Smores Sandwich Cookies

Eric loves sandwich cookies--Golden Oreos to be exact. We have to buy some every time we hit the grocery store so he can have them in his lunch. As I was making my Smores Cookie Cups, I realized that I could easily transform the same recipe into sandwich cookies for Eric!

Like the Smores Cookie Cup, this recipe calls for refrigerated sugar cookie dough. While I love refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, I don't really like refrigerated sugar cookie dough; it just doesn't taste right to me. I used my sugar cookie recipe (see below). But if you like the store-bought stuff, I say use it! It makes these cookies so much easier!

Ingredients:
1 package Ready to Bake Pillsbury Sugar Cookies (or this sugar cookie recipe, halved)
8 tablespoons chocolate spread (I used Hershey, but Jiffy makes one too)
8 tablespoons marshmallow fluff
3 graham crackers, crumbled

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees if using refrigerated cookie dough. (If using my sugar cookie recipe, preheat to 375 degrees). Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Place crumbled graham crackers in a bowl. You can crumble them as fine or as coarse as you like.

Separate the refrigerated cookie dough (if using the scratch recipe, roll out dough to about 1/4 to 1/8-inch thickness and use a shot glass to cut out little circles) and pressed each piece into the crumbs. Place cookies on cookie sheet.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 350 or 7-8 minutes at 375 (for scratch).

Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, spread about 1 teaspoon of marshmallow fluff on 12 of the cookie bottoms. Spread 1 teaspoon of chocolate spread on the bottoms of the other 12 cookies. Place the cookies with the marshmallow fluff back on the cookie sheet, marshmallow side up. (You DO NOT want the chocolate spread to go into the oven--it doesn't melt, it burns. I learned this the hard way with my first batch. Make sure to put the chocolate spread and marshmallow fluff on separate cookies!)

Set oven to broil and pop the cookies back into the oven to toast the marshmallow. This only takes about 30 seconds so don't walk away or even look away from your cookies or else you risk burning them. When the marshmallow reaches the desired shade of golden brown, remove from oven.

Immediately assemble your cookies, matching up a chocolate spread cookie with a marshmallow cookie. 

Serve or store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Smores Recipes:
Smores Wontons 
Smores Cookies!
Smores Pie
Peep Smores 
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Smores

Smores Cookie Cups

So after I made Cinnamon Toast Crunch Smores, I kind of had smores on the brain and ended up making two different types of smores cookies: Smores Cookie Cups and Smores Sandwich Cookies. Both made with the same ingredients, both completely addicting. Seriously, I couldn't eat just one.

This recipe is also super simple. However, I made it a little bit more difficult. The recipe calls for refrigerated sugar cookie dough. Now, I love refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, but I'm not a huge fan of refrigerated sugar cookie dough; it just doesn't taste right to me, so I used my sugar cookie recipe (see below). But if you like the store-bought stuff, I say use it! It makes these cookies so much simpler!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 package Ready to Bake Pillsbury Sugar Cookies (or this sugar cookie recipe, halved)
4 tablespoons chocolate spread (I used Hershey, but Jiffy makes one too)*
4 tablespoons marshmallow fluff
3 graham crackers, crumbled

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees if using refrigerated cookie dough. (If using my sugar cookie recipe, preheat to 375 degrees). Grease a two mini muffin tin with cooking spray.

Place crumbled graham crackers in a bowl. You can crumble them as fine or as coarse as you like.

Roll each section of refrigerated cookie dough (approximately a tablespoon of cookie dough from scratch) into a ball. Roll each ball into the graham cracker crumbs and place in the muffin tin.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 350 or 7-8 minutes at 375 (for scratch).

As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, press the centers in gently using the end of a wooden spoon. Allow the cookies to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, spoon 1/2 teaspoon of chocolate spread into each cup. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon marshmallow fluff on top of the chocolate spread. Place cookie cups onto a cookie sheet.

Set oven to broil and pop the cookies back into the oven to toast the marshmallow. This only takes about 30 seconds so don't walk away or even look away from your cookies or else you risk burning them. When the marshmallow reaches the desired shade of golden brown, remove from oven.

