Everything but the kitchen sink Cookies

While making Nicole’s Triple Chocolate Chip cookies last week, I got an idea to add a few extra ingredients to all this yummy chocolatiness. After all, if three different kinds of chocolate were this good, just think what else you can add to make these cookies that much more scrumptious!

As I rummaged through my baking cupboards (yes, I have a cupboard just for baking items), I found some butterscotch and cinnamon chips. The flavor combinations intrigued my taste buds so I got to making me some cookies.

I added white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, cinnamon chips, chopped macadamia nuts, and coconut (because everything is better with coconut!).

I have to say, my taste buds were in for a surprise when I took that first bite. Sweet, spicy cinnamon with chocolate undertones and a hint of butterscotch, with those seductive, buttery macadamia nuts….Mmmm, and I didn’t even get to the coconut yet! Oh, the coconut sent this cookie over the top!

The only problem is, I didn’t know what to call these delicious cookies. Oh, I could call them chocolate butterscotch cinnamon coconut cookies or chocolate butterscotch coconut cinnamon macadamia nut cookies, but that seemed a little long for a cookie name.

When I took these cookies to work, one of the guys said, “You should name these, ‘everything but the kitchen sink cookies’ because they have everything in them.” So that’s what I’m calling these cookies - Everything but the kitchen sink.

If you don’t like coconut, you can leave it out like I did for the guys at work. Silly men don’t like coconut flakes so I only added coconut to about five cookies for myself because when you have macadamia nuts, you just have to add coconut {smile}! I mean, who doesn’t like love coconut?

Silly men….

Everything but the kitchen sink Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 Tablespoons corn starch

¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 and ½ sticks)

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 large egg

½ cups macadamia nuts, chopped

¾ cup sweetened flaked coconut

½ cup white chocolate chips

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup butterscotch chips

¼ cup cinnamon chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F degrees.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, corn starch. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars. Blend together until creamy.

Beat in egg, vanilla, and almond extract.

Slowly add in dry mixture, until all ingredients are combined.

By hand, stir in macadamia nuts and coconut, mixing well.

Fold in all the chips, blending all ingredients together.

Drop 1 tablespoonful of cookie dough into prepared cookie sheet.

Place into preheated oven. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack where they can cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

 

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Shared with: Skip the Housework Link Party #58, Totally Terrific Tuesday #24

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every time it gets cold and rainy, I crave homemade cookies. I can blame my mom for this. Because growing up, I could always count on her making cookies whenever it was cold and rainy, which happened more often than you think in sunny California.

Knowing this, my best friend would always come home with me just to have some of my mom’s cookies. And it wasn't just my friends, my brothers friends would make an excuse to come over too.

Her specialty was chocolate chip cookies. Mmm, I remember walking in the front door and the smell of chocolate chip cookies wafting through the air. The aroma was all butter and chocolate and just utterly delicious. Needless to say, rainy days still bring all those memories back to me. And just like my mom, I also make cookies on cold, rainy days.

Today was no exception. We might not have gotten the snow that was predicted here in Georgia, but we got the cold, rainy days with ice storms. This is what I woke up to the next morning. It looked like a winter wonderland with everything covered in ice.

And I was craving me some chocolate chip cookies, and not your traditional chocolate chip cookies either, no ma'am or sir. I was craving these Triple Chocolate Chip cookies that I found on Pinterest yesterday.

This is not my recipe but these cookies are just so good that I had to share them with you! I made a minor tweak by adding two tablespoons of corn starch instead of one teaspoon because I like the fluff the corn starch adds to the cookies. Next time I make these, I think I'll add in either coconut or butterscotch chips, or maybe both!

This recipe is by Nichole from Brown Sugar Mama and I must say, Thank you Nichole for creating these cookies! This is just one of many wonderful recipes she has on her site, so be sure to stop by and give her a little love too.

Yes, that's right these cookies have three different kinds of chocolate chips all combined into one cookie! They have white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and chocolate chunks along with macadamia nuts.

Talk about comfort food for rainy days. These cookies are everything…plus more. Soft and tender bites of chocolate combined with buttery macadamia nuts. I almost ate the whole batch.

I tell you, those macadamia nuts will seduce you. Every. Single. Time.

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons corn starch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chocolate chunks

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, corn starch, baking soda, sea salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars. Blend together until creamy.

Beat in egg and vanilla.

Slowly add in dry mixture, until all ingredients are combined.

By hand, stir in macadamia nuts, mixing well.

Fold in all the chocolate chips, semi-sweet and white, plus chocolate chunks, blending all ingredients together.

Drop 1 tablespoonful of cookie dough into prepared cookie sheet, placing about 2 inches apart.

Place into preheated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack where they can cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Recipe by ~ Nichole at Brown Sugar Mama.

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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie Bars

One of the guys at work has been asking begging me to make macadamia nut cookies. Until now, I've been able to put off his request, telling him I can't afford to buy macadamia nuts. I mean really, have you seen the price of these little nuts? For about the cost of Netflix for two months, I can buy one cup of macadamia nuts. So I keep telling him they're out of my budget and if he wants macadamia nut cookies, he needs to buy them and then I will make them for him.

Needless to say, it happened. While I was out of the office one day last week, he stopped by and left a bag of macadamia nuts. He had finally called my bluff. What else was a girl to do?

So this weekend I finally made his cookies, white chocolate macadamia nut cookie bars. And these cookies are D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S.

They remind me of the Sirens that were known in Greek mythology that tempted sailors of the seas with their enchanting melodies. These cookies sing to you "come eat me....I am buttery delicious....just one bite...please, come eat me".

Tempting me, drawing me in, with their Siren songs. I had to put them in the cupboard to try and smother their seductive cooing every time I walked by.

And then it happened. I was walking by the kitchen when I heard them cooing from the depths of the cupboard. Next thing I know, I'm ripping open the bag of cookies like a ravenous wolf and crumbs are flying all over the place.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a reflection of my image in a teapot on the stove. Wide eyed and hair tousled with a mouthful of cookies. It was scary, I tell you, scary!

My cat was shivering in a corner as I stared wide eyed at him like he was a big cookie.

Needless to say, I quickly regained my composure and cleaned up the mess before making another batch of these cookies for my co-worker. This time I hid them in the refrigerator, suppressing their enchanting come hither me songs, until I was able to take them into work on Monday.

My co-workers loved them! But the singing, I can still hear it in my head to this day when I close my eyes.

But don’t let that discourage you from making these cookies for your family and friends. Just don’t leave yourself alone with them out on the kitchen counter or else you too will hear the Siren songs of these cookies.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie Bars

Makes a whole lot of cookies

Ingredients

3 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 and ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 Tablespoons Corn starch

1 and ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 and ½ cups brown sugar, packed

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups (1- 12 ounce package) white chocolate chips

1 and ½ cups macadamia nuts, chopped

1 – 11” x 15” cookie sheet

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and corn starch. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add softened butter, sugars, and vanilla. Cream together.

Blend in eggs.

Slowly add in dry ingredients. Blending well.

Stir in macadamia nuts. Once nuts are blended throughout mixture, stir in 1 and 1/2 cups of white chocolate chips.

Spread onto prepared cookie sheet. Pressing down with either a wooden spoon or your hands.

Place into oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining white chocolate chips over cookies*. You can place back in the oven for just a few minutes to help soften the chips. Making sure to watch them closely so the chips will not brown or burn.

Let cool before cutting and serving.

Inspired by ~ Nestle White Chip Island Cookies

*Helpful Hints*

- I had a little extra cookie dough left so I made about 1 Tablespoonful drops of cookie dough, placed them onto a separate prepared cookie sheet (with non-stick spray) and baked as cookies for about 10-12 minutes. This gave me about 5 extra cookies {smile}.

- *Remaining white chocolate chips are sprinkled over the top after baking because they tend to brown and burn during the baking process. This keeps them white, yet still soft and yummy.

All content and images are property of Sweet and Spicy Monkey. Please do not reprint this content without my permission. If you wish to include this recipe on your site, please re-write in your own words and use your own photographs and link back to this post for original recipe.

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Shared with: Sweet and Savoury Sundays #102

White Chocolate Cherry Oreo Fudge

Remember when you were a kid and your mom always told you "it's better with a cherry on top". Well I don't know about you, but if it's better with a cherry on top, then it's even better with cherries all over, inside and on top.

