Chocolate Thumbprints

These are cute little cookies that are great for anything!

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoon corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, confectioners' sugar, salt and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Beat in flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium until combined.

Form balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each; place balls 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes, remove from oven, and press thumb into cookies to make deep, wide indentations. Rotate pan and return to oven; bake until light brown on the edges, 7 to 9 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Combine chocolate, the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and the corn syrup in a small heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water; stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Allow to cool a bit until slightly thickened. Fill thumb prints with the chocolate mixture, and set aside to firm up.

Enjoy!

Gingerbread-White Chocolate Blondies

Just catching up on all of my old recipes that I never was able to post! These were great and super easy to make!

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped white chocolate (10 ounces)

Nonstick vegetable spray

Preheat oven to 250 degress. Coat a 12 by 17 inch rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper and set aside.

Whisk together flour, soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugars on medium high speed until creamy and pale. Add eggs and yolk one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla and molasses and mix on medium speed until combined. Add flour mixture on low speed. Stir in white chocolate.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and bake until golden on edges, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan, cut into 2 inch squares.

Enjoy!

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

These are simply amazing! If you have ever eaten Archway Dutch Cocoa cookies, these are just like them! I absolutely loved them and could have eaten the whole batch on my own!

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Sanding sugar, for rolling (I used Sugar in the RAW packets)

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and gradually add flour mixture; beat to combine. Form dough into a flattened disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1 1/4 balls. Roll each ball in sanding sugar. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, 10 - 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies from baking sheet to wire rack.

Enjoy!

*Sorry, still no pictures! Will take pictures ASAP! :)*

Carrot Cake Cookies

Great Cookies! We ABSOLUTELY loved them! :)

Camera is still not working...

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for flattening cookies

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots

1 cup raisins

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; stir to combine. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix on low speed until just blended. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Chill until firm, atleast 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape tablespoons of dough into balls, and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake until browned and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Spread 2 teaspoons of frosting onto flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich together with remaining cookies.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add butter and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in confectioners' sugar and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

Enjoy! :)

Grilled Tuna with Artichokes, Peppers and Tomatoes

This was a fantastic light summer kind of meal! I would definitely make this again! :)

Still no camera....

Ingredients:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup dry white wine

8 baby artichokes (we could not find these...so we used canned artichoke hearts)

1 lemon halved

1 yellow bell pepper

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional for fish

1 shallot, sliced

4 cloves garlic, smashed

4 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped

2 sprigs fresh flat leaf parsley, plus 1 tablespoon finely chopped

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoons coriander seeds

8 oven dried tomatoes (recipe is in my mac and cheese recipe)

1 1/2 pound center cut tuna (we used 2 tuna steaks)

Freshly ground black pepper

Put 1 cup water, olive oil, and wine in a medium saucepan. Trim the artichokes' stems, snap off their leaves, and halve, rubbing the cut surface with the lemon half. Stem, seed and cut the bell pepper into large squares and add to the pan. Add the 2 teaspoons salt, shallot, garlic, herb sprigs, bay leaf, and coriander. Simmer over medium heat until the artichokes are just tender. Add the tomatoes and cook a little bit longer. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside. Increase the heat under the saucepan and simmer the cooking liquid to thicken slightly.

Heat a grill pan over medium high heat or prepare an outdoor grill. Season the tuna generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill the tuna until there are distinct grill marks on both sides. Remove from grill and let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Stir the chopped thyme and parsley into the artichoke mixture. Cut the tuna into slices or chunks. Spoon the vegetables into bowls and arrange the tuna on top.

Pan Seared Shrimp with Romesco Sauce

Great dip and awesome meal!

My camera has started to act weird so I have no pictures!

Ingredients for sauce:

1 small ancho chile, stemmed and seeded (we used a poblano chile)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup whole blanched almonds

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, smashed

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning

Freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

3/4 cup roughly chopped jarred, drained piquillo peppers (we used roasted red peppers)

1/2 slice stale bread

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Toast the ancho chile in a small dry skillet over medium high heat, turning and flattening with a spatula, until fragrant. Put the chile in a medium bowl, cover with very hot water, and set aside until soft.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook, stirring until toasted. Transfer the almonds to a plate, leaving the oil in the skillet. Add the softened chile, the onion, garlic, the 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until onions are lightly browned. Add paprika and cook until fragrant. Scrape onion mixture into a sieve set over a bowl; reserve 3 tablespoons strained oil.

Pulse the onion mixture, almonds, piquillo peppers, bread and vinegar in a food processor until coarse. With the motor running, drizzle in the reserved oil. Scrape the sauce into a bowl and set in a warm place until shrimp is cooked.

Ingredients for Shrimp:

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and patted dry

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Spread shrimp on a pan or a piece of aluminum foil. Heat 2 large skillets over medium heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the shrimp. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to each skillet and increase the heat to high. Add the shrimp seasoned side down, taking care not to crowd them. Cook the shrimp until they turn golden brown on the bottom.

Dip Shrimp in Sauce and Enjoy!

Hearts of Romaine with Blue Cheese and Bacon

This was a great side salad to our meal the night that I made this! I also LOVED the blue cheese dressing that I made! A must try! :)

Ingredients:

8 strips of bacon

1 large egg

2 hearts romaine lettuce

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blue Cheese Dressing

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lay the bacon strips on a roasting rack and bake in the oven until crisp, about 20 minutes. Pat dry with a paper towel. When cool enough to handle, break into pieces or in half.

Put the egg in a small saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover, and remove from heat. Set aside for 10 minutes. Drain the egg and roll in between your palm and the counter to crack the shell, then peel under cool running water. Rub the egg through a fine-mesh strainer and set aside.

Remove the outer leaves from the romaine heats and rinse. Chop these leaves into bite size pieces and spin dry. Halve the hearts through the cores to make 4 wedges. Rinse under cold water and shake to air dry.

Divide the wedges among 4 plates. Mound some of the chopped romaine on top and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon about 1/4 cup of Blue Cheese Dressing over each salad and top with some of the sieved egg and bacon. Pass the remaining dressing the the table.

Enjoy!

Blue Cheese Dressing

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 shallot, peeled

1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

2 tablespoons minced fresh flat leaf parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

Pulse everything in a food processor besides the parsley and black pepper. Once it is all together, stir in parsley and black pepper.