Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

Mr. Ginge and I got our taxes done on Friday.

I know. Our Friday nights are hella cool.

Regardless, we decided to stay downtown and get something to eat instead of heading back home, only to have to drive back out a little while later.

Nearby the tax place is a little Chinese buffet called the OK restaurant. Despite the name they are actually pretty good; decent prices, quiet, and they have this little crab thingies that are awesome. Mr Ginge and I will fight over them. Anyways, with a name like that and my sense of humour, it was let just wide open for puns. This was how our night went:

Mr Ginge: What do you feel like for dinner? Pizza? Chinese?

Me : Ya. Chinese sounds good.

Mr Ginge: OK

Then later while we were eating.

Me: How are  your crab thingies?

Mr. Ginge: OK

Then for dessert:

Me: You going up or dessert?

Mr. Ginge: OK

And then finally as we got the bill:

Waitress: And how was your meal?

Both Mr. Ginge and I : OK

Now imagine copious amounts of sniggering at every ok.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

makes 32 cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup crushed pretzels
• 2 cups peanut butter chips
• 32 whole mini pretzel twists (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in the vanilla.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Gradually add it to the butter mixture, mixing so that it is combined.
5. Fold in the crushed pretzels and the peanut butter chips. Scoop  by the rounded tablespoon onto the prepare baking sheet. Top with a whole mini pretzel, squishing down lightly, just so that the pretzel sticks to the top and the cookie stays thick.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool on the sheet for a couple minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I have a weird sense of humour.

-Mel

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

The hardest part I find about blogging is finding something to say.

Often, I can’t think of anything to say. Like now.  So instead I`ll blather on about what`s been going on Chez Ginge.

• Both Sash Moustache and Chewy have been dropped off at the vet to get fixed. And they have to stay there for two days after the surgery( which went well, and last time I called they were doing well in recovery).Jack looked at us strangely when we walked in sans cat. In true cat-lady style, I miss them already. I’m so not looking forward to not having my snuggli for another night. 
• Mr Ginge is a BIG movie fan, and often brings home a couple movies for us to watch. Recently, he’s brought home Rise of the Guardians and Playing for Keeps.  Me, being the absolutely mature woman that I am, loved Rise of the Guardians. If you haven’t seen in, please do. It’s absolutely wonderful, and it’s kind of funny thinking of Hugh Jackman as a fluffy bunny. I absolutely hated Playing for Keeps. I hate stupid characters. Girls that fall for the whore of a main character. Characters that do blatantly stupid things. Random and violent changes of mood or heart. Sadly it’s not limited to movies. I’ve thrown books across the room for the exact same reason.
• I finally got into a program that will help me get better. I’m anxious and nervous about starting, and in true Melli style have run through situations a million times through my head, but I’m also hopeful about the treatment. While I absolutely love the doctors I have, I’m sick of appointments and going to see them, hahaha.
• Speaking of Doctors, I have been absolutely hooked on Doctor Who. My sister is in love with the show, and honestly, I was getting sick of not understanding  her jokes and references. So I decided to watch it, despite not really being a sci-fi fan, and generally hating anything to do with aliens. Aaaaaaaand now I’m hooked.  I’m only on season two ( of both Dr Who and Torchwood…..) But I’ve already watched and re-watched soooo many episodes.  I’ve been rocking a Union Jack tee à la Rose circa Empty Child (one of my favourites) thanks to my lovely sister, who has also been rocking the same shirt.
• Oreos are a bad thing to have in our house. I bought a pack to make these cupcakes  for Mr. Ginges birthday, and we’ve had to hide the bag so that Mr Ginge and I don’t devour them all.

Cookies and cream is one of Mr Ginge’s absolute favourite combination, so these cupcakes were irresistible  I like that they don’t make a super huge batch. Just enough to share, and not have a whole bunch kicking around the house for a while.  Especially when you are already hiding the Oreos.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

makes 9 cupcakes

For the cake:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
•  1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup light cream
• 1/2 cup crushed oreo ( or reasonable facsimile) cookies, plus additional for garnish.

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with 9 liners.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and the sugar, until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple times.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
4. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add it to the wet mixture, alternatively  to the cream. 3 parts dry to 2 parts cream. Beat until combined.
5. Fold in the crushed oreo cookies.
6. Divide the batter between the 9 liners, and bake 15-18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let cool a couple minutes in the pan, then move to a wire rack and cool completely.

