Go for it: Oreo Cheesecake Brownies

It is not my intention to cause a sugar addiction in myself or anyone else. (As I am slightly addicted to sweets, I am obviously failing at this.)  I am well aware that healthy eating is not only better for you, but it's the "in" thing right now.  (Just go to the bookstore and you'll see an abundance of popular diet books and celebrity-endorsed healthy cookbooks.)  Not only that, but it seems biology is totally against us when it comes to staying thin or losing weight. (It can take weeks of diet and exercise to lose 5 pounds, but a weekend of over-indulgence and you gain 10!)  Despite all this; despite the fact that you're probably trying to get into bathing suit shape for the summer; despite the plain and obvious fact that even if you were to indulge yourself, the sinful combination of brownies, Oreos, and cheesecake would the worst choice you could make; you need to make these brownies.  It's that simple.

Yes, we all want to eat healthy and look amazing, but you need to experience these brownies.  They are a show-stopper.  You need to throw caution to the wind and take on the mind-blowing combination of Oreos (possibly the world's favorite cookie), cheesecake, and brownies in one delicious recipe.  Any recipe that contains Oreos is a winner in my book.  But, combine that with cheesecake and brownies, and you've got a champion!

I found these brownies on Sweet Pea's Kitchen and I knew, the moment I laid eyes on them, that it was destiny.  They turned out as delicious and decadent as I had imagined.  (And don't hate me for saying this, but they get better every time you make them!)  I made them a few times before I even had the patience or presence of mind to take a picture.

Yes, they are layered with sugar and fat.  But for one day, let go of your rules and guidelines.  Forget the diet and put away the exercise equipment.  Go ahead, make these brownies, and eat them without shame.  You can thank me later.  (But don't talk with your mouth full.)

Oreo Cheesecake Brownies
Adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen
Originally from Sugar Plum

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups coarsly chopped Oreos

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper or foil.  Butter or spray the pan/lining.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in sugar and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Boil for 1 minute. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Beat together cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract with a mixer on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt; whisk until combined.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs until combined. Whisk in melted butter/sugar mixture until well combined. Stir in flour mixture until just combined, followed by Oreo cookies.

Spread half of brownie batter into the prepared baking dish, followed by cream cheese layer.  Dollop the remaining brownie mixture over the cheesecake layer and swirl with a knife or spatula.

Bake for 25 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.

Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack before lifting out the parchment paper or foil to remove the brownies.

The Day the Moon Smiled and a Poem

There is one face that is familiar to all people.  Every nation that ever existed even in the farthest reaches of the earth know this face.  It is the moon.  The man in the moon has been watching humanity since our beginnings, and we all know his face.  I have been fascinated with the moon all my life, and even though I know the moon is unchanging, I have witnessed a profound change in the man in the moon.

Ever since I was a baby and first turned my gaze to the moon, I saw in its frozen face a sad expression.  No matter what art had depicted or what tales had been told or what other people could see, to me the face of moon was sad.  It was a woeful, mournful expression, like the moon was crying out.  I thought it was a shame that the face of the moon should hold, for eternity, such a sorrowful expression, but nothing could be done about it.  It was the moon.  It would never change.

Then, about three years ago, one night I looked up and saw the most extraordinary thing.  The moon was no longer sad.  That sorrowful expression of woe was gone.  The moon was smiling.  Laughing, even.  I was astounded.  How could these features have changed?  I was awestruck that the face of moon should show me something so different from what I had seen before.

Then, this past year, I looked up at the moon one night as I walked to my car after work, and once again the moon's face had changed.  This time, the moon was singing.  The moon was singing a soulful song, it's face full of emotion.

And so, impossible things can happen. Change can occur in the most unlikely places.

Moonsongs

by: Mary Wojciechowski

Enchanting moon

You pull the waters from the shores

And the secrets you steal from our hearts

Are replaced by your tremulous moonsongs.

Heavenly moon

Your river flows

Like a stream of darkness

Delighting my soul with ripples of stars

Washing away reality and lies.

Distant moon

Your ever changing, ever different

Face is the faceless lover to my dreams

Which nightly dance at your silver threshold.

Mysterious moon

The songs you spin from my dreams

Sing from my frightened outstretched heart

And fills the voids of space with music

Your enchanting moonsongs.



*Photo from Space.com, "This ... photo of the moon was taken by astronauts on the International Space Station during the Expedition 24 mission, mid-2010. CREDIT: Rocscosmos." 

