And the winner of the puppy biscuits is....

Not Fenway... I took this pic a few days ago. She isn't sad about wearing the hat.. she sad because she was out her home made biscuits. This was when she was a good girl.... Today, she was a bad girl....

I set the eggs & butter on the counter to get to room temperature for today's recipe.. and.. she ate the 2 sticks of butter.  Good times in the Hagg household  ;)

I was only mad for a minute..ok, maybe longer. She has been forgiven & I just gave her a biscuit ( ... so it took me all day) Lucky for her I had another cup of butter in the fridge so that I could still make today's cookie...

Double Chocolate Chunk cookies!

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 sticks butter, softened (far enough on counter so that your special loved ones can't get to them)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups chocolate chunks ( chips would work as well...)

Ignore my apple in the bowl in the background..

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter & sugars together; add eggs, 1 at a time allowing each to fully incorporate. Add vanilla & cocoa powder.

In a large bowl, add flour, salt & baking soda. using a whisk, whisk together.

Ad flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 parts. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Drop by tablespoons ( I use a cookie scoop) onto parchment- lined cookies sheet. Bake 10-13 minutes. Allow to cool on a cooling rack.

This is a very tasty recipe.. Alison usually makes these for us, but since she was at school getting her learning on, I made them today ;) Very fudgy... I'll bet that you could just spread the dough in a 9 x13 inch pan ( greased)  and bake like brownies....

ok.. so the winner of the biscuits is





*insert picture of winning pup here*




Morgan!!!! ( Breezy's pup!!)... I'll be shipping out the biscuits tomorrow!  Congratulations!

I made a fresh batch last night,, this time I didn't puree the carrots & peas mixture, just kind of rough chopped. I think that they look better. Fenway seems to like them. Much better than raw butter.



oxoxox
michelle

p.s. tomorrow I have a special guest for the 'classic' Christmas cookie!!!

And Jason & Amanda are still on the road ... good thoughts are always welcomed :)

Today's recipe is *EASY* PEASY*

After shopping all day with my closest friend, I'm a bit tired... So I decided to make the simplest of simplest recipes. This is actually the first time that I've made it, but I've had it many times at potlucks ( my sister-in-law makes it often)
Yummy Layer Bars

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of coconut flakes
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 cup butterscotch chips ( only because I had them)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9 x13 in pan with aluminum foil, overlapping on the ends (for easy removal) & spray lightly with cooking spray. Mix butter with graham cracker crumbs & pat gently into the bottom of the pan.

Pour sweetened condensed milk over butter/ graham mixture and spread with a spatula. Sprinkle remaining ingredients in to order in which they are in the recipe. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Remove & let cool.

Using the overlapped ends of the aluminum foil, pull the entire bar out & place on a cutting board, allowing to cool completely.

Cut into bars when fully cool.

These are yummy & gooey and oh-so-wonderful!!! I was afraid that they would stick, so I only placed them single-layer on the platter. I'm thinking that maybe next time I'll try the recipe with 2 cups graham cracker crumbs, possibly making a sturdier base.

I highly recommend trying this recipe.. it literally takes minutes to get into the oven.

maybe next time I'll time myself....hmmm.....?????


now..I'm off to wrap all of my treasures that I found today!!!

xoxo
~michelle

Ok... so not REALLY a cookie..

Today was my husband's 98 year young grandmother's Christmas party

 Given the fact that I was a bit tight for time... I decided to make toffee!!!

Once again I went to my old trusty wooden box to dig out a hand-written recipe card. This is such a great recipe... it just goes to show how a few simple ingredients can morph into something wonderful!!

The Recipe :.... You need a candy thermometer for this.... it is well worth the small investment

1 cup butter cut into small pieces
1 cup dark brown sugar ( I had light brown, so I used that)
2 TBSP water
1 cup finely chopped almonds
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


Combine butter, brown sugar & water in a saucepan. When sugar is dissolved, whisk in 1/2 cup of the almonds.  Insert candy thermometer & cook until the thermometer reaches the 'hard crack' *giggle* stage.. 290-300 degrees.

When hard crack stage is reached, pour onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. ( be careful.. it is VERY hot) Add chocolate chips & allow to melt for a minute. Use a spatula to spread all around. Add remaining almonds while still hot.

Allow to cool. ( I live in the northeast & since it was freezing out today, I was able to go to my 'deep freeze (my porch *grin* ) & the toffee hardened in no time.

yes, I took a corner off of the sheet.. I *had* to make sure that it was hard enough!!!

I then took a VERY scientific method of turning this sheet into little pieces of mouth-watering perfection... my hands!!!! I broke it all up &

VOILA!!!!!  perfection ....

I am so going to gain weight creating this blog........


If you visit, please let me know.... AND...... I will happily take suggestions for your favorite cookies.
 hint~ tomorrow's cookie has to do with chocolate!!!

oxoxo ~michelle