Tasty Treats ~ Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know I have posted other Double Chocolate Chip cookie recipes before but I am going to have to say this recipe is by far my kid’s favorite.  Plus, these cookies were so easy to make!  You got to like that 🙂  I made these cookies last weekend for the kids lunches and they came home asking if I could make more so they could share with your friends at school.  Yes, that is how good these cookies taste.  You should have everything in your pantry to make these cookies now.   The only ingredient you might not have handy is the 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate.    I used Ghirardelli Chocolate Premium Baking Bar Semi-Sweet.   Delicious!

I found this recipe from Kitchen Simplicity.   The recipe was adapted from Martha Steward.

 

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 24-30 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

 

Directions:

1. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, melt together chocolate and butter. Beat in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until evenly distributed. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Scoop heaping spoonfuls of cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake at 325ºF for 10 minutes or until cookies are crackly and no longer shiny. Cool 1 minute before removing to wire wracks or paper towels to cool.

Enjoy baking!

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Tasty Treats ~ Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins

Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins

Hi Everyone,

I know it’s been awhile again since I posted some of my recipes that I have tried and tested on Pinterest.   Just so you know I have not stopped baking or cooking but I have been really busy with life 🙂  Anyway, I have a bunch of recipes that I want to share with you all.  Also, I have been doing a lot of gluten-free and vegan dinner dishes and sides.   I realized I wanted to amp up my training for the fall running races I have coming up and decided to change my diet to see if I see a difference in my running.   Well, it’s been about a month or so and I feel fabulous!!  Don’t get me wrong I am still eating meat, but to be honest I have never been a huge meat eater.  In fact, I was a vegetarian for about 10 years of my life.  When I was pregnant with my first son, I really started to carve meat.  I guess my body was telling me something because I was low in Iron.   Anyway, I started to eat meat again but never more than 3 oz. at dinner.  I will be sharing all my favorite meals I have been making soon.  But for know I want to post my youngest sons favorite muffin recipe.   These freeze great too!  I keep a couple out for the boys and then freeze the rest and toss one in their lunch.

Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins

Makes one dozen muffins

Recipe from: Dinner Dishes and Desserts

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 Tbls baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1¼ cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1½ cups frozen blueberries

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with non-stick spray or liners. Set aside
• In a bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
• Slowly add the flour mixture and yogurt, alternating between the two; until just combined.
• Fold in the blueberries.
• The batter will be very thick. Scoop into prepared muffin tins.
• Bake at 425 for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake for 15 more minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
• Remove from oven, and set on a wire rack to cool.
• Store in an airtight container or freeze.

Enjoy!

 

Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins

 

Tasty Treats ~ True Belgian Waffles

Tasty Treats ~ True Belgian Waffles

My youngest son just loves pancakes and waffles.   He even loves McDonald’s pancakes more 🙂 But eating at McDonald’s for breakfast all the time can get costly and it’s not healthy for you.   I found a great pancake recipe from Food Network.  I will have to share that with you all sometime but I stumbled across this Belgian Waffle recipe that my whole family cannot get enough of and I thought I should share with you all.   They are that good and plus they are easy to make.  I make a whole batch and then I freeze the rest and just pop them in the toaster when they want one in the morning.  This recipe has that true Belgian sweet taste so you could eat them plain!  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do 🙂

Enjoy cooking!

 

Here is the recipe from Taste of Home:

Yield: 10 waffles (about 4-1/2 inches)

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs separated

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

sliced strawberries, fruit or syrup

Directions:

• In a bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder. In another bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Add milk, butter and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until combined. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter.
• Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions until golden brown. Serve with strawberries or syrup.

 

Tasty Treats ~ Snickerdoodle Cookies

The BEST Snickerdoodle Cookies!

Even though I took time off from the blog because of my crazy families hectic schedule that does not mean I stopped cooking and baking.   With a teenager in the house (plus teenager friends) I seem to be baking a lot more often 🙂  But I don’t mind because I love it.