Pretzel Hugs and the Easter Bunny

Once again, I've stumbled upon a perfectly addictive little treat! Pretzel Hugs!!! These came onto my radar when a friend of the family gave us a gift bag of these at Christmas. They tasted so good and looked so adorable, I knew I had to make some of my own. Since M&Ms always come in such festive colors, these little babies make perfect party favors! (Or just make a whole batch for yourself--I won't tell!) 

Yesterday was Easter, and I have to say, I think the Easter Bunny has one of the best jobs I can think of. He works one night a year, and best of all, brings baskets full of sweets to everyone! I'm not sure what makes a rabbit particularly suited to that task (I mean, rabbits prefer leafy vegetables, right?), but he really does have a fantastic job. Now, I'm not trying to go after the Easter Bunny's job, but I couldn't help giving some Easter treats of my own yesterday. And so, I made little bags of pretzel hugs to give to my aunt and cousins.

Pretzel hugs are a breeze to make, they look cute, and they are dangerously addictive. I brought a batch into work last week, and they were gone by noon. There are plenty of recipes out there for these simple treats, but I found that I needed the Hershey Hugs to be completely melty before I would drop the M&M on top, so here's my method:

Pretzel Hugs

Ingredients:
small pretzels  (little wagon wheels or square waffle ones are perfect)
M&Ms  (festive colors are great!)
1 bag Hershey Hugs

(You will also need parchment paper. Without it, the pretzel hugs will become melded to the cookie sheet.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 175 degrees Farenheit. Line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.  

Spread out enough small pretzels onto the cookie sheet for each Hershey Hug.  

Place one unwrapped Hershey Hug on top of each pretzel.  Bake at 175 for 7-10 minutes.  When the Hershey Hugs have melted enough that they have relaxed their shape, take them out of the oven.  (Note: The white chocolate on the outside will melt faster than the milk chocolate on the inside.  You will need to wait until the entire thing is soft, inside and out.)

Place an M&M on top of each melted Hershey Hug.  Let them set in a cool place.  (It's cold up here in the north, even in springtime, so I just put the cookie sheet outside for 10 minutes, but you can use the freezer or the fridge.)

And remember:  Give a friend a hug, and they'll love you all day.  Give a friend a Pretzel Hug, and they'll love you for a lifetime! (Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but you get the picture.  These are really, really yummy!)

Mary's Whole Wheat Pancakes and How I Learned to Love Maple Syrup

Pancakes would have to be on my list of favorite foods.  It's right up there with chocolate and ice cream.  Ever since I was a kid, I've loved pancakes.  I remember watching Saturday morning cartoons in my PJs while my dad made batch of pancakes on the griddle.  It was heaven.  Now I make my own pancakes (still in my PJs) and it's still heaven.  Especially since I've developed my own rockin' recipe for whole wheat pancakes!

When I was a kid, I would drown my pancakes in syrup.  Not that weird-tasting maple stuff that comes from a tree!  Yuck!  No way!  The REAL stuff!  Aunt Jemima, Mrs. Butterworth, or Hungry Jack.  Now and again, my mom would try to give me one of the cheaper store brands, but I couldn't be swayed from my favorites.  Sure, there's all sorts of preservatives; sure, it contains the dreaded high fructose corn syrup; sure, it's made in a food processing plant; but I didn't care.  I liked it.  I swore I would never eat and certainly never like that maple stuff. 

But then I grew up and, living out in the world on my own, I moved into a house with six other girls in West Philadelphia.  We tried to keep things pretty organized over at 332 (our address, and also the slang term we used for the house). Money towards bills and groceries were due on the first of the month in little envelopes pinned to bulletin board in the kitchen.  We each had a weekly chore, and to keep things sane, we didn't rotate chores all the time.  Your chore was your chore. Every week.  My chore was vacuuming.  I was okay with that.  I would rather vacuum than do the grocery shopping every week.  I didn't envy the grocery shopping chore (or the wash-the-kitchen floor chore!).  The girl saddled with grocery shopping had to make a trip to the supermarket every week in a vain attempt to please six other girls' appetites and manage to feed them all on a tight budget.  (She also had to give up her parking spot in a crowded West Philly neighborhood--and I can tell you, parking spots are urban gold.)  She bought store brands whenever possible.  She used coupons and shopped the sales.  You could request something you really wanted, and if it was within the budget, she'd try to get it.  Otherwise, you eat what she bought, and that was the end of it.  She was rather health-conscious and always bought loads of fruits and veggies each week.  And because we were all girls, there was ALWAYS a few tubs of Edys Ice Cream in the fridge, and a giant bag of chocolate chips in the pantry.  

