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Fried Eggs and Bacon

December 4, 2011

In a follow up to my recent breakfasty/brunchy post about Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Hash, I’m sharing with you my favorite way to make eggs. I love over-easy eggs because the white is completely cooked but the yellow, bright yolk is ooey gooey runny. But cooking the eggs in left over bacon grease takes them out of this freaking world. Needless to say that I don’t do this often- maybe once every 6 months.

Bacon is one of those simple things that we treat at a luxury. I much prefer to buy a good quality bacon that is thick cut and pretty lean. (In the case with this photographed bacon, it was leftover from Thanksgiving. We cover our turkey in bacon so the highest quality would be wasted in that case.) Since it can easily be $9-10 a pound I tended to save it for leisurely weekends in when we can really enjoy the paper. Also, when Price and I make bacon we make a lot of it all at once so the leftovers can be used in BLT’s, added to sandwiches, and sprinkled over salads… makes for a good week!

Cooking eggs this way makes for a very airy egg that some salty, smoky favor. Since the eggs are frying they are some what suspended in the grease, the egg has light, crunchy pockets. I really enjoy the texture of the egg this way, especially the crunchy edges.

Fried Eggs and Bacon

Ingredients

bacon
eggs
salt and pepper

Process

Fry bacon in a non stick pan. Save enough bacon grease to generously coat the bottom of the pan.
Placing no more than 2 eggs in your pan at the time, fry eggs on medium/medium-low heat.
After a minute of cooking cover with a lid to the top of the egg will cook.
Eggs are complete when the top is cooked, while the egg yolk is still light, and therefore runny.
While still really hot, sprinkle salt and pepper over the eggs.
Serve with bacon and your favorite breakfast sides.

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Hash

November 29, 2011

There is a restaurant and catering place a few blocks away from us called Bakers’ Best Cafe. We are typically so busy or away on the weekends that we don’t stick around our neighborhood, so it took us a few months to find it and go there. But since then we have been hooked! I order the Hash and Eggs (crispy homemade corned beef hash topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce $9.50). It’s so good! My favorite brunch thing to get is Eggs Benedict, so this is a great spin on it.

While I would love to go there whenever we are in town and not going at break neck speeds, I can’t always justify a $30+ brunch bill. And that not including the mimosas I have a habit of throwing back, which I can make at home for a fraction of the price. So I decided to make something at home that reminds me of the delicious meal I enjoy there. Making this sweet potato & squash hash is a simple way of doing so.

I make this hash without corned beef in it because I don’t just have that laying around (who do you think I am?) and I’m looking for a simple recipe that I can do in my sleep. I think the key with this is letting the potatoes rest after being roasted because it softens up this crunchy pieces a bit. I don’t know about you but I hate super crunchy potatoes with my eggs, so letting them relax in the fridge over night solves that earth shaking problem. Also, it means you don’t have to get up super early to make this. After so the dinner clean up, cut up the squash and sweet potatoes, ditch them in the oven to roast while watching SNL (& skipping the bits Kristen Wiig is in), throw them in a container and in the fridge before going to bed. While making bacon, cut up and onion, then while your eggs cook sauté the onion and then add the rest of the hash to warm up.

I did use bacon grease to cook the onions in to pass on some flavor and is it was easy- basically dump out the leftover grease and don’t clean the pan… Win! Of course you can make this vegetarian by butter, vegan you say?… Use oil. Problem solved. No matter what, it’s gluten free! (Well, check the bacon.)

Sweet Potato and Squash Hash

-serves 4-6-

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash
2 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Lawry’s seasoned salt
pinch of crushed red pepper, optional
1 large onion
1 tablespoon bacon grease, or 1 tablespoon oil

Process

Cut squash and sweet potato in 1/2″ to 3/4″ pieces.
Toss with oil, seasoned salt and crushed red pepper to evenly coat.
Roast at 375 for 40-45 minutes, stirring half way.
Refrigerate over night, or at least cover and refrigerate for an hour
Prior to serving, chop up an large onion. Saute in bacon grease until soft.
Add the cooked potato and squash mixture to the skillet and gently warm through.
Serve with eggs and bacon. And a mimosa or bloody mary can’t hurt!

