Irish Coffee

Being half Irish, I always enjoy having an Irish Coffee every one in awhile. On a cool and rainy day, like today, I couldn't resist one and had to pair it with a big chocolate chip cookie. So comforting and equally delicious, this is the perfect snack for a gloomy day. St. Patrick's day is right around the corner… Get in the spirit early and have a cup of this Irish treat. Cheers!

Ingredients:

1 oz Baileys Irish cream 

1 teaspoon sugar (if you like sweet coffee)

4 oz. strong brewed coffee

whipped cream

Directions: 

1. Pour Baileys and sugar in glass first, and stir. Add coffee and stir.  Top with whipped cream. 

Thin Mint Milk Shake

I have never been a fan of store bought cookies. Most of the time they taste artificial, expensive and are filled with crazy scientific sounding ingredients. Girl Scout Cookies are the one exception to the rule and I think everyone can agree that Thin Mints and Carmel Delights are the two best flavors. Baking your own cookies is so much better, because it is much more cost efficient and not to mention you know exactly what is going into the batter. Girl Scout Cookies though cannot be recreated. I have tried multiple times and there is just something in these that can’t be mimicked.  

Sometimes it’s fun to mix things up a bit and use the cookies in different recipes. Here I created a mint milkshake with Thin Mint Cookies. Top with whipped cream, sprinkles and a Thin Mint Cookie for a delicious dessert.

Back in the day I was apart of the Girl Scout Organization. I stopped when I was about 12, but I still have found memories of camping trips in the northeast and selling cookies in my neighborhood. This is the last week of cookie sales so make sure to go out and support the Girl Scouts and buy a couple boxes of their fabulous cookies!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream

3/4 cup whole milk

1/2 tsp mint extract

3 drops green food coloring

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients together in a blender well, add Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies, sprinkles and whipped cream for garnish

Green Monster Ice Cream Sandwich

Just over 37-feet tall, the Green Monster (correctly pronounced as "Monstah") is enormous, mighty, and is known throughout baseball as the tallest wall in any Major League park.  Luckily it's not tall enough to stop Shane Victorino from blasting a grand slam over it!  For those of you who don’t know what I’m referring to… well, it’s that big green wall at in the left field of Fenway Park, which Red Sox fans relatively recently nicknamed the "Green Monster."

Just in time for Spring Training, these Green Monster Ice Cream Sandwiches are a perfect snack for the upcoming season. A double fudge cookie is piled high with mint chocolate chip ice cream and topped with another fudgy cookie. Even if you’re not a Red Sox fan, these cookies are delicious and your friends will all be begging for a piece of these Green Monstah Ice Cream Sandwiches! 

Ingredients:

½ cup butter at room temperature

½ cup brown sugar, packed firm

½ cup granulated sugar

1 egg at room temperature

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup semi- sweet chocolate chips

½ cup white chocolate chips

1 pint Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl cream butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla until combined. Slowly add in dry ingredients to batter and mix well. Stir in semi-sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips.
4. Scoop dough into tablespoon sized balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet and then transfer onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
6. Take ice cream out of freezer and allow to soften about 5 minutes. Scoop one large scoop of ice cream on to a cookie and then take another cookie and sandwich the ice cream between both cookies. Wrap in foil and place back into the freezer until ready to eat. Makes 6 sandwiches.

Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

Happy Valentine’s Week! If you have been following my blog for a while now, you know I absolutely love sugar cookies, and for some reason I think they taste better in the shape of hearts. Perfectly frosted with red and white buttercream icing, these heart shaped cookies are so adorable and pretty, you won’t want to eat them!

No one makes a better sugar cookie than my Grandma Hayes, so I continue to use her famous recipe time after time.  Even though I make these often, I still haven’t figured out how to not get frosting and sprinkles all over the kitchen! Piping on the frosting makes these cookies extra special and your Valentine will feel loved and admired when they see your sweet creation. As I’ve said in my previous sugar cookie posts, when adding sprinkles to the cookie do it over the sink… it helps decrease the chances of finding sprinkles in crazy places!

