S'mores Whoopie Pies

What could be better than a S'mores AND a gob?!

Yes, I live in western pennsylvannia and here, we call them gobs! I first found this genious idea at BrownEyedBaker, check out the full recipe here.  The only flop was that I thought it would be safe to use butter flavored shortening for the marshmellow frosting. Do NOT make this mistake! It took on way too much of a butter flavor.

To make the "graham flour" for the cookies, I took sheets of graham crackers, and ground them up in my mini chopper (or you could use a regular food processor) to make a super fine flour.








I also sped up the process of making the chocolate filling by putting it in the refrigerator.
 I chilled it for about 30 minutes. It was still pretty runny- but yummy! Next time, I think I will try to cool at room temperature like the recipe reads and see if that helps!

 These were a huge hit, and really cute. I can't wait to make them again and not mess up the marshmellow cream part!!

Oatmeal Cream Pies

Who doesn't love Little Debbie?? Eating those individually packaged Oatmeal Cream Pies takes me right back to the elementary school lunch room. Unfortunately, we now LOOK at that little(or big) list called the nutrition label, with all those words you have never heard of (what is Ammonium Bicarbonate?!). Then I came across these these !! Homemade oatmeal cream pies! How have I never thought of this before?


I had to make them. You should too. I promise you won't be disappointed! I couldn't believe how much the cookie part tasted just like the oatmeal cookie Little Debbie makes! Only better! and made out of words we can pronounce!

My little sister,sous chef, and lover of all things dessert, Molly, helped me embark on this recipe (she was just as excited as I was)!

Oatmeal Cream Pies (from “The Amish Cook’s Baking Book”)  

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 tablespoons boiling water

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside (or use parchment).
Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the salt, flour, and baking powder. Add to the creamed mixture. Add the cinnamon and oats. Mix well. In a small dish, add the baking soda to the boiling water, and then stir the mixture into the rest of the batter. Mix well. Drop by the tablespoon (I used an oversized cookie scoop) onto the baking sheets about 2 inches apart and bake until the cookies are firm and just starting to turn golden around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on a wire rack or a plate. I cooked mine for about 12 minutes.

     For the filling I went hunting for a marshmellow cream recipe from scratch (why make homemade oatmeal cream pies and sell out on store bought marshmellow fluff? Although, it could be a time saver, if you'd like!) I found this recipe at marthastewart.com. Unfortunately, after a solid 12 minutes of beating, I never had stiff peaks form in the process! My guess is two things could have been the culprit: I got some yolk in with my egg whites, and they were not at room temperature. It didn't cause too much of a problem, just caused the filling to be less creamy or more runny:



(okay, we may have really slathered that one!)

They were still delicous!!! Next time, I may try the filling that came with the original recipe. Check out How to Eat A Cupcake for the original recipe! This is a new favorite for sure! 

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies. As my first post, what could be more appropriate than the back bone of all baked goods. Today after work, my husband requested chocolate chip cookies. "Really? How boring!" I thought. Until I remembered the amazing choclate chip cookies a co worker of mine makes! I quickly called her for the recipe, and was excited to try it. What makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie? I must tell you I was devoted to using the famous Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. It was tried and true. How could Nestle possibly mess up at what they are best at? UNTIL i tried these!! They are just, perfect. They are just the right amount of crispy and chewy, and they bake up beautifully.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Preheat oven to 375

• 3/4 cup shortening (butter flavored)
• 1 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla  (yes, tablespoon)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I went ahead and used the whole bag!)

Cream together shortening, sugar, milk, egg, and vanilla. Combine salt, flour, and baking soda, stir into wet ingredients.  Stir in choclate chips. Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes, depending upon your preference.

Cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes and enjoy!!