Linda in the Kitchen

seasonal eats & healthy treats, made with Love.
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  • Tag: Birthday

    • Soft & Chewy Mint M&M Cookies

      Posted at 12:06 am by lindainthekitchen
      Nov 22nd

      Today is yet another Ciatti birthday….Happy Birthday Chris Welch!

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      Last year I asked Chris what his favorite dessert or dessert flavors are.  His response?  Mint chocolate chip.  Last year I made M&M Chocolate Chip cookies and sandwiched Mint Chip Ice Cream between the cookies.  Man, were they a hit!  This year, I wanted to stick with the theme.  I decided to make mint chip cookies.  Three different stores later…and not one carried mint chips.  Can you believe it?!  Change of plans.  Mint M&M cookies!

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      Soft & Chewy Mint M&M Cookies

      • 2 cups flour
      • 1 tsp baking soda
      • 2 tsp cornstarch
      • 3/4 tsp salt
      • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
      • 1/3 cup brown sugar  *
      • 1/3 cup granulated sugar  *
      • 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
      • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
      • Mint M&Ms (8oz bag – add to your preference)

       * Note:  I like my cookies less sweet, so I added 1/3 cup sugar.  The original recipe uses 1/2 cup sugar, so feel free to add a bit more if you like sweeter cookies. 

      1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
      2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
      3. In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars until fluffy (approximately 5 minutes).
      4. Beat in egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
      5. Mix the flour mixture into butter mixture (I mixed in a third of the flour at a time).  Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl and mix well.  Fold in M&M candies.  I used almost the whole bag, which ended up being 2-3 M&Ms per cookie.
      6. Scoop a tablespoon of dough onto the prepared baking sheet (I used a 1 tablespoon cookie scooper).  Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes or just until they start to lightly brown on the sides.  Let cool on pan for 3-5 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack.  ENJOY!

      The original recipe estimated 2 dozen cookies.  However, I made about 40 cookies with the 1 tablespoon scooper.

      Soft & Chewy M&M Cookies Recipe adapted from On Sugar Mountain.

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      Made with love.  Enjoy!

      Posted in Cookies | Tagged Birthday, Brown Sugar, Cookie, M&M, Mint
    • Happy Birthday Vince!

      Posted at 10:52 pm by lindainthekitchen
      Nov 20th

      For Vince’s birthday this past Sunday, I decided to surprise him with a special cake…a T-Rex cake!  T-Rex is college nickname that has stuck with him post-college…and it’s not going away anytime soon!

      For this cake, I ordered the mold online.  I bought the frosting and a yellow cake mix (yes, store bought cake mix…but that’s what the mold called for!).  Since it was a box cake, there isn’t a fun baking story behind this one, except for the fact that frosting the darn cake took about 3-4 hours to complete.

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      Et voila, a T-Rex cake!  He was more than surprised, and it was a big hit at the party, so I can definitely call this cake a success.

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      No…we did not ONLY eat cake…there were some finger foods also…not as fun as the T-Rex cake, though!  I picked a French Brie Cheese, a Spanish cheese called Drunken Goat (a favorite of mine that Vince now loves also), and some cheddar and salami.  Homemade hummus, pita chips, breadsticks and some grapes also made an appearance…yum!

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      I also made a Whipped Ricotta with Lemon & Olive Oil from Joy the Baker, one of my favorite easy appetizers. It was perfect on toasted sliced Baguettes from The Model Bakery.

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      Toppings included heirloom tomatoes, sliced cucumber, peppadews (my new obsession), marinated artichoke hearts, fresh green olives and marcona almonds.

      Oh, and I forgot to mention, I also made LOTS of Lemon Crinkle Cookies – my favorite!

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      I made them for the first time a year ago for Vince’s birthday and have made them more times than I can count.  They seem to be requested for every occasion now!

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      It was a beautiful day in Napa, so we had the party in the backyard and made a fire in the fire pit once the sun started to disappear.  Overall, it was a great day with great friends and a VERY GREAT guy!

      Happy Birthday Vince!

      xoxo

      Posted in Cupcakes/Cake, Parties, Snacks/Sides | Tagged Baking and Confections, Birthday, Cake, Cooking, Finger food, Home, Olive, Sunday
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