chocolate swirled cream cheese chocolate chip cookies.

This is by far one of my new favorite cookie recipes.  You truly get the best of both worlds: a rich cream cheese chocolate chip cookie combined with a simple yet perfect chocolate cookie.  Since they are swirled, they look even prettier too!

These cookies take a bit of time to prepare since you have to make two different types of dough but it is still an easy, straightforward recipe. I had a blast making these and eating them too, of course! I hope you enjoy these gems as much as I did. 

~

chocolate swirled cream cheese chocolate chip cookies 

from averie cooks

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup original block cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar (I used Stevia)
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used part mini, part normal sized chips)

Chocolate Cookies:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup dark or light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste

Instructions:

1. First, make your cream cheese chocolate chip cookie dough. Put butter and cream cheese into mixer and beat until well combined. Add both sugars, egg, and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
2. Gradually add flour, cornstarch, and baking soda until just combined. Scrap down mixer as needed.
3. Gently fold or mix chocolate chips into batter.
4. If you only have one mixing bowl, transfer cream cheese chocolate chip cookie batter to another large bowl and place in refrigerator.
5. Begin making chocolate cookies in mixing bowl. I didn't wash mine out since the chocolate color will take over and you are using the same ingredients anyway.
6. Put butter and sugar into your mixing bowl and beat until soft, creamy, and well combined.
7. Add egg and vanilla extract and continue beating until well combined. Scrap down sides as needed.
8. Gradually add flour, cocoa, cornstarch, and baking soda. Mixing on low, just until combined.
9. Start with your cream cheese cookie dough. Using a small cookie scoop (or filling up a medium cookie scoop halfway), drop dough onto cookie sheet. I got 12 on a sheet.
10. You will do the same with your chocolate dough (using a cookie scoop, a spoon, or clean fingers) except you will place the chocolate dough on top of each ball of cream cheese dough. 
11. With clean hands, roll each mound of dough into a ball. Then, slightly flatten each dough ball.
    
    

     
    
    
12. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-9 minutes (or 12-13 minutes for bakery sized cookies), just until edges are set. My edges weren't even brown yet but they firmed up and were perfect.
13. Repeat until your dough is gone. You will have slightly more cream cheese dough so you may have some plain cream cheese chocolate chip cookies (definitely nothing wrong with that!). I got 5 dozen cookies. The original recipe suggested making 15 bakery-sized swirl cookies and 1 dozen plain cream cheese chocolate chip.

cookies & cream brownies.

The last time I was at the store, I grabbed a package of Oreos and I'm so glad I did because I pinned this amazing brownie recipe a few weeks back. I hadn't made an Oreo dessert in forever either so I knew it was time.

It's a quick, easy recipe to begin with and could be made even easier if you only had time to use a box mix. 

Ahh... don't Oreos make everything better? 

~

cookies & cream brownies 

from what's gaby cooking

ingredients

• 10 tablespoons butter, room temp.
• 1 1/4 cups white granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used salted butter so I omitted salt)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 15 Oreo cookies, crushed and divided

instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment OR line with tin foil and spray with non-stick baking spray.
2. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter. OR microwave butter until melted. 
3. Once the butter has melted, add the white sugar and cocoa powder. Stir to combine and remove from the heat if using stovetop.
4. Add the salt, vanilla and eggs, whisking until fully incorporated.
5. Add in the flour and half of the crushed oreo cookies and stir until just combined.
6. Scoop the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the remaining oreo cookies on top.
7. Place the pan into the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let the brownies cool for at least 2 hours. You can also stick them in the fridge for a bit to help cool quickly.
8. Remove the brownies from the pan by lifting the parchment or tin foil out. Place the brownies on the counter, slice and serve.

fudgy double chocolate zucchini cookies.

I love soft, fudgy, chocolatey cookies! I was so excited to find this one that includes zucchini. Zucchini makes cookies like these super moist and soft. Since we still have zucchini coming out of our ears so I had to bake up something delicious with it. They have been so large that they don't work very well for sauteing but they are perfect for baked goods. 

Oh and the zucchini in these cookies make them totally healthy ;)

~

fudgy double chocolate zucchini cookies 

from an oregon cottage

5 tbsp butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg (or 1/3 cup yogurt)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (I omitted)
1/2 c. shredded zucchini (squeeze extra water out of zucchini with paper towel or clean dish cloth)
1/2 cup chocolate chips 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a large cookie sheet with parchment.
2. Melt butter in microwave just until melted. Let cool about 5 minutes in the fridge (so it doesn't cook the egg and melt the chocolate chips). Stir in both sugars and cocoa powder until combined. Add egg (or yogurt) and vanilla.
3. Mix in flour, soda, and salt until smooth and then add the zucchini and chocolate chips, stirring until combined.
4. Using a medium cookie scoop, drop onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
5. Store in an airtight container or freeze for longer storage.

healthy chocolate peanut butter shake

Here's a healthy shake recipe to get your chocolate peanut butter fix any time of day! It has 17 grams of protein (7g from peanut butter and 10g from greek yogurt) so it can easily be a meal replacement shake. I had it for breakfast and it was one of the best decisions of my day ;)

~

healthy chocolate peanut butter shake from mama miss

Ingredients

1 sliced, frozen banana 

1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 Tbsp peanut butter

~1/2 cup vanilla almond milk (any milk would do though)

~1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor. Add more milk for a more sipp-able consistency.

soft homemade oreos.

