Tag Archives: chocolate

Chocolate Chunk Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies

July 29, 2012 Keep It Sweet 31 Comments

In my undying adoration of peanut butter over the years, I’ve looked past some other nuts that are just as delicious. Sure, I’ve shown almonds some love (even cashews, too). But in all this time, I’ve ignored pistachios.

Well, one giant bag of pistachios from Costco later and I won’t ever make that mistake again. Salted pistachios are just so completely underrated as a snack, to top salads and especially to add a salty crunchy kick to baked goods.

Last week I added them to a salad of field greens topped with blue cheese, sliced strawberries and mango vinaigrette and this week I stuffed them into a chewy oatmeal cookie full of chocolate chunks. This nut can do no wrong.

So this cookie recipe originated from the Old World Inn, the bed and breakfast we stayed at in Napa. The first time we went there, three years ago, we were one over by their afternoon plates of cookies and late night chocolate dessert bar. Those cookies, though, stood out the most. The inn’s chewy chocolate chip cookie was flat and innocent looking but just so delicious. I made the original recipe shortly after that first Napa trip and hadn’t made them since. As soon as I came home with a giant bag of pistachios, I knew a play on that cookie dough recipe would be the perfect suit.

Chocolate Chunk Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies

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Chewy oatmeal cookies with big chunks of chocolate and crunchy salty pistachios.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

¾ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg yolk at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup roughly chopped dark chocolate
½ cup salted shelled pistachios, lightly chopped

Instructions

In a medium bowl. whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy
Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix on medium speed until combined; scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed
Reduce speed to low and slowly add flour mixture; add the rolled oats and mix on low just until combined
Stir in chocolate and pistachios just until combined
Refrigerate dough for one hour before baking
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper
When oven is hot, scoop cookie dough using a medium cookie dough scoop or tablespoon (about 2 tablespoons each) onto baking sheets leaving at least 1½ inches between each scoop
Bake cookies in oven for 9-11 minutes or until they appear firm around the edges and on the tops; do not overbake

Notes

Adapted from the Napa Old World Inn

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You might also like:

Cranberry & White Chocolate Pistachio Dusted Cookies

Brown Butter Pistachio Cake

Pistachio Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream

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Salted Caramel & Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Bars

July 17, 2012 Keep It Sweet 27 Comments

I may be on vacation this week eating and drinking my way through Napa, but I’d still stop everything if I had more of these ice cream bars to eat. These Salted Caramel and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Bars were an upgrade or shall I say “how can I make an amazing dessert the best it can be?” to the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Bars I made last summer. By adding a layer of gooey salted caramel and swapping a hard chocolate shell for a soft layer of chocolate ganache I made something that I find myself craving again and again.

This recipe is actually one that I developed months ago and have been dying to share. To make this heavenly dessert yourself, flip through the beautiful new Foodie Crush Magazine!

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bites {Gluten-free} {Vegan}

July 7, 2012 Keep It Sweet 24 Comments

Well, I think/hope that this will be the last banana recipe for a little while. As I said before, the banana consumption in my apartment has a direct correlation with our workout frequency and things are finally back to normal at home. We are headed to Napa later this week so the motivation of a trip filled with food and wine (plus actually wanting to fit into my summer clothes) has helped. Even Matt got motivated by vacation and is back on the Insanity track. Funny how my husband going back to the gym makes me want to workout more.

So this recipe is another win for not-so-decadent but satisfying. If you look at the ingredient list (peanut butter, oatmeal, bananas) you will probably agree that these could make for a breakfast on-the-go, afternoon snack OR dessert. They look a little bit like cookies but are a little softer and chewier, almost like a cookie/muffin top hybrid. The chocolate in the peanut butter is enough to satisfy my cravings and the sweetness in the bananas means that you don’t need to add any sugar. I may or may not have snuck a few of these right out of the freezer for a treat.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bites {Gluten-free} {Vegan}

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Healthy chocolate, peanut butter and banana cookies.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 40 oatmeal bites

Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal (make sure to use a gluten-free brand if avoiding gluten)
1 cup Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter
1 cup mashed ripe banana (~2 medium bananas)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon table salt

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside
In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients until well combined
Use a mini cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to scoop batter onto prepared sheets about 1 inch apart
Bake 7-10 minutes or until they are firm

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This post contains affiliate links.

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Blueberry Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread {Gluten-Free}

June 25, 2012 Keep It Sweet 43 Comments

Gluten-free banana bread that is moist and just as delicious as regular. No crazy ingredients needed.

Besides my tight shorts, another symptom of my less than stellar gym attendance is an abundance of browning bananas in my kitchen. They are the pre-workout snack of choice in our apartment and when they don’t get eaten it means Matt and I are slacking.

Let’s just say that this recipe and that pie are not the last banana recipes you will see for a while. Oops.

I claimed to have made this gluten-free treat for my sister, but after eating slice after slice of this surprisingly moist and flavorful banana bread, I’ll call myself out. It may be made with almond meal, but you will not miss the flour at all. The texture is almost spot-on and the blueberries and chocolate more than make up for anything you could possibly be missing.

Again, I chose the recipe because it is no-fuss gluten-free baking. Some other almond-meal based desserts I’ve made include Chewy Ginger Cookies and Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

Blueberry Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread {Gluten-Free}

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Gluten-free banana bread that is moist and just as delicious as regular. No crazy ingredients needed.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: Serves 8-12

Ingredients

120 grams / 4¼ ounces (~1½ cups) almond meal
100 grams (2 whole) eggs + 90 grams (3) egg whites, lightly whisked
2 fluid ounces / ¼ cup canola oil
170 grams / 6 ounces (~3/4 cup, tightly packed) light brown sugar
200 grams / 7 ounces (~1 cup or 2 medium) mashed ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries, rinsed and dried
½ cup dark chocolate chunks

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 5x10 loaf pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray; set aside
In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients except for blueberries and chocolate chunks; whisk just until combined
Gently fold in blueberries and chocolate chunks
Pour batter into prepared baking pan; bake for 45-55 minutes or until top is no longer wet and a knife comes out clean from center
Allow to cool before removing from pan and slicing

Notes

Adapted from The Wannabe Chef

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For some other easy gluten-free recipes, just check out the gluten-free tag!

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Fudgy Brownie Crunch Banana Ice Cream Pie

June 19, 2012 Keep It Sweet 36 Comments

I was talking to some friends a few weeks ago about working out, eating healthy, etc. For as long as I remember I’ve worked out hard most days of the week and watched what I ate 80% of the time.

But when I started running a bakery full-time, things changed. My days got longer and I started spending most of them on my feet. My legs ache when I wake up in the morning and sometimes I’m too busy to care if I eat an extra broken cookie or five.

They said to me, “but I’m sure you get sick of the desserts.”

I wish. Sure, every once and a while I’ll get sick of one item. For instance, I always have extra brownie edges, so for a few days I got sick of the brownies. But then there were the oatmeal cookies to go to… and then the triple chocolates. There is no getting “sick” of sweets in my world. It is either a curse or a blessing.

For the most part, I put those extra pieces on reserve in my freezer for friends and family, but every once and a while a few times a week I break into the stash. Last week I even told Matt, “I accidentally ate a cookie.”

Is that even possible?

So now that I know giving up dessert is pretty much impossible for this sugaraholic, I’m trying to find some items that are a good middle ground. Not so healthy and fake-tasting that I end up eating what I was avoiding to begin with, but almost good for you but really satisfying so you think you are eating something else.

This pie is the perfect example of that. There is an indulgent crunchy chocolate filling on the inside, but the other layers are lower in fat, including an “ice cream” made with bananas. Fruit on the ingredient list means I can have an extra slice, right? I also used a No Pudge brownie mix as well as fat free cool whip but you can use whatever you prefer.

Fudgy Brownie Crunch Banana Ice Cream Pie
This pie is adapted and inspired by an ice cream pie my mom used to make for me us. When she finally gave me the recipe for the addicting crunchy filling I couldn’t wait to make a batch!
Serves 12

Ingredients:
1 package brownie mix plus ingredients called for on box
1/3 cup hot fudge, homemade or store bought
1 1/2 cups Chocolate Pie Crunch (below)
3 cups cool whip (1 1/2 8-ounce containers)
3 ripe medium bananas, broken into chunks and frozen

Directions:
Pre-heat oven according to brownie mix instructions
Grease or spray a 9-inch spring-form pan and set aside (if you pan is prone to leaking, wrap tin foil tightly around the bottom half)
Prepare brownie batter as directed on box; spread into prepared pan
Bake brownie for 20-25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
While brownie is baking, prepare Chocolate Pie Crunch
When brownie is done, allow to cool for several minutes and then gently spread hot fudge over brownie while it is still warm
Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups Chocolate Pie Crunch
When brownie has completely cooled, spread cool whip over top; cover pan with foil and freeze for 30 minutes or until cool whip layer is firm
Once cool whip layer is firm, make the banana “ice cream’; place frozen bananas in a food processor and run on high for a few minutes until mixture is thick and creamy
Spread banana ice cream over cool whip
Cover pan with foil and place back in freezer 2 hours or until banana ice cream is firm

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Chocolate Pie Crunch
Makes 5 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 9-ounce package chocolate wafers
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside
Crush chocolate wafers into small pieces and place in a large bowl
Heat chocolate and oil in a small saucepan over low-medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is melted and smooth
Pour over crushed wafers immediately and stir until all cookie pieces are coated
Spread mixture out on baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes or until firm
Break into pea-sized pieces and store in a ziplock bag in freezer until ready for use

Extra can be stored in a ziplock bag in the freezer up to one month

Recipe courtesy of my mom who got it from a friend…

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This post is for PIE DAY (tomorrow June 20th)! How are you celebrating?

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Chocolate Covered Cookie Butter Pretzels

June 11, 2012 Keep It Sweet 54 Comments

Yes, I’m still alive. I’ve just been buried in butter, sugar and chocolate… especially in the form of blondies over the last few weeks. Keep It Sweet Desserts was lucky enough to get a very flattering mention in Star Magazine and readers have been calling, emailing and placing orders like crazy. It is amazing.

Some highlights include: “What makes your black and white blondies black and white?” (that would be the dark and white chocolate chips) as well as “Can I order over the phone? I don’t have an email address… or a computer.” Can’t make this stuff up.

And if I told you how much someone was willing to pay for overnight shipping for a rush delivery you might choke so I won’t mention that (ahem, over $100). Hey, when you need brownies, you really need brownies.

But last week in-between a college friend’s wedding hangover, a late night rush to the eye doctor for a scratched cornea, celebrating our 2nd anniversary and a list minute trip to Philadelphia to see my 94-year old grandfather (highlight: his reaction to the cost of college today, low: having to remind him that my grandmother died five years ago), I managed to get back into the kitchen for some actual recipe creation.

Let me pause to tell you that I absolutely love what I am doing. But on weeks when I am busy processing orders for my regular cookies, brownies and bars, I miss my moments of creativity. That is part of why I love the Cookie of the Month Club and a huge reason why I won’t stop blogging. There is always something new and fun to do in the kitchen and I don’t want to lose those opportunities. So when I finally had a few minutes of “play” time, I did something that I’ve wanted to do for a while. I dipped pretzels in cookie butter and then in chocolate and sprinkled some sea salt in top. Addicting snack? Father’s Day gift? Party dessert?

Chocolate Covered Cookie Butter Pretzels
Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients:
2 dozen short salted pretzel rods
2/3 cup cookie butter (or any version of creamy speculoos)
6 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped
Sea salt, to taste

Directions:
Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside
Dip pretzels into cookie butter and place on lined baking sheet; freeze for thirty minutes or until cookie butter is firm
Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in-between
Dip pretzels in chocolate and immediately sprinkle wish sea salt
Allow pretzels to cool before serving (I put them in the refrigerator to speed up the process)

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Blueberry Chocolate Chunk Frozen Yogurt

May 24, 2012 Keep It Sweet 29 Comments

This week has been full of ice cream but I’m sending you off on a long weekend with a real bang – I made something frozen and delicious and dare I say it…. healthy! This frozen yogurt is full of great things like nonfat greek yogurt and blueberries, but even better than that it is full of flavor. In an effort to kick off summer eating dessert while having clothes that fit I’ll be filling up on lots of this yogurt over the next few weeks. While blueberry and chocolate are one of my favorite combinations, I see many more flavors happening very soon.

