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Hi foodies…

Happy MLK Day! For those of you who are lucky enough to be spending this holiday at home, I hope you’re enjoying some good kitchen time. Did you have a chance to make my Baked Stuffed Apples recipe? Now that January is about halfway over, it’s a good time to check in to see how we're doing with our New Year’s Resolutions. Did you make any food-related goals? Maybe to cook at home more, to eat less processed foods, or get more veggies into your diet? I’m never a fan of giving up the foods you love, and that’s why I was so happy with the tips Jenna gave us in her guest blog post while I was on vacation. Her balanced eating philosophy is attainable, and practical enough for any lifestyle. As a registered dietician, she knows that snacking can often be the downfall of a healthy eating resolution. With that in mind, she’s given us some great suggestions for snack time!

Convenient Snack Ideas for a Healthy New Year:

Hummus & carrots

Salsa & whole grain tortilla chips

String cheese

Greek yogurt

Mixed nuts & dried fruit

Whole grain or 100% whole wheat toast and sliced tomatoes

Low-fat cheese cubes & whole grain crackers

Low-fat, low-sodium deli turkey slices wrapped in lettuce with hummus or honey mustard

Microwaved apples topped with Splenda® & brown sugar

Thanks, Jenna! As foodies, we enjoy preparing meals that everyone will love and we don’t want to sacrifice our family’s favorite foods for bland, “good-for-you” alternatives. By just thinking ahead, we can make sure to have foods around that will satisfy our cravings in a healthier way. This week we’ve got some great snack foods on ITKWD that I think would be Jenna-approved, like the always delicious KIND Snack Bars!

Let’s face it; we all need a sweet treat now and again. The key to staying on track is not banning certain foods from your kitchen, but to avoid over-indulging on them. This week, I’ve got a great recipe that satisfies your sweet tooth in a small, bite-size portion. My Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cups are a cookie batter-lover’s dream, with their stuffed center of yummy confection! I make them in mini muffin tins, so they can be individually wrapped. They’re perfect for when you need just a taste of chocolate in the middle of your day. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cups

This recipe is prepared using the Walah 10-Piece Ceramic Nonstick Cookware Set (K36559).

Go to David's Recipe Item Page for the full list of items that David has used in his recipes.

Ingredients:

Cookie Dough:

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 tsp salt

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

4 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup peanut butter chips

Chocolate Cups:

1-2/3 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

1-1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Line a 24-cup mini muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.

2. To prepare the dough, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the brown sugar and the salt, stirring until dissolved. Continue to cook the butter for 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat. Let it cool for 15 minutes, then whisk in the vanilla, confectioners’ sugar, and flour until fully combined. Let the mixture cool for another 5 minutes, then mix in the mini chocolate chips until they’re evenly distributed. You should refrigerate the dough until you’re ready to prepare the cups. If it’s more than 20 minutes, let the dough sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to soften before you attempt to scoop it into the cups.

3. To prepare the chocolate cups, place the mini semisweet chocolate chips and 1 cup of the semisweet chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl. Set aside. Fill a medium-size saucepot about 1/3 of the way full with water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off and then place the bowl with the chocolate chips on top of the saucepot. Let it sit for 3–5 minutes, and then lightly whisk the chocolate chips until fully melted. Remove the bowl from the saucepot, add the remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips, and whisk again until completely melted. Pour 2 tsp of the melted chocolate into each liner, and with a small pastry brush, spread the chocolate to completely cover the inside of the liner. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

4. Scoop 1 Tbsp of the dough into each of the refrigerated cups and press them into the chocolate, making sure that the dough is lower in height than the liner. Place the cups in the refrigerator for another 8 minutes. Evenly pour the remaining melted chocolate over each cookie dough cup, and smooth the top with a spoon. Refrigerate the cups until you’re ready to serve. Before eating, remove them from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.

It’s easy to get carried away with making sure you get every last drop of cookie dough batter from the bowl and the spoon, but these little cups will give you just the taste you need. If you’re serving these to guests, don’t tell them about the dough in the middle—let it be a sweet surprise! I wonder who was the first person to realize how yummy the uncooked dough could be? Whoever it was, I thank you! Now, do you have a special recipe using cookie dough? Maybe you throw it into your ice cream, or do you have a cookie dough dip recipe? Tell me how you get creative with your unbaked batter!

Be sure to watch ITKWD this Wednesday to watch me go crazy for cookie dough!

Keep it Flavorful,

—David