bright side of the road: Oreo. Stuffed. Chocolate. Chip. Cookies. & Reeses Delciousness

GLO-RI-OUS

Honestly!

I have wanted a reason to make these for some time now. Last Sunday Justin, his teammates and also our friends, travelled down to Sheffield to take part in the National Ball Hockey finals, so I thought what better opportunity to make them then to share them with a large group of amazing people who will need that extra boost! Plus it allows me the joy of cooking without adding to my waistline and also enables me to make other people happy :)

But first....let's talk about the homemade Reese's Pieces wanna-be squares that I made!

I found this recipe via a bit of Google searching. I actually found it on a website with a name that only Justin and people that know Justin well will get a kick out of - 'i heart nap time'.

It's an incredibly simple recipe and if you can get your hands on Graham Crackers (something that's incredibly difficult to do in the UK) then you can do this with ease. The recipe took no time at all to put together and doesn't require any baking. There was a very positive response to these squares - some even said they enjoyed them more then the real deal! I will definitely make these again - and maybe even try to find a UK substitute for the Graham Crackers so that I don't have to constantly ask 'my suppliers' to send me them all the way from Canada :)

No Bake Peanut Butter Squares

Ingredients:

1 cup salted butter (melted)
2 cups keebler graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 (11 oz) bag milk chocolate chips

Method to the madness:

1. Combine all ingredients, except chocolate chips in a medium sized bowl. Stir until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

note my mistake - lack of melty butter

icing sugar, brown sugar and pb!

2. Pour peanut butter mixture into a 9x13 pan.

3. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave (at 50% power) for 1-2 minutes. Stir chocolate and pour over the peanut butter mixture. Spread chocolate with a spatula. To even out chocolate, tap pan on the counter

4. Refrigerate bars for one hour. Cut while bars are still cool. Enjoy!

the finished product!

I have to admit....my mind was elsewhere and I was knackered when I started this recipe....I forgot to pre-melt the butter.......sooooo....to get by this - after I mixed everything together - I put the bowl in the microwave and heated it all up for just over a minute. This softened it up and made putting it into the the pan more of a pour....then a slop..... nonetheless they turned out absolutely delicious!!

Now for the best part..........droooooool. The Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I've wanted to make these for a long time. I can't take credit for the genius idea - I'm not sure where it all began. I got my recipe from Bakerella which is a tried and tested blog for me. I've used her recipes before and they have always turned out and are simply and easy to follow.

I have to admit this was also a really simple recipe. All you really do is create a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe and then mould the batter around oreo cookies. Easy peasy lemon squeezey! If you decide to try this recipe at home- beware....these cookies come out gigantic. Not a bad thing of course, but just aware. :)

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
10-12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 pkg Double Stuf Oreo Cookies

Method to the madness:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Add butter and sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.

3. In a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, and baking soda with a wire whisk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix until combined

4. Use an your hand or an ice cream scoop to place a scoop of cookie dough on top of an Oreo cookie. Place another scoop on the bottom of the Oreo. Seal the edges together by pressing and cupping the dough in hand until the Oreo is completely enclosed. Shape into a thick patty. Repeat with remaining cookies and dough

and repeat!

5.Place the stuffed cookies on the prepared baking sheet a couple of inches apart and bake for 11-15 minutes, until the cookies are cooked through. Let cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack