Celebrate Chocolate Chip Cookie Day Another Way!

Written by Jenny -

I know it seems a little odd that I am proposing that you celebrate Chocolate Chip Cookie Day with a recipe other than the Original Nestlé® Toll House® Chocolate Chip Cookie. It’s not that I want to turn you away from the most wonderful cookie in the whole wide world! I just want to introduce you to another recipe to celebrate this delicious day: Double Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes. Baked Nestlé® Toll House® Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is the base for these individual cheesecakes. The cookie bases are topped with a creamy cheesecake that is studded with semi-sweet chocolate mini morsels. I think I have you captivated now. One more detail to mention, each of these cheesecakes has a simple drizzle of chocolate for the final touch. Where is my fork when I need it?

Double Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients for 24 servings:

• 1 1/2 cups NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Tub Dough or 1 package (16.5 ounces) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Dough
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels, divided

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 325° F. Paper-line 24 muffin cups. Place 1 level tablespoon of cookie dough (1 square if using bar dough) into each muffin cup.

BAKE for 10 minutes or until cookie has spread to edge of cup.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and flour in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla extract; mix well. Stir 1/2 cup morsels into batter. Spoon 2 heaping measuring tablespoons of batter over each cookie in cup.

BAKE for additional 13 to 15 minutes or until just set but not browned. Remove from oven to wire rack. Cool completely in pans on wire rack. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

MELT remaining 1/4 cup mini morsels in small, heavy-duty plastic bag on HIGH (100%) power for 30 seconds; knead. Microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle lightly over each cheesecake just before serving.

If you are looking for some more information on the history of the Original Nestlé® Toll House® Cookie and Ruth Wakefield, the inventor of the cookie, please take a look at my previous post. There you will find some more recipes to celebrate Chocolate Chip Cookie Day with and also to get a head start for Chocolate Chip Day, August 4^th!

Related Recipes:

Chocolate Chip Strawberry Shortcake	Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

Spoil Your Mom, Spoil Yourself – Chocolate Black Cherry Gelatin

Written by Natalie -

Are you looking for a fantastic dessert to spoil mom this Mother’s Day? Look no further than this Chocolate Black Cherry Gelatin. It’s incredibly easy to make with only four ingredients! The cute presentation makes them seem way more complicated than they are. There is not even any cooking involved! But it’s really the deliciously rich chocolate flavor combined with black cherry that makes this seem so very gourmet. Your mom will know how much you love her because she will think you slaved over this fancy dessert. Hopefully she’ll spoil you back by sharing her special treat with the rest of the family.

Chocolate Black Cherry Gelatin

Ingredients for 12 servings:

• 1 package (6 ounces) black cherry flavored gelatin
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1 can (12 fluid ounces) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
• 1/3 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 12 foil baking cups
• Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

COMBINE gelatin and water in a medium mixing bowl. Stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.

MICROWAVE evaporated milk and morsels in a small, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100% power for 3 minutes or until chocolate is melted; stir to combine. Pour milk mixture into gelatin; whisk until well blended.

SPRAY baking cups with nonstick cooking spray. Pour gelatin into prepared baking cups. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until gelatin is set.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Drizzle with NESTLÉ ABUELITA Chocolate Syrup or NESTLÉ NESQUIK Chocolate Flavor Syrup

Related Recipes:

Chewy Cherry Chocolate Cookies	Chocolaty Cherry Biscotti

Grill Season: Marinated Flank Steak

Written by Nick - 

This past weekend was the perfect weather to have some friends over and fire up the grill. As opposed to the usual burgers and dogs, I thought some steak would fit the bill. Flank steak is the perfect choice for entertaining. It’s a flavorful cut of beef and budget friendly, but it’s not known for being tender. So, finding the perfect marinade makes all the difference.

I thought I would grill up some steak and serve it fajita style. It’s a great way to feed a group and everyone can customize to their liking. This Marinated Flank Steak recipe seemed like just the right amount of seasonings to stand on its own or work as tacos/fajitas. The recipe calls for marinating for 4 hours or overnight. I went a bit further and marinated it for two days. This was purely a timing consideration. I was cooking dinner Friday night and figured I’d prepare the marinade for a Sunday barbecue.

The flank steak turned out great. Although I served it as fajitas, everyone was eating it straight off the serving dish. I think this flank steak could easily work with a variety of meals, not just tacos/fajitas. It was very tender and flavorful. And because it’s already marinated, there is little prep-work for when your guests arrive.

So, if you’re grilling for friends and want to do something special, this flank steak is the perfect way to treat them to steak and stay on a reasonable budget.

