Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are seriously the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies ever.  To make them even more amazing - I add milk chocolate chips rather than semisweet chocolate chips.  Either way they are fine.  But I think they taste amazing with milk chocolate........

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. butter 

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. oatmeal

1 c. chocolate chips

Add wet ingredients then dry ingredients. Bake @ 350 for 10-12 mins.

Peanut Butter Fudge Cake

I saw this on my old co-workers and dear friend's blog.  I forced her to send me the recipe. Yummmm. You just can't go wrong with peanut butter and fudge.

Peanut Butter Fudge Cake

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

1/4 cup cocoa (I use dutch )

1 cup water

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

chocolate frosting

Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stir in cocoa, water, and buttermilk. In a separate bowl whisk eggs. Slowly pour half of hot chocolate mixture into eggs while whisking constantly. Then pour it back into saucepan, whisking continuously, to combine it all. (This prevents the hot mixture from cooking the eggs upon contact. If you still get tiny pieces of white cooked egg in the dough, it doesn't effect the taste.) Allow mixture to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add to flour mixture and stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully spread peanut butter ( I heat it in the microwave for a minute to soften it) over warm cake. Cool completely. Spread with chocolate frosting. Cut into squares. 20-25 servings.

Chocolate Frosting

1 (16oz) package powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa (I use dutch)

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Bring cocoa, butter and buttermilk to a boil in a small saucapn over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour hot mixture into a bowl with the sugar, stirring until smooth. stir in vanilla.

Scottish Tablet

This recipe is not for the faint of heart.  I mean this literally and figuratively.  This is pure sugar and butter.  But delicious.  When I interned at the Scottish Parliament, one of the guys there named Garreth brought in tablet all the time.  This recipe probably explains why I got huge in Scotland.  It is a good treat to have sporadically though.  The recipe comes from Maw Broon's cookbook.  The cookbook has many traditional Scottish recipes if you want to get in touch with your Scottish culinary roots. 

4 Oz unsalted butter (butter with a strong flavor is best) 

2 & 1/4 lb granulated sugar

1 cup full cream milk

14 oz tin of condensed milk

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat.  Add sugar and milk.  Keep stirring until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the condensed milk.  Turn up the heat a little bit and bring to a boil slowly.  Turn the heat down and let simmer for 20 minutes.  Test the mixture for hardness after 18 minutes by dropping a little bit of cold water.  If it turns into a soft ball that you can pick up between your fingers then it is time to remove the mixture from the heat.  Take off the heat and beat for 3 to 5 minutes.  Pour into a baking tray.

Toasted Marshmallow Shake

If anyone watched Top Chef you might remember Spike Mendelsohn... He owns a restaurant in DC called Good Stuff and it truly lives up to it's name. 

The best shake on the planet is from there... The toasted marshmallow shake. It is seriously like a campfire in your mouth. This recipe was in the local paper. I made it last night.  It was beyond easy to make.  So I thought I'd share it. 

Ingredients:

* 1 bag jumbo marshmallows

* 2 cups milk

* 1 Tbsp. sour cream

* 2 cups creamy vanilla ice cream

Directions:

On a medium-size cookie sheet, place 1/2 bag of marshmallows in a row.

Place under your burner in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes, until completely charred.

Take out of oven and let cool.

Repeat this step but only let the marshmallows toast, so they are slightly burnt.

Take out of oven and let cool.

In a blender, pour milk, sour cream, ice cream and charred marshmallows.

Mix for 5 minutes.

Pour in a large glass and top with 2 to 3 toasted marshmallows.