Serve or store in an airtight container at room temperature.

*I can't wait to try these with chocolate-hazelnut spread!

Right out of the oven. Pure heaven.

Smores Cookie Cups and Smores Sandwich Cookies

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Smores Recipes:
Smores Wontons 
Smores Cookies!
Smores Pie
Peep Smores 

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Smores

Somehow we managed to have Hershey bars and marshmallows in the house but no graham crackers, which meant no smores. Then my lovely, intelligent husband suggested using the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal in place of the graham cracker. Brilliant idea! The extra sugar and cinnamon bring a whole new level to smores. These may not be ideal for the campfire but for the oven, they are perfect!

Ingredients:
1 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch
2 Hershey chocolate bars
8 large marshmallows

Directions:
Set oven to broil.

Lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Create four 1/4 cup mounts on the cookie sheet and slightly spread them out. Place half a chocolate bar on top of each pile. Add two marshmallows on top of the chocolate bar.

Place under the broiler until marshmallows reach desired golden brown color. Keep an eye on your smores because the marshmallows can go from brown to burnt quickly under the broiler.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Smores Recipes:
Smores Wontons 
Smores Cookies!
Smores Pie
Peep Smores  

Quick and Easy Chicken Parmesan

Over the years I've made many chicken parmesan dishes, yet none have really been a keeper (except for my parmesan chicken casserole which is by far thee most popular recipe on this blog). I never would have thought a recipe this simple would become my go-to parmesan chicken recipe.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breast
3/4 cup panko
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup marinara sauce
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

In a shallow dish, combine, panko, oregano, basil, and Parmesan. Place melted butter in a second shallow dish. Set aside.

Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally so you have 8 thin chicken breasts. Dip the chicken breast in the butter then coat it in the panko mixture. Place on cookie sheet and repeat with the rest of the chicken.

Lightly spray a little cooking spray on the top of the chicken breasts. Bake for 20 minutes. Flip chicken over and bake for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove from oven and spoon 1 tablespoon of sauce over each chicken breast and then sprinkle with mozzarella, dividing the cheese equally between the breasts.

Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes:
Baked Garlic Chicken
Orange Chicken with Fried Rice
Parmesan-Seared Chicken
Pizza Inspired Chicken 
Potless Chicken Pot Pies
Provincial Chicken

Sausage and Apples

Last autumn I made apples stuffed with sausage and herbs. It turned into one of Eric's all time favorite dishes despite his initial reluctance to the combination. Even though this recipe screams fall, I made it again for him the other day. But I didn't feel like stuffing apples so I deconstructed it. This similar recipe is quicker and easier to make, but not nearly as festive or pretty to look at.

Ingredients:
1 pound spicy pork sausage
2 large tart apples (I used Granny Smith)
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons yellow onion, minced
2 teaspoons ground sage
2 teaspoons dried thyme

Directions:
Dice the apples (you can skin them first if you prefer, I leave the skin on), discarding the core and seeds.

In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat. Add apples and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, roughly 8 to 10 minutes. Once apples are tender, add onions and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove apples and onions from pan and into a bowl. Cover to keep warm.

Add sausage to skillet. Break up meat and cook until it's no longer pink in the center, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in sage and thyme. Add apples and onions to the skillet. Stir and remove from heat. Serve.

Enjoy!

Krissy

More Sausage Recipes:
Black Bean and Sausage Stovetop Casserole
Cheesy Sausage and Potato Casserole
Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Sausage
Spicy Parmesan Sausage Meatballs with a Whiskey Barbecue Sauce 
The Tale of Two Quiches: Spicy Sausage and Spinach Quiche 

Sweet Buns Three Ways: Cherry, Blueberry, and Cream Cheese

Every since I got my standing mixer, I've been making all kinds of yeast breads. The mixer does the kneading for me so making breads from scratch got so much easier. When I saw these delicious yeast buns on Pinterest, I couldn't wait to try them. Eric was madly in love with them. I think I only got to try one of each kind, he devoured the rest.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Buns
1 cup warm milk, (about 100 degrees F)
1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
4 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
3 1/4 cup flour
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt

Fillings (each filling would make enough for a 16 buns--a full batch)
Cherry
64 black cherries, pitted (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (1/2 teaspoon per bun)

Blueberry
1 pound blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar (1/2 teaspoon per bun)

Cream Cheese
8 ounces cream cheese (1 tablespoon per bun) 

Crumb Topping
2 tablespoon butter, room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions:
Buns
In the bowl of a standing mixer, add milk and sprinkle with yeast.  Let sit for 7 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup flour and 2 tablespoons sugar. Using whisk attachment, whisk until combined. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rest for 45 minutes.

Whisk in egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, melted butter, and salt. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Add in 2 3/4 cups flour, one cup at a time. Make sure each cupful is fully incorporated before adding the next cup. Your dough should have pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Continue to mix with the dough hook on Low for 15 minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let sit for 2 hours. Dough will triple in size.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Cut dough into 16 pieces and shape each piece into a ball.

Grease a baking dish (either 2 round cake pans or one 9x13 baking dish). Place the balls in your dish. Make a well in the center of each ball. Place 4 cherries (or a healthy tablespoon of blueberries, or a tablespoon of cream cheese) in the well. Sprinkle the cherries or blueberries with 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise for 45 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 360 degrees.

Crumb Topping
In a small bowl, combine all the crumble topping ingredients until you have a texture of coarse crumbs.

Generously sprinkle the buns with the crumb topping. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the buns are golden.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Yeast Recipes:
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Sour Cream Dinner Rolls 
Soft and Chewy French Bread
Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls 

Asian Turkey Meatballs

Since my parmesan turkey meatballs were such a success with Eric (who is typically anti-ground turkey) I thought I'd push my luck and try a different turkey meatball recipe. How could I go wrong with hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and toasted sesame seeds? Answer is: I couldn't! With two successful ground turkey dishes, Eric says he'll happily eat any ground turkey dish I serve.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Meatballs
20 ounces ground turkey
3 tablespoons plus1 teaspoon sesame oil, divided
1/2 cup Panko
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 egg
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
Toasted sesame seeds, garnish


Sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine turkey, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, Panko, ginger, egg, garlic and green onions. With your hands, combine ingredients well. Shape meat into golf ball size meatballs (I made about 20) and transfer them to the cookie sheet. Brush meatball with the 3 tablespoons sesame oil.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.

While the meatballs cook, prepare sauce. In a saucepan, stir hoisin sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and ginger together. Over medium heat, heat sauce until hot. 

Pour sauce over meatballs, garnish with toasted sesame seeds, and serve.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Dinner Recipes:
Spicy Cheese-Stuffed Turkey Burgers
Turkey Burger with Avocado Sauce
Spicy Parmesan Sausage Meatballs with a Whiskey Barbecue Sauce 
The Tale of Two Quiches: Ham and Broccoli Quiche
Lemon Pepper Chicken with Garlic Potatoes
Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Drunken Cherry Chocolate Cake

Every year for my birthday, I don't ask for presents, just that Eric bake a cake for me and we spend the day together. He started with boxed cake mixes, last year it was a smores pie, and this year he made his first cake from scratch. He woke up early and only asked for a little help--I more supervised and fetched ingredients for him than anything else. And it turned out absolutely delicious. The cake was moist and very chocolaty and the cream cheese frosting has become my favorite frosting. You can't forget the drunken cherries either--divine. I am so proud of him.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Cake
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk, warmed
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder (we used Hershey's Special Dark)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt

Filling

4 cups black cherries, pitted (about 1 pound)

1/2 cup whiskey (next time I think we'll use brandy)

1/4 cup cold water

Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

4 tablespoons of reserved cherry-whiskey syrup

Directions:
Drunken Cherries
Rinse, drain, and dry your cherries. Pit the cherries and coarsely chop them. Place them in a medium bowl and add whiskey. Let the cherries marinate at room temperature for 1 hour then drain cherries, reserving the liquid.

Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.

With a standing mixer or electric hand mixer, whisk together 4 tablespoons butter, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whip on high for 7 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy. Whisk in warm milk.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the batter is just combined. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center of each cake has set. 

