Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies

 

I spent all afternoon baking up my Valentine's Day sugar cookies. I had grand plans for these bad boys including trying out royal icing, but the day just got away fom me and I went with the old standby. I did try making chocolate sugar cookies. That turned to be a HUGE disaster.  The dough didn't chill long enough and it was just one big sticky mess. I ended up just plopping the dough on the cookie sheet and baking it up. Much to my surprise they are very tasty, just not super cute.  Oh well.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I made these Pumpkin Whoopie Pies for Thanksgiving this year.  Whoopie pies are so super easy to make and they are pretty much the perfect sized dessert! Each person gets their own little pie, and man, were these good! 

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

from: Martha Stewart

• FOR THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE COOKIES
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• FOR THE CREAM-CHEESE FILLING
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
3. Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.
4. Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)
5. Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

Pumpkin Bars

Happy Almost-Halloween!

 

It's finally starting to feel a little more like fall around here and it's so nice! We had a Halloween Trick-or-TREAT DAY at work on Friday and of course everyone expected me to bring my now-famous frosted sugar cookies (sorry, no recipe to share here, top secret!), but I also wanted to bring another dessert since I had the baking itch. I saw these on Sugar Plum's blog a few days ago and they just looked too yummy. The recipe was super simple and I already had everything I needed, so it was perfect!

Frosted Pumpkin Bars
via: Sugar Plum
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 (16 oz) can pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted

Frosting (I doubled this)
4 ounces cream cheese, softed
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan (mine is 17x13x1 and worked just fine) with cooking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, granulated sugar and pumpkin until creamy - about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs until well combined - about 2-3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. Beat in walnuts until just combined.

Scrape and smooth batter into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the frosting, beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl using a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Beat in butter until creamy. Beat in confectioners' sugar, cream and vanilla until well combined and smooth - about 2-3 minutes. Spread frosting over cake, sprinkle with extra cinnamon if desired, and slice into bars.

Yum yum! They were a big hit at work. Some people even told me they ate them instead of their lunch! Ha! They did dry out pretty bad after a while, so I suggest storing them in the fridge until you are going to serve them. Enjoy! 

Come back soon to see what the dogs are for Halloween this year! It's gonna be hilarious!

No-Guilt Chocolate Cupcakes

I'm sure most of you have heard of or had one of these little bad boys, but I thought I'd share anyway.  These are the "One Point Cupcakes". I still have a hard time believing that these are just one little Weight Watchers point (I don't do WW), but I figure they can't be TOO bad anyway.

They are so simple to make too.  Just 2 ingredients are required, three if you want to be a tiny bit on the bad side.

No-Guilt Chocolate Cupcakes
1 box Dry Chocolate Cake Mix
1 can Pumpkin
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

Mix cake mix and can of pumpkin together, add chocolate chips. (batter will be thick) Scoop some batter into a cupcake pan fitted with paper wrappers.  (the batter doesn't rise like normal cupcakes, so fill them however full you want them to be in the end).  Bake 25-30 minutes, or until done

It doesn't get much easier than that, now does it!? The cupcakes aren't really as "cakey" as they are like a brownie. I lovvvve them!  Plus, they are so rich tasting that you really only want one! Try for yourself!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I've never really *loved* banana bread. I've always eaten it, sure, but it's never quite been something I crave. Then again, I don't really care for bananas anyway.  However, Zach loves bananas so we always seem to have a few on hand after the bunch goes brown.  I usually just make your standard run-of-the-mill banana bread and call it a day.  We typically eat a couple slices then toss it.

Well, it was treat day at work Wednesday and I didn't have a whole lot on hand to make, except for a few 'naners. So, off to one of my new favorite places to find recipes, The Tasty Kitchen. TONS of options.  I also knew I had a few chocolate chips on hand, so I wondered if there were any chocolate chip banana breads out there.... BOY WERE THERE!  I pretty much picked this one because it A) looked easy, B) I had most the stuff and C) Hmm... Sour Cream? That might be interesting.

It was awesome! Everyone loved it and I have had to really resist eating the entire second loaf myself... heh.  I'm pretty sure I'll definitely be craving this again soon!

 *Sorry for the single poor-quality image. I kinda forgot to take a picture when we had a whole loaf... and when it was light out. Live and learn.

So, thank you, brittgarrett, this was delish! 

CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD

½ cups Butter, Room Temperature
1-¼ cup Sugar
2 whole Eggs
½ cups Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Mashed Ripe Bananas (usually Equals 2 Bananas)
1-¾ cup Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 pinch Salt
¾ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat together until blended the butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and mashed ripe bananas.

Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips.

Pour batter into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 40-50 minutes (you will want to keep an eye on it, as ovens vary). Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removal.

Candy Bars

I was told to bring some bar cookies to my moms party last weekend. Instead of just finding a recipe that I'd made before, I set out to find a new one!  I knew that I'd be able to find something for sure over at Sugar Plum's blog. She's super cute and from Missouri too! These imediately caught my attention. I love candy! I love chocolate! I love bar cookies! These were it!

Too bad these took me 3.5 trips to the store because I kept forgetting ingredients. Note to self: do not buy mass amounts of candy bars at the gas station. Wow! Expensive.

Here's the recipe from Sugar Plums blog.

Candy Compost Bars
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus an additional 1/2 teaspoon
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips, melted, plus an additional 1/4 cup, melted
1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts
1/2 cup finely chopped mini candy bars (such as Snickers)
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
2/3 cup peanut butter chips
4 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup finely chopped mini candy bars (such as Twix)
1/2 cup M&M's

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter bottom and sides of a 13x9-inch baking dish and line with foil; butter foil.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt; whisk in oats until combined.  In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together 1/2 cup butter and sugar until creamy, about 1 minute.  Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.  Beat in 3/4 cup melted chocolate until combined.  Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until combined; beat in peanuts and candy bar until combined.  Dump the batter into the prepared dish and flatten evenly into one layer.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set and golden brown around edges.

To make the popcorn layer, melt the additional 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; stir in peanut butter, corn syrup, and additional 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bring mixture to a simmer.  Remove pan from heat and stir in peanut butter chips until melted; stir in popcorn until well combined, followed by chopped candy bar.  Spread and pack popcorn over chocolate cookie layer.

Pipe or drizzle remaining melted chocolate on top of bars, then sprinkle and press M&M's into the surface.  Cool completely before slicing into bars.

Now, I "finely chopped" the candy bars in my food processor. That probably wasn't the best idea because it completely demolished the candy bars and I would have preferred some larger chunks.  Overall I think the bars were really good! I'd almost rather have marshmallows instead of the popcorn, but ah well.I'm pretty sure they were a hit at the party, but really, nothing can compete with my mom's Italian cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake

I know, right?


I read a lot of food blogs (Ok, mostly baking blogs) and Annie's Eats has quickly become one of my most favorites. She has the best recipes! I saw the recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes and KNEW I had to make it.  Like, now.


I'm not a huge fan of cupcakes. Don't get me wrong, I'll eat them, but there's just something about a slice of cake that makes me much happier (I'm guessing it's the additional frosting...). So, I thought I'd try this out in cake form.  I also have never made a cake from scratch, so I cheated and used boxed white cake (and threw in some chocolate chips for good measure) for the cake base. It probably wasn't the best choice, but it worked. 

Here's my version:

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
1 box of white cake mix - prepare as directed
1/2 cup of chocolate chips 
For the filling:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips 
For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract   

Directions:
Prepare the cake as directed - stir in chocolate chips.  Line two 8" cake pans with parchment and divide batter between the two. Cook as directed and let cool completely. 

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.

Spread the cookie dough filling on top of one layer of cake. This makes a TON of filling, so it's going to be an extra thick layer of filling.  Top filling layer with second layer of cake. 

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy.  Mix in the confectioners' sugar until smooth.  Beat in the flour and salt.  Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.


Frost the cake, then top with a sprinkling of chocolate chips and chill in the fridge. 

