Pretzel Nutella Swirl Cookies

Believe it or not, due to a change in circumstances, I once again found myself assigned to the lovely Katrina's blog, Baking and Boys, for this month's Secret Recipe Club.  You mean I get another chance to peruse her never-ending list of ultimate, beyond your imagination, mouthwatering sweets?  You don't have to ask me twice!  Since this is the third time I've had her blog, you probably think that there isn't much more I can say about her, but I think I can come up with a few more tidbits. 

First of all, she has an eagle eye when it comes to finding the newest candy/cookie/etc. that's out on the market.  Whether it be those birthday cake M&Ms or the Coconut Fudge Oreos, you can bet she's already found it AND created some amazing way to use them to kick up a recipe.  As a result, I've made a lot of Target/Walmart runs in the past years just so I could see the deliciousness that she was talking about.

Secondly, she is the Rice Krispie Treat queen!  I kid you not.  I counted no less than 20 different recipes for rice krispie treats on her blog.  They are all awesome looking.  After seeing them, you may never go back to the plain ones again.  Hint:  this is where a lot of those new-fangled Oreos and M&Ms went.

After looking through numerous recipes for cakes, cookies, brownies, and other yummy treats, I finally narrowed my selection down to these Pretzel Nutella Chunk Cookies.  Salty and sweet?  I couldn't resist.  the neat thing about this recipe is that you make the "chunks" yourself by freezing the Nutella and then chopping it up to put into the cookies.  I did just that and had some lovely looking chunks, for about 5 minutes.  It was kind of a warm, humid day when I made the cookies, so the moment I added the cold chunks into the dough, they immediately melted and I got half chunks and half swirls.  Although, in my opinion, that wasn't really a bad thing.  The Nutella flavor became more prominent and the cookies themselves had a pretty marbled look.  All in all, these cookies were absolutely delish!  I'm glad the recipe only makes a small batch because otherwise I wouldn't be able to stop myself from eating even more of them.  

 

Thanks Katrina for your amazing ideas!  

Pretzel Nutella Swirl Cookies (slightly adapted from Baking and Boys)

1/2 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon cake flour + 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons bread flour (I used all-purpose flour)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
5 tablespoons (2  1/2 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/2 a large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pretzel balls (I used broken pretzels)
1/2 cup (4 ounces) Nutella chunks**

** To make the Nutella chunks:  Spread 1/2 c. Nutella on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet, about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.  Freeze for at least an hour until set.  Cut into chunks and keep chilled until ready to use. 

Cream the butter and sugars together.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.  Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until just combined.  Stir the pretzels and Nutella chunks carefully into the dough.  Scoop the dough into small balls and bake for 10-12 min. at 350F.  Let sit on baking sheet for a couple minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool. 
    

An InLinkz Link-up

Basil Polenta with Roasted Spinach and Tomatoes - SRC

For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I received Elizabeth's blog, Food Ramblings.  Elizabeth loves to make recipes that are healthy, which means that her blog is right up my alley.  I love to cook with vegetables and whole grains and her blog is full of recipes like that.  And, if you think that healthy equals boring or tasteless, she will prove you wrong.  I actually couldn't decide between several of her recipes, so I made three, though I didn't get the chance to photograph the other two.  First, I tried her Quinoa Spinach Mac n' Cheese.  Instead of using noodles, it uses quinoa.  Fantastic!  It was such a great change.  Then, I saw her Basil Polenta with Roasted Spinach and Tomatoes.  The pictures alone were enough to convince me that I had to make it too.

The whole dish comes together in less than an hour.  And it is just beautiful with all those vibrant and contrasting colors.  Even better is that it tastes every bit as good as it looks.  I love that I found a new vegetarian recipe to share with my family.  Thanks Elizabeth for your yummy recipes!   

Basil Polenta with Roasted Spinach and Tomatoes (adapted from Food Ramblings)

2 c. grape tomatoes
2 c. fresh spinach
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil

instant polenta
2 tsp. dried basil (I used dried basil instead of fresh)
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese (I added this)
salt, black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Cut the tomatoes in half and lay them out with the spinach and garlic on a baking sheet.  Lightly drizzle everything with the olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.  Bake for 20 min.

Prepare the polenta, as directed, making enough for 2-4 servings.  (I used half water and half skim milk).  Remove from the heat and add the parmesan cheese.  Season to taste.  Top the polenta with your roasted veggies.

An InLinkz Link-up

Spicy Gingerbread - Secret Recipe Club

 For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned to Nicole's blog, Daily Dish Recipes.  Do you know that Nicole has a houseful of FIVE teenagers?  That's a lot of hungry people to cook for.  Luckily, from the looks of the recipes on her blog, she is a fantastic cook and baker.  I still want to make her Skinny Baked Beignets, and her Spiced Gingerbread Gooey Butter Cake.  But, for now, I settled for the Spicy Gingerbread Loaves.  I absolutely love gingerbread with that lovely dark, spicy flavor.  I think I may love it even more than chocolate (egads!).  So, I absolutely had to choose this for my assignment.

This gingerbread may look simple, but sometimes simple things are the best.  The complexity comes in the taste, where you get a harmony of spicy flavors all mingling on your tongue.  I could eat piece after piece of this and be perfectly happy.  Since I did not alter anything from the recipe, I'll link you over to her blog so you can check it out HERE.   

Thank you Nicole for one yummy recipe!

An InLinkz Link-up