4 Easy Ideas for Salty-Sweet Chocolate Chip Cookies

Whether you have a killer chocolate chip cookie recipe or use refrigerated cookie dough like me, sometimes you just want something different.  I am a huge fan of salty-sweet snacks, so I experimented with different ways I could turn classic chocolate chip cookies into a salty-sweet treat.

If you want to surprise your family, then give one of these easy options a whirl!  All you need to do is add one of these savory foods to your chocolate chip cookie dough before baking.  I just push them right into the scoops of cookie dough while they're on the baking sheet.


4 Salty Foods to Add to Your Chocolate Chip Cookies . . .

1.  Salted pretzels pieces were one of my children's favorites.  We always have pretzels on-hand, so I just broke them into small pieces and they were ready to use!

2.  Salted cashews are a favorite in our house and they're less costly when you buy them in halves and pieces.  They are not too hard and are perfect to add to cookies.  (Please do not try if someone in your household has a nut allergy.)

3.  Crumbled bacon was a huge hit with my family.  They are all bacon-lovers, but were skeptical about bacon in their chocolate chip cookies.  They were pleasantly surprised!  You could also try crumbling freshly cooked bacon, but it would be best to drain off as much grease as possible before crumbling and adding to the cookie dough.

4.  Corn chip pieces (not tortilla chips) turned out to be very tasty in chocolate chip cookies.  I also tried these corn snacks, but they weren't quite salty enough and they were too light and crispy to add the amount of oomph I was looking for.


Like these easy salty-sweet ideas? Pin them for later!

If you try any of these salty-sweet chocolate chip cookie ideas, let us know how they turned out in a comment here.

The Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven Makes Delicious Home Cooked Meals in Less Time Than a Standard Full-Size Oven

Thank you to KitchenTek for providing a complimentary sample Wolfgang Puck Oven for us to base this pressure oven review upon. All opinions expressed are my own.

We lead a very busy life. Actually, that's quite an understatement.  We actually lead a crazy, hectic, and non-stop busy life. I don’t ever remember being this busy when I was younger and my mother always seemed to have time to prepare a proper dinner for us. As a parent myself today, I simply do not know how she did it.  Any tools, tips, or tricks that can help my wife and I prepare a quality dinner are welcome in our home. It is not uncommon to reach 6pm and we are still figuring out what we are going to do for dinner! Well, recently we were introduced to a tool that could potentially help us prepare a home cooked meal for my family in a shorter amount of time. I was instantly interested.

We were sent the Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven to try for ourselves. As excited as I was to try such a nice oven, I was equally skeptical of the oven's key feature: Pressurization. That's right, the Wolfgang Puck oven seals and cooks with pressure. I was intrigued and cynical at the same time.

I understood the concept of cooking with pressure and knew that it works, but in an oven? Once I opened the oven up and placed it on the counter I knew right away this was no gimmick. The Wolfgang Puck Oven is a serious and solidly built machine. The all stainless steel construction has a handsome and professional look.

This pressure oven is more than just a pressurized oven.  It is also a rotisserie and can be used to replace your toaster. You can use the oven as a regular un-pressurized oven as well. The oven comes with all the drip pans, racks, crumb trays, and meat skewers needed to use all the features of the oven, although it would have been a wonderful bonus for a mini cookie sheet to be included. The unit even comes with removable handles to use in removing the racks and trays from inside the hot oven.

The operation of the oven is simple and intuitive. Although you could probably figure out how to use the oven without reading the manual, I highly advise reading it, even for experienced cooks. When dealing with high heat and pressurization, you can never be too careful. I certainly learned some important safety items in the manual that I may not have figured out on my own. For instance, the oven needs to be run through a 30 minute cooking cycle before the first use in order to burn off any coatings or oils applied during manufacturing. The oven also gets very hot on the outside and needs to be at least 3 inches from everything all around, even in the back. I made sure my children stayed far clear of the oven when it was in use.  The oven has a pressure release valve on the top that lets out extra gasses to control the pressure and to release it all when the cooking cycle is done.

Now for the big question: Does it work? Did the Wolfgang Puck Oven cook our food well and save us time? The short answer is yes, cooking with pressure saved a great deal of time and the food was delicious.

We chose to try a roast and some sliced baby red potatoes to test the oven. I decided to cook the potatoes earlier in the day as they can take quite a bit of time to cook (and honestly I had no idea what to expect). Although the oven comes with a recipe and cooking instruction book, I did not have instructions for potatoes so I had to wing it. I decided to set the temperature at 350 and the timer at 60 minutes. As it turns out, I was lucky and nailed it with those settings, the potatoes were cooked to perfection. Nice and roasted on the outside and soft on the inside. One hour roasted potatoes? Win.

