Repeat. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 2 hours. Makes 15 whoopies.


**I have made these now twice without waiting the 24 hours...I just make them then eat them :) they turned out exactly the same!

Halloween Candy Surprise Cookies

(Sorry for the blurry picture... a photographer I am not...)

Looking for a way to use up some of those oh-so-tempting mini candy bars in your kids Halloween buckets? If you are like me- I am doing a good job at hiding the candy on top of the fridge to where the kids don't really think of it that often. The problem is- I still know it's there! So, I came up with this for when I needed to make some cookies for a function.

First, I used this cookie recipe posted previously on this blog.

Then, I added 1/4 cup peanut butter along with the butter (though I thought it could use a little more, so go up to 1/2 cup if you like).

I reduced the amount of chocolate chips to 1/2 cup

Then, I chopped up random candy bars from the kids Halloween buckets until it equaled 2 cups. I stirred these in and baked as directed in the recipe. (I would stick with things that would go good in chocolate cookies- I used Kit Kats, Reeses cups, Snickers, Hershey bars and M& M's. There are certainly other possibilities!)

These were a HUGE hit and disappeared in no time! Moist and rich and a surprise (a pleasant one) in every bite!

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter M&M Chocolate Chip Goodness

My friend Abbey has a variation of the Toll House Cookie Recipe. They are awesome. I do warn you that if you make them, I recommend to NOT keep key ingredients on hand unless you have more will power than I do. (Or have someone to share a LOT of them with.)

Sorry about the weirdness below. Not going to bother fixing it.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips
• 1 cup m&ms
• Directions

  PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
  
  COMBINE 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.
  
  PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.
  
  SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
  PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.
  
  * May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.
  
  FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies... best recipe so far

I've been on a quest to find a really good chocolate chip cookie recipe. This is the winner so far. I found it here.

2¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Set oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 12-14 minutes. Edges should be golden brown.

**Notes from Jeanine: One thing I've learned about cookies... you really need to cream the butter and sugar together for a while to make a good cookie. Also, with these cookies I baked them for about 10 minutes rather than 12.