July '11 Cookie Carnival Round Up!

Are you suffering in a heat wave in your area? Thank you for sticking it out to bake with us this month! 

It's time again for our Cookie Carnival Round Up!

We baked two completely different cookies this month. One was filled with blueberries and oats and the other with coffee and chocolate! How's that for shaking things up a bit. (Maybe literally "shaking things up a bit" if you used extra espresso in the chocolate espresso cookies! hahaha!)

Wild Blue Energy Chews
Double-Chocolate Espresso Cookies

Once again, our Cookie Carnival bakers have done a superb job! 

Just take a look.....

First up, we have our Wild Blue Energy Chew bakers:

Julie @ A Little Bit of Everything said " I chose The Wild Blueberry Chews because they seemed to be the healthier option, can you say that about cookies?"

Tessa @ The Cookin' Chemist said "We've recently found that we really enjoy dried blueberries, and the combination of them with the almonds and wheat germ really do give these a "healthier" vibe."

Next we have our Double Chocolate Espresso Cookie bakers:

Vivian@ Let's Try These said "You see, if I don't give the cookies away then I end up eating them... this is not good! Nope, its always best if I can give the goodies away!"  :)

Christine@Whimsical Bakery said "Any cookie recipe that starts with melting chocolate & butter together is going to be fudgyyyyy and so gooey & rich!"

Katrina@Baking and Boys said "Even though I left the espresso out of these Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies, turns out they are a great base for a nice brownie-like chocolate cookie with all kinds of acceptable mix-ins!"

Juliana @ Horneando Algo made fabulous trifles with her cookies. Check out her blog to see the pictures of those trifles. Grab a napkin, you'll be drooling!

Julie@Someone's in the Kitchen kept adding different ingredients each time she made another batch. Check out her blog. All of her ideas sound delicious!

Now I have a confession to make....  I made the Wild Blue Energy Chews but they turned out to be the most awful gray-colored, hard-as-a-rock "cookie" that I have ever seen. I tried subbing my own oatmeal raisin recipe for the mix and it just went wrong from there, I guess. Anyway, I was so appalled by the way they turned out, I threw them away without even thinking of taking a picture of them. It's for the better. No one would want to look at my blog again after seeing such a disaster. So...moving on..... Everyone is entitled to a fail now and then, right?

I hope that you are enjoying the Cookie Carnival like I am! Everyone is invited to join us. You don't even have to be a blogger. **What you need to know in order to bake along with us!**

I'd hoped to reveal a few changes to the Cookie Carnival last month but it looks like it will be a bit longer before anything changes. Stay Tuned to see what happens!

Happy Baking!
Tami

Menu Plan for 7/31 - 8/6

Here's our menu for this coming week:

Sunday - spaghetti

Monday - Mexican stuffed pepper casserole w/ cornbread

Tuesday - pizza buns w/ salad

Wednesday - grilled ham & turkey sandwiches w/ basil rice pilaf

Thursday - Greek roasted chicken w/ potatoes & carrots

Friday - margarita pork chops w/ fried noodles

Saturday - fish sandwiches


With school right around the corner, now's the time to start thinking about lunch box fillers.

Here's a few ideas that work well:

pizza roll-ups
trail mix brownies
fruit, meat & cheese kabobs
chili cheese dog tortilla sticks


Linking up with:

Menu Plan Monday

Honey Bun Cake

I love recipes that can pull double duty as a sweet treat for breakfast or as a simple dessert. This recipe for honey bun cake does just that. It's a simple recipe that kids can help prepare. I found it posted at FamilyCorner.com by dyllpickle00. (Her username makes me smile!).

Huney Bun Cake
posted at FamilyCorner.com by dyllpickle00

For cake:

1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 c. oil
1 c. sour cream

In a lg. bowl, stir together dry cake mix, oil and sour cream. Batter will be thick.

Spread the batter into the bottom of a 9 x 13 cake pan.

Prepare brown sugar topping recipe (below) and swirl over cake batter.

Bake @ 350* for 40 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Prepare glaze recipe (below) and pour on top of cake while hot.

Serve warm.

For brown sugar topping:

1/2 c. brown sugar
4 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
4 1/2 tsp. evaporated milk

Stir together and swirl over cake.

For glaze:

Stir together 1 c. powdered sugar,  4 tbsp. evaporated milk and 1 tsp. vanilla.

Optional: melt 1/2 -1 cup chocolate chips and swirl over the top of the cake while it is still hot.

Linking up to:


Goose Berry Patch Cookout Favorites

The Ultimate Fudge Brownie Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookie Bars

Is that title a mouthful or what?

This cookie certainly stands up to all of the hype that it's receiving all over the Internet. I first saw pictures of this decadent dessert at Betcha Can't Eat Just One. Katie was able to kick it up another notch by adding dulce de leche to her bars. The original recipe comes from Amanda@ Kevin and Amanda. I bow to their creativity. :)

At first I couldn't imagine even biting into something like this but then, I couldn't stop thinking about it. That's me, when something makes you say "Why would you do that?!?" to food, I just have to try it. It's a lot like the time I just had to try a Krispy Kreme hamburger when we took our kids to a baseball game here in town. haha!

This was a family-involved dessert. I mixed up the cookie batter, my son made the brownies and my daughter lined up the Oreos. We had a lot of fun assembling this dessert but even more fun eating it. :) I added the hot fudge into the brownie mix (from Amanda's recipe) plus the caramel (from Katie's recipe). The results were terrific. Even my husband liked this one.

I'm planning on freezing the leftovers to use in a trifle for another time.

The Ultimate Fudge Brownie Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookie Bars
adapted from Betch Can't Eat Just One & Kevin & Amanda

1 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 lg. eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 pkg. Oreos - I used store brand
1/2 c. caramel sauce - I used ice cream topping
1 lg. pkg. brownie mix + ingredients on the box
1/4 c. hot fudge

Preheat oven to 350*.

Line a 9 x 13 dish with waxed paper. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and then set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Mix in vanilla.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Mix into the wet mixture until just combined.

Spread the cookie dough into the bottom of the 9 x 13 dish that you've lined with waxed paper.

Layer Oreos over the cookie dough.

Pour the caramel sauce over the Oreos.

Mix together brownies according to the directions on the box. Stir in 1/4 c. hot fudge and mix well.

Pour the brownie mixture over the Oreos. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove the cookie bars to a cooling rack and remove the waxed paper from around the edges of the bars.

Allow to finish cooling for at least another 15 minutes. Cut into small pieces for serving.

Store leftovers in a container with a tight-fitting lid. These bars can also be frozen. Thaw on counter.

Menu Plan for 7/24 - 7/30

I have a busy week ahead of me so our menu isn't that complicated. I'm trying some new recipes so keep an eye out for a thumbs up or down for them.

Sunday - grilled chicken legs, baked potatoes, and spinach/carrots

Monday - roasted chicken with wild rice soup (using leftover grilled chicken)

Tuesday - crockpot goulash (didn't make it last week)

Wednesday - blt pasta

Thursday - Mediterranean chicken salad with Asiago pepper bread (bread machine recipe)

Friday - rigatoni with new red sauce recipe and roasted pepper salad

Saturday - sloppy joes

Some delicious side dishes and desserts ideas:

bow tie pasta salad
four cheese and bacon mac n cheese
broiled tomato and goat cheese salad
lemon choc. chip cake mix cookie bites
toffee choc. chip pie

Have a great week, everyone!

Linking up with: 

Menu Plan Monday