Buffalo Chicken Pita Pizzas

November 20, 2011

Last weekend was Price’s good friend’s 30th birthday. To celebrate, another friend stayed with us so we could all go out on Sturday night. As the guys were marathoning through video games and episodes of Ninja Warrior, I bugged them about what to have for a lunch/snack because I knew it would be hours until dinner. I started by suggestions snacks and things seemed settled on a dip, then they picked buffalo chicken dip with chips and veggies. As I started to plan and double check they changed their minds and decided on buffalo chicken pizza.

I planned on using a pre-made pizza crust to make the pizza quickly for the guys. Then I debated on making them using sandwich wraps, similar to my Whole Wheat Pesto Pizza with Ricotta, Mushrooms, and Red Onions, but then I decided to go with sandwich wraps. I figured that thicken pita bread would stand up better to the heavier buffalo chicken. All that thought for some simple buffalo chicken pizzas.

The pizza really delivers an intense buffalo chicken flavor. Most buffalo chicken pizzas I have had don’t pack the same punch since they use some sauce on the chicken and on the crust. Instead, I made a thicken sauce with the sour cream and buffalo wing sauce to coat the chicken completely and have a thicken sauce on the pizza. Typically, the heat from the buffalo sauce is counter balanced with the blue cheese dressing and celery. In this case, the sour cream cuts the heat. I didn’t want to add celery to the pizzas so I added avocado to represent the green you typically have on the plate.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

*Serves 3*

Ingredients

3 whole wheat pitas
2 10 oz cans of white meat chicken, rinsed or 2 large breasts of cooked chicken
1/2 cup of buffalo wing sauce, I prefer Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce
4 oz of sour cream
12 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
1 half of red onion sliced
3 oz of blue cheese, crumbled
half an Hass avocado, diced
3 scallions

Process

Preheat oven to 425
Split the pitas. Lay them out on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes. They should be slightly crisp.
While the pitas are baking, combine the chicken with sour cream, and buffalo wing sauce.
Put 3 tablespoons of ricotta on each pita, spread out evenly.
Divide the buffalo chicken evenly on the pitas.
Sprinkle slices of onion and pieces of blue cheese evenly on each pita pizza.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the onions have shriveled and the blue cheese has melted.
Let cool for 5 minutes, then add pieces of avocado to the pizzas and cut some scallion on each pizza. Then cut each pita into 4 pieces.

Pom Vivant Cocktail {And a Giveaway}

November 18, 2011

Ah, Friday. How do I love thee? Making this cocktail for this ‘Freixenet Friday’ post really happy. As I layered the drink in the flute the dark ruby hue changed to a light vibrant pink cheering me up from a dreary week in Boston. My mood changed like the color changing as I finished my cocktail.

I picked the Pom Vivant cocktail on the Freixenet website from their cocktail recipe options. The cocktail features pomegranate juice, which of course is available year round, but the fruit is in season from September through February. I love when I can enjoy something that goes with the season.

Their Pom Vivant recipe makes 6 cocktails with an entire bottle. While Price and I can easily split a bottle, or I can have it all myself, I decided to scale the recipe down to make 1 drink.

The Pom Vivant

makes 1 cocktail

Ingredients

2 oz unsweetened pomegranate juice
1 teaspoon simple syrup
1 teaspoon orange juice
1 bottle (750ml) Freixenet Cordon Negro Extra Dry
Orange zest (optional)

Process

Layer the pomegranate juice, simple syrup and orange juice in a flute glass.
Fill the rest of the champagne flute with Freixenet.
Add orange zest, to garnish.

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And now the good stuff… the GIVEAWAY!

The “Freixenet Friday” package includes six elegant Freixenet fluted glasses as well as The Freixenet Social Survival Guide, a pocket reference guide for social situations. This savvy little red book is filled with common sense advice including: Ten Commandments the perfect guest or host should live by, the sophisticate’s guide to tipping, ordering wine with confidence, quick fix-its on the fly: stains, fallen hems and broken heels, from work to play: 18 hours of style for those working from “nine to wine”.

To Enter: Leave a comment telling me if you prefer bloody mary’s or mimosas for brunch. Or do you like something else?

Extra Entries:

Spread the word- Tweet: “I want to win a @freixenetusa Friday Package that includes fluted glasses from @iamahoneybee http://wp.me/pzEAP-1C” OR share on Facebook. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you did.

Follow Freixenet- you can follow the Freixenet truck as it hops around the country @FreixentUSA OR like them on Facebook. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you did.

Contest Ends Monday night at Midnight EST. Good luck!

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In Addition to that Giveaway…

Discover & Share Segura Sweepstakes Enter to Win a Weekend Getaway for Two to Sonoma, California

Segura Viudas, Spain’s artisan cava and the sparkling wine world’s best kept secret, is announcing its Discover & Share Sweepstakes. An engaging way to learn more about Segura sparkling wine and share the discovery with friends, the online contest offers several opportunities for entry and the chance to win a wine tasting weekend for two to Sonoma Valley, California. To enter the contest, visit the Discover & Share Sweepstakes link on theSegura website or their Facebook page and complete any of the Discover & Share challenges, such as answering questions about cava, uploading photos of toasting with friends, “liking” the Segura fan page, or sharing the sweepstakes. Complete all the challenges and earn up to 10 entries to increase your chances of winning. A random drawing from all entries on December 18, 2011 will decide the winner, who will receive a weekend getaway for two to Sonoma valued at $2,500, including round trip airfare, hotel accommodations, a $250 AmEx gift card, and a VIP tour and tasting at Gloria Ferrer Sparkling Caves & Vineyards, a Segura sister winery. Read theOfficial Rules for complete details. Segura Viudas (seh GOO rah vee YOU das) is the sophisticated go-to bubbly for those in the know. Made in the méthode champenoise (the same process used to make champagne) and handcrafted with modern winemaking techniques, these artisan Spanish cavas are polished yet approachable and just waiting to be discovered and shared. To find Segura sparkling wines in your area, visit the Segura Viudas Wine Locator. Imported by Freixenet USA of Sonoma, California.

Agua de Valencia {and a Giveaway!}

November 11, 2011

To follow up the starter that I featured for last week’s “Freixenet Friday”, I have made a cocktail for you to enjoy. Freixenet sent me a bottle of their cordon Negro so I eagerly looked through their recipes that included it and ‘got to work’.

Playing off the citrus notes in the Scallop Salad, I decided to make the Agua de Valencia. I loved this cocktail! It is like a mimosa but more refreshing because of the triple sec and simple syrup. The simple syrup adds an extra kick of sweetness but the triple sec is what really elevates this from just a simple mimosa. The extra layer of orange flavor adds to the fresh juice of the orange. Using the Cordon Negro Brut for this cocktail adds more fruit notes as it has “fine, delicate aromas, combining tones of green apple and pear, with light resonances of Mediterranean fruits- peach, melon, and pineapple – over a base of citrus”.

You can check out other Freixenet recipes by checking out their website. I love the holiday ones… I think I’ll be making one of those next!

Agua de Valencia

Single Serving:

Ingredients:

4 parts Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut
1 part fresh orange juice
3/4 oz. Cointreau (or substitute with triple sec)
3/4 oz. simple syrup

Process:

Combine the juice, Cointreau, and simple syrup in a shaker glass.
Shake and pour into a chilled flute.
Top with chilled cava and then you can garnish with an orange twist.

Large Pitcher:

Ingredients:

1 bottle Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut
32 oz. fresh orange juice
2 jiggers Cointreau
2 jiggers simple syrup

Process:

Combine the juice, Cointreau, and syrup in a large pitcher that is 1/3 full with ice.
Then fill with the bottle of cava, stir gently, and keep chilled until ready to serve.
Pour into highball glasses with orange slices for garnish.

And now the good stuff… the GIVEAWAY!

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me what you are thankful for right now.

Extra Entries:

Spread the word- Tweet: “I want to win a @freixenetusa Friday Package that includes fluted glasses from @iamahoneybee http://wp.me/pzEAP-1C” ORshare on Facebook. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you did.

Follow Freixenet- you can follow the Freixenet truck as it hops around the country @FreixentUSA OR like them on Facebook. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you did.

Contest Ends Monday night at Midnight EST. Good luck!

_________________________

In Addition to that Giveaway…

Discover & Share Segura Sweepstakes
Enter to Win a Weekend Getaway for Two to Sonoma, California

To enter the contest, visit the Discover & Share Sweepstakes link on the Segura website or their Facebook page and complete any of the Discover & Share challenges, such as answering questions about cava, uploading photos of toasting with friends, “liking” the Segura fan page, or sharing the sweepstakes. Complete all the challenges and earn up to 10 entries to increase your chances of winning. A random drawing from all entries on December 18, 2011 will decide the winner, who will receive a weekend getaway for two to Sonoma valued at $2,500, including round trip airfare, hotel accommodations, a $250 AmEx gift card, and a VIP tour and tasting at Gloria Ferrer Sparkling Caves & Vineyards, a Segura sister winery. Read the Official Rules for complete details.

