strawberry-lime shortcake w/ coconut whipped cream

Monday night our friends, the Beans, had us over for dinner and asked us to bring a dessert. Immediately, I thought of this one. It's crazy delicious and people think you're impressive when you make this. Your secret will be that it's easy as far as cakes go and is more about assembly than anything else. I discovered it in one of my favorite cookbooks, Our Best Bites. The ladies that wrote the book, have an awesome blog with a ton of their recipes and tips. You really need to check them out. I've used sooo many of their dishes. 

You gotta make the pound cake first and here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temp (I cheated and used them straight outta the fridge)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 sour cream (Monday, I forgot the sour cream when I went to the store, but had plain greek yogurt in the fridge and substituted that. Just as delicious.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Using a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt and forget about it for now. 

Beat the butter and sugar until nice and fluffy, usually about a minute.
Continue beating and add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and sour cream (our plain greek yogurt). Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. DO NOT OVER MIX (it'll still work out if you do, just the texture will be a little different and you'll have tunnels in your cake). 

Pour batter into a greased 8 or 9 inch bread pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until skewer (or knife) comes out clean. Cool for 10 min and then take that bad boy outta the pan. 

While your delectable pound cake is baking, you can prep the strawberries and whipped cream. Or you can wait. Whatevs. I prepped my strawberries and waited to do the whipped cream until right before serving. 

Strawberry-Lime Ingredients:

4 cups sliced fresh strawberries (I just used a small container of strawberries and sliced those suckers up)
1/2 cup sugar 
4 Tablespoons of fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

Directions:

Mix berries, sugar, and lime juice. Set aside. You want to let it settle for about 15 minutes so it can develop a light syrup. Keep in the fridge until serving. 

Coconut Whipped Cream Ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons coconut extract (I always add a little extra to give it more of a coconut kick)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Pour cream into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer for about one minute. Slowly add powdered sugar and the extracts. Continue beating until soft peaks form. 

Toasted Coconut Directions:

I do this right after I take the cake outta the oven, because the oven is already hot!

Spread your shredded, sweetened coconut (however much you like) on a cookie sheet. 

Pop it in the preheated oven and bake for 3-5 minutes. 

WARNING! Coconut goes from white to black very quickly, so you're gonna want to keep your little eyeballs on it and pull it out when it's golden brown. 

Now, the fun part. Assembly. 

Slice your cooled pound cake and take a slice or two and put it on a plate. Spoon out some strawberries and place on top and don't scrimp on the syrup (It's so yummy. Especially when it soaks into the cake a little.)! Place a dollop of whipped cream on top and sprinkle your perfectly toasted coconut on top. 

Finally, get that goodness in your belly!

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easy peasy bread sticks/pizza dough

Yesterday, I made bread sticks to go along with the white chili simmering in the Crockpot. Both were a mistake. Not because they weren't delicious (which they most definitely were), but because they both had their side affects. The bread sticks I couldn't stay away from and ate half a pan of them. I have a carb problem. There, I said it. As for the white chili.....let's just say Mr. G and I should probably invest in the Better Marriage Blanket.

What's so great about the bread stick recipe is that it is pretty quick and very versatile. I like to put a generous amount of garlic salt, parsley, and Parmesan  cheese on top most of the time, but you can really put whatever you want.  Like turning them into cheesy bread, or making them more of a treat with cinnamon and sugar. The Carrabba's mix might also be delicious!

The recipe comes from my BYU cooking class which I highly recommend to those that are attending BYU. By far one of my favorite classes. And if you can, take it from Dana Adcock. She is the best!

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 C warm water
1 Tablespoon yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-3 1/2 C flour
1/4 C butter, melted
whatever topping you want

DIRECTIONS:
Dissolve yeast in warm water in bowl of mixer.

Add sugar, salt and 2 1/2 cups flour. Mix to form dough. (You'll want to use your dough hook)

If more flour is needed, add up to 1 cup more a little at a time. 