For the frosting: (from French Vanilla Cappuccino Cupcakes) 

• 1/2 cup milk or light cream
• 1/8 cup flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1. In a small saucepan, combine the flour and 1/8th of a cup of milk, whisking until combined. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Slowly pour in the remaining milk, whisking constantly until it has thickened to about the consistency of custard. Set aside and cool to room temperature. 
2. Meanwhile, beat together the butter and the icing sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
3. Slowly pour in the cooled milk mixture and continue beating until light and fluffy.
4. Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a wide tip, and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with additional cookie crumbs
5. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Talking about those cookies have made me want them. Ugh.

-Mel

Nutella Crispy Rice Rolls

Sometimes you just need a classic and easy treat. Like a cereal treat.

And then sometimes you need to take that classic crispy treat, and load it up with some chocolate. Then roll it all up and drizzle it with more chocolate.  And then just as the chocolate starts to set you slice it up and scarf it down like the crispy-rice-chocolate vehicle that it is.

And the best part? Scarfage can happen in like half an hour.

Awesome sauce.

Nutella Crispy Rice Rolls

makes about 12 rolls

• 3 cups puffed rice cereal ( Please excuse the holiday cereal. It was cheap )
• 2 cups marshmallows ( about 1/2 a package)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups Nutella
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Line a 9×13 jelly roll pan with plastic wrap and set aside.
2. In a sauce pan, melt together the marshmallow and butter, stirring to melt evenly. Once melted, stir in the vanilla. 
3. Immediately stir in the cereal, coating it evenly with the marshmallow mixture. While it’s still warm, dump it onto the prepared pan, pressing into all the corners, until you have a thin even layer.  Let this set for a couple minutes.
4. When the cereal is cool, but not completely set, spread the Nutella over top, leaving a bit along a long edge plain.
5. Roll cereal treats by holding the edge of the plastic wrap with your thumbs, then lift up the cereal treats and roll towards the other edge, mking sure to lift up the plastic wraps as you go.  Once it was rolled, I wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap, the set it in the fridge to help firm it up. 
   
6. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips. You could you a double boiler or the microwave, but make sure not to burn it. Burning chocolate is not a nic smell.

7. Drizzle the melted ( and not burned) chocolate over the top of the roll. Stick it back in the fridge for a few minutes to let it firm up, then slice and enjoy.

Sooooo simple and so hard to stop eating.

- Mel

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I linked this recipe up to The Weekend Potluck and Strut Your Stuff Saturdays! Click the link to heck out more great recipes!

M&M Blondies

It’s time for an episode of ” Mel-is-Embarrassing-and-Can’t-Be-Taken-Anywhere”.

Grocery Store Edition.

Monday, Mr. Ginge and I decided we would pick up the fixings for pizza after we ran some errands around town. Coffees in hand, we wander around the store, picking up this and that for dinner and the upcoming week, including a very fresh and delicious looking box of donuts.  As we were headed to the check out, Mr Ginge decides he wants olives on his pizza, do heads back to the deli to scoop some out.

Because the basket was full and rather heavy, I set it down on the floor in front of the stand, as we discussed the pizza merits of one olive versus the next. As he scooped, I set my half-empty coffee cup on the ledge, so that I could answer my dinging phone. Well, I don’t know whether I didn’t set it on the ledge enough, or that I hit it with my coat sleeve, but my coffee ended up airborne, landing unpside down in my basket of groceries all over the fresh box of donuts.

I was able to grab it before the entire contents ended up in my basket, but I still ended up with a mess, and a man with a look of utter disbelief on  his face, frantically looking around to see if anyone could tell if he was with the nimrod beside him.

You’d think that would be bad enough, but no.  I didn’t have any paper towel, or tissues, or napkins, or any bits of absorbent paper lingering in my purse, so I had to leave it as is. Which means I had to put by sopping wet ad very sticky groceries up on the belt and have the poor cashier ring them through. I was kinda hoping that she wouldn’t notice, or, you know, soggy groceries weren’t all that uncommon of a thing, but apparently not. Having dealt with the mess that was my purchases, she whips out some paper towels and starts wiping down my groceries, in front of her very busy line, not saying a word.

Needless to say I couldn’t wait to leave. Neither could Mr Ginge.

These have nothing to do with that grocery store trip. There was a mix that I used to make often when I was younger that would always get gobbled up quickly by my family. I was looking to recreate the taste in a from-scratch way and this is what I came up with. My mom, who remembered them the most, agreed that they were spot on.

M&M Blondies

makes one 8×8 pan

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens The Ultimate Cookie Book

• 1/3 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup M&M’s candies ( Please don’t substitute. We tried it once with Smarties, and it was a whole different animal)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 8×8 pan and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan over medium, melt together the butter and the sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat. Beat in the egg and the  vanilla until combined.
3. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Dump it into the butter mixture and stir until combined.
4. Fold in both the M&M’s and the chocolate chips into the batter.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading with an offset spatula to even out.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and the centre is set.
7. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then cut into bars while warm, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

With a tall glass of milk and one of these bars, I just might be able to forget my latest embarrassing episode.

