Brittany's PantryPeppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brittany wrote this on 10 December 2011
chocolate
OK. So you know how I kind of avoid the recipes that include boxed ingredients because I would rather just make them from scratch? Yeah. Well that still stands. I like to cook and bake from scratch and truly believe that it just tastes better that way. Of course, as I have said before, there is nothing wrong with taking a little help now and then to make your life easier. Piggy Pudding is a prime example of this. As a matter of fact, I made it this morning with scrambled eggs and Apple Cider Syrup. But that is not the point! The point is that life is crazy and hectic and wonderful and most people just need to have an arsenal of great, quick ideas that don’t have a huge ingredient list and can be made in the time it takes my two year old to pretend to ‘read’ The Cat In The Hat. This recipe falls into those categories.
These cookies are perfect for this time of year! Because they are made with a sugar cookie mix, they are extremely fast to mix together and can withstand quite a bit of handling. Kids can mess with the dough as much as they want, dropping it on the sheet pans to bake and pinching it and squishing it, and it will still bake up the same. So often, as with traditional sugar or butter cookie dough, you have to chill it before and after every step and keep flour on it. It is just much more particular. This recipe, you can just have fun with. It also seems to consistently make 3 dozen cookies exactly. So if you have to whip something up last minute for an office party or school snack, these festive little treats will do just fine. It makes it feel like Christmas without having to commit to the hours of time in the kitchen that you need for some cookie recipes! Most of all, they are quite good. I was pleasantly surprised about that when I first made these with my daughter a few years ago. They have since become an easy weeknight treat during the Christmas season when I am pressed for time, but want to do something special. And wrapped up in a red bow, they would make any neighbor a happy camper!
One Year Ago: Puppy Chow
Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Betty Crocker
Besides being quite yummy, kids (including mine) seem to love the fact that these are green.
1 pouch of sugar cookie mix, such as Betty Crocker
1 stick of softened butter
1 egg
6-8 drops of green food coloring
3/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 1/2 c chocolate chips
In a bowl for a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, combine first three ingredients. Add the food coloring and mix well. I like the pale color of only 6 drops, but 8 drops will make them nice and green! Add the peppermint extract and combine. Measure carefully! It is very potent! If you like, taste the batter to see if you want more extract, but only add more in by drops. It is VERY strong and you can’t take it out once it is in there! Stir the chocolate chips in by hand. Drop by scant teaspoonfuls onto a greased or parchment covered sheet pan. Make these tiny! They are too overwhelming if you make them regular size! Besides, small cookies are so cute… Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or just until starting to barely brown on the edges. Don’t over bake! Let them cool on the sheet pan for a full five minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cookies will firm up as they cool. These will last for several days in a tightly sealed container, or you can easily make them ahead of time and freeze them for when you need them!
Roasted Shrimp-Who knew?
Brittany wrote this on 8 December 2011 gluten-free, shrimp
Actually, Ina. Ina knew. Of course I am talking about the incomparable genius of Ina Garten. A woman you may have heard me mention once or twice. Of course there is a reason that me and so many others are dedicated followers. Her recipes and philosophy in the kitchen are straight forward, simple, and dedicated to making any food taste the best it can be. For example, today’s post is about shrimp cocktail, but I followed Ina’s advice and roasted the shrimp instead of boiling it like most recipes (and grocery store deli counters) do. Small change, but absolutely fantastic. The shrimp itself had such incredible flavor, you could eat it just the way it was. Who needs cocktail sauce?
Well, as it turns out, most people do. Shrimp cocktail may be a bit dated, but it is still a major party favorite. It seems to be one of those things that everyone still serves, and everyone still devours. Me included! My kids ate so much during our recent Christmas party, I had to cut them off lest they make themselves sick! Of course plain shrimp is still extremely delicious and if that is the way you roll, maybe just be a tiny bit adventuress and try a new dipping sauce. But if you really want to take your appetizers up a notch, give roasting a try. You may never go back again!
I got the idea for roasting the shrimp from Ina, but I didn’t look up a recipe or anything. I just roasted it like I would anything else. The two sauces were quite spectacular and it was nice to have something acidic and spicy alongside something sweet, cool, and creamy. Both were very good but either on their own would be just fine!
One Year Ago: Honey Buns
Roasted Shrimp Cocktail
When I served this, people kept asking me what I had done to the shrimp. When I told them I just roasted it, they couldn’t believe that I hadn’t marinated it or seasoned it with something special. Leftovers are fantastic cold the next day over a salad. This recipe serves quite a few people so adjust your amount of shrimp accordingly.
3 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on
salt and pepper
olive oil
Toss shrimp with a drizzle of olive oil and a quick pinch of salt and pepper. Turn gently to coat the shrimp evenly. Place the shrimp on a sheet pan in an even layer and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until shrimp is just pink and firm. Be careful not to overcook it! Serve warm or at room temperature.
Bloody Mary Cocktail Sauce
Adapted from Rachel Ray
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 T horseradish
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp celery salt, or more to taste
2 T vodka, optional
black pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together and serve with cooked shrimp. Sauce last up to three days in the fridge. Please note that this tastes fantastic without the vodka!