Mix about 3 minutes.

Let dough rest for 10 minutes. 

Put half of the melted butter in a jelly roll pan.

Using a rolling pin or hands (I think hands is easier), flatten dough into buttered jelly roll pan. 

Spread remaining butter over the top of the dough.

Use a pizza cutter to cut dough in strips. I usually cut it once lengthwise and then however many times I feel like it the other way just depending on how thick I want them. 

Sprinkle with desired topping. 

Let rest another 10 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Cut with pizza cutter again and serve.....or eat all of them yourself like me!

For pizza, just add pizza toppings and bake in jelly roll pan or split the dough in two and to make two round pizzas to bake on a pizza stone. It's the same timing and same oven temp for pizza. I like to put a little bit of corn meal on the bottom of the pizza stone to make it seem more like restaurant pizza. 

grandma's famous orange rolls

The lovely lady on the left is my grandmother Margaret Barclay Woodward sitting with my Uncle Chip and my Grandpa Ralph is the studly laughing gent. I didn't know her very well, because she passed when I was three. From what I've heard, she had the voice of an angel. She was a coloratura soprano (meaning she could sing crazy high and do a lot of vocal tricks). She also was very classy, spicy, beautiful, and loved/feared (apparently she expected a lot from her BYU vocal students). My single memory of her is her reading me a book in her over-sized, stuffed, pink lounge chair. That is, after I somersaulted down the stairs with said book and caught glimpses of her between the pillars of the stairs in said chair. I would have loved to have more memories of her. 

Anyway, from her I got my abnormal bony wrists, tiny fingers (my wedding ring is a size 3 1/2), high waist, nose, and I like to think, my soprano range (although her voice was a million times better than mine).  

My family also inherited her addictive orange roll recipe that is a must at Thanksgiving. Seriously, there would be riots if these weren't a part of our meal. Since I'm in the giving mood, I thought I'd share/give you the recipe too. But, shhhhh, it's a family secret. 

GRANDMA WOODWARD'S ORANGE ROLLS

Makes 24

In a medium bowl mix:
1/2 C warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp yeast

Let yeast mixture cool

In a large bowl mix:
1 C scalded milk
2 Heaping Tbsp shortening
2 eggs, beaten
4 Big Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

The scalded milk melts the shortening, so make sure the milk/shortening mixture is cooled before adding the eggs so the eggs don't scramble

Add yeast mixture to milk/egg mixture

Add in:
4 C flour (I like to use better for bread flour, but all-purpose works too)

Dough should be slightly sticky to the touch. Add more flour if needed just a little at a time. Dough should pull away from the bowl.

Let rise for 2 hours

Put dough on heavily floured surface. Roll out to 1/2 inch thick rectangle like you would do for cinnamon rolls.

Orange spread:
6 Tbsp melted butter
1 C sugar
2 orange rinds

Mix together

Spread orange mixture evenly on dough rectangle.

 Roll up like a jelly roll (starting on the long side) and cut with dental floss 1 inch thick slices. (Hint: cut off the end a put it to the side, because it's usually wonky and doesn't have a ton of filling. You can still bake it if you want...)

 and place in greased muffin tins.

Let rise 1 1/2 hours (I didn't need to let them rise this long because my yeast was on turbo mode. I let them rise for about a 1/2 hour). 

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. I would watch them the last couple of minutes because with all the sugar, they can burn easily. 

My grandma didn't do icing, because these really don't need them. I think icing would overshadow their awesomeness. 

So, there you have it. My beautiful grandmother's famous orange rolls. Enjoy and eat 5 for me. 

ridiculously fantastic apple crisp

Yesterday, I had a surprisingly good food day (go, me!). I haven't been able to cook much since we got married, because I've been crazy busy. So, it was nice that Sunday rolled around and I had time to be a regular housewife. 

Originally, I was gonna make a good old fashioned roast with potatoes, but discovered, at the last minute, that we were out of potatoes and everyone knows you can't do a roast with out its starchy friends. Mr. G suggested we do french dip sandwiches instead. I will forever be grateful for that suggestion, because they were one of the best things I've eaten. 

