Double Chocolate Cookies

I am so backlogged with recipes that when I made these cookies they were for my dear friend, Gina's, baby shower at work. She has since had the babies and they are one month old! So...yeah... I'm a little behind. What can I say!

These cookies were a total hit. I have to say, I've made a few versions of chocolate chocolate chip cookies but these take the #1 spot in my book. They were so soft and rich. They were almost likely pillowy brownie bites. I could go for some of these bad boys right now! I might have to make them again soon.

Source: Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup M&Ms

Directions: 

1- Preheat the oven to 350.

2- Melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and stir until well combined.

3- Add the eggs and vanilla, beating until well incorporated.

4- Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine until a dough forms.

5- Hold in the chocolate chips and M&Ms.

6- Scoop by the tablespoon onto baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Oreo Cake

Confession: I don't enjoy making cakes. Cupcakes? Sure. Cookies? Oh yeah. Cake? Not so much.

You see, if I am bringing a dessert to a party I like to sample it first. What if it stinks? I need to know that in advance! The fact that a cake is essentially a mystery until it's sliced, making it impossible to prevent people from tasting it if it's gross, is a gamble that I don't like to take often! Over the summer (yes, I am still posting recipes I made over the summer...) I made this cake to celebrate my uncle's birthday. I figured with chocolate cake, Oreo cookies, and a delicious vanilla buttercream frosting it couldn't be too bad. When we sliced into it I quickly took a bite from my slice to ensure others wouldn't die from repulsion, and sure enough, it was deeeeeelicious. Thank goodness! Everyone who had it enjoyed it which is all you can ask for when baking for others!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
2 9" round chocolate cakes, any recipe you like (I used a box... shhhh!)
15 Double Stuffed Oreo cookies
1 batch vanilla buttercream frosting (I use this one here)

Directions:
1- Place one of the chocolate cakes on a cake stand. Frost with buttercream frosting, creating a thick layer on top.
2- Take 10 of the Oreos and crush them into a fine crumb. Pour the crumbs over the frosting, gently patting into the frosting.
3- Top with the remaining chocolate cake. Frost until well covered.
4- Crush the remaining 5 Oreos and sprinkle the crumbs over the top/sides of the cake.
5- Transfer to the fridge for at least 1 hour to allow the buttercream to set.
6- Bring to room temperature before serving.

Krispie Sprinkle Cookies

Part of me being a horrible food blogger lately is that I have recipes to share with you from... July. July 4 to be exact. Yikes! Many of the recipes in my backlog are not obviously "old" but the red, white, and blue sprinkles in this give me away!

Landon has multiple food allergies and for the most part I bring food with us to every event in case we get somewhere and there's nothing he can eat/will eat (there's always stuff he CAN eat, but WILL eat is another story...) I've started making a dessert he can eat for just about every gathering we attend because dessert can be the trickiest category for him. I brought these cookies to a BBQ and loved them. I love sprinkle cookies and always have, but something about the Rice Krispies gives it a soft, slight crunch. Can't beat these simple cookies when you want something easy but tasty!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup Rice Krispie Cereal
1/3 cup sprinkles

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350.
2- Mic the cake mix and baking powder together. Add the oil and eggs, stirring well, until smooth.
3- Fold in the Rice Krispies and sprinkles.
4- Spoon 1 tbsp sized balls of dough on a coated baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Allow to cook 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Banana Fudge Brownies

Weekly (and I mean weekly) I find myself with 1-2 overly ripe bananas. If you're thinking, "Well, Stephanie... buy less bananas..." I will inform you that it doesn't matter if I buy 4 or 10... I still have 1-2 left. Who knows. So anyway, the bananas. Well done. Ripe. Almost rotten. Sometimes they get thrown out, sometimes they get frozen, sometimes they get baked! Into brownies.