Because I no longer did my own grocery shopping, I started eating healthier.  I began with baby steps.  I would cook up a little broccoli, chop it up and toss it in my bowl of (store brand) mac and cheese.  I tried oatmeal for the first time.  One of my housemates even tried to teach me how to make a veggie omlet.  (I still can't fold an omlet.)  And for those times when all I wanted for dinner was ice cream, the freezer was always well-stocked.  The one thing I thought I'd never get used to was the syrup she bought.  Instead of my favorite chemical/preservative laden syrup, she bought the giant container of all-natural maple syrup.   

At first, I ate it begrudgingly.  That maple taste was over-powering.  I didn't like it.  After a while, I got used to it.  I didn't think it was the cat's pajamas or anything, but I ate it.  Pancakes remained one of my favorite foods, and the maple syrup didn't really get in the way of my enjoyment of them.

After one year, I had become a convert.  By that time, I had moved to a studio apartment and was able to buy syrup of my own choosing.  But I had gotten so used to real maple syrup that my old favorites, Aunt Jemina, Mrs. B., and Hungry Jack, were (to my extreme surprise) tasteless!   That flavored corn syrup I used to love had become an overly-processed chemical goo that didn't even taste like food!  I needed my maple syrup to enjoy my pancakes!  I craved that sweet natural flavor!  No processing.  No chemicals.  Just nature's own sweet sap from the beloved sugar maple!

Today, I am still an ardent maple syrup lover! I love it's natural goodness!  I love that unique North American flavor it imparts to my pancakes, and I won't eat any other syrup.    

A few years ago, I decided I need a healthier pancake and after trying some pancake mixes from the health food store, I decided the best way to go was to develop my own recipe.  After looking online at bunches of recipes, I noticed they all have sugar in them.  Since maple syrup is all the sugar I need on my pancakes, I took bits and pieces from the recipes I found and made my own.  I discovered that whole wheat flour, sprouted what flour, buttermilk, and vanilla can combine to make delicious pancake heaven!

In a perfect world, we all have sprouted wheat flour and buttermilk on hand, but since those items are not necessarily in every kitchen, the good news is the recipe tastes good no matter what substitutions you use.  But I would have to say that the buttermilk imparts a magical goodness to the pancakes that I want everyone to experience.  Also, the vanilla is so important that whenever my dad makes this recipe, he doubles the vanilla!  And the sprouted wheat flour gives the pancakes a lovely texture and a deeper flavor.  Try this recipe as written and you won't go back to your "just add water" preservative patties you used to eat.  

Also, try going with real maple syrup.  It may take a while to love it, but believe me you will thank me a year from now!!!

Mary's Whole Wheat Pancakes

Dry ingredients: 
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup sprouted wheat flour (Any other kind of whole wheat flour can be substituted—I’ve used spelt flour, whole wheat pastry flour, and another half cup of whole wheat flour.  It all tastes good!) 
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:
1 egg
½ cup milk*
½ cup buttermilk*
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat griddle to 400˚F.

Whisk together dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Grease or butter hot griddle. Scoop using a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop or ¼ measuring cup onto hot griddle, cooking a few minutes on each side.

*If you don’t have buttermilk, instead of 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of buttermilk, you can do one of the following: 1.) Use 1 cup of milk.  2.) Use one cup of a buttermilk substitute: Add 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk and let sit for 5 minutes, then use as needed.  I do this when I don't have buttermilk and the pancakes are fantastic!

Optional add-ins: Add a cup of blueberries, chopped strawberries, chopped apple or anything else you can think of to add some flavor.  When adding fruit, cook for a minute longer to make sure fruit gets fully cooked and the pancake won't be too soggy.

For Waffles: Use 2 tablespoons of oil instead of one.

Blueberry pancakes

Strawberry pancakes

Midnight Sin Chocolate Cake and Too Many Recipes

I love collecting recipes.  I have a shelf full of cookbooks, many of which I've never tried a single recipe from, and stacks of magazines with Post-Its sticking out of most of the pages.  But mainly, my recipe collection takes the form loose leaf pages printed out from the internet that pile up on my desk, get crammed into my recipe binder, or find their way to random parts of the house.  Despite this seemingly overwhelming number of good recipes waiting to be tried, I always seem to be at a loss when an occasion arises for which I need a killer dessert.  I saw this cake recipe months ago, and finally gave it a whirl for a friend's birthday.

I love seeing a heavenly recipe and deciding that my future holds it's yummy goodness.  It's like having your cake and eating too.  I can hold in my mind the promise of something homemade and delicious without the calories.  Of course, once my mind gets too full of amazing cookies (Martha, I'm making these someday, soon, I promise!) brownies (I'm going to need a couple days to work off the calories when I make these babies), or cakes (*sigh* This one is going to be vanilla heaven!) then I need to bake!  Recipes like this Midnight Sin Chocolate Cake usually pile up because I either have no time to make it or no occasion.  Cakes are especially difficult to find an occasion for, since I find that cookies and other portable goodies are better for parties.  But when I was invited to Girls Night In/Birthday Party, I jumped at the chance to make this wonderful cake from the blog, Not So Humble Pie.