 I cannot frost a cake to save my life people. It is truly pathetic. 

Holy bananas, this cake was RICH.  I'm definitely putting this in the "only for special occasions" file.   Zach and I really loved it but I think it was simply "too much" for my parents. Ah well, you can't win them all. But at least I loved it! The center is really, really rich and totally tastes just like cookie dough, but I think the frosting is my favorite. It's really light and creamy, but super buttery and who doesn't love that brown sugar flavor of cookie dough?!  I think the cupcakes would be better, but this was really time intensive as it was, so I can't imagine how long it would take to fill all those cupcakes. No thanks. 

And now, back to my diet.

Cowboy Cookies

For Christmas this year my friends and I decided to do baked goods for our annual "Girls Christmas" instead of gifts. Sounded good to me as I had already planned on giving some Mason Jar Cookies as my gift anyway. I just needed to find a good recipe.

I found this one over on Bakerella's Site. They looked really good and very simple. And they were!



I gave them to 5 people and realized afterward that I never actually made the recipe myself! Oops! So, I decided to try it out this past weekend.

Much to my delight they were VERY easy to make and super tasty!

Cowboy Cookies
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup M&M's
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3-1/2 cup chopped pecans (I didn't use this and there would have been NO WAY they'd fit in the jar) 
1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (melt slightly in the microwave)
1 teaspoon vanilla


Mix all the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients (Basically a 1 bowl cookie mix! Awesome!), mix together well. Roll into 1/2 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.





They turned out great!  Definitely a keeper! They oats gave it a really nice texture instead of just regular chocolate chip cookie (which I totally can't make...) They are also jam packed with chocolaty goodness. Nobody's going to be fighting over the one with more chips with these cookies! Mmmm, delish! 

 
Enjoy!

Baby it's cold outside

I wonder how many blog posts are going to have that title?  Probably a lot.

Anyway, yep, it's getting pretty cold here.  It's not so much the cold that's bothering me, it's the snow.

It. Won't. Stop. Snowing.

I finally decided I should try my hand at shoveling. Since, you know, I've never shoveled before. Heh. Yeah. Spoiled. Plus I was working from home and was in desperate need of a break.

I got all sorts of bundled up. Long johns, jeans, long sleeve tshirt, sweat shirt, brother's old ski coat, two pairs of socks, head band ear cover thingy, hood, ski gloves, rubber boots.  I was READY!  I dug into the first scoop and my first thought was "Holy Hell! Snow is heavy!"  Our driveway is loooooong and three spaces wide.  I decided from the get-go that there was no way I was shoveling that third space.  The wind was blowing in just the perfect direction to build up some nice 2.5' to 3' high snow drifts right where my car would back out, so I had my work cut out for me.  Over an hour and a half later I totally lost steam. I threw in the towel after I realized I had just yelled "God Damn You Piece Of Shit!!!" out loud.  Oops. Sorry neighbors! I finished what I could.  It's definitely not pretty and I never even scraped the concrete, but at least we can get the cars out. I came inside and took off all my layers only to discover I was sweating my ass off!!  How is that possible?! It's like 4 degrees out!

Then I started shaking.  Not because I was cold, but because I was so worn out.  I'm in probably the best shape of my life, but damn, that about did me in.  I don't think I'll need to do any shoulder or back exercises the next few days.  (I'm currently trying to ignore the fact that I just looked outside and all the snow drifts are already piling back up.  Zach can do it next time!)

Lookie!


So I came inside and warmed up? Cooled off? I don't know! THEN I started getting really cold.  All I wanted was some hot chocolate. GOOD hot chocolate. I hate the mix stuff. Gag.  So I whipped out my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and found a really easy, really quick, and REALLY tasty recipe.  Ahh heaven.



Hot Chocolate
2 ounces unsweetened or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped OR 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate pieces (which is what I used)
1/3 cup sugar
4 cups milk

1) In a medium saucepan combine chocolate, sugar and 1/2 cup of the milk. Stir over medium heat until mixture just comes to boiling. Stir in remaining milk, heat through, but do not boil.
2) Remove from heat. Pour into mugs and add whipped topping or marshmallows.

This makes about 6 servings so I cut it in about 1/4...ish.

YUM!


Stay warm, everyone!

Cinnamon Bread - Take 1

**Edit: Might be helpful if I give you the baking directions. Ha!


I'm a sucker for Cinnamon Bread. Ever since I was in college at Northwest. Nothing could make my day better than a quick trip over to Java City for a cup of steaming hot chocolate and a slice of their cinnamon bread. I'm not quite sure what it was about it, but it was delicious.

I've now decided that I will find the perfect cinnamon bread recipe. I was shocked to find though my quick google search that not many exist. Definitely nothing that resembled my college treat! So, I will just have to invent it on my own.

First up I found a recipe on Cooks.com. I didn't have all the ingredients it called for and there were a few that I wanted to tweak, so I'm considering this recipe my own!

Cinnamon Bread
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Strudel Topping:
4 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp butter

Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat for around 3 minutes. Pour into greased loaf pan. Combine strudel topping and sprinkle over batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes.



I'm not sure what I do wrong, but I cannot for the life of me make a strudel topping. It always turns out to be more of a paste like consistency. I use cold butter, so I'm not sure what's going on here. Any tips?

I also tried to get the perfect cinnamon swirl through the middle, but as you can see, that didn't quite work out either.



The bread did taste really good though. However, it could be better. Stay tuned for the next try!

Blueberry Crumb Bars

As shocking as this may sound, I'm kind of getting sick of really heavy and rich desserts. I've always been one to gravitate toward baking heavy chocolate brownies, or heavily frosted cakes and rich dessert bars, but I guess I'm getting old or something, because they just don't hit the spot like they used to. Perhaps it has to do with it being the middle of summer, but recently I've been craving anything and everything fruity. Earlier this week a few of my friends were talking about blueberries, and what you could make with them (did you know there are blueberry enchiladas?? I'm not so sure about that one...). I'd never really thought about baking with blueberries until I ran across this recipe. I'm not exactly sure why I decided I just had to try it, but it just sounded really good. Plus, blueberries are in season, so I thought what the heck!

Blueberry Crumb Bars
(from various sources)

Blueberry Crumb Bars

1 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Baking Powder
3 Cup Flour
1 Cup Cold Butter (2 sticks)
1 Egg
1/4 Tsp Salt
Zest & Juice of 1 Lemon
4 Cups Fresh Blueberries
1/2 Cup Sugar
4 Tsp Cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease 9x13 inch pan.

In medium bowl stir together; 1 cup of sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salut and lemon zest (I quickly realized I don't have a zester, so I just threw in a few drops of lemon juice). Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be very crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the pan.

In another bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in blueberries. Sprinkle blueberry mixture over dough in pan. Crumble the remaining dough over the top and gently pat down.

Bake approximately 45 minutes or until top is slightly brown.

This is by far one of the easiest desserts I've made! They almost taste like blueberry muffin bars. You could totally eat these bad boys for breakfast! De-Lish-Ous! I will definitely be adding these bars to my summertime staple list. They were a huge hit over at my parents this afternoon. Yum, Yum, Yum!!!

Summer Strawberry Pie

I often forget how much I like strawberries. They are a staple on every fruit tray. Sometimes I pick them up, other times I ignore them. However, they are pretty darn hard to resist in the summer when they are in season. The sweet, yet tart taste is like a guilt free candy. Once I start eating them, it's pretty hard to stop.

I make a few different strawberry desserts, but this year I wanted to try to make a pie. I'd never made a pie before. I'm not sure why, they just looked like they'd be hard, and honestly, slicing fruit is not one of my favorite things. Basically anything that involves a lot of slicing or chopping, I tend to avoid. However, this was pretty darn easy!! I won't lie though, I used a frozen Pilsbury pie crust. They taste good and are easy. Win/Win!

I got this recipe from the since retired from food blogging Emily of Cast Sugar. She's still keeping her website alive for all us fans, so check her out!


Strawberry Pie

1 9in deep dish pie shell - baked and cooked
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 1/2 Tbsp Cornstarch
2 cups cold water
1 (3 oz) pack of strawberry gelatin
1 quart of strawberries

Combine sugar, cornstarch and water in medium saucepan. Stir and bring to a boil while stirring. Boil off until mixture is clear and thick.
Add jello and stir to dissolve.
Set aside to cool for 15-20 minutes
Add sliced strawberries to jello mixture.
Pour in pie shell and cool at least 4 hours in fridge.

Slice and serve with a big ol' dollop of whipped cream.


I used slightly less cornstarch this time. I made this earlier in the summer too and my cornstarch lumped up, so I cut it back to about 4 Tbsp and it turned out perfect this time. Zach says it's really good, so it must be a winner! Oh, I also used sugar free jello and it tasted just fine!

Happy Summertime!

Sorry my pictures aren't the best. I'm not so good at the food photography thing just yet. I think I need a much better camera and lighting situation. I'll work on that.

Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies

There are lots of summer birthday's at work apparently. Recently we've had an abundance of food days. Last week we had two in a row! One for our new interns and the other was birthday food day. I made pumpkin bread for the intern day and for birthday day I wanted to try this new cookie recipe I found in my Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook. They looked really simple and delicious!

Here's an image from my cookbookSee, delicious!

They were super easy to make, however mine suffered from what my mom and I call "Chocolate Chip Cookie Syndrome". You see, my mom is pretty darn good at making cookies (she even sells them!!), however chocolate chip cookies are quite the challenge for some reason, they just go flat and thin. No matter how many different recipes she's tried, they always turn out flat and thin. We've decided it must be some sort of family curse, because I cannot make chocolate chip cookies to save my life. Trust me, I've tried to out-do my mom plenty of times. All failures. Don't get me wrong, they taste delicious, they are just a little thin.

I digress.... The cookies turned out great, but um, not exactly like Martha's.

Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies
from Martha Stewart Cookies

For the Cookies
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup chunky-style applesauce
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspooon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make cookies: put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined. Add egg and applesauce; mix until well blended, 2-3 minutes. Mix in oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix in raisins.

Using a 1.5 inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until golden and just set, 13-15 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack set over parchment paper; let cool completely.

For the icing:
1 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons water

Make icing: Whisk confectioners sugar, maple syrup and water until smooth. Drizzle over cookies; let set. Cookies can be stored in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Seems simple enough, and it was... However, THIS is what *I* got....

Uhm.... Not exactly what's in the picture, but still very good. Just a little thin and chewy...

Cheesecake Brownies - Sort Of

My mom called me Saturday morning and asked if we'd like to come over for dinner. They were having Beef Kabobs, so of course we said yes! She asked me to bring a dessert so I quickly went to the pantry to see what I had that I could make. I had brownie mix and low-fat cream cheese (which I just recently learned is called "Neufchantel Cheese". That really cleared up a lot of confusing recipes I'd recently found! Haha!!). So, I went to my trusty Kraft Food Magazine and found this recipe.

Fail.

My family had a fun time trying to describe the texture. Zach said "spongy". Mom said "rubbery". Dad said "interesting". I said "Weird". So yeah... Not my best work. At least we all got a good laugh out of it. They really didn't taste that bad, but the texture, well, it just wasn't right.

I'm posting the recipe just so you all can read it and agree that I should have probably thought twice, or three times before making this. It just doesn't even sound right!!!

Low-Fat Cheesecake Brownies
Kraft Food & Family Magazine

1 Pkg (19.5oz) Brownie Mix
1/2 Cup Applesauce
3 Egg Whites - Divided
1/4 Cup Water
1 Pkg (8oz) Neufchantel Cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix brownie mix, applesauce, two of the egg whites and water. Pour into 13x9" baking pan sprayed with cooking spray

Mix cream cheese, sugar, flour and remaining egg white until well blended. Spoon over brownie batter. Cut through batter with knife several times for marble effect.

