My Next Saint Painting Dedication: Saint Sofia

At times you will also see Saint Sofia depicted in a picture with her standing behind her 3 daughters who were also Martyrs.  You will also see her name as Sophia, Sofia and Sofiya.

Together they are commemorated on September 17

I will be painting Saint Sofia.  She is my daughter's Patron Saint.  I plan to frame it and hang it in her room.  Her story touches me deeply and is so very sad.  Please look up her story.  Here is a link at www.Catholic.org where you can find a little bit of the story.  She is the mother of the Saints: Faith, Hope and Love (you will also hear Love known as Charity).  Story of Saint Sofia Her church is located in Bulgaria and her Feast Day is August 1.  


These Saints were from Italy and were persecuted for their strong Christian faith in the 2nd century, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Faith was only twelve years old; Hope, ten; and Love, nine—each was tormented and then beheaded, from the eldest to the youngest. Their mother, Sophia, mourned at their grave for three days, where she also fell asleep in peace. Because of her courageous endurance in the face of her daughters' sufferings, she is also counted a martyr. The name Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek; as for her daughters' names, Faith, Hope, and Love—they are Pistis, Elpis, and Agape in Greek, and Vera, Nadezhda, and Lyubov in Russian.


Wish me luck.  I hope that I can do her justice.

God Bless,
Annamaria

Double Chocolate Fudge Cookies

First and foremost I want to apologize for the most horrible pictures I took for this recipe. Problem is, I can't find my camera, I had my camera SD card and I used my daughter's camera which is a Vivitar 3-5 mexapixel camera and has no antishake in it. I did them best I can taking photos. Which didn't do any justice for these cookies because they are fabulous!

To explain these cookies best is saying like it's a little brownie without the mess of cutting and and only having so many before you really feel guilty. These delicious cookies satisfy fudgey and chocolatey cravings and are sure to impress. I will be making these again and hopefully with my camera when it's found.

I added Christmas colored plain M&Ms to bring them into the Christmas season. You can use any season's colored M&Ms to this recipe. I also separated some of the dough and added Peppermint Extract since this would make a great Chocolate and Peppermint mix. It was like eating Chocolate Peppermint Hot Chocolate! So good and full of great flavor. If I could of found the mint chocolate chips I would of added them in the Peppermint dough to really tie in the chocolate peppermint. How I distinguished them between the two was putting Red M&Ms on top of the regular cookies and Green M&Ms on the Peppermint ones as you will see!

This dough is thick so using a stand mixer would be best. Of course if you don't have one you can certainly mix as much as you can with a hand mixer then do the rest by hand. It gets really thick when it's all together with the flour. I also used 1 cup of Bread flour and 3 1/2 cups of regular All Purpose Flour. I was hoping to get a chewier texture but I think it would of just been fine doing all of the dough with All Purpose Flour so if you don't have Bread Flour just use regular flour.

So let's start the yummy goodness process....

Double Chocolate Fudge Cookies
4 sticks of Butter cut into cubes
2 1/2 cups of sugar
1 cup Hershey's Special Dark unsweetened cocoa
4 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
5 cups of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 package of Plain M&Ms (regular or seasonal colors)

Method with Step By Step Photos:

Mix your Butter and Sugar together until light, fluffy and well incorporated.

Add in the Special Dark Unsweetened Cocoa and incorporate well.

Add your Flour, Salt and Baking Powder

Mix well, this is when you will start hearing that strain from your mixer, you can certainly do the rest by hand but my stand mixer handled it well.  She's such a Good Strong Mamma!  This is when I added the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and Christmas Colored Plain M&Ms and stir in.  So Pretty!

I used a cookie scoop and scooped 2 times and rolled the amount into a ball.  Well actually this is when my daughter rolled them balls.  I am so glad she helped me.  Sofia of course made the whole process eventful when she dropped an egg.  She felt bad but I told her I've done it many times!  Here she is wishing you Peace, she had fun rolling.  We rolled some and kept them as balls and baked them.  These produced a really thick cookie and took longer to bake.  Then other that we rolled we slightly flattened them which cut the baking time and made a more bigger but still thick fudgey cookies!  Here is where we applied Red M&Ms on top of the cookies that weren't with Peppermint Extract.

