Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies

These have the Alex and Nick seal of approval and I think we'll be sitting these out under the tree for Santa next month.

Let me tell you how the idea for these melt in your mouth yummies came about. In the past few months, I've gotten hooked on the game Farmville 2: Country Escape. One of the items you have to make are cookies that are similar to these. One night when I was playing I thought some cookies like this would be a really yummy snack. So after a little trial and error, and some hunting for mint chips, this is my version of Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies. You may be able to find just mint chips where you live and if you can, by all means, use those if you want.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 2 c all purpose flour
• 3/4 c cocoa
• 1 t baking soda
• One 10 oz bag Nestle Toll House Winter Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.

In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Gradually blend into creamed mixture. Stir in morsels.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes. Cool slightly then remove from cookie sheet onto wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 48 cookies.

Oh My Gosh Good Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Yields 24 two inch cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of peanut butter
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 3/4 cup of cocoa
• 1 tsp vanilla extract,
• 3 T egg whites

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix all ingredients until well combined. Mixture will be somewhat crumbly. Scoop up just a bit more than a teaspoon of the mixture and roll into a ball. Place on a cookie sheet and make sure that each ball is about an inch apart on the cookie sheet. Once you have all of the dough used, use a fork to flatten, but not completely, the dough. Cook in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet for about 8 minutes then remove with a spatula to a plate. Enjoy!

Creamy Peanut Butter PIe

Ingredients:
 

•  28 oz jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 1/2 cup egg whites (or 3 whole eggs)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 Pillsbury Pie Crust brought to room temperature or other 9 inch pie crust (but not graham cracker crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place pie crust in a pie dish, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat all remaining ingredients together until well mixed and smooth. Spoon into pie crust. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

*If your pie crust appears to be browning before pie is finished, wrap just the edges in foil.

Boston Creme Pie Cupcakes

I know that traditionally, Boston Cream Pie is topped with a chocolate ganache, but I decided to be different and go with a chocolate buttercream frosting. I hope y'all enjoy this as much as my family and I do!

Cupcakes:

• 1 box of Pillsbury Traditional Yellow Cake Mix

Filling:

• 1 small box Vanilla Cook and Serve Pudding
• ¾ cup French Vanilla Sugar Free Coffee Mate Coffee Creamer
• ¾ cup powdered sugar

Frosting:

• ½ cup Crisco shortening
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ Nestle Toll House Cocoa Powder
• French Vanilla Sugar Free Coffee Mate Coffee Creamer

Instructions:

Cupcakes:

Prepare as directed on make mix box. Allow to cool completely.

Filling:

Whisk pudding and Coffee Mate together in boiler until pudding is dissolved. Start whisking in powdered sugar a little at a time until all of the sugar is added. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, continuously whisking. Place in refrigerator to cool. Mixture with thicken as it cools.

Frosting:

In a large bowl, beat the Crisco, half of the powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together until well mixed. Slowly beat in the remaining sugar, then the cocoa powder. Mixture will be thick. Start mixing in the coffee mate a little at a time to thin it to a desired consistency. You don't want your frosting to be too thin or too thick, but bordering on thick. If you get your frosting too thick, you can thicken it with corn starch.

Assembly:

Once your cupcakes are completely cooled and the filling cooled and thickened, cut circles out of the tops of your cupcakes. Don't cut all the way to the bottoms of the cupcakes but just about an eighth of an inch from the bottom of the cupcake. Using a teaspoon, put about two teaspoons full of the filling in the hole you've made in the cupcake (do not fill all the way to the top of the hole) then place the piece that you cut out.

After you've filled all of your cupcakes, frost them with the chocolate frosting. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Easy Breezy Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

I have a severe texture issue and over the years, because of how yummy oatmeal smells, I've tried to eat it several times. But I just can't because of the texture. I'm just a grits gal for life.

So I had a bunch of packets of Quaker Maple and Brown Sugar oatmeal  (10 to be exact) and wondered if cookies could be made from them. Turns out that you can. I'm sharing my recipe with you and I even plugged the ingredients into the recipe calculator on My Fitness Pal so I could include the nutritional information.

Ingredients:
¤ 10 packets maple & brown sugar oatmeal
¤ 1/2 cup milk then add enough water to make 2/3 cup
¤ 1 egg
¤ 1/4 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix all ingredients in medium mixing bowl just until the oatmeal is moistened. Drop by tablespoonful onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

Bake for 12 minutes or until done. Cool for five minutes on the pan then finish cooling on wire rack.

Yields 18 cookies. Nutrition info for one cookie.

Macaroni and Cheese Pie

Ingredients
8 oz box of small elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cup milk
3 cups medium cheddar cheese (1 cup reserved for top)
1 tsp butter
Dash of garlic salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Boil the entire box of macaroni according to the package directions, then drain and put in a large mixing bowl.

2. Preheat the oven to 375.

3. In a medium sized sauce pan, over low heat add the rest of the ingredients and constantly stir with a wire whisk. Continue stirring until thickened.

4. Once thickened, pour mixture over macaroni. Stir with spoon, then pour into 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Put remaining cheese on top.

5. Cook in oven for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and the pie is bubbly.