"Just like Reese's" Peanut Butter Bars

If you like Reese's Peanut butter cups, you'll love these! They are super easy to make, and I actually had everything in my cupboard already. I left the graham crackers a little chunky for some texture, but you can crumble them up to dust if you want :) I also stuck mine in the freezer, I love my desserts cold! mmmm..... enjoy!

Peanut Butter Layer:

1/2 c. butter

1 3/4 c. powdered sugar

1 c. peanut butter

3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs


Chocolate layer:

1/4 c. butter

1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

*Line an 8×8, 9×9, or 7×11 pan with foil for easy removal of bars later.

Directions:

Peanut butter layer: On low heat, melt 1/2 c. butter. Remove from heat and stir in confectioner’s sugar. Add peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs, stirring until creamy. Spread mixture evenly into pan. Refrigerate while making chocolate layer. 

Chocolate layer: On low heat, melt butter. Add chocolate chips and stir until chips are nearly melted and very soft. Remove from heat and continue stirring until chocolate is smooth and shiny. Spread over peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut into bars.

Store peanut butter cup bars in refrigerator or freezer.

Makes 16 or more bars

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

I love coconut, and macaroons are one of my fav's. I thought they would be a pain in the neck to make, but they were SOOO EASY and actually fun to make! The final outcome was super delicious. They are crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. I am surprised I haven't eaten them all yet...cuz let me tell you, they are worth every calorie. :) They also would be a great addition to a package you would send in the mail to a family or friend, because they seem pretty sturdy and I think would hold up well.

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons:

2/3 c. flour

1- 14 oz. bag of flaked coconut

1/4 tsp. salt

1- 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

*High Quality dipping chocolate of your choice (I use Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mat. (I used a Silpat)

In small bowl, stir together the sweetened condensed milk and both extracts. In separate, large bowl, mix together the coconut, flour and salt. Add the milk mixture to the coconut mixture and blend together with a spoon or clean hands until well blended.

Use a cookie scoop to place mixture on baking sheets.

Bake in oven for 16-19 minutes, or until coconut is toasted.

If desired, dip cooled cookies into melted chocolate of your choice.

* I melted Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips in the microwave at 50% power for about 1 and a half minutes and stirred it until the bowl was no longer warm. Then I dipped and drizzled away and let cool on waxed paper until the chocolate hardened.

Coconut Lemon Cake

It was my husband's birthday yesterday and I asked him what he wanted for cake. He went from apple pie, banana cream pie, and then on to ice cream cake. The night before his b-day he said he would like a cake with lemon filling. I couldn't find any recipes that looked reputable, so I made a white cake with Lemon Filling and a Coconut Buttercream Frosting. :) It turned out pretty yummy! We were in a hurry to leave so I wasn't able to get a great picture, but I know I'll make it again, so here some for the meantime.

It was super easy to make, so here ya go!

Bake any white cake as directed on box and divided between 2 9 inch round pans. Cool completely.

Make frosting while cake is cooling.

Cut top of both cakes so they will be level. Place lemon filling on top of one of the cakes, right side up. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to set filling. Place other cake, cut side down on top of lemon filling. Frost with a crumb coat, refrigerate for 45 minutes, then finish frosting cake.

You could decorate however you wish, but I pressed shredded coconut on the outside of the cake. Enjoy :)

Coconut Creme Frosting:

1 C. Butter, softened, not melted

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 box (16 oz) +1 C. Powdered Sugar

1/2 c. Coconut Creme Coffee Creamer

Mix butter with electric mixer till smooth and creamy. Add 1 tsp. vanilla. Slowly mix in powdered sugar. When mixture is fluffy and powdered sugar is thoroughly mixed, add milk slowly until it reaches desired consistency. You may use more or less creamer depending on how you like it.

Cake Pops!

Happy Easter!

I finally made cake pops! They are super easy but kind of time consuming. I am obsessed with Bakerella's website. She makes the cutest cake pops and just came out with her own cake pop book. This was my first try, so they were a little stressful to make. But I just need some practice with my technique. The eggs were a little tricky to form, so they didn't turn out perfect, but I gave it my best.

