Brown Sugar Chocolate Chunk Cookies

My little sister's Bible study is wanting to hold a bake sale to help raise money for Japan.

Fortunately, for me, I help lead it, and yall know me... I'm all up for baking some goodies.

We were hanging out together today and decided to go through some of my recipe books, in search of some great bake sale ideas. In the spirit of things, we decided to test out a recipe.

Y'all are going to start getting sick of me posting cookie recipes. But I found this one online and just had to share. The brown sugar in it helps give it a deeper flavor. Light brown sugar gives it a honey type flavor, while dark brown gives it a hint of molasses. YUM either way.

I had dark brown on hand, so that's what we used.

I have to say, this one did not disappoint.

It's still got a nice, very slight crisp on the outside, but man, that middle? Melt in your mouth.

Fyi, these are the perfect cookie to sample right outa the oven.



Brown Sugar Chocolate Chunk Cookies

(Original recipe by BakingBites.com)

(Photo source)

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt (pref. kosher salt)
• 14 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups dark or semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, gradually blend in the flour mixture until no streaks of dry ingredients remain visible (old habits die hard: I poured the flour in two batches). Stir in chocolate chunks.

Shape dough into balls just over 1-inch in diameter (mind were a tad bigger and were a perfect size). Place on prepared baking sheet, allowing for room to spread (about 2-3" apart).

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until cookies are very lightly browned around the edges. Cookies may look slightly “wet” – but not raw – at the center (bake until golden all over for crispier cookies).

Cool for 3-4 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 2 1/2 – 3 dozen cookies.

Grilled Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Panini

I'm a big fan of Ree over at The Pioneer Woman.

She's so stinkin' funny and real and best of all?

Girl can cook.

I tried one of her recipes the other night, and she definitely did not disappoint.

I'm a huge fan of panini. Like Ree says, it's like a quesadilla. Throw whatever you want in there, add a little cheese, and voila! Dinner.
This one is so good. Who needs Panera, when you can make your own at home?

Grilled Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Panini

(Original recipe by Ree Drummond)

(photo source)

Ingredients

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 8 whole Sundried Tomatoes, Packed In Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Prepared Basil Pesto
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• ¼ cups Mayonnaise
• 2 whole Red Bell Peppers
• 8 whole Slices Provolone Or Mozzarella Cheese
• 8 slices Good Whole Grain Sandwich Bread
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, Softened

Directions

CHICKEN

Slightly flatten chicken with a mallet (just until uniform thickness.)
In a blender or food processor, puree sundried tomatoes, pesto, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add half the mixture to a ziploc bag with the chicken breasts. Smush around to coat the chicken, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
After marinating, heat heavy skillet or grill to medium. Grill or cook chicken until done. Slice chicken into strips.

SPREAD

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and 3 tablespoons of the sundried tomato mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

ROASTED RED PEPPERS

If you have a gas cooktop, blacken red peppers directly over the flame. (If you do not have a gas cooktop, blacken them directly under the oven broiler.) Completely blacken/char on all sides, then immediately seal in a ziploc bag. Allow peppers to sit, sealed, in the bag for at least 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove from bag and use fingers to slip off the blackened skin. (Don’t be afraid to leave some black bits!) Lop off the top, cut in half, then seed and slice into strips. Set aside.

(fyi, if you're short on time, just buy the roasted red peppers in the jar)

TO ASSEMBLE

To make the panini, spread generous amounts of the sundried tomato/pesto spread on one side of all the pieces of bread. On four of the pieces, arrange 1/4 of the chicken slices, 1/4 of the pepper slices, and two pieces of provolone. To with the other four pieces of bread with the spread face down. Butter both sides of sandwich, then grill in panini maker or on a skillet over medium-low heat. (If you use a skillet, set a heavy pan or skillet on top of the sandwich as each side browns.)

Slice sandwiches in half and serve immediately with cold grapes. Delish!

Serves 4.

Berry Banana Protein Shake

I know I feature an awful lot of fattening tasty but less-than-healthy dishes.

So hopefully this will make up for it.

I love making smoothies. But I'm a little picky. I don't like the pre-made packages, especially the kind that come with a "smoothie mix" to thicken it up. Have you ever looked at the ingredients on those things?

Word of warning... if you can't pronounce it, you might need to think twice about eating it.

I'm all about eating good, natural food (although you may not be able to tell from this blog). It really is important to be educated about the stuff we choose to put in our bodies. They do make an impact.

If it's healthy and tastes good? Sign me up.

My husband used to be a big fitness junkie. That was until he had heart surgery, was told he couldn't lift anything heavier than a milk carton, and then he was too scared to try exercise. Anyways, he explained his fears at his last cardiologist appt, and he was given the go-ahead. He's also trying to help me out (darn those last 10 pregnancy lbs that just won't go away!) and get me all hot and toned up and stuff again. He used to swear by protein shakes. I remember him drinking that stuff, and it tasted pretty nasty. We bought more powder, and I've been determined to get more protein in my diet but also actually enjoy the smoothies.

All of this is to say... I did it.

In one try.

I made one of the best protein shakes I've ever tasted for lunch today.

If you're interested, give it a shot. If you don't need any extra protein or don't want to buy powder, go ahead and skip that step. The smoothie is ridiculously good without it too.

Berry Banana Protein Shake

(Original recipe by ME!)

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries*
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries*
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup natural vanilla yogurt (I use Dannon All-Natural vanilla)
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 scoop vanilla-flavored protein powder (or more, depending on your dietary needs)... if skipping this step, substitute with 1 scant tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Combine ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth (or desired consistency).

Yields 2-3 servings.

*If using fresh fruit, add a couple of ice cubes to help get things chilly.

If you're feeling inspired, get in the kitchen and come up with your own fun smoothie, using your favorite fruits (and veggies!).

Hope you like it!