Brown Butter Cookies

When I have the least amount of time, is usually when I want to fix something that takes a lot of time. We will have a house full of people Saturday and of course the cookie jar has to be full {I make cookies nearly every week as Mike has such a sweet tooth} but of course I wanted to make one of my favorite cookies.. Oddly enough, both of my favorite cookies, start out with butter in a saute pan!!!!  Anyways, I mixed these up first thing this morning and just baked them, prior to getting dinner on the table! So remember if you decide to make these { and you should as they are absolutely delicious!!!} be sure to read through the recipe first, and make sure you have enough time!

1 cup butter
1 and 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
2 and 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
1/2 bag of a 8 oz. bag of Heath English Toffee bits, milk chocolate toffee bits

In a saute pan melt the butter over medium heat. Simmer , stirring occasionally , until it turns brown, about 5 min. after the butter has melted. Be sure to watch it as it can burn... and you don't want that. Remove from stove and cool for 30 minutes. Then put in a large bowl and with a spoon {not a mixer} stir in the brown sugar and salt until well blended. Then add each egg, one by one, until incorporated. Stir in vanilla. Add flour and baking soda, stirring well. Stir in remaining ingredients.

On a long piece of saran wrap, make a log of the dough, approximately 3 and 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap dough in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours.

To bake, cut log into 1/2 inch slices. Put on  parchment paper and bake for 11 minutes in a preheated 350 oven. The recipe stipulates 11 minute precisely and then let cool on the cookie sheets, that have been place on a wire rack , for 20 minutes.

Crispy Chocolate Caramel Bars

My friend Kathy commented under my first blog post that I should post this recipe. These are one of my favorite cookies and probably one of my most requested recipes.

Crust:
 1 and 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup confectionary sugar
1/2 cup butter
Mix all of the above until it is very small crumbs then lightly press into an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish.  Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 10-12 minutes until golden.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt
 one 14 oz. pkg. caramels
1/3 cup half and half or evaporated milk {  I have used both}
1/4 cup butter
Stirring occasionally until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth. Spread over baked crust.

In a small saucepan melt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 Tbsp. Crisco
Once they are melted and a smooth mixture , stir in
3/4 cup of Rice Krispies
Spread over caramel layer.
Chill  to let the layers set before cutting.

Zuppa Tuscana

After nearly two weeks of very warm weather , the mercury hovered in the low 30's today . When you figured in the wind chill, the air temp felt like the high teens, so I decided to make a pot of soup for dinner. Two of my most favorite things to make are appetizers and soup.  In the winter months, I make soup once a week!

This is Courtney's recipe. It's already a favorite here!

1 # Italian sausage {I used sweet},casing removed
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 russett potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 cups fresh kale, chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2 and 1/2 cups water
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper

In large soup pot, crumble sausage and saute over medium heat until browned. Remove the sausage and add the onion to the pot and saute until tender. Then add the garlic and red pepper flakes, cooking for one minute. Add the wine to the pot and stir, scrapping up any browned bits that are stuck to the pan. Add the potatoes, kale, broth , water and sausage. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer . Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately!

3-2-1 Cake in a Cup

I just had a request for this recipe! This too, is super easy . Since I discovered this recipe, I always have a batch on hand. For those of you that work outside the home, this is an easy dessert to take to work to share!

You will need two cake mixes. One MUST be an angel food cake. The other can be any flavor. The sky is the limit. Put both cake mixes into a gallon size ziploc bag. Squeeze out the air , zip the bag  and then combine both mixes by gently shaking the bag.
In a microwave safe cup place 3 Tablespoons of the cake mix then add 2 tablespoons of water. Mix with a fork or a small whisk till smooth. Microwave on high for 1 minute. It's as easy as that.
You can eat the cake plain [my favorite way] or you can add ice cream toppings, jams or jellys, peanut butter or even frost once it is cool.

Two Ingredient Cupcakes

When I came across this recipe I thought it sounded too good to be true. I have been baking for the last forty years. I am the daughter of a professional baker. There is nothing simple and easy about baking. Or at least I thought there was nothing simple and easy about it.... until today .  If you never bake, this recipe is a great one to try . If you bake all of the time , like I do , it's a great one to try. Just so you can say you made cupcakes with two ingredients and that they were good... really good !!!!

One 12 oz. can of soda, at room temperature. It does not matter what flavor. I used Coke Zero.
One cake mix. I used a Duncan Hines German Chocolate cake mix.

Pour the soda over the dry cake mix in a bowl and mix with a whisk until it is all moistened and most of the lumps are gone. Then fill paper lined muffin pans 2/3rds of the way full. I got 15 out of the batter.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Cool, on a rack, before frosting.

I found that it took more time to put the paper liners in the muffin pans than it did to make the batter!!!