No-Bake Cookies made into Shapes

I am pretty sure this is not an original idea, but I needed to make a treat and thought why not make no-bakes in a cookie cutter mold??

Well it worked out better than I expected!  The only thing you need to worry about is working fast.  By the time I got to my last group, the cookies were starting to set up!

A fun way to make cookies into shape and an easy way when you need something quick!  Here is the recipe I used, which is actually already posted on the blog.  It is a good recipe if you haven't tried it!

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Jamie Cooks it up!

4 cups sugar

6 tbsp cocoa

1 cup butter

1 cup milk

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup crunchy peanut butter (I only had creamy and used that)

6 cups quick oats (add 7 cups if using regular oats) ~ substituted 1 1/2 cups 6 grain mix for 1 1/2 cups of the oats.  Good extra way to get more grains!

Put the sugar, cocoa, butter, milk, and salt in a large saucepan. Over medium high heat, bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally. When it comes to a boil, start stirring constantly for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add your vanilla, peanut butter and oats. Stir in around until it is all incorporated. (I added the vanilla and peanut butter and then stirred until the peanut butter was melted. Then I poured this on top of the oats in a bigger bowl and stirred it all together.) It might be a little thin at first, but it will set up!

Drop by large spoonfuls into your cookie cutter onto wax paper. When you have the desired amount in your cutter, carefully remove the cutter and you shoud have your shape!  Work kind of fast so the cookie mix doesn't set up too fast in your bowl.  If you don't have wax paper, just spray cooking spray on cooking sheets and that will work too! Let the cookies cool and set up for about 20 minutes, then you are ready to eat!!

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

We made these for Zach's class Valentine treat!

Who doesn't like chocolate dipped pretzels.  This was very simple and I love the sprinkles, which I ran out of in the end!

Super simple treat and super fun idea found on Pinterest!

Swirled or Tie-Dyed Sugar Cookies

I started out with a different plan on making sugar cookies.  I ended up with this design!  I divided my sugar cookie dough and colored half of it.  Then I kind of kneaded it together and mixed it up!

The fun part about doing this is that you can change the color up for any occassion ~ blue and white for BYU fans, green and white for St. Patricks day, etc.

I liked how it turned out~kind of proud of myself for making something fun and new!  Ben is bringing these to school today for his class Valentine treat and I sent some with Todd to work so I wouldn't sit at home eating them!  Something about sugar cookies that are sooo yummy!

You can use your favorite sugar cookie recipe, or I have added the one I used that to me never fails and is super soft and yummy!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup softened butter

2 large eggs

1/4 cup sour cream

1 1 /2 tsp vanilla

3 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Gradually beat in dry ingredients. Refrigerate over night or as long as you can (at least an hour or so!).

Roll and cut out with cookie cutters! Bake 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes!

Ooey Gooey Brownies

This was very very yummy!  Ben requested brownies for family night and I decided to try a new recipe!  This was a great recipe and they were definitely more fudge like than cake like and rich! 

It would be a fun Valentine treat!

Ooey Gooey Brownies

(http://www.howsweeteats.com/)

• 3 squares of baking chocolate (or if you don't have the squares ~ use 9 tbsp cocoa powder + 3 tbsp oil)
• 2 cubes butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 8 Oreo cookies, crushed or crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.  I always do this over the stove.  Just make sure you melt the butter part way first and then add the chocolate so you don't burn the chocolate.

Put your chocolate mixture in your mixing bowl and add your sugar and vanilla.  Beat until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Add in your eggs, beating one at a time.  Add flour and stir until just combined.  Fold in your cookie crumbles.

Grease a 9 x 13 pan and then add your brownie batter.  Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until just barely done.  Cool before frosting or eat right away warm(which to me is the best) or top with strawberries and fudge for an extra yummy Valentine treat!

Chocolate Heart Cut-out Cookies

I made these cookies at Halloween.  They were skeletons!

