Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'm a big peanut butter-chocolate fiend, so I was really excited to try these muffins. Overall, I was a little disappointed in them. Their big, puffy domes were beautiful, but I just wasn't really impressed by the flavor. Yes, they're peanut buttery and yes, they've got yummy chocolate bits, so by all accounts I should have been wild about them. But I wasn't, and I think maybe it is the texture. Most muffins are light and fluffy. These were dense and I also think the bottoms got a little overdone. Andrew liked them, but I don't know that I'll make them again.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins
(Source: Annie's Eats)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
6 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners. (I greased my muffin cups instead)

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, peanut butter, eggs and milk until smooth. Add in the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly between prepared muffin tins, filling each to the top.

4. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

I came across a bag of cherry morsels when I was cleaning out the kitchen cabinets and decided it was time to use them or lose them. When I hopped on the internet to look for recipes, there really weren't very many out there. I settled on this one, and I really wasn't sure how they'd turn out. Surprisingly, the cookies were actually quite good. The cinnamon and cherry flavors worked well together, and the oats added a nice texture to the cookie.

Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
(Source: Taste of Home)

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package (10 ounces) cherry chips

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chips and walnuts.

2. Drop by tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Puppy Chow

I saw this recently on one of the many blogs I follow, and I knew I had to make some immediately. I probably haven't had Puppy Chow since high school, quite possibly since the time I upset my homeroom teacher Freshman year when I got powdered sugar all over the floor of his classroom. Sorry Mr. Erickson!

This recipe needs no tweaking. It is perfect just the way it is. It combines chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. What more could you ask for? And, as an added bonus, it's so easy to throw together and nobody can keep their hand out of the bowl!

I would, however, make one suggestion. Instead of putting all of the cereal in a large ziploc bag to coat with powdered sugar, I would recommend coating the cereal in smaller batches (1/3 of the cereal with 1/3 of the powdered sugar). I went the large ziploc bag route, and I found it difficult to coat the cereal evenly.

Puppy Chow
(Source: Chex)

9 cups Corn, Rice, Wheat, or Chocolate Chex cereal (or combination)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Milk chocolate chips)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. In a large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Funfetti Cake

Confetti or, as I like to call it, Funfetti cakes get their name from the confetti-like splashes of color throughout. These splashes are produced by stirring rainbow sprinkles into the batter. The sugary jimmies melt as the cake bakes, leaving behind color and no trace of what was once a sprinkle.

This happens to be my coworker Jenny's favorite kind of cake, so I knew that's what I was making for her birthday. My only complaint with this cake in particular was that there wasn't enough "confetti" in the cake, so next time I will add more sprinkles to the batter!

Funfetti Cake
(Source: Annie's Eats)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp rainbow sprinkles

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg whites to the bowl and beat until combined. Add in the vanilla and almond extracts and mix until incorporated. Mix in the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix just until incorporated. Fold in the sprinkles with a spatula.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (about 30-40 minutes). Allow to cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost cooled cake as desired.