Brownie Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who wouldn't love brownies AND chocolate chip cookies merged together?!? I saw this recipe and couldn't wait to make it. Picky Palate has tons of cookie recipes and "stuffed" cookie recipes. There are so many that you just want to cook them all.

Brownie Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes Roughly 12-16 Cookies

1 Box Brownie Mix (I used Ghirardelli Double Chocolate)
2 Sticks Softened Butter
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
3/4 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips


1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Prepare brownie according to packaged directions. Let cool completely then cut into 1 1/2 inch squares (I made mine smaller).

2. In a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, continue to beat until well combined.

3. Place flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl; mix to combine then add slowly to wet ingredients along with the chocolate chips.

4. Place a large cookie scoopful of dough on top of a brownie square and another large scoop on the bottom. Gently press and enclose brownie with dough adding pinches more dough to cover sides if needed. Place 6 filled cookies onto a cookie sheet and bake for 18-22 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before removing from baking sheet.

Pizza Monkey Bread

I got this recipe HERE and couldn't wait to have a reason to make it. So on Tuesday I made it for Devin and Cameron for dinner. They said it was good but regular monkey bread is better! Kids!!! I didn't get to try it because for some reason I didn't buy enough dough. Next time!

The recipe was for Pepperoni pizza only. I added mushrooms, ground turkey sausage and olives too. You could add whatever you'd like to this recipe. I also didn't do each little ball the same. That way there was variety.

I apparently didn't take any pictures when it was done cooking before the boys ate it - oops! Next time I make it I will add a finish picture to this post. You can however, click the link above and see the images on the food blog I got the recipe from.

Pizza Monkey Bread

You can take the long route and make your favorite pizza dough and marinara sauce, or the short route and pick up your favorite pizza dough and red sauce from the store.

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (I used already chopped garlic)
4 Tbsp butter
2 lbs pizza dough (I bought Pillsbury Pizza Dough)
6 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (you'll need ~48 pieces)
48 slices of Turkey pepperoni (from 1 package)
2-3 cups marinara sauce, warmed, for serving


1.Heat garlic and butter over medium heat just until the garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and let sit.

2.Lightly brush the inside of a bundt pan (or other oven-safe dish) with garlic butter.

3.Pull off large marble-sized balls of dough and flatten (a kitchen scale makes this very easy). Top with a slice of pepperoni and a cube of mozzarella.

4.Wrap the dough around the pepperoni and cheese, pinching well to seal.

5.Very lightly brush the pizza ball with garlic butter and place into the bundt pan (I dabbed the pizza balls on a butter-dipped silicon brush to keep butter use low - there will be 1+ Tbsp leftover - and my hands butter free. Buttery hands make it hard to get the pizza balls to seal).

6.Repeat until all of the dough is used.

7.Cover and let sit for 30 minutes, while preheating the oven to 400.

8.Bake for ~35 minutes, until the top is very brown.

9.Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.

10.Turn out onto a platter and serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Strawberry Soup

I found this recipe on another food blog - yes, I know I'm addicted to food blogs. Here is the blog where I found the recipe: Jason and Shawnda FoodieBride

I saw this recipe and just couldn't wait to make it. Strawberries were in season and Chad's parent's were coming over for lunch so I thought what a great time to make this. It was super easy to make and if you make a larger batch you can put some in the fridge for the next day. I skipped the mint as I didn't have any. I also used the full 2/3 cups of milk.

The pictures I got weren't great since I was in a hurry to serve the soup! Next year I will take much better images though and replace these ones.

Strawberry Soup

Makes 2 Cups

1 lb strawberries, rinsed and hulled
1 Tbsp sugar, plus more to taste
Juice and zest of 1 small orange
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/3 - 2/3 cup milk
Mint, for garnish

1. Roughly chop strawberries and place in a small sauce pan with sugar, orange juice, zest, and water. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, squashing the strawberries into sauce with your spoon until they break down into a thick sauce.

2. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Taste for sweetness and add additional sugar if necessary.

3. Place chilled strawberries, yogurt and 1/4 cup milk in a blender. Puree. Stream in additional milk to get to the desired consistency. Chill until very cold, serve garnished with mint.