For Mint Lovers

My husband absolutely loves mint and chocolate together. For me, it's not that exciting. I adore ice cream, but I won't touch chocolate chip mint ice cream. Mint and chocolate together isn't my thing. However, a friend (thanks Jamie!) gave me a recipe for chocolate mint cookies. I tweaked it, added in some things and changed the amounts of some ingredients. I also baked them into a bar cookie instead of regular cookies. I love bar cookies. They are a lot less time consuming then baking pan after pan of cookies, a few at a time. Plus, I love how thick and chewy they are. These turned out really scrumptious. Nice and chocolaty with a great mint flavor. Even I like them! And that's saying a lot...

Triple Chocolate Mint Chip Squares ~
(makes 48)

1/2 cup real butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavor vegetable shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure mint extract
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour (spooned and leveled when measuring)
2 cups mini milk chocolate chips
2 cups Andes Creme De Menthe Baking Chips (or cut up two packages of Andes Creme De Menthe Thins)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter and flour a 12 x 17 inch jelly roll pan.
3. In a large bowl cream together the butter, shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar.
4. Add in eggs and mix until light and fluffy.
5. Add in the cocoa powder, vanilla and mint extract and mix thoroughly.
6. Mix in the baking soda and salt.
7. Gradually beat in the flour.
8. Stir in the mini chocolate chips and the Andes chips by hand.
9. Spread into the prepared jelly roll pan.
10. Bake for 17 minutes.
11. Cool in the pan completely and cut into bars.

It's Strawberry Season!

I absolutely love strawberries. They are in season right now, so I've been buying lots of them. I love to eat them fresh, but today I decided to try something different and I used them to make popsicles.

Strawberries & Cream Popsicles

(makes 6 small popsicles)

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup whole milk or half & half
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Process for several minutes, until the strawberries are completely pureed. Pour into popsicle containers and insert sticks. Freeze for several hours until firm. Run hot water over the cups for a few seconds until the popsicles slide easily out of the container.

Enjoy!

Pancake House Pancakes & Vanilla Almond Syrup

I love making (and eating!) these pancakes. The combination of buttermilk and baking soda make them really light and fluffy. The syrup is so different from everyday maple syrup, it's a nice change. And as always, it's corn-syrup free! I love homemade pancake syrup because it's so easy and delicious. You can try different flavors to mix it up a bit. I also make a blueberry syrup, which I'll post on here in the future.

Pancake House Pancakes ~
(makes 20)

2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
2 cups low fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just blended. Don't over mix. You want the batter to be lumpy.
4. Heat a large griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with melted butter, oil or cooking spray.
5. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the griddle. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and the underside is nicely browned. Flip over and cook until browned on the other side.

Vanilla Almond Pancake Syrup ~
(makes just over a pint)

1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract

1. Combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally until the mixture has thickened.
3. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and almond extracts, mixing well.
4. Cool and refrigerate any remaining.

Enjoy!!!

Easy Marinara Sauce

On Friday I usually make pizza. One Friday I realized that I didn't have any tomato sauce. I had already been to the store that day and didn't want to go back for one jar of tomato sauce, so I looked around to see what I had in the pantry and came up with this sauce. It turned out really well. Try it, you'll like it!

Easy Marinara Sauce

2 cans diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. If you want a chunkier sauce, blend it using the pulse mode on your food processor or blender until it's the consistency that you want. Heat and serve over pasta or use as a pizza sauce.

Peanut Butter Goodie Balls

Another recipe from my childhood. My daughter LOVES these and frequently asks to make them. It is her hand that you see rolling them in brown sugar.

Peanut Butter Goodie Balls

Makes 20

1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

In a small bowl stir together the peanut butter and honey until smooth. Then add the powdered milk and mix until well incorporated. Add the raisins and mix thoroughly. Put brown sugar in a bowl. Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls and roll in the brown sugar. Store in a container in the refrigerator.

110 calories each (not that you wanted to know that!)

The BEST Cinnamon Rolls I've Ever Made (Seriously)

I've made a lot of cinnamon rolls over the years, and I'm always coming up with new ways to make them. I came up with these Sunday night. They are by far the best I've ever made. Even my family thinks so!

Brown Sugar Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Makes 20 cinnamon rolls

The dough ~

3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup butter
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water
3 eggs at room temperature
5 - 6 cups all purpose flour

Combine the milk, sugar, salt and butter in a saucepan. Heat over low heat until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in the warm water in a large bowl. Add milk mixture, eggs and 5 cups of flour. Mix until well combined. Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough isn't sticky to the touch. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic.

Place dough into a greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place, about an hour or until doubled in size.

Butter three 9 x 13 pans or a large cookie sheet with sides.

Roll the dough out into a large, thin rectangle (try to keep the sides as even as possible) and cover with this filling:

The Filling ~

1 stick melted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup chopped pecans
ground cinnamon
ground nutmeg

Melt the butter and spread evenly onto the dough. Sprinkle on the brown sugar. Sprinkle on a generous amount of cinnamon, followed by a little bit of nutmeg. Sprinkle on the chopped pecans.

Roll up into a log and cut into 20 pieces. Lay them into the pans. Cover with plastic wrap or a cloth and let rise 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the cinnamon rolls for 25-35 minutes until golden brown. Take them out of the oven and immediately pour the glaze on them. Depending on the size of your oven, you might have to bake them in two batches.

The Glaze~

1/2 bag of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of pure almond extract
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/8 cup brewed Teeccino Almond-Amaretto Herbal Coffee (Optional, replace with milk if desired)
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients and stir until smooth. Adjust the thickness of the glaze to your liking by adding more powdered sugar or milk. Serve while warm. Yum!