Bake in the oven about 15 minutes or so if you do not flatten them.  Be careful not to over bake, they will begin to have that slightly cracked look when they are just about ready.  This is when you pull them out and leave them on the cookie sheets to cool.  This will finish the baking process on the cookie.  If you flatten them, bake for about 12 minutes again keeping an eye on them.  You can touch them but don't burn yourself!

With the separated dough add just a tad of peppermint extract if you like and top them with green M&Ms.  It's an optional step but I thought it was a great twist!  I think next time hopefully if I find them I would like to add some Mint chocolate chips or chopped up Andes Mint Chocolate.

Let your cookies cool and then devour.  I put some of the regular ones aside and plan on bringing them to my mother in law who just had hip replacement surgery.  Putting them in a cellophane bag with some ribbon would make a great gift and a really great Get Well gift!  I used yellow ribbon to make it cheery!

So in the end, I really think these cookies are great.  The embody true chocolate flavor.  I had a great time with my daughter.  I am hoping even if she doesn't know it, I am trying to create memories for her like I had with my mom when she cooked or baked.  Hopefully someday Sofia will look back and remember.

Side Note:  Store these cookies when cooled in a tightly covered container to prevent hardening and drying out.

Wishing you Sweet Chocolate Dreams,

Annamaria

   

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  God Bless You!  Wishing you Peace and Prosperity!

Lovingly Thankful,
Annamaria

Penne Pasta and Chicken Parmesan: It's Sunday Dinner on a Friday Night!

This was the unexpected dinner.  I asked my daughter what she wanted for dinner?  Sofia always says Pasta like Nonna's (Grandma in Italian).  I thought momentarily if I even had some tomato paste, the right seasonings and everything to make the sauce someone close to my mom's sauce (which may I add, can never be duplicated).  So I decided why not, it's been awhile since I've made homemade sauce.  I know it's crazy sounding.  I used to make sauce all the time.  Life has got more busy and I found a really great jarred sauce that was a close substitute and was actually quite on the money for being close to Authentic Italian Flavors.  It's called MIDS, I would never use Prego or Ragu.  Italian Language Lesson:  Prego means "You're Welcome" in Italian.  Silly name for a Pasta Sauce.

If some of you don't recall, Prego used the tag phrase "It's In There", hence the name of my blog.  Why I chose that name is because of the connection of pasta sauce and my life, It's In There....  The ingredients like the herbs and spices of sauce are many and so does include the ingredients of the makeup of life.  We have our own ingredients that make up our lives, so I though,t It's In There was a good connection.  Hopefully that phrase isn't copywrited, lol!

I grew up with my mom making sauce pretty much everyday especially on Sundays.  Sundays consisted of a huge dinner though.  It was the only day that we were all together.  Everyone worked, had school or had something going on.  So Sundays were a big deal.  I think that's why Sunday dinners are so known for Italian Culture in Italian Households.  It was our feast, our celebration of togetherness.  It was the only time my siblings and I were probably not fighting...lol!  Also we never started eating until dad sat down and it was always an early dinner usually around 2pm.  Now that we are all on our own it was hard to make it to Sunday dinner and eat at 2pm.  Our dad would be so frustrated.  My dad has been passed for 2 years now and Sunday dinners have slowed down.  His passing took a toll on all of us and Sunday dinners aren't the same without him and also now my brother is in Iraq.  So it's been just a bit of a black cloud over us with everything.  I think though honestly when my brother does come home, I think things will be better especially for my mother.

