Bungalow Blog

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I just used the cap to measure out two cap fulls, does anybody else do this?)

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups chocolate chips (use whatever kind you have, semi-sweet, milk, butterscotch, white… possibilities are endless!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie pan with parchment paper. Mix the butter and vanilla.

Add in the flour, sugar, salt and chocolate chips, using your hands or a wooden spoon mix it all together until well combined.

The dough will be fairly dry and crumbly. Dump the dough onto lined cookie sheet.

Press it into a thin layer using your hands. Mine didn’t completely fill the cookie tray. The thinner you press it, the crispier it will be and the quicker it will cook, so adjust accordingly.

Bake for 20 minutes, check, if edges are lightly brown and center is set, remove from oven. Allow to cool COMPLETELY (this is probably the hardest part, I put the whole tray in the fridge to speed up the process ☺).

Break up into pieces.

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1 1/2 cups milk

One 12 oz can evaporated milk (I used skim, evaporated milk keeps the egg and milk from curdling)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled to room temp

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups (12 oz) shredded cheese (I used an Italian blend, recipe calls for Italian fontina cheese)

1/2 pound elbow macaroni or mini penne tubes, par cooked and drained (this means cook them for about five minutes until tender but not completely cooked)

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Spray the inside of your slow-cooker with cooking spray or grease it with olive oil. Combine milk, evaporated milk, eggs, butter, and salt in slow-cooker and whisk until until smooth (or you can use an immersion blender to do the whisking for you).

Add the shredded cheese (not the Parmesan) and macaroni, sprinkle with black pepper (and whatever other spices you want to use). Stir gently with a spatula to coat evenly.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to LOW and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until custard is set in the center and the pasta is tender. The macaroni and cheese may sit in the cooker on the KEEP WARM setting for 30 minutes before serving. Before dishing it up, I sautéed some bread crumbs with olive oil and sprinkled them over the top to make it a little fancier.

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