-Mel

Buttertarts

I am a fairly avid reader.

 

And by reader I mean if my nose isn’t stuck in a cook book or a food magazine, it’s stuck in a trashy romance that I am more than likely going to whip through in a matter of hours. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy other types of books, but I also enjoy trash.

Give me all the vampire, werewolves, witches, curses, otherworld fantasy romances you’ve got. I’ll be in my happy place.

Having said that, I will admit I am a very unobservant book chooser. More often then not, I browse the romance section of the book store ( or lets face it the bargain section) and if the cover appeals to me, I’ll pick it up. 9 times out of 10 I’ll read the back cover, to make sure I haven’t read it, then home it goes.

This is where I usually discover, that it is part 6 of some absurdly long series, and I have no idea what is going on. ( Fortunately, there are some series which haven’t been too bad, the Dark Hunter series I read very badly out of order, as well as many Nora Roberts series that I have gotten second hand).  This causes some very frustrated attempts to read, and then I finally break down and go on the hunt for the other books in the series.

Does anyone else do this, or is this just a uniquely Mel thing?

Regardless of any incurred frustration, I have stumbled on some amazing series this way. Or amazing in the fact if you enjoy trashy novels like I do!

Honestly, I think I’m even worse when it comes to cook books. I see them on sale or cheap and I am compelled to buy them. Recipe overload. And then when push comes to shove, I turn to my most favourite cook books ( which I have often bought at full price) or a family recipe that is neatly stashed away in my recipe box.

Like these butter tarts. I’ve probably flagged a similar recipe in more than one cook book, but when Mr. Ginge begs me to make them, I turn to the hand written card I copied from my Mom’s recipes.

Go figure.

Butter Tarts

makes 12 buttertarts

• pastry for a 10 inch double crust pie
• 1 cup of add- ins of choice ( I used walnuts, white chocolate chips and chocolate chips, but really you could use whatever you fancy. Or none. They are infinitely customizable)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup golden corn syrup
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. On a floured surface, roll out your pastry to 1/8 of an inch and cut 12 5 in circles. I don’t have a cutter that big so I use a clean tupperware dish.  Set each round into an ungreased muffin pan, gently folding the edges so that the pastry fits right down into the cup. 
3. Sprinkle your choice of add ins evenly over the bottom of the pastry. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, cornsyrup, brown sugar, melted butter and salt. Pour into the prepared shells, so that they are each about 3/4 of the way full.
5. Bake in the preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until the filling has set. Let them cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and cool completely. ( make sure to do this, other wise any overflowed filling can set and make it hard to get the tarts out. Then you have a mess. A big one.)

From Mom’s recipe archive. 

Last time I made these, Mr Ginge left me one. He took the rest.

- Mel

 

Mr. Ginge’s Christmas in a Cup

Normally, I’m a purist when it comes to a cup of hot chocolate.  If I feel like imbibing, then my normal move is to add a splash of Irish cream in to my cup.

Not one to let me get into a food rut, Mr. Ginge urged me to try his favourite holiday time drink when I told him I had never tried it. While the “recipe” itself seems like a no-brainer, it was his description that sold me: ” You’ll like it. It’s like Christmas in a cup.” And I one sip, I knew exactly what he meant. It’s the perfect drink to snuggle up to on the couch, in a room lit only by the tree, while big, puffy Christmas snow falls outside.

Mr. Ginge’s Christmas in a Cup

makes 1 cup

• 1 cup of your favourite hot chocolate ( I won’t lie, I use instant mix, but this would work just as well with homemade, or straight from the coffee shop)
• 1 oz peppermint schnapps

1. In to your cup of hot chocolate, stir in the peppermint schnapps. Snuggle in and enjoy. 

Happy Holidays!

- Mel

Chocolate Drizzled Mocha Cookies

Guys!

I’m guest posting over at The Cook’s Sister! Head on over there to get the recipe!

Don’t forget to say hi to Amber!

Marbled Chocolate Orange Pound Cake

I have a confession to make.

I bought a Christmas decoration last weekend. Actually, that’s not entirely true. I’ve already bought three, but the first two don’t count.  I buy them early every year.

Point is, it is barely October, hardly past Thanksgiving, and I have succumbed and bought something related to Christmas. It’s scary I know.

This also means that I should also have my Christmas baking list ready to go, and it’s so totally not. I have no idea what I want to make or what I am going to make. Now normally this is not a big deal, except that I bake soooo much that I am actually starting to panic.

Yes. I have issues.

