January 31-Dark Chocolate PB’s with White Chocolate Chips

Happy Friday Blog Buddies! I don’t know about you, but I’m welcoming this weekend with a huge hug…and some chocolate.

Although I love baking, I don’t do it as much as I’d like. My husband and I both enjoy a good cookie every now and then, but our taste-preferences tend to lean more toward savory than sweet. I just can’t bring myself to bake an entire batch of cookies when I know we will only eat a few.

Tonight our church small group is getting together for a dinner potluck and Sunday we are hosting a Super Bowl shindig at our house. I always welcome the chance to bake for a group!

 Last night I whipped up a scrumptious batch of incredible gooey cookies that were just too good not to share. I was pretty proud myself for straying from a recipe and taking the adventurous route. I was even more proud of myself when I took the first bite of this original recipe and discovered that these little buddies were absolutely delicious!

 I then proceeded to eat three (Okay, okay, I ate some of the dough too. Guilty.)

Enjoy!

 Dark Chocolate PB’s with White Chocolate Chips

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag of white chocolate chips

1.      Preheat oven to 375.

2.      In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars.

3.      Mix in eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla.

4.      Mix in flour, baking soda, and white chocolate chips. Combine thoroughly.

5.      Roll dough into small balls (About the size of a tbsp to the size of a golf ball, depending on how big you like your cookies). Place dough on a greased cookie sheet and press down with a fork.

6.      Bake on 375 for 10 minutes, or until cookies are done but not crispy.

7.      Enjoy with a tall glass of milk. (Or hot from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!)

 Makes about 5 dozen cookies. Recipe can be cut in half when baking for smaller groups.

August 3- Chocolate Cupcakes w/Gooey Rolo Centers

There is no woman that I admire more than my mom. People always told me that I'm just like her. As a teen I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but as I grow older I realize it is one of the best compliments I could receive. 

Tomorrow the entire family will be gathering together to celebrate my parent's birthdays, as both of their birthdays fall in the same week. I called my mom earlier this week to ask if what I could contribute to the birthday luncheon. She assured me that most everything was taken care of and that she had it all under control (I am my mother's daughter).  I insisted that she should not make her own birthday cake. She told me that the cake was covered; She would be making my dad's favorite cherry-vanilla dessert. 

I have no complaints about this (that is MY favorite dessert too, after all), but I know that my mom is a triple-chocolate-chocolate lover when it comes to desserts. After I had hung up the phone, I decided to make something chocolate to bring to the birthday celebration. 

Besides, who would complain about double desserts?

My mom loves Chocolate Turtle Candies; The ones with the nuts and caramel with the chocolate coating. Inspired by her favorite treat, I set out to create a nutty-chocolate-caramel cupcake.

It's quite simple.

Follow your favorite recipe for chocolate cupcakes.

Before baking, place one Rolo candy into the center of each cup and smooth batter to cover.

Bake...Cool....Frost.

Top with crushed nuts.

December 6-Christmas Crispies

A festive twist on a classic treat for my youth group buddies.

Christmas Crispies

1/4 cup butter or margarine

4 cups mini marshmallows

5 cups crisp rice cereal

1 bag Christmas M&M's

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until melted and mixed. Heat 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add cereal and M&M's. Mix thoroughly. Using a buttered spatula, press mixture firmly into a greased 13 x 9 inch pan. Allow treats to cool before slicing. 

September 6- PB Banana Oatmeal Cookies w/Dark Chocolate Drizzle

This recipe was inspired by two major events:

1.) The brown bananas on the counter needed to be eaten two days ago.

2. ) I'm providing treats for an event tomorrow night and was in the mood to bake cookies.

Needing inspiration I did what any 21st century homemaker would do. 

Google. 

I searched for "easy banana cookies" and found this original recipe by Wendy-Bob for banana oatmeal cookies. It seemed simple enough and I already had all of the ingredients on hand so I decided to give it a whirl. I tweaked a few things as I went (including the dark chocolate drizzle...MMMM), so my recipe ended up looking different. The original recipe was a good template to help guide me make my own. The cookies turned out pretty good, but probably aren't my best work. 

Next time I think I'll add more sugar/Splenda.

