S'mores Cookies- winners

Gooey S'mores Cookies
(from kevinandamanda.com)

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (7 full graham cracker sheets)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Mini Hershey’s Kisses (or chocolate chips/chunks)
• 1 cup Jet Puffed Mallow Bits (if you can't find these regular mini marshmallows will work, try cutting them in half)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, use a food processor or blender to crush 7 graham cracker sheets into 3/4 cup fine crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Add the chocolate and marshmallows and stir to combine.

Place 1.5 tablespoon sized scoops of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

These are really great cookies.  They taste a lot like my S'mores Bars recipe, but these are in cookie form, obviously.  I love the way the graham cracker addition to cookie dough.  It tastes so good.

Steel Cut Oats in crockpot overnight

Overnight Crock Pot Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup steel-cut oats
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 3/4 cup water (I subbed in some apple juice for some of the water)
• Optional toppings:  fresh fruit, milk, nuts, raisins etc.

1.  Spray an oven safe dish (mine is corningware and it is about 1.7 quarts) that fits into your 5-7 quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. (Inside the bowl, not the bare unit) 

2.  Place all ingredients inside dish and stir to combine.

3.  Place dish directly inside slow cooker insert.  Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for about 7-9 hours.

4.  Remove dish carefully and serve with desired toppings.

365daysofcrockpot.com likes using the dish inserted into the crockpot because this way you don't lose a lot of the oats from sticking to the crockpot dish, all cooked and crusty.  This was a great breakfast, adaptable to whatever you like in your oatmeal.  Why steel cut oats?  More fiber and longer to digest than regular oats, keeping you full longer are a few of the reasons.  They are nuttier than normal oats and a different part of the oat with a different shape.  It's worth trying them!

Potato Salad recipe for summer

Perfect Potato Salad

(from melskitchencafe.com)

Dressing:

• 2 cups mayonnaise (I use Best Foods/Hellmans Light Mayo with great results)
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced dried onions
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard

Salad:

• 5 pounds potatoes (I prefer to use red potatoes or yukon gold potatoes because I like their firm non-grainy texture)
• 1 cup sliced olives (obviously fine without, too)
• 10 hard-boiled eggs*, diced

DIRECTIONS:
Simply combine all the ingredients in a blender or in a bowl and give it a whirl or whisk until all ingredients are combined.

For the salad, peel, dice, and boil potatoes until tender but not mushy (I cut my potatoes into bite-size pieces and boil for about 8-10 minutes). Drain potatoes well and pour into a large bowl. Add sliced olives and hard-boiled eggs. Pour dressing over warm potatoes until desired “dressing-level” is reached. I usually make this salad the night before and I pour a thin coating of dressing over the potatoes, olives and eggs while they rest in the fridge overnight. Before serving the next day, I add the rest of the dressing and mix until it looks just right.

*For perfect hard-boiled eggs, place eggs in a deep saucepan; cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 14 minutes. Transfer to an iced water bath; let cool completely. Unpeeled eggs can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

I only had 4 potatoes so I kind of just took my ingredients down several notches without thinking too hard or measuring and it all worked out and was delicious.  So that means this is a very fool-friendly recipe!  I also microwaved my potatoes and then peeled them.  Super fast this way!  Just make sure not to overcook!  The dressing is very tasty- it is an addictive potato salad that doesn't feel too heavy and seems healthy too.  I'll make it many times throughout the summer.