I have been dying to make copycat Oreos but needed a special occasion to make them. You can only get about 10-12 sandwich cookies from this recipe which doesn't seem like enough for Grant to take to work and too many to keep at home. This would mean I would be eating them all day long until they were gone.

Grant's family invited us to Symphony on the Prairie last weekend. It is an event that takes place at Connor Prairie (a big historical park) in Indianapolis.  At this evening event, they have a of symphony come play.  Thousands attend and most bring a picnic dinner (anything from McDonalds to fancy cheese & wine. It's one of those events that makes you feel classy but it's still affordable.  Anyway, I was told there would be 7 of us and I could bring dessert. Hence the perfect opportunity to make these cookies.  Enough for all of us to have one and enough for Grant and I to sample beforehand and perhaps have a couple leftover. 

My handsome hubby and me at the Symphony

These cookies were a hit, too. They were super, super soft and had a creamy inside. Real winners. I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as we did!

~

Soft Homemade Oreos 

Ingredients

Cookies from crazy for crust

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey's special dark is recommended)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

Cream Filling from sally's baking addiction

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup vegetable shortening 

1 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and flour. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and both sugars. Mix in egg and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined.
5. Scoop (about 1 tbsp) cookie dough onto the cookie sheets. I got 25 cookies. 
6. Bake for 8-9 minutes . It's ok if they are a little underdone, they will be softer that way.
7. Let cool completely before filling and making sandwiches.
8. While cookies are cooling, make the filling. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and vegetable shortening.  Gradually add powdered sugar then the vanilla. Filling will be pretty thick.
9. With a spatula, spread cream filling onto one cooled cookie and sandwich it with another cookie. 
10. Enjoy!

Recipe Sources: 

http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2014/05/soft-homemade-peanut-butter-oreos/ 

& http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/12/17/homemade-oreos/

cookie dough frosted fudgy brownies.

I cannot even describe how wonderful these brownies are- they are so rich and dense and moist and chocolate-y and just plain amazing. It starts with a homemade brownie recipe that mimics a box brownie mix and is topped off with safe-to-eat cookie dough frosting. Just take my word for it- these gems are worth all the calories I didn't calculate ;)

cookie dough frosted fudgy brownies 

by mel's kitchen cafe & mel's kitchen cafe

Fudgy Brownie Ingredients:

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 5 ounces) butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Cookie Dough Frosting Ingredients: 

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown Sugar
1/8 cup (2 tbsp) granulated sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tbsp cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/2-1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides (if you are going to cut all the brownies at once). 
2. For the brownies, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for one minute intervals, stirring in between, until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Set the mixture aside until it cools slightly (is warm to the touch not hot). It will look gritty but it will become smooth once the other ingredients are added.
3. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Spread evenly in the lined pan.
4. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack. I put them in the refrigerator to cool quickly. :)
5. For the cookie dough frosting, in a small bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in milk and vanilla. Gradually add flour and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls over cooled brownies; carefully spread over top. If the brownies are cool enough, you shouldn't have trouble getting the frosting on successfully. The original author suggests to slightly wet hands and pat the dough down gently so it doesn’t pull up the brownies. Cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator. They taste AWESOME cold.

Recipe Credit:

 http://www.melskitchencafe.com/cookie-dough-topped-brownies/

&

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/the-best-fudgy-brownies/

chocolate donut holes with oreo glaze.

Are you ready to blow to some minds today? 

Yes? Ok good. I'll help you.

These beyond simple donut "holes" are made in mini muffin tins. You can make them in a real donut pan if you have one, just adjust the baking time. 

First, you whip up some plain (but flavorful, I promise) chocolate donut batter and let 'em bake. While they are baking, make the glaze. There is an estimated ratio of milk to powdered sugar given in the recipe. Feel free to add more if you'd like to because you can always double dip those bad boys ;) Just don't forget the chopped up Oreos!

After they are out of the oven and mostly cooled, dunk 'em all the way in to that thick, yummy glaze. If they are being consumed at home, they are ready to eat! If they are going somewhere, I recommend waiting to store them until the glaze is hardened. 

