#SRC Bonus: Lunch Lady Brownies

So.
Today is my first day back at work after being off for the summer.
I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this, seeing as it's my 7th school in the past 10 years.  While there are no students until next week after Labour Day, I need to finish unpacking and get my head around what is to come.  For me, this is not a great thing.
What is good, however, is that there are 5 Mondays in August, and we're celebrating with a special edition of The Secret Recipe Club that's all about back to school.  What's even more fun about this reveal day is that it's cross-group, so I'm not paired with someone in my regular group A for this week.  Next week, I'll be back with my Group A on Monday's reveal.
There are so many options when you consider back to school.  Around here, it means soups that I can take for lunch, or something I can pull out of my freezer for a quick meal, or something that I can make for a hearty breakfast.  I had so much fun looking through Ashley's blog, Cheese Curd in Paradise for something that might fit one of these catagories, and I wasn't disappointed.
Ashley had a ton of things that I pinned while browsing, including these Strawberry Cream Muffins to use up the strawberries that came in my produce box this week; I also thought about this Chicken Bacon Ranch Tot Casserole because come on...all in one dish?  Sign me up!
I finally opted for a dessert that can easily be frozen, and is even nut free, so totally work-takeable (as opposed to my regular SRC choice for next week).  The name even screams school - even though I work in an elementary school and there's no cafeteria.
I present to you now a Cheese Curd in Paradise's Lunch Lady Brownies:

Son of Magazine Challenge: Mini Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches

So.
You know how you mean to do something, get halfway through, become sidetracked, and eventually come back to the original project for the now much smaller job?  That is the story with these sandwiches.
I made the cookies, put them into a container, and we started eating them as is.  By the time I made the sandwiches, I only had a dozen cookies left.  Whoops.
J and I have had a couple of pool parties in the past couple of weeks, and I meant to make these as a dessert option for the first of the parties (not that it mattered...we had so much food!).  Then, when that didn't happen, I thought to make them for the second party.  But we had birthday cake instead, so I ended up making these as a dessert option for us.  At the beginning of a super hot week, they were a welcome treat.
I know the title says "mini", but don't let that fool you!  One is enough.  It's 2 cookies and a small serving of ice cream rolled in chocolate chips.  But think about that.  2 cookies.  Ice cream.  Chocolate chips.  How could all that together possibly be bad?
From the June 2007 issue of Everyday Food, I present to you now Mini Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches:

Got Milk? 6: Lemon BonBon Cookies

So.
J and I have been away.  On vacation.  And not together.
Yes, after 8 years of marriage, my husband and I took separate vacations.  He went to visit friends in South Carolina and do some audio geek stuff, and I went away with my mom on a bus trip.  We both had a great time, and it was all good, but it also meant that I got to do something that I never get to do - spend time in the house by myself.
I miss time alone.  With a husband who doesn't drive and who is home during the day, he usually goes out in the evenings or on the weekends with me.  I spend little to no time by myself in the house with just the cats as company.  This was a chance to do just that, and it was blissful.  I had one night to myself, and as I announced on Facebook, I managed to meal plan for J and I, and for mom and I but not for just me.  Maybe it's just as well that I don't spend much time alone.  But one thing that I did make was a batch of cookies so Mom and I would have dessert.
I turned to my Taste of Home cookie magazine for something different that we might enjoy.  I happened upon these lemony cookies a while ago, and finally decided it was time.  They're totally worth it.  Trust me.  They freeze well, too.  And it's not a huge batch, either.  2 dozen cookies aren't a lot, because these melt on your tongue.  Mmmmm...perhaps I need to go and find myself one or two now.
I present to you now from Linda Nicholson from Palatka, Florida's Lemony Bonbon Cookies:

Got Milk? 7: Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies

So.

J's favourite kind of cookies are chocolate chip.  The ones on the back of the Nestle bag; not a recipe I have ever made.  I KNOW.  When I announce that I'm going to make a batch of cookies, he hopefully looks at me and asks if they're going to be chocolate chip.  Usually, I say no.  There are so many interesting cookies to make!  