Marinated Flank Steak

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1/4 cup hot water
• 2 MAGGI Beef Flavor Bouillon Tablets, crushed
• 1/2 cup Apple NESTLÉ® JUICY JUICE® All Natural 100% Juice
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds flank steak

Directions:

COMBINE water and bouillon in medium bowl; stir until dissolved. Stir in Juicy Juice, cilantro, lime juice, oil, oregano, chili powder, cumin and garlic. Pour into 1-gallon heavy-duty plastic bag. Add flank steak, squeeze out as much air from bag as possible. Marinate in refrigerator, turning steak occasionally, for at least 4 hours or overnight.

PREHEAT grill or broiler. Remove steak from bag; discard marinade.

GRILL or broil using medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes per side or until desired doneness. Let steak rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Cut steak against the grain on the diagonal in thin slices to serve. Serve hot with warm tortillas, sliced avocados and fresh pico de gallo, if desired.

Related Recipes:

Seared Steak Salad with Balsamic-Shallot Reduction	Asian Flank Steak

Easy-to-Follow Tres Leches Cupcakes Recipe

Written by Chris -

Tres Leches Cake is a sponge cake soaked with a mixture of three milks: evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream. You can vary the creams. I like to use lite coconut milk in place of the heavy cream, but you could also use whole milk. Whipped cream is traditionally used as the topping.

In this new recipe, the traditional Latin Tres Leches cake is transformed into delicious cupcakes. I was looking through our cupcake collection on meals.com and couldn’t believe we didn’t have a tres leches cupcake. How could that be? I have a huge, HUGE crush on traditional tres leches cake, and I’ll be the first to admit that I always go back for seconds, or take a piece far too big. Or scrape off the top of the cake with a spoon.

Seeing that I obviously lack self control when it comes to tres leches cake, I thought that making cupcakes out of this Latin cake would provide guidance of what a serving size looks like. Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. Kidding aside, one sweet milk-filled cupcake will completely satisfy your cravings!

If you happen to be planning your Cinco de Mayo menu or thinking about a summer barbecue (not too far off!), this Tres Leches Cupcake recipe will make a great addition! They are perfect for bridal and baby showers, too!

Tres Leches Cupcakes

Ingredients for 32 cupcakes:

CUPCAKES

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

TRES LECHES SAUCE

• 1 can (14 ounces) NESTLÉ CARNATION Sweetened Condensed Milk or NESTLÉ LA LECHERA Fat Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2/3 cup (5 fluid-ounce can) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk (fat free evaporated milk works, too!)
• 1 cup lite coconut milk (you can use whipping cream or whole milk if you don’t like coconut milk)

TOPPING

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Unsweetened flaked coconut, toasted (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Line cupcake tins with 32 paper or foil liners.

FOR CUPCAKES:
SIFT flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl.

BEAT egg whites in large mixer bowl until soft peaks form. With mixer on, gradually beat in sugar. Beat in egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately beat in flour mixture with milk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat in vanilla extract.

SPOON batter into prepared cupcake tins, filling only 1/2 full (be sure to not overfill or the tres leches sauce will overflow).

BAKE for 15 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. While cupcakes are cooling, make tres leches sauce.

FOR TRES LECHES SAUCE:

WHISK together all but 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (the 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk will be used in the topping to sweeten up the whipped cream), evaporated milk and coconut milk in a large glass measuring cup.

POKE holes in the cupcakes using a wooden pick, skewer or fork, penetrating to the bottom of the liner (but don’t poke through it).

SPOON tres leches sauce over each cupcake one tablespoon at a time. After it soaks in, add a little more. Each cupcake should hold about 3 tablespoons of sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours. Cupcakes can be refrigerated overnight if you plan to serve these the next day.

FOR TOPPING:
BEAT cream in small mixer bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold in remaining 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk. Right before serving the cupcakes, add a dollop of whipped cream over each cupcake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. (Toasting coconut is simple! Just add coconut to a skillet and cook it over medium heat, shaking the pan or stirring occasionally, until it starts to turn golden.)

I wanted to share the picture above with you. I made these cupcakes the other day but only had 2 muffin tins on hand. So I improvised and used a mini Bundt pan as well (the pan held 6 mini Bundt cakes). Obviously cupcake liners won’t work here, so I sprayed the pan with coconut oil, and proceeded with the recipe following the same directions as stated above. To remove from the pan, I placed a rimmed baking sheet over the Bundt pan and inverted it, shaking the pan to loosen the cakes. I needed to loosen each Bundt cake a little with a knife, but after that, they plopped right out. So if you get into a pinch like I did, don’t be afraid to improvise.

Related recipes:

Coconut-Lime Tres Leches Cake	Clásico Three Milk Cake

Frosting Tips and a New Cupcake Collection

Written by Chris -

Beautifully frosted, or simple and elegant, cupcakes are an important part of life’s special moments – not just birthdays, but also graduations, bridal and baby showers, excellent report cards, or just because. Cupcakes make ordinary days feel extraordinary.