The cookies were so yummy that I figured who wouldn't love chocolate hearts too!  These cookies are soo yummy that they don't even need frosting~at least according to me!

I do think that it would be a fun Valentine treat to turn them into chocolate heart ice cream sandwiches though!  I thought next time I make these to put ice cream in the middle and then roll the ice cream in sprinkles too!

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

(http://www.ourbestbites.com)

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or use a baking mat if you have one!

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.

Slowly add your dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add your cocoa powder first and then slowly incorporate the flour. I used all 2 1/2 cups. Scrape the sides of your bowl as you go.

Lightly dust your surface with flour or cocoa powder and roll your dough out. It recommends to roll your dough and then place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. I didn't put mine in the fridge. My dough wasn't sticky and I was able to work with it right away!

Cut out shapes and place on your baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Don't over bake! Just make sure edges look set!

Let your cookies cool on your baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then place on a cooling rack!

Now you can eat them warm, cool them and then frost, or cool them and make an ice-cream sandwich!

Thumbprint Cookies

Yes again another fun find on Pinterest.  I kind of ran with the idea and thought this is not only fun for Christmas, but you could modify it for any holiday.  Just red sprinkles for Valentines with a chocolate Hershey kiss, green for St. Patty's day and so forth!  You could probably even make these into little nests for Easter and put the little chocolate eggs in the middle!  We enjoyed these for Christmas with candy cane Hershey kisses in the center!

Thumbprint cookies

(modified from Better Homes red and white cookbook)

• 2/3 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• sprinkles of your choosing
• Hershey kisses of your choosing

In your mixer, beat your butter or margarine on high speed for about 30 seconds.  Basically you want all the chunks gone!  Then add your sugar and beat until combined, scraping the sides as needed.  Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.

Add you flour and combine.  The recipe says to chill for 1 hour, but I usually test the dough and if I can handle it I start right away, if not put in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes and test it again.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls.  Roll your dough in your sprinkles.  Then place on your cookie sheets about 1 inch apart.  Continue doing this until you have filled your cookie sheet.  Now take your thumb and make an indent into your cookies.  Basically you are putting your thumb print into your cookie ball and flattening it a little.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browning.  While your cookies are cooking, start unwrapping your Hershey kisses.  Once they come out of the oven, start placing the kisses in your thumb print.  Once all the kisses are in your cookies, place them on a cooling rack and let them cool.  If you don't let cool, your Hershey kisses will get smooshed because they get melty from the heat of your cookie!

Enjoy these yummy treats for any holiday!

Valentine Chocolate Bark

This is a yummy easy Valentine treat! Or a treat for any day, just add different sprinkles or put none on at all!

Enjoy!

Valentine Chocolate Bark

(www.bakeat350.blogspot.com)

• 2 bags white chocolate chips ~ she used Ghiradelli, but I had Hersheys and they worked fine)
• 2 bags semisweet chocolate chips ~ again Ghiradelli, but I had western family and it was fine again. I used 1 1/2 bags though!
• 2 cups Rice Krispies ~ start with 2 cups, I ended up adding 3 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
• conversation hears and sprinkles

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Place 3/4ths of the white chocolate chips in a glass or metal bowl. Place over a pan of simmering water and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining white chocolate chips until melted. ~ If the chocolate is too thick you can add 1 tbsp Crisco. (I didn't need to do this)

Stir in the Rice Krispies ~ It seemed like too much white chocolate, so this is when I started adding about 1/2 cup at a time until it seemed a better combination.

Spread onto the lined cookie sheet. Spread so thin, but that you can't see the pan. ~ an offset spatula works great.

Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips using the same method as above. I used 1 1/2 bags here instead of 2 and it was plenty of chocolate for me! (You shouldn't need the Crisco here!)

Using an offset spatula, gently spread over the white chocolate.

Sprinkle on the conversation hears if wanted and sprinkles. Let set up until hardened. Break into pieces and enjoy!

