White Chocolate Cinnamon Toast Crunchers

These cookies, which I've had my eye on for quite a while, were good but I would defintely make a couple of changes:

1) Decrease the amount of white chocolate chips from 1 bag (approximately 2 cups) to 1 cup. White chocolate chips are incredibly sweet and, while I normally have quite the sweet tooth, these were too much for me.

2) Add the Cinnamon Toast Crunch whole, rather than cruching it up slightly. When I added my crushed cereal to my stand mixer, the cereal got crushed up even more so that the cereal was barely noticible in the cookie.

3) Increase the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal by about a half a cup.I think the cookies could benefit from a little more Cinnamon Toast Crunch flavor.

Photo Courtesy of Picky Palate

White Chocolate Cinnamon Toast Crunchers
(Source: Picky Palate)

2 sticks softened butter
1 Cup packed brown sugar
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon real vanilla extract
2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 Cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal, slightly crushed up
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a stand or electric mixer beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined. In a large bowl combine the flour, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal, baking powder and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with the white chips until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough and place onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 9-12 minutes or until edges just start to turn golden brown.

2. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Enjoy with a tall glass of milk!

3 dozen cookies

(Not Really) Lofthouse Cookies

You've heard of Lofthouse Cookies before, right?

Those incredible addictive cookies that are white as snow, soft, almost as crumbly as polvorones, and have a lot of flavor from whatever blend of extracts are used?

Yeah, those.

I tried to recreate them this weekend for a bridal shower I was hosting. I did a lot of internet research before starting. I can't tell you the reasoning behind which recipe I finally chose, other than that it boasted that they tasted "exactly like Lofthouse Cookies."

Well, it wasn't entirely true.

They were not as puffy as Lofthouse Cookies. They were also not as soft, and the edges were almost crunchy and I defintiely didn't overbake them (You know how I am with cookies). You could taste the oil in the cookie, so much so that I had to add extra vanilla to try to balance out the flavor.

So, as of right now, the hunt is still on. Next time I will either be trying the version found on Cookie Maddness or Cooking with Carrie.

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Sugar Cookies
(Source: bon appécookie)

Cookies:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour

Frosting:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 (1/2 stick) unsalted butter softened
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp half and half (or whole milk)
5 drops food coloring

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Cream together the butter, oil, and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. In a separate bowl sift together the remaining dry ingredients. Combine with the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.

3. Refrigerate dough or roll into evenly-sized balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Leave on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. To make the frosting, beat together all ingredients well, adding milk and food coloring last for desired thickness and color. Frost cooled cookies generously and add decorations as desired.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

This ice cream is good. Really good. The the clean and light cinnamon flavor made my taste buds dance. I will definitely make this recipe again and again and again and again. And, despite the recent arrival of autumn, I will definitely be trying even more ice cream recipes in the near future.

Cinnamon Ice Cream
(Source: The Perfect Scoop)

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
Ten 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken up
2 cups heavy cream, divided
5 egg yolks

1. Warm the milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks and 1 cup of the heavy cream in a medium saucepan. Once warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

2. Rewarm the cinnamon-infused milk mixture. Remove the cinnamon sticks with a slotted spoon and discard them. Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (should reach 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and into the cream. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

5. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, preferably overnight, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Cookie Dough Brownies

If you're a raw cookie dough lover like me, you have to make these brownies. I'm serious. As in, tonight, make these brownies. You won't regret it.

Imagine taking a great chocolatey brownie with chocolate chips and topping it with raw chocolate chip cookie dough. Yeah. they're simply amazing.

And don't worry - the cookie dough topping has no raw eggs in it, so it's completely safe to eat! It's basically like a cookie dough frosting that I could literally eat with a spoon. And I just may have.

For the brownies, I used my signature brownie recipe. The recipe has yet to fail me.

For the frosting, I used the recipe found on Lovin' From the Oven, which is as follows:

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
4 1/2 tbsp milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

1. Combine the butter, sugars, milk and flour until well combined. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
2. Spread the cookie dough on the cooled brownies.

