Lagoon Day and... the MOTHERLODE!

For as long as I can remember my family has been going to Lagoon every year on our Stake Lagoon Day, and this year wasn't any different! The entire Kite side of my family hauls in coolers full of food, drinks, sunscreen, etc. and basically camps out at Lagoon all day. I'm so thankful for my family and our fun traditions! Here is a picture of Josh, my mom, and I at the end of a fun filled day at Lagoon... we were TIRED!

Anyways, going to Lagoon meant that I got to bake a delicious treat to take! I couldn't decide which recipe to make, but I ended up making them both because most of the cookies got eaten by the boys shortly after I baked them! The Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies were to DIE for! Josh doesn't like peanut butter and he really liked these, so that's saying something. I added a little milk to my peanut butter filling which made it spread out throughout the entire cookie instead of just hanging out in a ball in the center of the cookie. I baked them both ways, and in my opinion, adding milk to the filling makes them better. They are a little more messy putting them together, but trust me, it's worth it! Seriously, if you love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter... these are a MUST TRY cookie! In the picture, the cookie on the left is the one with a little milk to the filling, and the cookie on the right is without the milk, like the recipe says.



Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies
(Recipe from Frantic Home Cook)

chocolate cookies:
1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

peanut butter filling:
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. In another mixing bowl, beat together butter, the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and the 1/4 cup peanut butter with an electric mixer until combined. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Beat in as much of the dry ingredients as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining dry ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon. (My mixer held up just fine so I didn't need to use a wooden spoon.) Form chocolate dough into 32 balls about 1-1/4 inches in diameter.

For peanut butter filling, in a medium mixing bowl combine powdered sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter until smooth. Shape mixture into 32 (3/4-inch) balls. On a work surface, slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball and top with a peanut butter ball. Shape the chocolate dough over the peanut butter filling, completely covering the filling. Roll dough into a ball. Repeat with the remaining chocolate dough and peanut butter filling balls.

Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake them for 8-10 minutes or until they’re just set and surface is slightly cracked. Let cookies stand for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool. They will be slightly soft so don’t over-bake them because if you do, they will be super hard when they cool.

The next treat I made was a dangerous one. I seriously could have eaten the entire pan! They are called The Motherlode Cookie Bars, and boy are they one giant piece of heaven! I mean, I used an entire package of butter so you KNOW they've got to be good. They are basically four cookies layered into a bar with chocolate drizzled on top. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm! They are pretty thick bars with quite a bit to them, so you might need to munch on one a little bit at a time... But, try them! I dare you! You won't be disappointed. :)




The Motherlode Cookie Bars
(Recipe from Picky Palate)

Layer 1: Sugar Cookie

1 Roll of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Press sugar cookie dough into bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish that’s been lined foil and sprayed with cooking spray.

Layer 2: Double Chocolate Chip Cookie

(the recipe below makes double what you’ll need for the bars, use extra for cookies)

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsps. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs and vanilla until well combined.

2. In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients then stir in chips. Layer 1/2 the recipe over sugar cookie layer, pressing gently.

Layer 3: Peanut Butter Cookie

1 Cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1 egg

1. Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined. Press over chocolate cookie dough.

Layer 4: Chocolate Chip Cookie

1 stick butter (softened)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 bag of chocolate chips plus more for drizzling

1. Make sure oven is preheated to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; mix to combine. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips. Spoon 1/2 of the dough evenly over peanut butter cookie dough but don’t press, just leave uneven. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until center of dough is cooked mostly through. She recommended placing tin foil over the bars for the last 15 minutes of cooking, and I agree with her. That's what I did. Edges will be slightly brown.

2. Let cookies cool completely. Lift out of pan with edges of foil. Drizzle top with 1/2 Cup melted chocolate chips if desired.