Warm Chocolate Puddings

I found this recipe in a Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine!

The recipe made 4 individual servings and they turned out really good!

I may have cooked them a little too long, make sure to not overcook and then the insides will be more pudding like! Might just be a nice Valentine Treat!

Warm Chocolate Puddings

(Martha Stewart Everyday Foods)

• 4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used semisweet chocolate chips)
• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Ice Cream or Whip Cream for on Top!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place four 6-8 ounce ramekins or oven proof bowls on a baking sheet.

Place chocolate and butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water -a double boiler. Stir occasionally just until melted, 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat; mix in 2 tbsp sugar, then eggs yolks and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Still beating, gradually add remaining 2 tbsp sugar; beat until mixture is stiff and glossy.

Using a rubber spatula, mix about 1/3 egg white mixture into chocolate; gently fold in remaining egg-white mixture just until combined. Divide among bowls.

(Pudding can be prepared in advance up to this point; cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate up to 1 day!)

Bake until tops are puffed and cracked but insides are still quite soft (a toothpick inserted in center will come out gooey), 20-25 minutes or 25-30 minutes if refrigerated.

Serve warm or at room temp. (puddings will sink as they cool), topped with ice cream or whipped cream!

Delicious Baked Fudge

This is a Pioneer Woman favorite! I have been wanting to try this for a while, but with Easter and being gone I haven't been motivated to bake (maybe because of all the candy I have eaten lately!)!! But FHE came around and I was the treat, so we made these!

They were really good, especially with ice-cream! The other great thing was that it made 4 (I got 5) so there wasn't very many leftovers and I had promised the boys the leftover one!

Next time I will make sure to cook them a little longer, but other than that they were YUMMY!!

Delicious Baked Fudge

(from the pioneerwoman.com)

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 heaping tbsp cocoa
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300-325 degrees.

Beat eggs until light in color. Beat in sugar until just combined. Add cocoa, flour, melted butter and vanilla extract. Mix gently until well combined.

Pour batter into 4 large ramekins (I used 5 because I wasn't sure if mine were large!) or one 8-inch square baking dish (It doesn't say to spray them, but I did grease mine). Set ramekins or pan into a larger pan halfway full of water.

Bake 40-50 minutes, or until upper crust is crispy and the rest of the batter is firm but not set. Toothpick should come out...not clean, but mixture should not be overly runny. If you pull it out of the oven and have second thoughts, stick it back in for ten more minutes.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!

Life by Chocolate Cupcakes

I found another great recipe on The Pioneer Woman. She is awesome and I love how she talks about cooking and life! I had to try these, since I have already made these but in the form of chocolate cake and it was super yummy!

These turned out as great as she said and if you love chocolate you will love these!

Life by Chocolate Cupcakes

(http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/)

• 2 cups sugar


• 2 cups flour


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1/2 cup buttermilk


• 2 eggs


• 1 tsp baking soda


• 1 tsp vanilla


• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter


• 4 heaping tbsp cocoa powder


• 1 cup water, boiling


• 18 hershey kisses

Ganache

• 8 ounces, bittersweet chocolate (I used semi sweet)


• 1 cup heavy cream


• 6 tbsp corn syrup


• 2 tsp vanilla
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 18 muffin cups (or used muffin liners) with baking spray. (I got 22 cupcakes)

Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate container, combine buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir to combine and set aside.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and stir to combine. Add boiling water, allow to bubble for a few seconds, then turn off heat.

Pour chocolate mixture over flour mixture. Stir a few times to cool the chocolate. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the top and stir to combine.

Pour 1/4 cup cake batter into each muffin cup. Lightly set one kiss in the middle of each cupcake; do not press down.

Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove cupcakes and allow to cool on a baking rack.

To make the Ganache, heat cream and corn syrup over medium heat. Chop chocolate and add to a bowl. Add vanilla to cream mixture, then pour cream mixture over the top of the chopped chocolate. Whisk together until melted, smooth, and glossy. Dunk cupcakes in ganache. Allow to cool and set before serving.