So many of you have left me extremely supportive comments, facebook messages, tweets and Instagram notes over the last few weeks and it is just so overwhelming. I know a lot of you are curious as to what is going on behind the scenes with my business. I’m thinking about posting a “day in the life” if that interests you.

As for how things are going… I am pleased to say that I couldn’t be happier. The site launched just over two months ago and already I’ve processed over 100 online orders, catered several events, provided favors and gift fillers to a few different people and delivered desserts to a TV show’s cast and crew. In the few moments that I’m not baking, I’m networking and and strategizing ways to grow the business. When I’m not doing either of those things, I’m brainstorming new recipes for the blog, Seasonal Desserts and Cookie of the Month Club.

The best part of everything has been the feedback that Keep It Sweet Desserts has received thus far. It seems a bit silly that I am still nervous every time I send a package or deliver an order, because people are really loving my sweets. While there has been a little bit of PR, most of the business so far is word of mouth. Many customers are those who have received a box of cookies as a gift and are now passing on the sweets to someone else. I could not ask for much more satisfaction than that.

Thank you again for being there for me through all of this!

Get the recipe for Blueberry Chocolate Chunk Frozen Yogurt here!

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Summer Fun with Nestle Drumsticks and a Giveaway!

May 23, 2012 Keep It Sweet 47 Comments

<Giveaway details at the end of the post>

So clearly I like ice cream. And while I love coming up with different types of ice cream cakes, pies, etc., sometimes it is nice to have someone else do the work for you. Because on an ideal summer day, I’m not standing by a hot oven. I’m going for a morning walk, grabbing an iced coffee, sitting by the pool or the beach with a good book and ending the day with a barbeque and ice cream or frozen yogurt.

And while in our area we haven’t had too many beach days yet, we have had a few warm sunny days here there that were perfect for long walks and dinner made on the grill. Sometimes there is nothing better than a night full of friends, good (low maintenance) food and a big bottle of wine.

As soon as I found out I was being given an opportunity to host a dinner party to try out Nestle’s new Drumstick Pretzel Dipped Cones, we invited our friends Matt and Deena over. My Matt loves to grill so he made the call on making steak and lobster tails (but really, who am I to object to that?) so that left me on call for some veggies and dessert. I made a big salad, steamed some corn and called it a day. The food prep took far less time than hiding all of my baking tools and ingredients.

We might have reached a minor hiccup in the plans when we temporarily locked ourselves out of the apartment with nothing but the proteins to grill, but minor details.

Dinner was delicious! Matt spent a few minutes seasoning the food ahead of time, but was at the grill for less than 20 minutes. Good food with more time for friends and relaxing = win.

Dessert obviously revolved around the Nestle ice cream cones. My friend, Matt, was very excited about this.

But I am a baker/food blogger after all so who am I to just serve pre-made ice cream cones for dessert? Instead I threw together a make-your-own ice cream bar with the cones as one of the options. In addition, we had brownies, hot fudge (recipe below), peanut butter sauce (recipe below), oreo crumbs and jimmies. The ice cream sundaes were the perfect end to a perfect day, thank you Nestle for this opportunity!

Homemade Peanut Butter Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2/3 cup natural salted creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a small saucepan, whisk ingredients together over low heat; continue to whisk until smooth and creamy
Best served immediately
Adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

Homemade Hot Fudge
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, whisk ingredients together over low heat; continue to whisk until smooth and creamy
Best served immediately
Adapted from Serendipity Sundaes

Do you want to to try out Nestle Drumstick Pretzel Dipped Cones or one of their other varieties? I’m giving away coupons for two free boxes for you to enjoy. Just leave a comment below saying anything by Thursday, May 24th at midnight est.

Blog, Recipes

Fudgy Double Crème de Menthe Brownies

April 22, 2012 Keep It Sweet 41 Comments

Saturday was a case of “I have a few hours in the kitchen to make non-KISD desserts, how much can I bake for the blog and how fast?”

Of course I had another reason to bake, other than for Matt to have three cupcakes as an afternoon snack. And the reason wasn’t to give me an excuse to eat the last three brownies sliver by sliver until they “magically” disappeared. But Matt was going to a birthday party and I was headed to a housewarming party and apparently when you run a bakery you are expected to bring baked goods. Who knew?

In fact, any time I show up empty handed I get some pretty disappointed faces. Even from our friends and family members on diets, they are always slyly trying to see if I have a plate/box/bag of goodies behind my back.

But I digress. These brownies went to the birthday party and they were a perfect case of “what do I have on hand that needs to be used up?” We had leftover mint buttercream in the freezer that has been taking up valuable real estate for a while and a bag of Andes pieces in the drawer from before the holidays.

Let me tell you, those two items did not go to waste. These brownies were a heavenly combination of fudgy, creamy, rich and minty all at the same time. A few hours after I finished the leftover brownies, I completely regretted not doubling the batch. Looks like the rest of those Andes candies won’t be around for long!

Fudgy Double Creme de Menthe Brownies

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Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 12 servings

Ingredients

Brownies

3 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, sliced
1⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup Andes crème de menthe pieces or chopped Andes candies

Creme de Menthe Buttercream

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup creme de menthe

Instructions

Brownies

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease a 9x9 brownie pan or baking dish with cookie spray or butter; set aside
In a large microwavable bowl, melt chocolate and butter by microwaving in 30-second increments and stirring in-between
Whisk in sugar until well combined
Whisk in eggs and vanilla until well combined
Whisk in four just until combined
Fold in crème de menthe pieces
Pour batter into prepared baking dish and bake 25-30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
Set brownies aside to cool and prepare buttercream

Creme de Menthe Buttercream

Beat butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer on high speed until light and creamy
Add powdered sugar and crème de Menthe and mix on low until incorporated
Increase speed to high and mix until filling is light and fluffy
Spread buttercream over cooled brownies; slice and serve

Notes

Brownies adapted from Baker’s

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

You might also like:

Thick and Fudgy Peppermint Mocha Brownies

Mint Cookies and Cream Buttercream Cups

Thin Mint Cookie Cake

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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Dough Balls for Earth Day

April 20, 2012 Keep It Sweet 29 Comments

How has everyone’s week been? My days have just flown by and every night as soon as I finished in the kitchen I practically collapsed in exhaustion. Working more hours lately has meant less time in the gym but my legs have never been so sore. I wear sneakers in the kitchen most of the time but would love tips on how to not feel like I’ve run a marathon every day. Because the days when I do get a workout in, boy is it tough. I think I need to bring yoga back into my life!

So in celebration of Earth Day, I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes from the blog again – These Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Dough Balls make me so happy because:

1) Peanut butter and chocolate, enough said

2) [Mostly] healthy ingredients = cookie dough for snacking

3) No-bake super easy recipes are exactly what I need these days

So if you missed them the first time around do not miss them this time! What better way to celebrate Earth Day than with a healthy dessert (or snack) that doesn’t require the oven? Head over to Fox for the recipe.

Blog, Recipes

Peanut Butter Cake with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Icing & Chocolate Ganache for a SURPRISE virtual shower!

April 16, 2012 Keep It Sweet 52 Comments

When Erin emailed me about participating in Caroline’s virtual baby shower I could not say yes fast enough. Caroline is one of my favorite bloggers and I’ve loved seeing her excitement about the soon-to-come baby over the last several months. It is so obvious that she and Logan are going to be amazing parents.

Deciding on a dessert to make in honor of Caroline wasn’t all that hard because I know she loves peanut butter and chocolate almost as much as I do. Plus, I’ve been drooling over the peanut butter cake in the Joy the Baker Cookbook for months now! An even better coincidence, I was able to bring this cake for my brother-in-law’s birthday a couple of weeks ago. He is also a peanut butter and chocolate lover. Smart people.

The cake has a lot of components but they all came together really well. A peanut butter cake that was light and moist, not dense like I would have expected (it also had just the right amount of peanut butter flavor, not overwhelming at all) was the perfect base. The salted caramel cream cheese icing could have been eaten by the spoonful and the rich chocolate ganache brought it all together very nicely. I don’t usually mess with nuts in my cakes, but I decided to sneak in a layer of chopped honey roasted peanuts to add a contrasting texture. The additional peanut flavor didn’t hurt either!

It seems I’m not the only blogger excited for Caroline! Be sure to check out the other posts to see what other treats were involved at the shower:

Drinks:

Healthy Food For Living – Carrot Cake Colada

Bran Appetit – Strawberry Mint Sparkling Lemonade

Savory:

Baked Bree – Pancetta and Chive Quiche

Simply Whole Kitchen – Mini Quinoa Bites with Goat Cheese Pesto

Pastries:

Food Doodles – Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Filled Whole Wheat Cream Puffs

Kevin & Amanda – Baby Cinnamon Buns

Desserts:

Baked by Rachel – Mini Lemon Lime Cheesecakes

Bake Your Day- No Bake Lemon Cheesecakes with Lemon Blueberry Sauce

Eat Good 4 Life – No Bake Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes

Fearless Homemaker – Angel Food Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Cream

Itzy’s Kitchen – 10 Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies

Texanerin Baking – 100% Whole Grain Chocolate Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Peanut Butter Cake with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Icing, Chocolate Ganache & Honey Roasted Peanuts
Serves 12-16

2 8 or 9-inch layers of peanut butter cake cooled (recipe below)
1 batch of salted caramel cream cheese frosting (recipe below)
1 batch of chocolate ganache cooled (recipe below)
1 cup honey roasted peanuts, roughly chopped plus additional for garnish

To put together cake, place 1 layer of peanut butter cake on a large flat plate (if you are traveling with the cake, it helps topout a little frosting underneath so that I does not slide)
Level bottom cake layer with a cake leveler or serrated knife
Top with about a cup of frosting and spread evenly; sprinkle chopped peanuts over frosting
Level second cake layer and then place it over frosting and peanuts
Frost top and sides of cake evenly with remainder of frosting
Drizzle chocolate ganache over cake as desired and sprinkle with a few extra peanuts as a garnish
Allow ganache to set about an hour before slicing and serving cake
Store leftover cake in refrigerator up to three days

Peanut Butter Cake
Source: Joy the Baker Cookbook

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease two 8 or 9-inch round pans; line bottoms of the pans with parchment paper and then grease and lightly flour entire pans; set aside
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside
Cream peanut butter, butter and sugars in the large bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed for several minutes until light and fluffy; scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula and continue to beat for another minute
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium speed until combined between each addition; scrape sides of the bowl again
Put mixer on low speed and slowly add half of the flour mixture; stop mixer and add buttermilk then mix on low just until combined; add remaining flour and mix on low speed just until mixture is almost combined; remove bowl from stand and fold batter with a spatula just until smooth
Divide batter evenly between pans and lightly tap on counter to remove air pockets
Bake cake for 15 minutes and then turn each pan 180 degrees; continue to bake for 10-15 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out of the center clean
Allow cake layers to cool in pans 10 minutes until carefully removing from pan and allow to completely cool on a wire rack

Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from this Salted Caramel Buttercream

Ingredients:
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
3 3/4 cup powdered sugar*
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup salted caramel sauce

DIrections:
Beat cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer on high speed for several minutes or until light and creamy
Add sugar, a cup at a time, mixing on low speed between each addition; increase speed to high and mix until fluffy
Add vanilla and caramel sauce mixing until well-combined and frostilists light and creamy
*If consistency is too wet for cake add additional sugar 1/2 cup at a time and beat well until frosting reaches desired consistency

Chocolate Ganache
Source: Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey

Ingredients:
4 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Directions:
Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside
Put remaining ingredients in a heavy saucepan and place over medium-high heat; stir constantly until butter is melted
When cream mixture comes to a boil and bubbles begin to rise on entire surface, remove from heat and pour over chocolate
Allow chocolate to sit for one minute then stir to combine until smooth and creamy
Allow to cool before pouring over cake; if not using immediately, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to a week

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Chocolate Chunk Meringues

April 9, 2012 Keep It Sweet 31 Comments

How was everyone’s weekend? I can’t help but be envious of anyone who got an Easter basket yesterday. For my entire life I’ve wanted one, is that weird? You better believe that I will be taking advantage of the post-Easter candy sales, though! I hope I can get my hands on some of those solid milk chocolate Hershey’s eggs with the pastel candy shells, they have been my favorite Easter candy forever.