*Since this is a secret family recipe I will not post the original here. I found a very similar one from Alton Brown. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon milk

Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Directions:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Cupid’s Crush Popcorn

Colored pink for Valentine’s Day, Cupid’s Crush Popcorn is fun, festive and makes the perfect Valentine snack. If you haven’t had “real popcorn” versus the microwave kind - - now is your chance. Old fashioned popcorn cooked on the stove, is delicious and a lot easier to make than most people think. 

This popcorn is a great gift idea because it’s made in large batches and is so versatile. I suggest filling large tins, cute popcorn boxes or cellophane gift bags, and of course add a ribbon to each package. To make Cupid’s Crush Popcorn even more festive, toss some of the popcorn in chocolate, and sprinkle with Valentine sprinkles.  Colored popcorn is a fun addition to any holiday – and for Valentine’s Day this bright pink color is just perfect!

 Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup water

Pink food coloring

16 cups stove top popped popcorn

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Combine sugar, butter, water and  food coloring in a large saucepan for 3 minutes and bring to a boil. Allow to cool, about 10-15 minutes.  Slowly poor the sugar mixture over the popcorn and stir to coat. Pour popcorn onto a cookie sheet and allow to dry. Place popcorn in a 200 degree oven for 7-10 minutes until sugar mixture is dried. 
3. *** If adding chocolate to your popcorn leave out 8 cups of the popped popcorn and place aside. Melt 1/2 cup of chocolate of your choice in a microwave safe bowl, then in a large bowl, toss to coat. Pour on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with sprinkles. Allow to harden.

White Chocolate Rice Krispe Squares with Milk Chocolate Drizzle

Rice Krispie bars have always been one of my much loved desserts since I was a little kid. They are great plain and original, or dress them up by adding white chocolate, peanut butter, chocolate chips, cookies, you name it – if it’s sweet its great mixed in a Rice Krispe bar. One of my favorite, yet simple recipes are these White Chocolate Rice Krispe Squares with Milk Chocolate Drizzle. They aren’t too different from the original, but have an extra kick of sweetness that is truly wonderful.

Perfect for your children’s class, friends, family or co-workers these White Chocolate Rice Krispe Squares with Milk Chocolate Drizzsle are sure to be a hit. Package these treats with cellophane wrapping and a ribbon for an even more beautiful twist on a simple dessert.

 

Ingredients:

1 box Rice Krispe Cereal

2 bags miniature marshmallows

½ cup melted butter

8 oz. white chocolate chips

½ cup melted milk chocolate

¾ cup M & M candies

Popsicle sticks

Directions:

1. Grease a 9X 13” cake pan with butter, generously until all sides are covered.
2. In a large saucepan, melt the butter until completely melted on medium heat. Once melted add two bags of miniature marshmallows and stir until smooth and completely melted.  
3. Add the white chocolate chips and stir until melted.
4. Remove from heat and gradually pour cereal into pot, stirring until completely combined.
5. Pour mixture into a baking dish and press down lightly until the top is flat. Sprinkle M&M candies on top of bars and press into cereal mixture if needed.
6. Take the melted milk chocolate and drizzle on top of bars. Allow to sit until completely hardened. Cut bars into rectangles and insert a Popsicle stick into one of the ends. Wrap with cellophane and tie a ribbon.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dip

Chicken wings are a Super Bowl staple and it wouldn't be a party on Sunday with out them. Baked in the oven instead of fried, these wings are healthier than the original fried version. Thanks to plenty of different flavors, from Buffalo to Teriyaki sacrificing taste won't be an issue... and chances are your guests will not miss the unhealthy kind.

 

Ingredients:

4 pounds of chicken wings

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/2 c. hot sauce

2 tbs water

2 tbs  oil

4 tbs.sugar

2 tsp. corn startch

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp garlic powder

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients in small pot and cook on stove until thickened.  
2. Bake chicken wings on 400 degrees in oven for 45-60 min until browned.
3. Transfer to bowl and pour sauce over to coat. Add more hot sauce for hotter wings.
4. Serve blue cheese or ranch dressing on the side.