baking

November 13, 2008 No Comments

nutter butter balls

Nutter Butter Balls I’m a huge fan of Bakerella. For those of you who have never been there, you simply have to go. She has some of the coolest baking ideas. This one is just too fun and really simple. My grandmother makes a homemade Reese’s Cup every Thanksgiving and it takes her hours of prep time. These are just as good and take significantly less time. Here’s what you need:

1 package Nutter Butter cookies
1 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
Chocolate candy coating (chocolate bark or chocolate candy melts)

And here are the easy steps with pictures. Enjoy!

night owl cookies

These are sooo fun and could be perfect for a campout party.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 roll (18 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
20 whole cashews
1/2 cup chocolate frosting
1 cup M&M’s Peanut Chocolate Candies
2 cookie sheet pans
Plastic wrap paper
Resealable plastic bag

And here’s how you make them:

Divide the sugar cookie dough in three pieces. Knead the flour into one piece of cookie dough until smooth, set aside. Combine the remaining two pieces of cookie dough and knead in the cocoa powder until smooth, set aside.
Roll the lighter colored cookie dough into a 1-inch round log about 10 inches long, and move it off to the side. Roll out the chocolate cookie dough on a lightly floured surface to a 10 x 4-inch rectangle. Place the light colored log of cookie dough on top of the chocolate rectangle. Wrap the chocolate cookie dough completely around the lighter colored log. Pinch edges to seal and roll the log smooth. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the cookie log into 1/4-inch slices. Place 2 slices, side by side, on sheet pans. Press a cashew into cookie at the point the slices touch. Repeat with remaining cookie slices. Bake for approximately 8-11 minutes, or until cookies are just beginning to golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Spoon the chocolate frosting into a resealable bag and snip a small corner from bag. Using the photograph as guide, pipe eyelashes and a dot to secure candies. Add the M&M’s for eyes.

Thanks brightideas.com!

peanut butter witch brooms

Looking for a fun treat for the upcoming Halloween bash you’ve been invited to? Well there is no easier cookie than this one. All you need is:

Refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough
Pretzel rods
Orange chocolate wafers (or you can tint white chocolate)
Sprinkles

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, form 1 to 1 ½ inch cookie dough balls and insert the pretzel rod. Once you’ve laid it on the cookie sheet, press it out in the shape of the broom bristles. Next, using a fork, press lines in the cookie. Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes (remove from the oven before they brown). Once the cookies have cooled completely, melt your chocolate in a resealable bag, snip a small hole in one corner and pipe on the chocolate. Before the chocolate hardens, dash on your sprinkles. This entire process can be wrapped up in 35 to 40 minutes. Enjoy!

owl cupcakes

These owls were so much fun to make and easy enough for little helpers. Here’s what you need:

Brownie mix (we used puree apricots in the place of egg and filled the cups ¾ full)
Oreo cookies
M&Ms (replace with Skittles for egg and dairy free)
Cashews
Chocolate sprinkles
Cream cheese icing

While your brownie cupcakes are cooling, tint your cream cheese icing orange and divide your Oreo cookies (we removed the white filling, but you could leave it). Next, ice each cupcake, apply your cookies face up, sprinkle the top of the cupcake with chocolate sprinkles to resemble feathers and add the cashew as the hooked nose. Finally, using a toothpick, place a small amount of icing on the back of the M&Ms and apply as the owls eyes.

(Tip: Oreos tend to get soggy when not kept in airtight containers. Plan to ice and decorate within an hour or two of serving.)