Valentine's Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

What is better than a peanut butter surprise cookie? Well a Valentine’s Day version! I posted this recipe in early December and simply revised it today by using Reese’s Peanut Butter HEARTS! So fun! Now to hide these from my family until Friday…I have reposted the recipe below so you have time to make them for your family! They will love you for it!

Valentine’s Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

1/2 c peanut butter

1/4 c butter, room temp

1 c brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 c sugar (spread on a plate)

mini peanut butter cups

Using an electric mixer, cream the peanut butter and butter until smooth. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until incorporated. In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. With mixer on low, gradually beat in flour mixture in two batches.

Scoop dough by tablespoon and roll into balls. Roll balls into sugar and place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake until the cookies begin to puff in a 350 degree oven, approx 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and place a peanut butter cup in the center. Return to over and bake another 6-7 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet.

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Candy Cane Popcorn

So this is a twist on my famous (haha, in some circles it is!) Oreo Popcorn! I will be serving up this minty treat all month long at my stamp classes! In case you missed the Oreo Popcorn recipe (you can scroll back a few posts to find it) all you need to make this Candy Cane Popcorn is microwave popcorn (I usually buy extra butter flavour), white candy melts, and crushed candy canes. Now, I have been making this recipe for quite a number of years. Way back in the day when I had to HAND CRUSH candy canes. Doesn’t sound so bad right? It was. The worst part was unwrapping a bazillion of them as the wrappers were staticy and stuck to everything. My kids would get involved and used a mallet with the candy canes in a ziplock back and would pound the crap out of them. Enough with that, I buy pre-crushed Candy Canes now!

Candy Cane Popcorn

4-5 bags of microwave popcorn

2 bags of candy melts

about 1/2 a bag of crushed candy canes, or a whole bunch destroyed!

Pop the popcorn and put into a HUGE bowl. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave (if using the microwave, only do 20 second increments and mix in between until soft). Pour chocolate over popcorn, mix and then sprinkle the candy canes and toss. I lay out some big strips of tin foil on my kitchen table and spread it to set. You an even another layer of candy canes at this point. This stores well in an airtight container. Calories…who cares?

Dill Snacks--A Christmas Staple!

My awesome friend Jeanette shared this recipe for me many Christmases ago and it has made it way into so many hearts and tummy’s! I want to share it with you as I get asked for the recipe all the time when I put it out over the holidays. The best part about Dill Snacks is the recipe makes A LOT and it stores well in a sealed container.

Dill Snacks:

Note: You will need a LARGE paper bag for mixing

Dump all dry ingredients into said LARGE bag!

2 boxes/bags of original Bugles

2 boxes of mini cheese Ritz crackers

1 box of Cheese Nips

equal amount of mini pretzels and Shreddies (depending on the size of the pretzel bag, that is how many Shreddies I add)

In a bowl mix:

1 1/2 cups of oil

8 tbsp DILL

4 pkgs of Hidden Valley Ranch Dry Mix (sometimes tricky to find, so you can substitute Uncle Dan’s if you find that)

Pour this mixture over the bag of dry ingredients in the paper bag and shake up until well mixed. SO EASY!

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

This is another cookie recipe that I have been making for years! I think I got it from a Martha Stewart magazine. Today Summer helped me make a double batch of these! I have been getting my kids involved in baking since they could wield a wooden spoon!

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

1/2 c peanut butter

1/4 c butter, room temp

1 c brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 c sugar (spread on a plate)

mini peanut butter cups

Using an electric mixer, cream the peanut butter and butter until smooth. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until incorporated. In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. With mixer on low, gradually beat in flour mixture in two batches.

Scoop dough by tablespoon and roll into balls. Roll balls into sugar and place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake until the cookies begin to puff in a 350 degree oven, approx 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and place a peanut butter cup in the center. Return to over and bake another 6-7 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet.

Brenda's Belgian Waffles

It has almost been 19 years since Michael and I tied the knot! It is hard to believe since I clearly do not look old enough (hahaha!). One of our wedding gifts was a Belgian waffle maker. Sadly, I cannot remember who gave it to us, but I wish I knew because we are still using it 19 years later. I cannot even begin to estimate how many waffles this maker has created over the years. Michael used to make them for me as a Sunday treat after my marathon run training, I have taken it to the lake and made waffles for 30 people and it is a common request when my nieces and nephews come to visit. I believe this recipe was included with the machine and was referred to as Old Fashioned Waffles.