We bought a 4 pound rump roast to rotisserie. I prepared the meat simply by drying it off and rubbing salt and pepper into it. I really wanted to see if the oven could make the meat taste better than a non-pressurized oven so I didn't want to complicate the taste with lots of other flavorings. The instructions called for 1.2 hours at 450 degrees for a 5-6 pound roast. I decided to leave the temperature at 450 but cut the time to 60 minutes for my smaller roast.

I should mention at this time that I have no idea how I could have fit a 6 pound roast in the oven as my 4-pounder was as wide as it could have been while still fitting (it was shaped like a giant meatball). I guess a thinner and longer roast would work at that weight. I should also mention that I had never used a rotisserie to cook anything before either!

How did I do? It came out nearly perfect. I was stunned that I could cook a roast in an hour. In my regular oven it would have taken 2.5 -3 hours depending on how I wanted it to come out. My roast was unusually round so the middle was a bit more rare than my family likes it, but still nicely cooked if you like your beef rare. The outer edges were ever so slightly overcooked.  If I were to do a roast again today, I would choose a longer and thinner, but heavier roast and used the same settings because the exterior of the roast would not be as close to the heating elements. So, now I know and my next roast in the pressure oven is going to be the best I have ever had.

The Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven is not tiny, but it is not that big either. You will NOT be preparing a turkey in this oven. But the Pressure Oven is a nice size to supplement your existing oven or to be used as a specialty oven for roasts or what have you. You can bake with it, but you would only be able to bake 6 cookies at a time. I can see the oven used for loaves of various kinds.  The oven can also be used as a 6 slice toaster oven, so you can get rid of your current toaster oven, saving some counter space (a precious commodity in my home).

Overall the Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven works. I am excited that I can prepare perfectly cooked meat in the same time it takes to order takeout. If you want to roast a chicken you don’t need to plan it a day in advance, you can cook it 3 times faster in this oven. Side dishes like veggies or potatoes cook 30% faster and turn out delicious.

If you are as busy as we are, then I know you would appreciate the Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven's fast cooking times and quality results. The construction is solid, the operation is simple, and it looks great. At $299.95 the Wolfgang Puck Oven is an investment, but if you appreciate properly cooked food in a short amount of time you will think it is worth it. Rotisserie is now on my families menu!

This oven would make the perfect Holiday gift for someone with a busy lifestyle or someone who needs multiple ovens to prepare more than one food item at once.  You can learn more about the Wolfgang Puck Oven at www.puckoven.com, where you can watch the oven in action in their video library and order a pressure oven of your very own.  You can also find ideas and tips for using the Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and YouTube.

Easy Bacon and Scallion Cornbread Recipe

Have you ever wanted to make something a little different for breakfast or for brunch, but you have someone in your house (ahem, like your husband) who does not like to eat eggs or anything with too much melted cheese?  No eggs and no cheese eliminates a large percentage of breakfast foods.  It took me a long time to come up with something that my husband and my children would like.  That's when it came to me that they all like cornbread and they all LOVE bacon.

Today's Recipe:  Easy Bacon & Scallion Cornbread

INGREDIENTS:

1 package of  Betty Crocker Cornbread Mix

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

2 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

3 large slices cooked bacon

3 scallion leaves

cooking spray

Step 1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 2.  Generously spray an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.

Step 3.  Cut the 3 slices of cooked bacon into bite size pieces and dice the 3 scallion leaves.

Step 4.  Prepare the cornbread mix as instructed on the package and pour the entire mixture into the greased 8" pan.

Step 5.  Sprinkle the bacon pieces evenly over the top of the mixture.  Then do the same with the scallions.

Step 6.  Bake for approximately 16 minutes or until the cornbread turns golden brown.

This recipe serves approximately 6 people.  I must say that this cornbread recipe was a huge hit with my family . . . well, except for our 6 year old son, who refused to try it because he is anti-vegetable and will not touch any food that is green willingly.

As always, if you try this super-easy recipe, let me know how you like it.  What other kinds of things would you want to try in cornbread?

Easy Recipe: Heath Bar Caramel Malted Milk Chocolate Brownies

 Since my Double Caramel Brownies were such a hit with my family, I had decided to experiment further. The result was a brownie that was gooey, chewy, and crunchy. This would be an easy recipe to make if you would like to surprise your favorite mom with something decadent for Mother's Day this year. You could even make this with your children since there are more things to add than with your average quick batch of brownies.

Recipe: Heath Bar Caramel Malted Milk Chocolate Brownies

INGREDIENTS:
1 box Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownie Mix
2 large eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Approximately 50 Whoppers malted milk balls
Heath toffee chips
1 bottle Smucker's Caramel Sundae Syrup

Step 1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees for metal or glass pans (325 degrees for dark coated pans).

Step 2. Follow the instructions on the brownie mix box for combining the mix, eggs, water, and oil.

Step 3. Grease the bottom of your 9x13 baking pan with cooking or baking spray. Then pour half of the batter into the pan.  Be sure to spread the batter out so that the whole bottom of the pan is covered.

Step 4.  Place approximately 50 malted milk ball candies evenly spaced apart in the baking pan.

Step 5. Pour the remainder of the brownie batter on top. Spread the batter to make sure it completely covers all the malted milk balls.

Step 6.  Sprinkle an even layer of Heath Toffee Chips over the batter.

Step 7.  Lightly drizzle the caramel syrup over the batter.

Step 8. Bake the brownies for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting.

That's it!  You're done.  As always, if you try this easy recipe, be sure to let me know how you liked it.  Also, if you haven't already, checkout my easy recipe for Peanut Butter Oreo Butterfinger Brownies.

Sandwich Cutters Make Great Cookie Cutters!

Since my days are usually quite busy, I actually had to schedule in time to bake cookies for Valentine's Day.  Monday was a snow day, so I thought it would be the perfect time to make sugar cookies for the children to decorate.  I blocked off the time between 3:00pm and 5:00pm to bake these cookies, so that they would be cool enough to decorate either before or after dinner.

Come 3 o'clock, I started to get everything ready.  I had the refrigerated cookie dough, 2 cans of frosting, pink and white sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, and 3 anxious children.  The only thing I could not find were the cookie cutters.  My cousin had given me a huge tub of cookie cutters that covered every occasion.  I remember giving the tub to my husband to store away for me since I did not have room in the kitchen cabinets, but I could not recall where he ended up putting them.  By now, the time was ticking away.

Then I saw my heart and bear-shaped sandwich cutters sitting in the drying rack and thought to myself, "Why not?"  The heart sandwich cutter turned out to work great!  From now on, I'm just going to buy sandwich cutters since they are the perfect size for sandwiches and cookies.  Why spend the extra money on cookie cutters, when sandwich cutters can do both jobs?

No, I didn't have time to try out the teddy bear sandwich cutter, but definitely will next time.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Super-Easy Mini Apple Pies (Crostatas)

Every year, my sister and brother-in-law take the children apple-picking during the month of September.  They always return with a nice supply of apples and even a few pears.  This year, we were given Fuji apples for baking and some other varieties for eating.  Although I enjoy baking, I only bake a pie once a year.  It is too much work compared to cake, cookies, and brownies.  Luckily, I can usually convince my husband to core and peel (and sometimes even  slice) the apples for me.  He is a huge fan of apple pie.

This year, instead of using the same old recipe, I searched Pinterest for an alternative easy apple pie recipe.  I finally came upon one by Pillsbury for Mini Apple Crostatas.  It looked tasty, so I gave it a whirl. I must say that I was very pleased with the results and so was my family.  Even our 8 year, who claimed that he did not like apple pie, admitted that it was delicious.  The only thing I did differently was to cute the refrigerated pie crust into quarters rather than cut circles out of them.  I thought my mini pies would come out triangular in shape, but they turned out round anyways and I didn't waste any of the crust.

(Click photo to enlarge)

If you try this recipe, you should know it is for making 4 mini pies with one pie crust.  I doubled the recipe to use both pie crusts.  Also, my baking time was 3 or 4 minutes less than the time suggested, so you may want to set your timer for less time and keep a close eye on the crust to prevent burning.  This recipe was so easy that our 8 year old son was able to help cut the pie crust into quarters and to spoon in the apple filling.  Even if you do not consider yourself a baker, if he can do it, so can you!

NOTE:  Just wanted to add that, for the caramel sauce, I used Smucker's Caramel Sundae Syrup.  It worked out perfectly and was not too sweet, even with vanilla ice cream added on top.

Giveaway: KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Mixer (Winner's Choice of Color)

Through August 15th, you can enter to win a KitchenAid Artisan Mixer through Easy Dough Fundraising's multi-blog giveaway.  This stand mixer will come in very handy when you start baking up a storm for all those fundraiser bake sales at school and holiday get-togethers in November and December.

Please be sure to read the entry requirements carefully since it will vary from the typical entries you have grown accustomed to on 3G2S.  I would love to see one of my readers win this great prize!  I wish I could enter to win myself.