Ingredients:

Cake mix, as directed on the box (oil, eggs, water)

Jar of frosting

Candy melts

Decorations

*This time I made lemon cake with vanilla frosting and added fresh grated lemon rind to the frosting, with vanilla candy melts :) yum!*

Directions:

Bake desired cake mix or homemade cake as directed on the box in a 13x9 inch pan.

Wait for cake to completely cool, then crumble the cake into a big mixing bowl.

Add 3/4 of a jar of desired frosting to the cake, and mix until frosting is blended completely with the cake. I use the back of a wooden spoon to mix it all together. If it seems dry, add more frosting.

Then form mixture into balls. I do this with a cookie scoop and roll with my (clean) hands to form into ball. Place the formed balls on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.

Cake balls:

Place directly into refrigerator or freezer. (Freeze for at least 1 hour before dipping)

Cake Pops:

Dip lollipop sticks into "melted" candy melts less than half way then stick into individual balls. Put cake pops on lined cookie sheet and place into refrigerator or freezer. (Freeze for at least 1 hour before dipping)

When cake pops/balls are nice and cold, dip into melted "candy melts" and place back on waxed paper. And...Decorate!

*If melting Candy melts or almond bark in the microwave, please make sure to do it on the defrost setting or at 50% power, or the chocolate will burn!

Fluffy, Amazing, Pumpkin Cookies!

These cookies are so good! Even people who don't like pumpkin go crazy over them. They are so moist, and are kind of like a bread/cake. I like them with or without the frosting. I think the problem is that they taste kinda healthy. I can eat like 5 at a time and not feel guilty. That's totally awful, but they are worth the extra calories and extra hour of kickboxing to burn them off! lol! :)

The Original (with penuche frosting):

Original, Pumpkin with mini chocolate chips, and "The Works" (Mini chocolate chips & frosting)

This is my dog Harley, waiting for me to look away so he could jump and eat my cookies!

Pumpkin Cookies with Penuche (brown butter) Frosting:

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 
  
• Frosting:
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together shortening, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and white sugar. Mix in pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; mix into the creamed mixture. Stir in walnuts. Drop dough by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool on wire racks.
4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the 3 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute, or until slightly thickened. Cool slightly, then stir in the milk, and beat until smooth. Gradually stir in 2 cups powdered sugar until frosting has reached desired consistency. Drizzle on cooled cookies.

*I made these without the frosting, but added mini chocolate chips, and they were really yummy!

Cowgirl Cookies

I made these cookie mixes for people for Christmas. I got the idea from Bakerella. She does the cutest things on her website. Her cake pops are the most amazing things ever! You have to check them out! Anyway, here is what my jars turned out like:

These are the finished product:

This particular batch had Christmas m&m's so it would be sort of a Christmas theme. I wanted the girls to be able to use it as decoration if they wanted, so that's why I didn't add the m&m's in the jar where they would be visible.

This is how you would arrange them in the jar:

Start with:

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled


1 teaspoon baking powder


1 teaspoon baking soda


1/4 teaspoon salt


1 cup cooking oats

3/4 cup m&ms


3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


1/2 cup brown sugar, packed


1/2 cup white sugar


1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped pecans, or enough to fill to the top of the jar.

*If you don't want to use nuts, just add more m&m's, or chocolate chips.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir dry ingredients into large bowl and add:

1/2 cup butter (almost melted)

1 slightly beaten egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix thoroughly. I used my hands to combine because the mixture was fairly dry. I also refrigerated mine for 30 minutes so mixture would stick together. Then roll into balls and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

These cookies turn out very chewy and crunchy. :)

Oreo Truffles

Oh my goodness, these things are so good! Good thing they are rich so you don't eat a dozen at a time, that would be dangerous. They are pretty easy, you just have to get used to using candy melts. I got this recipe from Bakerella, this was my first attempt at any type of truffle. The White chocolate bark was kind of a pain, but worth it in the end.

