Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies

I Nutella. So do my youngest 2 boys. I love hazelnuts anyway, so pairing it with cocoa and making it into a wonderful spreadable treat is literally icing on the toast. ;)

I also love peanut butter. And peanut butter cookies are a big time favorite around this house. So why not combine the two? I am certainly not the first to think of doing this, I found that out after doing a quick internet search which revealed several posts about these beauties.

Below is my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe that I have been baking for years. It's soft and chewy and everyone here adores them. I adapted it by simply substituting some of the peanut butter with Nutella. These are a perfect addition to your holiday gift baskets!

These were really delicious and you could definitely detect the Nutella flavor. I will be trying these again, using even more Nutella and less peanut butter, to try and get a deeper flavor. However, I did notice that because Nutella has a thinner consistency than peanut butter, it did make the batter a little wetter than when I just make peanut butter cookies. Therefore, I might add a bit more flour to counteract that with the higher Nutella content. I'll let you know! If you beat me to it, let ME know. :)


Soft Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies

[printable version]

1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup Nutella
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place sheets of foil on countertop for cooling cookies.

Combine shortening, Nutella, peanut butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.

Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls (using a cookie scoop works great) 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to foil to cool completely.

Tuscan Garlic Chicken

Several weeks ago, my daughter and I had lunch at Olive Garden. We had the standard soup, salad and bread sticks that I remember from my Corporate America days. Olive Garden was just down the street from work and we went there at least once a week. I couldn't help but notice as I watched waiters and waitresses pass by with plates of food, that there dishes actually look (and smell) pretty good! Honestly, I've never ventured away from my soup, salad and bread sticks.

So I hit their website. I was actually on a quest for some of the desserts that I saw on the menu. Instead, I ended up printing out quite a few different pasta dishes. One of them was the Tuscan Garlic Chicken. I found this to be absolutely delicious! Unfortunately, my picky family wasn't really on board. :-p The hubby won't even touch white sauce, and this is definitely in that category. However, if you like white sauce, you'll love this dish.

This does not take a long time to prepare either. So if you are looking for something different to try that doesn't take hours, give it a go!

Tuscan Garlic Chicken
recipe from Olive Garden


[printer friendly version]


4 each (4 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups flour, plus 1 tablespoon
1 Tbsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 lb fettuccine pasta, cooked according to package directions
5 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, julienne cut
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 lb whole leaf spinach, stemmed
2 cups heavy cream
1 cups Parmesan cheese, grated

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

MIX 1½ cups flour, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in the mixture, shaking off any excess.

HEAT 3 Tbsp oil in a large skillet. Cook chicken breasts 2 at a time over medium-high heat until golden brown and crisp (2-3 min). Add more oil for each batch as necessary.

PLACE cooked chicken breasts on a baking sheet and transfer to preheated oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F.

HEAT 2 Tbsp oil in a sauce pan. Add garlic and red pepper and cook for approximately 1 minute. Stir in 1 Tbsp flour, wine, spinach and cream and bring to a boil. Sauce is done when spinach becomes wilted. Complete by stirring in parmesan cheese.

COAT cooked, drained pasta with sauce, then top with chicken and remaining sauce. Garnish with extra Parmesan cheese.

Cranberry Orange Spiral Cookies

So pretty aren't they? :) These lovely cookies are easy to make and taste great. Just the right amount of sweetness! I did substitute almonds for the pecans as that's what I had on hand, and I added a little almond extract to the filling. I was a bit short on filling, so some of the dough is plain, but the cookies are still wonderful, perfect with a cup of tea or coffee!

I found this recipe in this massive book called 400 Sensational Cookies by Linda Amendt. These Cranberry Orange Spirals are actually featured on the cover, but I didn't even notice that until after I made them! I had gone through the entire book one night and bookmarked a BUNCH of recipes, and chose to make this one first as they seemed perfect for Thanksgiving. Since this one went so well, I will definitely be making more from this great book!

I'll give you the correct recipe below and just jot my notes and adjustments under the step by step photos. Hope you make them, they are wonderful!

Chop the nuts up small, you don't want them cutting and poking through your dough.

Chop the dried cranberries up small too. Sneak some in

your mouth while no one's looking. I'll never tell. ;)

Place your chilled dough rectangle on your flour dusted parchment paper.

I buy the parchment sheets from King Arthur's flour. It's so much nicer than

arguing with that stupid roll from the grocery store!

Roll your rectangle out to roughly 12x9 inches.

Add your mixed filling to the dough. See the pink arrows?

That's the area of dough I left filling-less because I didn't have

enough. There should be plenty if you use the measurements

in the instructions. :)

Use your parchment paper to help get the rolling part started. The book

says "use the parchment paper to fold the edge of the dough over onto

itself and roll up the dough, shaping it into a log.

There. Isn't that nice?

Now roll it up into the parchment and chill it for 3 hours or more.

Once you slice it, you should see these beauties staring back at you.

Notice how I used the rimless baking sheets? That makes it easier

to slide the sheet of parchment off the hot sheet and onto the cooling

rack when they come out of the oven. You will not be removing the

cookies from the parchment right away.