Speaking of interesting cookies, I have this magazine from 2009:

While it has bounced through 2 moves with me, I have never made any cookies from it.  Not so anymore!!  I have been flipping through it this week and finally found something that might satisfy both J and his chocolate chip penchant and me and my desire to make new things.

These cookies are reminiscent of shortbread, and are full of chocolate chips.  How could that be bad?

I present to you now Janis Gruca of Mokena, Illinois' Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies:

Bride of Magazine Challenge: Rocky Road Bars

So.
I made these treats a while ago.  I try and make something most weekends so that we have a treat to eat after dinner to eat most nights.  Those weeks I don't, we seem to go for frosty chocolate milkshakes; especially in summer. But with something like this in an airtight container sitting on the counter, we're a whole lot less likely to go running off.
J tells me he's not big on marshmallows, but these seemed to disappear quickly enough.  I liked them because they mixed up in a pan and were quick to put together.  Most people would like them because of their sweet top layer.  I added them to my list of things checked off for the Magazine Challenge.
I present to you now from the October 2006 issue of Everyday Food, Rocky Road Bars:

Got Milk 5: Lemon Oatmeal Creme Cookies

So.
According to the calendar, it's Spring.  As we determined on Monday, to me, Spring tastes like lemon.  Summer tastes like grilling and gin, but that's beside the point.  But lemon...bright, sassy lemon.  It's one of my favourite dessert flavours in a pie, or a cake, or a cookie.
I think it's the fact that lemon is a palate cleaner.  It's so refreshing after a meal of big flavours.  It doesn't take a lot, but just a little to jazz up chicken soup or give you a little pucker and cut the sugar.  Someday, I'll wax poetic about chocolate.  It's darn tasty too.
But when I saw these cookies on Crumb I knew I had to make them.  Fresh oatmeal cookies stuck together with tart lemon icing?  Yes please!
I present to you now Crumb's Lemon Oatmeal Creme Cookies:

#TripleSBites: Chocolate-Orange Meringue Kisses

So.

Welcome to #TripleSBites!  20 bloggers coming together to share spicy, saucy and sexy recipes just in time for Valentine's Day!  Today, all 20 of us have a recipe to share to kick off this week-long event.
As my earlier post from today indicated, I'm sharing a second post from my Secret Recipe Club blog this month, Chit, Chat, Chomp.
When I think of Valentine's, there's obviously going to be some kissing!  As I put these together, J wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he was willing to try.  That's okay.  He's willing to try most things.
The result?  Delicious little bites that melt in your mouth.  With chocolate ganache.  How could that be bad?
I present to you now Chit, Chat, Chomp's Chocolate-Orange Meringue Kisses:

Secret Recipe Bonus: Strawberry-Almond Thumbprint Cookies

So.
While the Secret Recipe Club is done for this year, an offer came out that I couldn't refuse.
You remember the Secret Recipe Club, right?  The group where I'm given a blog to stalk and make something so we can all reveal at the same time?  It's a great way to meet new people and make some delicious recipes!
When someone suggested that we have a virtual cookie exchange along the same lines amongst all members of the group who were interested, I signed up.  And that's how I became involved in the SRC Cookie Carnival.

I was excited to see who my partner would be!  Much like my reveal earlier this month, I returned to an old friend.  The email with my partner sent me to Anna's blog, Cheese with Noodles.  Back in June, I made Anna's Dreamy Baked Ziti for a Reveal Day.  I was excited to have another look and find a cookie recipe to try.
I considered a couple of the sandwich cookie recipes before deciding on these thumbprint cookies.  I'd never made thumbprints, but the premise seemed simple enough, and I could use my strawberry jam that I made this summer!  Shortbread and jam...how could that possibly be bad?
I present to you now Cheese with Noodles' Strawberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies:

Bride of Magazine Challenge: Cherry-Oat Cereal Bars

So.
In my high school, there were 2 things worth buying to my 16 year old mind:  the fries and gravy and the Rice Krispie squares.  If you timed it right before second period, the rice krispie squares would still be warm in their saran wrappings.  Delicious.
I haven't had a Rice Krispie square in years.  I usually choose a baked good that doesn't include marshmallows.  But when I saw these in the September 2006 issue of Everyday Food, I thought that they'd be worth a second look.
These are a square that I can take in my lunch to work - no peanut products in sight.  They're also a little different with the Cheerios instead of the typical Rice Krispies.  The dried cherries make them a little more high-brow.  I would love to put chocolate chips in these, but they'd melt with the warm mixture.  Ah well.  They were good as they are too.
I present to you now from the September 2006 issue of Everyday Food, Cherry-Oat Cereal Bars:

#10DaysofTailgate: Linebacker-Sized Chocolate Chunk Cookies

So.

