Creamy Mint Chocolate Brownies

Brownies:

1 cup butter, melted

2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mint Filling:

2 1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp mint extract

2-3 drops green food coloring

3 tbsp whipping cream

dash salt

Chocolate Topping:

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup butter

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9x13 pan with non stick cooking spray. Set aside.

2.In the bowl of your stand mixer combine butter, sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla. Mix on low until combined and smooth, about 1 minute. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one. In a small bowl whisk flour and salt together. Add to butter mixture and mix again till smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Put batter into your prepared pan and for 25-35 minutes. Being careful not to over bake them, you want them moist and fudgy. Remove the pan from the oven and let the brownies cool completely.

4. While the brownies are baking, make the chocolate topping by combing whipping cream, semi sweet chocolate chips, and butter into a medium-sized sauce pan. Heat ingredients over medium high heat, stirring constantly until everything is melted and well combined, about 2-3 minutes. Set the pan aside to cool. Stir this mixture every 5 minutes to help cool because you want it to be lukewarm when you pour it over the mint filling.

5. To make mint filling, in a medium size bowl combine powdered sugar, softened butter, softened cream cheese, mint extract, green food coloring, and whipping cream. Beat the ingredients for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.

6. To assemble: when the brownies are completely cool spread the mint filling over the top of them then refrigerate the two layers for about 20 minutes to let the filling set up a little bit. Then pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the mint filling, spreading carefully with a knife to the edges. Then place the pan back in the fridge for an hour, or until the chocolate layer is set. To serve, cut with a sharp knife and enjoy!

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Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

•  1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups + 2 Tbsp  all-purpose flour (measured correctly)
• 1/2 cup raspberry jam

GLAZE

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract (optional) 

Directions:

Make the cookies: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Switch mixer to medium speed and add the the sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer off and pour the flour into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a very soft dough is formed.  Press the dough down to compact it and tightly cover with plastic wrap to chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (silicone mats preferred to reduce spreading). Shape the cookie dough into balls. Mine were about 1 Tablespoon of dough per ball. Make sure they're nice and smooth. Make an indentation with your thumb into each ball. The dough may crack slightly when you press your thumb into it. Simply smooth it out with your fingers if you can. Otherwise, it's perfectly fine to have a few cracks. Fill each with a scant 1/2 teaspoon of jam. (Or however much it can hold.)

Bake the shortbread thumbprint cookies for 14-15 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the edges. The cookies will puff up and spread slightly. Do not overbake.  In fact, I only baked mine for 13-14 minutes. I prefer them a little soft. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before glazing.

Make the glaze: stir together glaze ingredients until smooth. Add more liquid to thin out or add more powdered sugar to thicken to your desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Glaze will set within a couple hours.

Store cookies covered at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 6 days. Shortbread cookie dough may be frozen up to 2 months.

NOTES

• 2 Tbsp of flour has been added to the recipe on 12/21/13. I make mine cookies with only 2 cups of flour, however I suggest readers add 2 extra Tbsp to prevent extra spreading.
• Make sure the cookie dough is cold and firm at all times. If it's not firm and cold, put back into the refrigerator to chill. When working in batches, keep the unused dough chilled in the refrigerator. You may roll, print, and fill batch #2 and stick in the fridge while batch #1 bakes.
• This shortbread cookie dough may be used to cut into your favorite shortbread cookie shapes. 
• Any flavor jam is OK. 

Sausage & Potato Bake

• 1 pkg. Hillshire Farm® Turkey Smoked Sausage
• 6 cups red new potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch-chunks
• 1 large onion sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Cut sausage in 1/4” slices; set aside.
2. Place potatoes in medium saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer 10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain potatoes.
3. Combine sausage, potatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, chicken broth, olive oil and seasonings in a 12×8-inch baking dish; mix lightly.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned and vegetables are tender.

via Picky Palate