(homemade hoagies from Our Best Bites cookbook)

Anyway, Mr. G had picked these wonderfully tart apples from one of his properties and wanted to make a dessert with them. Since I didn't want to dirty up the kitchen too badly (because I'd already cleaned it twice) we decided to do an apple crisp instead of apple pie. Another good decision. 

Normally, I make my friend LaRene's apple crisp, but I misplaced the recipe (boo). So I went to my old pal, Pinterest and did a quick search and decided on a recipe. OMG!!!! The one I found is different kind of apple crisp that has more of a crust than a crumble and creates this delectable caramel sauce. Mr G had 3 servings, Chancho had 2, and I had 1 (trying to watch it with the treats). 

The recipe was found here and is below!

INGREDIENTS

Filling:

about 5 large apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

3/4 c. sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

Topping:

1 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/4 + 1/8 tsp. (or 3/8) tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 eggs, lightly beaten (just do your best to do 1 1/2 eggs)

6 tbsp. melted butter

cinnamon for sprinkling

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13x9" pan.

Filling:

Prepare your apples by peeling and coring them and then very thinly slicing them. Place them in your greased pan.

Stir the 3/4 c. sugar and 1 tbsp. cinnamon together, then sprinkle over the sliced apples. DO NOT MIX IN!!!! This is what creates the really awesome caramel sauce. 

Topping:

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Once combined, add the lightly beaten egg, stirring it in as best you can. It won't mix together thoroughly, and that's okay. I used my fingers to try to work the egg into the dry ingredients.

Assemble:

Sprinkle flour mixture topping over the cinnamon/sugared apples.

Pour melted butter over the topping.

Then sprinkle with extra cinnamon.

Bake:

Bake for about 45 minutes or until filling is bubbling and topping is nicely browned.

Enjoy!

stupid good quick cinnamon rolls

I think I gave my husband diabetes when I made these. He ate 4 in about 10 minutes. I've tried a few different recipes and I think this one takes the cake, er, roll....

Anyway, for a cinnamon roll, they are fast to make. Just over an hour. Not bad, right? I found the recipe here and she has an divine looking variation on the recipe for caramel apple cinnamon rolls. I'm dying to try them! Get ready, Mr. G!

For convenience, the recipe is below. 

Ingredients: 

Dough:

1 C milk (whole would be awesome)
1/4 C butter
3 1/2 C all-purpose flour, divided 
1/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 envelope instant yeast, or 2 1/4 tsp
1 egg

Filling:

1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
3 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 C butter complete softened (not melted)

Cream Cheese Icing:

1/2 butter, softened
1/4 cream cheese
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp milk (if needed)

Directions:

Combine milk and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute, then remove and stir. Continue heating in 20 second intervals, pausing after each to stir, until the butter is melted and the milk is warm to the touch but not hot. If needed, let the milk mixture sit for a few minutes until it is warm but not hot.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add 3 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Stir by hand to combine. Add the egg and milk mixture, and beat on medium-low speed until combined. Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated. When the dough begins to form a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, you have added enough flour (I used all 3 1/2 cups). Continue beating for 5 minutes on medium-low speed (speed 2 on the KitchenAid). Remove the dough hook and cover the dough with a damp towel and let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make your filling by mixing together sugars and cinnamon in a bowl until combined.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured work surface. Then use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 14 x 9 inches in size. (If you want all edges to be even, you can use a pizza slicer to cut the dough into a perfect rectangle, but that's a little OCD for my taste). Use a knife or pastry spatula (or fingers) to spread the softened 1/2 cup of butter out evenly over the entire surface of the dough. Then sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon and sugar mixture (use all of the mixture! It's what makes these so tasty!)

(My stupid blurry iPhone....)

