Tasty Treats

Well I should be cleaning my house right now... but instead I am dreaming of these lovely treats we have made recently. So much for getting back to healthy eating- ha. All things in moderation, right?!?

Super easy recipe and SOO yummy. I replaced half the butter with half butter flavored shortening... Why? It was suggested by many reviewers on Allrecipe where I got the recipe and one of my favorite cookie recipes uses butter flavored shortening... so that's why. :-) The only other thing I changed in the recipe is adding extra white chocolate chips. The cookies turned out amazing! As you can see they are puffy crispy outside with a nice soft inside... gooey chocolate and crunchy nuts.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Next up: Roy's is one of our favorite places to get a molten lava cake.... Almost crispy on the outside- not doughy- and all gooey melty on the inside. They serve their's with a raspberry sauce and vanilla bean ice cream- YUMMY! The recipe below is definitely the best recipe we've tried in our efforts to duplicate the molten lava cakes. I need to find some souffle rings I guess but ramekins work fine too. Make sure to use quality chocolate and ingredients AND refrigerate the batter OVERNIGHT!

Roys Hot Chocolate Melting Souffle

1 cup sugar 3 tbsp. cornstarch 4 eggs plus 4 egg yolks 12 tbsp. butter 8 oz. semisweet dark chocolate (make sure to use a good quality)

PREPARATION: In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. In a separate bowl, mix eggs and yolks together. In a saucepan, bring butter to a simmer, then add the chocolate. Mix until the chocolate is smooth and begins to simmer along the edges. Combine this chocolate mixture with the sugar and cornstarch and mix thoroughly. Add eggs and mix at low speed until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Refrigerate overnight in a bowl.

Preheat oven to 375º. Line 4 metal soufflé rings with parchment paper and coat with non-stick spray. On a baking sheet, place each ring on a square of parchment paper. Fill 2/3 of each ring with the filling. Bake for 28-30 minutes. Remove the baking sheet. While holding each mold with tongs, slide a metal spatula underneath and transfer to a plate. Gently lift the mold off, remove the paper and serve with ice cream.