This recipe is one of my oldest son’s favorite recipes.  He just loves a Snickerdoodle cookie!  It’s an easy recipe and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry.  I found the recipe on Lovintheoven.com blog.   I promise you will not be disappointed.   You must add this recipe to your to do list!

Recipe from: Lovintheoven.com Blog

Yields: 16 to 18 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

For rolling:

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on high speed. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.
4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees while you let the dough rest for 30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator.
5. In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon for the topping.
6. Take about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a ball. Roll this dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and press it onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining cookies.
7. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes and no more. The cookies may seem undercooked, but will continue to develop after they are removed from the oven. When the cookies have cooled they should be soft and chewy in the middle.

 

Enjoy baking and thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Tasty Treats – Easy Lemon Cookies

Tasty Treats – Easy Lemon Cookies

At My Baby Pajamas we decided to mix it up a bit.   Instead of doing a weekly Tuesday Cook Off post we decided we would post a recipe when it was a winner.   So for now on we are going to call our dessert post Tasty Treats (thanks to Jeff Fisher) and our dinner recipe post Family Feast.

So this post is a Tasty Treat for sure.  If you love lemon you are going to love these EASY lemon cookies.   My youngest son came home to me last week and asked me why I never made him lemon cookies.   I said I didn’t even know you liked lemon cookies.  Well, then he proceeded to tell me he likes lemonade and Lemonheads so he must like lemon cookies. 🙂  I was a little unsure about making a whole batch of lemon cookies and then my husband and I would be stuck eating them!

So I searched Pinterest for a recipe that didn’t seem too lemony and that was easy too.   I found the perfect winner.   These cookies were so easy to make and the WHOLE family loved them!! This included my older son who doesn’t really like lemon favor.   But he loved them and asked for them in his lunch.

Now I know these cookies are not totally 100% made from scratch but sometimes moms just need an easy way out every once in awhile 🙂

 

Recipe from Gimmesomeoven.com

Yields about 24-30 cookies

Ingredients: 

• 1 package lemon cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• juice of half a lemon (about 1 Tbsp.)
• zest of half a lemon (about 1 tsp.)
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar for decor (optional)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon juice and zest until well blended. Form dough into small balls (about 1 Tbsp.), and drop into a bowl of confectioners’ sugar. Roll them around until they’re lightly covered. Once sugared, place on a lightly-greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 6 to 9 minutes in the preheated oven. The bottoms will be light brown, and the insides chewy.

**To get a rounder, fluffier cookie, let the dough refrigerate at least 30 minutes. (You can also prepare the sugared balls of dough on the cookie sheet, and just refrigerate the sheet for about ten minutes for a similar effect.)

I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as we did!

Tuesday Cook Off ~ Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Tuesday Cook Off ~ Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

My kids love chocolate chip cookies!  Who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies.   But sometimes you want to mix it up a bit and what better way than to make cookie bars.   My husband actually likes the cookie bars over cookies but everyone is different.   My boys will eat either as long as it’s chocolate chip!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it was really easy to bake.  I think it’s a keeper 🙂

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod

Yields: 24 Cookie Bars         Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients: 

2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips
Sea salt, for sprinkling over bars-optional

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the melted butter and sugars together until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. Pour cookie dough into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. Sprinkle cookie bars very lightly with sea salt, if desired. Bake cookie bars for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan. Cool bars on a wire rack to room temperature. Cut bars into squares and serve.

Do you have a great recipe you would like to share?  Just email us at Linda@mybabypajamas.com.  Please attach a photo if you can.  If your recipe is chosen, you will win a $25.00 Gift Certificate to our website.   Who doesn’t want free kids pajamas?  Please share this contest/giveaway!

Don’t forget where to find great footie pajamas, toddler pajamas and more at My Baby Pajamas.

