Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies

BriBri was basically harassing me because I was a little late with my weekly bakes. What? Sometimes a girl gets really busy living her life so baking has to wait. I prefer to bake when I can enjoy it and not rush it.

Anyway, I finally had time Thursday night before catching the newest ep of Vampire Diaries on my DVR (OMG. So good as always!).

I have been in cookie mode lately, so please excuse me (in advance) if the blog is cookied out for a while. I might try to trick y'all by just posting out of order. You don't own me, it's my blog, I do what I want. (Cartman inspired).

Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c shortening                   

1 c brown sugar                 

1/2 c granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs 

1/2 c peanut butter (add 1/4 more if you like loads of pb!) 
1 tsp. salt             

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda

12oz  Reese's Pieces 

1. Heat oven to 350*
2. In a large bowl mix shortening and both sugars together.
3. Mix in the vanilla & eggs...then the peanut butter.
4. in a separate bowl sift together the flower, salt, and baking soda
5. Slowly combine the dry ingredients into the batter.
6. With your mixer on low slowly pour in the bag of Reese's Pieces. ( I didn't use the whole bag, I added them in until I noticed they weren't mixing into the batter because I was on over load. So use your judgement here!)
7. Drop batter from a spoon/cookie scoop onto a baking sheet and pop it into the over for 10-12min.
8. Let cool and eat!

Oreo Crusted Mini Cherry Cheesecake

I'm not a big cheesecake fan. I usually will try a bite out of curiosity, but I'm rarely wanting to have another. This is even the case with my own cheesecakes. Trust that those are delicious, or so I'm told by people that like cheesecake. So me liking cheesecake is a personal problem and not one to be blamed on the cake itself.

UNTIL I made this. It's the simplest of simple twists on the mini cheese cakes that I usually make. Just swap out the vanilla wafer for an Oreo. bada-bing. bada-boom. A cheesecake that I actually wanted more than one bite of!

Oreo Crusted Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

2 eggs

3/4 c. Sugar

16 oz. cream cheese

2 tsp. vanilla

16 vanilla wafer cookies

1 can pie filling (I used cherry)

1 bag Oreos (I used double stuffed)

cupcake liners

1. Preheat oven to 375 and place liners in cupcake tin. Drop 1 Oreo into bottom of each.
2. Beat eggs with sugar.
3. Break cream cheese into pieces, add to eggs and sugar and beat until smooth (10 min) then mix in vanilla.
4. Fill liners 3/4 full with cream cheese mixtures and bake 10-12 minutes.
5. They will look pale and sink in the middle after cooking.
6. Top with Tbsp of pie filling and refrigerate.
7. EAT!

M&M Peanut Butter Cookies

I love m&m cookies and peanut butter cookies, so I decided they should get married.


So they did while Drake serenaded them in the background. And they had a very productive honeymoon because 10 min after they returned my oven birthed this:

So good. So good.

M & M Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c shortening                   

1 c brown sugar                 

1/2 c granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs 

1/2 c peanut butter (add 1/4 more if you like loads of pb!) 
1 tsp. salt             

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda

12oz  M&M's (Medium bag should do the trick)

1. Heat oven to 350*
2. In a large bowl mix shortening and both sugars together.
3. Mix in the vanilla & eggs...then the peanut butter.
4. in a separate bowl sift together the flower, salt, and baking soda
5. Slowly combine the dry ingredients into the batter.
6. With your mixer on low slowly pour in the bag of M&Ms
7. Drop batter from a spoon/cookie scoop onto a baking sheet and pop it into the over for 10-12min.
8. Let cool and eat!

Pancakes & Waffle Cakes

Honestly, I'm more of a waffle person. But last summer Jes made Pan-kits, and it got me back into pancakes...plus I don't have a waffle maker.

I had some time on my hands in between my morning run and late morning bodypump sesh and I was hungry! I was all out of Pan-kits, so I figured it was time to channel my inner wife skills and whip up some pancakes from scratch. And you know what? That shiz was super easy and the most delicious pancakes I have ever had!

Pancakes

• 1 1/3 c all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1 1/4 c milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs butter (melted)
• 2 tbs vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients (you can sift it, but who has time for that?)
2. Slowly mix in everything else.
3. Heat skillet over medium. 
4. drop 1/4 cup of pancake batter, flip once it gets really bubbly, cook a while longer. eat!

Easy as that!