3. Chill the brownies until the cookie dough is firm. Cut into bars and serve.

Nick's Peanut Butter Dream Bars

We had a going away party for my coworker Jeff today. He brought ice cream in for all of us, so I (of course) had to bake something. He is as big a peanut butter fan as I am, so I knew this recipe was perfect. The original calls for M&Ms, but I naturally had to use Reese's Pieces to pack in a little more peanut butter.

Nick's Peanut Butter Dream Bars

(Source: Land O Lakes)

2 cups uncooked quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup Butter, melted
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup crunchy or creamy peanut butter
1 cup candy-coated chocolate pieces (I used Reece's Pieces)

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in large bowl; stir until well mixed. Stir in melted butter until moistened.

2. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture; press remaining mixture into greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake 12 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter in small bowl; stir until well mixed. Carefully spread over hot, partially baked crust within 1/4 inch from edge.

4. Combine reserved crumb mixture and candy-coated pieces in small bowl; sprinkle over sweetened condensed milk mixture, pressing down lightly. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.

Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I got an itch to try making my own ice cream after watching the "Going Bananas" episode of Good Eats. I love eating ice cream in the summer. In fact, our freezer usually has at least one kind of ice cream treat in it at all times during the summer.

The recipe called for 6 bananas, but I used only 4. The ice cream was good – the banana flavor was prominent without being to overpowering. And the chocolate chips added a nice crunch and additional flavor.

Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
(Adapted from Alton Brown at Food Network)

6 (approximately 2 1/4 pounds) ripe bananas (I used 4)
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 - 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Place bananas in freezer and freeze overnight.

2. Remove bananas from freezer and allow to thaw for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

3. Peel bananas and place in bowl of food processor along with the lemon juice. Process for 10 to 15 seconds. Add corn syrup and vanilla bean seeds and turn processor on. Slowly pour in the heavy cream. Process until smooth.

4. Chill mixture in refrigerator until it reaches 40 degrees.

5. Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions.
6. Place mixture in an airtight container and freeze for 3 to 6 hours before serving.

Breakfast "Blobs"

This on-the-go breakfast may sound weird, but it tastes great. Crunchy cereal packed with a peanut butter punch is a delicious and easy snack.

Breakfast "Blobs"
(Source: Nutritionist Alana Unger, R.D.)

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
3 cups flake cereal, crushed (I used Special K)
2 Tbsp honey

1. Mix peanut butter, nonfat dry milk, crushed cereal, and honey.

2. Form into "blobs" (should make 10 blobs).

3.Wrap each blob in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Oatmeal Brownie Bars

My coworker Alison is not big into cake, so I had to come up with something else to make for her birthday. I settled on this recipe because she like oatmeal, and oatmeal + brownie = delicious. I served these with scoops of vanilla bean ice cream, and the only thing that could have made these bars better would have been if they we were eating them right out of the oven. The crunchy oatmeal paired perfectly with the brownie layer for a fantastic (and easy!) birthday treat.

Oatmeal Brownie Bars
Source: Land O'Lakes

Oatmeal Layer:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cold Butter, cut into chunks

Brownie Layer:
1/3 cup Butter
3 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 Eggs
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all oatmeal layer ingredients in large bowl except butter. Cut in 2/3 cup butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 1/4 cups crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining crumbs into greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine 1/3 cup butter and chocolate in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH (100% power), stirring twice, until chocolate is melted (30 to 60 seconds). Cool slightly.
3. Combine sugar, eggs, water and vanilla in large bowl; beat at medium speed until well mixed. Add melted chocolate mixture; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add 1 cup flour and baking powder. Beat until well mixed.

4. Drop chocolate mixture by tablespoonfuls over warm, partially baked crust. Carefully spread brownie layer evenly over crust; top with reserved crumb mixture.

5. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are set. (DO NOT OVERBAKE.) Cool completely; cut into bars.

Pretzel M&M Cookie Bars

I've experimented with M&Ms before. So I obviously had to make something with the newest M&M:

The M&Ms themselves were quite good. They'd be even better with peanut butter, but everything is better to me with peanut butter. :)

I came across BEB's Chocolate Chip & Pretzel Cookie Bars and new the M&Ms would pair well with the bars since they already included pretzels. I didn't do much to adapt the recipe, other than to cut down on the chocolate chips to make way for the M&Ms. And they were fabulous. And, since I didn't snap any pictures, you'll just have to take my word for it. ;)

Pretzel M&M Cookie Bars
(Source: Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup Pretzel M&Ms
1/2 cup pretzels, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chocolate chips, for drizzling (optional)
1/4 cup pretzels, crumbled, for topping (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Using a mixer, beat the butter and both sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips and pretzel pieces.

3. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and press it down evenly with a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely.

4. In separate sandwich size baggies, melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter. Cut off a small corner on each bag and drizzle the chocolate and peanut butter over the top of the bars. Sprinkle the extra crushed pretzels on top. Let set and then cut into squares.

Makes 32 squares

Doughnut Muffins

I've seen similar muffins floating around on the internet for months, but never got around to making them until now. This basic muffin is a beat-it-up, cake-type muffin, high-crowned and very "vanilla-looking."

I'll admit, I didn't care for these muffins right out of the oven. The nutmeg was very prominent and I didn't think they tasted particularly doughnut-like. However, by the next day the nutmeg flavor had subsided and I was left with a muffin that did indeed taste like a doughnut. And it was delicious.

Doughnut Muffins
(Source: King Arthur Flour)

Batter:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 to 1 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, to taste
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 cup milk

Topping:
3 Tbsp melted butter
3 Tbsp cinnamon sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. Or line with 12 paper or silicone muffin cups, and grease the cups with non-stick vegetable oil spray; this will ensure that they peel off the muffins nicely.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.

3. Add the eggs, beating to combine.

4. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla.

5. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

6. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.

7. Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they're a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.

8. Remove them from the oven, and let them cool for a couple of minutes, or until you can handle them. While they're cooling, melt the butter for the topping (this is easily done in the microwave).

9. Use a pastry brush to paint the top of each muffin with the butter, then sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar. Or simply dip the tops of muffins into the melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar.

10. Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Store for a day or so at room temperature.

Frozen Peanut Butter Cups

I'm a sucker for anything that even remotely involves peanut butter, so when I saw this I knew I had to purchase it:

However, I didn't want to just make the bars and be done with it. Since it is summer (and thus hot out), I decided to turn it into a frozen dessert.

What you need:
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 1/3 cup milk


1. Place topping pouch in large bowl of boiling water; set aside.

2. Stir crust mix and butter in a bowl until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press into bottoms of 12 paper-lined muffin cups.

3. Pour milk into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add Filling Mix and Peanut Butter. beat with mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. (Do not underbeat.) Spread over crust.

4. Remove topping pouch from water; shake pouch 1 minute or until topping is fluid and smooth. Drizzle over prepared cups.

5. Freeze 2 hours or until firm. (Or wrap tightly and store in freezer up to 2 weeks.)

Reese's Pieces Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I originally picked these out to make for my coworker Jeff, I though they were peanut butter cookies. I'm not sure why, since clearly they're not. Despite that little self-induced letdown, they were still very good.

Photo courtesy of Jenny @ Picky Palate

Reese's Pieces Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Source: Picky Palate)

1 stick real butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp real vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup ground quick oats (in food processor or blender)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 Bag Reeses Pieces mini baking pieces
1/2 Bag Semi-Sweet chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Place butter, shortening and sugars in a stand mixer and mix until smooth and creamy. Slowly beat in eggs and vanilla.

2. Place flour, oats, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Slowly pour into wet mixture on very low speed until just combined. Hand stir in Reeses and chocolate chips.

