Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies

Over the weekend I came across a really good candy sale at Target. So naturally I came home with a bag full of candy. Included in my haul was a bag of Rolos, a candy that I haven't eaten in several years. I immediately searched for a recipe to make with my Rolos and settled on these Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies. The title alone should convince you to make these cookies. But if not, just take a look at the pictures. 

I love how the Rolos melt completely, resulting in ooey gooey cookies out of the oven. I cut one of my cookies in half so you could see what I am talking about. How can you resist the caramel that flows out of these cookies as soon as you bite into them? You can also use small caramels, instead of Rolos, to create the same effect. 

Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies
Recipe from Iowa Girl Eats

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
18 Rolos, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside

Using a stand mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla. Continue to mix until combined. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.

With a small cookie scoop, scoop one ball of dough and place on top of a Rolo. Take another scoop of the dough and place on bottom of the Rolo. Seal the edges together and roll in a small bowl filled with 1/4 cup sugar. Place cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges are set. Allow to cool for a few minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

I have definitely missed the smell of pumpkin baking in my kitchen. After going a little pumpkin crazy this past fall, I haven't opened a can since then. I am not really sure why though. People generally shy away from baking with pumpkin outside of pumpkin season, which is during the fall. But why not bake with pumpkin all year round? There is no reason to wait for a good thing. I might not bring pumpkin to a July 4th party, but there is no reason I can't enjoy it myself throughout the year.  Plus, I might have stocked up in December. With about 10 cans in my pantry, I really have no choice but to put it to good use.

These muffins were one of the best things to come out of my kitchen this past fall. I didn't think I could make a better pumpkin muffin, but these pumpkin cream cheese muffins give them a run for their money. Mostly due to the addition of cream cheese in the center of each muffin. Pumpkin and cream cheese are a great combination. I almost always choose cream cheese frosting to top my pumpkin cupcakes. So it is no surprise that I loved the addition of cream cheese in these muffins. It is the perfect tangy complement to the sweet pumpkin muffins. They might take a little longer to make than your typical muffins, but the extra steps are certainly worth it. 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
from Annie's Eats (originally adapted from Bakespace)
yield: 24 muffins

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cups confectioner's sugar

Muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp  ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tbsp + 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
5 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffins pans with paper liners. Set aside.

For the filling: In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar. Mix until smooth and combined. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap. Shape the mixture into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Cover the log with the plastic wrap and reinforce with a piece of tin foil. Transfer to the freezer and allow it to chill for at least 2 hours.

For the muffins: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer, combien the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and vegetable in the bowl of the mixer. Mix on medium speed until fully combined.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.

For the topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Add the pieces of butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or your hands. The mixture should be coarse and crumbly. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until use.

Fill each muffin cup with a spoonful of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of each liner. Slice the log of cream cheese into 24 equal pieces and place one piece into each muffin cup. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups. Make sure that the cream cheese is covered completely.  Sprinkle the the topping mixture over each muffin cup.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

M&M Cookies

Is it still too early to be thinking about Valentines Day? I don't know about you guys, but I need something to get me through the month of January. It's just that January is somewhat of a boring month. There are no holidays to celebrate. The days are long and dark. And there is a lot of snow, at least in New England. So I obviously start looking ahead and baking festive desserts for Valentines Day. I started with these soft M&M cookies. I love M&M cookies, especially the giant ones you get at places like Panera.  Everything is better with chocolate and that is certainly the case with these cookies. 

These cookies use cornstarch, which makes them incredibly soft inside. If you have never tried using cornstarch in your cookies, you should definitely try this recipe. Trust me, you will be looking for other recipes to make using this secret ingredient. I made these cookies for Valentines Day so I used special pink and red M&M's for the occasion. Feel free to use regular M&M's or even chocolate chips instead. 

M&M Cookies

Recipe from Cooking Classy

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and diced into cubes
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 (11 oz) bag M&M's

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk, mixing until combined after each addition. Add the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.

Stop the mixer and add the M&M's. Mix with a spatula until incorporated into the batter. Scoop out cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

Basic Basil Pesto

Earlier in the month, I mentioned that I wanted to share more lunch and dinner recipes on Spoonful of Flour. Since I just got a new food processor for Christmas, I wanted to put it to good use and share one of my favorite pesto recipes with you today. I love pesto. Every time my boyfriend and I eat in the North End of Boston, I always order Linguine with Pesto from our favorite Italian restaurant, Beneventos. I should probably branch out more often, but I just love that dish so much. Especially when the meal ends with a cannoli from Mike's Pastry.