While I didn’t get an Easter basket, I did have a wonderful weekend, one of the best in a while. We spent both Friday and Saturday nights with family for the Passover seders. It was such a nice treat that we got to be with both my family and Matt’s family on Saturday.

I have to admit that the weekend highlight, though, was Saturday morning and afternoon. That was the first day since I don’t remember when that Matt and I got to just relax and do whatever we wanted for the better part of a Saturday. It started with sleeping “late” (i.e. 7am) and then proceeding to be in my PJs all day while we watched TV and started planning a vacation. Speaking of which, would someone like to plan that vacation for us?

After months of working around the clock every.single.day. and a head full of stress, it was the best Saturday I could have asked for. It was sad to see the weekend end, but next weekend we are going on a mini getaway to Philly. We had a credit for a hotel stay so we are taking advantage of it to get some time to ourselves. Any suggestions of things we should do are welcome. Note: I grew up outside of Philly so we have already done all of the regular tourist stuff.

For Saturday’s seder, I brought dessert of course. After being on my feet all week I was happy to have some leftover Matzo Crack and Flourless Brownies (special requests) from Passover orders. I did want to make a little something else, though. With all the extra egg whites I had in my fridge, I had big plans for a fancy pavlova. However, tired feet and lack of sleep got the best of me so I stuck with something simple, meringue cookies. I spiced them up with chopped chocolate chunks and you know what? These were such a hit! I’ll say it again, the key to Passover desserts is sticking with things that aren’t meant to be something else. Naturally flourless is key.
Chocolate Chunk Meringues
Makes ~6 dozen meringues
Note: Before making your meringues, make sure your mixing bowl and whisk attachment are very clean. I wiped mine down with white vinegar to ensure there was no leftover grease to prevent the meringue from forming.

Ingredients:
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees; line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside
In the large bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt at medium speed until the mixture has formed soft peaks
In crease the speed to medium high and slowly add the granulated sugar, one heaping tablespoon at a time
Keep mixing for several minutes until the meringue is stiff and glossy
Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in the chocolate
Use a teaspoon to drop meringues onto prepared baking sheets about 1/2 inch apart (they do not expand much in the oven)
Place baking sheets in the middle and lower portions of the oven; bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until meringues are firm and no longer spongy; the edges may start to brown
Remove parchment paper from the baking sheets and allow to cool; store in an airtight container away from humidity up to three days
Adapted from Food and Wine

There is another dessert giveaway on Chocolate and Carrots today! Go check it out and say hi to Caroline:-)

Blog, Recipes

Magic Cake Bars for Easter

April 5, 2012 Keep It Sweet 18 Comments

For the record, Matt wanted me to take a picture of my hand over the cake and pretend it was the hand of our little niece or nephew helping in the kitchen. 1) We don’t have any nieces or nephews 2) No one wants to see my hands after twelve hour days in the kitchen and 3) Seriously? My hands aren’t THAT small.

This is one of those desserts that you can make last minute for Easter with minimal time in the kitchen, just enough time to get some help from your little ones (if you have any). And even though it is super simple, this is one of the most addicting things I’ve made in a while. Moist cake with a crispy crunchy topping. What’s not to love?

Head over to Fox to get the recipe!

Disclaimer: I love box mixes and pre-made cookie dough, especially when I am as busy as I have been over the last couple of months. However, all of the baked goods that I sell on my website or provide for any type of catering service are made completely from scratch.

Blog, Recipes

Ooey Gooey Peep Stuffed Cookies

March 30, 2012 Keep It Sweet 25 Comments

These days, it is very rare that I make a dessert recipe a second time. Other than what I am selling, I like to constantly try new things and am always on a mission to share something new and creative with you.

But sometimes, your friends and family cling onto that cookie you made and ask you about it every time you see them for an ENTIRE YEAR. Never mind that the recipe takes all of 20 minutes to put together. Never mind that there is pre-made cookie dough involved. Never mind that I’ve baked you cakes that take HOURS until they are in their final form. Seriously, why are the easiest desserts sometimes the biggest hits? This is a frustrating but wonderful thing all at the same time.

So when Peep season started again I finally caved and made these cookies for a second time. I have to admit, there is something irresistible about a giant cookie oozing with a gooey melted peep right out of the oven. Stick some salty pretzel in there and you really do have a winner.

Want to make these cookies for your Easter celebration or just because you can’t stock up on Peeps fast enough while they are everywhere you turn? Go get the recipe here!

Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

Blog

What to Bake for Passover

March 28, 2012 Keep It Sweet 35 Comments

In case you didn’t notice, we are officially moved over to my new site! You may want to double check that your feed or email subscription are coming from the right place. Please let me know if you are having any problems as we are still working out some glitches… which may include disappearing recipes.

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I am a little bit all over the place this week! Monday’s post never happened and it is a small miracle I’m getting this one up today. The new website launched Sunday afternoon and I’m already busy fulfilling orders like a mad woman. It looks like next week I’ll be up to my eyeballs in matzo! While the first influx of orders seemed overwhelming at first, once I took a step back and got organized with lists and spreadsheets I felt a lot better. That really has been the key for me working from home this last week and a half… lots of lists and very specific daily schedules.

Some of you commented that you were interested in hearing about the business so I’ll definitely give you some updates on how things are going and how life has changed. For one thing, I think my blog post regularity might come in waves. Whenever I have some KISD downtime, I work on the blog… but sometimes there is none. I’ll do my best to keep the new recipes coming, though! And be on the lookout for special discounts or giveaways in upcoming posts.

Next week Passover starts and for those of you who don’t know, it means 8 days without bread, or really anything with leavening… plus a whole list of surprising rules like no peanuts or chick peas (depending on your sect). Let’s just say I follow the holiday to the best of my ability. My biggest Passover pet-peeve, though, is the recreation of foods that just aren’t meant to be made without flour, especially when it comes to dessert. Trust me, a kosher-for-Passover chocolate chip cookie is jut not going to be very good. So as a result, I’ve made some recipes that lend themselves to being Passover friendly without even trying:

Chocolate Truffles 3-ways

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

cookie 14

Flourless Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies

cookies 9

Low Fat Banana Cheesecake with Almond Crust with Mixed Berry Sauce

slice of cheesecake 8

Mint Chocolate Chip Meringues

Mint Chocolate Chip Meringues 2

Blog, Recipes

Spring Cleaning Chocolate & Peanut Butter Lover’s Bark

March 23, 2012 Keep It Sweet 43 Comments

One week down and I’m feeling really good about this working from home thing. I’m sure that some of the beginner’s high will die down after a while, but I’m glad to be off to such a productive start! Sure, I might have left out half of the baking soda in a cookie recipe and taken a batch of brownies out of the pan when they were still warm and too fragile to move, but it can’t all be perfect. The upside (or downside?) of baking mistakes is that I get to eat those batches. Hmm, maybe I need to be a bit more careful or I’m going to have to start doing INSANITY multiple times a day!

Speaking of baking mistakes, it seems that any time I make anything that requires melted chocolate for dipping I melt double or triple the chocolate I need. A couple of weeks ago I found myself with a big bowl of melted chocolate and didn’t want it to go to waste. I quickly flipped through my drawers and found a few bags of candy that were due to be used up. Lots of chocolate and lots of peanut butter but not too much for some candy fun! You can find the recipe for this highly addictive Chocolate & Peanut Butter Lover’s Bark on Fox!

Oh, and an exciting heads up! The new website should be up by Monday so keep an eye out for the blog move. I’ll be keeping everyone updated via Twitter and Facebook, but any RSS or e-mail subscribers are going to have to re-subscribe once the move is complete.

Recipes, Uncategorized

St. Patrick’s Day Mint Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches

March 16, 2012 Keep It Sweet 37 Comments

I’m usually so bad about coming up with holiday-themed desserts. But today, in honor of my LAST DAY OF WORK and tomorrow being St. Patrick’s Day, I’m sharing something so easy that you won’t mind making it last minute.

The secret to these sandwiches is a pre-made wafer cookie. Shhh, I won’t tell. Stuff them with homemade mint buttercream and dip them in chocolate then no one will care. Sometimes it is all about the buttercream anyway.

On another note, after today I’ll be starting my sort-of-new life where I generally work from home, create my own schedule and have to self-motivate. My plan is to create a schedule for myself every Sunday night, get up early every morning for the gym (my usual) and then get dressed and work all day. I’d love any tips you have on staying motivated and being efficient when you work from home!

Oh and suggestions on how to not end up in the kitchen eating cookies all day would probably be helpful too.

Oh wait, you want to know how to make these? Head on over to Fox for the recipe!

Blog, Recipes

Cappuccino Cheesecake Cake Bars

March 14, 2012 Keep It Sweet 32 Comments

I made these cheesecake bars a few weeks ago after going through my collection of recipes that I’d emailed to myself over time. There was expired cream cheese in my kitchen that I wanted to bake with and was lacking for ideas.

Luckily I found this recipe on Noble Pig a while ago and was smart enough to save it. I made just a couple of changes based on ingredients I had on hand and was very happy with the outcome. The layer of moist mocha cake is topped with a creamy coffee flavored cheesecake. You can even taste a hint of the liquor that is in there. Plus, I added cinnamon chips which make almost anything more delicious.

Cappuccino Cheesecake Cake Bars

Serves 24

Ingredients:
Cake Layer:
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 Tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake Layer:
2 8-ounce packages light cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup coffee liqueur (I used Starbucks)
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup cinnamon chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line a 9 x 13 baking dish with parchment paper and spray the paper with non-stick cooking spray
Prepare cake layer; whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl; set aside
Combine buttermilk and melted butter in a small bowl; stir into flour mixture just until combined
Spread cake layer evenly into prepared pan; note that the batter may be thick and you may need to press it down with the back of a spatula
Prepare cheesecake layer; beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on high speed until light and creamy; add sugar and mix on medium speed until combined
Add eggs and liqueur; beat for several minutes or until smooth and creamy
Stir in chocolate chips and cinnamon chips
Pour cheesecake layer over cake batter and bake in center of oven for 25-30 minutes or until cheesecake is set
Refrigerate a couple of hours until cool and completely set
Cut into squares and serve; store remaining cheesecake in the refrigerator.
Adapted from Noble Pig

Blog, Recipes

Easy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chunk Cookies

March 12, 2012 Keep It Sweet 39 Comments

Today is my last Monday.

And if feels incredible. Ever since I gave my two-weeks notice at work, that heavy feeling that has haunted me for so many Sunday nights and Monday mornings over the past several months has been gone. No more anxieties about what crazy work politics or project stresses might come up that week. No worrying about today’s priorities and if they will get done. Really, it is incredible.

Now, that isn’t to say that I’m not feeling a new sort of anxiety. As I get closer to the launch of my new site and dare I say it, new life, things in that world seem scarier and more intimidating. Right now I’m set to launch two weeks from today and as that day gets closer new thoughts of self-doubt form every day. Maybe my cookies aren’t as good as I think. Maybe this shipping plan is completely wrong. Maybe my brownies are too fudgy to make it to California. Maybe I am just completely insanely nuts for leaving my day job and embarking on this new world. And that is only a small portion if it.

Leaving the corporate world to start my own business and work on something I am 100% passionate about is absolutely exciting, but it has its own nerve-racking elements that just come with the territory. And as much as they like to keep me up at night just a bit, I think that is a good thing. Because honestly, what better motivation is there to succeed than the fear of failure?

This Monday is the end of an old world and the beginning of a new me.

On a completely unrelated note, I made these cookies for my sister’s birthday a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to make a few gluten-free recipes that didn’t include any crazy ingredients. This recipe calls for almond meal which you can actually make yourself by grinding raw almonds in a food processor. Almond flour is finer and might even improve the consistency, but either way you should end up with a chewy cookie oozing with chocolate and how can that be bad?

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes 26 cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups almond meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup dark chocolate chunks

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Whisk together almond meal, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl
In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, vanilla, and and brown sugar
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until combined
Stir in chocolate chunks
Scoop cookie dough balls with a cookie dough scoop (2 tablespoons each) onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper 1-2 inches apart
Bake ~8 minutes or until cookies are firm
Allow to cool before serving
Adapted from Une Gamine dans La Cuisine who adapted the recipe from Elena’s Pantry

Blog, Recipes

Simple Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing and a Joy the Baker Book Review

March 7, 2012 Keep It Sweet 52 Comments

This week in the series of Joy the Baker spotlight and cook-off posts we were asked to write a review of the full cookbook. And to be honest, I only have positive things to say.

The Joy the Baker Cookbook has all of the elements that make me love a cookbook:

Beautiful colorful photos for EVERY recipe
Clear lists of ingredients and instructions that are easy to follow
Creative recipes that I wish I had come up with first
The author’s personal favorites of some classics
Interesting prose to introduce the author and the book as well as each recipe

Sometimes when reviewing a product, I get a little nervous because I’ve been disappointed in the quality or it just isn’t as “great” as I thought it could be. Well, in Joy’s case, the situation is the exact opposite. As a fan of her blog for years, I certainly had high expectations for the cookbook. But when the book came in the mail a few weeks ago, I could not stop reading through the recipes and staring at each photo. I created a mile-long list of recipes that I can’t wait to try and each time I page through the book again (which I do for fun), I find something else that I can’t wait to make.

Her charming and funny personality shines through in every page and the variety of recipes does not disappoint. Just to give you a few examples of things I still am dying to make:

Peanut Butter and Jam Milkshake
Baked Coffee Cake French Toast
Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Glaze

And the list goes on…

So in this final week I couldn’t help but make another recipe to share. This time I went with her Simple Vanilla Cupcakes and topped them with the Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. I adapted the recipes slightly, but was thrilled with the flavors in the cupcakes and the icing.

Simple Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
Adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook
Makes 12 cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes:
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 x-large eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup skim milk

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside
With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed for several minutes until light and fluffy
Add eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed after each one
Add vanilla and beat until combined; scrape sides of bowl with a spatula and beat batter for another minute
Add half of flour mixture and turn mixer on low speed just until combined; add milk and mix on low until incorporated; add remaining flour and mix on low for one minute
Remove bowl from mixer and use a spatula to fold any unincorporated dry ingredients into the batter
Divide batter evenly among cups (a cookie dough scoop or small ladle can be helpful); bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center of cupcakes
Allow cupcakes to cool for several minutes before removing from pan; allow to cool completely prior to frosting

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:
4 ounces regular cream cheese
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsweetened good quality cocoa powder
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Beat cream cheese on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth
Add butter and beat until light and creamy; scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and beat for another minute
Add cocoa powder and mix on low speed until combined
Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined; scrape the sides of the bowl again and beat on high speed until icing is light and fluffy
Distribute frosting evenly among cupcakes

This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef. I received a free copy of the Joy the Baker Cookbook but all opinions expressed are my own.

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate Stout Celebration Cake

March 5, 2012 Keep It Sweet 49 Comments

Rich chocolate stout cake with coffee swiss meringue buttercream on the inside and mocha buttercream on the outside! A special cake for life’s special occassions and celebrations.

Ever since Thursday’s announcements, I’ve felt a huge sense of relief. Now that you know about Keep It Sweet Desserts, I can be a lot more open about what is going on in my daily life. Having my co-workers know, well, that is another level of weight lifted off my shoulders.

There were a lot of reasons that my job was no longer the place for me, but after four and a half years working at a company as it grew from thirty to almost three hundred people, I’ve built many relationships with people through meetings, conference calls and daily kitchen chats. Not interacting with these people on a regular basis is going to be strange. Telling them that would be the case was a lot more nerve-racking than I thought it would be.

Giving my two weeks notice at work was a little like breaking up with a boyfriend. Except when I said “it’s not you, it’s me,” I pretty much meant it. Sure, my job wasn’t perfect, but I’m leaving because it is time to pursue my passion. Having some discontent in my professional life just made that decision make a little more sense.

Giving two weeks notice required one-on-one conversations with everyone I work with on a daily basis. Once we got past the part of the conversations where I promised not to leave anyone in the lurch, my boss, and everyone else, seemed genuinely happy for me. Some were excited and offered to put me in touch with valuable contacts, others promised to place orders with me as soon as the website is running. My boss just requested, very seriously I might add, that I bring in samples before my two weeks are up. Fair enough. The fact that these conversations went so well actually gave me a little regret at saying goodbye.

So this weekend, to celebrate the big announcement or stress eat my way through starting a business (either one, you decide), it only made sense to bake a somewhat over-the-top rich and delicious layer cake.

Chocolate stout cake.

Coffee swiss meringue buttercream.

Mocha buttercream.

Rich, moist, decadent, everything you could ask for in one slice. And I’m not exaggerating on the richness, I ate one slice (read: three slices in one) and it was enough for me. Wait, who am I?

Make this cake for a birthday, St. Patrick’s Day, or even just because!
Chocolate Stout Celebration Cake
Serves 12-16

Ingredients:
1 recipe for Chocolate Stout Cake from Sweetapolita, cake only
1/3 recipe for Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream, recipe below
1 full recipe for Mocha Buttercream, recipe below

Directions:
Prepare chocolate stout cake layers following directions on Sweetapolita and set aside to cool
While cake is cooling, prepare coffee swiss meringue buttercream (“SMB”) and mocha buttercream and set aside
When cake has cooled, place one layer on a flat cake plate; use a serrated knife to shave the very top of the cake off so that the layer is flat
Spread a thick layer of the coffee SMB on shaved layer of cake, top only; gently place second cake layer on top of SMB
Spread mocha buttercream over top of cake and around the sides; I find that a long metal spatula works best for this
Store cake in refrigerator up to three days and serve at room temperature; prepared cake can also be wrapped tightly in seran wrap and then again in foil and frozen for a few weeks

Coffee Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Adapted from Sweetapolita (if this is your first time making SMB, her post is very helpful)
Makes enough to ice a full layer cake or fill two 9-inch 2-layer cakes

Ingredients:
1 cup egg whites (pasteurized egg whites work fine)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 teaspoons instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon boiling water, chilled
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Wipe the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk attachment, whisk, spatula and candy thermometer with a paper towel and vinegar to clean (if any grease is on these items your meringue will not work)
Place egg whites and sugar in mixing bowl over pot of simmering water; water should not be high enough to touch mixing bowl
Whisk mixture slowly but constantly until temperature reaches 160 degrees F, about 5-10 minutes
Remove from stove and attach bowl to electric mixer with whisk attachment
Put mixer on low to medium speed and whisk until meringue is shiny and thick and bowl has cooled down to room temperature; if bowl does not cool and meringue has formed, you can put an ice bath under the mixing bowl was it is mixing
Once ready, replace whisk attachment with paddle attachment and add cubes of butter one at a time mixing on low speed until the mixture is light and creamy; if mixture gets lumpy, keep mixing for several minutes; if it gets runny, place bowl in fridge for 10 minutes before continuing to mix
Stop mixer to scrape sides of bowl and continue to beat on low speed for another minute
Add chilled espresso, vanilla, and salt and mix on medium speed until the SMB is light and creamy
Store extra SMB in refrigerator up to a week or in freezer up to two months

Mocha Buttercream
Makes enough buttercream to ice outside of cake, double the recipe to use as filling and outside frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa, sifted
6 tablespoons strong brewed coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Using an electric mixer, beat butter on high speed until light and creamy
Add half of sugar and mix on low speed until combined
Add remaining sugar, cocoa, coffee and vanilla; mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy
Stop mixer to scrape sides of bowl and then continue mixing on high speed for another minute until creamy
Store buttercream in refrigerator up to a week or in freezer up to two months

Notes:
The only change I made to the Chocolate Stout cake was to substitute the sour cream with nonfat greek yogurt because that is what I had on hand; I used a bottle of Sam Adam’s Chocolate Stout from the winter collection
You can make the cake layers in advance and freeze them (well-wrapped) until ready to put the entire cake together
Cake can be iced in coffee SMB only if you don’t want as much chocolate (I’ll try not to judge)

I decided to bring half of this cake into the office to prevent myself from eating the entire thing. Who is placing bets on whether my co-workers will love me or hate me by the time my last day rolls around?

Blog, Recipes

Oreo Crusted Brownie Pie with Cream Cheese Icing

March 2, 2012 Keep It Sweet 23 Comments

First of all, thank you for the amazing notes of support regarding my news! I am still overwhelmed by the feedback. Now onto deliciousness:-)

I dreamt up this dessert a few weeks before I finally had the chance to make it. Really I just thought about a few things I really like: Oreo crust- always good; Fudgy brownie- one of my ultimate weaknesses; Cream cheese icing- a pretty regular craving.

So why not put them all together but in a pie shape instead of a bar? Pie = big slices = win.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Matt officially proclaimed this the “Best.Dessert.Ever.” He actually told me not to make the chocolate soufflés I had planned for our belated Valentine’s dinner because he just wanted to eat more of this pie. For a man who orders the chocolate soufflé every time he sees it on a menu, those are some bold instructions.

So head over to Fox for the recipe and make it today. You may or may not want to double the recipe- one pie for you, one to share.

Blog, Recipes

Chewy No-Bake “Thin Mint” Bars

February 23, 2012 Keep It Sweet 44 Comments

Sometimes I have a million recipe ideas going through my head at a time and can’t get into the kitchen fast enough.

And sometimes I have baker’s block.

Every cookie or brownie variation will feel overdone and the creative section of my brain goes into freeze mode.

Sometimes I really get stuck and just need a day or two out of the kitchen, and sometimes all I need is a visit down unused ingredients lane.

Half a bag of marshmallows that are living on the edge of stale? Check. An open package of Oreos that I need to bake with before Matt eats the last sleeve? Got that. A half-used package of chocolate mint candies that was hidden in the back of the drawer for months? Don’t mind if I do. Oh yeah, and butter. I always have butter.

I’m so glad I took advantage of what I had on hand because these bars came together quickly, with minimal dish washing and no oven time. Sometimes the best baking is no baking at all! Especially when the end result tastes like a Thin Mint.

Take that Girl Scouts.

Head over to Fox to get the recipe for my Chewy No-Bake “Thin Mint” Bars!

Blog, Recipes

Revisiting: Pumpkin Pie Cookie Dough Truffle Pops

February 18, 2012 Keep It Sweet 7 Comments

I love pumpkin and could eat it year round so it should be no surprise that I’m currently craving this treat. If you missed it last time around, you can check out the recipe on Fox!

Blog, Recipes

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

February 12, 2012 Keep It Sweet 70 Comments

Ever since I saw Lori’s Chocolate Cheesecake Cake, I have been dreaming of making something that could satisfy my desire to lock myself in a room with the cake and a fork.

And while the last thing I need is an entire cake on my hands (oh wait, I do have an entire cake in my freezer… er…), cupcakes just seem so innocent. Individual portions, easy to share with friends, harder to eat all at once since you have to unwrap each one… you get the drift.

Well, unfortunately, or fortunately, these cupcakes are anything but innocent. Light chocolate cake, creamy and mousse-like chocolate cheesecake and a hard chocolate glaze, well, you get my drift.

So if you want to find a husband, get laid be the husband of the year, or turn your children into perfect angels, you might want to make a batch of these not-so-innocent cupcakes.
Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
Cake Layer:
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 x-large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups water
Cheesecake Layer:
1 8-ounce packages light cream cheese softened at room temperature
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 x-large egg
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Glaze:
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 and line 24-cupcake tins with foil or paper cupcake liners
Prepare cake layer; microwave choc and butter in a bowl in 30-second increments stirring in-between until butter and chocolate are completely melted
Stir sugar into melted choc mixture until well blended; beat in eggs one at a time with a whisk
Beat in vanilla
Add 1/2 cup of flour, baking soda and salt and mix well
Add remaining flour alternating with water (starting and ending with flour) stirring in-between each addition just until smooth
Pour into prepared tins, ~2 tablespoons of batter per cup, and bake ~5 minutes or until cake layer is set but still wet
Reduce oven temperature to 325 and prepare cheesecake filling; beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until light, creamy and lumps are gone (about 5 minutes)
Add granulated sugar and combine on medium-high speed well until light and creamy
Beat in egg, on medium speed
Stir in flour
Add vanilla extract and salt and beat until mixture is thick and creamy
Melt chocolate chips and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave using the same method as above with 30-second increments; mixture will get very thick
Add chocolate to the cheesecake filling and combine thoroughly
Pour chocolate batter over cake layer and bake for 6-8 minutes or until cheesecake is set
Once cupcakes are cool, prepare glaze; combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup in a small pot over low-medium heat and stir constantly until mixture is completely melted
Stir in vanilla and remove from heat; pour glaze over pie
Chill cupcakes in fridge for at least 2 hours and until ready to serve; they will keep in the fridge for a few days

Inspired by Recipe Girl, cake layer from Baker’s, glaze from All Recipes

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate Chip Blueberry Peanut Butter Cookies

February 10, 2012 Keep It Sweet 11 Comments

The first time I made a dessert with this flavor combination, I fell in love. Chocolate and peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly… it is like two of the best worlds collided into one amazing cookie. Check out my latest post on Fox for the recipe for my Chocolate Chip Blueberry Peanut Butter Cookies!