Cupids Cups

I actually found this recipe last year and never got the chance to make it! So this year I went for it and I thought they turned out quite fun! I will say it was a little bit of a pain piping the chocolate. I finally just used a toothpick and drew the chocolate hearts on! Next time I might just omit the hearts!

It is a fun Valentine treat that is not chocolate but looks great! You could do this for any holiday, just change your jello color!

Cupids Cups

(www.kraftfoods.com)


What You Need!

• 1 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted
• 2 cups boiling water, divided
• 2 pkg. (3 oz. each) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin (I did one batch with Raspberry too!)
• 1-1/2 cups cold water, divided
• ice cubes
• 1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
• Decorations: assorted Valentine sprinkles and candies

Make It!

DRAW heart design or write Valentine's Day message in each of 8 (6-oz.) clear plastic cups by piping chocolate onto insides of cups. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm.

ADD 1 cup boiling water to 1 pkg. gelatin mix in medium bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in 1 cup cold water; pour into cups. Refrigerate 1 hour or until gelatin is firm.

MEANWHILE, add remaining boiling water to remaining gelatin mix; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to remaining cold water to measure 1 cup. Add to gelatin; stir until thickened. Stir in COOL WHIP; spoon over gelatin layer in cups. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Decorate as desired. I added a dollop of cool whip on top of each cup too!

Kraft Kitchens TipsHow to Melt Chocolate
Microwave chocolate in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min., stirring after 30 sec. (The square will retain its shape.) Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Candy Cane Heart Suckers

I had seen this idea on http://www.theidearoom.blogspot.com/ and thought how fun would that be to make these!

But I didn't have any mini candy canes from Christmas! So thanks to Desiree who had some and made a few of her own, I too made some fun heart suckers! They are very simple and look great! So if you don't have any candy canes, make sure to put this on your list for next year!

Save those candy canes for Valentines Day and when you are done putting your white chocolate in the middle of your hearts...

dip some pretzels in the leftovers for another fun treat!
Candy Cane Heart Suckers
www.theidearoom.blogspot.com

Simply take two (per sucker) small candy canes and place them on a greased cookie sheet in a heart shape. Slide a sucker stick in between them.

Place them in a heated 350 degree oven and watch them closely. After 3-5 minutes, they will be melty and bubbly. Quickly remove them from the oven and pinch the ends of the candy canes together at the top and bottom of each sucker. Be very careful as the candy will be HOT!
She used a knife to help mold the suckers, which I did too!

Then set the tray aside to cool. After they have cooled completely melt some white chocolate or almond bark in the microwave. Pour a small amount into the center of the suckers and smooth with your clean finger. I added a few colorful sprinkles as well. Let them cool again before packaging or better yet...Eating!

Molten Chocolate Cakes

I found this recipe a while back and have always wanted to make them! My sister gave me ramikens one year and I have made a few things, but this was what I really wanted to try! I love how they are little individual servings of ooey gooey cake, ooey gooey because the insides are like lava! The insides ooze out and it is super yummy chocolate!

You can top yours with whip cream, strawberries or whatever your heart desires! I think this would be a really fun Valentines Dessert!

Molten Chocolate Cake
(from Kraft foods website)

• 4 squares Bakers semi-sweet chocolate (you could probably substitute 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 6 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup thawed cool whip topping, or whatever topping you would like (strawberries, raspberries, nuts etc.)

Preheat oven to 425. Grease 4 custard cups or souffle dishes (I used 5 for this recipe). Place on baking sheet.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Blend in eggs and egg yolks with wire whisk. Stir in flour. Divide batter among prepared custard cups. (I filled mine about 3/4 full)

Bake 13-14 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 minute. Carefully run a small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Serve immediately, topped with whipped topping! These are best warm from the oven!