Brenda’s Belgian Waffles

2 cups all purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 milk

2 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Note: a favourite add in to this recipe is a few handfuls of chocolate chips

In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Set aside. In a medium sized bowl, beat egg yolk until thick and creamy. Continue beating adding milk. Mix dry ingredients together and gradually add to milk and egg mixture; beat until smooth. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites and melted butter (I usually do the egg whites last). Add 1/2 cup batter to waffle machine.

Strawberry Topping

An easy way to create a strawberry topping is to dice up some strawberries and toss in granulated sugar. Let rest. The sugar will release the juices to help create a sauce. So easy and good!

Good Morning Granola!

I have been making this granola recipe, ripped from a Martha Stewart magazine, for at least 10 years. One would think I would know it from heart (I do not!). Here it is…

Makes 6 1/2 cups

1/2 c shredded coconut

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats!)

1/4 c toasted wheat germ (sometimes I substitute flax)

1/4 c sunflower seeds

1 c coarsely chopped almonds

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 c honey

1/2 c melted butter

1/2 c golden raisins (you can omit if you are not a raisin fan)

Heat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment and toast coconut (approx 5 min). Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Reduce oven temp to 300. Line two baking sheets with parchment and set aside. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients together except the raisins. In a smaller bowl mix the honey and butter together and pour over oat mixture. Stir well and spread on baking sheets. Bake until golden, approx 25 min. Transfer to a rack to cool. Break up granola, mix in coconut and raisins. Store in an airtight container and ENJOY!

Garlicky Tomato Tortellini Soup

Years ago I went for lunch at my friend Jeanette’s and she made this amazing soup from SCRATCH in just a few minutes! It was #lifechanging and she was kind enough to share the recipe with me. There are not too many recipes I know from heart but this is definitely one of them. It is a family favourite that has been made for 30 of my family members at our yearly Greenwater trips, at scrapbook retreats and day events. It is perfect when you have had a long day but are short on time to make a healthy meal for your family. I recently treated some girls to this so I thought I should share it with everyone. It originally came from a Best of Bridge cook book (don’t ask me which one, hahaha!) and this is what Jeanette shared with me:

Garlicky Tomato Tortellini Soup

1 tbsp butter

6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped (I do substitute in dried garlic)

4 cups of chicken broth

a bag of fresh tortellini (I use cheese tortellini and often mine is frozen so I toss it in there as such)

1 large can of diced tomatoes (I use the ones with Italian seasonings added)

10 oz bag of spinach

8-10 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

parmesan cheese for garnish

Melt butter in large pot and saute garlic for about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook halfway, about 5 min. Add tomatoes and their liquid. Bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cook until pasta is tender. Stir in the spinach and basil and cook until wilted, about 1-2 min. Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Or any cheese really, how can you go wrong?

Coconut Rice

Coconut Rice—or Dessert Rice as I often call it!

Years ago my friend shared this amazing coconut rice recipe with me and Michael after we enjoyed a meal at her home. In turn, I have shared it with many close friends. Now I think the whole world should try it! One of the things I tweaked from her original recipe is I omitted the cinnamon stick (like, really? Who actually has those in their cupboards!) and added in some sweetened flaked coconut. Our favourite meal with this rice is lemon dill salmon and green beans, but it honestly tastes great with tons of stuff! I hope you enjoy it too!

And a quick side note—this recipe requires the rice to soak for 30 min. So it isn’t one of those last minute type of side dishes, hahaha!

Coconut Rice

2 cups rice (I use Basmati)

I can coconut milk (I have used everything from premium brands to the low end and it always tastes the same)

2 1/4 cups water

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

I smallish handful of sweetened shredded coconut (I never measure this but if I had to, its probably 1/2 cup)

1 cinnamon stick (feel free to omit if your pantry is like mine!)

Soak rice in water for 30 min, drain and dump water. Sauté rice in butter. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the coconut. Bring to boil. Reduce temperature and simmer for approximately 20 min or until liquid is absorbed. I typically toss the flaked coconut in towards the end. If you want to get fancy you could even sprinkle some on top once it is served.

Oreo Popcorn

This is the easiest recipe I have! 3 ingredients—microwave popcorn, Wilton Candy Melts and Oreos! To create this you will need 2-3 bags of microwave popcorn, one bag of white candy melts and one bag of Oreo’s (crushed). Toss the popcorn and Oreos in a huge bowl, melt your chocolate, pour on top and shake everything to coat. Set out on waxed paper or tin foil to harden. I store mine in an airtight container but it actually doesn’t last that long!