Blog, Recipes

Reese’s Pieces Cake Bars

January 31, 2012 Keep It Sweet 72 Comments

Sometimes you get busy. There is week-old laundry to put away, streaked kitchen counters that need to be scrubbed and recipes to test.

There are websites to be designed, photos to be edited, and post-dessert workouts to get done.

But there is also a blog to attend to and readers getting impatient. Those readers who hate you for ruining their New Year’s resolutions in January but love you for making delicious desserts come so easy. That has been the theme recently, hasn’t it? Easy cookies, easy truffles and now easy cake.

I know I’m not the only one around here that has a to-do list from one end of the apartment to the other. Email drafts, post-it notes, calendar reminders and the worst ones, those where you take a mental note and say, “yes, I will remember this” but three days later you are in the middle of your shower and you think, “oh crap.”

I am so thankful for easy desserts.

Reese’s Pieces Cake Bars
Makes 20 cake bars

Ingredients:
Reese’s Pieces Cake
1 chocolate cake mix plus ingredients called for on box, replacing oil with creamy peanut butter (my cake mix called for 1/3 cup of oil so I ignored that and used 1/3 cup of peanut butter)
3/4 cups Reese’s Mini Pieces or regular Reese’s Pieces lightly chopped
Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar

To make the cake
Pre-heat oven as directed on box
Spray a 13×9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
Follow directions on cake box, substituting peanut butter for oil; stir in Reese’s Pieces
Pour cake batter into prepared baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
Allow cake to cool

To make Frosting
Beat butter with an electric mixer until light and creamy
Beat in peanut butter until well combined
Add sugar and stir until combined; then increase speed to high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy
Ice cooled cake with prepared frosting and serve

Where do you keep your to-do lists?

Blog, Recipes

For the Love of Chocolate

January 10, 2012 Keep It Sweet 44 Comments

We are ten days into the new year and I’m feeling a little all over the place. On a regular basis I flip back and forth between being extremely excited about things that are happening and completely overwhelmed by all that I have to do. There are some very big plans that are in the works, but I have a lot to do to make everything happen. And while I am depending on some other people to do their parts, most of the effort is my responsibility. The last thing I want to happen is to be so close to something I really want but not quite there because I’ve become a gating item. That just isn’t an option. It’s just slightly emotionally draining.

So in the midst of my mini breakdowns I started bookmarking a few over-the-top chocolate recipes. And since my new recipes are a little slow for the blog at the moment, I figured I should share the chocolate love with all of you. Here are some of the amazing chocolate recipes that I found and others shared with me.

Peppermint Brownies from Eats Well With Others

Better-Than-Crack Brownies from Pass the Sushi

Chewy Oatmeal-Spelt Chocolate Chip Bars from The Lunch Box

Black Bean Brownies from Espresso and Cream

Gluten-Free Brownie Cookies from The Spiffy Cookie

Homemade Chocolate Pudding with Bailey’s Irish Cream from My Baking Addiction

Chocolate Cheesecake Cake from Recipe Girl

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake from Mel’s Kitchen Café

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Frosting …and a good amount of ganache! from Bakerella

Mocha Cupcakes with Chocolate Mousse Frosting from Grace’s Sweet Life

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Birthday Cake from Yums and Loves

Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake from Magnolia Days

Thin Mint Truffles from Young Married Chic

Volcano Cookies from Cookies and Cups

Giant Hershey Kiss Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies from Picky Palate

Triple Chocolate Oreo Oatmeal Cookies from Heather’s Dish

And a few chocolate treats from Keep It Sweet:

Chewy Chocolate Covered Pretzel Bars

Cookie Dough Topped Brownies

Chocolate Truffles (milk, dark or white)

Dark Chocolate Kissed Almond Butter

Individual S’mores Brownies

`[pinit]`

Blog, Recipes

Triple Chocolate Muffins with a Peanut Butter Swirl

January 3, 2012 Keep It Sweet 63 Comments

Today was my first day back to real life.

The early morning alarm, a half-awake trip to the gym, and then that rush to shower, eat breakfast, pack lunch and basically race against the clock to get to the office on time.

I didn’t like it. Did I spend the last three weeks recovering from extreme burnout? Yes. But unfortunately that didn’t change the feeling of anxiety that weighed me down for the last precious hours of official vacation. The freedom that I felt through the end of the year with my email turned off and my responsibilities at the office on hold was incredible. There was definitely more smiling during that period of time than any other similar block of time over the last twelve months.

It isn’t that I’m not happy in general, it’s just that I usually put the stress of my job and even my company on my shoulders. I go home at night and think about the model that needs fixing, the capital that needs to be raised or the co-worker that doesn’t get their work done. I think about the meetings that need to be scheduled, the emails that have to be sent and the trips that need to be booked. My old boss once told me not to care so much. He said, “don’t take this the wrong way, but you care too much.” He reminded me that I can only do what I can do and everything else is out of my control. It is just a job.

So as I get back to the usual routine I’ll try to put aside that usual level of stress that I carry with me and just breathe. I’ll take each day as it comes and put forth the work that makes me feel good and know that everything else will play itself out. And in the moments where I feel that sharp pain in the back of my neck I’ll take a deep breathe, have a cup of tea and when all else fails eat some chocolate.

Oh right, that is what this blog is about! I made these muffins for my 15^th (!!!) annual Christmas Eve brunch with my best friends from home and they were a huge hit. Chocolaty and moist like a muffin should be, but even better than that, they are on the lighter side, perfect for your New Years diet resolutions!

Triple Chocolate Muffins with a Peanut Butter Swirl
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water, warm
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
~1/4 cup chocolate peanut butter (such as PB & Co)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Line a regular sized muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray; set aside
In a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients (flour through salt); set aside
In a medium bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (water through vinegar) and chocolate chips
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir just until combined (there should still be some small lumps in the batter)
Pour batter into prepared muffin tin
Drop a teaspoon of peanut butter onto each unbaked muffin; use a toothpick to lightly swirl peanut butter around top of muffin
Bake muffins 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and muffin tops are firm
Allow muffins to cool a few minutes before removing from pan
Adapted from Cooking Light

On a separate note, my posts may be a little less frequent over the next several weeks. Stick with me because good things are to come!

Blog, Recipes

Mini Banana Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream

December 27, 2011 Keep It Sweet 10 Comments

Today I experienced something that I don’t remember experiencing before.

I was sugared out. After baking three batches of cookies, two batches of cupcakes and “tasting” leftover desserts that have been lingering in my kitchen I am ready to give up sweets for my New Years resolution.

Or not. I mean really, do you honestly think I have any desire to do that? I’m pretty sure that once I eat my next head of romaine lettuce I’ll be back on the baked good bandwagon. Diet-related resolutions are overrated. Besides, there are so many more important things to think about like how I can find a happy place in my family, career and friendships (hint: I already have 2 of the three). You know, and other important things like “how many jars of peanut butter can I store in the apartment before Matt starts to worry (hint: it is more than nine). And other stuff like how can I get the dishwasher to load, run and unload itself?

In the meantime, while I consider life’s biggest questions, go ahead and make these cupcakes. The moist banana cupcake topped with a mocha buttercream is a delicious twist on this cake I made over a year ago.
Mini Banana Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream
Makes ~6 dozen mini cupcakes

Ingredients:
Banana Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon instant coffee grinds
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons plain greek yogurt
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (~5 medium bananas)

Mocha Buttercream
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa, sifted
6 tablespoons strong brewed coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Cupcakes
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
Line cupcake tins with paper cups or grease to prevent cupcakes from sticking
Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt)
Then whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside
Cream together the butter and sugar for a few minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy
Then add the coffee grinds and vanilla and mix
Add in your eggs, one at a time
Then add in the half the dry ingredients, banana, and yogurt, mixing between each addition
Mix in the remaining dry ingredients at low speed, just until combined; don’t overbeat
Spoon batter into prepared cupcake tins and bake for ~12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean; remove baked cupcakes from tin and refill for subsequent batches
Set cupcakes aside to cool

Mocha Buttercream
Using an electric mixer, beat butter on high speed until light and creamy
Add half of sugar and mix on low speed until combined
Add remaining sugar, cocoa, coffee and vanilla; mix until smooth and creamy
Spread onto cooled cupcakes and enjoy

Cupcakes adapted from La Mia Vita Dolce

Blog, Recipes

Rugelach, Three Ways

December 22, 2011 Keep It Sweet 30 Comments

I decided to get a little crazy with my last holiday cookie. Rugelach is a traditional Jewish dessert, perfect for Channukah. However, I’m pretty sure that these would be welcome on any Christmas table as well.

So instead of making a traditional version of rugelach, I took the basic cream cheese dough and added a few flavor combinations that I love right now.

Chocolate and Cinnamon: just enough sweetness from the cinnamon sugar mixture

Peanut Butter and Jelly: Do I even need to say more?

And Milk Chocolate and Toffee: Um, yes I did.

It might be a little bit of production to make a cookie where you have to chill the dough, roll it out, fill it and then bake, but it is well worth it!

And three different flavors isn’t really a big deal since you separate the dough into three sections anyway. Holiday baking project with the kids or a friend? I think so!

Rugelach, Three Ways
Makes ~45 cookies

Ingredients:
Dough
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, separated
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
Fillings:
Cinnamon Chocolate Rugelach
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Peanut Butter and Jelly Rugelach
1/2 cup jelly (any flavor, I used a mixed berry)
2/3 cup peanut butter chips lightly chopped
Milk Chocolate Toffee Rugelach
1 cup milk chocolate toffee bits
Optional: additional milk chocolate for melting

Directions:
Prepare dough
Beat together butter and cream cheese on high speed until light and creamy
Stir in 2 1/4 cups flour just until combined
Separate dough into thirds and mold into separate disks; wrap each disk tightly with saran wrap
Chill dough in refrigerator at least two hours or until dough is firm (can chill up to several days)
When dough is chilled, put together rugelach, one disk and filling at a time
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a slipat and set aside
Mix remaining 1/2 cup flour and confectioners sugar
Spoon some of flour mixture over counter
Roll out dough into a long rectangle using additional flour mixture as needed (height of the rectangle should be ~4 inches) so that dough is about 1/8 of an inch thick
To make cinnamon chocolate rugelach, combine cinnamon sugar mixture; pour enough over dough to create a thin layer of cinnamon sugar going all the way out to the edges
Pour chocolate chips over cinnamon sugar
Use a sharp knife (a pizza knife works well), to cut long thin triangles out of the rectangle; the length of the triangles should be dictated by the height of the rectangle
Now you can roll your rugelach; take the shortest edge of the triangle and roll it tightly towards the other end until the dough has formed a crescent
Repeat process with the remaining cinnamon and chocolate covered dough
Place unbaked rugelach onto prepared baking sheet 1/2 – 1 inch apart from one another
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges have turned golden brown
Repeat the process for Peanut Butter and Jelly Rugelach
Once dough is rolled into a thin rectangle, spread with a thin layer of jelly
Pour chopped peanut butter chips over jelly
Slice dough, roll and bake as instructed above
Repeat the process with remaining dough for Milk Chocolate and Toffee Rugelach
Once dough is rolled into a thin rectangle, spread with a layer of milk chocolate and tofee pieces
Slice dough, roll and bake as instructed above
Once Milk Chocolate and Toffee Rugelach are done, drizzle with melted milk chocolate

Which rugelach flavor would you like best?

