Nutella Chocolate Cookies

I AM HOME.
I came home for Thankgiving, and I have never been so happy to be in my kitchen. I decided to make my two favorite cookie recipes: the chocolate crinkle cookies and the Nutella cookies. Now, I have said this before, and I'll say it again: I do not like nutella. I don't like peanut butter, and Nutella has the same texture, which is off-putting. But these cookies are magical. They don't even taste that much like Nutella. They are fluffy and chocolatey and perfect, and a breeze to make.

First, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. You may have to sift it, like I did, to get all the lumps out of the cocoa.

Next, beat the butter and Nutella together.

Add brown sugar and regular sugar.

And eggs, water, and vanilla. Make sure everything is smooth.

Gradually beat in the flour mixture until it is almost combined, and then fold in the rest by hand. Make tablespoon-sized balls and drop them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Currently the only oven that works at my house is the little one, so I have to use cake pans.

Bake for 8 minutes if you want soft cookies, and 10 minutes if you want crispy cookies. I did 10, and they're still pretty soft.

Next, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla to make the icing, and add food coloring. I chose my two favorite colors, yellow and purple, but in the past I did red and white for Christmas. Put the icing into plastic bags. I find it's easiest to do this if you put the bags into a glass and fold the tops over the edge.

Now drizzle the icing over the cookies! They're so pretty! Although in the future I probably won't do yellow again because when it hardens it doesn't look that good.

So there you have it! I'm so happy to be home and have my kitchen back. These cookies are the perfect way to celebrate.

Here's the recipe:

Nutella Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 stick unsalted butter (softened)

3/4 cup Nutella

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 T water

1 t vanilla

Icing (recipe below)

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Make sure there are no lumps. You may need to sift it.
2. In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and Nutella until creamy. Beat in the sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, water, and vanilla extract.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture. Mix until the dough just begins to come together and the flour is almost incorporated, and then fold in the rest by hand.
4. Make balls the size of a tablespoon and place them a few inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8-10 minutes (8 for soft cookies, 10 for crispier cookies) at 375 degrees.
5. Let cool for 5 minutes on the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool all the way.
6. Put the icing into a plastic bag and snip off a very tiny part of the corner. Drizzle icing over cookies. Let the icing dry.
7. Eat.

Icing

Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 T milk or water

1/2 t vanilla

Food coloring, if desired

Instructions:

1. Whisk ingredients together until smooth.
2. Use to decorate as desired.

Source: The Kitchn

Microwave Black Beans and Rice

So after a long period of being too lazy to go down to the supermarket (it's a mile away and it has been dipping into the 30's recently), I finally went. My friend Emily and I decided to go after our vegetarian nutrition class, which is conveniently on that side of campus. I had already prepared my go-to cheapskate shopping list:

• Pasta
• Pasta Sauce (whatever is on sale, this time Prego)
• Canned Black Beans
• White Rice
• Brown Rice
• Cous Cous (a new addition)

I also picked up some pomegranates and limes because they were on sale, and I freakin love pomegranates. Anyway, when I got home, I decided to combine my new foods to see what I could make. I already had some leftover brown rice in the fridge, so I made black beans and rice with cheese. And man oh man, it was good.

I looked up a bunch of recipes for black beans and rice online and took bits and pieces from each one to make it microwave friendly. Obviously you need the microwave rice cooker, or another method of cooking rice.

I'm anemic, so I'm always looking for easy ways to get iron. Black beans are a great source for that, as well as for protein. You can use white rice instead of brown, but brown has more fiber and is generally better for you. I keep my shredded cheese in the freezer so it lasts longer, and it works perfectly fine. I think this recipe would benefit from some chili powder or cilantro, as well as some hot sauce. You can customize it however you'd like.

Here's the recipe:

Microwave Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 T butter

15 oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)

Juice from half a lime

1/4 cup shredded cheese

Instructions:

1. Combine the rice and the butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes, or until the butter is melted. Take out of the microwave and stir together.
2. Combine the beans and the lime juice in a bowl and mix well. You will only need half of the beans, so save the rest for later. Put the beans on top of the rice and top with the shredded cheese.
3. Microwave for 2 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Take out of the microwave and stir together.
4. Eat.