Tangy Mango Sauce
From Family Circle
1/2 c mango chutney-I like Major Greys brand
1 c plain yogurt, fat free is fine
2 T fresh lime juice
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve with cooked shrimp. Sauce will last 2 days in the fridge.
Bon Bons
Brittany wrote this on 6 December 2011 chocolate, coconut, gluten-free, peanut butter, potatoes
I still have the Roasted Shrimp Cocktail recipes from the party to share with you, but I haven’t posted a sweet recipe in nearly a week! For shame! This is the holiday season after all! Not every recipe this month will be rich, indulgent, or a cookie, but…well…some of them need to be, right?
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of bon bons? For me, it is mashed potatoes. Why? you ask. Because when I was a kid, that was what we made them with! Let me explain.
A few weeks ago, when my parent’s were in town for Thanksgiving, my Mom made this comment: “You know Britt, you really have the perfect set up to make bon bons.”
I looked around my kitchen with a critical eye and then turned to her, confused and skeptical.
“Umm…what?” I asked.
She gestured to our extremely chilly screen porch. “Look!” she exclaimed. “You have all this room and it is just like a big fridge.” She groaned and rolled her eyes. “When you guys were kids and I used to make trays and trays of bon bons-You know, the ones with the mashed potatoes in them?-and it was always such a pain to haul them back and forth to the car.”
I nodded absent mindedly and went on with making dinner. Then something she said sparked a memory and I looked up.
“Bon bons. YES! I remember those! With the mashed potatoes!” I went back to my dinner prep, mumbling to myself, “Man. I haven’t had those in years…”
So what do you do when it is the holidays, family is visiting, and you know you are going to be peeling a large amount of potatoes in the near future? You message your Aunt on Facebook because she has the recipe and your mother doesn’t generally carry it around in her purse. So a big thank you to my Aunt Mary. I have no idea where this recipe came from or if it is hers personally, or if it has been around for decades. All I know is that they are crazy simple and crazy good. Don’t forget that they need a place to chill, so unless you have an empty extra fridge that can accommodate your cookie sheets, plan on using your screen porch or your car to put them in outside so they can chill. Unless of course you live farther south and it is warm outside, making it a bit more difficult for you to make a full batch of these. But you live where there is no snow so don’t complain! *Ahem* This is also a great recipe for kids to help you with, seeing as how there are so few ingredients and they can be handled as much as needed. And no raw eggs, so snitching is perfectly permissible. My memory is a bit hazy, but I am pretty sure snitching was always part of this recipe…
Coconut Bon Bons
I know it sounds ridiculous, but the mashed potatoes in here are actually all the liquid you need. And no, these won’t taste like potatoes when you are done! They do however make a really big batch, so making them for a large party or cookie swap or plan on gifting them to your neighbors.
3/4 c cold, plain, mashed potato (not the garlic and rosemary kind you may have leftover from dinner last night)
4 c shredded coconut
4 c powdered sugar
Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a stand or handheld mixer until combined well. Cover your sheet pans with parchment paper or wax paper and drop mixture in small clumps onto the pan. These should be pretty small, about the size of a grape or fresh cherry. Remember, you are going to dip these in chocolate so the end result will be bigger. Let the pans chill for about a half hour to stiffen up the mixture a bit and then go back and roll them into a nice smooth ball. The mixture is a bit too sticky to do this at the beginning. Once they are rolled into a smooth ball, let them chill until very cold.
In a medium microwaveable bowl, melt 2 bags of good quality chocolate chips (Ghirardelli is recommended as it melts wonderfully. DO NOT USE A GENERIC BRAND FOR THIS! They have stabilizers in them that will keep the chocolate from melting properly) and 3 T of butter. Melt them on medium heat in 30 second intervals until almost completely melted. Stir to melt any last bits of chocolate that remain. DO NOT OVERHEAT! Gentle is the name of the game here. If you prefer, you can place the bowl over a pan of simmering water-be sure not to let the bottom of the bowl touch the water-and melt the chocolate that way. This is called a double boiler and will take longer, but leaves less room for error. It is up to you!
One by one, drop the bon bons into the chocolate and roll around until coated. Using a fork, remove them, letting excess chocolate drip off, and place them back on the sheet pan and chill again until chocolate is set. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a week or two!
Peppermint Variation: If you would like to split up the recipe and do half peppermint bon bons, portion out half of the mixture onto sheet pans and then add 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract to the remaining filling. Mix well. Give it a taste to see of you want to add more and make it really strong but only add more by drops! This stuff is potent! Continue with the recipe!
Note:bon bons and whether or not sticky little fingers were involved! I recommend sticky fingers.
Peanut Butter Bon Bons
2 c powdered sugar
1 c creamy peanut butter-Jif has great flavor but DO NOT use natural peanut butter here
3/4 c graham cracker crumbs
1/2 c (1 stick) of softened butter
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth. Continue making them using the method above.
Love a Good Recipe?
Then you’ve come to the right place! I’m Brittany, and I share tested, trusted recipes you’ll love. I prepare & photograph food, obsess over the perfect recipe, and enjoy grins of delight when I serve up something awesome. Enjoy!