To put a Halloween twist to this story, I have to tell you a little freaky situation.  When my brother was home and wasn't leaving for Iraq yet, we had Sunday dinner.  We all pretty much sat at the same chair when we ate dinner.  My dad always sat at the head of the table.  The chair was empty and then my brother sat in it with the frame of mind that he was now the man of the family (he's the only boy).  Well it was awkward and honestly I didn't think it should of been occupied.  Maybe it was a way for my brother coping.  Who knows.  Well I said to him that I didn't think it was right for him to sit in dad's chair, he ignored me and just didn't think anything of it.  About a half hour later my brother and I talked about it again and I was heading to the kitchen. My brother stood up to do something and the chair flew out from under him like someone was throwing it out from under him.  I laughed and said, "See even dad doesn't want you sitting in his chair!"  My brother looked like he saw a ghost!  I was just about to tell my mom what happened and my brother said, "No, don't tell mom!"  I didn't at the time but I eventually did.  She didn't seem surprised.  We think in a sense that my dad left such an imprint in our lives and in the house we grew up in that we feel sometimes his spirit is in the house. If you knew my dad, you'd understand and it would of been a trick he would of pulled on my brother.  Now you are probably wondering if my brother has sat on that chair ever since, yes, when he came home for a break from Iraq, he sat in the chair.  Nothing happened but I think my brother has a sense of respect for the chair now.  LOL!  That story always gets me!  I laugh hysterically everytime!  That's my Daddy!

So now on to the whole point of this blog.  Don't we all get sidetracked!  When I decided to make sauce I figured should I do more?  I knew I had chicken breasts and was all set for making some Chicken Parmesan. Which is my husband's favorite.  Now maybe in a sense I made it because I knew he would be surprised but honestly I think I just wanted to make it.  I had hoped maybe it would put a smile on Scott's face but I didn't really mind if it was no big deal even though I know it's his favorite food.  I think though it was more for the fact of me going, Blah blah Scott, I made it now you can feel guilty for being a punk sometimes.  Now in marriage to say it's perfect is imaginary.  Fairytales don't exist and if someone goes into it thinking so, they will highly be disappointed.  I don't care everyone has their down days.  I am no different.  Wish it wasn't true but it is for all in every type of relationship.  I know many wouldn't admit it or some may pretend but I live in a very realistic world.  LOL!

It was nice though to sit down as a family be grateful and thank God for blessing us with what we have.  After all that's what the feel of Sunday dinner brings to us.  That is why I say it was a Sunday dinner on a Friday night!

Chicken Parmesan, is yummy.  It came out great for me.  It had been awhile but it all came back to me.  The starter for every Italian tomato sauce is Onions, Garlic and Olive Oil.  That is what I always remember smelling when my mom would begin her sauce.  It was a smell you knew and knew what was coming.

I used tomato paste, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes.  I had to make a lot of sauce for the Chicken Parmesan and I wanted to have some left over because my daughter could eat pasta everyday.  I grew tomatoes myself in the past and nothing beats using tomatoes from the garden.  My dad had his own vegetable and herb garden.  It was huge and he tended it like it was a baby.  We never bought vegetables at the store unless it was something specifically needed that you couldn't grow yourself in Ohio even though my dad could make fig trees grow in our backyard.  He eventually stopped a little bit after he became diagnosed with cancer.  My parents had so many tomatoes I remember my mom jarring tomato sauce and making sun dried tomatoes.  Technically they oven dried them, not much a sun dried area here in Cleveland, Ohio.  So they used the next best thing, the oven.  Now making dried tomatoes stinks up the house.  How I didn't like being in the house when they made them.

So to make this Chicken Parmesan is quite easy.  It's a little time consuming but not so much if you use jarred sauce.  This time I made my own.

This is what you need:

Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts (usually big breast is a good serving)
Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Egg Beaten
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Cooked Pasta
Crushed Tomatoes or Tomato Sauce
Tomato Paste
Onions
Garlic
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Basil
Parsley

Make your sauce or buy jarred sauce.  This is how I make mine....

I start off sauteing 1 whole onion, some minced garlic with some olive oil in a sauce pot.  This is how my mom starts every sauce.