Check out this great giveaway from Easy Dough Fundraising! They are giving away a FREE KitchenAid Artisan Mixer to one lucky reader. Hurry and enter before time runs out!
(more prize details here)

Easy Dough Fundraising

Martha Stewart's Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies Recipe

Challenge Butter is a leading butter company who has responded to the need for natural dairy products by stopping the use of synthetic hormones in their cows. Challenge Butter comes in many varieties that are safe, natural, and delicious. This brand of butter is available nationwide at many major retailers.

We have been using Challenge Butter in our family recipes for some time because it is competitively priced, tastes great, and leaves out all the synthetic stuff that I think is harmful to my family. Below, I listed my most recent recipe I’ve made using Challenge Butter: Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies. These cookies are fairly easy to make and are a great Christmas cookie to share at family gatherings.

Challenge Butter has launched a “Real Heritage Recipe Contest” where they are asking YOU to submit your favorite family recipes for a chance to win GoodCook cookware ($500 value) and $2500 cash. In addition, 12 finalists will win $250 in GoodCook cookware.

To enter, visit the Challenge Butter Facebook page and share your favorite recipes using Challenge Butter. The deadline for submission is January 3, 2012. To see if Challenge Butter is available in your area, visit ChallengeDairy.com.

Recipe:  Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for surface

½ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

5 Tablespoons Challenge Butter (unsalted), softened

¾ cup sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

¾ teaspoon pure peppermint extract

8 large candy canes or 30 peppermint candies, crushed

2 pounds white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed for 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, and add egg, then yolk, beating well after each addition. Beat in peppermint extract. Slowly add flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Shape dough into two disks, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days).

2. Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut out circles, and place 1 inch apart on baking sheets, sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Roll and cut scraps only once. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Repeat with remaining disk.

3. Bake until cookies are dry to the touch, about 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks lined with wax paper and let cool.

4. Crush the peppermint candies in a bag. Melt chocolate in a bowl until creamy. Dunk cookies into melted chocolate. Using a fork, coat both side thoroughly, letting excess drip off, then move to wax paper. Sprinkle with peppermint candy (I also used mini peppermint marshmallows) while chocolate is still wet. Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours.

Source: MarthaStewart.com



Challenge Butter sent us product vouchers and cookware as a thank you for participating in this campaign.

My Photos (W/E 7/3/10)

I hope everyone is enjoying the 4th of July weekend and that you and your loved ones have Monday off as well. Try to stay cool and stay safe.

Happy 4th of July!!

"How I Roll"

"Look Into My Eyes"

Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus a.k.a. Sarcastic Mom.

Giveaway & Review: Ice Box Bakery All-Natural Refrigerated Cookie Dough [CLOSED]

I have three little cookie monsters in my house. They are always happy to help me by trying out new homemade treats . . . especially if they are cookies. This time we were testing all-natural refrigerated cookie dough from a mom-owned company called Ice Box Bakery.

Ice Box Bakery cookie dough is all-natural and even has a gluten-free variety. They come in classic varieties, such as Deluxe Chocolate Chip and Sugar Cookies, and some not-so-classics, such as Tart Cherry Pie.

Each package of cookie dough (or chub) yields one dozen cookies. There is even a handy slicing guide on each wrapper. If you use a sharp knife, you can slice right through the packaging and then peel the wrapper off each slice.

The instructions were easy to follow. The recommended baking time was 8 to 12 minutes and I ended up needing all 12 minutes. Even though the instructions said to place the cookies 2 to 3 inches apart, I did not notice that my cookies spread very much at all. In fact, they actually kept their shape like a patty for the most part.

This is how our Deluxe Chocolate Chip cookies turned out . . .

And this is how our Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies came out . . .

The cookies tasted like all-natural homemade cookies baked from scratch. Like with other better-for-you foods, our children could not tell the difference. For me, I eat cookies as a treat and these did not taste as sinful as I would have liked. However, if you serve cookies regularly for snacks or for desserts, then I think all-natural is the way to go. I do wonder if they would have spread better if I had made the slices into balls or if I had buttered the pan. I guess I will have to try that next time.

Visit IceBoxBakery.com to view their full line of all-natural cookie dough. You can also find some easy tasty looking cookie recipes shared by Ice Box Bakery fans on this site. To keep up with the latest Ice Box Bakery news, you can visit Ice Box Bakery on Facebook and follow IceBoxBakery on Twitter.

Thank you to Ice Box Bakery for sending us sample cookie dough free of charge to base this review upon and for providing additional chubs for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive 3 varieties of Ice Box Bakery Chubs (Deluxe Chocolate Chip, Double Dutch Chocolate, and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip).

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Browse the varieties of refrigerated cookie dough offered by Ice Box Bakery. Then leave a comment telling me the name of the cookies you or your family would like the most. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND IceBoxBakery.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry, follow IceBoxBakery on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

6)

Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)

Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)

Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)

Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10)

Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!