Lately here, I've been craving the sweet taste of cherries. Maybe it's because Valentine’s Day is coming up and cherries just seem like the go to food since they're red. Or maybe it's because I haven't dabbled much with cherries in the kitchen and there are so many foods I want to make right now with cherries.

I think cherries are my new lemon this year! Pppffff, you're right, who am I fooling? Nothing can replace my delicious, citrusy lemon! Nuthin'!

Yes, another fudge recipe because you can never have enough fudge in your life {smile}. I've made this delicious fudge with cherries and Oreos. A beautiful pink fudge with pieces of Oreos and candied cherries that is reminiscent of a cherry chocolate cake but in bite size squares.

Sure to win your heart after just one bite!

White Chocolate Cherry Oreo Fudge

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

¾ cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 - 12 ounce package of white chocolate chips

1 – 7 ounce jar marshmallow fluff

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon cherry extract

½ cup candied cherries, quartered

2 cups Oreos, crumbled

Few drops of Red food coloring

1 candy thermometer

Directions

Spray a 9” x 9” pan with nonstick spray and wipe excess off with a clean paper towel. Or you can grease the pan with butter. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, add butter, sugar, cream, and salt. Heat over medium heat, stirring continuously until butter melts and sugar dissolves.

Bring to a boil, continuing to stir, until temperature reaches 240F degrees on your candy thermometer.

After reaching 240F degrees, remove pan from heat and add white chocolate chips and marshmallow. Continue to stir until all chips are melted and marshmallow is blended. You can place on low heat to help melt all the chips and blend the marshmallow.

Add vanilla and cherry extract to mixture while pan is away from the heat source. Place a couple drops of red food coloring in at this time until you get desired color. 2-3 drops and fudge will be a beautiful pink color. More drops of food coloring, fudge will become more red than pink, so use sparingly.

Mix in candied cherries and Oreos, blending well throughout mixture. You will need to put some muscle behind the stirring at this time.

Quickly pour into prepared pan.

Let cool at room temperature for at least 8 hours before cutting. You can place in refrigerator but keep in mind, it will be difficult to cut when cold. If refrigerating, let warm to room temperature before cutting.

Best served at room temperature.

Can be stored in an airtight container for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

All content and images are property of Sweet and Spicy Monkey. Please do not reprint this content without my permission. If you wish to include this recipe on your site, please re-write in your own words and use your own photographs and link back to this post for original recipe.

Follow Julie's board Sweet and Spicy Monkey on Pinterest.

Shared with: Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party #133, Sweet and Savoury Sunday #99, Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends #67

Mocha Cappuccino Fudge

The Holidays are over and a new year has started, but that doesn't mean the sweets are disappearing.

I am on a fudge run! Ok, this might seem like something new to you because I haven't shared any fudge recipes but I have been baking fudge at home.

Yes, I made fudge and haven't blogged about it. Does that make me a bad food blogger? I'm sharing it now so that counts for something, right? {smiling}.

Especially this recipe as it is everything you've ever dreamed cappuccino fudge would taste like - soft, creamy, dare I say, fudgy, with a delicious coffee flavor.

Why am I just now hearing about this after being alive for the last, um, 25, ok, 29 years? I find it hard to believe that someone finally came up with the idea of cappuccino fudge within the last 12 months. But whoever it was and whenever it happened, I am thankful. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Mocha Cappuccino Fudge

Ingredients

1 and ½ Tablespoons of instant coffee

1 Tablespoon hot water

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

¾ cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups white chocolate chips (1- 12 ounce bag)

¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 – 7 ounce jar marshmallow fluff

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 candy thermometer

Directions

Spray a 9” x 9” pan with nonstick spray and wipe excess off with a clean paper towel. Or you can grease the pan with butter. Set aside.

In a mug, add instant coffee and hot water and mix together until coffee is dissolved. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, add butter, sugar, cream, and salt. Heat over medium heat, stirring continuously until butter melts and sugar dissolves.

Bring to a boil, continuing to stir, until temperature reaches 240F (116 Celsius) degrees on your candy thermometer.