I wasn't sure if I'd love these because I tend to be a total purist with my brownies but these were amazingly delicious. I actually brought them to school and fed them to my students as a special treat for them after they finished the NJ-ASK and they were all happy to enjoy this semi-healthy but totally delicious treat. I somewhat regretted sharing them with them.. because, you know... less for me ::wink wink::

Source:  Alida's Kitchen

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup mashed overripe bananas (2-3, depending on size)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Directions:

1- Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2-In a large bowl, whisk flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt.
3-In a medium bowl, stir bananas, milk, oil, and vanilla until well-blended.
4-Add banana mixture to flour mixture, gently stirring until just combined. Add chocolate chips, folding gently.
5-Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Be careful not to over bake, otherwise the brownie may not be as fudgy). 

6-Move pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into squares to serve.

Melted Caramel & Walnut Cookies

It was the day before Mother's Day and I was at the grocery store. I knew I needed to bring a dessert to my sister's the next day but really wasn't in the mood to do much hard work. At the last minute I decided to just forget it, go to the bakery and get a cake, taking the easy route out. However when I was on line to pay I saw a pack of Rolo candies and was inspired. I grabbed 5 rolls and figured I'd come up with something when I got home. I really had no plan and was just kind of digging through my pantry to make anything with what I had!

If you tasted these cookies you'd never know they were an afterthought. Honestly, they were delicious. TOO delicious. I had to leave the extra cookies with my sister because I knew I could not be trusted with these beauties. These take very little effort but the payout is immense. I highly suggest you try them!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
5 packs Rolo candies, unwrapped
1/2 cup chocolate chips (for drizzle)

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350.
2- In a large bowl combine the cake mix, baking powder, oil, eggs, and oil. Mix until well incorporated.
3- Stir in the walnuts.
4- Spoon with 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon. Place a Rolo in the center of each cookie.
5- Bake for 10 minutes. Once removed from the oven immediately use the back of a teaspoon to pat down the Rolo candy until flat. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
6- Once completely cool, melt the chocolate chips. Transfer to a squirt bottle or piping bag. Drizzle over the cookies. Allow to harden.

Toddler Tuesdays: Honey "Fried" Bananas

At two my little man is still obsessed with bananas... making them the perfect starring ingredient for Toddler Tuesdays!

He went through a phase a few months ago where he didn't want anything to do with them but we are back in action. I buy at least 8-10 bananas a week and typically they all go by the end of the week between he and I. To him the best way to serve a banana is straight up out of the peel... he's not as into experimenting as I am. However, he's "stuck" with me as his mama so every now and then I have to get crafty and he has to at least humor me and try my creations.

These bananas have been all over Pinterest since I joined many moons ago and I finally got around to trying them for him. Some people may read this and  question why I'd make a healthy food "unhealthy" by mixing it with oil and honey, but Landon really struggles with weight and needs as many calories as he can get. At 26 months the boy is just hitting 24 pounds, so needless to say every calorie counts! Plus- this is fun stuff- who doesn't love sweets?

These bananas were delicious (as I expected). Landon and John sat down with the plate and two forks and went to town. I managed to steel one before they disappeared and I have to agree that they were delicious- a nice healthy dessert!

Source: Rachel Schultz

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 slightly under-ripened banana
1 tbsp honey
Cinnamon

Directions:
1- Pour the oil into a large skillet and turn the heat onto low.
2- Slice the banana.
3- Add the banana to the skillet, flipping after it has browned (about 1 minute). Allow to brown on the other side.
4- In a small bowl combine the honey and 1 tbsp water. Mix well. Pour the mixture into the pan. It will bubble up and then begin to caramelize around the banana.
5- Sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve warm.

Apple Pie Snickerdoodle Bars

If I had to pick a favorite part of Thanksgiving this year I'd go with these cookie bars. Apple pie isn't typically a favorite of mine but I do love apple based desserts, especially if they are covered in ice cream and sitting atop a pastry. Just sayin'. So when this recipe came across my radar I was instantly sold. I think it was the first new recipe I added to my Thanksgiving menu for the year since I tend to stick with the same classic things, but this was a totally delicious hit. I really liked the end pieces since there was a higher cookie-to-apple ratio on the edges for some reason. Yum.. try these, soon.

A couple funny side notes- I used to be scared to make snickerdoodles because of the cream of tartar. I don't know what I thought it was, but clearly I didn't know it was just a powder... I wish I had researched it instead of skipping all snickerdoodle recipes for years! Aside from cream of tartar, I never cook with shortening. I bought it for these and Landon was intrigued. He kept yelling "ICE CREAM! FOR ME!" I think he would have been pretty disappointed if I let him lick the lard...

