Betty Crocker in Training

You guys, let me just put this out there for you in plain and simple terms, I am not the best cook there is out there.
Truth is, I don't even really like to cook.
I used to cook a little but then I got married.
Yeah, I know.
Getting married usually has the opposite effect on one's culinary skills.
You see, I married a man who loves to cook.
I mean he really, really enjoys it.
He also doesn't mind critiquing me in the kitchen.

We have been married 12 years now and let's just say I've cooked very little for the last 11 years.  Ha!

But you know what bugs me?
When my girls are sitting around the table and trying to think of their favorite foods that each of their parents make.
I hear things like, "Mom, you make really good cheese toast" or "Mom, you make the best chocolate chip cookies" or even "You make the best boiled eggs".  Whaaat????
Trust me, I even get stranger than that at times.
When my girls are grown and move out, I want them to have memories of more than Mom making a good baked potato or boiled egg!

So move over hubby, Betty Crocker is in training.
That's right, scoot over and give me some elbow room in the kitchen.
This Mama has put "becoming a better cook" on her New Year's Resolution list for 2012!!

So here is my plan...
Each Thursday evening I'm going to try a new recipe for either a dish or desert.
I will let you know how it goes!!

Today I tried a recipe that I had pinned on Pinterest from The Girl Who Ate Everything.
It is for S'mores Cookies.
I'm a girl that loves a good s'mores.
I'm generally content to slap some marshmallow creme on a graham cracker and a Hershey square and pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds.
Very little induces that kind of bliss for me.
I'm fairly easy to please, especially when it comes to chocolate.

So I whipped these up for my family and they were a big hit (even with the hubby).
Side note:  My girls complained on the way home from school that we were "chocolate broke" (that's what they call it when we have no chocolate).
I think this hit the spot!!

Here's what you need:

11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ cups flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
3 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces
1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment paper. I used one 11x17 pan and one 9x13 pan but you can really use any sized pans you want.

*** Of course I didn't have parchment paper because that's just the kind of cook I am.
I have no idea if had an effect on the outcome or not.

Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching).  I used almost one whole box.  You may have to add or remove graham crackers according to how much dough you have. If you want your cookies thicker you will use more dough and less graham crackers.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.


Add the flour mixture to the butter mixer and combine on low speed.

Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour to overnight.

Place tablespoons of dough on graham crackers about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart. Press down slightly with fingertips.

Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces on to the top. You can place as many pieces or as little as you want depending how much chocolate flavor you want.

Bake for 5 – 7 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool. For clean cutting make sure cookies are completely cool and cut with a sharp knife.

One more time...

*****************************************************************************

I will be taking some to share with some of the ladies at work tomorrow and will let you know what they think.
If you make these, I would love to know what you think about them!
**Edited to add:  The girls at work loved the cookies and said they were definitely something to make again.  My husband ate on them all day and said they were even better the second day and had a lot of different flavors and textures that he really liked. 

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