BUT if you do prefer something more waffley...then just add an extra egg and BOOM. Waffle Cakes!

Ok, it looks the same, but this is totes a Waffle Cake.

Hot Chocolate

Growing up I spent a lot of time at Grandma's house (as I'm sure you can tell because I think I write about it in almost every entry). One of the things that I loved to do was drink her hot chocolate! It's way better than a mix you buy at the store, and warms more than just your body, it warms your heart and soul. How is that even possible? Because it's made with love, duh.

I like to mix mine with milk and leave enough room at the top of my cup to overflow it with marshmallows!

So Delish! Even when you are out of mallows.

Hot Chocolate

* Powdered Milk - the side of the box will say how many quarts the powder mix makes. get enough for 12-16 quarts.

Serve: Heat mug of milk, add appx 1/4cup of mix, marshmallows (optional). enjoy!

Pretzel & M&M Krispy Treats

Basically I love Krispy treats. Love them!

I also love the salty and sweet combo of pretzel's and M&Ms. I had both ingredients on hand from some cookies I made the week before, so I figured why not add in some krispies and marshmallows and really get this party started!

Pretzel & M&M Krispy Treats

2c Pretzel
1 bag M&M (12oz)
2 bag Mini - Marshmallows
10c Rice Krispies (give or take(
2tbs Butter

**I like making a double batch but it's too much to mix in my bowl at one time. Cut the ingredients in half, follow below instructions, place in dish, then repeat with the other half of ingredients.

1. Melt butter & marshmallows. (I do mine in the microwave on 1min intervals, stir between intervals, but feel free to use the stove).
2. Slowly stir in Krispies, M&Ms, Pretzels.
3. Spray dish with non-stick spray, and pour in the mix.
4. let cool, cut, serve, become addicted.

Rolo Brownies

I really haven't been baking that much these past few months. I've learned that's it's another one of those things that I'm just not into when I'm heartbroken. And I've been nursing heartache since the end of October. But I'm on the up (for now) so I am back in the kitchen.

I used to send treats to work with B, and now I work there too. Everyone was pretty pumped that they would get to enjoy my treats exclusively...since I wouldn't be taking turns with my other office. It def makes it worth it when I see how much they enjoy them.

So far I have made them Oreo brownies, M&M cookies, and Rolo brownies.


Honestly, I'm not a big brownie fan (except for the batter! Yum!). But I really did like this variation! And  so did the office; the brownie pan was empty by lunch time. These are good, really good - trust.

Rolo Brownies

by Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

1box dark chocolate fudge cake mix

1/3 c evaporated milk

1/2 c butter, melted

12oz bag Rolos

1/2 c PB chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 8in baking pan with nonstick baking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine cake mix, evaporated milk, and melted butter. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of sprayed pan and bake for 8 minutes. Remove brownies from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
3. Toss in the Rolos and sprinkle PB chips over them. Press the other half of brownie mix onto wax paper into the shape of the pan, then transfer on top of rolo/PB chip mix. (Like you did in step 5 here) and bake for 20-25min.
4. Let cool, cut, serve, impress.

Puppy Chow, Muddy Buddies, whatever you want to call it

This stuff is addictive!

I literally made it three weeks in a row.

And it's so easy! It took about 5 min. This probably contributed to me making it three weeks in a row...

Puppy Chow/Muddy Buddies


9 cups any Chex cereal (except wheat)
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 Peanut Butter
1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar (more if needed)
1 large brown paper bag

1. Combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a bowl and microwave in 1 minute intervals (stirring in between) until melted.
2. Put cereal into brown paper bag and pour melted mix over. Close bag (fold a few times, obvs), and shake until cereal is coated.
3. Pour powdered sugar into the bag, close the bag, and shake until coated. Add extra powdered sugar if needed.
4. Let cool, and enjoy!

Naked Baking

Just kidding. I could get burned.

Safety first, so I wore my apron!

Pioneer Woman makes the most delicious looking things. I have been following her food blog for a while, and have bookmarked mannnnyyyyy recipes. I decided it was finally time to give them a try. And what more of a delicious place to start than with Knock You Naked Brownies?

These bad boys are easy and quick to make and are delicious beyond delicious!

Knock You Naked Brownies
by the Pioneer Woman

1 box German Chocolate Cake Mix (Duncan Hines)
1 c Pecans (optional...I left them out)
1/3 c Evaporated Milk
1/2 c Evaporated Milk (additional)
1/2 c Melted Butter
60 Whole Unwrapped Caramels (appx. 1 large bag)
1/3 c Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 c Powdered Sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl mix together cake mix, chopped pecans (optional), 1/3 c evaporated milk, and melted butter.
3. Divide dough in half and press half into a greased brownie pan (appx 9X9). Bake 10 minutes, then remove and set aside.
4. Melt caramels  and 1/2 c evaporated milk in the microwave. Stir in 1 minute intervals until melted. Pour over cooked brownie base and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
5. Roll out remaining dough onto flowered wax paper to be about the shape of the pan. Flip wax paper over to place dough as the top layer in the brownie pan. 
6. Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove and let cool and refrigerate (this will help the caramel to set). 
7. Serve with a nice layer of powdered sugar on top.

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 5 and 6

Step 7

I took these to dinner with Kari. I think her taste buds were overwhelmed with the flavors and sweetness of it all! She loved them so much that she kept some for later!

Grandma's M&M cookies

My absolute fave cookie!

of all time.

end.of.story.

If you've been reading this (and I know you have), then it's obvious that my grandma is the best. She gets a shout out in almost every post! (Hey Grandma! I love you!).

She makes the best of everything, especially M&M cookies. I.die.

I don't know if this is a made up memory or not (does that ever happen to you?), but I have visions of eating these and they are only covered with red and green M&M's. I don't know for a fact that Grandma made these around Christmas when I was little, but eating them makes me think of Christmas and Grandma's house. The two best things in the world!

I love the taste of the M&M's after they've been baked. I love the sweet with a hint of salt. I love that these cookies are more on the firm side, but not because they are overdone. I love everything about them!

I emailed Grandma to get the recipe because I misplaced it when I last moved, and she added this little tidbit in the email:

"Hope these turn out good, but with you making them they will be extra good."

Isn't she the best? And yes, they were extra good.

M & M Cookies

1 cup shortening                   

1 cup brown sugar                 

1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla  
2 eggs 
1 tsp. salt             

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. soda

1 1/2 cups (3/4 pound) M&M's (Medium bag should do the trick)

                                         

1. Blend shortening and sugars in a separate large bowl. Beat in vanilla and eggs.
2. In a medium bowl sift flour, soda, and salt together, then slowly add the sugar mixture. Mix well.
3. Stir in 1/2 cup M&M's.** 
4. Drop from spoon (I prefer a cookie scoop) onto an ungreased cookie sheet and decorate top of cookies with remaining M&M's.

Bake 375 degree for 10-12 minutes.

**Or, if you are lazy like me, you can just mix in all of the M&M's.

Can't you almost taste the goodness?

Trophy Wife Cupcakes - So good that you'll propose to me after one bite!

Truth.

So why did I only share these with the ladies at Recipe Klub? That was poor planning on my part. Better luck next time!

Al finally got to host RKlub at her house and it happened to fall during Tech Mandy's bday! Naturally I took over volunteered to make her bday dessert. Mandy's requests were chocolate, coconut, creme cheese, or all three together. That's easy enough. I figured I'd just whip up a chocolate cake and add toasted coconut to the frosting. I considered creme cheese frosting, but I haven't made any before and didn't want to risk it on the girls.

So the hunt through my billions of bookmarked recipes began for the perfect chocolate cake! I came across the Trophy Wife recipe that Running Off the Reece's had posted a while back and knew it would be delicious. How could I possible resist a recipe by that name?

**side note. Check of Reece's website. She is super funny and I know I would make her my bff if only I met her in real life. Instead I just stalk her in blog life.

Unlike being a Trophy Wife, this recipe is really easy and quick to mix up!

Trophy Wife Cake (or in this case, cupcakes)
1 3/4 c milk
chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
small box of chocolate pudding
12 oz. of chocolate chips (typically one bag)
1 can Milk Chocolate icing

1. Preheat Oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl mix cake mix, milk, eggs, chocolate pudding mix, and chocolate chips.
3. Pour into greased pan or cupcake pan with liners.
4. Cook time based on what box mix says.
5. 
   Once it's cool remove from pan and stick in fridge.
6. Ice it! I used caned milk chocolate icing.

