#2,693: Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies

Like I mentioned in my previous recipe/post, I was told to bring a dessert to Easter this year, and since the traditional Lamb Cake was already being made, I wanted to make some sort of cookie.  Not being the best baker (because I don't do well with exact measurements), I figured this recipe looked easy enough for me to handle, and for the kids to help out with. This dough needs to be chilled for at least 2 hours in the fridge, but can be made up to 5 days in advance (although that seems like an awfully long time to prep it and then leave it in the fridge.  We wouldn't have any dough left if I waited 5 days to make it.  

To make this easier to handle when cold, right after you make this dough (prior to refrigerating it) portion out each cookie amount and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet (with each cookie dough ball right next to one another so you could get a lot on one sheet), then cover it with foil and put it in the fridge until the next day.  

When ready to bake, pull them out of the fridge for about 10 minutes and then place on a separate cookie sheet spread out so they were about 2 inches apart from one another.   

By the way, these are REALLY good cookies.  There are a lot of M and M's in this dough (an entire bag of them!!), and I made these more on the smaller side for a cookie, but it was a great grab-and-go snack/dessert.  

PS: I'm super thankful that this isn't my year to make the Lamb Cake and that I have probably 3 more years until I have to do it again!  Here's a pic of my Lamb Cake the last time I had to make it.  That poor lamb.  His head kept leaning more and more until it completely fell off! 

  

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

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch salt, optional and to taste

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate M and Ms (or another variety of M and Ms, or chocolate chips may be substituted)

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes).

Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.  Add the M and Ms and fold in by hand.

Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping mounds. Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds very slightly with your palm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread.

Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat, parchment, or spray with cooking spray, and place them on the baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly under cooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than ten minutes as cookies will firm up as they cool.

Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

#2,692: Spring Flower Pretzel Bites

I had to bring some sort of dessert to my cousin's house for Easter, and I knew my brother and his girlfriend already had the Lamb Cake covered, so I wanted to bring something small and easy to grab as you walked by.  I had the kids help me make these super easy pretzel bites, so this was a total family project.  These are so simple and so good!  I would definitely make this again!  This would be cute for a baby shower with just pink and blue candies.  Or just made with colors of a certain theme, school cools, etc.  I had never heard of Butter Snap Pretzels, but here is a link to what they look like and where I got them.

Butter Snap Pretzels

White Candy Melts

Pastel M and M's

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicon baking liner.  Place the butter snap pretzels in rows on the baking sheet.  Put one candy melt on top of each pretzel.  Warm in oven for 2-3 minutes - you don't want them melted, just softened.

Quickly place one M and M in the center and surround it by 5 or 6 "petals". Gently press them down to "secure" them in the candy (they are definitely cuter with the "M" facing down so you can't see it).  

Let cool and serve. (You can speed up the cooling time by placing them in the refrigerator for a few minutes).  Store in an airtight container - enjoy!

#1,245: Bacon-Sage Cauliflower "Au Gratin"

Did you ever make a recipe that you were truly scared to serve because you weren’t sure if it would actually turn out tasting good or not?!  This is one of those recipes for me.  I have to apologize to the original author/post because I should not have doubted the yumminess of this recipe!  It isn’t healthy by any means with the addition of the alfredo sauce, but it sure is good.  I also cut down on the amount of alfredo sauce used (actually I just used 2 heads of cauliflower instead!) so it wasn’t so over-powering.  This got rave reviews from my family.  I was greedy and wouldn’t share any of the leftovers either.  I LOVED this. 

1 head large cauliflower, stem and leaves removed and cut into small florets
2 cups of alfredo sauce
1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
1/4 cup bacon bits
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup parmesan (reggiano) cheese, grated

Place a large pot full of water on the stove to boil.  Pre-heat your oven to 425 F. If your Alfredo sauce is cold, warm it in a medium sized sauce pan. Once your water is boiling, add a healthy amount of salt to the water. Add your cauliflower florets to the water and simmer for about 3 minutes. Strain the cauliflower, so that all the water is removed. Stir the cauliflower into the alfredo sauce. Add the sage and bacon bits, as well. Once the cauliflower is evenly coated with the cheese sauce, pour it into a greased baking pan. I used a 9 inch round silicone baking pan, but a 9x13 casserole pan will work, as well. All we're really doing is browning the top. It's all already mostly cooked, at this point.

Dust the top of the cauliflower with the almond meal and parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top is nice and toasty brown.

#1,243: Brussels Sprouts with Maple Buttered Pecans

After trying brussel sprouts again these last several months, I can't seem to get enough of them.  This is one reason I love farmer's markets and CSA's.  I got brussel sprouts in my Thanksgiving basket and have been eating them ever since.  I wasn't sure anyone else would love these at Easter, but they went over really well.  I will be making these again for sure!

1/2 cup pecan halves
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. pure maple or golden syrup
sea salt, to taste
2 lb. small Brussels sprouts, stem ends trimmed
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1-2 garlic cloves, finely squished
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for about 8 minutes, until deep golden and fragrant. Transfer to a bowl and quickly toss with 1 Tbsp. butter and syrup; it should coat the nuts and be partially absorbed. Sprinkle with salt and set aside for up to a day.

In a saucepan with an inch of simmering water, cook the Brussels sprouts until just tender, 5 to 6 minutes, drain and pat dry. If you want to do this ahead, store them in the fridge for up to a day.

When you’re ready to finish them, heat a drizzle of oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the sprouts for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally, until starting to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, then stir in the pecans, transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately. Serves 6-8.

#1,242: Raspberry Vanilla Jello Salad

I am SO late in posting the recipes I made for Easter.  And it's getting late, so I'll have to post the rest tomorrow still (hopefully!).  But I figured it was better to at least post one than not at all.  This is a very delicious, sweet yet refreshing, EASY side dish/fruity-salad to make.  I will definitely be making this one again for a future party/gathering.

The only change I made was to use fresh raspberries instead of frozen.  Personally, I prefer fresh and they are close to in-season so I figure it was an okay substitute. This would be good with just about any berry (fresh or frozen).

1 box (5.1 oz) instant vanilla pudding
32 oz. container vanilla yogurt
8 oz. container Cool Whip (thawed)
1 pkg. frozen raspberries

Combine the pudding mix and the vanilla yogurt, stirring until well mixed.  Fold Cool Whip into the mixture. Lastly, fold in the raspberries.  I had set mine out for about 10 minutes before making the salad, but you can put them in frozen and they will thaw very quickly so you can serve the salad right after mixing.   If you don't serve the salad immediately, the raspberries will thaw more and the juices will add a raspberry flavor to the entire mixture.

#900: Green Beans with Citrus Vinaigrette

I may have gone a little crazy with vegetable side dishes for Easter lunch.  I wanted to have several healthy options though.  And I cut out one or two other dishes I had planned on making.  Can you tell I come from a bigger family and enjoy cooking for a crowd.  Sometimes I can't figure out how to scale down my meals! 

This recipe looked super easy but just a tad more special than just regular green beans. I know the picture just makes it look like plain 'ole green beans but it has a nice fresh, citrus-y dressing on it.  I loved it.  It went over really well too.  Another veggie winner in my opinion!

2 pounds green beans, trimmed

5 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

3/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

2 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 1/2 teaspoons fresh orange juice

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan, and add green beans. Cook beans for 4 minutes or until crisp-tender, and drain. Rinse with cold water, drain, and set aside.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; cook 2 minutes or until shallots begin to brown, stirring constantly.

Combine the shallots, lemon rind, lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Slowly add 4 1/2 teaspoons oil, stirring well. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the beans, tossing gently to coat.

#899: Roasted Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus Bundles

I was looking for healthy, easy side dishes to go with the ham I was preparing for Easter lunch and came across this recipe.  It was almost too simple to pass up, yet the asparagus seemed festive and the bacon was...well just yummy.  I know this called for Prosciutto but I didn't feel like trying to find it in the grocery store so I went with bacon. 

This was so easy and it was ridiculously easy to put together.  I would definitely make this again...with bacon too! 
1 1/4 lb thin asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed
extra virgin olive oil spray
fresh cracked pepper to taste
4 slices (2 oz) thin sliced prosciutto

Preheat oven to 400°.  Lightly spritz asparagus spears with extra virgin oil. Season with fresh cracked pepper and divide into 4 bundles.

Gather 1/4 of the asparagus and use a slice of prosciutto to wrap each bundle and place on a baking dish seam side down. Repeat with remaining, place on baking dish and bake 12 minutes or until asparagus is tender crisp.

#898: Copy Cat Honey Baked Ham

When my mom asked me if I would have Easter this year I asked if I had free reign over the menu.  She made me promise I'd make a ham (of course I would).  However, I've never made a ham before except for a small boneless one we get from Meijer that weighs about 3 lbs.  I knew this was not the kind of ham I was supposed to get.  In fact she was adamant that I needed a Honey Baked Ham.  Well I didn't know where to get one so I Googled it and was thrilled to find this recipe.  I'll admit I was also a little thrilled by the butane torch it called for using!

The recipe below is for a  3 1/2 lb ham.  My ham was 11 lbs!  I quadrupled this recipe.  And I ran to my friend Kim's house to borrow her butane torch.  :)   Personally the butane torch is not needed.  Yes I used it because I borrowed it and Kim went thru the trouble of finding it for me and dropping it off, but honestly it really didn't do anything for our meal. 

This was such an easy recipe and really, really good.  The juice and brown sugar mixture do NOT need to be doubled or quadrupled like I did.  It is way too much and I threw most of it out.  I would definitely make this again and I would say my first attempt at a ham was a success!

3 1/2- lbs ham (spiral cut smoked, fully cooked)
1/2 - cup pear or apple juice (I used a apple harvest blend)
1/2 - cup orange juice
1/2 - cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2 - cup honey
hand held butane torch

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the ham, cut end down, in a large baking pan.

Mix the pear or apple juice with the orange juice in a bowl and mix.

Pour the juice mixture over the ham and bake for 15 minutes basting frequently with juices. Remove from oven.

Mix brown sugar and honey together in a small bowl.

Brush mixture over ham and bake for another hour or until internal temperature reads 140°F.

Using a butane torch carefully caramelize the glaze to the crust using small strokes.

#897: Honey Lime Fruit Salad

I was looking for a super easy, yet festive fruit side dish to go with our Easter menu.  I debated for about a week between this one and another recipe and ultimately (obviously) went with this one.  I liked that it had some canned fruit (one less step in prepping) and some fresh fruit as well. 

This was really good.  I loved the slight flavor of the lime in this one.  It doesn't last very long though because the kiwi and strawberries get soft.  I would make this just a few hours before you plan to serve it.  Or at least add the strawberries and kiwi at the end. 

 

1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained well

1 can mandarin oranges, drained well

2-3 ripe kiwi, peeled and sliced into thick half moons

1 cup green grapes, halved

1 cup strawberries, quartered

Zest from one lime, about 1 tablespoon

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)

 

Combine the fruit in a medium-large serving bowl. Add the lime zest and poppy seeds, if using, and gently toss. 

 

Drizzle the honey over the fruit and again, gently mix until the fruit is evenly coated with the honey.

#896: Sauteed Corn, Bacon, and Scallions (and Edamame)

The original recipe for this corn sautee did not call for shelled edamame, but looking at the photo I totally thought it had it in there.  So I decided to add it in.  I love edamame so why not?!  This was so easy to make and was delicious.  I loved it.  It would make a great side dish to just about any meal, any time of the year.  Next time I'm adding more bacon.  Everything is better with MORE bacon. 

4 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch strips
4 cups corn kernels (I used frozen corn, thawed)

Coarse salt and ground black pepper

Pinch of red-pepper flakes

2 to 3 scallions, sliced
12 oz package of shelled edamame, thawed

 

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until browned, 4 to 6 minutes.  Add corn kernels and edamame; season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Cook, stirring often, until corn is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in scallions. Serve immediately.

#895: BLT Deviled Eggs

Since it's Easter, I couldn't just make regular old deviled eggs, I had to make them a tad more special so I found a recipe for BLT Deviled Eggs.  Now those sounded good to me and they looked super simple to make.  I was hoping to impress my brother.  And it's a Paula Deen recipe so you know it has to be good. 

These went over very well.  Just like the classic deviled eggs I made, I also didn't eat these because I don't like deviled eggs, but I did try a little bit of the filling and I thought it was pretty good.  I'm happy to report that there were very few of these left and my brother took all the leftovers home with him.  I would definitely make these again (No, that's not true.  I'm never making deviled eggs again.  They are a pain in the butt to cook and peel.  But if I was going to make deviled eggs again, I would make these.) :)

6 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

1/4 cup mayonnaise

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled plus more for garnish, if desired

2 cherry tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Halve the eggs lengthwise. Remove the yolks and add them to a medium bowl. Mash the yolks with a fork and stir in the mayonnaise, bacon, tomatoes, and parsley. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and blend well.

Fill the egg whites evenly with the yolk mixture and garnish with bacon, if desired. Arrange them in a container and store, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

#894: Classic Deviled Eggs

I'm a little embarrassed to admit, with all of the cooking I do, I've never made deviled eggs.  That is partly due to the fact that I don't like deviled eggs.  But it's Easter and my brother Mike loves them so I was happy to make them for him.  I don't know if this is the recipe my mom uses or not, but it looked good enough for me to try. 

I also dyed these in food coloring before filling so I could easily distinguish between the two different kinds of deviled eggs I made.  (Super easy to do, just fill a glass with water and add about 4-6 drops of food coloring.  Let egg halves soak for about 15 minutes.)

I can't really review these because I didn't eat any.  But there were only a few left and my brother took the leftovers, so that's always a good sign.
6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon Parsley Flakes

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

Paprika

Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks; place in small bowl. Mash yolks with fork or potato masher.

Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, parsley and seasoned salt until smooth and creamy. Spoon or pipe yolk mixture into egg white halves. Sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve.

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#893: Chocolate Chip Raspberries

Here's another "almost-not-a-recipe" post.  :)  I'm not even going to put directions on this one because you can obviously tell what to do with the chocolate chips.  You can use any kind of chocolate chips you have on hand (although I personally wouldn't use butterscotch or mint chips).  Dark chocolate chips would definitely be a good pairing though. 

Can I please tell you how delicious this is!?  I seriously might not ever be able to eat a raspberry plain again.  The chocolate chips give it a nice extra sweet crunch.  To die for!!

Ingredients:
Chocolate chips (I used white chocolate and semi-sweet)
Raspberries, washed and dried thoroughly

#892: Easy Pudding Tiramisu

This delicious looking dish is one of our desserts for Easter lunch tomorrow.  Doesn't it look yummy??  It is.  It was so easy to make too!  I actually changed the name of the original recipe though because it was called "Easy Jell-O Tiramisu," but there's no "Jell-o" in this recipe, just the brand name.  So now it's pudding tiramisu.  Or at least it is to me. 

Besides changing the name, the only thing I did different to the recipe was to add 1 1/2 tsp of instant espresso powder to the pudding mixture to give it a more "tiramisu" taste.  Easy, delicious and a tiny bit upscale looking.  I loved it.  So did Matthew and the girls.  I'm starting to wonder if this is why Matthew isn't sleeping well tonight.  Is the espresso powder keeping him up?!  No way...maybe??   No more for him just in case.  I really hope this tastes just as good tomorrow (18 hours later) as it was tonight!  
Oh, and instead of using my box grater to grate the chocolate square, I bought a bar of Ghirardelli and threw it in my food processor.  Just as good, ten times as fast.  Also, although that looks like a pretty single serving, I actually made this in an 8x8 pan.  And I doubled the recipe.  The above photo was what I had leftover that didn't fit in the pan.
 
1 pkg.  (3.4 oz.) Jell-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
2 cups  cold milk
¾ cup  thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping
8 soft ladyfingers
1 square Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate, finely grated
1 1/2 tsp Instant Espresso powder

Beat pudding mix and milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min. Stir in Cool Whip. Place 1 ladyfinger in each of 4 dessert dishes; cover with half each of the pudding mixture and grated chocolate. Repeat layers. Refrigerate 1 hour.