This cake is for the true chocoholic.  Chocolate cake, chocolate mousse and chocolate ganache all in one.  If you're not a true chocolate lover, don't even attempt it.  You're not worthy.  Of course, I altered the recipe a bit.  I used my own chocolate cake recipe.  I'm sure Shirley Corriher's chocolate cake from her book Bakewise is fantastic, and I will try it someday, but I felt safer with my own.   I did make the ganache that Not So Humble Pie used, but if I make this again I will use a slightly softer ganache and have made the change below.

So, here it is, folks!

Midnight Sin Chocolate Cake
Inspired by Not So Humble Pie

(Mary's note: I made the mousse a day ahead of time, and I used water instead of the liqueur.)
Chocolate Mousse: 
Not so Humble Frangelico Dark Chocolate Mousse
Posted in Not So Humble Pie who adapted it from Pure Chocolate

Ingredients:
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup Frangelico hazelnut liqueur (or substitute 1/3 cup water)
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 66% cacao), finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream, chilled

In a heat safe bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is uniform and light in color. Place over a double boiler and whisk until slightly thickened. A ribbon of the egg sugar mixture should flow back into the bowl when the whisk is lifted and the sugar should just be beginning to dissolve. Add the Frangelico (or water) and then continue to whisk over the simmering water until the mixture hits roughly 160°F and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and add the finely chopped chocolate. Stir until your arm cramps or the mixture becomes cool to the touch, whichever comes first (roughly 10 minutes).

Set the chocolate aside and beat the heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold the cream into the chocolate, then cover and chill for at least 4 hours.

Chocolate Cake:

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350°F.  Grease and flour two 9-inch baking pans.

Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.   Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.  Beat with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Stir in boiling water.  (Batter will be thin.)  Divide batter into prepared pans.   

Bake 30 minutes or until tops spring back at touch.  Cool 5 minutes in pans and then remove to wire racks to cool completely. 

Ganache:
Adapted from Not So Humble Pie

Ingredients: 
1 cup bitter-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream (40%+ milk fat is ideal)
1 tablespoon butter (salted or unsalted is fine)

Measure out the chocolate into a bowl. Bring the butter and heavy cream to a low boil over medium-high heat and pour over the chocolate. Give the chocolate a shake to submerge and allow to stand for 5 minutes without stirring.

To Construct Cake:

Assemble your cake by placing one round onto your serving platter. Reserving 3/4 cup for garnish (keep chilled), spread the mousse to form an even layer on top of the cake. Top with the second cake round, touching up the sides with an offset spatula if necessary.

Pour the ganache onto the cake, smoothing over the top with an offset spatula. Return the cake to the fridge and allow the ganache to cool.

When cool, you can put the finishing touches on the cake. Take the reserved chocolate mouse and fill a piping bag, fitted with a large star tip. Drop small dollops of mousse around the perimeter of the cake.

Keep the cake chilled until ready to serve. Then allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Store the cake in the refrigerator, covered to keep it from absorbing odors, for up to 5 days.

Vanilla Sable Cookies and Just Being Yourself

This is a recipe for a vanilla cookie.  As a chocoholic, a baker extraordinaire, and a lover of sweets, this simple vanilla cookie shouldn't interest me much.  It's not chocolatey.  It's not frosted.  It's not stuffed with something.  It's not even ooey gooey.  This previous post is more more my style: a scoop of delicious chocolate chip cookie dough sandwiched between two soft, delicious chocolate cookies.  But this Vanilla Sable Cookie is so perfectly marvelous, it doesn't need frosting or chocolate or even bits of candy bar sprinkled on top.  It is simply delicious just the way it is!

In life, we all need moments like that, when what we are is good enough.  No need to impress or sparkle or perform.  No need to look perfect or pretend we've got life all figured out.  At work, we tend to want to be flawless.  At home, we tend to want to be "right."  Those moments when we can let down our guard are rare and precious.  It's true, I can be lazy and messy, and I tend to be forgetful sometimes.  In the role of flawed little me, I am flawless!  We need moments to shine at simply being human.  So, take a moment and acknowledge the fact that even though you may not have perfect hair or the perfect family or the perfect job, you are marvelous, just the way you are!