Add a regular can of Tomato Paste

Add about a can and a half of water and add your 2 big cans of Tomato Sauce, then start adding the above seasonings, how much depends on your taste, just add as you cook the sauce whatever is needed....

Cover and Simmer on low.  You can taste test it and add the seasonings you think it could use more of such as garlic powder, oregano, etc...  Stir occasionally....

While sauce is cooking:

Beat an egg in a bowl and pour Italian Bread Crumbs in a separate bowl, (I will add some Parmesan Cheese to the bread crumbs but not too much).

Dip Breast into beaten egg then into bread crumb mixture.  At this point you can bake your chicken breasts at 350'F until thoroughly cooked or you can pan fry them like I did in this next photo:

Cook each side until golden brown and cooked through, not too worry as it will be thoroughly cooked in the oven.

Take a baking dish and slather some tomato sauce and place all cooked chicken breasts on top of sauce.  Layer sauce on top of Chicken Breasts and bake in oven for about 15/20 minutes.  Take baking dish out and layer shredded mozzarella cheese on top.  The heat of the already baked chicken will melt the mozzarella cheese.  This is when I cook my pasta.  You can make any pasta you like, I used Penne this time.

If you don't want to fry your chicken breasts like before mentioned, you can bake them in the oven, do the layering process and bake until cheese melts on top which should only be a few minutes.  Sometimes you can place your pasta on the plate, place your breaded chicken breast, ladle sauce and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top, this will skip the whole baking process.

The kids loved this dish including Scott.  It's nice to make your own sauce but when I do use jarred sauce I love to use MIDS jarred sauce.  I think they are the best out there right now commercially.

Here are my monkeys lovin them some Pasta and Chicken Parmesan!

Johnny

Sofia

It's so nice when the kids love eating what I make.  I am so thankful!

This was my plate and it was so yummy!  I love a lot of cheese.  Here it is topped with Parmesan Cheese....  YUMMY!  I was so full after I ate it.  But it was so gooooood!

Buon Appetito,

Annamaria

Post Halloween Post

I never got a chance to post some of my Halloween Goodies and Crafts that I did the past few years and this year. Halloween was great. Sofia was Draculaura from Monster High and Johnny was a Bat. I haven't had to put up the pictures because my mother in law took the pictures and she had hip replacement surgery because her old hip replacement part got recalled. Isn't that crazy? She is doing well and is in good spirits. So of course she has to have her time of healing unless she hurried and got them developed before her surgery, which knowing her she probably did.

So I wanted to share some Halloween projects I have done. There are so many so I am only putting up a few. I think I can never stop doing Halloween projects even if the season is over. I love Halloween that much. I hope everyone had a great Halloween and can't wait to see all the new projects for Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the other holidays share this season! Can you believe this year Winter doesn't start until December 22, 2011. Right before Christmas! Crazy! It would definitely be weird to have Christmas in Fall season. We've moved back our clocks for the time change and yesterday on 11/11/11 we got our first snow here in Cleveland, Ohio! YAY! Snow Snow Snow! Here in Ohio we have a love hate relationship with Snow, nonetheless we cannot escape from it!

So back to Halloween. Consider this the Post Halloween Post. Just wanted to share somethings with you. Since I haven't done so, so far.

Here I want to start with my Witch Doll. I call her Eve. She was sold at an Art Show I did for The Brecksville Center for the Arts at their Heartfelt Holiday Art Show. I have to say thanks to them! They are great people and it's such a wonderful show with so many talented artists!!!! I hope to one day do it again. Perhaps next year! I am starting to learn now with 2 kids that I have to plan everything now a year in advance! I did it only once right before my father was diagnosed with cancer. Then I didn't do it again because I took him to appointments and treatments and when he passed I wasn't in the mood to do anything. It was a huge hit to the family. So Eve is special to me. How it began that I made dolls was when a Gallery Owner asked the artists and friends to do a doll. We were given a blank Muslin Doll. We were to do what ever we wanted. My first creation was plain but then I started getting creative! Someone fell in love with her at the show so I sold her to them. I did make another similar that I have at home that I put out during Halloween. Here she is...Eve....

