Thin Mint Pie

Well this is a first! I am actually writing the post right after I made the goody! So, a long time ago, I was a girl scout. Actually, not that long a go. I was a brownie girl scout when I was younger, decided I did not like anyone in my troop, quit, changed schools, found out my new group of friends were girl scouts, and joined them as Cadette girl scouts and then senior girl scouts! I wasn't allowed to actually get my gold award, because I turned 19 before the project was done, but I helped! Anyways, I digress. The best thing about the Girl Scouts was that magical time in February and March when we sold cookies. Thin Mints are my absolute favorite. My mother's freezer is usually stocked (or was when I lived at home) with little green boxes of minty chocolatey joy. It was awesome. So when I found a recipe for thin mint pie, I was not going to pass it up! Booth sales usually go through the middle of March, so I am posting this in hope that you, the reader, will go get you some! And also, because this pie is just heavenly. Sinful. Delectable. Sent from a Supreme Being to this world of petty humans. No, but really, it's good.

I got this recipe from www.mybakingaddiction.com. She has prettier pictures on her recipe, but in my humble opinion, it don't matter what it looks like, it matters what it tastes like. MMMMMM. I just ate a piece and I can still taste it. It's yummy.

You'll need:
45 Thin Mint Cookies, divided use
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
8 ounces thawed Cool Whip Topping

You'll do:

1. Place 24 Thin Mints into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the cookies have been crushed into fine crumbs; mix with butter until well blended.
2. Press firmly onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate crust while preparing filling.
3. Coursely chop the remaining (21) cookies; set aside. Beat cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add chopped cookies and whipped topping; folding gently until well blended. Spoon into prepared crust.
4. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until firm. Garnish with whipped topping and additional cookie crumbs.

So some notes:
- Pie will store covered in the refrigerator for up to two days.
- If you don't have access to Thin Mints, Mint or Plain Oreos can be substituted or Keebler makes their own version, called Grasshoppers.
- Recipe adapted from Kraft.

GO FIND THOSE BOOTH SALES! Support your local Girl Scouts! And just pray that I don't sneak down to my refrigerator and eat the whole pie tonight. I'm seriously considering it.

Cookie of the week 9!

Cake Batter.......Pudding........COOKIES

Like the best I have made yet. I know I say that about every cookie, but this one seriously trumps them all. When i first heard about putting pudding in a cookies I was like, "What?!" It sounded very weird and I was not sure what to expect. And it turned out to be the softest pillow of cake batter goodness ever. I have a thing for things flavored like cake batter. O, and just cake batter by itself. One of my mom's favorite stories of her growing up is that when she got her first apartment, she made a pound cake, and ate all the batter!!! It never got baked! I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree there. So even though these went just about as fast as the red velvet cookies, I actually got a picture of these.

Yep they just look like happy little bursts of sprinkles! YAY!!!!!! So I got this recipe from www.chef-in-training.com. Have fun!

You'll need:

• 1 1/2 sticks (or 3/4 cup) butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix, dry
• 3/4 cup yellow cake mix, dry
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2-1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• sprinkles

You'll do:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Stir together flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together.

Add in pudding package and cake mix and beat until well blended.

Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.

Add flour mixture slowly until well incorporated.

Mix in sprinkles sprinkles.

Roll into 1" balls and place on greased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes.

This makes about 3 dozen cookies. YAY! Good thing too, because it kept me from running out right when they came out of the oven!

Happy Baking ya'll!!

Cookie of the Week 8

Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of this holiday that lands on week 8, I made Chewy Red Velvet Cookies. Unfortunately, they disappeared so fast that I couldn't get a picture of them. But it's red velvet, in cookie form. Pretty self explanatory picture. I love Red Velvet, and I really wanted to find a recipe for chewy cookies. Mission Accomplished!
This recipe is from www.howsweeteats.com

Chewy Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
What You'll need:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon red food coloring
1/2 cup chocolate chips

What You'll do:
Preheat oven to 375.
Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla and combine until smooth. Beat in red food coloring. Stir in cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt until just combined, scraping down the sides when needed. Fold in chocolate chips.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out 1-2 tablespoons of dough and set on baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

If you are really sore over the no-pictures thing, visit the original website. I would have copied and pasted them on here, but I have a fear of SOPA.

Cookies of the Week 6 & 7

Another great two weeks of baking! Both of these recipes I have made multiple times throughout their respective weeks. I think that as people start expecting them on certain days, they disappear faster. I got many compliments on these, and that just makes me want to keep making more. More praise comes my way then, and my ego loves it. I have a disease of more. Anyways, here are the recipes:

Week 6: Salted Mocha Chocolate Chip

I found this recipe and I was instantly hit with an Oh My God. I loooooove my coffee. Caffeine is good. Caffeine is my friend. So I was a little disappointed when these didn't come out with a potent coffee taste, but what I did get was a really gooey chewy chocolate chip cookie. And they were gone pretty fast. My brother's 5th birthday was this week, and his favorite candy is M&M's, so I used the batter from this recipe and just used M&M's instead of chocolate chips. There's some kind of unexplained taste to M&M's when they are baked. And it is great.

I got this recipe here: http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/    It makes 36 cookies

You'll need:
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
2 room temperature eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher or seas salt, plus more for finishing
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon finely ground coffee beans

You'll do:

Preheat the oven to 365 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and powder.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on low speed for 3 minutes. Slowly add the sugar and beat for 3 minutes more, until ingredients are light, creamy, and well-combined. Next, add the eggs and vanilla. With mixer on low, slowly fold in the flour mixing just until combined. Finally, fold in the chips, making sure they are well-dispersed throughout the dough.
Scoop the dough in 2″ balls onto the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle each cookie with a small pinch of kosher salt.
Bake for 12 – 13 minutes, until the edges have just started to turn golden, and the centers are still soft. Cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes, and then remove to a rack to cool. When completely cool move to an airtight container and store at room temperature for several days.

Week 7: Oreo Cheesecakes cookies

Ummmmm these are AMAZING, and amazingly easy. So these are now my go to cookie when I want something fast. And there are no eggs, so the dough is ready to eat right when you mix it. And I couldn't help myself. One of the formed cookies dropped off the pan while i was putting them in the oven, so I held to the 5 second rule and definitely ate that sucker. NOM NOM NOM NOM. Seriously though, make these cookies. I got this recipe from www.browneyedbaker.com. It makes about a dozen and a half.

What You'll need:
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup Oreo cookie crumbs

What You'll do:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and well-combined.
3. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix until the ingredients are well-combined. Add the flour and mix on low until the flour is incorporated. Stir in the mini chocolate chips with a rubber spatula.
4. Place the Oreo cookie crumbs in a small bowl. Scoop the cookies into about 1½ to 2″ balls and then roll in the cookie crumbs. Place the cookie balls on the baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the tops are slightly puffed.
5. Cool on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Stay tuned for a special Valentine's cookie of the week! Happy Baking!