We have a new Cupcake Collection on Meals.com I’d like to share with you. We’ve selected several of our favorite recipes which include the classics plus delectable new flavors like lemonade, malted chocolate and even bacon!

Since a cupcake really isn’t “dressed” until it’s frosted, I thought I’d highlight some of our tried and true test kitchen frosting recipes. I’ve also included a handful of prepared frosting tips, too. I’ve found that most kids prefer the stuff in the container over a 5-star homemade frosting. There’s nothing wrong with that. My kids, now ten years old, get a kick out of customizing prepared frosting as well as creating simple cupcake recipes. You can check out their recipes here.

Let’s start out with a tip for piping frosting. I’ll admit, I cut corners (literally) more times than not. I don’t have time to clean a pastry bag so I use a gallon size heavy-duty zip top bag.

All you need to do is put the piping tip you want to use in the corner of the bag, then snip the corner off and push the tip a quarter of the way through.

Place the bag with tip in a glass to keep it stable. Then spoon about 1 cup of frosting into the bag.

To pipe, hold the tip in place with one hand and gently twist the top of the bag with the other to push the frosting through. Continue to refill the bag as needed.

Here are a few ways to jazz up prepared frosting…

Pipe frosting onto cupcakes, and then sprinkle with chopped candy bars. Butterfinger is my favorite! Quick tip: Be sure to sprinkle the candy right after you pipe the frosting so it will stick, otherwise it will bounce off. Also, if you really like peanut butter, try stirring in a little creamy peanut butter into your prepared white frosting.

How cute are these Dalmatian Cupcakes! Simply sprinkle a small handful of mini chocolate morsels over the frosting – an instant hit!

Here’s a clever way to make a glaze out of prepared frosting: Spoon 1 container of frosting into a microwave-safe container and microwave on HIGH (100% power) for 30 seconds. Then stir until smooth and spread over cooled cupcakes. You can also add hot coffee to prepared frosting to thin it down to make glaze.

Of course, you can also stir in caramel syrup, Nestlé Nesquik chocolate syrup, a little orange juice or grated citrus peel into prepared frosting. Frosting add-ins are truly endless!

Here are some of our favorite homemade frosting recipes…

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting – absolutely perfect on Pumpkin Carrot Cupcakes!

Cream Cheese Frosting – the perfect match for Red Velvet Cupcakes!

This Chocolate Lover’s Frosting is delectable to spread on cakes, cupcakes, brownies, sugar cookies and more. It’s ready in just 5 minutes, too.

Now if you want to make a big impression with very little effort, I’d suggest this Dark Chocolate Ganache. Simply stunning!

Do you have frosting tips to share? How about shortcuts? Please tell me I’m not the only one to take short cuts.

Happy weekend to you,

Chris

Easy Spring Pasta Recipe: Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme

Written by Liz -

Spring has sprung in California – as well as most of the country. To me that means spring vegetable season; asparagus, leeks, peas, artichoke, fennel and fresh herbs are bountiful in farmers markets. Much of this produce is available year-round, but spring is the best time to get the freshest spring vegetables, whether at your local market, grocery store or from your own garden!

And those fresh spring flavors really come through in this easy spring pasta recipe, Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme. It’s a cinch to make and it’s packed with flavor and nutrients, plus spring is a great time to get hooked on the Mediterranean way of eating. Adding a bit of the pasta water instead of using sauce is a traditional way to make pasta dishes in Italy. This recipe is a sure way to eat more vegetables and wow your friends with your culinary savvy!

Wine Pairing

• Italian wines can be hard to find, other than the super popular Pinot Grigio. If you can find a Soave wine, it’s a soft, fruity, clean wine with crisp lemon flavors and really complements this dish.
• Grenache Blanc with its acidity and rounded flavors, or Sauvignon Blanc with its herbaceousness, would also be great wines with this pasta.

Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme

Ingredients for 3 servings:

• 1 package (9 ounces) BUITONI Refrigerated Fettuccine
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh leek
• 1/3 cup frozen peas
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 thyme sprigs, leaves removed and stems discarded
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) BUITONI Refrigerated Freshly Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

PREPARE pasta according to package directions, reserving ½ cup cooking water. While pasta is cooking, prepare leek mixture.

HEAT oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add leek; cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden. Stir in peas; cook for 1 minute or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, as shown above.

ADD reserved pasta cooking water, thyme leaves and cheese; stir in gently. Toss pasta with leek mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Links:

• Fettuccine with Peas, Leeks & Thyme
• Wine Pairing Tool

More spring pasta recipes:

Vegetable Tortellini Soup	Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Fresh Herb Pesto