Beginning at the 14-inch edge, tightly roll up the dough. And then give the final seam a little pinch so that it seals. Use a piece of dental floss* to "cut" off the two ends of the roll (just a centimeter or so) so that they are even. Then cut the remaining dough into 11 or 12 equal pieces. (11 rolls seem to fit in a pie plate, while 12 rolls fit in a rectangular pan. I had a few more than 12).

(*To cut dough with dental floss, simply break off a piece of floss about 12 inches long. Then very carefully slide the middle of the floss under the dough to the place where you want to "cut". Then pull the ends of the floss up and cross over the top of the dough. Then give a quick tug to literally cut all the way through the dough. This is the best method for not squishing your dough while cutting it -- although the standard knife method still works too.)

Place each of the cut cinnamon rolls into a greased pie plate or 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Then cover again with a damp towel, and leave the dish in a warm place to rise for 25 minutes. 

While the dough is rising, make the icing (instructions below).
When the rolls have risen, uncover the dish. Then place on the center rack of the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, or until the rolls are golden and cooked through. Remove and let cool on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes. Drizzle with your desired icing and serve.

Icing Directions:
Either in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, or a mixing bowl, beat softened butter and cream cheese together until combined. Then beat in powdered sugar until combined. If the icing is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of milk to thin.

artisan crack bread w/ carrabba's herb mix

Lemme just start with, I love the people I work with. Honestly. They are the greatest. Anyway, we got together the other day to learn how to become masters of bread from LaRene Tinney. She has mastered the art bread (but apparently not cookies. She makes cookie quilts instead of individual cookies. Maybe she needs my help.....) and taught us her ways.


We learned how to to the 6 strand Challah bread braid which looks super impressive, but is actually fairly easy. Here is a YouTube video to help you out!

But I think my favorite thing we learned, was how to make the most effing delicious artisan bread that ever was.  Get ready to have your life changed!

Artisan Crack Bread

Ingredients:
1/4 t yeast
1 1/2 C warm water
3 C white flour
1 1/2 t salt

In a large bowl dissolve yeast in water. Stir in flour and salt until mixed. The dough should be sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough sit at room temp for at least 8 hours, but it's better to let it rest for 12-18 hours (The easiest thing to do, it make the dough the night before you wanna bake it). The dough is ready when the surface has little bubbles. 

Use a spoon to lightly pull dough away from the bowl. Sprinkle dough with a bit of flour and fold it over once or twice. 

Using just enough flour on your hands to keep the dough from sticking to you, gently shape the dough into a ball. Place the dough back in the bowl seam side down. 

Cover with plastic wrap again and let it sit for 1 1/2-2 hours more. 

During the last 20 min, place a 6-8 qt pot (cast iron, pyrex, enamel, ceramic) in oven and preheat to 475 degrees. 

When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the fiery pits of your oven (it will be so freaking hot), remove the lid. 

Plop the dough into your scalding pot seam side up. 

Replace the lid and put your death pot back in the oven. 

Bake for 18 min. 

Remove lid and bake for 10 more min. 

Remove your lovely little loaf and cool on cooling rack. 

OR, remove your lovely little loaf and put on cooling rack and burn your fingers while trying to eat it as soon as possible. 

That is the basic recipe! 

There are multiple variations you could do:

Asiago cheese
Garlic
Parmesan cheese
etc. 

One that LaRene showed us was bomb.com. It's the Carrabba's Herb Mix with butter and it makes for an amazing crust. 

Carrabba's Herb Mix

Ingredients:
1 t crushed pepper
1 t ground black pepper
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried rosemary
1 t dried basil
1 t dried parsley
1 t granulated garlic
1 t minced garlic
1 t kosher salt

Combine all in whatever dish you find appropriate. I used a sandwich baggy. 

Melt 1/4 C butter.

Add about half of the herb mix to melted butter. 

When you take your hot pot outta the oven to put the dough in it, add a little of the butter/herb mix to the bottom of the pot before putting your dough in. Once you have the dough in the pot, pour the rest of the butter/herb mix over it. Then bake according to the directions. 

