Bakery Style m&m Cookies

I initially made these so I could post them for the 9^th week of Christmas Treats; however, life and Thanksgiving got in the way. By the way I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Did you go shopping on Friday? I did for the very first time…. Never again will I do that. It was complete madness, especially at the shoe department. Women are vicious; I already knew that, but seeing it first hand is terrifying.

Ok, sidetrack over, like I was saying. I had some leftover fall themed m&ms from the marshmallow popcorn balls I made a few weeks ago and since I don’t eat candy straight, I decided to put them to good use and put them into something I love: cookies!

I am still searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, but as for m&m cookies, I think I have found the perfect recipe.

These cookies are super duper soft and gooey and totally delicious when taken out of the oven. There is twice as much brown sugar in these babies as there is regular white sugar, which gives the cookies the most amazing caramely-dark flavor. Plus with two whole teaspoons of vanilla in the dough, you wont be missing that subtle sweetness.

I’ve also found I’m really liking milk chocolate in my cookies. Don’t take me wrong, I still love my dark chocolate, but I think milk chocolate adds a little something extra. Weird, most people say that about dark chocolate.

Have a great rest of your week. Mine will be totally hectic as it’s the last full week before finals. Yeah that’s right finals are a commin’. So wish me luck please. I’m going to need it for calculus and chemistry.

Bakery Style m&m Cookies

From Sunny Side Up

Makes about 3 ½ dozen

Ingredients

2 cups + 2 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

12 tbsp. (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

½ cup m&ms

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and both sugars until smooth. Beat in the egg and egg yolk until they have fully been incorporated and the volume has increased a little. Stir in the vanilla. Gentle fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. The dough will look a lot like batter at first, but be patient; cookie dough will form once all the flour has been added. Stir the m&ms into the dough.

Use a small-medium cookie scoop (mine is about one or one and a half tbsp. worth) to portion out the dough. Space the dough about two inches apart. Bake in the center rack for 8-10 minutes or until just golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely… or eat them straight off the tray.

Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

I am going to talk to you about marshmallow popcorn balls.

Most people have probably had a popcorn ball or two (most likely dozens) in their lifetime, but I am not most people. I have never had a popcorn ball, ever!

Quite frankly I’m not much of a popcorn person to begin with. When I’m at the movies (which is once or twice every year… maybe) I get a hot dog and junior mints or gummy stars. Popcorn just isn’t on my radar. When I saw these popcorn balls over at A Farmgirl’s Dabbles I immediately became intrigued because it was just like a rice krispie treat, only popcornified. After reading her post I set out to buy a box of microwave kettle korn (which I am not obsessed with – maybe I just don’t like buttered/non-flavored popcorn) and saved it for a rainy day.

I finally got a chance to make these little marshmallow balls when I was having a hard time deciding what to share for the 8^th week in 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic.

The saltiness and crunchiness of the kettle korn paired with the sweet, gooey, and butter marshmallow is a match made in sticky crunchy heaven. Brenda used peanuts and orange gummies, but because I couldn’t find orange gummies, I swapped it out for fall-festive M&Ms. Of course you don’t have to have peanuts; you can use cashews instead or maybe candied nuts. And since Mars Inc. busts out a festive bag of M&Ms for every holiday, these popcorn balls can be made for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and all those other fun holidays.

Check out the other treats down below for some great ideas for holiday treats.  

Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

Slightly adapted from A Farmgirl’s Dabbles

Makes 9-11 balls

Ingredients

1 (76.3 g) bag microwave kettle korn

5 oz. mini marshmallows

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

½ cup dry-roasted salted peanuts

½ cup M&Ms

Directions

Microwave popcorn according to the package directions. Empty the bag into a large bowl. Make sure to pick out the un-popped kernels, no one wants to bite down on that!

In a medium saucepan, melt the marshmallows and butter on medium heat. Stir frequently until the marshmallows have completely melted. The melted mixture will have a yellowish tint, but that’s because of the butter. This mixture is super-duper sticky, so watch out.

Pour the melted marshmallow mixture over the popped popcorn. Wait a minute before diving in to coat the popcorn in the melted marshmallow because it will be hot. Grease your hands with cooking spray or butter and mix the popcorn around the evenly coat it in marshmallow goo. Add in the peanuts and M&Ms. Mix, fold, and stir to evenly distribute the add-ins. Wait a few minutes for the mixture to set so you can shape them into balls.

Once the mixture has set a little bit and isn’t as sticky, grab a hand full of the sticky popcorn mixture and shape into balls. Be sure not to press too hard. Enjoy.