I left Eve's face blank and kept her a little Folky. Gave her own broomstick and special little trinkets and gems. Now these witches I make are a little bit more elaborate, some with painted face, feathers and more intricate. But this was my very first doll I ever made and she is my favorite and most important because it opened the door to a whole new craft experience. Her dress and everything else is all handmade by me.

Now we come to my favorite movie for Halloween and also Christmas since it ties in the 2 holidays. I have other Christmas favorites but this is my favorite Halloween movie. It's The Nightmare Before Christmas. One of Tim Burton's best creations and nostalgic fan crazed productions. Disney was smart when they decided to team up with Burton with this! It's probably one of the highest grossing product and movies that out there for Disney besides your typical Princess and such. This first came out when I was a teenager. I own it on VHS and DVD, have the originals and the rereleases. I'm obsessed! I have so many collection pieces from this movies from dolls, snowglobes, outdoor inflateables and other knick knacks right down to even lip balm. Yes I am obsessed. I have calmed down on it but it remains one that is close to my heart. It's a movie about Halloween Spirit, Christmas Spirit, Self Confidence, Love and Disaster. It's amazing how all these elements roll into one. My 70 year old Italian mother loves this movie too, I even got my whole family to love it. In a weird sense too the love aspect of the movie kind of reminds me of how my husband and I came about. It's a weird connection.

The main characters feature Jack Skellington and Sally Stitches. 2 Characters from 2 different paths with different agendas but somehow meeting in the middle and finding something in common and what was missing all along. It also has so many life lessons in it and a new appreciation of the holidays. If you haven't seen it, see it and if you haven't had your children see it, let them watch it. It's awesome. Of course no movie would be complete without Good conquering Evil!

Here you will see the cast of some of the characters in The Nightmare Before Christmas:

PS: You can meet Jack and Sally at Disneyland right in Halloweentown and the Haunted Mansion

This brings me to the time I decided to paint my first movie inspired Sally doll. After all how was I going to get her to look like Sally? Jack is still in the works. Find different pieces and creating the pieces to make the actual dolls are a little tricky. I got lucky with Sally when I found actual Halloween Patchwork fabric. It was hard to find and had to find it on the Internet. I am not even sure if they still make the fabric so I only have a little left of it. My very first one was confiscated by my mom, yes my mom who fell in love with it as soon as she saw it and she puts her out every Halloween right next to a light up Pumpkin. I promised many that I will get Jack done soon. So first I want to tell you, I took the Muslin doll and painted it a similar skin color as Sally. Painted every stitch mark on it, painted the face and sealed it to make it more finished. Then I made Yarn hair as Sally is supposed to have a stitched Rag Doll appearance. Sally and her creator were greatly created by the influence of Dr. Frankenstein and his Monster Creation we know as Frankenstein, but did you know he was never officially named? So the same idea was created with Sally, she was the Monster and her creator was Dr. Frankenstein, except Sally's doctor was called Dr. Finkelstein. Even the names being similar.

This is Sally, Painted with and with yarn hair. She was not shy at all about strutting what she's got....lol!

Then of course I couldn't leave the poor girl naked. I created shoes and a dress for her.
And she was complete!

This was the one creation that made me most happy. I love Sally and she's an Artsy,Crafty and a bit of a Cook Diva herself! Watch the movie to find out more. I felt so accomplished when I finished her, I wonder if Tim Burton would of been somewhat impressed? Here is Tim Burton with his creation of Jack and Sally!

I do make custom dolls, every occupation, hobby and character inspired. I once made a Snowflake Angel inspired doll (later blog) for the mom of a fellow crafter friend of mine. It was cool and her mom loved it. So I kept going and the dolls got better and better and the wheels were turnin and burnin! Thanks to the Gallery owner where I showcased my Art for handing me a Muslin Doll! Who knew the future possibilities?! Thank You Linda!

