Chocolate Candy Cookies

This is the tale of what happens when you live in the middle of nowhere... and it's snowing... and you're surfing Pinterest on a Saturday afternoon, finding all sorts of tasty recipes that all involve chocolate... and you have no chocolate in the house.  

Now trust me, this (the no chocolate part) doesn't happen often.  Typically my kitchen is stocked with chocolate of every kind.  But not today.  So, I got to thinking... 

Enter the Haloween candy.  Yes, you are reading correctly.  It's February, and I said Haloween candy.  We had an obscene amount of candy after trick-or-treating, and so I put it in the back of a drawer so that we (my three year old, my husband, and maybe me) would stop eating it.  "Well, there has got to be some chocolate left in there."  I think you are getting a feel for my desperation. 

This is what I found:

Okay, I can work with this.  Back to Pinterest.  I found this tasty looking recipe for rainbow cookies , and figured that it should work.

This is what I did:

Chopped up the candy using my handy-dandy food chopper .  I didn't want it to be too finely chopped, but mainly just to make the bigger pieces, like the peanut m&ms more the same size as the regular m&ms (which I left whole).  Using the candy in the picture above, I ended up with just enough-- 1 cup.

Now, here's how to make the cookies:

• First, lets do some prep.  Preheat the oven to 325, and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.  Put two eggs in a glass bowl of warm water (or, you could let them sit out and come to room temperature, but I'm not that patient).
• Put 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda in a bowl.  Set that one aside for now.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer (a stand mixer makes this a lot easier, but you can do it without), beat 1 1/2 sticks of butter, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth and creamy.
• Add 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk (these will be the eggs from the warm water in step 1), beating as you add them.  Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and beat to combine.
• A little at a time, add the flour mixture, beating in between additions.
• Add 1 cup roughly chopped chocolate candies and stir until they are incorporated. Use whatever you have-- you can see from my picture above that I used several different kinds.

• Using 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll dough into a ball

• Break the ball in half, and stack the two halves on top of each other.  Place a couple of inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.

• Bake for 9-11 minutes.  Only 9-11 minutes.  Don't leave them in too long-- they should be soft and chewy.  If you leave 'em in the oven till they look done, they will be hard after they cool.

This made about 21 cookies.  Might have made a couple more if I hadn't eaten some of the dough.

And here they are.  Enjoy with a tall glass of milk.  Yummo.  Craving satisfied.

Applesauce Bran Muffins

On weekday mornings, I do not get up until I absolutely HAVE to.  Every second of sleep is precious, and getting up in time to eat breakfast at home is not a option in my book.  

But... neither is skipping breakfast.  

Thus, my breakfast must be portable (and must be accompanied by french press coffee.. more on that another day). 

It also must be less than 150 calories.  I want to save them for something good.  Like cookies!  

So, enter my daily bran muffin.  

It's a mere 110 calories (3 grams of fat, 3 grams of fiber), but it gets me through the morning without feeling like I may starve.  It goes with my coffee.  It's a whole lot easier to eat while driving than cereal. Trust me.

Here's how I make them:

1. Put 2 cups All Bran cereal (shreds of bran) in a large bowl and cover with 2 1/2 cups low fat buttermilk.  Let this stand for 5-10 minutes to soften.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare your muffin pan.  I just spray mine with cooking spray, but you can use muffin cups if you prefer.
3. Add 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup applesauce and 2 eggs to the buttermilk mixture and stir vigorously to break up cereal.
4. Add 2 cups whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup sugar blend* (or 1 1/2 cup of sugar), 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Stir just until combined.  If batter is too stiff, add a couple more tablespoons of buttermilk.
5. Put 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup, then bake for 17-19 minutes.

*I use the Domino Light sugar/stevia blend, but Splenda for Baking would work too.  You can also use regular sugar, bringing the calorie count to 130.

Typically I make the full recipe, but only bake 6 muffins at a time so they stay nice and fresh.  The batter can be kept in a tightly covered container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

If you want a little something chewy inside, raisins or dried cranberries make good additions.

Penne with Sausage Ragu

This recipe, adapted from one I found in Cuisine at Home magazine, is one of my go-to weeknight favorites. It uses ingredients that I always have on hand, is ready in about 30 minutes, and tastes like an Italian grandma worked all day on it.

Ingredients:

8 oz. bulk Italian sausage

1 medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

4 tablespoons tomato paste (I use 1 small can)

1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup dry red wine, divided

1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup water

8 oz. whole wheat penne pasta

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until brown and crumbly, about 5 minutes
2. Stir in onion, and cook until it is softened (another 3-4 minutes)
3. Add garlic, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Cook for an additional 1 minute
4. Add 1/4 cup wine, then increase heat and cook until liquid is mostly evaporated while stirring constantly
5. Stir in tomatoes and sugar, then reduce heat and simmer until thickened (5-8 minutes)
6. Stir in water and remaining wine, then add pasta. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
7. While pasta is cooking, preheat the broiler with the rack in it's highest position
8. When pasta mixture is done cooking, season with salt and pepper to taste, then divide into 5-6 individual oven-proof baking dishes
9. Top each dish with 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, then broil until cheese is golden and bubbly (1-3 minutes-- but watch it closely!)

Serves 5-6