What’s Cookin’ in the Country?

Colossal Cookie

When you walk past those bakeries in the mall that have those giant chocolate chip cookies, the smell alone pulls you in to the store like an undercurrent in the Atlantic Ocean.  The chocolate, the gooey dough, the gigantic size!  Then you look at the PRICE and die of shock!

I made the cookie in the picture above last weekend for under $2!  If you’d like to surprise a Valentine in your life, this is a super easy treat to make!  You could add icing to it to decorate it; I chose to embellish mine with just the chocolate chips to keep it from being too sweet, but you could add M&M’s or any kind of candy or chocolate chips, if you’d like.

1 cup chocolate pieces – chips or M&M’s (I found Christmas Toll house chips on sale after the holidays and used those)
1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Reserve 1/3 cup candies for decorating.  Set aside.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt; mix well.  In another bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy.  Add egg and vanilla; beat well.  Add flour mixture; mix well.  Stir in 2/3 cup candies.  Place dough in center of a 13″ or 15″ round pan and spread out to sides.  Decorate with reserved candies.  Bake 16-18 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool completely.  Cut into wedges to serve.
Yield:  10 servings

When you’re looking for a Valentine’s Day dessert, using an ingredient that is pink or red naturally is a plus!  It adds to the design of the day.  A strawberry dessert, then, is the perfect ticket to finish a special meal on this Lovey Holiday!

I’ve made Strawberry Frozen Squares for many years.  Want to know the first reason?  The recipe is marked, “Dale loves this!”  I love baking things he loves!  The second reason I’ve made it many times is because it’s a great, refreshing dessert!  It’s a nice ending to a big meal, because it’s not heavy like cheesecake would be.  It’s truly worthy of Valentine’s Day!  Here’s how you make it:

Frozen Strawberry Squares

Crust
1 cup flour
1/4 Cup brown sugar
1/2 cup softened margarine
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Topping
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbl. lemon juice
3 cups frozen sliced strawberries I also chop them into small pieces
1/2 small container Cool Whip

Stir crust ingredients together.  Remove 1/2 cup mixture to be used for topping.  Press remaining crust mixture into a 9×13 pan.  Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 until lightly browned.  Also bake the 1/2 cup of crumbs in a pie pan; stir occasionally.

Beat egg whites; gradually adding sugar and lemon juice.  When whites begin to stiffen, gradually add strawberries, beating mixture until stiff-about 15 minutes.  Fold in Whipped cream.  Pour on top of cooled crust.  Top with remaining crust crumbs.  Cover and freeze.  Set out about 10 minutes before serving. Cut into squares.

These desserts were made for company.  I have a little surprise planned for another treat.  I’ll share it later.  Hint:  It involves chocolate and pie crust, but it’s not anything ordinary!  =)

What sweet treats do you make for Valentine’s Day?

With love from my country kitchen,