Source: Cookies On Friday

Ingredients:
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup shortening
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2-3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 ounce can apple pie filling
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar

Directions:
1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2- In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, shortening, sugar, and eggs; beat until creamy. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer running on low, add the flour mixture and stir until combined. Do not over beat.
3- Press 2/3 of the dough into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons cinnamon sugar and then spread the apple pie filling over the dough. With the remaining dough, take small pieces and flatten them and place on top of the apple pie filling. Continue with additional pieces of dough, piecing together a random top. You will not cover all of the apple pie filling.
4- Bake for 35-40 minutes until the dough is baked and the bars begin to brown around the edges. Cool completely. Use the foil to lift the bars from the pan; place on a cutting board. Remove the foil and cut into bars.

M&M Party Cookies

Landon will be two at the end of next month (which I can't even begin to understand how he got so old...) and sometimes I already feel like our life works around his social calendar! Last weekend Landon had a Halloween party to attend with all his little buddies so I volunteered to bring a treat. I wanted to make a variation of my ever-so-popular cake batter cookies but I knew I had to forgo the chocolate chips. Landon is not a big fan of chocolate (another thing I don't understand) so I went with a more mild chocolate experience with these. Like all toddlers he loves things that are colorful and sweet so I knew these would be a hit. All of the toddlers (and parents!) enjoyed them, and my good friend Laura said that after eating "a billion of them" she still somehow lost a pound- so hey, not only are they good but they are also MAGICAL cookies!

...and for fun, look at this picture. Someone was waiting ever so "patiently" for me to finish up so he could have a cookie. You can ever see his little piggies in the background, stalking my cup of cookies. I love those toes!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tubes of mini M&Ms

1/3 cup rainbow sprinkles

Directions:
1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2-In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix and baking powder. Add eggs and oil, then mix until well blended.
3-Stir in M&Ms and sprinkles. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets.
4- Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mini Apple Pies

Two weekends ago we went apple picking with our good friends and their kids. It was a great time! Landon and his buddy William had a blast grabbing apples off the trees and throwing them into the wagon. I tried to keep the amounts of apples we bought in check because I knew I was the only one who would really eat them, so it seemed really unnecessary to have 50 pounds of apples in the house. One of the first things I did when I got home with my big ol' bag of apples was dig through my files for a recipe I wanted to make. Enter these mini apple pies. Sure, they only used two apples which didn't quite make a dent in my bounty, but these pies were so stinkin' delicious. They were easy to assemble and the perfect treat. I had intended to share them with John's family when they were over for dinner but I forgot to put them out (a fortunate mistake I suppose) so John and I had to eat them all ourselves... poor us... ::wink wink:: I will say that I only got about 3 of them, so SOMEBODY in my house really enjoyed them. Totally delicious and a nice alternative to making a big pie.

Source: Adapted from Taste of Home Cooking

Ingredients:
2 large apples, peeled, cored & thinly sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 sheets refrigerated pie crust

Directions:

1- Preheat oven to 425.
2- In a medium bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, sugar, flour,  and cinnamon. Toss gently then set aside.
3- Unroll 1 sheet of pie crust onto a work surface. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, press edge side down into the dough to make small circles. Press into mini muffin tin. Fill each crust with apple filling.
4- Unroll second sheet of pie crust and cut into thin strips. Form a pattern over the apples, gently pressing the dough onto the apples.
5- Bake until the crust is browned, about 18-20 minutes. Let pies cool in muffin tin, then remove.

Ultimate Bundt Cake

My memory is interesting. I have a strong visual memory for images, pictures, recipes, etc. I have an excellent memory when it comes to social interactions. I have the WORST memory when it comes to books and TV. I will swear I never saw a movie, watched a show, or read a particular book, only to realize half way through that it is vaguely familiar. Ironically I've been holding onto this recipe in my mind for years. Lauren posted this in 2010 and I have literally remembered it since then. Granted it's 3 years later, but hey- I got around to finally making it!