The beauty of tailgating is that almost anything goes - so long as it travels well.  When J and I were dating, and I would go to football with him and his family, I was always trying to find something that I could take for tailgating that would travel well.  These cookies would have fit the bill.
J's favourite cookie is chocolate chip.  He doesn't think that there should be nuts or coconut or anything else.  While I don't agree, this recipe is a classic.  The high butter content of the cookie means that it is flat and chewy.  The size means you only want one.  Even it you're sitting out all afternoon waiting for the game to begin.
I present to you now from the September 2006 Everyday Food, Giant Chocolate Chunk Cookies:

Bride of Magazine Challenge: Lime Cheesecake Squares

So.
J and I are back from Seattle.  It was a wonderful trip, visiting with his cousins, seeing the sights, eating and drinking too much, and getting sunburned.  In Seattle.  I KNOW.
But we are back for a short stay before heading off overnight to a baseball game in Detroit.  We may not have gone far for long, but we're going away a little more than usual.  That's okay.  It's not been warm enough to swim, and the pool is currently undergoing a treatment for algae.  We might as well be on the road.
It's no surprise that I love dessert.  I don't have quite the sweet tooth of my mother, but we eat dessert here most nights. It gives me more of a chance to bake.  When I saw this recipe in the June 2006 issue of Everyday Food, I figured it was worth a look.
The ingredients are basic.  I went to buy a lemon at the grocery store today, and they were looking pretty sad.  Like, shriveled and not worth it sad.  So I bought a lime.   Greek yogurt cream cheese was on sale, so that's what went in.  Eggs, sugar, butter and graham crackers?  All things from the cupboard.  All desserts should be this easy.
Well, maybe not.  Fussy desserts are fun to make and eat too.  But you know, if you have a craving on a Tuesday, these would work.
I present to you now from the June 2006 issue of Everyday Food Lime Cheesecake Squares:

Secret Recipe Club: Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows

So.
When the form came out asking if I wanted to participate in the Secret Recipe Club for July, I filled it out saying yes.  Why, I'm not quite sure.  I live in a great denial about the fact that June for me when I would need to make said recipe is a month filled with report card editing, graduation, and me eating out and grasping at the shreds of my sanity as we wind down to the end of school.  It's not that I don't like cooking, I just don't do it in June.  I need to remember this for next year so I freeze some meals and keep my debit card from smoking like this year.
But if I hadn't said yes, I wouldn't have been assigned the wonderful blog of LeAndra, who tends Love&Flour.  LeAndra and I have many things in common.  We both like to bake, we both love chocolate chips more than lettuce, and we both watch The Game at the end of November.
I find it interesting that LeAndra is a Buckeye turned Gator fan.  My experience of college football fans (and especially OSU fans) is that they have an almost visceral allegiance to their team for life.  Case in point, J lived in Gamecock country for a while but paid for the ESPN college football package so he could watch U of M on Saturdays.  He now does the same here in Canada, giving us the *big* sports package so he can watch the B1G 10 Network and College football when we're home.
In my married life, I have learned that college football is a religion, and Saturday is the day of holy obligation.  J has started counting down until we're back at the Big House in our new seats that will be more in the end zone and less facing the setting sun.  I am ignoring him because it means I will be back to school.  Ahem.  It's not time for football yet.  Right.  What I made.
I perused LeAndra's blog and had a hard time deciding between these cookies and chocolate cherry cookies.  I actually bought everything to make both, but the flavour combination of chocolate and peanut butter won the day!  The others come soon.  What else would I do with a bottle of cherry lambic?
I present to you now Love&Flour's Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows:

Bride of Magazine Challenge: Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

So.