Cranberry Orange Spirals
from 400 Sensational Cookies 


[printable version]

Cookies:
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:
2/3 cup finely chopped dried cranberries
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup orange marmalade

(Amanda's Note: I used the right amount of cranberries but only 1/3 cup of finely chopped almonds and 1/3 cup orange marmalade as that's all I had left. I also added 1/2 teaspoon almond extract to the filling ingredients. Because I was short, I had to adjust how much of the dough received filling. No matter, even the unfilled cookies were great.)

Cookies:
In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt until well combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes (mixer at medium speed). Add egg and beat well. Beat in orange zest and vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl. On low speed or with wooden spoon, gradually add flour mixture, beating until just blended.

Shape the dough into a flat rectangle. Tightly wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.

Using confectioner's sugar or flour, lightly dust a piece of parchment paper and rolling pin. Unwrap chilled dough and place on parchment, roll into a 12x9 inch rectangle of uniform thickness.

Filling:
In a bowl, combine the cranberries, pecans and orange marmalade until well blended. Spread cranberry mixture evenly over dough to within 1/2 inch of edges. Starting with long edge, tightly roll up dough jelly-roll style to form a log. Tightly wrap in parchment paper and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Baking:
Preheat oven to 375 F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the chilled dough log and using a sharp knife, cut into 1/4 inch slices. Place on prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time in preheated oven for 8 to 11 minutes or until edges start to turn lightly golden (mine were 9 minutes). Immediately slide parchment paper onto a cooling rack. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes before removing from the parchment and placing directly on cooling rack.

TWD: Rewind: World Peace Cookies

For Tuesdays with Dorie we've baked out of order for the month of November. I've made 3 of the 4 picks, but alas, I will not be posting the Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake chosen by Katya of Second Dinner. I'm sorry Katya, but with the rush of Thanksgiving, work I have to complete before heading out of town, and the cost of some of the difficult to find ingredients for this one, it will end up being a rewind for me some time in the future. It looks delicious and I will try it. Dear readers, to see the marvelous cake I am referring to, head over here to Katya's blog.

So instead, I went on a cookie baking spree this past weekend. Check in later tonight for Cranberry Orange Spirals and Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies. Today however, I have Dorie's World Peace Cookies.

There's been quite a bit of hype over these cookies, seems they are quite popular around the internet and blogosphere. You can read about the origin of the name on Dorie's site, and there's also a link to the recipe there.

These cookies are deeply dark and chocolately, with just a hit of saltiness. Very tasty and worthy of a glass of milk for dunking. They are simple to make and tasty to eat.

Alas, I think they are good, but am afraid that all the hype about them raised my expectations far too high and I honestly don't see what all the fuss is about. :-/ Don't get me wrong, they are good, I only wish I hadn't read all about them first.

Cherie’s Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies

The other day I was innocently reading blogs when I came across a post on my friend Barb's blog, Barbara Bakes. She's been doing something called 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies where every week for 12 weeks she posts a new cookie recipe. This particular recipe came from Barb's neighbor.

They are dangerously good. I mean that with utmost sincerity.

If you have no self control, don't make these. Or better yet, make them with a candy bar you don't like (is there such a thing??).  I made mine with Snickers, Milky Way and Midnight Milky Way. Luckily for me, my kids don't like the dark chocolate Milky Ways, so I was FORCED to eat those myself. :) (Aww poor me)

The recipe was a little sparse on notes or directions, so I am adding my two cents into it below. Pay close attention to the cooling section or your masterpieces will fall apart before your very eyes. Darn, broken cookies, better eat those... oh don't worry though, I've heard that if you break a cookie, the calories fall out (snort).

Cherie’s Snickers Peanut Butter Cookies
adapted from Barbara Bakes

[printable recipe]

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup creamy (or chunky, if you prefer) peanut butter
2 eggs
2 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 package Reeses peanut butter chips
1 bag mini size Snickers and/or Milky Ways

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Cream butter, sugars and peanut butter. Add eggs. Stir or whisk together flour, soda and salt. Add to creamed butter mixture and mix well. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Roll into balls or use a cookie scoop.

Below are a few suggestions on how to use the candy bars. I used the tiny snack sized bars and cut them in half. I placed the cut side down on top of the rounded cookie and pressed down gently.

Adding the snickers can be done anyway you like. You can place the dough balls on your cookie sheet and press a Snickers mini, whole or cut in half, into the ball and bake. You can chop the Snickers into pieces and add it to the dough, roll into balls, flatten with fork and bake. You can roll into balls, flatten pretty thin and wrap the dough around a whole Snickers mini and bake. If you have mini muffin pans, you can fill it with dough balls and press a mini Snicker into it and bake.  Or any other combination you can think of.

However you decide, bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes (mine took 11.5 minutes).

Remove from oven and leave cookies on cookie sheet for 2 minutes to rest. Slide parchment with cookies onto cooling rack and let cool for ten minutes. Remove from parchment to cooling rack to cool completely.

If you try to eat these cookies while still warm they may fall apart. Allow them to cool completely and they'll be fine.

Baked Manicotti With Prosciutto

This recipe intrigued me because it used no boil lasagna noodles instead of manicotti shells. Stuffing manicotti makes for very messy business, so using the no boil lasagna noodles seemed much easier. This is a wonderful dish, perfect for Sunday dinner or get together with friends or family.

Admittedly, while I was making the sauce to go with this recipe, I was unimpressed. I worried it wouldn't be very flavorful, but I was wrong. It was absolutely scoop-up-what's-left-in-the-dish terrific.

I honestly don't remember where I first saw this recipe, but got the final version from Recipezaar. It originated from America's Test Kitchen.

Because this recipe is a little more involved, I've included step by step photos below, the printable recipe is available below also. Don't worry though, it only LOOKS difficult, but it's actually really easy to put together and makes for an impressive meal!

After quickly cooking the no boil lasagna noodles, place them on clean kitchen

towels, single layer. Place a piece of prosciutto on each one.

Combine ricotta, 1 cup parmesan, mozzarella, eggs, salt, pepper, and herbs. Spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture onto bottom 3/4 of each noodle on top of prosciutto, leaving top 1/4 of noodle uncovered.

Starting from the end with cheese, roll into the noodle into a tube shape.

Earlier in the instructions you make the sauce and place about 1 1/2 cups into your baking dish.

Arrange the rolled manicotti in baking dish seam side down.

Top evenly with remaining sauce, covering each noodle completely.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake on the middle rack until the sauce bubbles. Remove, sprinkle with cheese, adjust oven rack to top, and broil until cheese browns. Let the manicotti set about 15-20 minutes before serving.

Baked Manicotti With Prosciutto

[printable recipe here]


2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes (in juice)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press
1/4-1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 cups ricotta cheese
4 ounces grated parmesan cheese (about 2 cups)
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
16 no-boil lasagna noodles (1 1/2 packages)
16 slices thinly sliced prosciutto

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sauce: Coarsely chop tomatoes in a blender or food processor to make 1/4 inch chunks. You may have to do this in several batches to make the pieces relatively uniform. (I just bought diced canned tomatoes).

In a large saucepan, heat the oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in large saucepan over medium heat until garlic is just barely starting to brown (1-2 minutes). Add tomatoes and salt; cook until sauce thickens slightly (about 15 minutes). Add basil and salt.

Filling: Combine ricotta, 1 cup parmesan, mozzarella, eggs, salt, pepper, and herbs. Set aside.

Assembly: Cook noodles until just pliable (this only takes about 20-30 seconds!). Place in single layer on clean kitchen towels. Pour about 1 1/2 cups of sauce in the bottom of 9" x 13" baking dish; spread evenly. Place 1 slice of prosciutto on each noodle. Spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture onto bottom 3/4 of each noodle on top of prosciutto, leaving top 1/4 of noodle uncovered. Starting from the end with cheese, roll into the noodle into a tube shape and arrange in baking dish seam side down. Top evenly with remaining sauce, covering each noodle completely.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake on the middle rack until the sauce bubbles (about 40 minutes).

Remove manicotti from the oven and adjust the oven rack to the highest position. It should be about 6 inches from the heating element. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup parmesan cheese evenly over the manicotti. Do not replace the foil. Broil until cheese starts to brown. Cool 15-20 minutes before serving to allow the manicotti to set.

This recipe can be prepared through step 5, covered with a sheet of parchment paper, wrapped in aluminum foil, and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. (If frozen, thaw the manicotti in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.) To bake, remove the parchment, replace the aluminum foil, and increase baking time to 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Bulldogs - Division Champs, Super Bowl runners up

As we head into yet another weekend, it feels strange to me that football season is over for my boys. I've been to countless games over the last few months, not one Saturday without one. How odd that tomorrow there won't be a game and we'll have to wait until next August to get all geared up again. It was a heart pumping season, and if you read my post last week, you know that my 12 year old's team won the division championship and marched proudly into the Super Bowl last Saturday.

While they didn't win the title, they played a Helluva game and I couldn't be more proud. The score was 0 to 0 all four quarters. The other team didn't score until the last two minutes of the game.

The final score was 0 to 8 and our team was given a huge trophy for Super Bowl runners up.

Each boy received an individual trophy as well as personalized dog tags commemorating the date and accomplishment.

Above - 3 of my 4 kids - my daughter, Kristen (15), son, Tracy AKA TJ (12), and youngest Dominic (10).

The event leading up to the game were lots of fun. Everyone met in the parking lot of the park where the boys usually practice. Everyone lettered up their cars and we all drove down to the game together, tooting our horns at every stop light.

This little guy was one of the best cheerers (word?) all season. Always yelling and hollering out his brother's name. He made this fun bull horn to cheer through. Isn't he cute??

This is me (on the right, with the double chin, UGH) and Colleen, our fabulous team mom. She rocks.

My hubby's truck

The boys had a fabulous record, losing only one game all season aside from the Super Bowl. My thanks and kudos go out to our three wonderful coaches as well as Colleen, the best team mom a bunch of rowdy boys could ask for. What a fabulous season! Go Bulldogs! See you again next year. :)