This cake was delicious. I made it for a small family dinner and everyone loved it. Landon was also a huge fan. He kept screaming "FOOD! NEED FOOD!" and wanting more. Ironically he didn't like the chocolate chips, he spit those out. Are we related?! John and I loved them as well, but we resisted screaming "Need food!" when we wanted more, although we may have wanted to.

*As a side note, I can't find my bundt pan so I used my mini bundt pans, but I'm going to include the directions for a full sized bundt cake since I think that's how most people will make it. If you use a mini pan just cut the bake time! I added a simple vanilla glaze after they cooled, but that's not necessary. Just added a little extra pizzazz. 

Source: Slightly adapted from Lauren's Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 small instant box vanilla pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
3 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using and electric mixer, blend the cake mix, pudding, sour cream, eggs, oil and applesauce 5-6 minutes. 

2- Grease and flour a bundt or tube pan. Pour 1/3 of the batter into pan and sprinkle one half of chocolate chips  over it. Pour in remaining batter and top with remaining chips. 

3- Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool about 5 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate; cool completely.

Ice Cream Bread

Last night I was sitting on the couch when my friend Lisa posted a picture of a bread she made and said if you'd never heard of ice cream bread to immediately google it. Well, those are directions I can handle... so I immediately googled and was drooling. Bread... made out of ICE CREAM. My mind was blown. BLOWN. I was just about to play a game with John and I made him wait while I ran to the kitchen to start this bread. I couldn't wait to make it, then once I made it I couldn't wait to taste it, and once I tasted it I couldn't wait to share it with you! Typically when you see a recipe on this blog it's something I made weeks ago in my kitchen... but not this bread. No, this had to be shared the next day.

It tastes like the most amazing muffin you've ever eaten. I made a small batch- three mini loafs- but never again will I make such a small batch. The recipe I'm posting below is for a larger batch, big enough for a loaf pan. I used vanilla because that's what I had but you could use any flavor! You could mix in anything- Oreos, chocolate chips (my choice), bananas, blueberries, peanut butter chips, etc. Just go make this- now. It's to die for.

Source: Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
2 cups softened ice cream (I used vanilla)
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Mix ins of your choice, optional (chocolate chips, sprinkles, fruit, crushed Oreos, etc.)

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan.
2- In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir well. Add the ice cream and mix well until a dough forms.
3- Gently fold in mix ins.
4- Transfer to greased loaf pan. Bake 30-35 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5- Cool completely, then remove from the pan.

Cake Batter Blondies

Now to many what I'm about to say is going to be shocking- but my son still goes to bed nightly between 6 and 6:30. He's 18 months and is just DONE by the time 6:00 rolls around. This makes plans with friends and family difficult, especially if it's plans for dinners out. Super exciting parties with tons of stimulation? He rallies. Sitting at a table, confined to restaurant seat? He is not going to do it once 6 hits. So when Mother's Day was approaching we decided last minute to have our families come to us. And by last minute I mean Saturday. I wasn't exactly looking to spend Mother's Day morning baking, so instead I threw together these super simple blondies and was done with a delicious dessert in no time.

I have to say these blondies were sweet. Very sweet. I enjoyed them but the white cake mix+sprinkles+white chocolate resulted in a very sweet dessert. They didn't have that same decadent feeling as a brownie but they were still awesome. My sister-in-law loved them so that was an extra bonus since she is one of the important mamas in my life. Overall a super easy but yummy dessert option.

Source: Girl Meets Life

Ingredients:
1 box white cake mix
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1/4 – 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the cake mix and sprinkles in a large bowl, then mix in the oil and egg. 

2- Add the milk slowly just until the batter is combined – you want it to remain as dense as possible.

3-  Place better in a greased 8×8 pan or 8-inch cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or just until the edges turn golden. 

4- Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting because the gooey center needs to set. The result will be a decadent, cake-batter texture.