When I was growing up, my favourite type of square was the Hello Dolly, also known as the Magic Bar.  I don't really know why.  My mother made dozens and dozens of squares every Christmas, and she never made Hello Dollies.  Perhaps it was just the novelty of those that my mother never made.  But chocolate chips, nuts, coconut and sweetened condensed milk on a cookie base?  Count me in.

As an adult where I could make Hello Dollies, I never do.  J and I like to have sweet treats in the house, but we seem to eat them very quickly.  So when I saw this recipe in the March 2006 Everyday Food, I was intrigued.  It used lots of pecans and chocolate chips, but that would make them yummy.  When they were finally done, I was just as happy that we had Home Church that night and I could take the squares with me so that J and I wouldn't eat them all.

They're not Hello Dollies, but J doesn't like coconut.  They're just as good...or even better.

I present to you now from the March 2006 issue of Everyday Food Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars:

Secret Recipe Club: Cappuccino Chocolate Chunk Hazelnut Cookies

So.
It's time once again for Group A's reveal for the Secret Recipe Club.  It's always fun when I get my email with a new blog to explore and drool over.  If you want to know more about SRC and why I'm revealing a recipe today, click over and see the explanation there.  Then come back to see what I made.  This month, the blog I perused was Easily Good Eats.
The premise of this blog is simple:  good food that is made with pantry staples - quick and easy preparation.  While the recipes sounded interesting, J nixed many of the things I suggested making.  He's not really into exotic, and while I do get him to try a variety of foods, he will say no sometimes.
I finally decided that the best route to go would be a baked good, and there were tons to choose from.  With J's love of chocolate chip cookies, I decided to bank on that and make something a little different that weren't so exotic that he'd have issues and I'd have a whole recipe to eat myself.
I have an ongoing love affair with Nutella.  It's chocolate and you're encouraged to eat it for breakfast.  How could that be wrong?  I've made cakes, and I've made ice cream.  While this doesn't actually use Nutella, the recipe uses the building blocks of Europe's favourite breakfast spread.  It even includes coffee, so really, this cookie is breakfast material!  Despite the fact that J rolled his eyes at me when I announced that these were breakfast fare, I think I've discovered my life's calling:  to convince the world that we should eat cookies for breakfast.  Or leftover chocolate cake if you're Bill Cosby.  Perhaps it's just as well that I don't have children, and just have a cat who is perfectly content to eat her kibble.
I present to you now Easily Good Eats' Cappucino Chocolate Chunk Hazelnut Cookies:

Got Milk 5: Old Fashioned Lemon Sugar Cookies

So.
In 2005, I was involved in a cookie exchange with some friends that I had made through the Cooking Light community bulletin boards.  It was one of the only cookie exchanges that I have ever done, and probably one of the most fancy I will ever be involved in.  I agreed to make the Rum Balls from that year's Martha Stewart holiday cookie magazine.  Essentially, you made a really rich brownie which you broke up and put into the mixer while still warm with good quality rum to make a paste that I rolled in ground pecans. Yum.
I have had that cookie magazine ever since.  In flipping through it, I discovered that I have not made another recipe from it until now (do you notice a theme with me, cooking magazines and the lack of things I make?  I certainly do).  J and I wanted cookies, so I went looking for something new and different.
The closeup of these cookies was intriguing.  You could see the sanding sugar standing out on the tops of these cookies.  I was sure it would add an interesting crunch.  I was also interested in the fact that it didn't make a huge batch with a yield of 20 (I got 21 cookies).  I just happened to have a bottle of King Arthur Flour Sparkling White Sugar in the cupboard that I had received as a part of a Christmas gift.  This would be a perfect way to use it!
I present to you now from the Martha Stewart 2005 Cookies magazine, Old Fashioned Lemon Sugar Cookies:

Got Milk Classic: Chocolate Chip Cookies

So.
J accused me of never making chocolate chip cookies - the only kind of cookies he really likes.  I have to admit, I don't really make cookies very often.  And frankly, when I make cookies I like to find ones I haven't made before and are different (case in point the Cheesecake Cookies).
Seeing as the plan was to make a whole bunch of new things over the break, I figured I'd appease J by making chocolate chip cookies.  No more accusations of not making things he likes.  For a while.
This recipe is the first cookie recipe I ever made.  It's my mom's recipe that was on a card in her yellow metal recipe box.  The other good thing about this recipe is it's really not that big a batch of cookies - I got 2 dozen cookies that are on the smaller size.  Smaller batch means more dessert soon.  I should obviously start looking for the next crazy cookie recipe to try.
I present to you now my mom's recipe for chocolate chip cookies:

Got Milk? 4: Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

So.
I needed to make cookies for Home Church this week.  Actually, I just needed to make a dessert, but I'd pinned these cookies and couldn't stop thinking about them.  Obviously, this was the perfect occasion to make small cheesecake-type bites that I could share with friends.
Here's the thing:  the recipe said they would make 3 dozen.  I didn't make small cookies, and I got 4 dozen.  Then there were only 4 of us at Home Church, and while J ate 3, he told me they were okay, but he didn't really like desserts like that (he only likes chocolate chip cookies...WHAT'S UP WITH THAT????).  So I needed to decide what to do with over 3 dozen cookies that I wasn't sure what they'd be like after freezing.
Seeing as I've never done anything but go to school for my entire life, I really don't know what any other workplace is like.  What I do know is this:  if you put food on the staff room table in any school, it will disappear.  Quickly.  Weirdly, I knew I was going to visit my old staff and I took them the cookies.  I didn't even offer them to my current teachers.  I'm not sure what I really think that means.  Cookies were enjoyed by all.  They're delicious.  My husband is crazy.  Friday is treat day.  I'll feed my own staff then.
I present to you now Heat Oven to 350's Cherry Cheesecake Cookies:

Got Milk 2: Flourless Peanutbutter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

So.
There's no question I like to bake.  I was updating the index today and discovered how much cake I seem to make.  I also make a lot of cupcakes.  But cookies, not so much anymore.  My mother always had a full cookie jar.  I'm not exactly sure why I don't.  But whatever the reason, I don't often make cookies all that often.
When I saw these in the March 2005 issue of Everyday Food, I thought they sounded a lot like the recipe on the peanut butter jar.  I have made those cookies without success in the past, so I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting.  But, I had lots of peanuts and a package of good chocolate chunks, so they were worth a shot.
J would tell you that these are great with a glass of milk while watching the news.  I would tell you the texture is such that you don't miss the flour.  I don't know if these qualify as gluten free, but with quality ingredients comes a quality product.
From the March 2005 issue of Everyday Food, I present to you now Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies:

Sweet Treat: Fudgy Brownies

So.
I love sweet things.  I get it from my mother, who does not believe that a meal is truly ended until you've had dessert.  While I have no problem not eating dessert at lunch, I enjoy something after dinner in the evening. 
J and I often have a treat around 9 while watching TV.  Sometimes it's ice cream, sometimes it's cookies, and sometimes I find something in an issue of Everday Food that I decide I need to make to fulfill 6 recipes in a month.
This is a recipe that satisfies both of these requirements.  J and I each ate one for dessert, and this is recipe 3 from EDF May 2005.  3 down!  I may actually make 6 before the end of the month!!
I present to you now from May 2005's Everyday Food Fudgy Brownies:

Cadbury Mini Egg Blondies

So.
I went to the dentist today.  I was told that I have healthy teeth, but I have an old filling that needs to be replaced as the decay begins to form around the edges of it.  The only reason I mention this is because my dentist wouldn't be thrilled with this dessert.
I was cruising Pinterest and saw this picture and fell in love.  I love Cadbury chocolate.  Especially in mini egg form.  The crunchy shell, the smooth chocolate...it's all swoon worthy.  I bought the family size bag to make these this weekend at the grocery store, and J was disappointed when I used the whole thing in the blondies.  He was only disappointed until I sliced these and served them warm with a glass of milk.
Then we both swooned.
I present to you now Chef in Training's Cadbury Mini Egg Blondies: