Cheater Chipotle-Bacon Cornbread Muffins

Yes, this is another crappy picture -I'm on a roll!

Had it not been for my friend Julie in Chicago who gave me the heads on a this Cooking Light recipe I would have never made this. Now, I have never liked cornbread for one and two I could never see the attraction of having it with Chili, I just couldn't. But since I was having Mom, Dad, Marisa & Doug and Aunt Trish over I decided to make cornbread just in case they liked their Chili with cornbread.

I didn't want to make regular old cornbread so I turned to the Cooking Light recipe which had two of my favorite things Bacon and Chipotles. But I have to admit they weren't exactly "home made". Sure they we made and they were made at home. So technicaly speaking I guess they were "home" "made". This time I wanted to make this dinner low maintenance but I think next time I make these, and there will be a next time, I'm going to make them per the Cooking Light recipe.

Anyway I really liked them, they were savory and the chipotles just added a nice smoky flavor that wasn't spicy at all!

Cheater Chipotle-Bacon Cornbread Muffins

Adapted from Cookinglight.com

Ingredients:

1 Package of Marie Callender's Cornbread Mix

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

3 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Cooking spray

Preheat oven and prepare batter per package directions. Fold in the remaining ingredients. Spray cupcake pan with cooking spray and fill each 2/3 of the way with batter. Check after 13-15 minutes of cooking, insert toothpick into center of "muffin" and if it comes out clean it's good to go! Remove from pan and cool on cooling rack.

Note: In the spirit of "full disclosure" I didn't get 2 full pans out of the mix. I got more like 1 1/2, but then again I am pretty recipe retarded so I proably did something wrong.

Betty Crocker Thumbprint Cookies

I know this is a bad picture, but I never said I was a photography major. And

if you think this picture is bad, you should go take a look on what's on Ol' Betty's website. Now they should be ashamed of themselfs.

I got this recipe through a recipe exchange I participated in. I was kinda bummed to get a cookie recipe (I have to say though, I did join in last so it was between this and some chocolate pie that wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but I digres) because I'm kinda the Enemy of Cookies. Or better yet cookies are the enemy of me. No matter what I do they refuse to come out good. No joke, they are either too dry, too soft, too tough or just too.... everything!!!

But lucky for me good ol' Betty makes fool proof recipes. And although this was a fool proof recipe some how, some way being the EOC I am I managed to mess it up. All I had to do was stick my thumb into the dough and make a dent big enough to fill with jam, unfortunately I didn't do that right, because when the cookies came out of the oven the imprint I had made on them had risen. But being the clever girl that I am I simply took the bottom tip of a wooden spoon and dented the cookies again. Voila! I had my imprint back and no one could be the wiser.

I would totally make these cookies again for many reasons; one, they were tasty. Two they were easy and three they were so soft that they crumbled after one bite, I love when they do that!

Betty Crocker Thumbprint Cookies
courtesy of bettycrocker.com

Prep Time:40 min
Start to Finish:1 hr 20 min
Makes:3 dozen cookies

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, separated
1 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
Jelly (I used Knott's Berry Farm Boysenberry) *see note below

1. Heat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mix brown sugar, shortening, butter, vanilla and egg yolk in medium bowl. Stir in flour and salt until dough holds together.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Beat egg white slightly. Dip each ball into egg white. Roll in nuts. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb deeply in center of each.
4. Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Fill thumbprints with jelly.

Nutrition Information
1 Serving: Calories 85 (Calories from Fat 45 ); Total Fat 5 g (Saturated Fat 1 g); Cholesterol 10 mg; Sodium 30 mg; Total Carbohydrate 9 g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 1 g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 2 % Exchanges: 1/2 Starch; 1 Fat *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Note: I would use a tart jelly/jam vs a sweet one. I just really liked the contrast of the tart jam against the sweet cookie. One more thing because I made them bigger than what they suggested I only got about 2 dozen, but they were a tasty 2 dozen :)