A Mouthful of Mint...Chocolate

It's pretty much a given that Food Network will be switched on at some point during the day in my house.  Typically after my morning cardio and workout sessions =)  And then it'll stay on for the rest of the day whether or not I'm watching it. Many times it becomes ambient noise that carries me through my housework and kitchen time.  One morning Giada was in one of her chocolate moods.  I seriously love this woman!  She's a mother and a wife, she can cook and bake, she loves her chocolate and she looks AMAZING!  Definitely my food idol.

On this particular episode she put together a Double Chocolate and Mint Cookie.  As soon as she said chocolate, I was all ears, eyes and drooling..
Aside from the previously mentioned attributes, I just admire the way she works in her kitchen.  Everything is perfectly arranged and she has tons of counter space (JEALOUS!) to create her masterpieces.
Here's my rendition of her delectable recipe:

First, you chop up 6 ounces of milk or dark chocolate (I would use dark chocolate to give the cookies a richer flavor).  Melt your chocolate with butter and set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.

Now unwrap half a bag of Andes mints and chop them into 1/2 inch pieces.  Go ahead and sneak a few for yourself ;) 

I don't have pictures for the other steps, but just whisk together your dry ingredients and set aside.  Then, do the same for your wet ingredients in a medium sized bowl, and mix in your dry ingredients.  Now, take your cooled melted chocolate and stir it into the batter.  Your dough will stiffen up after this step, but that's perfectly normal.  Oh, don't forget to fold in your mints!

Once you have all of your delicious ingredients mixed together drop your batter by the heaping tablespoon on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving enough room for each cookie to spread out in the oven.
Oooh, I know it's so hard to part ways, but place your cookies in the oven and watch them transform into mint-chocolaty amazing-ness!  After several short minutes, take them out and have them cool for another few minutes.

Okay, now TASTE THEM!  This has got to be one of the best parts of baking =)  Oh, yeah, they turned out  fantastic!!  The chocolate and mint meld together, creating pockets of deliciousness that will drive your sweet tooth crazy!

Hey, don't forget to share now! =)

Mint Chocolaty Cookies Recipe

INGREDIENTS

6 Ounces  Dark Chocolate, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

2 Tablespoons  Unsalted Butter, softened

1 Cup  All-purpose Flour

2 Tablespoons  Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon  Baking Soda

1/4 teaspoon  Salt

2/3 Cup  Light Brown Sugar

2 Large Eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon  Vanilla Extract

1/2 Bag Andes Mint Chocolates

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine dark chocolate pieces and butter in a microwave safe bowl.  You may use either a double-boiler or your microwave oven to melt the chocolate. Just be careful to not burn your chocolate!  Stir together and set aside to cool.

2. Whisk your dry ingredients together in a small bowl.  (Flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt)

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, 2 Tablespoons of water and vanilla extract.

4. Stir in the dry ingredients and cooled chocolate.  And fold in the mint chocolate pieces.

5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Drop cookie dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and bake for 9 minutes.  Rotate the sheet and bake for another 9 minutes or until the cookies are set and dry looking.

6. Let cookies cool completely before storing (or eating) them.

A Peanut Butter Lover's Staple

Any peanut butter lover would admit that they have committed the spoon-to-peanut butter jar crime at some point in their peanut butter craving fiasco.  I'm definitely guilty of this desperate act to gain satisfaction once or twice...a week ;).  But there are times when I'll hold back and take the time to bake up a batch of peanut butter thumbprints.  These, without a doubt, have been made countless times by hundreds of bakers across the globe.  And why not?!  They are so simple to make and will leave smiles on your taste testers faces for days!

There are just a few easy steps to follow before you can dive in.  Step one, unwrap 24-36 Reese's peanut butter cups.  Step two make a peanut butter cookie recipe.  By all means do this step from scratch!  I'm just lazy and want these in my belly faster, so I use a small pouch of Betty Crocker's peanut butter cookie mix.  Now, just place about a tablespoon of batter into each spot in your mini muffin tin and bake according to the instructions in your recipe or pouch mix.

Once your cookies drops are finished, immediately push a peanut butter cup in the middle of each.  The dough will wrap itself up and around the sides of the cup, creating a delicious nest for your chocolate and peanut butter confection.
Allow these to cool before popping them out of the tins and into your mouth =).  Make sure to save some for your fellow peanut butter lovers!