3. Drop onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes until just golden around edges.


3 dozen cookies

X-Rated Goodies

One of my college roomates, Melanie, is getting married next month. Another one of my other college roomates, Jessica, and I were put in charge of baking some erotic treats for the bachelorette party weekend. Here's just a quick glimpse of our creations:

Penis Cake:


Cupcakes:




Fruity Condoms:



We made these by wrapping gummy Peach O's in fruit roll ups. These were delicious!

Condom Cookies:


We made these by pressing circles of white sugar cookie dough into pink squares of cookie dough. We then wrote on the cookies with icings.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Brown Sugar cupcakes...filled with eggless cookie dough...and topped with cookie dough frosting. Need I say more? These cupcakes are to die for and were a big hit at work for Jeff's birthday. Needless to say, eggless cookie dough is my new best friend and I may have to start making batches of it to have on hand for nibbling.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Source: Annie's Eats


Brown Sugar Cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)

Eggless Cookie Dough 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
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Eggless Cookie Dough Frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp milk
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For decoration:
Tiny chocolate chip cookies
Mini chocolate chips

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to 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.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.

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 filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

These might just be my new favorite cookies. The texture of these cookies is chewy but not thick and the brown sugar and vanilla give these cookies a flavor that is a little ‘deeper’ than most. The cookies were soft right out of the oven. These were easy to make and will not last long around the house (a sign that this recipe is a keeper)

Also, heed the instructions to remove the cookies from the oven as soon as the outsides are set but the centers are still puffy and soft. Doing so plays a large part in the resulting texture. Cooling the cookies on the baking sheets means they will continue to bake after being taken out of the oven, but without the circulating air of a cooling rack, they will retain their soft texture.

Photo courtesy of Bakingblonde

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
3/4 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips (I used a mixture of chocolate and peanut butter chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

3. Beat the butter and brown sugar until thoroughly blended. Add eggs, and vanilla and mix to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix just to blend. Gently fold in chips.

4. Place dough onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheet using a scooper. Bake 9-12 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies and your oven) or until cookies are pale golden brown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy.

5. Cool cookies on cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack until cooled completely.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Get out your hats & noisemakers people, it's my birthday!

I really only bring this up because I am excited to now be the proud owner of this KitchenAid Food Processor:

(I got it in white, of course, to match my KitchenAid Stand Mixer.)

Ever since I saw the episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown makes peanut butter, I have been dying to get one. I set about researching food processors immediately, and I found this article at Consumer Search to be very helpful. I knew I wasn't in the market for a large capacity food processor, so I skipped straight to the compact models. Choosing the KitchenAid one was a no-brainer for me since, well, I already own and adore their Stand Mixer.

I am super excited to try it out and I think one of the first orders of business will be to make the peanut butter that inspired the purchase and that I've been drooling over for the last 2 1/2 months!

Chewy Granola Bars

Hi, it's me.

With our overabundance of Girl Scout Cookies and Easter candy, I haven't been in my kitchen much lately. We're still recovering from our sugar high so, while I was eager to get back in the kitchen, I wasn't ready for another sweet treat. The solution?

Chewy Granola Bars.

These granola bars are boasted to taste exactly like the Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, and I'll admit they were pretty close. The outside of mine turned out sticky-crunchy (I think that maybe had something to do with the honey?) with a chewy center. They were good, but not as chewy as I would have hoped. At any rate, I will definitely be trying these out again.

Note about Granola: The original recipe recommends this granola, which I had a really hard time finding. I’ve never bought granola before, but I eventually found it in the Organic Foods section at Rainbow.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars
(Source: Adapted from Rachel Ray)

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 cups plain granola
1 cup rice cereal
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter chips

1. Combine honey and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in brown sugar after butter starts to melt.

2. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

3. Add the granola and rice cereal into the saucepan and fold them into the sauce until evenly coated.

4. Spread the mixture into a 9×13 inch ungreased baking pan and press firmly with a spatula to evenly fill. Sprinkle the chocolate and peanut butter chips onto the top of the granola and gently press them down.