`[pinit]`

Blog, Recipes

Milk Chocolate Almond and Toffee Cookies for a Virtual Cookie Swap

December 6, 2011 Keep It Sweet 39 Comments

Chewy cookies with bits of toffee and chunks of almond filled Hershey’s Kisses

There are some cookies that I can eat just one of*, but there are others where I can’t stop going back for more. Those are the cookies that are so addicting as soon as I come up for a breathe, they have disappeared**.

*Complete lie unless said cookie is the size of my head

**That is what happens when you stuff your face

These cookies fall into the latter category. Well, obviously because the first category does not exist in my world. The other reason is that these cookies are chewy, sweet (but not too sweet), and have a mix of melt in your mouth milk chocolate and toffee, almond crunch balance. Does that even make any sense? Probably not, but we shouldn’t get bogged down with details here. These cookies are just good. And so good, that I feel a little guilty using them for a virtual cookie swap. It just isn’t right to tease someone through the computer screen.

However, knowing that Rachel and others are doing the same thing to me, teasing me with sugary buttery deliciousness, I don’t feel too bad. You shouldn’t either. Instead, pay a visit to the Virtual Cookie Swap at the Avid Appetite and schedule yourself some time in the kitchen.

[print_this]

Milk Chocolate Almond and Toffee Cookies

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup toffee bits
1 cup chopped Almond Hershey Kisses (~30 kisses)

Directions:

Lightly chop Hershey’s Kisses; set aside
Combine flour with the other dry ingredients and whisk together; set aside
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy
Add eggs and vanilla and beat at medium speed until combined
Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients
Stir in chocolate pieces and toffee into batter
Chill dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight
Once ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Scoop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper
Bake in the oven for 9-10 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges
Allow to cool before serving

Adapted from these Doughy Chocolate Chunk Cookies [/print_this]

And finally for the Duncan Hines cake mix winners!

I used a random number generator to pick two winners:

#50 – Kelli who said “great trifle idea! always looking for different variations. can’t wait to try this!”

#77 – Chris M. who said “thanks. Love to try these products for my girlfriend”

Kelli and Chris- send me an email at keepitsweetlcl at gmail dot com and I’ll mail you the coupons!

`[pinit]`

Blog, Recipes

Pretzel and Chocolate Chip Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

December 1, 2011 Keep It Sweet 41 Comments

So we are basically a week into the holiday season and all I want to do is bake all day and eat cookies. Even more so than usual. The good news is that in one week I’ll be on a much needed vacation from work that will allow me to focus most of my energy on just that.

The bad news? Well, there isn’t much. I just have to find a home for all these cookies because at my current rate of consumption I’ll need an entirely new wardrobe a couple sizes bigger come January 1’st. Not in the budget and not quite so desirable.

So other than eating cookies 24/7 and exercising as much as I can to support that habit, I’ll be finding homes for these baked goods. Some will go towards the multitude of cookie swaps* I’m signed up for. Others will go to friends. These cookies, one of my favorites that I’ve had in a while, will show up on the doorstep of a few of my favorite people in the very near future. I hope each of them has their sweet and salty tooth ready!

These peanut butter cookies are chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside but the best part about them is that each bite also comes with the perfect amount of pretzel and chocolate. You can make this huge batch to share with friends or easily cut it in half for your own stash, because who doesn’t need 3 dozen delicious cookies on hand?

*I’m pretty sure that eating cookies I receive in a cookie swap doesn’t count

[print_this]

Chocolate Chip and Pretzel Loaded Peanut Butter Cookies

Yield: Makes 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
3 cups salted creamy natural peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
2 cups salted pretzel pieces

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda, set aside
Using a mixer, in a large bowl beat peanut butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture just until combined
Stir in chocolate chips and pretzel pieces
Use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to place cookie dough balls (about 2 tablespoons each) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (Note: the dough will be a little greasy, that is OK)
Bake for 11-13 minutes until or cookies are brown around the edges

Adapted from my Chocolate Chip Blueberry Peanut Butter Cookies [/print_this]

Are you taking any time off around the holidays? If so, what will you be doing?

`[pinit]`

Blog, Recipes

Salted Caramel and Brownie Cheesecake Bars

November 17, 2011 Keep It Sweet 68 Comments

This dessert has been haunting me since it came out of the oven. I took photos yesterday morning and it was all I could do not to devour the entire pan, sliver by sliver. These cheesecake bars are not for me so unfortunately (or fortunately) I was forced to keep my mouth shut after a quality control taste.

A thin layer of brownie crust topped with creamy salted caramel and a silky cheesecake layer makes these bars impossible to resist. The salted caramel layer also adds a depth of flavor that forces you to try another bite. Need another dessert for Thanksgiving or really something delicious just because? Make these.

[print_this]

Salted Caramel & Brownie Cheesecake Bars

Brownie Layer:
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Cheesecake Layer:
2 8-ounce blocks reduced fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel Layer:
1 11-ounce bag of caramel bits
1/3 cup milk (any type)
1 teaspoon sea salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Line a 13×9 pan with parchment paper; set aside

Melt chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over low to heat, stirring constantly

Remove from heat

Stir in sugar

Stir in eggs and vanilla

Whisk in flour until smooth

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for ~8 minutes or until center is glossy and edges start to look cooked

While brownie layer is cooling, prepare cheesecake filling

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer using the whisk attachment; beat on high until cream cheese is smooth and creamy

Beat in sugar

Mix in eggs

Stir in flour

Stir in vanilla and set aside

Place caramel bits and milk in a microwaveable bowl

Heat in microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each, until completely melted and smooth

Pour caramel over brownie layer; sprinkle salt over that

Pour cheesecake batter over brownie and caramel

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until edges begin to come apart from sides of pan and cheesecake is set

Brownie recipe adapted from Bakers

[/print_this]

A reminder that the cheesecake blog party is less than two weeks away. Send me your favorite links!

Blog, Recipes

Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Brownie Bites

November 13, 2011 Keep It Sweet 59 Comments

Fudgy brownie bites stuffed with a layer of peanut butter cup cookie dough

The apartment is finally starting to feel like home. It isn’t because I unpacked 99% of my things (the other 1% includes books and underwear that is still MIA). It also is not because we finally have shelves in the closet so that my sweaters aren’t piled up in various places around our home. And it certainly isn’t that all of the furniture we ordered has arrived and our dreaded IKEA trip is in the past.

While all of those things make the stress of moving a little less acute, the real reason I feel like I am home is the kitchen. Of course I unpacked all of my dishes and appliances before anything else and have been to the grocery store 17 or so times. But Friday morning, while Matt was at work and I was waiting for our new night stands to arrive, I had the first opportunity to bake. Just the thought of that makes my shoulders relax and my breathing slow down. Working around our new kitchen where I actually had to walk more than one step from refrigerator to utensil drawer, I couldn’t stop smiling. And the fact that the first thing to come out of my oven was a chocolate and peanut butter dessert certainly didn’t hurt.

Oh, right, these little things. Fudgy brownie bites stuffed with a layer of peanut butter cup cookie dough, I haven’t felt more at home in a very long time.

[print_this]

Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Brownie Bites

Makes 2 dozen brownie bites

Ingredients:

1 Box Brownie Mix (I used Trader Joe’s Chocolate Truffle) + ingredients the mix calls for
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup salted creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon milk (I used skim)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped peanut butter cups (~7 peanut butter cups)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan
Prepare brownie mix as directed and full cups with brownie batter (about 2 tablespoons each)
Bake for 12-14 minutes or until a knife comes out clean; do not over bake
Set brownies aside to cool and prepare cookie dough
Whisk flour and salt in a small bowl; set aside
Beat together butter, peanut butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy
Mix in milk and vanilla on low speed
Stir in flour mixture just until combined
Stir in peanut butter cups
Once cookie dough is ready, take your brownies and slice each in half horizontally so that you have a top and a bottom
Place a rounded disk of cookie dough on each bottom half (about one tablespoon of cookie dough each)
Press tops of brownies lightly onto cookie dough layer so that you can still see the cookie dough from the sides
Serve immediately or freeze in an airtight container up to one month

[/print_this]

Cookie dough recipe adapted from here.

What is making you smile lately?

Blog

Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread {Guest Post}

November 8, 2011 Keep It Sweet 17 Comments

Hi, friends! I have so much to share with you from my Foodbuzz weekend but an apartment full of boxes is keeping me from the blog right now. In fact, I still haven’t found my underwear (thank G-d for now having a washer and dryer in the apartment!). On the upside, I don’t have to go to the gym yet since I can’t find my sneakers either.

In the meantime, I have another guest post for you. This one is from my amazing sister, Jessica. She is the reason I started the blog so I owe all of my Keep It Sweet life to her. The best part about this guest post? I get to eat this delicious pumpkin bread when she brings it for Thanksgiving.

Full disclosure: I do not bake. My sister and my mom – they bake. Me – I cook. I clean the dishes when they bake. But any time I try to bake, I am reminded of why I don’t bake.

Despite this fact, I offered to do a guest post for my sister while she takes care of the 8 million other things going on in her life. Ya’ know, like moving and preparing to host Thanksgiving dinner for our family.

So I decided to make one of my mom’s classic and easy recipes – pumpkin bread. Classic because everyone knows it and loves it. Easy because I was able to make it through the whole recipe without asking any questions. And to add my own little touch, I took one of my mom’s favorite touches – chocolate chips and cinnamon sugar – and put it in the center. And here’s what I got: Cinnamon Sugar Swirl, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Of course, being the non-baker that I am, something still went wrong. When the top of the loaf started burning and spilling over the edges before the center was cooked, I realized that I filled the pan way too high. Note to self: When they say flour makes bread rise, they mean it. Take that into consideration before filling a pan to the top.

[print_this]

Cinnamon Sugar Swirl, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Adapted from My Favorite Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

Dry:

3 cups sugar

3 ½ cups flour

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp salt

Wet:

1 cup oil

2 cups pumpkin

2/3 cup water

4 eggs

Filling:

2 ounces semi-sweet mini chocolate chips plus additional for sprinkling on top

2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar (I used a pre-mixed version but you can make your own to taste)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

First mix the dry ingredients, then mix them in with the wet ingredients.

Spray two 2-pound loaf pans.

Fill pans about halfway and then sprinkle cinnamon sugar and chocolate chips.

Pour batter on top, filling the pan about ¾ of the way (take it from me, you don’t want to fill it all the way). Sprinkle with additional chocolate chips.

Cook at 350 for about an hour.

Enjoy Smile

[/print_this]

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate Caramel Apple Bars {Guest Post}

November 1, 2011 Keep It Sweet 21 Comments

I am so excited to share another wonderful guest post with you today! Rachel is a blog friend turned real-life friend and she is here to share her recipe for Chocolate Caramel Apple Bars (how good does that sound?!). This is a huge help to me because I am in the process of moving apartments. I’m so excited for our new place but wow is it a lot of work. In the meantime, enjoy Rachel’s post and be sure to check out her blog for other delicious recipes like Pizza Dip, Layered Oreo Cake Bars, and her Banana Bread Smoothie.

Hi Keep it Sweet readers! I’m Rachel! I blog about all things food over at The Avid Appetite and all things life over at The Peach & The Pit. I am so excited to be guest posting here today. Lauren was one of my first real ‘blog’ friends and I am so happy that we found each other! She keeps my stomach rumbling with her amazing and super creative dessert recipes and I always look forward to her posts each week.

When I first thought about guesting over here on Keep it Sweet, I knew that I would have to come up with a delicious and decadent dessert recipe that would be worthy of standing next to Lauren’s delectable creations. And since I know she loves chocolate, that obviously had to be a key ingredient.

I have long had a love affair with appley things. For as long as I can remember, anything with apples was instantly my favorite dessert. Pies, tarts, coffee cakes, crumbles, you name it. When I started thinking about a recipe to share with you, I knew that combining my love of apple, cinnamon and caramel with Lauren’s love of chocolate would surely be a winner. Right?

Right?!