After reaching 240F (116 C) degrees, remove pan from heat and add both chocolate chips (semi-sweet and white) and marshmallow. Continue to stir until all chips are melted and marshmallow is blended. You can place on low heat to help melt all the chips and blend the marshmallow.

Add vanilla to mixture while pan is away from the heat source.

Place about 1 to 2 cups fudge in a small bowl. Just eyeball it because the measurement doesn’t need to be exact. This is what makes the swirls in your fudge. Set aside.

Mix the coffee with the original saucepan of fudge until it’s completely mixed.

Quickly pour into prepared pan.

Place the fudge that you set aside earlier on top of coffee fudge mixture. Using a firm, thin spatula or butter knife, spread in thin swirling, circular patterns over coffee fudge, making sure not to over stir. Do this lightly over the top of the fudge.

Let cool at room temperature for at least 8 hours before cutting. You can place in refrigerator but keep in mind, it will be difficult to cut when cold.

If refrigerating, let warm to room temperature before cutting.

Best served at room temperature.

Can be stored in an airtight container for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Trust me, it won’t last that long!

Inspired by ~ Elizabeth LaBau, candy expert

All content and images are property of Sweet and Spicy Monkey. Please do not reprint this content without my permission. If you wish to include this recipe on your site, please re-write in your own words and use your own photographs and link back to this post for original recipe.

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Featured at ~ Sweet and Savoury Sunday #96

Shared with: Munching Mondays #72, Wine'd Down Wednesday 68, On Display Thursday # 25, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party #129, Sweet and Savoury Sundays #95, Skip the Housework Link Party #51, Snickerdoodle Sunday #63, Tasty Tuesday Link Up, Inspire Us Thursday Link Party #81

White Chocolate Banana pancakes with White Chocolate Syrup ~ Series 2 of the Ultimate Chocolate Lover's Breakfast

After last week's ultimate chocolate lover's breakfast of chocolate pancakes with Nutella syrup, different ways to add chocolate to breakfast have been running through my mind all week long. When this coming week’s breakfast came to me, I knew I just had to try it. For this week’s ultimate chocolate lover’s breakfast, I am catering to all white chocolate lover’s out there, we’re having white chocolate banana pancakes with white chocolate syrup!

Now this is NOT a coconut or a cream cheese based syrup, which are the only recipes I found for a white syrup. For some reason, a simple white chocolate syrup isn’t very popular, nothing like Nutella syrup. So after searching for quite some time, I thought pure white chocolate syrup definitely couldn’t be that difficult to make, could it? To my surprise, no it was not. {smile}

I just used a little creativity in the kitchen and came up with a smooth, delicious, vanilla, white chocolate syrup to pour over pancakes, waffles, or ice cream. The idea behind the making of this syrup is I wanted a creamy, white syrup with a rich vanilla taste that would enhance the white chocolate banana pancakes that were to be served with it. And boy, did I do it! I think you will be amazed with how good this syrup is over pancakes and just how simple it is to make. You’ll wonder, why didn’t I ever think of that?

If you’re not a lover of white chocolate, you definitely will be after having this syrup poured over some white chocolate banana pancakes!

White Chocolate Banana pancakes

Ingredients

Pancake mix

1 banana, sliced

¾ cup white chocolate chips

1 cup buttermilk

Directions

Make as directed, using 1 cup of buttermilk instead of milk or water. You want pancake mix to be pourable, not too thick. Add buttermilk to desired thickness. For thinner pancakes, add more buttermilk.

Fold in sliced banana and chips until mixed completely.

Cook as directed.

White Chocolate Syrup

Servings - 2

Prep time – 8 minutes

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons half & half

1 Tablespoon sweetened condensed milk

½ cup Karo light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup white chocolate chips

Directions

In a small saucepan, add all ingredients. Over low to medium heat, stirring continuously, cook until mixture becomes smooth, all chips are melted, and mixture is warm enough* to serve over pancakes.

Once mixture becomes warm, remove from heat and serve over pancakes. Enjoy!

*Be careful not to let mixture boil, as you do not want it to burn.

All content and images are property of Sweet and Spicy Monkey. Please do not reprint this content without my permission. If you wish to include this recipe on your site, please re-write in your own words and use your own photographs and link back to this post for original recipe.