PB Banana Oatmeal Cookies w/Dark Chocolate Dollops

2 ripe bananas

2 1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup skim milk

1 large egg

1 tbsp brown sugar (I recommend 2 tbsp of any type of sugar/sweetener. Mine could've been sweeter.)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tbsp chunky peanut butter

4-5 dark chocolate pieces, such as Dove or Hershey's Bliss

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mash the bananas. Mix with oats, milk, egg, sugar, vanilla, and peanut butter. 

3. Spoon the cookie mix onto a greased cookie sheet to make about 24 small cookies (Size can be adjusted according to preference. I simply wanted the recipe to go further.)

   4. Bake 10-15 minutes.

5. While cookies are baking, melt dark chocolate and stir. Once cookies have been removed from the oven, spread a small amount of chocolate over each cookie. 

6. Pour a tall glass of milk and enjoy!

June 6- Dark Chocolate Cherry-Cheesecake Bars

We didn't actually eat this for supper, but I had to share. It is our week to bring treats to small group, so I thought I'd mix up a classic recipe and try something new. 

Dark Chocolate Cherry-Cheesecake Bars

Brownies

1 box Dark Chocolate brownie mix w/necessary ingredients

Topping

2 8oz packages low-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 21oz can cherry pie filling

1. Preheat oven to 350. 

2. Prepare brownie mix as directed. 

3. Combine cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract.

4. Pour brownie mixture into greased 9 x 13 pan. Layer topping mixture over brownie mix. Next, spoon cherry pie filling on top. Run tip of a knife through topping and brownie mix to create a marble effect.

5. Bake at 350 35-45 minutes or until brownie edges begin to pull away from the sides and edges of the cream cheese are slightly browned. 

6. Cool pan and chill 4 hours.

7. Cut into slices. Pour large class of milk. Enjoy. 

April 8-Easter Sunday Treats

I love spending quality time with my family. Saturday afternoon was spent in the kitchen with my mom, catching up on life and making preparation for Sunday's Easter meal of ham, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, orange jello salad, rolls, and plenty of sweet treats to share. 

And of course, no family get-together would be complete without fruit pizza. 

1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 

March 8-Mom's Fruit Pizza

Okay, so it's not exactly dinner, but it is an old family favorite and definitely worth a share. Growing up, this light dessert was served at just about every holiday and was always one of my favorite treats.

When it was my turn to provide refreshments for our small group, I knew that this would be the perfect snack. Our small group is made up of quiet a few master bakers, so the recipe had quite a bit to live up to. And so it did; Compliments were flowing all night (Thanks, Mom!).

Mom's Fruit Pizza

Crust Ingredients:1/2 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup sugar, 2 cups flour, 1 egg beaten, 1 tsp baking power, 1/4 cup milk

Frosting Ingredients: 11 oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1tsp vanilla

Crust

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.) Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, Sift together flower and baking powder. Add butter to mixture. Cover and refrigerate 1/2 hour.

3.) Generously butter 14'' pizza pan. Press dough into pan. 

4.) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool.

Frosting

1.) Combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Spread over baked crust.

2.) Top with fresh fruits of your choice. (Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi, mandarin oranges, cherries, and pineapple are all good choices, depending on the time of year.)

3.) Cut into pieces and serve

February 7- Lazy Chip Cookies

Disclaimer: NOT for supper (unless you have a case of the rainy Mondays...I won't tell)

This is so simple it may not even be worth sharing, but they tasted pretty darn good. Cookies in less than 20 minutes, including prep time. Cookie mix + whatever ingredients you can find (tonight's concoction is brought to you by butterscotch chips and chocolate pieces).

I hope my youth group gals like cookies!

Tomorrow's recipe: slow-cooker enchilada soup. If you don't hear from me, it means I failed. Ha!

February 5- Frozen Yogurt Banana Bites

Not exactly dinner, but definitely worth sharing!

This afternoon I wanted something sweet and decided to try something new...These little treats were absolutely delicious (and healthy)!

All you need is 1 banana and 1 individual container of yogurt (I personally like Yoplait Light Vanilla). Slice bananas, dip in yogurt, and lay on a flat surface. Drizzle remaining yogurt over slices.
Freeze approx. 1 hour.

YUM!