Oreo Truffles

1 package oreo cookies
1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)
white chocolate bark, or candy melts

1. Finely crush 7 cookies in a food processor or place them in a ziploc bag and crush into a fine consistency. Reserve for later.
2. Crush remaining cookies and stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together.
3. Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet, refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
4. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. You can sprinkle the tops with the 7 crushed cookies for decoration. (Sprinkle tops with crushed oreo very quick, or it will dry and not stick to the top)
5. Once dry, refrigerate and enjoy!

*Store in airtight container for up to a week. :)

Mini Reese's Brownies

My sister Paula made these for Halloween, and they were AMAZING! They are little brownie bites with a miniature Reese's pressed into each one and then topped with peanut butter frosting! YUMMY! And they are so EASY to make :)

All you have to do is:

1. Make a brownie mix as directed on the box.

2. Line mini muffin tins with paper liner, and fill half way with brownie mixture.

3. Cook about 10 minutes, or until you stick a toothpick in it and it comes out clean.

4. Immediately after taking out of oven place a miniature Reese's into the middle of each cupcake until level with brownie.

(if the cooked brownie has expanded all the way to the top of the liner, don't worry it won't overflow! It magically stays the same height)

5. Cool, and top with frosting of your choice. :)

SO EASY!

My peanut butter frosting:

1 jar of pillsbury vanilla frosting mixed with 1/4 cup of peanut butter.

(This time I was lazy and just used the jar frosting because it was quick--but it was good with the peanut butter mixed in!)

Best Ever Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Coconut

My favorite cookies in the world are the Coconut Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies from Paradise Bakery.... They are so amazing!!! I tried out this recipe and think they could easily rival Paradise. If you have had the one's from Paradise, you know that is a BOLD statement. But I am the toughest critic when it comes to my baking, and I think they are pretty close. So, try them, they are super easy, and let me know what you think...

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Coconut:

1 1/4 c. oatmeal

1 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 c. flaked coconut

1 c. choc. chips (I use milk choc. chips)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. oil

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients, then add oil, egg and vanilla.

Mix thoroughly and add in chocolate chips.

Drop with cookie scooper onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 325 for 12 minutes. ENJOY!!!!

Peanut Blossoms

This is my mom's recipe. I used to beg her to make them when I was growing up because they were my favorite! Now they are my husband's favorite and he begs for them! :)

Peanut Blossoms

1-3/4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1 egg

2 T. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Hershey's Kisses (48)

1/2 c. sugar, set aside

Preheat oven to 375. Combine sugars, butter, egg, peanut butter and mix. Add flour, soda, salt, milk and vanilla. Chill. Shape dough into walnut size balls. (I use a cookie scoop to measure). Roll in sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Immediately after removing from oven, place an unwrapped Hershey's kiss on each cookie. So yummy!!!

BBQ Glazed Halibut

We bought halibut the other night, and I found this recipe. I was unsure of what to expect, but it tasted really light and flavorful. The sauce is sort of a Teriyaki flavor.

BBQ Glazed Halibut

Ingredients:

2 halibut steaks

2 green onions, chopped

In a saucepan, combine following ingredients:

2 T. butter

2 T. brown sugar

2 cloves garlic

1 T. lemon juice

2 tsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. pepper

Stir ingredients and cook on med-high heat just until it comes to a boil, and sugar is dissolved.

Cool to room temperature.

Keep about 4 T. sauce in the pan to use for glaze later.

In a shallow pan, marinate halibut in the sauce in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes, flip halibut over and place back in fridge for another 15 minutes.

Remove from fridge and place on grill prepped with olive oil. Carefully place halibut on the grill, and use the extra saute sauce left in the saute pan to keep it moist while cooking. I cooked mine about 4 minutes on each side, but it varies depending on how you like it prepared.

Remove from grill and glaze with the extra sauce, and top with chopped green onions. Enjoy!

What? They're Whole Wheat?