There you go! I never really got fancy pictures, because we devoured it so quickly, but it had to be shared. 

copycat nyc levain bakery chocolate pb cookies

OK, so when I moved to NYC I had a slight/major obsession with Levain Bakery. They are some of the best cookies in the world. No joke! One is basically a meal since they are the size of a toddler....OK, maybe a newborn. Since I've been back in Utah, I've had LWS (Levain Withdrawal Syndrome). I searched and searched the internet in hopes of finding a remedy for my illness. 

Praise be to the cookie gods, I found one!

I made them last night and they are about 96% the same. The only things I would change is, it needs is a hair more cocoa powder and a little less chocolate & peanut butter chips (blasphemy, I know, but I want the dough to stick together a little better). Also, I'm gonna mix the chips together before I add them to the dough to have more uniform distribution. 

Here it is:

Sift dry ingredients together.

• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup bread flour
• 5/8 cups (1/2 cup + 2 T) cocoa powder
• 5/8 teaspoon (1/2 t + 1/8 t) baking soda
• 5/8 teaspoon (1/2 t + 1/8 t) salt

Beat cold butter until pasty. Add sugars and beat until incorporated. Add vanilla and eggs. Don’t over beat at any step here; stop when ingredients are incorporated. Extra blending doesn’t improve flavor; it just warms the butter.

• 1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces.
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk

Add dry ingredients until just incorporated. Add chips and fold in until evenly distributed.

• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Roll the dough into a cylinder about 2 inches in diameter. Cut into twelve 1.5 inch or so segments. These cookies are supposed to be big. 

Rip each segment in half and conjoin the smooth ends, leaving the ragged ends exposed. The whole point is to increase the raggedness of the surface area to maximize crunch in the final product. This step really does improve the cookie.

Place all the uncooked cookies on parchment paper and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Freeze for 1-2 hours.

Cook in center of oven for 17-18 minutes at 375. Adjust oven racks as needed to make sure the bottoms don’t burn.

Cookies are done when they are mostly firm on top (as opposed to doughy. They will still be delicate.) There should still be some darker spots here and there of not-quite-done cookie dough in most of the cookies.

Place on rack immediately.

lime coconut sugar cookies

These are the other cookies I sent off into nature with the little ladies of my ward. Another one of my faves. I love how light and fresh they taste. 

Chewy Lime Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one large lime, finely minced
3 tbsp lime juice
½ cup unsweetened toasted coconut
1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy.

4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest.

5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients and toasted coconut.

6. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.

7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.

8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Yet another cookie I eat far too many of right outta the oven....or maybe as dough.....

chocolate peanut butter munchies

(old pic and I had old nail polish...)

I'm working on my wedding/reception posts, but they are taking some time. Mostly, I'm too lazy to really get to work on them. I'm not too lazy to bake some cookies to send with the YW to camp since I can't go (I'm depressed). In lieu of my enthusiastic presence, the girls get two of my favorite cookies. They are too good not to share (and if you follow me on Instagram, I probably share pictures of them too much). 

The first cookie is the best cookie to come out of my BYU cooking class. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Munchies (makes about 32).


Ingredients: 

1 1/2 C. flour 1/4 C. peanut butter

1/2 C. cocoa powder 1 egg

1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 Tbsp milk

1/2 C. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 C. packed brown sugar 3/4 C. powdered sugar

1/2 C. butter, softened 1/2 C. peanut butter

2 Tbsp. sugar



1. Preheat oven to 350°. 



Chocolate dough:

2. Stir together flour, cocoa, and baking soda.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together 1/2 C. sugar, brown sugar, butter, and

1/4 C. peanut butter. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla.

4. Beat in as much flour as you can with an electric mixer. Stir in remaining

flour mixture.

5. Shape dough into thirty-two 1 ¼” balls. Set aside.



Peanut butter dough for middles:

6. Combine powdered sugar and 1/2 C. peanut butter. Beat until smooth. (If necessary, knead with your hands.) Shape into 32 balls.

