Double Delights

So I feel like I haven't made food in forever!

That's actually not true, I've just gotten in a routines of making potatoes for dinner, maybe with a side of chicken. I should remember to make a post about my awesome potatoes. But for now, a bit of story time and two wonderful sweet treats.

One of the best things I can advise any new college student is to get into a routine or habit of hanging out with friends. Whether that's going out to dinner on saturday nights or having late night study groups, it's important to remember that socializing is a good thing. For me, I (normally) get together with friends Monday nights to watch House MD. We often have dinner, either I bring dinnner or some appetizers are already made. Lately we've had to put our weekly meetings on hold because of school conflicts. But the last week we met I brought along some Ginger Cookies:

Ginger Cookies:

• Box of Gingerbread cake mix
• 1 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• Optional: Butter cream frosting
  

Directions/Overall: BASICALLY on side of the gingerbread cake mix tells you how to make ginger cookies (soft) or gingersnap cookies (hard). I opted for the middle ground using only 1 tbsp flour instead of 2 tbsp, which would have given some crisy cookies. They were crisp enough that they didn't fall apart when you picked them up, but soft enough that they didn't break your teeth.

So my gimick was melting a little butter cream frosting and spreading a thin layer on top. Best to do this when the cookies are cooled. And then refridgerate. You only need a thin layer otherwise it's very overpowering.




Cut to Valentines day:

So my Valentine is across the world for the military. Instead of staying at home moping I decided to hang out with my friend, Tiffany and have a lovely smorgasbord of desserts. Honestly this girl bought chocolate cake, 5 different cookies, cupcakes, and strawberries. It was awesome. I decide to bring brownies (because I did not know the extent of her sweet tooth!) Here are my mint chocolate brownies (inspired by Sandra Lees Slow Cooker Mint Brownies)

Mint Chocolate Brownies

• Package of brownie mix
• 8oz cream cheese
• 1 cup confectionary sugar
• Andes chocolate mint candies
• 2 tsp mint extract (she used Creme de Menthe, which is fine but I don't know where to get that)
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:
1) Mix the brownie mix as the directions say.
2) Add in chopped Andes chocolates (it's okay you can sneak one :) )
3) add in mint extract (truth be told I don't remember if I added 1 tsp or 2. I would start with one, taste the batter, and if you want more of a minty flavor add one more tsp)
4) pour in 13x9 pan
5) In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, confectionery sugar, and 1 tsp mint. Use a hand mixer/whisk to beat together until smooth.
6) Add cream cheese mixture on top of brownie mixture. Using a tooth pick or a knife, draw in vertical lines to give it a marbleized look.
7) Bake at 350 (or whatever temp on the box) for the time needed for the pan size.

Overall: Yeah these were awesome. I very much enjoyed the cream cheese layer. Yummy.