Segura Viudas (seh GOO rah vee YOU das) is the sophisticated go-to bubbly for those in the know. Made in the méthode champenoise (the same process used to make champagne) and handcrafted with modern winemaking techniques, these artisan Spanish cavas are polished yet approachable and just waiting to be discovered and shared. To find Segura sparkling wines in your area, visit the Segura Viudas Wine Locator. Imported by Freixenet USA of Sonoma, California.

WINNER UPDATE…. Congrats to Cindy!!

Scallop Salad {and a Giveaway!}

November 4, 2011

Today was one of those days that could not have ended fast enough. It really was TGIF. Everything that was going wrong was happening. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed because middle of the night construction down the road woke us up so I had no patience from the start. So from there things spiraled out of control. I could not wait to get home, hop in our fixed car ($500 later) and go to the grocery store. Such an exciting Friday night, no?

I was so excited to get to the grocery store to get everything I needed to make scallop salad. Why scallop salad? Well, during the summer I attended a Freixenet tasting giving me the opportunity to try many great cocktails using the Freixnet Cava. Recently, I was contacted by their PR group wondering if I would like to host “Freixenet Friday” so I could share Feixenet love with you guys. During these weekly Friday posts, I will be posting recipes from the Freixnet site. I decided to start with some food since we never should start to drink on an empty stomach.

I adapted the scallop salad recipe on the Freixenet website to that I had a slight change in getting Price to eat it. Price is not a huge seafood fan so I figured the tender, smaller bay scallops would be an easier sell than the bigger ones. I was slightly right, at least he tried it. Progress… Additionally, the bay scallops are less expensive than the large sea scallops. This was an easy starter salad to whip up so it could easily be increased and made for a dinner party. You would really impress you guests if you brought this salad out with the paired Brut Reserva.

Scallop Salad

*Serves 2*

Ingredients

1/4 lb of bay scallops
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 orange
1 lime
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons butter
lettuce for two people,
1-2 green onion, sliced
2 tablespoons cream
white pepper
salt

Process

Zest half an orange, set aside zest. Supreme the orange by peeling it and removing the white pith. Then use a sharp knife to remove the skin from each slice of orange. Dice the segments, set aside.
Chiffonade the lettuce.
In a saucepan over high heat, add the butter, tomatoes, and lime juice, cooking for 2 minutes. Add the orange zest and scallops, cook until they become white, about a 1 1/2 – 2 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes and scallops from the pan into a small bowl. Add the sliced green onion and orange segment pieces.
Add the cream and white pepper to the sauce in the pan to thicken. Turn off the heat once the sauce is thicker, add the tomatoes and scallop mixture back to the pan. Toss to coat and then serve.
To serve the salad, layer 1/2 the lettuce in a martini glass. Divide the salad between the glasses. Sprinkle with salt.

WINE PAIRING: BRUT RESERVA 2007

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And now the good stuff… the GIVEAWAY!

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me what you are looking forward to about holiday parties.

Extra Entries:

Follow Freixenet- you can follow the Freixenet truck as it hops around the country @FreixentUSA OR like them on Facebook. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me what you did.

Contest Ends Monday night at Midnight EST. Good luck!

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes

November 2, 2011

After when we went Zorbing, Pricer, Emily and I went to Sonic for some dinner (because we are horrible influences on Em). I am addicted to their limeades. Addicted. But getting to the point, in the end we got a pumpkin pie milkshake to split. Unfortunately, it was not really good. The shakes was SO thick that it was more of a chore to drink than anything. It was topped with a whipped cream that was super sweet and dense. It was too much for the 3 of us to conquer- that’s saying something! In the end it worked out since I decided to create some lighter milkshakes at home.

Making my own pumpkin pie milkshake allowed me to control the calorie count, density, and flavors. This shake is perfect for fall since it takes the flavors of pumpkin pie and delivers it to your all in your glass. Plus it’s on the healthy side since it uses unsweetened pumpkin puree, a small amount of ice cream*, low-fat/skim milk, and no whipped topping. Sure you can add the whipped topping but does it actually contribute to the milkshake? No! it’s just on top. Save the calories & fat for a cookie, I know there will be plenty of them around during the holiday season.