So I have the day off work, and I really wanted to bake something new to put on the blog. (and to eat...of course!!!) Justin said I should try to make something "healthy". So I decided to make whole wheat cookies. In reality, they aren't really "healthy", but they are better for you than white flour cookies, they also have oatmeal and eggs.... so they are a GREAT balanced breakfast food. :) Okay, fine, I tried! Anyway, they are really yummy, and I really don't think people would be able to tell they are whole wheat, unless you told them. So try them and let me know what you think! :) Mine came out perfect and chewy with a slight crunch on the outside. Yum!

They say this recipe is similar to the Great Harvest Bread company cookies, which are one of my fav! I added vanilla to the recipe, I can't make chocolate chip cookies without it! I also accidentally forgot salt, but thankfully we didn't miss it! :)

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups brown sugar, packed

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups rolled oats

2 eggs

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 package milk chocolate chips (I love the ghiradelli ones!)

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Beat together brown sugar and butter until well combined. Add oats, eggs, molasses, vanilla and milk; beat well. Add dry ingredients to beaten mixture; mix until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop dough and drop about 3 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 13 minutes, until just starting to brown around the outside. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets. Remove and cool on racks. Enjoy! :)

Macaroni Grill's Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala:

1 lb Chicken breast, cut into 8 pieces

Salt and Pepper

Flour, for coating

8 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups mushrooms, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 shallot, minced

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1 Cup + 2 T. Marsala cooking wine, dry not sweet

6 tablespoons chicken stock

Directions:

1. Place chicken pieces between waxed paper and flatten. Dust each piece with salt, pepper and flour. Shake off surplus.

2.
Melt 3 tablespoons butter and the oil in skillet and fry chicken in batches on medium heat for about 5 minutes each side.

3.
Remove chicken from pan and arrange in a single layer in shallow ovenproof pan. Put in low oven (275-300 degrees) to stay warm.

4.
In clean skillet, add 4 tablespoons butter and garlic and saute (do not brown) for a few minutes until soft. Add mushrooms and saute about 5 minutes. Use slotted spoon to lift mushrooms out of skillet and arrange on top of chicken breasts. Sprinkle with cheese and put back in oven until you finish next step.

5. Pour Marsala wine into skillet along with chicken broth and remaining 1 tablespoons butter and boil rapidly until reduced by half. Remove chicken from oven, plate it and pour wine mixture over the chicken breasts.

6.
I served the breasts along with a small portion of angel hair pasta and homemade rosemary focaccia bread.

*Tip: Drizzle the sauce on just before serving so you don't make the outside of the chicken soggy.

**This sauce is soooo good! In this recipe I tripled it from the original. Drizzle some over your pasta for some extra flavor.

Chewy granola bars!

I was watching Martha Stewart yesterday and she had this lady on that made granola bars. I love granola bars, and have always wanted to make them, but haven't had the courage to. But they made it look so easy, like every TV show does! So, I decided to attempt them.... and good thing I did, because they are so much better than the ones in the grocery store, and they WERE so EASY! And QUICK!

Chewy Granola Bars:

1-3/4 c. oatmeal

1-1/4 c. Rice Cereal (Rice Krispies)

1/2 c. mini chocolate chips (or dried fruit, nuts, etc*)

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1/3 c. honey

In large bowl, mix cereal and oatmeal, set aside.

In saucepan on medium-high heat, stir together honey, vegetable oil, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, and then cook an additional minute. It should become very bubbly, almost foamy looking.

Pour sauce over the oatmeal mixture and stir until all cereal is coated. Pour into greased 8x8 pan lined with parchment paper. Spread the mixture to form in pan, but do not flatten entirely. Sprinkle with chocolate chips or desired topping, then create a flat even surface. Cool to room temperature and cut into bars. Yum! :)

*I think it would be good with craisins and white chocolate chips.

Or, here are some other ideas:

Mini M&M's

Peanut butter chips

Almonds

Raisins (ewww)

Dried apples, apricots, or mangoes

Checkerboard Cake!