Toasted Coconut
1 bag sweetened coconut flakes

1. Heat non stick skillet over medium.
2. Pour in coconut flakes (amount depends on how much you will use, I toasted 1/2 a bag)
3. Occasionally stir the coconut so it can evenly brown.
4. Remove from heat once it's fragrant and mostly toasted/light brown.
5. Dip iced cupcakes into the coconut and lightly press down.

Ta-da! Easy peasy!

I also iced a few of the cupcakes with rainbow chip icing (one of my premade faves!). Delish!

I shared the extra with my coworkers so I could continue my campaign to support obesity one cupcake at a time.

Quick Oreo Brownies

Kari finally moved back to Houston so I made my way over for dinner as soon as her mom flew home.

I was so excited to be able to hang out with her and Abbers in person instead of through weekly emails. Don't get me wrong, the Weekend Updates were great, provided entertainment, and kept us close through these two years of separation, but it's nice to have her here again!

Since Kari had been busy moving we hadn't emailed in a few weeks, so we had a lot to catch up on! When R got home from work he lit the grill and cooked some delicious vegetables and chicken!

After dinner Kari and I were talking about this blog and all of the things she wants to try off of it, especially the Oreo brownies. We decided to whip up a batch, but ran into the issue of the movers having not delivered her stuff, so her kitchen was bare and she didn't want to restock on baking things she would most likely never use again.

Solution! Quick Oreo Brownies. Although not as rich and delicious as the homemade version, still a pretty good substitute.

Quick Oreo Brownies
2 boxes of brownie mix
1 package of oreos

1. Prepare brownie mix according to box instructions.
2. Pour half of the batter into a pan (I believe we used 9x9)
3. Place Oreo's across the first layer of batter
4. Pour remaining half of batter on top and spread out if needed.
5. Bake per box directions
6. Enjoy!

Don't you just die at the deliciousness that's happening here?

Kari was impressed with the quick thinking and deliciousness of the treats! She probably would have died had she tasted the original.

Oreo's covered in brownie mix. Delish!

She texted me the next day to let me know that R said it's ok for me to move in as long as I keep their brownie supply up! haha. Very tempting!

Finished! I only used one box mix and that's why you can see my oreo's peeking out. It was still delicious, but I will use two boxes (as mentioned in the recipe) when I make this again.

I told you so...

Remember that time I made S'mores bars a few weeks ago?

Remember how I mentioned my love of roasting marshmallows?

I found proof.

See, this is totally safe and normal right?

OMG! It's on fire!

One more Marshmallow roasting story:

My freshman year in college Kayla and I decided it would be fun to make smores on the balcony. It was so much fun, until my mallow caught fire! In a panic I started swinging it to put the fire out (obviously not the best idea) and it flew off of my stick and onto a cardboard box. AHHHH! I reacted even faster this time to put it out before it got out of control.

I haven't given up my love of roasting, but I have learned it's best to blow out the fire, not swing it around.

Chocolate, PB, and Marshmallow Pudding Cookies

This week I wasn't really sure what to make. I went through everything and nothing sounded good. I guess I overdid it with the s'mores bars last week and I'm still on sugar overload. haha. I knew I wanted to go with cookies since I will be making Mandy's birthday cupcakes later this week (stay tuned!)

I finally narrowed it down to a few things and decided on these cookies. It was basically the marshmallow/PB combo that won me over.

These cookies were so easy to make, it was ridiculous! I found the recipe on Picky Palate. (You should check her out!?

The recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies, so I froze half the batter. I took the cookies to work and they were a huge success. Some people seemed surprised at how good they were, as if I don't have skills?

Chocolate, PB, and Marshmallow Pudding Cookies


2 sticks of softened butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla
2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4oz box instant chocolate pudding mix
10 oz bag peanut butter chips
1 1/2 c mini marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl mix butter and sugars, then beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients.
4. Mix in chocolate pudding mix, peanut butter chips, and marshmallows until just combined.
5. Scoop cookies onto baking sheet and bake for 10-12 min, or until cooked through.
6. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack. 

Is this seriously the only picture I took? I swear they taste better than they look!

After I put the first batch of these in the oven I received a phone call from my sweet B with a special request of peanut butter blossoms for my buttercup Rick. I was so kind as to make them with extra love.

I'm glad that I keep an emergency roll of PB cookie dough on hand (and people that that was crazy). I had already gone to the grocery that morning and didn't want to go again, so I used some extra choco chips to smash into the middle instead of the Hershey kiss. They turned out pretty delicious, duh!

