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One Hundred Dollars a Month

I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

Bake Sale Recipes – Chocolate Brownie Cookies

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I have been making these cookies ever since my friend Jane told me about them a few years ago.  The recipe comes from Martha Stewart’s Cookie Book and I typically bake a double batch of these delicious cookies when my kids request them for their sporting events or if I’m asked to bake cookies for a bake sale.

The are seriously the best chocolate cookies I have ever tasted, and, there are never any leftovers. The only thing I’ve changed from Martha’s original recipe is I have added a touch of cinnamon and reduced the baking temp a bit for a chewier cookie.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda {15 Cool Uses for Baking Soda}
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter
2 cups sugar + 1/4 cup for rolling cookie balls into
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter, 2 cups sugar, vanilla and eggs until light and fluffy {I use a KitchenAid mixer for this}

Slowly add dry ingredients, and mix well.  Chill the dough in the refrigerator for one hour until the cookie dough is somewhat firm.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper or with a silpat baking mat. Use a 1 tablespoon cookie dough scoop to form dough balls and then roll the balls in sugar. Bake 10 -12 minutes . Cool on a wire rack. Hide a few for yourself and then serve a big plate full to your kids with a tall glass of milk to wash them down.

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Recipe – Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

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Yesterday, I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip banana cookies for the Handsome Husband’s lunch. After they had cooled, I placed the cookies in 2 zip bags and stuck them in the goody drawer for safe keeping.

This morning, when I opened the drawer to grab a few cookies to pack in the HH’s lunch bag, I couldn’t find them.  Apparently Monkey Boy had found the cookies last night and ate all 18 of them.

Holy crack.  Who does that?

18 cookies?  Are you kidding me?

Note to self: Monkeys like bananas.  Especially if they are mashed up in a cookie.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp. baking soda {15 Cool Uses for Baking Soda}
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
6 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 egg
1/2 cup raisins or cranberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, oatmeal, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the brown sugar, butter, vanilla, banana and egg until well combined. Slowly stir in the flour mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips and raisins.

Using a 2″ cookie scoop place cookie dough balls on a silpat lined cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cool on a wire rack.  Serve with a big ole’ glass of milk.

Looking for a deal on Silpat?  Amazon has the Silpat 11 5/8 x 16 1/2-inches, Half Sheet Size on sale right now for only $16.62 each.  These retail for around $24.95 each so this is a great deal!

*Amazon prices can change at anytime.

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Recipe – Cranberry Pistachio Cornmeal Biscotti

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I think I need a new research {ie: travel} project.  You know, like does biscotti made in Italy taste any different than biscotti made in my kitchen?  I think I should somehow pitch this “project” to the Handsome Husband.  I could take The Girl with me and make it an educational adventure as well. What do you think?  Do you think I could convince him?  Could YOU convince him for me?  Please?  I’d bring you back a souvenir.

Now, I wouldn’t normally associate cornmeal with biscotti, but it seems to work really well together with the cranberries and pistachios in this recipe.  I just made it an hour ago and so far I’ve eaten 3 pieces.  My guess is, but tomorrow afternoon, there won’t even be so much as a crumb left.

This is good.  Really, really good.


Adapted from a Martha Stewart Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup shelled pistachios, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.

Add everything but the cranberries and pistachios in a large bowl and combine well.  fold in the cranberries and pistachios.

Drop dough on to a parchment lined cookie sheet {I prefer using silpats because I am a snob} and shape it into a nice fat log that is roughly 12 by 4 inches. Bake until firm, and slightly cracked on top, 30 minutes. Let the log cool about 15 minutes.

Transfer the biscotti log on to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut on the biscotti log into 1 inch-thick slices. Carefully place the sliced biscotti back onto the parchment lined cookie sheet {or silpat} and bake for 12-15 more minutes or until they begin to brown.

Let cookies cool completely.  Serve with coffee, tea, or just lock yourself in the closet and eat the whole stinkin’ batch.  These are molto buona!

Find this recipe and more in my all time favorite cookie book Martha Stewart’s Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share by Martha Stewart.  Amazon currently has this book on sale for $15.98

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Recipe: How to Make Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

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While the kids were at school today, I made a batch of Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies.  I found a box of Red Velvet cake mix last week while I was cleaning out the pantry. I was planning on baking a cake, until I noticed a recipe for cookies on the side of the box.  Cookies from a cake mix?  Who knew?

I was able to whip up 3 dozen cookies in about 45 minutes start to finish.

They were delicious {and a wee bit addicting}.

Ingredients {slightly adapted from a Duncan Hines recipe}

6 tablespoons butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 box Duncan Hines® Red Velvet Cake Mix
2 large eggs

Baking Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Melt butter; set aside to cool. Place powdered sugar and cornstarch in shallow dish. Mix with a fork to blend.
Place cake mix, cooled butter and eggs in large mixing bowl. Mix by hand until well blended and a dough forms.
Form dough into 1-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place on cool, silpat lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
Bake, 1 sheet at a time, in center of oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Store in airtight container with wax paper or parchment separating layers.

Tips:
For consistency, use a small scoop (1 to 1-1/4 inches in diameter) to form dough into balls.
For best results, bake only one sheet of cookies at a time. If two are baked at once, rotate sheets midway through baking. {Recipe Credit}

Milk & Cookies: 89 Heirloom Recipes from New York’s Milk & Cookies Bakery

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Mavis Butterfield Etsy