Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today I'm bringing you another cookie recipe, but this time it's a classic. You can't go wrong with these cookies, they are pretty much the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I made half a batch and there were still PLENTY, so if you're baking these for only a few people, I would definitely suggest cutting the recipe down.

Here's what you'll need to get started on these delicious cookies!

 Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate MorselsNESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.

 Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.

 Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

 Gradually beat in flour mixture. 

 Stir in morsels and nuts. 

 Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. 

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely. 

 And you're done! Try not to eat them all at once!

Here's the full ingredients for easier reading:

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

 Recipe from here.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Ok so bear with me because I know this picture isn't going to look the most appetizing (my camera is back in the states so I'm forced to use my phone for all these pictures), but I promise you that these peppers are HEAVENLY.

My dad has been making stuffed peppers for dinner my entire life, and yet I have never eaten a single one. I grew up with this idea in my head that I hated peppers. I firmly believed this idea up until a few months ago. I don't know what changed, but suddenly here I was eating peppers multiple times a week. This recipe is once again another Pinterest find, but I tweaked it a little to my liking.

I am a vegetarian so I substituted the ground beef with a faux meat and it was fabulous. I made the regular ones for my meat-loving boyfriend and he agrees that these were to die for.

Please don't let my crappy phone quality picture deter you from making these peppers, because I promise you that they will change your life!

Ingredients

• 4-5 bell peppers, tops and insides removed (Use peppers other than green if possible)
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 16 ounce jar salsa
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 small can of corn
• 1 onion, sauteed
• 1 envelope taco seasoning
•  big handful baby spinach, rinsed
• Sour cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wash the peppers then carefully slice the tops off. To remove the insides, cut around the edges of the pepper then pull the center out with your hand. Try to get all the seeds out too. Place the peppers in a baking dish and set aside.

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef over medium high heat for about 7 to 8 minutes, or until it’s cooked through. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon while it cooks. When done, add in taco seasoning and salsa. Start with about 3/4 of the jar then add the rest if you want it juicier.

In separate pan, saute onions until tender. Add black beans (make sure they’re drained and rinsed), corn and baby spinach. Stir to combine. Cook until the spinach just starts to wilt, another minute or so. Remove pan from heat and mix into the meat.

Spoon the meat mixture into the hollowed out peppers. Fill the peppers almost to the top, leaving just enough room for the cheese. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese on top of each pepper. 

Place in the preheated oven and cook for 30 to 45 minutes. The cheese should be melted and the pepper should soften. You can tent the baking dish with aluminum foil if the cheese is starting to brown.

Remove from the oven and garnish with a dollop of sour cream.

(Recipe found here.)

Oreo Crumble Cookies

While we're on the oreo theme, I might as well throw in another recipe! I was struck with need to bake cookies this weekend and eventually came out with these.

I'm currently living with at my boyfriend's house...which means there are not a ton of readily available baking supplies (other than the ones we've picked up for specific recipes in the past couple months). So when it came time to find a recipe for cookies, I was pretty limited with what I could make without running to the store to pick up more ingredients. I had some leftover oreos from the Cookies & Cream Hot Chocolate so I decided that they would make the perfect addition to these cookies.

I remembered seeing oreo chocolate chip cookies on Pinterest a million times, so I searched and found a recipe from Lovin' From The Oven. The only thing we didn't have in the kitchen was chocolate chips, but I figured the oreos would give it enough flavor that I didn't need them. After reading her comments on substituting baking powder for baking soda, and then seeing some other mention they did the same with great results, I decided to follow suit. Other than omitting the chocolate chips and replacing the baking soda, I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out fabulous! They were gone by the next morning (thanks mostly in part to my boyfriend).

• 1 stick softened butter
• 6 Tablespoons sugar
• 6 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ¼ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 11 broken pieces Oreo Cookies
• 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla until mixed well.

2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients then stir in oreos and chocolate chips until just combined.

3. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked, but still soft. Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

 (Recipe found here.)

Cookies and Cream Hot Chocolate

I saw this recipe on Pinterest a couple weeks ago and immediately knew that I needed to try it. I LOVE all things Oreo, so adding oreos to hot chocolate sounded like the perfect combination. You basically just add a handful of oreos into your hot chocolate mix and throw it into a blender. I don't have a Blendtec like the original recipe calls for, but my regular blender seemed to work just fine.

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

8 tbsp hot cocoa powder (use more or less to make depending on how chocolaty you like it)

4-5 Oreos

Whipped Cream

 

Warm milk in the microwave (about one minute) then pour into your Blendtec jar. 

Add cocoa powder and 3 Oreo cookies.  Hit the "soup" button on your Blendtec and let it blend.

Pour cocoa into two mugs and top with whipped cream. Crush the last Oreo over the top of the whipped cream.  Serve immediately.

 

(Recipe from here.)

The result was fantastic! I would definitely make it again. Beware though, it's got a lot of flavor and if you make a big mug, it can be a little overwhelming.