cooking ala mel

healthy recipes and the occasional craft

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Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies with Ganache Filling

On my first official day of break, I decided to make all of my cookies for my sister’s annual cookie party.  9 dozen cookies.  Not so bad when they’re drop cookies, but cut out sandwich cookies?  I’ll probably never do that again in one day…

14 hours later, I had all of the cookies for the party, and some extras that didn’t have filling that I finished up the following day.  The taste of these cookies may have made the extreme backache from being on my feet the entire day worth it.  They’re that good.

Chocolate Coconut Truffles

I am officially finished with the semester, and now I’m getting myself in the holiday spirit with lots and lots of holiday treats!  I decided to start out with something a little easier:  these chocolate coconut truffles.

These are a treat that my sister loves, originally from How Sweet Eats.  I’ve been meaning to make a slightly healthier version for a while, but I’m just finally getting around to it.  I’m so glad I did.  They remind me of Mounds bars, but more gooey, which is sooo good.

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Roasted Red Pepper Potato Soup

I think I’ve made more soup this year than I ever have before, and I am nowhere near done!  I’ve been stocking up on lots of organic chicken and vegetable broth from Trader Joe’s, since I never really have enough leftover vegetables (or chicken bones) to make stock of my own.  I’ve been having so much fun making different varieties of soup!  I decided to use some roasted red peppers that I had stashed away in the pantry for this one, and oh my goodness.  Definitely another favorite for both Alex and me!

I used the basic ratios that I also used in my broccoli cheddar potato soup, removing the broccoli and cheese and adding in the roasted red peppers.  I love the slight tang and smokey flavor the roasted red peppers give to this soup.  I also recommend making this a day ahead of time, because the flavors just get even better as they sit in the fridge!  Leftovers were fantastic.