Rice Krispy Treats - How Deliciously American!

So easy and delicious I could die! and then I did. But the krispy treats revived me. Maybe that's how Harry Potter came back too?

Do my rice krispy treats taste any better than the next guys? Yes. Heck yes.
Do I use a different recipe? probably not, it's from the box.
Then what's the deal? It must be the extra love I put into every batch....or my natural awesomeness in the kitchen and at life.

You decide.

I put them in my red Martha Stewart casserole dish. USA all the way!

Jess had a 4th of July BBQ so it was only natural to bring an all American dessert such as rice krispy treats. (I know, you were probably going to say pie, but to me krispy treats screams I love USA).

I was running low on time, sleep, and energy, so this was the perfect option.

Growing up, whenever we would visit my grandma's house there were always 2 guarantees:

• we would have fun.
• She would always have our fave treats (home made jerky, ice cream, cheese, skittles, peanuts, and rice krispy treats).

One of the last times I was visiting and we were making them together she swatted me with a spoon because I wouldn't stop eating them as I was stirring. haha. It's just so hard to resist the deliciousness!



So good you'll want to eat some on the way to the party. I know I did!



Rice Krispy Treats

4 tbs butter (I use the sticks since you just have to cut on the pre-measured lines)

2 bags of mini marshmallows

12 c rice krispy cereal (appx. so buy the large box)

*this is a recipe to make two batches so that your treats are super thick. You probably won't have a bowl large enough to make it all together, so divide the recipe by two and make it twice...that's what I did.

1. in the microwave or on the stove, melt the butter and marshmallows. If in the microwave, do it in intervals so you don't burn it!
2. once melted and mixed, start adding in the rice krispies a little at a time. I always approximate how much cereal I use. I just keep going until it looks right. You don't want to over do it or it won't be all soft and Gorey. 
3. place in greased pan and spread out.
4. repeat to make second batch and place onto of  first.
5. let cool, cut, eat.

Don't forget to lick the bowl!

Inappropriately Delicious - S'mores Bars

I love s'mores.

End.of.story.

Kidding, there's more.

I wish I could remember the first time I ever had them, but I can't. What I do remember is having sleepovers at grandma's house and having a weenie & s'more roast over the fire pit/cauldron thing. I would always eat at least 1 hot dog, not because I wanted too, but to make grandma happy that I didn't have a complete diet of sugar. I would def have the most s'mores. and when i got tired or assembling and eating them (it can get pretty messy) then I would just stick to plain roasted marshmallows. Yummm. Maybe grandma will light up the pit when I come home for Christmas! (hint, hint)

As I became a grown up, my love for s'mores only grew. One year my mom got me a s'mores kit for Christmas. It was cool, but became unnecessary. But it did aid in the discovery of the camping gel candle thingy that you light to make fire! So now? I can have s'mores anytime I want! Once I was making them and the gel thing fire balled almost in my face. Once I felt that my eyebrows & lashes were still attached, I continued roasting! Nothing can hold me back from this deliciousness.

If you check out my Pinterest "yummm" board, you will notice that 97% of the recipes are s'mores related. Someone, please help me!

I googled "s'mores bars" and after checking out a few of the results, I came across this on The Hungry Moose. I was so excited that I made it within a first week of finding it. and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

In my opinion, this is the most delicious thing I have ever made! Lindsey and I even had some for breakfast a few days.

You seriously want me to believe that there is something delicious hiding in there?

S'mores Bars

2 sticks of butter softened to room temperature
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2 tsps. vanilla
2 2/3 c flour
1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 large (4.4 oz.) chocolate bars
1 jar of Marshmallow fluff (about 13+ oz)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 pan.
2. In a large bowl mix the white & brown sugar and butter. Then add in the eggs and vanilla. Mix some more.
3. In a separate bowl mix together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Mix the wet and dry together to create your graham cracker cookie crust!
5. Gather dough in a ball and divide in half. 
6. Use one half to cover the bottom of the pan.
7. Add the chocolate bar layer. The 4th bar will need to be cut to fit into the side and end of the pan.
8. Spread the marshmallow layer all over. Good luck! It's pretty sticky. 
9. And now the tricky part - adding the top layer of dough. I spread it out on wax paper to be approximately the size of the pan (mine was a little bigger than the pan) then I flipped it over to place the top later on. If your layer is too big, then just squish the edges down. If it's too small, then push them out. It doesn't have to be perfect.
10. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool (if you are patient enough), then enjoy!