7. To form the cookies, flatten one chocolate ball. Place a peanut butter ball on top.

Shape the chocolate dough around the peanut butter center, completely covering the filling. Re-shape into a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough.

8. Place 2 inches apart on an un-greased, parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place 2 Tbsp. Sugar in bowl. Dip bottom of drinking glass in sugar and lightly flatten each cookie, re-dipping in sugar between cookies. Bake 8 minutes, or until cookies are set, and slight cracks form on top. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute.

9. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on rack


They take a little extra effort due to the multiple ball rolling (can I say that?), but the payoff is MAJOR! They are my favorite right outta the oven with a glass of milk.

I hope you love these as much as I do. I also hope you don't eat 10 right outta the oven like I do....

snickers brownies

Some people have asked for the recipe for this brownie cake of awesomeness. Let me tell you, it does take some time and patience, so plan ahead. It's pretty rich, but pairs well with a good vanilla ice cream. 

Snickers Brownies
*Recipe By Jasey's Crazy Daisy
Brownie Layer
1 box of brownie mix, I prefer Betty Crocker's Fudge or Dark Chocolate mixes
Ingredients called for on box
1/4 cup hot fudge topping, unheated, straight from the jar

Nougat Layer *Adapted from How Sweet It Is
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 (7 oz.) jars marshmallow creme (@1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups salted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla

Caramel Layer
1 (17 oz.) jar of caramel, preferably Mrs. Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel

Candy Bar Topping
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter.

Prepare brownie batter according to package directions for a 9x13-inch pan, adding 1/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, unheated and straight from the jar to the batter. Make sure to follow the high altitude directions if you live at high altitude. Cool completely.


Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and milk, stirring until dissolved. Bring to a boil. Add in the marshmallow creme (I didn't measure, because how exactly do you measure that sticky fluff? I used one complete 7 oz. jar and most of the second jar), peanut butter, and vanilla stirring until smooth. Turn off heat and fold in peanuts. Pour evenly over cooled brownies. Use a spatula to help spread the mixture. Cool. I stick the brownies in the freezer for about 15 minutes.


Scoop caramel topping into a heavy bottomed saucepan and heat over low until caramel is soft and easy to stir.  Pour the caramel over the nougat layer. Make sure to pour it evenly across the nougat covering as much as the surface as you can. This makes it easier to spread the caramel with a spatula. Let cool. Again, I usually stick this in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Scoop caramel topping into a heavy bottomed saucepan and heat over low until caramel is soft and east to stir rather than mess with hot.

Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth.  Pour over nougat layer and cool completely. I usually stick them in the fridge until the chocolate is set. They chocolate gets pretty soft when left out, so I like to store these in the fridge and let them set out for a few minutes before cutting them. You want the chocolate to be cool enough to be set, but warmed up just a bit so that they are soft enough to cut more easily. Enjoy!

must have chocolate chip cookie recipe

You guys, I've made a lot of cookies in my 29 years and many a chocolate chip cookie. This one is a recent find (thanks, Hailey!) and I will be baking these for years to come. 

WARNING: They do require some planning head. I didn't refrigerate the dough as long as it said and they still turned out awesomely delicious. Next time I will let it chill as directed. Also, I don't ever sift my dry ingredients. Ever. My cookies always turn out just fine. 

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe on this Planet or Any Other:

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds semi-sweet chocolate chips (I don’t use the disks like the original recipe because I can’t be bothered to try to find them.)

Sea salt

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Mix in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours. (I sometimes scoop the dough at this point and freeze in a plastic bag for use at a later time.)

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

4. I use an ice cream scoop to mound dough about the size of golf balls onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 12-15 minutes. Cool sheet on a rack for 5 minutes then place cookies on a rack to cool more. Repeat with remaining dough.

You're welcome!

UPDATE:
I actually like the cookies better NOT refrigerated.