These little Vanilla Sable Cookies are a perfect example of this.  There have no frosting, no filling, and no chocolate chips.  There is no excitement.  No one says "Wow!" when they look at these.  But just one taste brings to light the simple beauty of vanilla.   And most likely, you'll eat several before the day is through.  They are just plain good.  Try them!

Vanilla-Bean Sable Cookies
Adapted from Fine Cooking

2 soft plum vanilla beans (I used 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla bean paste)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 large egg yolk
Sanding sugar (I used turbinado sugar)

Cut the vanilla beans in half lengthwise and scrape out the seed pulp into a small bowl.  Add the sugar, and stir until blended. 

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, mix the butter on low speed until smooth and creamy  (you don't want it to get light and fluffy), about 1 minute. Mix in the salt.  Add the vanilla sugar and the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl as needed.  Add 1 large egg yolk and mix for 1 minute. Still on low speed, mix in the flour until just blended; the dough will be soft. 

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead it gently a few times. Divide it in half and shape each half into a 9-inch log.  Wrap each log in wax paper or parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Combine 1 egg yolk with a splash of water and apply the logs using a pastry brush or your fingers.  Roll each log in sanding sugar until well-coated. (I sprinkled the sugar on.)  Trim the ends of the logs if they're ragged.  (I ate the ragged pieces...yum!)  Using a sharp knife, cut each log into 1/2-inch-thick rounds.  Place them on baking sheets 2 inches apart.  Bake each sheet until cookies start to brown around the edges and the bottoms are golden, 15-20 minutes.  (Mine were done in 14 minutes.)  Let cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling and let cool completely before serving.  Sables shouldn't be eaten warm; they need to cool so that their texture can set properly. 

Enjoy!

  

Brownie Cookie Dough Sandwiches and Trying to Eat Healthy

Last week I was invited to one of my first parties of the new year, so I decided to bring a brand new dessert.  A new year brings new outlooks, new resolutions, new diets, new plans, and a whole new you.  The fact that the new year comes immediately following a high-stress, high-calorie holiday only emphasizes everyone's resolve to become more healthy, more productive and more centered.  For me, I am in a constant battle with my unending craving for sweets, so a new year's resolution to eat healthier is not new to me.  The fact that I always seem to want to bake a crowd-pleasing, gut-busting chocolatey dessert like these Brownie Cookie Dough Sandwiches doesn't help my resolution, but it does put a smile on my face.

Don't get me wrong--I am all for eating healthy, whole foods!  But now and then, I allow myself to indulge.  One day, I may be eating salads all day (yay, me!), and the next I am making a batch of my favorite chocolate chip cookies (and taste testing the recipe every step of the way!).  One minute I'm preaching the virtues of fruits and vegetables  to my family (seriously, raw fruits and veggies are miracle foods!) and the next minute I am indulging in a half a dark chocolate bar dipped in peanut butter (I swear, this has to be a healthy snack--it's just got to be!).  The battle between healthy eats and chocolatey sweets rages on in my little world, and you, my friends, are the beneficiaries of each and every time the sweets side wins.

This recipe was definitely worth a devastating loss to my healthy eating side.  The chocolate cookie was soft and delicious.  The cookie dough filling  was sweet and delectable.  They were sinfully good!  In fact, you may need to go to confession for the sin of gluttony after eating more than one of these.  I was in love with these cookies from the first bite and I'm sure you will be too!

The only alteration I made to this fabulous recipe from Heat Oven to 350 was to throw in a few more mini chocolate chips.   I couldn't find a 13 ounce container of marshmallow creme at the grocery store, so I bought a 16 ounce container of Marshmallow Fluff and used my kitchen scale to measure out between 12 and 13 ounces.  Luckily, after assembling all the sandwiches, there was some filling left over, and since I can't stand to see sugar go to waste...  yum!  

Anyway, here is a recipe you won't regret making!

Brownie Cookie Dough Sandwiches
From Heat Oven to 350

Yield: 15 sandwich cookies

For the cookies:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder)
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

For the filling:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 13oz. container of marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (I used closer to 1/2 cup)

Instructions for the Cookies:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Combine the salt, flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda, and gradually stir into creamed mixture. Shape dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls and place on a baking sheet.  (Heat Oven to 350 then recommends flattening the dough balls with the bottom of a glass, but I found this step was not necessary.)  Bake 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are puffy and the tops are cracked, but still soft. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Instructions for the Filling:

Cream butter until fluffy.  Add sugar and beat well.  Add the flour and beat untill all the flour is incorporated. Add remaining ingredients and beat until mixture is smooth.  It will be fairly thick. 

Instructions for assembling sandwiches:

Scoop about 3 tablespoons of filling onto the bottom of a cooled cookie.  Top with another cookie and EAT!