Texas Fudge Cake

As a true Northeastern girl I haven't ventured into the south much. I've been to Virginia, and Florida (but does that count as "the south"?), and... that might be about it! So when it comes to Texas fudge cake, I have no idea if this is authentic, or if people in Texas really eat a lot of fudge cake, but if they don't- they should. Because this recipe is good stuff! I made if for Easter (yes... and I'm just sharing it now) and loved it! I really think it's a great recipe for entertaining because it can be made a day or so ahead of time and it really holds up well. John and I sampled from this cake for the whole week after Easter and it was still moist and delicious. I like how the frosting is more of a crackly/fudgy topping and not a thick traditional frosting. It kind of reminded me of a brownie more than a cake, but a hybrid of brownie-cake can never be a bad thing!

Source: Cassie Craves

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
5 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup water
2 cups sifted flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 batch frosting (recipe follows)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in the center of the oven. Butter and flour a 9 x 13 metal pan.
2. In a medium saucepan combine the butter, cocoa, and water. Bring to a boil.
3. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
4. Pour the hot ingredients into the the dry ingredients. Stir well with a wooden spoon.
5. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir until the batter is smooth.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place it in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool. Immediately make the frosting and pour the frosting over the warm cake. Spread the frosting evenly and let the cake cool before serving.

Frosting

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons cocoa
Dash salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

1. In a medium saucepan combine the butter, milk, cocoa, salt, and vanilla. Bring to a boil.
2. Place the powdered sugar in a large bowl. Pour the hot ingredients over the powdered sugar and beat with a wooden spoon until the frosting is smooth.

Sugar Cookie Dip

I have a bit of a reputation with our family friends for bringing awesome desserts to holiday/family parties. Whenever we get together with these people the first thing they ask is what I brought. They always make a huge deal about what I made, how delicious it is, etc. It leads me to feel like I always needs to make sure I have something delicious to deliver when we get together! It's a lot of pressure I tell you. For our last dinner I was completely out of time and energy after making fifty cookie favors so I needed something fast that required no energy. Enter this dip.

After assembling it I was a little nervous because it was kind of... tart? Sour? I'm not sure. But I let it sit for a bit  and tasted it- almost there. I added a bit more cookie mix and cool whip- perfection! I halved the original recipe and it still yielded a ton. The recipe below reflects exactly how I made it. I think you'll enjoy this- it's easy and delicious. Best kind of dessert there is!

Source: Adapted from Dainty Chef

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups sugar cookie mix
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 1/3 cup Cool Whip

Directions:
1- In a large mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients. Stir well until all ingredients are incorporated.
2- Allow to sit in the fridge at least 4 hours, overnight if possible.
3- Serve with your favorite dippers.

Crockpot Dipping Chocolate

Valentines Day is over and I hope you all had something sweet to eat to celebrate the event. Valentines Day isn't a big deal to me but I do enjoy doing something fun with my students. The months of January and February are long in a school. There are no days off, there's no big holidays or events, and the kids are restless from being cooped up indoors due to the cold weather. So to me Valentines Day is like a bright spot on the calendar. It's full of warm colors, hearts, and chocolate. WIN! 

My students wanted to cook again in class after their first venture so we made some chocolate "fondue" for our party. I had seen this method pop up on pinterest and was dying to try it. I figured it was perfect for school and it was. My kids kept wanting my recipe- I was laughing as I told them it's literally just melted chocolate! Can't beat that. Best of all this makes it easy to melt multiple forms of chocolate and keep it melty over a period of time. LOVE it. 

Source: The Yummy Life

Ingredients:

Use any of the following:

-chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, dark, white)

-flavored baking chips (vanilla, peanut butter, butterscotch, etc.)
-other melting chocolate available in bars, chunks & pellets

Directions
1. Put baking chips (or other melting chocolate) in bowl(s) or jar(s) and set inside slow cooker. If using more than one, make sure there is a little space between jars/bowls.
2. Add hot water to the slow cooker approx. half way up the sides of the jars/bowls. WARNING: be careful not to get any water inside the jars. Water will make the melted chocolate seize & thicken.
3. Turn the slow cooker on high. Don't cover it--you don't want moisture to form inside the lid and drop down into the chocolate. After 30 minutes, stir the chips; if not completely melted, continue heating until all of the chips melt in as they are stirred. (Slow cookers can vary, so keep an eye on it to determine when your chips are completely melted.)
4. Once chips are all melted, lower slow cooker heat to the low or warm setting.
5. Chocolate is ready for dipping, drizzling or pouring. It will keep its thin, melted consistency for at least 2-3 hours.