Bake 28-30 min (mine took about 35-38 min) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs attached. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 32 (2x3") pieces

The Silver Lining:
Calories: 110
Fat: 3 grams

However, I think the best way to redeem some bleh brownies is to scoop some lite ice cream on top and call it a day! :)

Birthday Brownies

Zach's birthday was on Thursday. His new work schedule has him working late, so he doesn't get home until well after midnight and is asleep when I leave for work, so while I didn't "see" him on his actual birthday I knew I wanted to stay up and do something special for him that night.

He has a soft spot in his heart for all things peanut butter and chocolate. Especially peanut butter brownies. So I spent a good part of my day finding the perfect recipe.

I've never made brownies from scratch before, so I had no idea what to expect. I stumbled across this recipe from Ina Garten. While I find her personality to be really annoying, she does tend to make really good food, so I checked it out.. All 60 some-odd reviews were really good, so I printed the recipe and headed to the grocery store.

It was there that I really took a good look at what all went into these bad boys. If you can't really visualize what 1 pound 12 oz of chocolate and 1 pound of butter looks like, here's a visual:
Holy fat grams! This is by far, the most unhealthy thing I'd ever made!!! I knew right then that I wouldn't be making these but only for special occasions! So away I went!

Peanut Swirl Brownies
from Ina Garten - Food Network

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules (I cut this down to 2, but could have even gone less than that, the flavor was strong)
  
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (I warmed in the microwave for about 30 seconds to be smooth enough to swirl)
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the remaining 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the prepared sheet pan. Spoon the peanut butter over the top of the chocolate mixture and using a knife, swirl it through the chocolate mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes more or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into large squares.

I have to say these are the most dense and rich brownies I have ever had. I think that next time I'll nix the peanut butter swirl and substitute peanut butter chips for the 12 oz chocolate chips. The extra chocolate is definitely good, but super, super rich. Zach, of course, loved them!

They made an absolute ton. My guess is that the finished pan weighed at least seven pounds! I cut up all the brownies the next day and wrapped them individually. Froze half, gave some to my parents and the rest are sitting in my fridge, begging for a tall glass of milk!

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Zach!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

It's been a good day so far. Went for a nice run at the gym. Got home and took Missy for a walk with Zach and then gave myself a pedicure! Tonight we are going to our most favorite Italian place, Accurso's and then Zach is actually going to take me to see "He's Just Not That Into You"! He's the bestest!

Here are some Valentine's Day sugar cookies that I made earlier in the week. It's a "secret family recipe" so I can't share that, but I thought they turned out too cute not to show off.

Happy Heart Day!



All together now.... AWWWH!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mallow Bars

How's that for a lot of stuff!

This recipe was on the cover of a recent issue of Kraft Food and Family Magazine. My favorite! I've made quite a few things out of it and they are usually really easy and tasty! The second I saw the oooie goooie bars on the cover I knew I'd be making them at some point.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mallow Bars
from Kraft Food and Family Magazine
1 pkg devil's food cake mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2/3 cup cold milk, divided
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 jar (7 oz) Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
1/2 cup salted peanuts
6 squares semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used chocolate chips instead)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix dry cake mix, butter and 1/3 cup mil until blended
Press two thirds onto bottom of 13x9 inch pan
Bake 12-145 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool 3 minutes.
Mix peanut butter and remaining mil; spread onto crust. (this part was difficult, I felt like I didn't have enough peanut butter, I might make more next time)
Top with spoonfuls of marshmallow creme and remaining cake mixture.
Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate; press gently into cake mixture
Bake 18 minutes or just until center is set. Cool before cutting into bars.

Ok, it is very, VERY rare that you will hear me say this about a dessert, but.... I really didn't like them. I KNOW! What's not to love.... chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallow fluff!!! I love it all. But for some reason these bars just didn't do it for me. I think there was simply too much going on. I also think I would have prefered a brownie base. The cake tasted strange to me. However, Zach thinks they are awesome, so maybe it's just me. Try for yourself and see!