Tuesday Cook Off ~ Quick and Easy Coffee Cake

Tuesday Cook Off ~ Quick and Easy Coffee Cake

When I said I was going to make coffee cake, my oldest son said he didn’t want to try it because it had coffee in it.   I could not stop laughing because he is so literal all the time.   After I stopped laughing, I said it’s called coffee cake because the cake compliments the coffee.  It’s never a dull moment in this house of boys 🙂  My oldest was still very shocked I was making this because only my husband likes coffee (still can’t choke down a cup).  I told him to just to try the cake and let me know what you think.   Well, can I say it was gone in two days!! Now a couple of pieces went to friends who came over but everyone loved the cake.  My husband even requested that I make it again soon!

Right from the oven!

Quick and Easy Coffee Cake

Recipe from Lil’ Luna

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup oil
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cup flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup margarine melted

Directions: 

1. In a large mixing bowl. combine oil, eggs, vanilla and milk together.
2. In a medium bowl, blend together sugar, flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Combine egg mixture with flour mixture. Pour half the batter into a 9×13 pan.
4. In a medium bowl, prepare streusel by combining brown sugar and cinnamon.
5. Sprinkle half of streusel on top of the batter. Top with remaining batter and then sprinkle the remaining streusel on top.
6. Drizzle with melted margarine.
7. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Makes 18-24 servings

Do you have a great recipe you would like to share?  Just email us at Linda@mybabypajamas.com.  Please attach a photo if you can.  If your recipe is chosen, you will win a $25.00 Gift Certificate to our website.   Who doesn’t want free kids pajamas?  Please share this contest/giveaway!

Don’t forget where to find great footie pajamas, toddler pajamas and more at My Baby Pajamas.

Tuesday Cook Off ~ Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tuesday Cook Off ~ Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies

My youngest son just loves Snicker candy bars.   It’s a new love for him 🙂   Not that I am going to be buying Snicker candy bars a lot but when my friend gave me this recipe (and the cookies as a gift) I knew my youngest would be hooked.

So Monday when I was looking what to bake for the boy’s lunches, I thought of the recipe and decided to surprise my youngest.  He was very surprised and happy!  Normally, I bake for the boy’s lunches on Sunday but since we were in California all last week and didn’t get home until late Sunday afternoon, baking had to wait until Monday.

We went to Orange County and we did something we have never done before…whale watching.   I guess I should tell you we use to live in Orange County and our oldest son was born there.   Plus, we go there about 4 times a year.  It’s an easy drive from the Phoenix, AZ area and it’s a nice change of weather for us in the summer.  In all the years we lived in California and all the times we have visit, we have never gone whale watching.  We always talked about it but never went.  It was so worth it!  We saw all kinds of whales and dolphins.

Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from Cooking Classy.  Yields about 30 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups light-brown sugar
• 1/4 granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 – 8 oz Snickers candy bars, chopped (about 1 1/2 – 2 cups)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped, unsalted or lightly salted peanuts (optional)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds, set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Stir in eggs one at a time mixing until combined after each addition. Blend in vanilla. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Add in chopped Snickers, chocolate chips and peanuts and blend on low speed just until mixed in.
• Shape dough into balls about 3 Tbsp each and place on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet spacing at least 2 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven 10 – 12 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Do you have a great recipe you would like to share?  Just email us at Linda@mybabypajamas.com.  Please attach a photo if you can.  If your recipe is chosen, you will win a $25.00 Gift Certificate to our website.   Who doesn’t want free kids pajamas?  Please share this contest/giveaway!

Don’t forget where to find great footie pajamas, toddler pajamas and more at My Baby Pajamas.

