Showing posts with label Chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chocolate. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Embarrassingly Delicious Cookies

I've been awfully busy lately, what with bringing home the bacon AND frying it up in a pan.  I don't have as much time for baking, which bums me out.  A lot.   I came across this recipe in an old Pillsbury cookbooklet (they used to sell them at the grocery checkout stand, by the TV Guide--whoa! how old am I??) and it turns out these cookies are absolutely delicious.  Well, they are delicious if you like chocolate and peanut butter. The embarrassing part comes in when you read that the whole recipe hinges on cake mix!  Maybe I am dabbling in the dark arts here, what with a sort of semi-homemade kind of a thing,  but I will definitely make these again.  They are certainly not chic, delicate little biscuits, but if you are in a hurry, and want something that looks fall-y, and Halloween-y, these cookies will be right up your alley.

Peanutty Chocolate Cookies    makes 3 dozen

1 (18.25 oz.) pkg. chocolate fudge cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 (15 0z.) pkg. Reese's Pieces

1 cup coarsely chopped salted peanuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease cookie sheets with Pam, or line with a Silpat.  In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, butter, and eggs; beat at low speed just until moistened. Stir in Reese's Pieces and peanuts (this make take some doing, but be patient and keep at it).  Roll tablespoons of dough into balls and just barely press down, arranging 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes (I did mine for about 11 minutes--all depends on your oven).  Let cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes, then move to rack to cool. Eat three in a row.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Can't...stop...eating...chocolate....

What is wrong with me??  Hershey's isn't even my favorite chocolate!  I do love Hershey's, it's just not top choice.  And while I  certainly wouldn't turn down dark chocolate either, if I get a choice I'll choose milk chocolate every time (what can I say, I guess I have an unsophisticated palate).  Preferably Cadbury's Dairy Milk, thank you very much.  I think this rampant ravaging is caused by knowing that I have to get back on the straight and narrow tomorrow, diet-wise.  How can it take me sooo long to lose weight, and then have it come back on sooo quickly?  Not fair. I am also well aware of the visible-signs-of-aging/sugar partnership.  Yikes!

Anyway, the whole reason I bought all these little Hershey bars (fun size indeed!) was to make oven s'mores.  Yes, you could toast your marshmallows in the fireplace, but it's supposed to be near 90 degrees in Vacaville today.  And by the same token, toasting them over a campfire outside would doubtlessly end in an epic conflagration, what with today's 30 mph winds.  So, broiler it is. Super quick, and you can very precisely control the golden-brown-ness (If you need that much control in your life.  Which I do.) of the marshmallows.

All things considered, the calorie content isn't THAT bad.  I mean, it is tooth-achingly sweet (not a bad thing, in my book), and gooey beyond compare, and it weighs in at about 150 calories, which isn't awful for a dessert. And really, even for me, a world-class sweet-tooth, just one is enough.  Plus, I think just about everybody loves a s'more.

So go heat the broiler, and place the rack so that the s'more will be about 4 to 6 inches away from the element. We'll just make one s'more for right now. Break the rectangle of graham cracker in half, and put it on a baking sheet.  Put three sections of a fun-size Hershey bar on top (I tried it with two sections, but the marshmallows don't balance very well), and then two marshmallows on top of that.  Put the whole little pile into the oven, and STAND THERE.  Don't walk away!  It goes from toasty to terrible very quickly (or blackened to buggered, as the case may be). Keep checking, and when the marshmallows are a good color for you, remove from oven and leave to sit for a minute or so to let the chocolate melt and the marshmallows start to implode a bit.  Put the other half of the graham cracker on top and press down gently. 

In the interest of...what? probably not science, so the furtherance of economical desserts?...I ate this very s'more, and drank a big cup of very strong coffee with it.  You see, I give and I give.  In future, I will always eat my s'mores with a coffee chaser.

And I promise I'll have a salad for lunch.