Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

So the kids have been sick, with a stomach virus, for the past two weeks. Again. Just when one gets over it, the next one gets it...such is life. So I haven't baked. At all. Because I've been cleaning. Alot. (wish I had stock in lysol)!

But I've missed you guys.  And I've missed blogging, and baking...and not cleaning vomit.  So I pulled this from my backlog of things baked but not yet posted...I found it at Cooking with Libby and decided to make it for the Easter spread. It. Was. A. HIT!! There was very little left, I literally got about 2 bites of it! Everyone raved about it, so it is definitely a keeper!  (I also love that it is so easy and has ingredients that I already have on hand)!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

You need:
1 (30 oz.) pkg. of chocolate chip cookie dough (I used Pillsbury)
2 (8 oz.) packages of Cream Cheese at room temperature
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cover the bottom of an ungreased 13x9 inch pyrex with half of the dough, forming a crust.

...I love to use this Pampered Chef tool for this, but if you don't have something like it, you can use a small rolling pin, spatula, or your hands to spread the dough evenly...

3. Bake for 10 minutes and it comes out looking like this:

4. While baking, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla in a bowl until well blended.

5. Take the crust out and spread the cream cheese mixture on top...being sure to cover the entire top. It will be ooey and gooey and may blend with the crust and this is ok :)

6. Take the other half of the cookie dough and crumble it on top of the cream cheese coating, being sure to cover it all.

7. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Linked to:

Happy "Spring First!" and decorated Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

Happy Spring First everyone!! (Ok I am 1 day late, but who's counting right, Spring is officially here!) Of all the seasons, I think spring is my favorite (and fall, and winter...er...). But seriously - I love spring :) and I'm back. I have recovered from the temporary St. Patrick's insanity...I don't really know what happened, I just felt it necessary to MAKE something green and blog about it, you know...because can there really ever BE too many green baked goods blogged about for a holiday? lol my mother-in-law actually told me that she really liked the mint chocolate chip cookies, but that she had to close her eyes to eat them so she wouldn't barf because they were green...yeah. I'm not sure what to do with that one. So...I'll just leave it at that.

In other news, here's the recipe I tried today! I have been wanting to make these cookies after reading about them on SweetSugarBelle's blog, and Cookie Crazie, and a few others. So, here they are! I followed the recipe and also Sugarbelle's tip and only used 2 cups of flour. The dough is perfect - my kiddos loved the chocolate chips, and while they were great by themselves, I decided the whole point of rolling and cutting them out was to decorate them, right? So, I did that too...I used a basic glaze icing, so they're not as perfect and gorgeous as they would be in royal, but they sure were yummy!

Sugarbakers’ Chocolate Mini-Chip Cookies

1 c unsalted butter
⅓c granulated sugar
½ c light-brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ½ c all-purpose flour {I think they got a little overzealous with the flour...try 2 cups first, and work your way up}
½ tsp salt
1 ½ c semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips



PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 350°
Cream together the butter and sugars. To that add the vanilla and egg yolk. Sift together the flour and salt, and add it one cup at a time until completely incorporated. Then, fold in the chocolate chips.



Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least thirty minutes (don't overchill, I actually had to let mine come back to room temp. b/c I overchilled and could not roll). When it is chilled, roll dough in between parchment, cut out desired shapes, and bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.



Linked up to:

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies - Magically Delicious

We got the flu. All of us. So I haven't baked much these last few weeks...at first because I was taking care of Mr.Sweetshack...then because I was taking care of my sick little ones, and then because I couldn't taste (due to the flu junk). I didn't want to try a new recipe and not know if it was good or if my judegement was thrown due to the whole "no-taste" factor.
Flu or not, we needed dessert...so I took the easy way out and made something that I knew would be good...plus I thought I should jump on the St. Paddy's Day bandwagon before it's too late ("bandwagon" - is that a real word? sounds funny when I say it...bandwagon...). Anyway, we love these Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies around the holidays, and it only took a little green food coloring (ok alot of green food coloring...not that I'm a fan of food coloring in mass quantities or for no apparent reason, but I thought it necessary to enhance the St. Patrick's-y-ness)...


