"Everything But the Kitchen Sink" Cookies

I enjoy making cookies for other peoples cookie jars, especially large cookies. So far I have not received any complaints about the size of the cookies I bake. Before we headed to a birthday party for our son last weekend, I decided I had to make a batch of cookies to take with me for our son, but not for the party. For the birthday party dessert, my son requested the Hot Fudge Pudding Cake Re-Mix, which I was very happy to make. For the double recipe, I added two new tweaks. You can read about that below.

My son enjoys my cookies with lots of add-ins, so I went a little crazy, searching through the cupboards, looking for interesting things to add. I didn't find anything too interesting, but I went with what I had. I made the cookies with my largest cookie scoop and they looked mighty fine! When they cooled, I put a dozen into a gallon zipper bag and took them to the party. The next day I got a call with a rave review! Sorry, no pictures of the giant-sized cookies, but they looked great!

Small version of "Everything But the Kitchen Sink" Cookies

Fortunately, I wrote down all the ingredients that I used, which is almost a first for me. I usually don't think to write down what I do, while I am doing it, thinking, of course, I will remember, but, alas, I forget! Especially when I try to remember a day or two later, which I have proved does NOT work for me. Here is my version of Kitchen Sink cookies.

Due to the lack of time to bake the complete batch of cookies, I placed the remaining dough in a small glass bowl to bake later. A couple days ago, I took them out of the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. When the dough was able to be scooped out, viola, fresh baked cookies! I used a small scoop and I was glad that there were only a few cookies left to bake, because they were really good! I prefer our cookie jar empty! Especially when the cookies have peanut butter and crunchy nuts, especially crunchy peanuts in them!

Thank goodness, the cookie jar goes back to it's empty state very quickly!

Now, If I could just figure out who went into the freezer the other night and had the nerve to eat our ice cream. The only reason I know that this happened? This is what I found in our microwave when I when to cook my oatmeal the next morning!

Sea Salt Caramel Truffle Ice Cream

I had to throw the whole container in the trash! Somebody owes me some Salted Caramel Truffle Ice Cream! Yes, I am crazy for this ice cream. The description reads: "Chocolate-covered salted caramels folded into caramel ice cream swirled with sea salt caramel." Yes, it is decadent, but I only eat one spoonful every couple of days. Yes, some days it is a tablespoon full, and other days it is a soup spoon full, but it is far less than a serving bowl full, which would be easy to do. If this ice cream flavor has caught your attention, it is Private Selection sold at Fred Meyers stores in the Pacific Northwest!

Regarding the Hot Fudge Pudding Cake Remix, I added the a teaspoon of instant espresso coffee to a double recipe of batter. In case you would like to try this and don't know what I'm talking about, this is what it looks like.

After I poured the batter into the pan, I cut chunks of bittersweet chocolate and placed them into the batter so that every serving would get a chunk of melted chocolate as a bonus. I then sprinkled about 1/2 teaspoon on top of everything before I poured the hot water over all, which is what makes the hot fudge sauce. I know that coffee brings out the chocolate flavor even more which is what I was hoping for. I only ate one spoonful, and yes, it was a fairly large spoonful. It tasted really good, but, I can't prove that the chocolate was enhanced by the coffee from one bite. It did get rave reviews! 

This is a great dessert to mix ahead and travels well. I mixed up the batter early in the day and poured it into my pans a few hours early and stored it in the refrigerator. After the dinner was taken out of the oven, I added the liquid and placed the pans in the oven. Forty-five minutes later, the dessert was ready and we served it with fresh whipped cream. And no, I didn't take a picture. I'm sorry but, you will need to visualize it!

Chocolate Melty Smooches

Last week, Relish Magazine - Celebrating America's Love of Food, was celebrating 5,000 friends on Facebook, so Stacey created a recipe and posted it in celebration. The title alone hooked me. Who could resist "Chocolate Melty Smooches?" Not me! This recipe really caught my eye because it had only seven ingredients and I could tell from the amounts used, it would make a small batch, not dozens! And, the bake time was 8 minutes! Sounded good enough to me.

That evening, I decided to make these smooches, and after I had the dry ingredients together, I noticed that the recipe said to chill for 1 hour. That was a deal breaker for me that night. I covered the dry ingredients and relaxed with my dear hubby instead.

A day later, I was meeting one of my sisters for lunch and had plenty of time to mix them together, chilling them and baking them, so I decided that the time had come to make them. The smell when they were baking can only be described as "AMAZING."  At the end of her recipe she wrote, "Eat at least one while still warm"! What could I do, I couldn't resist, even though I would be eating lunch in two hours.

The recipe called for "self-rising flour" and I don't keep that in my pantry, so I made my own: 1 cup of Flour, 1-1/2 tablespoons of Baking Powder and 1/2 teaspoon Salt.

Recipe from Relish Magazine, Posted on Facebook

Chocolate Melty Smooches

1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon cocoa
...3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Confx Sugar

Sift flour, cocoa and salt. Cream butter 2-3 minutes, add sugar. Cream until fluffy. Add flour mixture 1/4 cup at a time. Mix well; stir in pecans. Chill 1 hour. Pat into rounds; bake 8 minutes at 325°. Sprinkle with confx sugar. Eat at least one while still warm!

I copied and pasted this post from Facebook, so it is exactly as Stacey created it. If you are on Facebook, you should become friends with Relish Magazine. They post many interesting things, good ideas and great recipes. Check them out!

I do have a couple of comments. Next time, yes, there will be a next time, I will omit the 1/2 teaspoon of salt. They were just too salty for me. I used Penzey's Spices Dutch Process Cocoa. Also, I didn't add the pecans, mostly because I didn't have any, but as smooth as they are, I'm not sure that I would add them next time either. I used a small scoop and I ended up with 17 Smooches.

After they had cooled, I packed a container for my sister. We had a great lunch together, and after lunch she wanted to try one and offered me one too. What could I do, I had to be polite!

I am warning you, these could be very addictive. When I took a bite of the warm Smoochie, (I had to, Stacey almost demanded it) it was like eating the best warm fudge ever. It was also a little bit like taking a bite of a very good lava cake. Other than that, I don't know how to explain the texture. It's all about the texture. I used a small scoop so each piece was good for 1 medium or 2 small bites, which helps a little. The main problem is, they are so easy to make, and way too good, so make with caution! Don't say I didn't warn you!

Enjoy!