Peppermint Patties

Wow, it has been quite some time since I last posted. I’m sorry, but I took another college trip. This time I went to visit the College of Charleston in South Carolina. My goodness, Charleston is so beautiful and the weather was lovely every day that I was there. And the campus, it’s like medium sized with a little over ten thousand students- the perfect size for me. I can totally picture myself going there. Only problem is, I have another college that I’m crazy about. So now I have to make the hard decision of choosing this one or going for the Bridge Program into Clemson. I guess the good news is that I have two solid choices and either college I pick will be right for me. I know one person who applied to thirteen colleges, and I know one person who didn’t get into any, so I guess I’m lucky that I got into ones that I really love.

Ok, so enough about that, let’s talk chocolatey/minty/creamy goodness. I actually made these about a week before St. Patrick’s Day, but have only gotten around to posting about them now. I’m showing you these awesome little peppermint patties I found on Tracey’s blog.

These were seriously addicting to eat, and did not last long in my house, seriously. It is so easy to pop two or three into your mouth without realizing it, but it’s totally worth it because these taste a whole lot better and fresher than the store-bough variety.

I hadn’t had a peppermint pattie in so long, and after eating a handful of these, I’m starting to wonder why. I probably won’t buy the name brand version again because these are just too delicious not to make!  The only minor frustration is the sticky dough? Cream? Center type thing. It was kind of hard to roll out.  After adding some more powdered sugar and making sure the creamy center was thoroughly chilled it was much easier to roll out and cut into circles. I also recommend brushing some of the melted chocolate onto the bottom of the foil to coat the bottom of the peppermint pattie and then brushing the chocolate on top- it makes for a much neater assembly process.

Peppermint Patties
From Tracey’s Culinary Adventures
Makes 4 dozen 1 inch peppermint patties

Ingredients
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ tbsp light corn syrup
1 ½ tbsp water
½ tsp. pure peppermint extract
1 tbsp. butter, soft
Pinch of salt
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, water, peppermint extract and butter. Beat on medium speed until the dough starts to form a ball.
2. Dust work surface with a little bit of confectioners’ sugar. Knead the cream center a few times until smooth. Place the cream center between two sheets of parchment (I just used plastic wrap and it worked fine) and roll into about 1/8 inch thickness. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until firm (at least 15 minutes).
3. Remove peppermint disk from the freezer and dust with a little more powdered sugar. Using a 1 inch round cutter cut circles and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Once you have cut out as many circles as you can, re-roll the peppermint cream filling and repeat until all of it has been used up. Put back into the freezer while you melt the chocolate.
4. In a glass bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate until smooth. Take the peppermint patties out of the freezer and gently work them off the foil. Brush on a dollop of chocolate onto each spot a pattie used to be. Place the peppermint pattie centers on top of the chocolate dollop and brush with more chocolate. Place the chocolate-coated patties back into the freezer to set up (about 15 minutes). Store the peppermint patties in an air-tight container in the fridge or freezer for up to a month (they won’t last that long, trust me). I personally believe these taste the best right out of the freezer, something about the fresh peppermint taste combined with the chill from the freezer gives the peppermint pattie an extra pepperminty taste.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Blast Chex

Ok so my computer is finally fixed! Well, it wasn't fixed because it ended up having to go to Computer Heaven, sad. But we did end up replacing that computer. So, because I miss updating my little blog, I chose the quickest recipe to updae first.

Yes, this may be a simple and quick snack, but it sure is delicious. Say it with me: "Peanut Butter and Chocolate Blast Chex". During the holiday season, Chex comes out with its Hot Coacoa mix and I am truely obsessed with the stuff. I eat the chocolate wafter cereal things first, then the mini marshmallows, then the swirly graham cracks and finish off with the sugary-coated cereal bits. You may be wondering about the crunchy pretzles, well I throw those out. But If I don't eat my Hot Coacoa Chex in tha order, something feels off. I'm a very strange when it comes to eating the order of my food. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Anyways, back to this PB and Chocolate Chex. It is lucious and peanut buttery and so chocolately. I definitely had my favorites. I ate the peanuts first, the M&Ms second and alternated between the bittersweet chocolate-coated cereal and the peanut butter-coated cereal bits. Yes, this Chex had two sweet types of coating. I'm pretty sure I went through the entire recipe in just a couple days.

