Longest Brownie Name Ever

(take a deep breath...)

PB Cup Brownies with Shortbread Crust and PB Glaze.

Imagine how much longer that'd be if I didn't abbreviate peanut butter. Whew.



 Let's work our way from the bottom to the top.

Bottom floor: A Girl Scout cookie Trefoil shortbread crust.
Cookies + Sugar + Butter + Flour =  A crispy match made in heaven.



Middle layer: Fudgy, dark chocolate brownies with miniature peanut butter cups mixed throughout.

Read that again.

Ok, moving on.

Penthouse: A peanut butter, powdered sugar, thick and creamy glaze. Also great on ice cream, cupcakes, spoons, etc.

Move over horse racing, this brownie is the winning trifecta this year.

PB Cup Brownies with Shortbread Crust and PB Glaze

Prep Time: 45 min. (including baking crust)

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Yield: 9x13 pan

 

Ingredients:

 

Crust:

12 tbsp. unsalted butter

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. flour

1 c. (1 sleeve) finely ground Trefoil (shortbread) cookies

 

Brownies:

1 box 9x13 size brownie mix (yep!!) and ingredients listed on box recipe

1 c. mini peanut butter cups (or chopped regular size PB cups)

 

Glaze:

2/3 c. powdered sugar

1 tbsp. creamy peanut butter

6 tsp. water

 

First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer for 3-4 min. Add flour and ground cookies to the mixture and mix until incorporated. Press the mixture into a foil lined and greased 9x13 pan. It will spread out as it bakes so don't worry if it doesn't completely cover the bottom of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly brown. Let cool completely.

 

Next, mix together brownie mix as directed. Stir in PB cups. Pour on top of cooled crust and bake as directed on package. Let cool.

 

Lift by foil to remove the brownies from the pan. Mix together glaze ingredients and microwave for 20 seconds or until smooth and pourable. Pour into a Ziploc bag or piping bag and snip the corner off. Drizzle over brownies.

 

Cut and serve!

 

Or cut and keep them all to yourself. I won't tell.

 

Enjoy!

Laura

 



 



Leftover Halloween Candy Bark

Some of the first things kindergartners want to know about you is what your favorite color is and what kind of candy you like.

These are very important things to get out on the table when you're five years old.

This also meant that every November 1st, I received armfuls and armfuls (granted, they were little five year old armfuls) of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, my favorite candy.

Each student would walk in, smiling so huge, with a bag of candy specifically for me. They each had obviously gone through their candy the second they were done trick-or-treating just to sort out the Reese's. (Great kinder activity too, by the way- sorting anything!).

Melt my heart...and expand my waistline.

Last year, I found this brilliant idea on one of my fav blogs, Brown Eyed Baker, and it was the perfect way to use up my jackpot of Reese's candy.

Leftover Halloween Candy Bark!

via

 

What is so perfect about this idea is that you can use any candy you have on hand, whether left over from trick or treating or getting trick or treaters! Also, while people start to turn away from candy on November 1st saying things like, "If I see one more piece of Halloween candy, I'm going to explode!" or other dramatic statements, they see this candy bark and say, "Oh that looks delicious, what a nice change from all the Halloween candy!"

 

It's as if Halloween candy waits until November 1st to don its costume. Clever little guys.

 

When I made this last year, I used my stash of Reese's, chopped peanuts and drizzled white chocolate and a sprinkle of salt over the top. But like I said, you can't go wrong with any combination of chocolate candy here.

 

Click here for the original recipe on Brown Eyed Baker's blog but don't be afraid to change it up with what you have on hand! Twix, Milky Way, Snickers, Butterfinger- all sound good to me!

 

Then bag it up, pass it out to neighbors and co-workers! Your pants will thank you when they still fit.

 

Oh, and my favorite color? Purple.

Laura

Reese's S'mores Bars

Last Friday, I tweeted this:

"I just made up a dessert so delicious that I wish I'd never made it up."

I'm serious.

I took one bite, immediately set it down and walked away so that I wouldn't devour the entire pan right then and there.

When you are wearing elastic waisted pants because you're pregnant, you have to be extra careful about decisions like eating an entire pan of Reese's S'mores Bars.

S'mores are one of my favorite desserts but I like to kick it up a notch by replacing the chocolate bar with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make the same switch.



And I still can't decide if I'm glad that I did that or not. This could be detrimental to me getting back in shape post-baby.



Have you gotten the point yet that these are really, really, really delicious?!

Ok, good.



Reese's S'mores Bars

Recipe adapted from Lovin' From the Oven

Yield: 16 bars

Prep Time: 15 min. Total Time: 45 min.

 

Ingredients:

1/2 c.  (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/3 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 c. crushed graham crackers (I used my food processor)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. marshmallow fluff/creme (not melted marshmallows!)

12 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped (6 packages/2 in each)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and thoroughly grease an 8 in. square pan.

 

With a mixer, cream the butter and both sugars together. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

 

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt.

 

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar and mix until combined.

 

Divide the dough in half and press half into the bottom of the prepared pan. Top with 12 Reese's (3 rows of 4) and cover with the marshmallow creme/fluff.

 

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. (This is best done by pressing the dough into flat shingles with your hands and laying on top.)

 

Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Let it cool completely before cutting into bars.

 

Let me know if you make them and if you love them as much as I do!

