Growing up, didn't you hate it when your favorite TV show cheated you with a "clip show" episode?  I haven't seen a "clip show" in quite awhile...do TV shows still do them?

The memory of clip show episodes came to me when writing this post.  I know it's a total cheat, but I wanted to post SOMETHING before the big game...(1) to confirm that my blog still works and (2) to hopefully get my creativity going again.  Fingers crossed this actually works!

Here's some of my favorites that would be perfect for a Super Bowl party...

Appetizers

Pretzel-Wrapped Sausage Bites

Spicy-Sweet Wings

JD's Chex Mix

Caramel Popcorn

Main Dishes

Dinner on the Grill

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork (sorry no picture for this one)

Yankee Chili

Lasagna

Desserts

Fudge Brownies

Chocolate Toffee Bars

Peanut Butter Cookies

Cocktails

Classic Margarita

Tequila in the Tropics

Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday!

Sometimes you just want something indulgent.  Chocolate, butter, toffee, butter, shortbread, butter...I think it's safe to call these bars indulgent.  Three layers of goodness to satisfy any craving.  Make these and you will find yourself with lots of new friends.  Or enemies, if you decide to eat them all yourself.

Chocolate Toffee Bars
adapted from Cookies and Cups

Crust:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups crushed shortbread cookies (I used LornaDoone cookies)
3/4 cup toffee bits (my store was out, so I used chopped up Heath bars)

Middle Layer:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon butter

Top Layer:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, combine melted butter, shortbread cookie crumbs and 3/4 cup toffee bits in a 9" x 13" pan.  Press evenly into the bottom of the pan.  Bake crust for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

While the crust is baking, make the top layer:  Beat butter and sugars until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.  Add flour, salt and baking soda and stir until just combined.  Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips and and 1 cup toffee bits.  Set aside.

Now make the middle layer:  Combine chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter in a saucepan.  Heat over low heat until melted, stirring frequently.

Pour the middle layer over the crust and spread evenly.  Drop spoonfuls of the top layer evenly over the top.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until top layer is set.  Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Sick of winter?  Tired of cold and ice?  Ready to pack away your coats and sweaters?

This cake won't move the calendar, but it will definitely bring thoughts of summer to you.  Lemony and refreshing, moist and buttery.  Close your eyes while you eat it and dream of green grass, warm sun, and bringing this cake to a cookout.

Lemon Pound Cake
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Cake:
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, plus more for greasing the pan
1 1/2 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9"x5" loaf pan with butter and dust with flour.

In medium bowl, combine cake flour, baking powder and salt.

Melt butter in microwave or in saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk to reincorporate any milk solids.

Put sugar and lemon zest in food processor and process in five 1-second pulses.  Add lemon juice, eggs, vanilla and process 5 seconds or until combined.

With machine running, pour butter through food tube in a steady stream until combined.  Pour mixture into a large bowl.

In three intervals, sift dry ingredients over egg mixture, gently whisking after each addition just until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and tester inserted in center comes out clean.  Set pan on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

While cake is cooling in the pan, make the glaze:  Heat sugar and lemon juice in small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 2 minutes.

Turn out cake from pan onto wire rack set in a sheet pan (to catch drips).  Use a toothpick to gently poke holes all over the surfaces of the top, sides, and bottom of cake.  Carefully turn cake upside down and brush with 1/3 of the glaze.  Turn cake right side up and brush remaining glaze on all sides and top of cake.  Let cool completely before slicing.

While searching for a chocolate dessert recipe for the holidays, this one caught my eye.  I had never thought of making homemade pudding before...how good could pudding be?  Would it be worth the effort?

In a word, yes.  In several words, OH MY GOD yes.

JD and his mom are not fans of dark chocolate, so I was the only one partaking on Christmas Day.  I took one spoonful and nearly lost my mind.  JD and his mom started looking at me strangely, until finally JD asked if they should leave the room so I could be alone with the pudding.  Ha ha.  Maybe.

Seriously, this is so rich, so creamy, so smooth, it is pure sin in a bowl.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding
adapted from MyRecipes.com

4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Ghiradelli)

And for the whipped cream:
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar and salt and beat until well blended.

Heat milk and 1 cup heavy cream in medium saucepan over medium heat until hot.

Gradually pour the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.  Again, make sure you do this gradually, and keep whisking!  You don't want the yolks to scramble on you.

Pour mixture back into saucepan, and heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly.  I used a heat-proof silicone spatula.  Cook until thickened and coats the back of a spoon and reaches around 180 degrees.  The recipe says this should take 5 minutes, but for me tThis took me about 10 minutes.

Remove saucepan from heat and add chopped chocolate.  Let sit for 10 minutes to let the chocolate melt.

Whisk mixture until smooth.  Pour into bowl and put a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the pudding so you don't get pudding skin...ewwww.  Chill at least 3 hours.

When ready to serve, make the whipped cream:

Beat 1/2 cup heavy cream with 2 teaspoons sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.  Serve with the pudding.

This turned out thicker than most pudding I am used to...don't know if that's how homemade pudding is, or if maybe I cooked it too long.  Didn't matter.  I'll make this again in a heartbeat.

I like these better than rolled gingerbread.  No gicky-sweet icing to get in the way of the rich ginger and molasses.  These are so good...warm and spicy and chewy.  I had never used crystallized ginger before this, but it definitely gives these cookies a nice kick.