Added Note: As I was typing the ingredients portion of this post, my dad told me to come downstairs into the kitchen. Upon arrival he handed me "The Giant Envelope". Maybe some of you know (or remember) this time of the year is aslso known as College Appication Season to High School Seniors. The "Giant Envelope" contained my acceptance letter to College of Charleson! So far I have been accepted into three schools. Now I'm patiently waiting to hear from two other schools.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Blast Chex     
adapted from Chex

Ingredients
6 cups Rice Chex cereal, divided
165 g bittersweet chocolate
165 g peanut butter chips
3/4 cup M&Ms (I chose to be festive and used red and green)
3/4 cup roasted peanuts

Directions

1. Line two bakings sheets with parchment paper or foil. Place 3 cups of cereal into a large bowl. In a double boiler, melt the bittersweet chocolate until it's smooth (microwaving could also work). Pour the melted chocolate over the cereal and toss to evenly coat. Dump the coated cereal onto one of the lined baking sheets; spread so its an even layer. Place in the refirdgerator for about 10-15 minutes or until the chocolate has firmed up.
2. Repeat the above steps for the peanut butter chips.
3. Break up the chocolate coated cereal and the peanut butter coated cereal. Place the chocolate coated cereal, peanut butter coated cereal, M&MS, and roasted peanuts into a resealable plastic bag and mix until all the ingredients are somewhat evenly destributed (the M&Ms and peanuts will sink to the bottom eventually). 

Brown Sugar Fudge

So last week(ish) I said I wanted to make fudge, but I didn’t have a candy thermometer, so I opted for making butterscotch blondies. Well I shopped online for a while until I found a candy thermometer that was a good price and had at least 3 star reviews. After searching and searching, I found one made by the CIA; no, not the secrete CIA but the Culinary Institute of America. This is an awesome thermometer for a first time candy maker, like myself. But this isn’t a product review, this is about FUDGE! Brown Sugar Fudge to be exact.

I was so nervous when making this. I was checking and double checking the recipe instructions so many times, that I have probably memorized it. And then the temperature of the liquid fudge wasn’t rising and that was making me panic because I thought I would end up burning the sugar, but I realized I didn’t have the sugar to a full boil. But considering this was my first time melting sugar and making fudge, I think things went pretty smoothly.

Now this was originally for my sister since she loves brown sugar or anything with sugar for that matter. She says it tastes really delicious, like caramel. However, I don’t think it’s all that special, maybe I’m used to a more fudgy fudge, you know like the ones that are kinda soft, but yet really dense and just filled with yummyness? I’m not saying these are nasty or gross or anything, I’m saying they are different and I’m not sure I’m ready to call it fudge, but if I don’t call it fudge, I don’t know what to call it, so I’ll just stick with Brown Sugar Fudge for right now.

Isn't this a gorgeous site? I almost felt bad for marking out the squares is was so pretty.

But I had to mark the squares, otherwise I couldn't know where to cut.

However, the fudge didn't seem to want to cut to nicely anyways...

Brown Sugar Fudge
from 1001 Cupcakes, Cookies & Other Tempting Treats
makes 49 squares

Ingredients
7 tbsp unsalted butter (cubed)
1 ¼ cup whole milk
4 cups light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Line a square baking dish with tin foil and sray the tin foil with cooking spray
2. Place butter, milk and sugar into a heavy duty, large sauce pan and slowly bring to a boil (I started off with the heat at 8). Stir constantly until the butter has melted completely. Once the butter has melted, bring the mixture to a full boil and cover for 2 minutes as it gently boils. (I set the stove between 5-6, otherwise it would boil over.)
3. After the 2 minutes is up, take the lid off and bring back to a full boil, stirring occasionally. Once the temperature on the candy thermometer has reached *240 degrees F, removed from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Set the pan aside for 5 minutes to allow fudge to cool.
4. Once cooled, beat the liquid fudge until it has lost some of it's shine and has become thick and creamy. Pour immediately into the prepared baking dish (DO NOT scrape the bottom of the pan for it will add the unwanted sugar crystals into the fudge) and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Once cooled, run a knife through the fudge to mark out the pieces. After it has cooled completely, take a sharp knife and cut the fudge into squares.

*the 240 degree F temperature is for people at sea level. For every 500ft that you are elevated, subtract a degree from the final point. For example. If you are 3,500ft above sea level and the directions say to bring the mixture to 250 degrees then you subtract 7 degrees, so you stop boiling your product at 243 degrees instead.

Nutrition Facts
serving size: 1 square inching

Calories 77.1 Total Fat 1.8 g Saturated Fat 0.1 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g Cholesterol 4.8 mg Sodium 4.3 mg Potassium 0.1 mg Total Carbohydrate 16.0 g Dietary Fiber 0.0 g Sugars 16.0 g Protein 0.2 g