Butterscotch Snickerdoodles

Butterscotch is one of those flavors that doesn't get enough attention. Fall is all about apples and pumpkin and winter gets cinnamon and ginger, but I think butterscotch needs to go into the holiday mix too. It's not quite right for spring or summer--not light and fresh enough. But right about now, butterscotch definitely works. Rich and flavorful, it lends itself to holiday treats. So a butterscotch enhanced cookie dough--which itself is soft and super tender--loaded with butterscotch chips and rolled in a cinnamon sugar coating sounds like an excellent idea for a holiday cookie. Dave really enjoyed these cookies (I did too), claiming they were the right notes of butterscotch and cinnamon, and really lending a new layer of delicious to the snickerdoodle family.

Butterscotch Pudding Triple Chip Cookies

So I've heard all the rage about adding pudding mix to your cookie dough, but I hadn't yet tried it.  Now that I have, I can honestly say, I'm a believer.  These cookies ended up soft and fluffy in a way that I don't think I've had before.  With the addition of enhancing the dough with great butterscotch flavor, the perfect palate for adding a bunch of chips--chocolate, white chocolate and butterscotch.  Plus, I got the best compliment on these cookies.  I took them to work for a training session and was questioned about whether I actually baked them, being told "They look too perfect to be homemade."  Aw, shucks.  That's just how I roll.  The cookies are delicious, slightly salty in the best way because there is plenty of sweetness to go around.

Butterscotch Blondies

There's something about a blondie with a crunchy edge, a crisp top layer and a chewy, delicious interior that makes it ok to enjoy a non-chocolate dessert (see, I'm not a complete chocolate junkie).  The blondies have a bit of a hidden ingredient, made with oats for a slight nuttiness that plays well with the butterscotch chips.  And a little whiskey for flavor definitely makes a nice touch (hey, don't make me give up chocolate and booze for this dessert).  Dave loved these and asked that I always use oats in my blondies--which is a pretty big deal for him to have an opinion like that.  Plus these are super easy since you only need one bowl and a spatula.

Oatmeal Scotchies

Now for something completely different, these Oatmeal Scotchies cookies came from the same master cookie mix as yesterday's chocolate chip cookies.  Dave was over the moon for these cookies.  He was so excited when I made the Oatmeal Scotchies Muffins, that I knew I needed to include this recipe in my master mix collection.  Strong nutty flavor interrupted by lovely butterscotch chips, these cookies are sweet and satisfying.  With a crunchy exterior and soft interior, you'll love how perfect these scotchies turn out, without being dry or dense.

Oatmeal Scotchies Muffins

Dave walks into the kitchen while these muffins were baking, sniffs around, and is all, "What's that smell?" with disgusted look on his face.  Whatever, I showed him the recipe, he says, "Oh," and then leaves.  That didn't spark confidence for me at all.  Fast forward 20 minutes and he's back saying, "That smells so good."  Really, cause not too long ago you were unimpressed.  And it's the same smell!  I tell him to go away, take the muffins out of the pan to cool on the wire racks and go sit on the couch.  A little while later, Dave comes in with his tail between his legs wondering if the muffins are earmarked for anyone in particular.  After giving him a proper hard time, I acquiesce.  If it's any sign, Dave loved these muffins in the end, gobbling one up and mumbling something about "oh, they're so good" through the crumbs.  I don't bake with butterscotch often, so I'm sure that's what threw him for a loop in the smell department, but I thought it was awesome.  Plus, you know I love anything that merges two kinds of goodies, like an oatmeal scotchie cookie incarnated to a muffin.  Soft on the inside, perfectly golden crusty edges, and lots of flavor from oatmeal and butterscotch chips, which are an amazing match.  Make. Eat. Repeat.

Scotchilla Cookies

Yum, yum, yummy.  Dave and I couldn't get enough of these.  Partially because I split the batch and sent some to my Dad and brother, some to my Foodie Pen Pal and left just a few for us, which we finished promptly.  I love the sweetness of the butterscotch and white chocolate chips paired with the nutty oatmeal.  This is a soft cookie loaded with chips and lots of flavor.  Plus I love the name--a combination of butterscotch and vanilla after the flavored chips included in the dough--so much fun!  A twist on a traditional oatmeal cookies, these are so good, they might make it into the Christmas cookie rotation.

Yup, it's Foodie Pen Pal time again, and I was paired with two lovely ladies.  First I sent a package out to Stephie of Eat Your Heart Out.  She's a sweetheart and I swear we're like long lost sisters.  Be sure to check out her blog to see what I sent her, besides these cookies.  And I received a package from Summer, a Las Vegas native and devoted food blog reader.  She sent me some local Las Vegas treats, including barbeque sauce, a champagne mustard (can't wait to try that on grilled chicken) and these lovely dark chocolate chip cookies from Heaven's Cookies.  These were delicious (and finished more quickly than I care to admit) and I loved the story behind this Las Vegas-based cookie company.  Since Dave and I foster rescue dogs until they find their permanent home, I loved that these cookies were inspired by a desire to stop puppy mills and raise awareness about animal cruely, with a portion of the proceeds going to animal charities.

Seven Layer Mess Bars

Despite the name, these are not a flop!  In fact, they're pretty darn good and a twist on the traditional seven layer bar.  Dave was very pleased with how they turned out, even though he's not sure he's ever had the original style seven layer bar.  I was happy to make something so yummy since the circumstances of how these bars came to be were a little, well, unconventional.

It was one of those days where I had a leftover bit of an ingredient that I had to use up or throw away.  Since wastefulness is not a trait in my kitchen, I knew I had to make something, but what?  And to top it off, the ingredient was something I rarely use in my kitchen: most of a can of sweetened condensed milk.  I'd used a scant 1/4 cup of the stuff to make the Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies I guest posted at Mom's Crazy Cooking, but what was I going to do with the rest of it.  Somewhere in my mind I vaguely recalled a recipe for some sort of bar that used sweetened condensed milk, so I pulled out the one cookbook flashing in my head--my nondescript Christmas Cookies book.  Lo and behold, I found a recipe that I thought being short by a 1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk wouldn't be a big deal.

Strawberry Blondies

Remember when I made a bunch of lemon stuff?  Yeah, it's time for strawberries.  Because Dave and I went to pick them in a strawberry field.  And they are delicious, but I had 12 cups of them and didn't want them to go to waste before we could eat them all.  (Except this recipe doesn't use any of those strawberries.)  You're welcome.

This recipe is from the May 2011 Food Network Magazine.  And it's better when I make it properly.  And by properly, I mean when I don't double the flour by accident because I can't read.  Or read in a straight line.  I made these and kept going back to the recipe to make sure I was measuring the right amount of flour.  I must have checked it 3 or 4 times.  And each time, my eyes skipped the line and instead of measuring out 3/4 cup of flour, I measured 1 3/4 cups of flour.  Oops.  And I didn't notice until after they were in the oven.  Except, the thing is, the resulting bars were actually pretty good.  They were dense and I couldn't get the jam to swirl in the batter the way I wanted, but they were still tasty.  When made correctly (as below), they were even better, with a more chewy and moist inside but thick and crunchy edge.  The butterscotch and walnuts blend nicely with the strawberry to give a sweet, nutty flavor.