Double Ginger Crackles
adapted from Fine Cooking

 2 1/4 cups flour
2 3/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup molasses
3 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine flour, ground ginger, baking soda and salt in large bowl and whisk together.

In mixer, beat butter with 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg, molasses and crystallized ginger and beat.  Add the flour mixture and stir just until combined.

Put remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a shallow bowl.  Form dough into 1" balls and roll in sugar.  Place on baking sheets 2" apart.

Bake 12-14 minutes, or until lightly browned and slightly puffed.  Cookies should still be soft and a bit wet inside.

Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 miniutes, then remove to wire rack.

Super simple goodies entry today!  And it's so pretty!

White Chocolate Holiday Bark
adapted from Delicious Dishings

4 4-ounce white chocolate bars (I used Ghiradelli)
1/2 cup pistachios
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Break up chocolate into pieces and put in microwave-safe bowl.  Heat in microwave, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted and smooth.

Stir in pistachios and dried cranberries.  Pour onto baking sheet, spread out evenly, and let cool.  Break into pieces.

I've never been a fan of sugar cookies.  They are usually too dry and crumbly and more sweet than flavorful.  So I was intrigued when I saw this recipe in November's issue of Cook's Illustrated.  If anyone could come up with a good sugar cookie recipe, it's Cook's Illustrated, right?

Damn, these are good.  Chewy and buttery and not too sweet.  Yum.

Chewy Sugar Cookies
adapted from Cook's Illustrated

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
6 tablespoons butter, melted and still warm
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in bowl.

In separate bowl, whisk the 1 1/2 cups sugar, cream cheese, and melted butter until combined.  There will be lumps of cream cheese, but don't worry about them.

Add oil and whisk until combined.  Add egg, milk, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.

Add flour mixture and stir, using rubber spatula, until combined and soft dough forms.  It will be softer than most cookie doughs.

Pour 1/3 cup sugar in shallow bowl.

Roll dough into balls, using 2 tablespoons of dough for each ball.  Carefully roll balls in sugar and place on cookie sheet.

Flatten each ball into 2" rounds with bottom of drinking glass.  Sprinkle each with a little sugar.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, rotating sheet after 7 minutes.  Edges should just be starting to brown.  Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove and cool on rack.

For some reason, both Mexico and Russia try to claim these cookies as their own.  Growing up, we always called them Mexican Wedding Cakes, but some recipes call them Russian Tea Cakes.  I've also seen them called Snowballs.  Since I use macadamia nuts in them, maybe I should call them Hawaiian Holiday Cakes.

Whatever name they go by, they are so rich and buttery and perfect for the holidays.

Mexican Wedding Cakes
adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookie Book

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (I use macadamia nuts)
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla until fluffy.  Stir in flour and salt, then stir in nuts.  Dough will be stiff

Roll dough into 1" balls.  Bake on cookie sheet (2" apart) 8-9 minutes.  You want them to be set but not brown.

Immediately remove from cookie sheet and roll in powdered sugar.  Let cool on wire rack, then roll in powdered sugar again.

With my Chocolate Chip Cookies and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, this post completes the "trifecta" of cookies...you cannot go wrong with these.  Every year during the holidays, my Cookie Overload Bash always includes these three classics.

Peanut Butter Cookies almost count as comfort food, don't you think?  Fresh peanut butter cookies, a glass of milk, and some cartoons...and you're suddenly nine years old again, home froms school, without a care in the world.  Except maybe determining whether it is Duck Season or Wabbit Season.

Peanut Butter Cookies
adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookie Book

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

This is the absolute best way to measure out peanut butter...thanks to our good friend, Alton Brown.

Beat sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, butter, shortening and eggs until light and fluffy.  Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until just combined.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet.  Flatten with a fork dipped in sugar.

Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until just starting to brown.  Let sit on cookie sheet for a minute or two, then remove cookies with a spatula to cool on a wire rack.

For any "bring a dish" type of gathering, brownies are always a good choice.  Chocolate fudgy goodness in a portable package...you can't go wrong!

I will admit, I usually go the mix route when making brownies.  Ghiradelli makes a good mix, so that has been my standard brownie...until now.  The King Arthur Flour baking blog featured these Fudge Brownies the other day, and brownies will never be the same.  My neighbors will be eternally grateful.

Fudge Brownies
adapted from King Arthur Flour website

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup KAF Double Dutch Dark Cocoa (I didn't have this, so I used Hershey Special Dark cocoa)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon KAF espresso powder (I didn't have this either, so I used Starbucks Via Italian Roast instant coffee)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9"x13" pan.

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat.  Remove from heat and stir in sugar. 

Return to heat and cook until hot but not boiling (110 to 120 degrees).

Beat the eggs in a large bowl.  Add the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla and mix.  The KAF recipe says to beat until smooth, but mine was very thick at this point; almost a paste, so I just mixed as well as I could until it was combined.  Add the hot melted butter/sugar mixture and stir until smooth.  Note in the photo above that those are bubbles, not lumps.  Trust me, it was smoooooth!

Stir in the flour and chocolate chips and mix until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs stuck to it.  Don't overbake; the edges should be set but the center may look a little moist (but not gooey).

Cool in pan on wire rack.  Cool completely before cutting.

Serve with some vanilla ice cream, if you happen to have some around.  I highly recommend it.  Try not to eat the whole pan yourself.