Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This afternoon our church is doing a game time with kids activities and nursery as an outreach tool.  Snacks are included so I made some brownies and then I also made these for this afternoon.  It made enough so the Sunday School kids are also getting these for class tomorrow! 

1  box of chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tbs vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.
In a bowl dump cake mix, add eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla mix with spoon. 
Add chocolate chips and nuts, stir.
Form balls and bake for 12 minutes on cookie sheets. Let sit 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Note: If you want crispier cookies cook for 14 minutes instead!

Creamy Ranch Chicken

We had this for dinner last night.  I needed a recipe for the crockpot because Fig was coming home from Guatemala! His plane had already been delayed once because of snow so we I needed something that would be okay if it was left for a while.  This recipe is a bit altered from one I got from a cookbook.  It was delicious and made enough to probably feed six people.

1 stick of butter
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken
1 small can of cream of chicken soup
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

1. Turn crockpot on high and melt butter on the bottom.  Mix in ranch dressing.
2. Cut chicken into strips one inch wide and put into crockpot then coat with dressing and butter mix.
3. Cook for 2 hours then stir in soup and cream cheese until fully melted.

Note: Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, pasta or noodles.
You could also use a package of Italian dressing mix.

Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

So one of the reasons this month only has (now) three entries is Pintrest.  I've spent a lot of time ogling recipes found there and have finally decided to make one of the recipes that really took my interest.  Sunday school kids and the Unity Game Club (Fig's a sponsor for them) will be receiving this batch.  I have modified the recipe a bit from the "Sugar Cooking" blog.  I found the way I made them the first time were too dry and I had problems forming the cookies without them crumbling.

Makes 6 dozen

Ingredients: 

 

• 4 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. of salt
• 1/2 tsp. of baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups of butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 3 eggs (beaten)
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 1cup broken up pretzel pieces
• Pretzel Salt or Sea Salt

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and vanilla extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and pretzels.
4. Preheat the oven to 350. Make balls of the dough using tablespoon and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.

Note: The original recipe said you could cover and refrigerate for an hour before forming into the balls.  I tried it for one batch and didn't for the next.  I have no preference you might though!

Cream Cheese Oreo Truffles

Cream Cheese Oreo Truffles were also one of the amazing snacks a friend brought to book club.  We all couldn't believe how easy they were to make but how amazing they tasted!

 

1 (8 oz) pkg. Cream Cheese, softened

1 (15.5 oz)pkg.OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 4-1/4 cups), divided

2 (8 squares each) pkg. Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

 

  Mix cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended.
Shape into 48 (1-inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Chocolate Fondu

My book club always does "themed" food either to go along with the book (often it's location) or the holiday it's closest to.  It's a lot of fun and we get to try other people's recipes and compare notes!  And of course everything we have goes well with the wine someone brings!  This month the theme was obviously Valentine's Day!  So the base of our snack was chocolate fondu and many people brought stuff to dip it in.  Well, we ended up drizzling it over the food instead!  We had strawberries, pineapple, pretzels, marshmallows and brownie bites!

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet, dark, milk, or white. Your choice.)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
Combine in a small slow cooker, cover and heat on low for 1 hour.  Stir for a few minutes til thick and serve.