 

Enjoy!

Laura

 



Baking Wish List

I cannot wait to bake all these things...or have someone bake them and then deliver them to me. Either way is fine by me.

Circus Animal Cookie Truffles

Apple Butter Cupcakes

Cake Batter Blondies

Peanut Butter Pie with Pretzel Crust

Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Mmm mm good!

Laura

Nut Organization

...what? I couldn't think of a better title so there you go.

In oatmeal, cookies, bread or even a mid-afternoon snack, I love to have fresh cashews, walnuts or other nuts on hand.

That can add up!

Nuts aren't cheap, let me tell ya. I like to buy them in bulk from the dispensers at the grocery store but, fun fact, nuts can go rancid (in other words- nasty and bad) pretty quickly. In fact, nuts only last one month at room temperature.

I can't remember where I read this tip but I've been using it ever since. I keep my nuts in a bag in the freezer (they can last up to a year there!) and within that bag are smaller bags separated by nut variety.

This is super handy, the nuts last longer and there is no need to thaw! Throw them right into batters, oatmeal or on a salad! How easy is that?

Rancid things are scary things,

Laura



Brown Eyed Baker Blog

Do y'all know Brown Eyed Baker? This is one, if not my number one, favorite baking blog that I read. Everything I have tried of hers has been a hit! Not to mention simple to make and so delicious!

Here are some of my favorites...

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

My go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe!



Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Incredible. Simply incredible.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Seriously.

Blueberry Muffins

Hubby approved.

Peanut Butter Cup Crunch Brownie Bars

Now, I want these...now.

This is just a very small sampling of all the yummy treats she bakes! Check her out here and let me know what you think!

Now I want to bake something,

Laura



Vegas Recap {Part 2}

Vegas is in the desert. And deserts are supposedly hot.

Saturday, when we were in Vegas, it was cold. And windy. And cloudy.

So, what do you do in Vegas with bad weather? Eat and gamble, of course!

We ate lunch at Serendipity 3, just outside of Caesar's Palace. There is a sit down restaurant but the wait was too long so we grabbed something to go at the outdoor window.

The pizza and sweet potato fries (lunch of champions) were great, especially the day after going out, but the real star here was the Peanut Butter Frozen Hot Chocolate.

I'll say it again in case you didn't comprehend that: Peanut. Butter. Frozen. Hot. Chocolate.

I've made frozen hot chocolate before but never even thought to add in my favorite food ever! (Be looking for this recipe on the blog soon!)

Another noteworthy contender: the largest doughnut ever. Seriously! Have you ever seen something like that?

I would definitely recommend Serendipity 3 for a quick bite to eat or just a yummy, frozen drink sent from Heaven above.

That doughnut is seriously huge,
Laura

Butterscotch Puppy Chow

Here I am, fulfilling my promise from yesterday, with a new twist on the classic peanut butter and chocolate puppy chow!

I scoured the internet (and pinterest, of course) for a puppy chow version that included butterscotch! I found nothing on Pinterest (gasp!) and a few variations in a google search but nothing that really jumped out at me and made butterscotch the main flavor! So, I took matters into my own hands and experimented a few times and am happy with the end result!

Pour 5 cups Chex Mix or Crispix cereal into a large bowl.

(Full recipe is listed at bottom of post)

Measure 2 cups of powdered sugar into a gallon size ziploc bag.

Combine 1 cup butterscotch chips, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 2 tbsp. butter and 1/4 c. peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl.

(Oh hey there, iSi flex bowls)

Microwave for one minute and stir until combined. Do not over cook or over stir as the butterscotch chips will harden!

Add in 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract and combine. 

Pour the yummy goodness over the cereal and gently stir to coat.

Pour the covered cereal into the bag of powdered sugar, zip tight and shake to coat.

Sorry about the lack of picture!



Yum! It's the perfect amount of butterscotch and chocolate deliciousness!

Butterscotch Puppy Chow

Yield: 5 cups

Prep: 5 min. Total Time: 10 min.

Ingredients:

2 c. powdered sugar

5 c. Chex Mix or Crispix Cereal (I used half corn chex, half wheat)

2 tbsp. butter

1/4 c. peanut butter

1 c. butterscotch chips

1/2 c. chocolate chips

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

-Pour the cereal into a large bowl and the powdered sugar into a gallon size ziploc bag.

-In a microwave safe bowl, combine the butter, peanut butter, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Microwave for one minute and stir to combine and melt. Stir in the vanilla extract.

-Pour the mixture over the cereal and gently stir to coat. Pour the covered cereal into the bag of powdered sugar, zip tight and shake to coat.

Enjoy!

Let me know if you try it and what you think!

Another dog food post,

Laura

PB Smoothie

Say hello to my go-to lunch, sometimes breakfast and sometimes a small version for a snack.

It's no secret that I love peanut butter which makes this smoothie one of my favorite treats!

Gather your ingredients.

1 c. milk, 1 frozen banana and one large spoonful peanut butter

(Free words of wisdom: I keep a bag of peeled, halved bananas in the freezer at all times for creamy smoothies!)

Combine all the ingredients in a blender...

...and blend away!

Mmmm creamy and peanut butter-y! Delish.

For an extra special treat, add a spoonful of cocoa powder before mixing for a liquid Reese's flavor!

I really love peanut butter,

Laura