Cake Mix Cookies

Sometimes you need something quick and easy, but don't want to a cake from a mix. Well, there are many things you can do with a cake mix besides make cake, and one of my favorites is to make cake mix cookies. You can use any flavor cake mix, and do anything you like as a mix in, or just keep them plain. Try chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, dried fruit.

Ingredients:

• 1 box cake mix (any flavor)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c oil
• 1/4 c water
• 2 c mix ins

For my cookies, I did a yellow cake mix and mixed in chocolate chips. I also wanted to mix up the flavors a little so I put a little bit of peppermint extract in to give it just a hint of peppermint flavor.

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Place spoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on a cooling rack

 

These cookies are light, fluffy and soft. So, how do you keep them that way? See in them all in the green bucket? One of these is not like the other ones...Yep, there's a piece of bread packed in with the cookies. This is a great way to use the ends of the bread that no one wants to eat anyway. Anytime you make cookies, after they are cooled put them in a sealed container with a piece of bread. The bread dries out, and the cookie miraculously stay nice and soft. 

I have

I have several more things I need to share with you, but I seem to have lost the camera cord, so once that is found be ready for a funfetti bake off, assorted craft items, and the best cake ever made (sweet & salty - chocolate with salted caramel filling, and a caramel ganache - don't worry if you mouth is watering, so is mine).

Cookie Stuffed Cookies

It's here! Time for some cookie stuffed cookies!
Joselyn turned 30 this week and found this article at Serious Eats and asked if I could try it out. How I could I resist these awesome looking things?!They give a suggestion for a chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I decided to use my favorite from the Baked cookbook. Have you gotten this cookbook yet? If not, go check it out now! It became a fave of mine very quickly, and they have a good variety of stuff for different skill levels. I have loved everything that I've made out of it, and some of the things I've made several times! I'm sure your local library has it if you want to experiment with it before purchasing.
Anyway, onto the cookies!
I did chocolate chip cookie stuffed with Oreos (double stuff) and Girl Scout Cookie Samoas, but you really could do any cookie combo you liked. This recipe does have you refrigerate the cookie dough for 6 hours before baking, so plan ahead with that. I forgot about it, and started making the cookie at 7:00pm, so I had to assemble and bake the cookies in the morning, but fresh baked cookies make a Monday morning a lot more fun, so it worked out!

Ingredients:

• Whatever cookie you want as the inside (mine were the Oreo & Samoas)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• chocolate chips The Baked recipe calls for 2 1/3 cups of chocolate chips, but in reading about these stuffed cookies, it seems that too many chocolate chips overwhelm the flavor of the inside cookie and you can't taste it as well. So I did just over a cup of chocolate chips

 

1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together; set aside. <2>

2. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars <3>together until smooth and creamy.<4> Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated.<5> The mixture will look light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat for 5 seconds.<6>

3. Add half of the flour mixture and mix for 15 seconds.<7> Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. <8>
4. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate chips. <9 I promise there are chocolate chips in there!>
5.Cover the bowl tightly and put in the refrigerator for 6 hours. <10>

 6. Preheat oven to 375 & line cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
7. Take a scoop of cookie dough and place it on top of your inside cookie, and a scoop and place it on bottom. <11&12> Push the dough around the cookies and seal the edges so they are completly covered, then place on cookie sheet. <13>
8. Bake for 12-14 minutes & cool on wire rack. <14&15>
9. Enjoy!! <16>


These cookie are BIG, and delicious! I did one batch of cookie dough, and it made 19 of these goodies. Pick your favorite kinds of cookies and enjoy!

Batlle Pumpkin

I've had a can of pumpkin in my cupboard staring at me waiting to be used for a while now. So, I finally pulled it out and decided I was going to make some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I have always been a big fan of these cookies, but never made them. In looking up recipes to make them, I discovered that a can of pumpkin would make a couple batches. So, instead of just making a double batch of one I would make two different recipes and have a battle to see which is the winner.Recipe one:This one is from AllRecipes.com

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Recipe 2
This is from FoodNetwork.com

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups (12-ounce bag) milk chocolate chips, not semisweet
• Nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.

Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

I headed off to work with lots of cookies! After lunch was battle time. I went around the office making everyone eat one of each and tell me which they liked best.

And the results...

Recipe 1: 7 votes and.... Recipe 2: 16 votes!

Congrats to the Food Network people! :) There was a consensus that both were good, but the Food Network recipe edged out the win. (It's the butter, does it every time)

The thoughts were: Recipe 1 was more dense, and had more intense pumpkin flavor. Recipe 2 was more light and fluffy and had a better spice mixture. I'd also like to note that recipe 2 made a lot more cookies than 1 did.