5. Put the pan in the refrigerator until cooled and firm, about 15 minutes, then cut into bars.

18 servings

Reese's Peanut Butter Egg Cookies

I adore Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and Reese's Eggs are even better because, well, there's even more peanut-buttery goodness packed inside every egg! These cookies were absolutely to die for. My eggs were at room temperature, so they broke up quite a bit when they got mixed in to the cookie dough, so I would recommend popping them in the fridge if you want them to retain their shape in the cookies. Personally, I don't think you can go wrong either way, but to each his own.

I snapped some pictures of the prep (I'll post them later) but totally forgot to take pictures of the final product! Check out Picky Palate for more mouthwatering photos, like the one below, of these awesome cookies! (Looking at her photos makes me realize I need some fun plates and bowls to add some much needed variety to the pictures of my plated my desserts.)

Photo courtesy of Jenny @ Picky Palate

Reese's Peanut Butter Egg Cookies

(Source: Picky Palate)

2 sticks softened butter
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1 Cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons corn syrup
2 large eggs plus 1 egg white
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Cups chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs, 12 total eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a stand or electric mixer beat the butter, sugars and corn syrup until well combined….light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with the chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. Mix only until just combined. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes until just turning golden around edges. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Eat with tall glass of milk!!

Make approximately 4 dozen (delicious!) cookies.

Shamrock Cookies

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Another holiday, another opportunity to make themed sugar cookies!

If you haven't noticed, sugar cookies have become my newest obsession. Since discovering how easy it is to use royal icing, I have been making sugar cookies every opportunity I get. Yes they are very time consuming, but the finished cookies are so dang cute! Don't you agree?

I also enjoy trying a new sugar cookie recipe each time. This recipe, from Dorie Greenspan, was wonderfully delicious. The dough itself was very soft, which made it a little more difficult to work with, so I wouldn't recommend this recipe to anyone who is trying out cutout sugar cookies for the first time. The recipe yields 50 2-inch cookies. I doubled it, since i was making 3 inch cookies an wanted to make sure I had enough to share with family and coworkers.

Once again, I did not get the color I was looking for in my royal icing. My colors always seem to turn out lighter than I'd like. For those of you who are pros with icing colors, am I just not using enough of the stuff? I guess I just need to whip up a batch of icing and play around with all of the colors that I have.

All-Occasion Sugar Cookies
(Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, pages 146-147)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together.

2. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed for a minute or so, until smooth. Beat in the sugar and continue to beat for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is light and pale. Add the egg and yolk and beat for another minute or two; beat in the vanilla.

3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and steadily add the flour mixture, mixing only until it has been incorporated.

4. Turn the dough out onto a counter and divide it in half. Shape each half into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 2 hours. (Well wrapped, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.)

5. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

6. Working with one packet of dough at a time, roll out the dough between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper to a thickness of 1/4 inch, lifting the plastic or paper and turning the dough over often so that it rolls evenly. Lift off the top sheet of plastic or paper and cut out the cookies – I like a 2-inch round cookie cutter for these. Pull away the excess dough, saving the scraps for re-rolling, and carefully lift the rounds onto the baking sheets with a spatula, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cookies.

7. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the sheet at the midpoint. The cookies should feel firm, but they should not color much, if at all. Remove the pan from the oven and dust the cookies with sugar or cinnamon sugar, if you’d like. Let them rest for 1 minute before carefully lifting them onto a rack to cool to room temperature.

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day!

Soft and tender from the peanut butter, a slight toasted flavor from the oats and just the right amount of sweetness from the chocolate chips. Definitely not your typical oatmeal cookie, as only 1/2 cup of oats is used in the dough, but they are still amazing!

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Source: Brown Eyed Baker)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.

4. Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.


Makes about 16 cookies