Andes Creme De Menthe Cookies:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup salted butter - softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 package (10 oz.) Andes® Crème de Menthe Baking Chips
2-2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F.

Blend butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until mixed.

Stir in Andes Baking Chips (note: the actual recipe calls for a whole package, but to me that's too minty - so I always just use 1/2 of a package) and then flour...add lots of green foodcoloring in honor of St. Patrick's Day...

Chill approximately one hour in the refrigerator

Scoop dough onto cookie sheets...decide if you're a smoosher or not...maybe I should explain...Ok - depending on what recipe I am making, sometimes it is necessary to "smoosh" the dough slightly with your palm (you heard it here first folks, "smoosh" is now an official baking term), so like instead of baking a cookie dough ball shaped like a scoop of icecream, you are baking a level disc of cookie dough. In this picture, the cookie on the left was smooshed, the cookie on the right was not, the left one bakes more level, the one on the right is more domed...but I took this picture with a pink camera, so you may not be able to see what I mean, but that's ok because I have a cute pink camera, right?



Bake at 350° F for approximately 8 - 10 minutes.

Now you can say fun Irish phrases like "top 'o the mornin' to ya" and "wee lassies" and "magically delicious" (ok that last one technically is not irish...as far as I know).



I feel compelled to tell you that your eyes are not playing tricks on you, these cookies ARE different sizes...I couldn't decide which size scoop to use, so I used 3 graduated sizes :) Also, if you are new to food coloring - do not be alarmed if "the luck of the Irish" follows you into the next diaper change...just sayin'.


Happy Baking!

Julie

Linked to:

Sweet Tooth Friday

The BEST Chocolate chip cookies - EVER!

I heart cookies, but have never been a chocolate chip cookie fan (I was always the oatmeal cookie girl). So growing up whenever my sisters and I would bake chocolate chip cookies, I would either pass on them altogether or make myself a few out of the naked dough (before chocolate chips were added)...I never "got" what was so great about chocolate chip cookies, but when I started baking seriously I knew it was a cookie I would have to master because who doesn't love them? (Ok besides me).
So I "took one for the team" and tried every chocolate chip cookie recipe I could get my hands on, but none were what I was looking for. If I had to make CCC's, I atleast wanted a pretty one that looked all gourmet. Even the original recipe left my cookies looking like flat puddles with bumpy rocks in them. Then in a moment of weakness (and hunger) I ate a CCC at Target ya'll (back when they used to sell Otis Spunkemeyer cookies in their deli/snack area) - and I was hooked. Instantly I knew what everyone was raving about, and I would not stop until I could make one that tasted as good. So it began, and I have been on the chocolate chip cookie recipe quest for (seriously) 8 years now.
I thought I had tried them all - ones that start with a cake mix, some that have jello pudding in them, recipes that called for softened butter, melted butter or shortening (!). I used semi-sweet chips, milk chocolate chips, baking powder, baking soda...soooo many recipes, but it always ended badly.
I had almost given up hope on finding the utopian chocolate chip cookie recipe, but thankfully I stumbled across a blog post that changed my cookie life :) So I started at Bakeat350 who linked to Orangette, who found the recipe in an article in The New York Times. It. Is. Divine. They are so good that you really should not make them unless you are surrounded by people to share them with (um because you will eat them all)! They are THE most beautiful CCC I have ever seen! And THE yummiest!
So, with no further ado, here it is, the WORST *best* chocolate chip cookie recipe ever (yeah you'll be gaining 10 lbs)... Follow the links above for actual recipe and tips - I followed the adaptation by Orangette, and the tips from Bakeat350, and I used Semi-sweet chocolate chips from Ghiradelli which were awesome :)

1. I like the Martha version of sifting:



2. Here's the yummy dough ready for a long rest in the refridgerator:



3. Used muh ginormous Farberware cookie scoop from wal-mart for these babies (LOVE IT)!





4. See, they really ARE beautiful!



Happy Baking!
Juie