Well let me tell you about them and perhaps you’ll agree. Ooey gooey apple and caramel scattered atop a layer of semisweet chocolate, then sandwiched between crumbly oat goodness and topped with even more sticky caramel sauce is what these bars are all about. And if that’s wrong, I don’t want to be right. You won’t either; trust me on this one.

[print_this]Chocolate Caramel Apple Bars
*bar base adapted from Betty Crocker Cooky Book’s Date Bars
3/4 C shortening, such as Crisco
1 C brown sugar
1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 C old fashioned oats
1 C semisweet chocolate chips
2 tart baking apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled, cored and diced
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ C caramel topping or sauce (such as 1 jar Smucker’s caramel flavored ice cream topping)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 13×9″ pan with foil (one strip lengthwise, one strip widthwise), letting the foil hang over the edges. Grease well. Mix the shortening and sugar together in a bowl. I used my stand mixer, but a hand mixer (or even by hand) would work too.
In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat into the shortening & sugar mixture. Stir in the oats. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the greased, foil-lined pan.
Next, peel, core and chop the apples. Mix with the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
Then, melt the chocolate (I do it via microwave) and carefully spread over the oat dough. It won’t be perfect, and that’s ok! Pour the apples evenly over the chocolate. Drizzle 1 cup of the caramel sauce all over the apples. Gooeyness!
Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over top and drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over that.
Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool and set. To cut up, remove from pan by using the foil as handles. Peel away and cut into bars. Gooey, decadent, stretchy pants-inducing bars.[/print_this]

I hope you enjoy these! I can’t wait to make them again and again!

News on the next blog party: The theme is CHEESECAKE! and it will be posted on Tuesday, November 29th. Send me your links by the 28th to keepitsweetlcl at gmail dot com.

Blog, Recipes

Kitchen Sink Cookies and Bars

October 24, 2011 Keep It Sweet 44 Comments

What a weekend. Matt and I went to Philadelphia to celebrate the wedding of one of my best friends since 4th grade. She was a gorgeous bride and I was so happy to be a bridesmaid and such a big part of the celebration. Not going to lie, though, one of the highlights of the weekend may have been the wedding cake. After a week of limiting my carbs to make sure the dress would fit, I was extra excited for dessert. Matt and I shared so that we could try both options: vanilla bean cake with caramel buttercream and a chocolate chip pound cake with cookies ‘n cream filling topped with cream cheese icing. They deserve a lot of credit for such an amazing cake selection. Not to mention the fact that it was a stunning 6-tier wedding cake!

On the downside, after a bad cold all last week, a Friday night without sleep (long story) and full Saturday of wedding activities, I woke up feeling really lousy on Sunday and lost my voice. Not being able to talk is extremely frustrating! However, struggling to communicate with people for 24 hours reminded me how lucky I am to have all of my senses on a regular basis. It is amazing how all the little things are so easy to take for granted!

Now, as for these cookies (and bars), this is my latest post for The Secret Recipe Club. This month I got to choose a recipe from Life’s Simple Measures. The Kitchen Sink Cookies were actually perfect since you can put almost anything in them you want. Given that we are moving and trying to use up food we have on hand, it was a great way to deplete a few of my baking ingredients. [Sidenote: It is a good thing we aren’t moving far because I still have an entire kitchen of baking ingredients to use. I also told myself no more baking before we move next Tuesday but I already have my eye on the brown bananas just dying to get used for something delicious. Any suggestions? ]

Jess’s blog has a lot of other great baked good recipes that I considered including these Cinnamon Bun Scones, Double-Apple Mini Bundt Cakes and Candied Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies. Be sure to check out her blog!

[print_this]

Kitchen Sink Cookies

Yield: 5 dozen cookies or 24 bars

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 3/4 cups Rice Krispies
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

In a medium bowl, combine cereals, marshmallows and chocolate; set aside
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy
On medium speed, mix in eggs and vanilla
Stir in flour mixture until well-combined
Stir in cereal/marshmallow/chocolate mixture
Refrigerate cookie dough for two hours or until chilled
When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
If making cookies, line baking sheets with parchment paper and use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon (1 1/2 tablespoons each) to place cookie dough balls on sheets 2 inches apart
Bake cookies 10-12 minutes or until golden brown
Transfer parchment paper to a wire rack with cookies still intact and allow to cool completely before serving (well, unless you like a gooey, delicious mess)
If making bars, line a 13×9 pan with parchment paper and press cookie dough into pan
Bake for ~40 minutes or until golden brown and knife comes out clean from the center
Allow pan to cool on a wire rack

Adapted from Life’s Simple Measures [/print_this]

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Blog, Recipes

Mint Chocolate Chip Meringues

October 18, 2011 Keep It Sweet 33 Comments

Sometimes you need a light and refreshing cookie to balance out desserts like this. As the cooler weather is moving in, the comfort of indulgent cookies, cakes and pies is more and more appealing. However, I’m determined not to gain weight as we get through the winter. In fact, I’d like to get rid of the couple of pounds that have snuck up on me over the last several months.

But don’t expect things to get all diet-y around here. I really believe in balance and balance includes indulging in real butter-filled desserts in moderation. But usually sometimes, one cookie or one slice of cake just doesn’t do it. It is a time like that when something a little lighter is best. That way you can have 10 4 cookies instead of 2.

I find that meringue cookies are a little underrated. It used to be a nice treat when we would come home to a fresh batch of chocolate chip meringue cookies waiting in the kitchen. The light and crispy exterior complimented by a chewiness just in the center makes for a nice change of pace. Adding in the mini chocolate chips is a bonus.

While my mom always went with the classic meringue, I decided to change things up with a mint chocolate chip version. Just a little bit of crème de menthe adds a nice flavor touch to the cookies.

The thing that made baking these cookies a little more fun than usual was a new toy in the kitchen. OXO sent me some kitchen supplies including this OXO Egg Beater. It is so much easier than trying to beat the eggs by hand but you get to feel more active than using an electric mixer. Plus, it is great for making a small batch when a regular electric mixer can’t reach the bottom of the bowl. I even used the egg beater when making breakfast today. The fact that it is dishwasher-safe makes it an every day tool!

[print_this]

Mint Chocolate Chip Meringues

Yield: Makes 28 meringues

Ingredients

2 egg whites at room temperature (not from the carton)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon creme de menthe
2/3 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside
In a large bowl, beat egg whites with OXO egg beater using high speed (or an electric mixer with the whisk attachment) until lightly foamy
Add cream of tartar and continue to beat until mixture is very foamy
Add in half granulated sugar and beat until mixture is a creamy white
Add crÃ¨me de menthe and remaining sugar
Beat at high speed until meringue has formed a thick better that is a glossy white and stiff peaks form from beaters or whisk
Lightly fold in chocolate chips
Use a teaspoon to drop spoonfuls of meringue on to baking sheets
Place baking sheets in center of oven and turn oven off; leave meringues in oven for two hours or until firm and crisp

Adapted from Emeril [/print_this]

Disclaimer: I received the OXO Egg Beater and other kitchen accessories as a part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. All of the opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Any tips on eating desserts in moderation? I would love to learn how to do that!

Blog, Recipes

Thick and Chewy Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Toffee Bars

October 13, 2011 Keep It Sweet 64 Comments

Do you read Cookies & Cups? If not, you need to.

Not only is Shelly hilarious, but she also makes the most delicious and fun desserts in every.single.post. I can not stop drooling over her Chubby Hubby Bars or Pumpkin Dump Cake. Really, I should have an email folder dedicated to the recipes from her blog that I send myself. Either that or I should move in with her.

That wouldn’t be creepy.

So when I saw her Chocolate Toffee Bars I immediately added them to my must make list. I put a bit more emphasis on the peanut butter in the recipe and was thrilled with how they came out.

The only problem was, they are too good. I’m not kidding. I couldn’t keep myself from eating these as soon as they came out of the oven. The only thing that saved me was knowing I had to donate some to a LCC Foundation raffle.

I think from now on, I need someone to come and remove desserts from my apartment immediately after photographing them for the blog. Any takers?

Thick and Chewy Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Toffee Bars
Makes 24 bars

Peanut Butter Toffee Crust
Ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cup Nutter Butter crumbs (~10 cookies)
1/2 cup toffee bits

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13X9 pan with butter or cooking spray; set aside
Combine melted butter, cookie crumbs and toffee bits
Press crust mixture into pan; crust will be very thin
Bake for about 10 minutes or until crust is a nice medium shade of gold

Chocolate Peanut Butter Filling

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (any fat content will do)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:
While crust is baking, combine chocolate and peanut butter chips, sweetened condensed milk and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat
Stir ingredients together until melted and remove from heat
Pour evenly over prepared crust; set aside

Cookie Topping

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup toffee bits
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside
With an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugars at high speed
Mix in eggs and vanilla until well combined
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture
Stir in toffee bits and chocolate chips
Once combined, drop dough by large spoonfuls over the filling
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until topping is lightly browned
Allow to cool before serving

Adapted from Cookies and Cups who originally adapted the recipe from Making Memories

Any other blogs you are loving right now?

Blog, Recipes

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies {Guest Post}

October 11, 2011 Keep It Sweet 21 Comments

In the midst of my crazy life, I am so thankful for other food bloggers! It never ceases to amaze me how many of you there are that are willing to lend a hand when things get crazy. A couple of weeks ago, a few wonderful bloggers volunteered to guest post on Keep It Sweet and I can’t wait to share their delicious recipes with you. The first post is from Samantha at The Little Ferraro Kitchen. Her blog is pretty new, but she already has some delicious looking recipes like her recent Fresh Raspberry & Apple Crumble and Chicken Pot Pie! These cookies are no different.

Hello everyone! I am Samantha from The Little Ferraro Kitchen and I am soo excited to guest post for the beautiful Lauren from Keep It Sweet!

When she asked for fellow guest-posters recently, I jumped at the chance! See…I am a pretty “new” blogger and have only been blogging for a few months now. Keep It Sweetwas one of the first blogs I started to enjoy and I just knew this was the perfect start!

So because this is officially my first guest post ever! (wow!)…I present to you…Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies!

This is the best batter I have ever worked with. The combination of the creamy peanut-butter and butter creates the softest cookie. Mini peanut-butter-cups (need I say more?) snuggle their little cute sweet selves into their peanut butter pillows of perfection. If you have the patience to wait the few minutes until these cuties are done, take a messy bite and allow all that melting chocolate to ooze out of the center from it’s cozy home and just enjoy. I promise you, this will be your absolute favorite cookie.

[print_this]

Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

1/2 C creamy peanut-butter

4 TB unsalted butter, room temperature

1 C brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 c granulated sugar (for rolling dough)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Cream peanut butter and butter until well combined.

3. Add brown sugar and beat until well combined, scraping down bowl as needed.

4. Add eggs (one at a time), vanilla and beat until well incorporated.

5. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. I’ve gotten in the habit of using a sifter to get any “lumps” out.

6. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in 2 batches.

* At this point I’ll use my spatula and do one last “mix” with the spatula and make sure everything is incorporated, but not to over mix.

7. Take the mixture out of bowl and wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 30min.

* I do this for all my cookie dough.

8. When dough is ready, unwrap from plastic wrap and scoop dough by the tablespoon, rolling into balls. A melon-baller is perfect for this!

9. Roll balls in granulated sugar and place on non-stick baking sheet.

10. Bake cookies until just about to puff up, about 5-7 minutes. (My oven is pretty fickle and is done at 5 min.)

11. When times up, take trays out of oven and work quickly! Place each peanut-butter cup in the center of each cookie and return to oven.

12. Bake for about 6 minutes more (again, my oven is no more than 5min), until cookies are golden brown and chocolate has begun to melt.

13. When done, let cool on baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring to wire wrack to cool.

[/print_this]

Thanks for having me, Lauren! I had so much fun making these fabulous cookies and I hope all of you do too!

Enjoy!

Blog, Recipes

Cinnamon & Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pie Cookies

October 9, 2011 Keep It Sweet 66 Comments

Things have been crazy around here lately. I know I say this a lot, but after the busy summer, things never really slowed down.

There has been a ton of weekend travelling, apartment hunting, working, baking, blogging, and I’ve even been interning with Hot Blondies a few times a week as well. My days have been so packed that I rarely know what day of the week it is.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, though. As much as I love being busy and doing so many things that make me happy, it is hard to take time and just breathe. The HB work ends in two weeks, my weekend travel is slowing down (trips only every other week), and we found an apartment. Moving in a few weeks is just a minor detail.

