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.

12 Days of Cookies Conclusion

So I am sure the question running through your mind right now is something along the lines of "What the heck did she do with all of those cookies?"

By the end of this whole project, we literally had cookies coming out of our ears. Thankfully I threw together goody bags for all my coworkers and some of Andrew’s. By the time we brought some over to our respective family gatherings, they were almost gone. Which means, thankfully, I won’t need to worry about them wreaking havoc on my girlish figure. Or my husband's. :)

Hope y'all had a very Merry Christmas!

On the Twelfth Day of Cookies...

I am so proud of these bad boys. This was my first time working with royal icing, and it went really well! I found Brown Eyed Baker's guide to decorating cookies extremely helpful through the whole process. Using royal icing, though time consuming, is quite easy and totally worth the extra effort. My only complaint was that my hand started cramping up after using the piping bags for awhile, but it was well worth it to get such professional looking cookies. I think it's safe to say my cookies will never look like this again! And, if you were wondering, the cookies themselves taste amazing! The little bit of cinnamon in the dough is just brilliant and really gives them an added boost of flavor.

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
(Source: Smells Like Home)

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a bowl.

2. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Divide dough into quarters; flatten each quarter into a disk. Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 325°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Let one disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove top layer of plastic wrap. Cut out cookies with a 4-to-5-inch cookie cutter. Transfer cookie dough on plastic wrap to a baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to freezer, and freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet from freezer, and transfer shapes to baking sheets lined with nonstick baking mats. Roll out scraps, and repeat. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.

4. Bake, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through, until edges are almost golden, 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Royal Icing
(Source: Smells Like Home)

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp meringue powder
4 1/2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the sheen has disappeared and the icing has a matte appearance (about 7-10 minutes). Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to an air-tight container. This will be the stiffest consistency of the icing, and at this point it is still too stiff to use for decorating. Add water a very small amount at a time and stir by hand until fully incorporated. Continue until the icing has reached a consistency appropriate for piping. (Remember, if you are having any difficulty piping, it is still too thick. Add a little more liquid and try again.) Using a pastry bag, pipe around the edges of each cookie. Let stand so the icing will set. Make sure to keep the leftover icing covered at all times when not in use so that it does not begin to harden.

2. Once all the cookies have been edged, transfer some of the remaining icing to a separate air-tight container. Thin out by incorporating a small amount of water at a time, until the icing drips off the spoon easily when lifted and then smooths in with that still in the bowl. If you go too far and the icing is too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar to thicken it again. Once the icing has reached the desired consistency, transfer it to a squeeze bottle (or a plastic bag with a hole in one corner), and flood the area surrounded by the piping on each cookie. If it does not completely spread to the edges, use a toothpick to help it along. Allow to set.

On the Eleventh Day of Cookies...

I was originally going to make Martha Stewart's Chocolate Gingerbread Bars, but I realized at the last minute that I forgot to buy sour cream and had to quickly come up with something else along the same line. After doing a quick search online, I found this recipe and it was a done deal. These bars are moist with the perfect amount of spiciness.

Gingerbread Bars
(Source: Culinary in the Desert Country)

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup molasses

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a medium bowl, add flour - scoop out 2 tablespoons of the flour and place into a small bowl to reserve for layer.

3. Into the flour, whisk in ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt.

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar and 6 tablespoons granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each. Mix in vanilla and molasses. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined.

5. Scoop batter into a 10 x 15 baking pan coated with cooking spray, spreading the top smooth with an off-set spatula. Sift reserved 2 tablespoons flour evenly over batter, then sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

6. Place into the oven and bake until the bars are golden brown and a toothpick placed into the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached, about 20 to 24 minutes. Remove and place pan on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting.

Makes about 24 to 32 bars.

On the Tenth Day of Cookies...

Peanut Butter Balls are a perfect example of how something that tastes great can also be easy to make. They taste just like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and my mouth waters just thinking about them.

Peanut Butter Balls
(Source: Joy of Baking)

Peanut Butter Balls:
2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 - 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Chocolate Coating:
9 ounces semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used milk chocolate)
2 tablespoons shortening

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place the peanut butter, unsalted butter, and salt in a microwaveable bowl, and heat in the microwave for about one minute or until just soft (check and stir the ingredients every 20 seconds). Stir in the vanilla extract and confectioners sugar and mix until it has the consistency of a dough (add more sugar if necessary).

3. Roll the dough into 1 inch round balls. Place on the cookie sheet and refrigerate for about one hour, or until firm.

4. Melt the chocolate and shortening in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Dip the balls, one at a time, in the melted chocolate, making sure the entire ball is coated with chocolate. Then, with two spoons or a dipping fork, remove the peanut butter ball from the melted chocolate, allowing any excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl.

5. Place the chocolate covered balls back on the baking sheet. When all the balls have been dipped in the chocolate, place in the refrigerator until the chocolate has set. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. To serve: place in small fluted candy cups.

On the Ninth Day of Cookies...

My husband loved these cookies (he ate like five of them fresh out of the oven), but I was a little disappointed in how they turned out. They were very crispy around the edges and very, very flat (thin). But I guess appearances aren't everything because they do taste very good and the mint flavor of the Mint Chocolate M&Ms is quite noticeable.

Minty M&M Cookies
(Adapted from Joy of Baking)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup Mint Chocolate M&M's

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and egg yolk, beating until well combined. Beat in the vanilla extract.

4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

5. Form dough into balls. Gently flatten each ball of dough. Completely cover the tops of the cookies with the M&M's. Gently press the candies into the dough. Bake the cookies for 7-10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time. The cookies are done when they are light golden brown in color and just set. They will still seem a little soft but they will firm up as they cool. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

On the Eighth Day of Cookies...

My mother-in-law makes batches of these every year, and this has become one of my favorite holiday treats. This holiday candy is very easy to make, but does take some time. Well worth it for this delicious candy coated sweet and salty pretzel. I definitely think I need to invest in some proper tools for this as most of my pretzels were blobish (but still delicious!).

Almond Bark Pretzels
1 pound white dipping chocolate or almond bark
1 small bag pretzels
Colored Candy Sprinkles

1. Microwave almond bark on high, stirring every minute or so until completely melted (usually 2-3 minutes).

2. Drop a pretzel into melted almond bark. Use a fondue fork to fully submerge and swirl the pretzel to cover all surfaces. Lift the pretzel out with the fondue fork. With the pretzel still on the fork tap the fork against the top of the bowl to shake off the excess coating.

3. Place the coated pretzel on the wax paper. Decorate with color sugar or sprinkles. Allow to cool.

4. Store the finished pretzels in Ziploc bags or other air tight container.