Recipe: Chocolate Chip Butter-finger Pudding Cookies

That's a mouthful huh?

Today we are having a ward (church group) dinner.

The dinner will be provided, but the students are supposed to supply the desserts.

I was deciding what to make... and my go-to source was Pinterest of course. (Betcha didn't know I was a poet)

 I looked at my recipe folder and chose something simple to make.

I decided to go with Chocolate Chip Pudding cookies.....with a twist.

You see, the recipe calls for instant vanilla pudding...but I only had chocolate cook n' serve.

I decided to take my chances and tweak the recipe a bit. After all, I am a legit baker folks :)

I was a little nervous about how the cookies would turn out, but they were actually really good! 

Good as in, take these bad boys away before I eat the whole plate.....good.

I will give you the real recipe....and then my tweaked one :)

Real Recipe

4 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cup butter (3 sticks) softened

1 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup white sugar 

2 (3.4 oz) pkgs. instant vanilla pudding

4 eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla

4 cups add-ins (chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, candy bars, whatever the heck you want)

Makes: 8 dozen

Ummmmm 8 dozen?!

Since I am not a cast-member of "19 and Counting", I decided to half the recipe and make use of ingredients that I had. 

This is what I came up with:

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup cook n' serve chocolate pudding

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups add-ins (1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup crushed butter-finger)

Makes: About 3 1/2 dozen because I like bigger cookies

Method for both recipes

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Stir together flour and baking soda, and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.

4. Beat in pudding mix until well-blended.

5. Stir in the eggs and vanilla

6. When smooth, slowly add in the flour mixture. Make sure it is well mixed.

7. Lastly, add in your fillers. 

8. You are ready to bake!

9. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper....and place 1 '' balls...or bigger on your sheet.

10. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until golden. I like to bake mine a little less so they are slightly doughy in the center. This way, when they harden, you get a nice chewy cookie.

Now if you're like me and hate milk, enjoy your cookies with a nice glass of cold water.

 If you are weird.....I suppose you can enjoy them with milk :P

Quote of the Day

Sooo very true. 

Here's my warning to you:

You will not be able to just eat one of these cookies. They may be hazardous to your waistline. Approach with extreme caution.

Happy Sunday :)

Sloanbook

Today I am guest posting over at Sloanbook. Stop on by to hear what I have to say....and to snag a yummy recipe. I'll give ya a hint, it involves Cafe Rio. YUM!

Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cake

Do you feel a heart attack coming on just reading this title? Or perhaps, your mouth watered in anticipation of the yumminess that is coming!

I found this recipe the other day on Pinterest and it looked delish! You know you wanna make it…don’t lie.

You will need:

For the cake part:

1 18 oz pkg of yellow cake mix

1 egg

8 tbsp melted butter

Filling:

1 8 oz pkg of softened cream cheese

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

8 tbsp of melted butter

1 16 oz box of powdered sugar

Ok let’s do this together.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter, and mix well with an electric mixer.

 

If you get something that kinda looks like icky play-dough….you did it right!

3. Press the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13x9 inch pan.

4. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.

5. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together.

6. Next, add the powdered sugar and mix well.

7. Pour and spread the filling over the cake batter pressed bottom.

8. Bake for 40-50 minutes.

* Be sure not to over-bake because you want the center to be a little gooey…after all, it is called “gooey butter cake”! :)

It looks a little different than the original picture...but then again, I do not have a test kitchen and I have a lousy camera :)  It tastes delicious however, and my family is enjoying it!

Quote of the Day

I sure did today...it is good that my family loves me! I'm also excited to watch "So You Think You Can Dance"! 

What's more American than............

Banana Bread...?

Ok, I know you were probably thinking that I was going to say Apple pie, Country music, or Baseball...tricked ya! Anywho, today, to celebrate our great Nation's birthday, I decided to make Banana Bread. I'm weird, I know. Also...am I the only one who thinks of The Black-Eyed Peas oppss..Gwen Stefani when I try to remember how to spell "banana"? "This beat is bananas...b-a-n-a-n-a-s"!. Needless to say, the bread was delish and totally hit the spot! Since I am ohhhhh so nice, I decided to share the recipe with you :)

Banana Bread

1 3/4 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 or 3 bananas)

1/3 cup butter

2 tbsp milk

2 eggs

1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional...but yummy!)

What to do:

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the mashed banana, butter, and milk. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until blended. Then on high speed for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and remaining flour and beat until blended. Stir in the nuts.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes (I cooked mine for about 63 minutes) or until done.

Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a BBQ, watch some fireworks, and be free :)