Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

It's been cold out here again, and ovens are warm. So I've been looking for recipes that use things we already have in the house, and baking a lot more than usual. It drains a lot of energy, but it makes me happy, and it's more productive than internet shopping or shutting myself in my room to play video games.

This recipe was from another book that we've had since before I started baking, and it's another recipe that I call mine but is really just leaving things out. But I'll admit, it's a good thing I finally found a use for the pie crusts that have been sitting in the freezer for months.

RECIPE:

- 1/2 cup softened butter

- 3/4 cup brown sugar

- 2 eggs

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 1/2 cup flour

- 1 cup chocolate chips

- Unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Preheat oven to 325.

Combine the butter and sugar.

Add the eggs and vanilla and mix.

Add the flour and mix again.

Stir in the chocolate chips with a spoon.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes.

My brother and I both liked the taste of this pie, which is really saying something, because we're the picky eaters of the house. The texture takes some getting used to, though.

This would be a good pie to take to a party. My sister and all of her friends love my raspberry pear pie, but maybe I'll just make them one of these instead. It's easier than cutting the pears.

Neapolitan Brownie Cookies

Cake mix cookies are pretty easy. Boxed brownies are pretty easy. And since I needed something stereotypical for February 14, I combined pink, white, and chocolate into a cookie.

As someone who has never had a date and stands on the spooky side all year, I sometimes think I should be annoyed by all the pink and romance and flowers and just use the day as an excuse to buy sale candy on February 15. Then the day comes, and I get really excited for absolutely no reason.

These were created as a reference to the Strawberry Milkshake Cookies I made back when this was just a recipe review blog. My mom found a recipe for cookies from brownie mix, and, with her help, this was one of the first recipes I took over.

RECIPE:

(Strawberry)
- 1 box strawberry cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup oil

(Chocolate)
- 1 box brownie mix
- 1/4 cup oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine strawberry cookie ingredients in one bowl, and chocolate ingredients in another.

Take 2 big spoons and scoop out dough from each bowl, dropping one flavor partly on top of the other.

Bake for about 10 minutes.

When cookies are cool, melt vanilla chips or almond bark in a microwave. Spread on top.

As you can see, these cookies turned out very big. Bigger than the palm of my hand. So big, the spatula I used to remove them from the pan was too small to hold one of them, and it fell apart, and part of it went under one of the coils on the stove.

The cookies are a lot of work, but everyone liked them. Even me.

Orange Chicken Salad

I mentioned before that I've been trying to find recipes for things that aren't desserts, in the hope of having more variety than fish sticks and my ginger chicken when I leave my mom and dad's house. It has not been going as well as I hoped.

Still, this recipe was something that my mom enjoyed, so I wrote a blog post for it despite not really liking it myself. I'll admit, the vinegar in the dressing was a little too much for me, but it looks really nice.

RECIPE

- 1/2 cup orange marmalade
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce
- 1 small can mandarin oranges, drained
- Cooked chicken or turkey pieces (I used leftover chicken from a few days earlier)

Blend the marmalade, soy sauce, vinegar, and ginger in a saucepan.

Heat until marmalade melts.

Let it cool.

Mix the lettuce, meat, and oranges in a bowl.

Serve with the marmalade dressing.

It's a way to use leftovers, which is something I'm sure everyone needs to know. I think I prefer to use Ranch without the oranges, but my mom did recommend it for family. Maybe I'll make it with turkey for Thanksgiving next year.