I also recommend lining the cooling rack with foil/wax/parchment. This makes for a super easy clean up.  Also, please read my notes under the recipe to see my substitutions. :)

Ingredients:

For the donuts:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup buttermilk*
1 egg**
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, browned***
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Oreo glaze:
1 and 1/4 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar, sifted
2-4 tablespoons milk****

Finely chopped Oreos (I probably used 6-8 double stuffed)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a mini donut pan (or mini muffin tins) with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar. 
3. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, butter, and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry and slowly, stir together until everything is just combined.
4. Transfer batter to a Ziploc bag or a piping bag (I didn't do this, I just spooned it). and cut the tip off. Squeeze the batter into each mold, filling it about 2/3 full.  Bake for 7 minutes (a little longer if you are using a muffin tin, I left mine in around 10 minutes). Let the donuts rest in the pan for 2-3 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 
5. Repeat process until all the batter has been used.
6. While the donuts are cooling, prepare the glaze. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and chopped Oreos until well-combined. The glaze should be thick, but still pourable. Add milk as needed to get it to the right consistency.
7. Dip the entire donut into the glaze (you won't be sorry) with a spoon or other utensil.  Place on a wire rack. Glaze will harden after some time. 

*I put 1/2 tbsp lemon juice into glass measuring cup and filled the rest of the way up with half and half. Also, you might need 1/4 cup more milk (or half and half, cream, almond milk, etc.). My batter was thick like dough but was perfect after I added more liquid.

**I didn't have an egg so I substituted 1/4 cup vanilla greek yogurt.

***I am lazy and therefore, I didn't brown my butter. I melted it.

****I used a combo of half and half and milk. The result? A thick, rich, creamy glaze.

Recipe (slightly tweaked) from Culinary Couture

Enjoy, friends & please let me know what you think!!

gluten free fudge brownies.

Rich, decadent brownies that are to die for! 

Here's another non-gritty, non-grainy gluten free recipe.  These have all the things that brownies should have- cocoa, lots of sugar, and chunky chocolate chips. Gluten allergy or not, these brownies are worth trying. :)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil (or butter if you aren't doing dairy free)
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips, not optional :)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan and line pan with parchment paper. 
3. Combine the sugars and oil and beat until well combined. 
4. Add in the eggs and whisk together. Mix in the vanilla and beat for about two minutes. 
5. Stir together the cocoa and salt. 
6. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and blend until smooth. 
7. Fold in the chips and nuts. 
8. Pour into prepared pan and bake about 20-25 minutes. 

Recipe Source: Yammies Glutenfreedom

gluten free brownie cookies.

I realize this is never a good way to start off a sentence but I'm doing it anyway... 
Please don't call me close-minded but I always figured gluten free meant, well...yuck. I imagined gluten free cookies would be gritty and bland- something definitely not worth the calories. 

These cookies are anything but yuck. They are amazing! They are soft, chewy, rich, and just plain tasty. Perfect for the gluten free person in your life! :)

So, rest assured- my mind has been opened and I will definitely consider trying more gluten free desserts in the future.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, room temp.
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup white chocolate chips*
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips*

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. 
2. Mix together the butter and sugars. 
3. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Mix together the soda, salt, and cocoa and add to the wet ingredients, mixing until combined. 
4. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. 
5. Bake for about 10 minutes or until they look done.

*I used 1 cup chocolate chips because I didn't have any white chips.

Recipe Source:
http://www.yammiesglutenfreedom.com/2013/10/flourless-brownie-cookies.html

chewy red velvet chocolate chip cookies.

I know I know I've made red velvet cookies and posted them on here before but I just had to try this new recipe and share them with you because they were beyond delicious!

Just a few notes about this recipe...I doubled the recipe because the website I got this from (listed below) said it only makes 12-15 cookies. And that just isn't enough cookies in my opinion (plus I wanted both Grant and I to be able to share some at work)! Doubling the recipe worked great- I made the cookies smaller and got 5 1/2 dozen.

I used Nestle Toll House's Dark Chocolate & Red Morsels and they were AWESOME.  I got them on sale after Valentines Day and finally got around to using them. Although I highly recommend using dark chocolate chips, I believe any kind of chocolate chips would work great- white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or semi sweet chocolate chips. 

Speaking of chocolate chips, you could use a whole bag for this recipe if you wanted to because there's no such thing as too many chocolate chips!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon red food coloring

1/2-1 cup chocolate chips* 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla and combine until smooth. Beat in red food coloring. 

3. Stir in cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt until just combined, scraping down the sides when needed. 

4. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Scoop out 1/2-1 tablespoon of dough and set on baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes.

Recipe Credit: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2010/10/red-velvet-chocolate-chip-cookies-from-scratch/

white & chocolate chip chocolate cookies.

I hadn't baked any sweets in probably 3 weeks so this was necessary. These are chewy with just the right amount of crunch. They are bursting with chocolate chips  in every bite. Hershey's calls these cookies "perfect white chip chocolate cookies". I have to admit they are pretty close to perfect.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Special Dark Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup White Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• 1. Heat oven to 350°F.
• 2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, cocoa, and baking soda; gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in both kinds of chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
• 3. Bake 8 to 9 minutes. (Do not overbake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking; flatten upon cooling.) Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

[Inspired by https://www.hersheys.com/celebrate/summer/recipedetail.aspx?id=5167]