Parmesan Artichoke Bruschetta Recipe

INGREDIENTS

12 oz  Marinated Artichoke Hearts, drained and chopped

1 Cup  Parmesan Cheese

1/2 Cup  Red Onion, finely chopped

1/2 Cup  Mayonnaise

1 French Baguette

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine marinated artichoke hearts, parmesan cheese, red onions and mayonnaise.

2. Preheat oven to broil.  Diagonally slice baguette into 1/4 inch slices.  Arrange on a large baking sheet.

3. Evenly top each baguette slice with the mixture.  Broil in the oven for 2 minutes, or until topping is slightly browned.

Balsamic Tomato Bruschetta Recipe

INGREDIENTS

6  Roma Tomatoes, chopped

1/2 Cup  Sun-dried Tomatoes

3 Cloves  Minced Garlic

1/4 Cup  Olive Oil

2 1/2 Tablespoons  Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 Teaspoon  Salt

1/4 Teaspoon  Ground Black Pepper

1 French  Baguette

2 Cups  Shredded Mozzarella

1/3 Cup  Red Onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons  Fresh Basil, chopped (for garnishing)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Let it sit for 10 minutes.

2. Cut the baguette diagonally into 1/4 inch slices.

3. Preheat the oven on broiler setting.  Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet.  Broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until slightly browned.

4. Top each slice evenly with the tomato mixture, and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over each.  Broil for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

5. Garnish with basil just before serving.

Wine and Cheese Night

Thinking about having a classy wine and cheese night with the gals?  While your guests will be bringing bottles of wine and platters of meat and cheese, try sprucing up your table-scape with these delightful finger foods.  Your guests will think you spent all afternoon in the kitchen!

Not only does bruschetta make a statement with its fresh flavors, it is the perfect size for a tasting menu and cleaning your palette between swigs of wine.  Bruschetta originates from Italy and it started out as just a garlic rubbed roasted bread with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Over the years, it has transformed from the plain garlic and oil to a jazzed up caprese bite.

For my wine and cheese night, I whipped up a Balsamic Tomato and Parmesan  Artichoke bruschetta.  They were so tasty, and both paired deliciously with our wine choices.  Everyone kept coming back for more of the artichoke bruschetta, so next time I know to make more of that!  There are a ton of great recipes all over the web, but you can basically put anything on top of little crostini and have a great tasting appetizer.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pie Recipe

INGREDIENTS

RED VELVET ROUNDS

2 Cups  All-purpose Flour

3 1/2 Tbsp  Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/2 tsp  Baking Soda

1/2 Cup  Butter, softened

1 Cup  Packed Brown Sugar

1  Egg

1 tsp  Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup  Buttermilk

1 oz (2 Tbsp)  Red Food Coloring

WHOOPIE PIE FILLING

1/4 Cup  Butter, softened

4 oz  Cream Cheese, softened

7 oz  Marshmallow Creme

DIRECTIONS

1. In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder and baking soda.

2. In large bowl, beat butter on medium. Then add brown sugar and beat until fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla.

3. Alternately add dry ingredients and buttermilk, beating after each addition until just combined.  Stir in food coloring, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Using a small cookie dough scooper, scoop 1 inch rounds onto baking sheet (lined with parchment paper) making sure they’re 1/2 inch high.  Allow 1 inch of space between each round.

5.  Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, or until tops are set.  Cool completely and remove from baking sheet.

6.  In a medium bowl, beat 1/4 cup butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Then, fold in marshmallow creme.

7.  For easy filling, put whoopie pie filling into a Ziploc bag, and cut the corner off.  Squeeze filling onto the flat sides of half the rounds, and top with remaining rounds.

You can store these up to 4 days in the refrigerator, but I’m sure they’ll be long gone before then, lol.  If you’re taking them to a party or giving them away as a gift, place each whoopie pie into a cupcake cup to keep the pies from sticking together. If you're storing them in the refrigerator, for best taste, let it stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes and then jump in taste buds ready!  To add a twist to these already amazing treats, add 1/3 cup of white chocolate chips to the filling before piping the rounds. Yum!