Mint Oreo Pie

I have my annual family party tomorrow afternoon.  A recipe blogger cannot show up to a party empty-handed.  This is a bit of an issue, as my kitchen is currently under construction.  It's a bit hard to make anything beyond heating up leftovers in the microwave.  This means getting creative.  I went to Stop and Shop to browse the baking aisle.  I picked up an Oreo No-Bake Pie kit.  When I was stirring the pie filling, I added a mint chocolate flavored Duncan Hines frosting creation.  These are great.  You can find them in the baking aisle, right next to the frosting.  They work for so much more than just frosting.

I also bought an oreo pie crust.  I figured that would be easier and quicker than using the crust mix in the kit.  It would mean melting butter, and getting one more bowl dirty.  The fewer dishes I have to wash by hand in a basin, the better.   Oh, I can't wait until my kitchen is ready for everyday use again!

Here's the finished product!

Earl Grey Cookies

I love tea.  I spend way too much time and money buying tea.  (Especially at Teavana!)  If I can't get to Teavana, or just don't want to spend the money, I like to try to find other types of teas.  I especially like loose-leaf tea.  I found this one a while back.   It has lavender, orange, and bergamot in it.  It's a delicious and fragrant tea.

 

I also really love cookies.  I thought it might be interesting to combine the two.  It turns out that I wasn't the first person to think of this, as I found many, many Earl Grey Cookie recipes.   My favorites of the ones that I found were http://foodloveswriting.com/2008/12/15/theres-time-for-these/ and  http://doughalsorises.wordpress.com/2012/08/24/the-picture-of-dorian-earl-grey-cookies/

I combined the ideas from those two, and tweaked it a bit and came up with this:

1/4 Cup Butter (1/2 stick)
a little bit less than 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. orange extract (one recipe called for orange zest and one called for vanilla extract.  I used orange extract.  Next time I might try using Gran Marnier (orange liqueur) as I just found some in the cabinet.)
a dash of salt (or a few twists, if you're using a grinder)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp loose tea, ground with a mortar and pestle

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Using a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar
3. Add remaining ingredients (extract, tea, flour, baking soda)
4.  Mix to combine
5.  Roll dough into 1-inch balls and roll in sugar to coat.
6. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, approximately 1 inch apart
7.  Bake for 10 minutes












Makes 9 cookies.  I think I might double the recipe next time.

Salted Caramel Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love cookies.  I also like to experiment with flavors and ingredients to come up with new and interesting recipes.  I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies with something a little extra.  I had some extra baking supplies and decided to see what I could do with them.

I started with the original Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe found here.

Instead of using 2 cups of chocolate chips, I used 1 cup of chocolate chips, a 1/2 cup of chopped Rolo candy and a 1/2 cup of Salted Caramel baking chips.  (you heard me!)

Salted Caramel Baking Chips

I brought them to a potluck, and they went over very well.