Now let's move into a cultural influence on the Halloween Season, right after Halloween we have All Saint's Day and then followed by Day of the Dead ("Dia de los Muertos"), a Latino/Spanish/Mexican influenced holiday. This is where most of the time the day is spent creating altars, having parades and people creating sugar skulls and honoring the dead especially their loved ones. This is a heavy Catholic tradition which is hugely celebrated among Mexicans. This is the time when I wish I lived in Texas or Mexico where this is highly celebrated! There are so many artists out their some of whom are some of my closest crafty friends who spend all year creating Day of the Dead trinkets, crafts, paintings and more. My friends greatly influenced me and took me under their wings. Also being a devout Catholic myself, the Day of the Dead is also a highly regarded day.

So I have 2 things I would like to share that are influenced by this day:

First up is my Day of the Dead Skull Painting or really called Calacas or also known as Sugar Skull Art. Every year on this day many actual sugar skull are created very intricately. I think it's a beautiful and colorful aspect of this day and the culture it comes from.

This was my first attempt at creating a Calacas, I think I made my Cholas and Cholos quite impressed coming from an Italian girl! LOL!

Then we have the typical Mexican Married Couple for the Day of the Dead. Of course no celebration is complete without traditional Spanish wear and alcohol and guns flaring! Wait, that sounds like my family too! LOL! You will see many Day of the Dead Brides and their lovers side by side in Flamenco type attire! Also you will find crowns of flowers, chunky jewelry and Frida Kahlo inspired art on this day. Many times women dress as these Day of the Dead Brides or Spanish Dancers with roses in their hair, large hats with veils! Truly a beautiful sight to see! Also the life and influence of one of the most famous Mexican Artists works by Frida Kahlo is highly celebrated!

Here is my interpretation:

Then let's not forget the scrumptious goodies shared this year....

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes click HERE for recipe.

Treat bags for my daughter's class Halloween Party....

These cupcakes are also Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes they were also made for my daughter's class Halloween Party.

These pretzel, chocolate and peanut butter M&M goodies were made and put in the treat bags in a separate smaller bag inside the above treat bags. These are so yummy!



Then there is more, no I am not done yet! You know those old Christmas Trees that are ceramic and are painted and have light up bulbs on the tips? Well I got created and decided to make my own Halloween version of it. It came out adorable and was so awesome. I have many of the Christmas ones in all sizes that I have made, bought and found. I love them! They are so nostalgic. I went to a local pottery place where you can paint your own ceramic and they bake it in their kilns. I got really acquainted with the owner so I she knew I had to have these trees on hand! Here is my Halloween version:

It's so nice lit up at night.

This is unfinished but the idea of making Halloween candle holders was a great idea!  I bought unfinished plain wood candle holders and painted them myself.  Soon to be added is some glitter, beads and trinkets!

This is a Halloween trinket box that I gifted to a fellow crafter and filled it with some fun Halloween goodies!  The inside was painted as well!  I later did put something as a decoration on the top of the box.

Lastly here is a graphic digital art that I did but drawing my own artwork with pencil and left it uncolored.  Outlined it in a black sharpie, scanned the image and then filled in the parts to be colored with an art program.  I loved it because I had an array of colors to use.  I have this image up on numerous products for sale at my CafePress Store, click HERE to check it out!  You can also see other art creations by me at this online store.

I hope you liked what I have shared with you.  I hope it brings some inspiration to you.  Thank you for taking the time out to check out my blog and my posts!

PS:  I've created a Blog Button (It's not that great but it's my first!), I hope you will grab it and post it on your site if you'd like!  Thank You!

Wishing you Creative Thoughts,

Annamaria

A Pumpkin And A Princess: Kingston DataTraveler with urDrive Review & Giveaw...

A Pumpkin And A Princess: Kingston DataTraveler with urDrive Review & Giveaw...: Thank you to Kingston for sponsoring this review. Please click here to learn more about Kingston. I was selected for this sponsorship by A Pumpkin And A Princess! Go and stop by!

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Annamaria

Magic Lucky Number 7 Cookies

You're probably wondering what's so magical about these cookies or why the Lucky number 7?  Well besides the fact that they are insanely good, it's the fact they pretty much contain everything that those yummy 7 layer bar or magic cookie bars have inside that makes them so yummy.  I took all the components of those yummy bars and developed them into a cookie.  Now perhaps the same cookie concept already exists but to me they didn't and I made them because Mr. Picky Eater wasn't happy with just my White Chocolate Pecan Cookies because if cookies don't contain some type of milk, semi-sweet or dark chocolate, he's not biting.  So I took the base of what makes my yummy White Chocolate Pecan Cookies and added the what I had packaged up in my ingredient drawer.  So should these be "Everything In The Drawer Cookie"?  That sounds funny.  I'll stick with the "Magic Cookie" because if Mr. Picky Eater eats it and doesn't realize it already contains what he supposedly couldn't enjoy that it was Magic!  (snicker snicker with a smirk on my face) =)~

Ugh, I wanted my White Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies despite that I didn't have Macadamias.  I guess I didn't want to seem selfish and maybe I was a little irritated, so I halved the dough from my White Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies and went in my ingredient drawer and grabbed semi-sweet chocolate chips, coconut, toffee and butterscotch chips.  I just shook them in from the package into the halved dough of my cookies and worked all the ingredients in.  So okay he didn't want the plain ol' cookie I had made, so I'll show him, he wants a cookie with chocolate, I'll do more than that, I'll throw everything in.  So I couldn't miss anything well except the oats but I knew he wouldn't miss that, it's too healthy for him.

Just like a kid, Mr. Picky Eater has his cookies with milk.

I wouldn't say this amount is a single serving and in no way do I influence that you should consume the same no matter how hard it may be for you, lol!

This is when I came up with the Magic Cookies.  It was rated, 10/10 according to Mr. Picky Eater.  So Ladies, heat up your oven and make these and shove this cookie in your partner's mouth to shut them up...Ha ha ha!

Side note:  I am watching a movie with Gerard Butler in it!  MEOW! Bad Kitty Likey ;)

Okay darn, he side tracked me once again!  Uh what was I talking about?  Oh yeah cookies!  So anyway, Mr. Picky Eater (Cookie Monster) said they tasted just like the 7 Layer Bars aka Magic Cookie Bars.  I had one and yes it does taste like them and they are "Magically Delicious"!  So with this recipe you can make 2 different cookies.  In fact you can make what ever cookie, you can use this dough as a base.  It's perfect and you can add just about anything you want to make it your creation.  So I will give you the base dough and then the ingredients to add to make this cookie.  Of course don't over do it with the add ins because you need the dough to bind everything together.  So eyeballing shakes is the best on how I can explain it to you.

Magic Lucky Number 7 Cookies
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Sticks of Butter
2 teaspoons of Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Whole Egg
1 Egg Yolk
2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Package (11 ounces) Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips or Nestle's White Premier Chips
1 1/2 Cups of Chopped Pecans (or more)

Shake In:
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Butterscotch Chips
Sweetened Coconut
Toffee Chips
Quick Cooking Oats (Optional)
Preheat oven to 350'F.  Line baking sheets with Parchment Paper.

Cream together the sugars, butter, vanilla until thoroughly combined.  Add eggs and then add your flour and salt and baking soda.  Mix together and then add any thing you want in which case here I added the white chocolate chips and pecans, add any shake ins you want.  I then used a cookie scoop and scooped 2 balls of cookie dough and rolled into a ball and placed onto the cookie sheet.  I placed the cookie sheets in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes that way they would hold a good shape while baking.  The cookies were baked for about 10-12 minutes just until golden brown around the edges.  I like to cut off the baking right when they get lightly browned around the edges so that way they usually finish baking when you get them out of the oven.  Leave them on the cookie sheets until the cookies have cooled. 


Click Here if you want the Original Recipe of the White Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies


PS:   My favorite and lucky number is 7!


Wishing You Sweet Dreams!
Annamaria