Suggestions:
You could always use the caramel stuffed Hershey's bar instead, that could up the deliciousness another notch!


These bars were so delicious that we ate half of the pan before sending them to work with B. Pretty sure I would have polished it off it she hadn't taken them! yikes!

OMG! There is! (This doesn't even come close to capturing how delicious this treat really is)

Oreo Stuffed Bomb.com Brownies

As I was reading the 50billion food blogs I'm subscribed to, I ran across these brownies on Sing For Your Super. Oreo Stuffed. So simple, and yet so genius. Truth be told I'm more into the brownie batter than the actual brownies. In college I would often make brownies for my neighbors just because I loved licking the bowl. haha.

Back to the Oreo brownies. Once I saw them, I found myself thinking about them constantly. After about two weeks of brownie fantasies I whipped them up.

What's that, a regular brownie?

 Oreo Stuffed Brownies
recipe from Sing For Your Supper


2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 c sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 c cocoa powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 1/2 c flour
1 c chocolate chips
1 pkg double stuffed Oreo's (if we're being honest, they are the only ones that matter)

• preheat oven to 350 and Pam a 9x13 pan.
• in a medium bowl microwave to melt the butter, add the sugar, and stir. Microwave a little longer until hot. It should become shiny looking as you stir. Heat once more because this will help create a shiny top crust on the brownies.
• Beat the eggs, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla until smooth. Add the hot butter/sugar mixture and stir until smooth. Finally, add the flour and chocolate chips (one cup, not the whole bag...not that I would do that on accident...) and stir until smooth.
• Spoon half of the batter into the pan. Next, create your Oreo layer by lining as many as you can on top of the batter layer. Finish it off with the final batter layer. If necessary, spread the batter to the edges and around the oreos. Bake for 34-50 minutes, or until you get a clean toothpick (duh!). 
• Cool before serving. Or serve warm with a side of ice cream. Whatever floats your brownie boat!

Surprise! It's stuffed with Oreo's!

B loved them so much that she opted to leave them at home instead of sharing with the boys at work (they were sorely disappointed). I did take a few to my co-workers and I'm pretty sure it was like a party in their mouths when they took a bite. Basically, they loved them!

WTF, Cupcake?

I must confess, I love box cake mix. When my birthday would come around, I would always request that my mom skip the bakery and just whip me up a chocolate box mix cake. My fave. Like for real, yo. I am wanting to whip one up just thinking about it!

Anyway, although I love my cake mix, I feel like I should be more legit and make them from scratch. In my first attempt I ended up karate chopping it and turning it into cake balls (you can read about that here). I finally felt healed from that experience and was ready to give it another go. I made the You Rock Cupcakes from 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know.

You Rock Cupcakes
makes 18 cupcakes

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 c whole milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened (10 tbs)
• 1 1/4 c sugar
• 3 large eggs

1. To start, preheat oven to 350 and put liners in pan.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a different medium bowl mix together the milk and vanilla.
4. In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until fluffy with an electric mixer on medium, about 5 min.
5. Beat in the eggs one at a time until smooth and evenly mixed.
6. with the mixer on low alternate adding the flour and milk mixture (2 batches each) until just combined (don't over mix!).
7. separate into the 18 cups and bake for 20-24 min, or until you have a clean toothpick.
8. Set on cooling wracks and remove once completely cool, then remove and frost!

Wilton Buttercream Icing

• 1c solid white vegetable shortening (not crisco brand!)
• 1 tsp Wilton Flavor (Vanilla, Almond, or Butter...or you could use 1tsp of each like me!)
• 2 tbs water (add more to thin it out to your preference)
• 1lb (4 c) powdered sugar
• 1 tbs Meringue Powder

Mix all wet ingredients (shortening, flavor, water). Then slowly add in dry ingredients. Blend until creamy.

I took some to work and sent some with B. The reviews were good, but I'm just not loving it. Maybe if I had followed step 5 with the eggs correctly it would have made a difference? I don't know. I felt that they were too dense and maybe not sweet enough? Even though they were a hit, I'm continuing the search for a recipe that I will love as much as funfetti box mix.

The icing was a whole other situation. I have made buttercream tons of times (literally tons of times), and it's always perfect. This time it tasted the same, but the texture was off. Maybe I was having a Mandy Moore moment from the movie Because I Said So. Who knows. Someone said it's because I'm a perfectionist so I just need to relax. Anyway, my taste testers enjoyed it, so you should give it a try too.