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes

-serves 4-

Ingredients

1/2 can of pumpkin puree
1 small scoops of ice cream, or frozen yogurt (non tart)
1 heaping tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs
2 cups of low-fat or skim milk

Process

Add all the ingredients to a blender, blend until combined and completely smooth.
Serve!

*When I make ice cream that I will use in a recipe, such as a milkshake, I make it with low fat milk to reduce the calories and fat in the ice cream. Yes, it does not have the same texture as a full milk ice cream, but you are blending it into the milkshake so the texture becomes a non issue.

And we have a winner!

October 2, 2011

So I was going to post a bit earlier but I slipped into the hotel hot tub, hurt my foot, and had a meltdown. So I had to compose myself and clean up my raccoon eyes before getting around to pick a Boston Brunchers 1 Year Birthday Brunch winner. So here goes…

I wrote down all the commenters, followers, and tweets for all the entries all bits of paper. Then I yanked out a colander out of the kitchenette in the hotel room.

Shake!

Winner!

Oh, oops the photo is upside down.

Congrats to BostonMo for winning a spot to the brunch!! I hope that everone else that entered gets a chance to enter another giveaway and I get to see you there.

Boston Brunchers’ Birthday Brunch- Ticket Giveaway!

September 27, 2011

To say that I enjoy brunch is an understatement. At the beginning of the year, I heard about a new group called Boston Brunchers and I knew that I had to participate in it. Spending time with other Bostonian’s enjoying brunch at different restaurants around Boston… obviously a great idea.

I have had the pleasure of enjoying brunch with Boston Brunchers at…

Dorado Tacos and Cemitas (2/2012)

Sel De La Terre (5/2012)

Ashmont Grill (6/2012)

Avenue One (7/2012)

Well now I have the pleasure of going to the one year anniversary brunch. <yay!> And if that’s not awesome enough, I get to give away a ticket as well. You really want to win… trust me. Just check out the list of restaurants and companies that are providing goodies in the swag bags!

The original brunch location had to change and instead of just announcing it Renee, the organizer of BB, held a little contest allowing the person who correctly guessed the new location to give away a ticket. After 2 guesses I correctly guessed that the new location will be Island Creek Oyster Bar.

To win a spot.

1) leave a comment telling me why you like to attend brunch.

For extra chances to win.

1) Tweet the following: “I really want to win a ticket for @bostonbrunchers bday brunch at @ICOBar from @iamahoneybee http://wp.me/pzEAP-1vs”

2) Follow me on Twitter @iamahoneybee. Come back and leave me a comment letting me know you are a follower.

3) Follow Boston Brunchers on Twitter. Come back and leave me a comment letting me know you are a follower.

{Winner will be chosen at random on Sunday 10/2 at 8pm.}

Blueberry Lemonade

September 7, 2011

As much as I love to curl up with my favorite mug in the winter with hot tea or hot chocolate, I love the refreshing drinks that go hand in hand with summer. I don’t count Labor Day as the end of summer. I enjoy every summer sip and bite until the first day of fall. I don’t necessarily wear summer things until then- I wore a long sleeve shirt and sweater today- but I will fill my stomach with summer’s last bit of produce.

If you are like you realize that you have 15 days until the first day of fall. That includes 2 full weekends for you to kick back and relax with a lemonade before the full onslaught of pumpkins, cider, and Halloween candy. Don’t even get my started on how I keep seeing CHRISTMAS candy in the stories!!

The combination of blueberries and lemons go together very well. I love them in desserts so in a drink the same would be true, right? Correct! The blueberries add a nice naturally sweet flavor to offset the tart lemons.

I decided to incorporate the blueberries into the lemonade by making blueberry puree ice cubes. I love when making an icy cold drink and making ice cubes part of the drink, not just something that keeps the drink cold. Also, I don’t want to use just regular ice cubes that will water down the drink. The blueberry ice cubes came out very well, but one thing that I noticed was that they broke apart very quickly. This was fine since I was drinking the lemonade right away. If you plan on letting the drink hang around for a bit, I suggest that you make the ice cubes out of store bought blueberry juice and adding some frozen blueberries to the glass.

edit– right after I tweeted this post I got a tweet mentioning that vodka should accompany this lemonade. Umm, how did I forget to mention that? Well, obviously, vodka would make this blueberry lemonade even more delightful. Plus it gives you options… a regular vodka or you can get creative and use a flavored one. have fun and enjoy.

