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!

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!

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.

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!

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)

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!

Quick and Easy Desserts

I don't know about you, but sometimes I don't have a lot of time and energy to put into making something. Other times? I am just lazy. When this happens I have two default desserts: Peanut Butter Blossoms and Mini Cheesecakes.

My mom would always make peanut butter blossoms around the holidays, but I think that this delicious goodness should be enjoyed year round! When running short on time use shortcuts such as pre-made cookie dough.

Peanut Butter Blossoms 

package of pre-made peanut butter cookie dough

bag of Hershey Kisses

sugar

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Divide cookie dough into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.
• Place on cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes (can vary depending on your oven).
• While cookies are baking, unwrap Hershey kisses.
• As soon as cookies are removed from the oven, place kisses in the middle. (The heat from the cookie will melt them a bit. yum!)
• Move cookies to cooling rack.
• Enjoy!

This next desert comes from my grandma. They are a crowd pleaser and are super cute! 

Mini Cheesecakes

2 eggs

3/4 c. Sugar

16 oz. cream cheese

2 tsp. vanilla

16 vanilla wafer cookies

1 can pie filling (I usually go with cherry)

Vanilla Wafers

cupcake liners

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

 It took me about 1.5 hours to make both of these. 

Let me know what you top your cheesecake with!

Duel Chocolate Bark

My grandma is the best cook and baker that I know. Everything is always delicious.always. One of the sweets that I remember (and love) is her chocolate bark.When I ran across this post on Bake at 350 where she had a layer of white chocolate in it, I knew I HAD to bake it! (Or make? There wasn't really any baking involved).

I did make a few slight  alterations. 

1. I used Hershey's White Chocolate chips and Toll House's Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips. (our Wal-Mart has slim picking)

2. Since those brands have a few more ounces in them, I ended up adding about 4 cups of krispies. 

I had trouble breaking it, so I used my HUGE butcher knife to cut it into little bars

I had trouble breaking it, so I used my HUGE butcher knife to cut it into little bars. Perfect!

What do you think?

I sent them to work with Daniel for Valentine's day. He was the most popular guy on the floor! They were such a success I can't wait to share them with my co-workers and friends!