Do you have a favorite vanilla/white cake recipe? Please share!!!

Dinner For One...kill me

Ugh. Honestly, I don't cook as much as I used to because it's just not gratifying to cook for myself. I'm working on it, but it's a lot of work that I don't always appreciate.

I have started baking again, and that's been successful, I guess. I used to bake stuff for Daniel, but since that's obviously no longer happening, I have a new wife to send sweets with! (love you B!). Anyway, I say I guess because I feel that some of the recipes need improvement, but then again it's hard for me to gage the tastiness of something I don't like to begin with. For example, red velvet cake. I don't hate it, but I don't like. I just can't. blah. I made it anyway, and B said that it was a hit at work! Fan-freaking-tastic! I'm not even going to share the recipe because I feel that it could be improved...but here's a peek at it.

P.S. this cake was freaking heavy! It completely smashed the cream cheese icing between the two layers. I didn't think B was going to be able to handle it.

I also made some Butterscotch Chocolate Rice Krispy treats. They were good, but I'm going to switch up the recipe before I share it, so stay tuned!

This week I sent B to work with those delicious mini cherry cheese cakes that I previously posted about. Luckily they were also a hit! Not that I ever doubted it since it's a recipe from grandma.

Back to the title...

Tonight I cooked myself dinner. And it.was.awesome!

Fried Chicken

I didn't measure anything, I just 'eye-balled' it. good luck!

• milk
• flour seasoned with salt and pepper
• chicken breast
• veg oil

Heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Dip chicken in milk, flour, milk again, flour again, then carefully place in the hot oil. each side about 4 min? Honestly, I don't know. Just watch it until it browns.

Grilled Veggies

• vegetables (I used zucchini, squash, and asparagus)
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• olive oil

Just toss veggies, oil, and seasoning in a bowl, then lay out on the grill (or in my case the grill pan) about 4 min on each side.

I was also in the mood for fries (I prefer the sweet potato variety, but I was out).

Truffle Potato Wedges? Fries? Slices? Whatever.

• Potato
• Olive Oil
• Pepper
• Truffle Salt

Preheat oven to 450, cover baking sheet with foil, spray with Pam.

Slice and dice that potato, toss with olive oil, pepper, and truffle salt. Lay out on baking sheet. Cook for 20 min, turn, then 20 more min. Eat.

Why yes, I do like to roll my cookies in crack...

We had recipe club two weeks in a row! This week we had pizza and Mandy and I each brought dessert.

It was a great excuse to get together so we could see the progress on Mandy's house and finally have all of the OG's together again. Super glad I got to see Tech Mandy because it had been forever!

We had a blast, and Jess and I got to show the girls the sweet moves we had learned in our Define workout class. I think they totally thought we were making it up with all of the invisible high heels, pelvic thrusting, hip circles, and dropping it like it's hot. But it was no joke. I think we are def going to be the all stars at our Pole La Teaz class next month! haha.

Anyway, I had run across a recipe for Muddy Buddy Cookies on Sugarcrafter's blog months ago and thought this would be a good time to give it a go. This was my first time baking in the new kitchen so there were some minor complications...like when I forgot where I put the cooling racks and managed to drop half of my cookies...

Here you go:

Please excuse the picture quality...this is from my droid.
P.S. don't they kinda look like reindeer poop?

Muddy Buddy Cookies...aka Reindeer Poop

• 1 stick of butter
• 2 bags of chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• powdered sugar
• peanut butter cookies

1. make peanut butter cookies. Since this was a week night, I cheated and used some slice and bake ones I had in the freezer. Once done, stick in the fridge to speed the cooling process.

2. Melt butter.

3. add chocolate chips and melt. I would suggest doing this on 30 second intervals (I did it in 1 min and think I burnt the chocolate a bit).

4. add vanilla extract.

5. dunk cookies in chocolate mixture then dunk in powdered sugar. Set to dry.

6. enjoy...probably with milk.

These were a hit at recipe klub and work the next day. I did enjoy them, as muddy buddies is one of my fave things, but will try a variation next time...stay tuned.

p.s. If you feel that your chocolate is too thick, add more butter. but be careful because a little butter goes a long way. I may have Paula Deaned mine a little bit. oops!