Blueberry Lemonade

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 pint of fresh blueberries
7 lemons
2 cups sugar
7 cups of water

Steps

Blend the blueberries and then strain the puree. Pour the puree into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid.
Squeeze all the lemons.
Combine the sugar and the lemons into a large pitcher.
Add water to pitcher and mix well.
Serve the glass of lemonade with blueberry ice cubes and a slice of lemon.

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Easter Brownies- Mini Cadbury Creme Egg Brownies

April 22, 2011

These brownies make for a fantastic Easter treat. The brownie is individually sized so it makes for a great to go treat. The kind of goodie that is easily wrapped and slipped into an Easter basket. Or if you are ‘too old’ for a basket, you can just enjoy them because you are an adult and should have nice things.

I really truly love Cadbury Creme Eggs. I love that they are around for such a short period of time. It makes them even more desirable. I stick to the classic creme eggs, just can’t get me to touch their caramel egg. I don’t get the point. It’s like a caramel milky way… oh don’t you mean a caramel filled chocolate bar that is no way similar to a milky way?!? I think that classics should stay classics. So that is why I indulge myself with the creme eggs for this short period of time.

The brownies are best eaten right away because it will allow you to bite into the ooey gooey creme egg. The brownie is rich and dense, so the egg will not sink to the bottom. The egg remains intact and is perfect to cut in half. It just looks so sweet.

Typically, you test the readiness of a baked good by inserting a tooth pick and if it’s clean upon removal the cake it done. However, you can’t insert a tooth pick into the center of this treat because it would provide an inaccurate picture of it’s doneness because you would be testing the melty egg, and not the brownie. The brownies are so small that gently touching the top will be a good enough indicator.

Mini Cadbury Creme Egg Brownies

*makes 6 brownies*

Ingredients

4oz bittersweet chocolate
6oz butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup self-rising flour
6 mini Cadbury creme eggs

Process

Preheat oven to 350. Line 6 muffin cups.
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler, or over very low heat. Cool.
In a medium size bowl, combine the sugar and egg
Slowly add the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.
Add in the flour and gently combine.
Divide the batter evenly into the 6 liners. Put 1 egg inside each brownie, slightly less than half should remain exposed.
Bake for 13-15 minutes. Top should appear done while egg is soft looking.

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies

April 5, 2011

I have been stumbling upon posts about cookies inside cookies throughout my Google reader lately. ummm cookies inside cookies? Yep, imagine a cookie inside another cookie- either mixed in or fully enveloped. Simple, delicious, addicting.

Some of the best sounding, looking, and addicting sounding ones have come from the blog Lovin’ From the Oven. She first had a cookie inside a cookie recipe posted last April but then posted another recently in February. After seeing the second recipe, which included an entire oreo inside a chocolate chip cookie, I decided that I would have to go back to the older recipe because the likely hood of me eating 3 cookies would just spell trouble. Having 3 of the Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies would be like having 6 cookies and that would be heart stopping. So I opted for the slightly more figure faltering recipe that just had pieces of Oreo’s incorporated into it.

I’ve made these cookies 4 times now. They are really quick to whip up. You barely even need to break apart the Oreo cookies before adding them into the dough mixer as you stand mixer will do the work for you. The more you mix the smaller the pieces of Oreo that remain, this will result in a more uniform texture cookie that tastes a lot like cookies and cream. If you just mix the cookies until they are combined, which I prefer, they have much more texture and have more pockets of Oreo flavor.

Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 4 doz 2″ cookies

2 sticks softened butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

25 Oreo Cookies broken into large pieces

2 cups chocolate chips

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Preheat oven to 350.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugars. Once that mixture is light and fluffy add the eggs, one at a time. When eggs are jsut combined, add in the vanilla. Gently mix until just incorportated.

Add in the sifted dry ingredients slowly until just incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and Oreo pieces. The Oreo’s will break up as the cookie dough is mixed together.

On a non stick baking sheet, spoon out 1 1/2- 1 3/4″ dollops. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown and just set. Remove from oven, let the sheet sit for 1-2 minutes before removing cookie to cool on a cooling rack.