Biscoff Doughnuts

Back in my childless days I baked regularly. Now I tend to have limited kitchen time and only bake when I need a dessert for an occasion or party. One of the things I miss the most from my pre-Landon days is when I used to browse food blogs, find a dessert recipe I just NEEDED, and immediately go make it. Those days don't happen often anymore, but on New Years Eve I was struck with that desire to just go bake something delicious. You see, we had fun plans for NYE- we actually had two parties to attend, both with multiple babies around Landon's age. But that morning the little man woke up with a fever so we had to cancel all of our plans and stay home. I decided if we were going to sit home we were going to do it in style- sweat pants and doughnuts. That's my kind of style!

I've had an unopened jar of Biscoff in my house for months so I decided to try to find a recipe using it. Low and behold- someone else had made Biscoff doughnuts in the past. I followed the original recipe with a few tweaks and it resulted in a deliciously rich doughnut. Try these- they are just so good!

Source: Adapted from Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1  cup all purpose flour
1/2  cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons milk
5 tablespoons creamy Biscoff spread
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon melted butter

Optional:

Frosting or glaze/M&Ms/Sprinkles

Directions: 

1- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add milk, egg, biscoff spread, vanilla and melted butter. Whisk to combine.
2- Transfer dough to a ziplock bag. Snip off a corner of the bag and pipe dough evenly into a 6-cup doughnut pan.

3-Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until dough is set (it won’t be golden brown, but should be springy.) Remove from the pan and cool completely.

4- Top with your favorite frosting or glaze, then decorate with M&Ms or sprinkles. 

Raspberry Twists

Happy New Year my friends! I know a lot of people look at the start of a new year as a new start, a fresh slate, and a beginning. To me it's just another day. Is that horrible? Negative? I don't know... I just don't really buy into the hype of putting too much energy into a change of the calendar. I do, however, always make a resolution. This year I am resolving to stop procrastinating and to put more effort into my blog. 2012 was an amazing year with a new baby, but it also meant that blogging took a bit of a back seat. I still blogged but definitely less frequently than in past years and I also put less effort into cooking/meal planning in general. So here's to improving on that!

With that said, these twists are from Christmas. I have been in a bit of a raspberry kick lately and am loving raspberry jam in all forms. These twists were very easy to make and really were delicious. They are best warm. When I served them on Christmas they were cool and not as good. When we ate the leftovers we heated them for a few seconds in the microwave to bring some life back to them and they were perfect! John and I were fans- Landon liked them in theory, kept pointing to them and saying, "That? That?" but then would taste it and look less than impressed. What can I say... can't please everyone ::wink wink::!

Source: Sprinkle Bakes

Ingredients:

1 package puff pastry (2 sheets)
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
Flour for dusting

Directions:

1- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment and set aside.
2- Allow puff pastry to thaw as directed on the package. Dust work surface with flour and lightly dust rolling pin with flour. Roll out puff pastry until about 2" larger on each side. Cut crosswise into two rectangles.
3- Heat 1/4 cup of jam in microwave for15-20 seconds, just enough to loosen the consistency.
4- With a pastry brush, coat one piece of puff pastry with half the jam. Cover jam-coated piece with the remaining plain piece of puff pastry and gently roll together with rolling pin - not too hard, or your jam will squish out.
5- Slice into long strips and twist, then place on parchment lined pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before removing from the pan. 

6- If desired, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.

Brownie Bottom Delights

First off, don't make fun of my name for these. I've told you before that coming up with creative names for my recipes is my downfall. I'm descriptive, but I'm not creative. See- these have brownies on the bottom, and they truly are delightful, so... brownie bottom delights it is! Anyway, let's get on track, I know you're more interested in the recipe and less interested in my babble, I understand.

 I made these over a month ago for a family gathering. I had seen recipes like this all over pinterest but I didn't follow any in particular, rather just went for it based off the pictures I had seen. I did two versions- mini muffin tins and a 8x8 pan since this makes a lot. Next time I'd just do a 9x13 pan and call it a day. They all stuck to the mini muffin tins even though I greased the pan excessively and it drove me insane, so in the future these will be made as pictured above. Note I said "in the future"- these will be made often for gatherings. In fact I'm 99% sure these will be gracing my dessert table for Thanksgiving- they are sinfully good!

Ingredients:
1 box brownie mix, prepared as directed
1 batch chocolate chip cookie dough
1 bag mini Reese's peanut butter cups

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350.
2- Pour the brownie batter to the bottom of the 9x13 dish (greased very well).
3- Top with the mini pb cups (you can chop them up or leave them whole).
4- Dalloop the cookie batter over top.
5- Bake 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden, the bottom and sides are firm, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (That might be hard to do since it'll likely go in a pb cup and come out melty, I just kind of judged by color and lack of "wiggle" to the brownies).
6- Allow to cool completely before serving.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pudding Cake

I love get togethers. I'm a big fan of having somewhere to go, having something to do, and most importantly having a reason to bake something I would otherwise never make. Like this cake. This delicious, delicious, delicious cake. You see, the last thing I need is a big cake like this sitting around in my house. Because you know what will happen? I will eat it- all of it- and maybe share a tiny corner with John. So really that doesn't work. Recently my uncle had a birthday to celebrate and I quickly volunteered to bring the cake. My uncle is not picky and will eat anything (except peanut butter- weird...) so I had plenty of options to work with. I finally settled on this recipe because of the cream cheese layer. It was reminiscent of cheesecake, his ultimate favorite, but not as heavy and dense as a cheesecake.

When all was said and done this recipe was divine. We all ate it and loved it. My cake doesn't have the perfectly aligned layers as the original recipe's picture shows, but hey- I'm just your average home cook! I am not claiming to be a master chef 'round here! What I am claiming though is that I can make one mean dessert- and this was unreal. Try it- now- right now- go- run- go make a cake!

Source: Taste of Home

Ingredients:

1 tube (16-1/2 ounces) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
3 cups cold 2% milk
1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
Chocolate chips

Directions
1- Let cookie dough stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften. Press into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

2- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in 1-3/4 cups whipped topping. Spread over crust.
3- In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping and chocolate chips.

4- Allow to sit in the fridge overnight or at least 8 hours.

Peanut Butter Smores Bars

It's funny how big of a role food plays in my life. Really it's a HUGE aspect of my daily activity. Between my love of cooking, my love of blogging, the basic human need to eat, and now making homemade baby food for Landon, it seems that food is overtaking my life. Ironically food has also rekindled an old friendship of mine from my high school days. My friend Natalie and I started messaging one another about cooking on facebook a little over a year ago after 8 years of no contact and our message thread is now over 7,000 messages. Yes, 7,000. No, they're not all about food, but I'd say 6,959 of them mention food. We're not obsessed. Not one bit.

Anyway, one day I realized that for all our talk about food we never actually ate one another's food! Whenever we got together we'd go out to eat so really we needed to get together once and cook. We met up on Memorial Day and each brought various components for a picnic. One of the things I brought were these bars. I think the picture really sells them, but incase you need convincing, these were extremely good. I never use marshmallow fluff but I really should- it's so fun and mushy-gushy. Yum! Try these- there's not one thing I can say except "Make these and make them now!"

Source: Adapted from The Sweet Life

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
16 peanut butter cups, regular sized
1 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350. Spray the bottom of an 8x8 dish with cooking spray. Combine the butter, oil, and sugars in mixing bowl. Stir well. Once stirred, mix in the egg and vanilla.
2- Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and graham cracker crumbs. Mix into the butter mixture, stirring well.
3- Spread 2/3 of the cookie batter into the dish, pushing down well and spreading evenly.
4- Lay the peanut butter cups in even spacing over the cookie dough, pressing gently into the cookie. Top with the fluff, spreading evenly. Top with the remaining cookie dough. Using a rubber spatula spread the cookie dough over the top of the fluff (it's ok if it doesn't cover it perfectly).
5- Bake 30 minutes. Allow to cool at least 2 hours to set, then slice and remove from the pan.