Traditional pesto is made with fresh basil and pine nuts. But the fun part is that you can play around with the combination of greens, nuts and even cheeses. For the greens, you can use basil, spinach or arugula. For the nuts, you can you pine nuts, almonds or walnuts. For the cheese, you can use parmesan, ricotta or goat cheese. Honestly, the possibilities are endless and I love playing around with many different combinations. Mix and match depending on what you have in the kitchen! This Basic Basil Pesto is one of my favorites. Because sometimes traditional and basic is best and truly hits the spot. 

Basic Basil Pesto
Recipe from Savory Sweet Life by Alice Currah
Yield: 1 cup

2 cups fresh basil, freshly packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor. Process until fully combined. Add the olive oil to the food processor. Pulse a few more times until fully incorporated. The pesto can be stored in a tightly sealed contained in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Blueberry Corn Muffins

Happy Wednesday! After a week of incredibly warm weather in New England, we all woke up to a winter wonderland this morning. Except it is really far from wonderful. I could definitely do without the snow and all of the shoveling that awaits me this afternoon. After waking up to all of this snow, I really just want to get back into bed and stay there for a while. Luckily I had these blueberry muffins to wake up to. They were just what I needed to get me out of bed on this snowy morning.

If only it were the middle of August, the weather was warm and blueberries were in season. And of course there were be no snow and shoveling to do. Wouldn't that be nice?

Blueberry Corn Muffins

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

Yield: 12 Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup ground yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 tbsp canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs 

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Fill a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, canola oil, vanilla and eggs until combined. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix with a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tins.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.

Cinnamon Scones

 

These cinnamon scones were a last minute addition to our Christmas morning breakfast. Just days before Christmas, my dad mentioned that I should make scones. Every morning he brings a banana to work for breakfast. But on those mornings when the bananas look a little too brown and mushy to eat, he stops at Au Bon Pain and picks up a cinnamon scone. I knew that I could make a scone that he enjoys  just as much as the cinnamon scones from Au Bon Pain. 

This was my first attempt at making scones and I was surprised by how easily the dough came together.   I woke up early on Christmas morning to make them but they were out on the oven within a half hour. Easy peasy! My whole family, but especially my dad, loved the flavor of these scones. They were soft and packed full of cinnamon flavor. Not only is there a generous amount of ground cinnamon but cinnamon chips add even more flavor to these sweet scones. They make the perfect breakfast for Christmas morning and every morning in between. 

Cinnamon Scones

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod
Yield: 8 scones

Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
1 cup heavy cream

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
1 tbsp heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon and salt. With your hands or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal with a few larger lumps. Add the cinnamon chips and stir until combined. Add the heavy cream and stir with a spatula until dough forms. Be careful not to over mix.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Knead the dough with your hands until it forms a ball. Pat the dough into a circle approximately 3/4 inch thick. Cut the scones into triangles or use a biscuit cutter. Combine the remaining scraps and cut additional scones until no dough remains. Place scones onto prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Using a pastry brush, gently brush each of the scones with heavy cream. Sprinkles the cinnamon sugar mixture onto each scone. Bake scones for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown in color. Allow scones to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Enjoy :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Happy New Year! Along with every New Year comes New Years resolutions. Did you make any resolutions for this upcoming year? Most resolutions tend to focus on eating healthy and exercising more frequently. I never make any resolutions like that because let's be honest, they are not going to happen. Give up eating cupcakes? No way. Cut back on the cookies? Doubtful. I mean I posted a cookie recipe on January 3rd so I can't be too concerned with resolutions. For me, moderation is key. I always try to incorporate healthy foods into my diet, rather than eliminate certain foods all together. We all know I could never live without sweets.

Which brings us back to these cookies. I have said it before, but chocolate and peanut is one of my favorite combinations. These Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies are rich and packed full of flavor. Not only are mini peanut butter cups folded into the batter, but there is also creamy peanut butter added to the chocolate base. I always think that more peanut butter is better and I loved the flavor combination of these soft cookies.

Although I don't really make New Years resolutions, I do have a lot of goals related to my blog in 2013. First, I want to incorporate more savory recipes and dinner ideas into my blog posts. In addition to all of the baking I do each week, I also love to cook. I can't wait to share more recipes with you in the upcoming year. I also hope to make the website even better and more user friendly. The beginning of 2013 is going to be a busy few months for me, but I really want to make my blog priority. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Recipe from Annie Eats (originally adapted from King Arthur Flour)

1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
6 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp milk
2 cups coarsely chopped peanut butter cups

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer, cream the butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and creamy.
Add the egg, vanilla and milk. Mix until fully incorporated.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Mix until just incorporated.
Turn the mixer off. Add the peanut butter cups. Mix with a spatula until fully combined.

Divide the dough into approximately 3 tablespoon balls and place each ball onto the prepared baking sheets. Gently press down on the balls to flatten them slightly. Press a few peanut butter cups on top of each ball. Bake for about 12-14 minutes or until the edges are set. Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets. Transfer cookies to cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy :)