Nestle Toll House Afternoon!!!

What a way to end the day...making cookies with my boys. Its been a crazy one and this was a very nice ending to the chaos of the grind. As a Foodbuzz Tastemaker, I occassionally get coupons for free items or free products to try, usually related to food. When the chance to opt in for an awesome Nestle Toll House "Baking with your Kids" opportunity presented itself, you bet i opted in. With 4 boys, who wouldn't? We LOVE cookies!!

In our house everyone got into it, even the baby! What did we make? Well with the generous coupons and my fresh new apron, we made sugar cookies with Sprinkles, Sugar cookies with Recess Peanut Butter Cups and with great homage to tradition, we made Nestle Toll House chocolate cookies with ready made dough.

For the sugar cookies, we went pretty simple. I made a basic sugar cookie recipe and then mixed in milk chocolate chips or topped with different jimmies. For the traditional chocolate chip cookies, we used the Nestle Toll House cookie ready-made cookie dough. My melon baller was very handy at this point getting a consistent drop cookie. We even decided to top a few with the Nestle Heath Toffee pieces. BOY were those YUMMY!!!

For the sugar cookies with recess pieces centers, i used the same sugar cookie mix and baked for a few minutes until they were just started to brown, then pulled them out and immediately dropped a recess peanut butter cup (unwrapped of course) into the center. Be careful not to touch the pan at this point, it can be very hot. They will continue to cook a little after being pulled out and will create a nice gooey chocolate-peanut center....mmmm...

It was in our opinion a "finger-licking" great afternoon!!


As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a Nestle Toll House apron and coupons for free cookie dough.

FoodBuzz: Skippy Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies & Banana bread

As a preferred blogger for Foodbuzz.com, I get lots of fun trials and freebies. This time around I hit the jackpot! The National Peanut Board sent me two, count them two jars of Skippy Peanut Butter, which in this house was like winning the lottery. But there was a stipulation...like or love, they didn't care as long I blogged about it. SO here it is... Two wonderful recipes tried just for you to enjoy like we did!

Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup  shortening
• 1 cup  sugar
• 1 teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon  salt
• 1-1/4 cups  buttermilk or sour milk
• 1   egg
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla
• 2-1/4 cups  all-purpose flour

  
  2/3 cup  unsweetened cocoa powder

The Filling:

• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup peanut butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Equipment: Pastry bag with round tip

Directions

1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in buttermilk or sour milk, egg, and vanilla until combined. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and cocoa powder. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour mixture.

2

Drop dough from a rounded measuring tablespoon* 2-1/2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until the edges are firm. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.

3

Spread the flat sides of half the cookies with a rounded tablespoon of Creamy Filling. Top with the remaining cookies, flat sides down. Store in the refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Makes about 16 sandwich cookies.

These were awesome!! Nothing like whoopie pies to brighten your evening!!

Then we moved onto Peanut Butter Banana Bread:

• 1 3/4 cups flour, sift before measuring
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup mashed bananas

Preparation:

Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt; set aside. Cream shortening and peanut butter, then beat in sugar and eggs. Alternately add dry ingredients and bananas, stirring with a wooden spoon. Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 18 minutes. 

If your house is anything like our's, your jar of Skippy creamy peanut butter will look a lot like this when you are done!! 

24.24.24...entered again!!

Have you heard of what buzz at Foodbuzz.com, their 24.24.24?? Not yet you say? Then man are you missing out. Every month at Foodbuzz.com 24 chefs or foodies get $250 to create an amazing blog about their experience with food, menus, celebrations, etc that all happen on a set day.

"Showcasing posts from 24 Foodbuzz Featured Publisher Bloggers, the monthly Foodbuzz 24 highlights unique meals occurring around the globe during a 24-hour period."

What a great idea!! So I'm thinking about actually putting in for it this month. So here i am, adding another thing to my list, hoping I win the opportunity to be highlighted on www.foodbuzz.com for the month of January.

So whats on the agenda??

We will be guided through an exquisite five course menu created especially for us by the Executive Chef at Messina Hof Winery and Vintage House Restaurant. Each course will be perfectly paired with their amazing award winning wines. Since the Chef is from Louisiana originally, we will work with him to develop a dinner that incorporates his flair in the meal and compliments the wine.

We have 4 dear friends, my husband and I, that we enjoy having wine and dinner with for special occasions. We would like to treat them to this 5 course meal in honor of our friendship, the foundations and the new year to come!

As a photographer and blogger, I will journal the meal with photographs focuses on the enjoyment the food brings to each individual. I would like to find the connections between Chef's creations and our memories and scribe those for foodbuzz to read and enjoy. Recipes will be included, Pictures will be taken in great fashion and video will be incorporated to showcase the Chef's amazing personality and passion for his craft.

This would be unlike any blog post i have written to date.

FoodBuzz 24.24.24.

Have you heard of what buzz at Foodbuzz.com, their 24.24.24?? Not yet you say? Then man are you missing out. Every month at foodbuzz.com 24 chefs or foodies get $250 to create an amazing blog about their experience with food, menus, celebrations, etc that all happen on a set day.

"Showcasing posts from 24 Foodbuzz Featured Publisher bloggers, the monthly Foodbuzz 24 highlights unique meals occurring around the globe during a 24-hour period."

What a great idea!! So i'm thinking about actually putting in for it this month. Its perfect grilling weather. We've had amazing weather for outdoor photography, not to mention the bluebonnets are in full bloom. So what better way than to document a Spring festivity in Texas?!

So here i am, adding another thing to my list, hoping I win the opportunity to be highlighted on www.foodbuzz.com for the month of April. Now to just decide if I want to make it a wine-excursion, Grill feast or a romantic spring celebration! Any input?

I know one thing is for sure, dessert is a definate. Cookies, cupcakes, you name it. I WILL be baking! I'm so ready to get back in the kitchen.