Okay, It's finally done, and I had to wait all day and after dinner to cut into it and see if it worked....and... It looked really cool inside, I just wished the cake part would have tasted better. :( It was kinda dry. The batter needed to be really thick to hold it shape in the circles and not blend together, so maybe a pound cake would work?? If anyone has a good cake recipe that has thick batter....please let me know. :)

Oh the other hand, I made homemade Chocolate mousse for the filling, which was AMAZING!!! So amazing that I ate so much of it while frosting it, that I can't even look at it anymore...

Well, here are some pictures of the Cake:

Ta, Da! The Inside:

It may not be perfect, but I am sure that the pictures on the box are totally fake. I don't think that it is possible to get it Absolutely Perfect... at least that's what I have to tell myself so I don't go crazy!

My hubby's birthday cake!

Okay, so I was trying to think of a really yummy cake to make my hubby for his birthday, which is Wednesday...Today! I was at Michael's looking for a cake frosting spreader, and I saw Checkerboard Cake pans.

I thought, that looks hard, but how difficult could it be, plus it looks really cool! Anyway, I bought the thing, brought it home and saw that there is a recipe on the box that you are supposed to use. I looked online and everyone who said they used that recipe said it was dry. So I went looking for another. I found one which was made for the William Sonoma Cake pan, which I decided to attempt.

After two full pages of recipe and 2 1/2 hours later, they are finally out of the oven! Holy Moly! That was the biggest pain in the rear...let me tell you! I am OCD, when it comes to baking. I want everything to be perfect. So it took me FOREVER to get the batter into the pans evenly. Now it is one in the morning, and I am waiting for the cupcakes to be ready with the extra batter I had left. I am so exhausted!

Well, I think I hear them beeping, so here are a few pics to show what I have gotten myself into!

Finally in the pans:

Yay! Oven time! The circles look even to me!

Now they are out of the oven, and they definitely aren't perfect circles, so hopefully they still turn out and will be a checkerboard when it is all done! Cross your fingers!!!

This is what it should look like tomorrow:

Please, Please, inside of cake.. look like that tomorrow!!!!

PF Chang's (cont.)

Like I said before, we love PF Chang's, and I found the Orange Peel Chicken recipe and decided to make it. I was a little worried, because we are so in love with this chicken, we didn't wanna make it and be disappointed. And the only reason I AM sharing this with you is because the sauce really tastes just like it!

So, here is the recipe. I'm sure you could make it without breading the chicken. It would make it a lot healthier and would probably taste just as good. :)

Orange Peel Chicken

Sauce:

1 T. vegetable oil

2 T. minced garlic

4 green onions, sliced

1 c. tomato sauce

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. sugar

2 T. oriental chili-garlic sauce (less if you don't want it too spicy)

1 T. soy sauce

Chicken:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 chicken breasts

1 egg, beaten

1 c. milk

1 c. flour

1 orange (peel from 1/4 orange, julienned into 1/8-inch thick strips)

1 c. sugar snap peas, snow peas or green beans

1/4 c. Peanuts, unsalted

Directions:

1. Prepare sauce by heating 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sliced green onions. Add tomato sauce and water quickly before the garlic burns. Add sugar, chili garlic sauce and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 to 6 minutes or until sauce thickens, then turn off the heat.

2. Prepare the chicken by heating 1/2 cup oil in a wok over medium heat. Slice chicken breast fillets into bite-size pieces. Combine beaten egg with milk in a medium bowl. Pour the flour into another medium bowl.

3. Coat chicken pieces by dropping them into the flour a few at a time, then into the egg/milk mixture and back into the flour. Arrange coated chicken on a plate until all chicken is coated.

4. When oil in the wok is hot, add about half of the chicken to the oil and cook for a couple minutes or until brown on one side, then flip the chicken over. When chicken is golden brown, remove the pieces to a rack or paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining chicken. When all of the chicken is cooked rinse the oil out of the wok with water and place it back on the stove to heat up.

5. When wok is hot again add julienned orange peel, chicken and peanuts. Heat for 20 to 30 seconds or so, stirring gently. Add sugar peas and sauce to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes. Stir dish a couple times but do it gently so you don't knock the coating off the chicken. Cook until the sauce thickens then serve up the dish with white or brown rice on the side.