Whale Watching on our trip

Dolphins on our trip

Tuesday Cook Off ~ Peanut Butter Pretzel M&M Cookies

Tuesday Cook Off ~ Peanut Butter Pretzel M&M Cookies

It’s almost a month after Christmas and I still have Christmas M&M’s.   I need a recipe that I could use the M&M’s up so I don’t keep eating them by the handfuls!  Enter Sally’s Baking Addiction and her fabulous Peanut Butter Pretzel M&M cookies.   If you love peanut butter, chocolate and/or pretzels then this cookie is for you.   If you have been reading my blog you know my family LOVES pretzels and peanut butter.   This was the recipe for me to bake and stop eating those M&M’s by the handfuls 🙂   My boys gave the cookies a thumbs up!

Recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction: 

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup salted butter, softened to room temperature ( I used 1/2 cup of unsalted butter and added 1/4 teaspoon to the flour)

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup M&M’s

3/4 cup pretzel pieces

Directions: 

In a large bowl using a hand-mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed.  Add the peanut butter, 1 large egg and vanilla in that exact order.  Next you need to add the flour and baking soda but make sure you do not over mix batter.

Fold in the M&M’s and pretzel pieces slowly without over mixing the batter.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  I chilled mine for 2 hours.

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.   Use a small tablespoon and spoon the chilled dough onto the cookie sheets.  Next you want to flatten the dough a little bit.  I used a small glass bottom to lightly flatten my dough.   Bake for 8-9 minutes and your cookies will look a little undone and soft. Let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet.   The cookies will firm up as they cool.    Cookies stay fresh at room temperature in an airtight container for 10 days.

Makes 3 dozen small cookies

Do you have a great recipe you would like to share?  Just email us at Linda@mybabypajamas.com.  Please attach a photo if you can.  If your recipe is chosen, you will win a $25.00 Gift Certificate to our website.   Who doesn’t want free kids pajamas?  Please share this contest/giveaway!

Don’t forget where to find great footie pajamas, toddler pajamas and more at My Baby Pajamas.

Tuesday Cook Off ~ Skinny Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

Tuesday Cook Off ~ Skinny Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

Usually I am not a big fan of baked goods that are “healthier” for you.  It always seems like something is missing to me.  Well, this recipe will not disappoint at all.   I came across the recipe on Sally’s Baking Addiction (I just love her blog) and the pictures made the muffins look so good I thought I would give them a taste.

I made the muffins without my family knowing they were from a skinny recipe.   As they were baking they absolutely smelled delicious!  The real taste test would be my boys and if they ate them.  Well, my boys crushed them and I mean crushed them.  I think the twelve muffins were gone within 48 hours.   After they were all gone I finally told everyone that these muffins were from a skinny recipe… they asked me to make them again soon 🙂 That’s a winner!!

Recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Yields a dozen muffins

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 cup (133g) unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (85g) honey
• 2 large egg whites (or 1 large egg)
• 3/4 cup (183g) vanilla Greek yogurt (or regular yogurt, plain or vanilla)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (62g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (64g) whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup (64g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup (90g) mini chocolate chips, plus a few more for sprinkling on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Spray 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray. Do not use liners.

In a large bowl, combine applesauce, sugar, honey, egg whites, greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk them all together until smooth, with no yogurt lumps remaining.

Sift* the flours, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together. Slowly stir in the wet ingredients, being careful not to overmix. Get any dry pockets of flour out. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. The batter will be a little chunky. This is ok.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups – fill them all the way to the top if you can. Bake for 5 minutes at 425F. Keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the temperature down to 375 and continue to bake for 13 more minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of one muffin. If it comes out clean, they are done. If not, bake for only 2 more minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 12 muffins. Muffins stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Muffins freeze well up to 3 months: heat up for 45 seconds to thaw.

Do you have a great recipe you would like to share?  Just email us at Linda@mybabypajamas.com.  Please attach a photo if you can.  If your recipe is chosen, you will win a $25.00 Gift Certificate to our website.   Who doesn’t want free kids pajamas?  Please share this contest/giveaway!

Don’t forget where to find great footie pajamas, toddler pajamas and more at My Baby Pajamas.

Skinny Double Chocolate Chip Muffins