So, instead of focusing on the nest big holiday that is  far away, I baked something festive for Halloween.

That ended up tasting like those whack and unwrap oranges you get a Christmas time. Go figure.

Marbled Chocolate and Orange Pound Cake

makes one 9×3 cake

• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups butter
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp orange extract
• orange food colouring ( optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×3 loaf pan and line with parchment paper so that it hangs over the sides.
2. In a bowl, combine the milk and eggs, beating together. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of your mixer ( or in a large bowl) combine the flour, baking powder and sugar. Give it a whir to combine, then slowly beat in the butter. When it is combined, pour in about half of the egg mixture. When it is combined, scrape the batter from the sides and bottom of the bowl. Slowly pour in the remaining egg mixture and beat until smooth.
4. Divide the batter into two bowls. In one half of the batter, mix in the cocoa powder. In the other half, stir in the orange extract and the food colouring, if using.
5. Drop spoonfuls of batter  into the prepared pan, alternating chocolate with orange batter. Swirl the batter together gently with a knife.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then lift out of the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack

- Mel

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I linked this recipe to Strut Your Stuff Saturdays as well as these other great blogs:

 

Reverse Chocolate Chippers

Chocolate chip cookies.

They are my favourite cookies to make and the ones that I make the most often. Also what gets requested most often. It’s soft and chewy comfort all wrapped up in a few bites. It’s one of the first recipes I recall making from scratch, and linked to memories of eating cookie dough straight from the bowl.

This doesn’t mean, however, that I am not opposed to switching it up a bit with my cookies. And while these aren’t wildy off the beaten path, they hit the spot when dad asked me to make him some cookies with white chocolate chips. Perfect with a book, a cup of tea and a snuggly kitten.

Reverse Chocolate Chippers

makes about 2 dozen cookies ( more if you like smaller cookies)

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pkg ( about 2 cups) white chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the first 4 ingredients and set aside.
3. In another, larger, bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars, just until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in the vanilla.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, switching to a spoon if your mixer starts to strain.  Pour in the chocolate chips, giving them a stir to distribute them throughout the dough.
5. Using a cookie scoop ( mines about 2 tbsp) or a couple of spoons, mound the dough onto a cookie sheet, about 2 inches/ 5 cm apart. Stick them in your preheated oven for about 12 minutes. Let them cool on the sheet for a couple minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sometimes, you can”t beat just a little twist on a classic.

-Mel

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I linked this recipe up to The Weekend Potluck and Strut Your Stuff Saturdays! Click the link to check out more great recipes!

Peanut Butter Nutella Pocket Pies

I am a bit absent minded.

Absent minded in the fact that I lose things. Constantly. I can’t tell you how many times I have lost my glasses, and Mr Ginge has been the one to find them. Like on top of the microwave, or tucked into my bookshelf, or in the garbage. The worst part about losing things, is that I never  intend  on losing them. My every intention is to put them away in a safe place so that I will be able to find them easily when I am looking for them again. The problem always seems to be when I do try and find these things again. When I’m actually looking for something, I can ( and have!) turned the house upside down looking for it.  Last week is was a passbook. This week it was apples in my freezer.

You see, I know they are in there. Along side the rest of the frozen fruit. Except of course when I wanted it. Then it has mysteriously disappeared or hidden underneath some frozen french fries. I really didn’t feel like tearing apart the freezer, so the mini apples pies I had planned to make, went on the back burner. I’ll find them when I’m not looking for them any more.

Fortunately for me, this is when inspiration stuck. While hunting for a snack, both the peanut butter and the nutella jumped out at me, and I knew then exactly what I was going to do with the bit of pastry. If you are looking for  a quick and easy ( and tasty!) snack, these are definitely it.

Peanut Butter Nutella Pocket Pies

makes  about 8 pies

• pastry for 9″ pie,  homemade or store bought
• 8 tsp smooth peanut butter
• 8 tsp Nutella
• milk for brushing
• sugar, optional

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line your baking sheet with some parchment ( they tend to leak a bit).
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8 in/ 3 mm thick. With a 4 in cutter, cut out your circles. Gather the scraps and roll out again.
3. In the middle of each of the rounds, drop 1 tsp each of Nutella and peanut butter. Fold the rounds in half and press the edges together with a fork. Place them a couple inches apart on your prepared baking sheet.
4. Prick the tops with a fork to allow the steam to escape. Brush lightly with milk, then sprinkle the tops with sugar if desired.
5. Bake in your preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. I checked mine after 15, then let them bake for another few minutes.
6. Let cool a few minutes on the pan, then enjoy!

- Mel

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I linked this recipe up to The Weekend Potluck and Strut Your Stuff Saturdays. Click the link for more great recipes!