Once the cakes are cool enough to handle, remove from pans. Place the cakes on a wire rack and cool completely.

Frosting
In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk butter on low until fluffy, gradually adding powdered sugar one cup at a time until well combined. Add salt. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until mixture is pale and fluffy (2-3 minutes).

Add cream cheese 1 ounce at a time and mix until well combined. Once all the cream cheese is incorporated, whip for about 1-2 more minutes.

Stir in 4 tablespoons of reserved cherry liquid. Reserve the rest of the remaining cherry liquid. Refrigerate frosting until ready to use.

Assemble

Remove the frosting from the fridge and allow it to set about for 10-15 minutes. 

Cut each cake in half horizontally using a serrated knife. Place one layer (cut-side up) on your plate or cake stand. 

Add water to the reserved cherry syrup. Brush the layer with 1/3 of the cherry-whiskey mixture. Frost the layer and add 1/3 of the drunken cherries. Repeat with the next three layers, however, do not put any syrup on the top layer. Refrigerate cake for about 20 minutes.

Frost the outside of your cake. Decorate with extra cherries, chocolate curls, or chocolate chips. Instead of using whole cherries, Eric decorated with a few drunken cherries. Cover and store cake in fridge. Allow cake to sit at room temperate for about 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cake Recipes
Strawberry and Chocolate Checkered Cake 
Three Layer Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
An Apple Cider Birthday Cake
Chocolate on Chocolate Cake 
Chocolate Swirl Cake (Made with Swiss Cake Rolls)
Honey Cake
Rice Crispy Birthday Cake 

Happy Fourth of July! Get a Free ebook!

Happy Fourth of July! I don't have a recipe for you to celebrate with today, but my novel, The Creaking Tree, will be free on Amazon all of Fourth of July weekend, July 4-6, in ebook format. Please go check it out. If you don't have a Kindle, you can download the Kindle app for your tablet or smart phone for free!

Nestled in a little riverside cabin in northern Michigan, food-writer and newlywed Louisa is working on her first cookbook, a collection of delectable recipes inspired by the foods found in fairy tales. The only nuisance to disrupt her work is a creaking tree across the river. All summer long it grows louder and more persistent. When Louisa can no longer take it, she splashes across the river to silence the tree once and for all. But little does she know that the creaking tree is more than just a tree; it’s a portal to an ensorcelled forest of kings and queens, witches and huntsmen.
Hopelessly lost in this strange and wonderful sylvan land, Louisa crosses paths with licentious dwarfs, follows a breadcrumb trail, and encounters a rogue huntsman, Roan. Roan explains that the Other Side is ruled by the nefarious King Lyall, who is more concerned with the state of his cock than his kingdom. He has imprisoned the mysterious Queen Anora in the enchanted Apple Grove. In order to return home, Louisa must travel deep into the forest and save the Queen . . . as well as herself.

Enjoy your barbecues, bonfires, and fireworks today!

And here a link to last summer's favorite recipes: Smores Pie, Cheesy Tomato Zucchini Bake, Homemade Pita Chips, Jalapeno Popper Wontons, and Tomatos Stuffed with Chicken, Herbs, and Cheese.

~Krissy

Chocolate Covered Blueberries

Last winter I discovered chocolate covered cranberries and they quickly became one of my favorite snacks. In fact, months later I'm still craving them, but sadly cranberries are out of season. Then I saw the carton of blueberries in the fridge and thought why not? I've made yogurt covered blueberries before and they were fabulous. Why not chocolate covered blueberries? The only drawback to these is that Eric likes them too, where as I had the chocolate covered cranberries all to myself.

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or any kind of chips you'd like)

Directions:
Line cookie pan with waxed paper.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave on high. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat as needed until chocolate is melted.

Pour the blueberries into the melted chocolate and gentle stir with a spatula until all the blueberries are covered in chocolate. With a fork, transfer the cranberries one by one to the cookie sheet. Place in the refrigerator until chocolate hardens.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Berry Recipes:
White Chocolate Filled Raspberries
Blueberry Muffins
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins 
Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce   
Blueberry Chocolate Chip Brunetties
Sugared Cranberries
Michigan Cranberry Brownies