In the meantime, this is the kind of cookie that forces me to slow down. When I grabbed a cookie off the cooling rack, I found myself savoring each bite. A welcome change to my speed-demon eating that usually has me downing oatmeal/salads/yogurt/sandwiches or whatever else is in front of me in about three seconds flat. I understand if you no longer want to eat a meal with me.

The cookie is moist but light; kind of like chocolate chip cookie meets my favorite pumpkin muffin. Thanks to a hefty serving of cinnamon and chocolate chips, each bite has three complimenting flavors at once. All of that is a combination that my mouth isn’t used to. I think I may have to sit down and eat about nine more.

[print_this]

Cinnamon & Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pie Cookies

Yield: Makes 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup cinnamon chips

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and pumpkin pie seasoning; set aside
Using an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy
Beat in eggs and vanilla; beat in pumpkin until well-combined
Stir in dry ingredients just until combined
Stir in chocolate and cinnamon chips
Use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to place cookie dough mounds (about 1 1/2 tablespoons each) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 1 inch apart
Bake 9-11 minutes or until cookies are puffed up and no longer wet
Allow cookies to cool on cooling rack before serving

Source: Picky Palate[/print_this]

What’s got you slowing down lately?

Blog, Recipes

Grown Up S’mores Cookies

October 6, 2011 Keep It Sweet 33 Comments

I blame these cookies on Matt.

And really, you should too. So if when you make them, and if when you eat a couple12, it’s his fault, not mine.

Sorry, Matt, I still love you.

You see, I got this wonderful assortment of chocolate in the mail from GHIRARDELLI and didn’t know what to do with it. But then Matt suggested s’mores and I remembered this recipe from Tracey’s blog. She said they were the best s’mores cookies of every recipe she had tried. And if you read her blog, you know to trust her. Just look at this post, the girl knows what she’s doing!

So I decided to kick the cookies up a notch with the Intense Dark Sea Salt Soiree chocolate in place of your typical milk chocolate. The hint of bitterness from the higher cocoa percentage and salty bite makes the cookies a little more mature in flavor. The crunch from the almonds then adds a nice texture balance to the chewy cookie.

Go try it for yourself, and when you lose count of how many cookies you’ve inhaled, just remember that it’s not my fault.

[print_this]

Grown-up S’mores Cookies

Makes ~3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup honey graham cracker crumbs (about 8 sheets)

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

7 ounces separated GHIRARDELLI Intense Dark Sea Salt Soiree chocolate, chopped

1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350

Whisk graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy

Beat in egg and vanilla

Stir in half of chocolate (about 3 1/2 ounces)

Use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to make cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (about 1 1/2 tablespoons each)

Bake cookies for 9 minutes and remove from oven

Quickly press a couple of pieces of chocolate and 3-4 marshmallows into each cookie

Return cookies to oven immediately and bake for 2-3 minutes or until cookies are browned around the edges; allow cookies to cool on a cooling rack before serving

Source: Tracey’s Culinary Adventures, adapted from Cookie Madness[/print_this]

Disclaimer: I received free samples of GHIRARDELLI chocolate in the mail through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. All of the opinions expressed in this post are my own.

What are you blaming on someone else right now?

Recipes, Uncategorized

Peanut Butter Cookie Bars with Chocolate Ganache

September 26, 2011 Keep It Sweet 74 Comments

For this month’s Secret Recipe Club, I had a hard time deciding what to make. I got picked to make a recipe from Authentic Suburban Gourmet and Lisa had a lot of tempting recipes. My list of options included an Apple & Fig Tart, her Toffee & Caramel Cheesecake and these Fig Muffins with Brown Sugar Topping. Ultimately, though, my inner-peanut butter loving self decided to make an adaptation of her Mini Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookies. To save a little time, I made the cookies into bars and was very happy with the result. I may or may not have eaten a few scoops of the peanut butter cookie dough while baking.

Speaking of eating something delicious, last night I got back from an amazing weekend in Atlanta that included a ton of delicious food. I’ll definitely be sharing some photos of my reunion-weekend eats.

In the meantime, I have to say, it was a bit of a surreal experience visiting Emory after five years away. It was enough time to feel like college was forever ago, but when I stepped on campus and traced the familiar routes around Decatur, Buckhead, the Highlands and more, it was as if I never left.

I’m a Northeast girl at heart, but Atlanta will always hold a special piece of it. There are great restaurants, lots of good shopping, and a friendly culture. I had to get to some of my favorite food places while I was there, but there is a reason that these places mean so much to me.

College was such an amazing time in my life, truly some of the best four years. I met some of my lifelong best friends, including my husband. Matt and I have so many memories that built the foreground of our relationship. My girlfriends and I have an uncountable number of stories that brought us together but also those that just make me laugh so hard my stomach hurts and tears roll down my cheeks. Being back in this place where I grew out of my insecure high school self and into a young woman who knew how to walk with a bit of confidence makes me feel so content. It was hard to say goodbye to my friends and a former home.

Luckily these were tucked away in my freezer Winking smile

[print_this]Peanut Butter Cookie Bars with Chocolate Ganache

Makes 24 bars

Adapted from Lisa’s Mini Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup salted creamy peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

Whisk flour and baking soda, set aside
Beat butter on high until light and creamy
Add peanut butter and continue to beat until creamy
Add sugar and beat into batter until light and fluffy
Add egg and vanilla, beat on medium speed until combined
Stir in flour and baking soda mixture
Refrigerate batter for at least 1 hour or overnight
When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees line a 13×9 pan with parchment paper
Once oven is hot, press dough evenly into prepared pan
Bake for 20-23 minutes or until firm in the center; set aside to cool

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

While cookie bars are baking, prepare ganache
Set up your double boiler; bring water to a simmer in medium pot over low-medium heat
Place heat-proof bowl of chocolate over the pot
Pour the cream over your chocolate
Whisk until chocolate mixture is melted and smooth
Place ganache in refrigerator until thick, about one hour
When ganache is thick enough that it won’t drip off a spoon, spread evenly over cookie bars
Store cookie bars in refrigerator until ready to serve

[/print_this]

Did you live somewhere else that has special memories?

Blog, Recipes

Gooey Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Bars (Gluten-Free)

September 20, 2011 Keep It Sweet Leave a comment

My busy schedule these days has been keeping me from as much time in the kitchen as I would like. There are so many recipes that I’ve been dying to try, but they keep getting put on the back-burner. Luckily, I found a really easy but tasty dessert to make this past weekend.

These bars actually are derived from the back of my gluten-free oatmeal package. They are on the bag as cookies, but baking them in bar form just seemed so much easier at the time. I’m glad I did because they baked up to be the perfect chewy, gooey bars! You would never know that there is no butter or flour in these babies!

[print_this]

Gooey Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Bars (Gluten-Free)

Yield: Serves 24

Ingredients

3 cups gluten-free rolled oats (oatmeal is naturally gluten-free but may be processed with other gluten foods; check the package if serving anyone who has a gluten allergy)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup smooth natural salted peanut butter
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate chunks

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray
Whisk together oatmeal and baking soda; set aside
Beat peanut butter on high speed until light and creamy
Beat in applesauce
Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy
Add egg whites and vanilla; beat on medium speed until combined
Stir in oatmeal mixture
Stir in chocolate
Pour batter into prepared pan
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until knife comes out clean
Allow to cool before slicing
Store at room temperature in a covered container up to 2 days or freeze up to 1 month

Note: Adapted from Trader Joe’s oatmeal package.[/print_this]

Do you have any good gluten-free recipes?

Recipes, Uncategorized

Pumpkin S’more Muffins

September 6, 2011 Keep It Sweet 3 Comments

So the Northeast kind of got slapped in the face by the end of summer. We were welcomed back to work on the day after Labor Day with grey skies and non-stop rain. Well hello, real life!

Despite the unofficial end of a quick but wonderful summer, today actually wasn’t too bad. Starting work on a Tuesday instead of Monday is always a plus and next week will be the same! Matt and I have a weekend trip planned for just the two of us. I like to think of it as a little belated anniversary celebration, but it also overlaps with his birthday on Monday! It should be a fun few days.

The second thing that kept today’s mood up is that the next few weeks are going to continue to be crazy but also really great. After this weekend, I can still look forward to the WifeStyle Conference, my 5-year reunion in Atlanta with my best friends (!!!), the excuse to eat copious amounts of food High Holidays and an exciting opportunity that (hopefully) has come my way. Cross your fingers for me.

And finally, what made today even better was the smell of some amazing fall baked goods in my apartment. Yesterday when we got home, Matt and I both spent some time in the kitchen. He made a huge pot of turkey chili (so perfect for this dreary weather) and I had a mini baking marathon. I know I’ve said this before, but spending time in the kitchen is the best therapy. Over the last couple of months, I’ve been a little busier than usual and haven’t had much time to bake. Just a few hours of quality time with my mixer reminded me of that sense of joy I get when I make something that I know will put a smile on someone’s face.

One of my favorite things about fall is pumpkin. To be honest, I eat pumpkin all year long, but it isn’t until the fall that most people are ready to celebrate the flavor with me. Since I love pumpkin muffins and the entire world is obsessed with s’mores, I figured I should combine the two into Pumpkin S’more Muffins.

This recipe is so easy thanks to the help of a cake mix, but if you want to make your muffin batter from scratch and have a couple of extra minutes, this is my favorite recipe.

[print_this]

Pumpkin S’more Muffins

Yield: Makes 2 dozen muffins

Ingredients

5 or 6 graham cracker sheets
1 15.25 ounce box yellow cake mix
1 small can (15 ounces) pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup (~3) egg whites
1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 muffin tins by greasing or spraying with cooking spray
Break graham cracker sheets into pieces and fit them into muffin tins to act as a crust; set aside remaining graham crackers and crumbs for topping
Combine cake mix, pumpkin, water, egg whites and pumpkin pie spice with an electric mixer on low speed just until combined
Stir in chocolate chips
When batter is ready, fill each prepared cup with about 1/2 cup of batter
Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean
Remove muffins from oven and press 4-5 marshmallows into top center of each and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs
Place back in oven for 1-2 or until marshmallows have puffed
Remove from oven and allow to cool before removing muffins from pans

[/print_this]

Adapted from these brownies

What made today a good day for you?

Uncategorized

Cookies ‘n Cream Double Chocolate Cookies

September 1, 2011 Keep It Sweet Leave a comment

I’ve really been enjoying the Cookies ‘n Cream Almond Butter Spread I made a few weeks ago. It isn’t the typical nut butter consistency so really the easiest way to eat it is on a spoon. I have no problem with that!

But since it is more of a dessert spread, I thought it deserved to be incorporated into an actual dessert! Chocolaty cookies perhaps? I used the basics of my favorite chewy chocolate cookie recipe and used the thumbprint method to top the cookies off with the cookie spread filling. There are also white chocolate chips in the batter to compliment the cookies ‘n cream and add some extra texture.

Don’t worry if they are a little crumbly as you are setting them up, just tightly pack the filling and they will bake together nicely!

[print_this]

Cookies ‘n Cream Double Chocolate Cookies

Makes ~4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Dash of salt

1 ¼ cup unsalted butter (2 ½ stick) softened at room temperature

2 cups granulated Sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup Cookies ‘n Cream Almond Butter Spread

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375

Whisk together the dry ingredients, except for sugar, and set aside

Cream butter and sugar

Beat in the eggs and vanilla

Gradually add your dry ingredients with mixer on low until well-combined

Stir in white chocolate chips

Drop dough in heaping tablespoons on baking sheets lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart

Press down with thumb into cookie dough mounds to make a thumbprint

Place a tightly packed teaspoon of almond butter spread into each thumbprint

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until cookies are slightly puffy and firm

Let cool on cooling rack

Cookie dough recipe from HERSHEY’s

[/print_this]

What did you think of the latest blog party? Are you submitting a pumpkin post?

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate Glazed Cookie Cheesecake Pie

August 25, 2011 Keep It Sweet Leave a comment

A couple of weeks ago, Jennie of In Jennie’s kitchen lost her husband, Mikey suddenly to a heart attack. While I don’t know her personally, I’ve visited her blog a couple of times and my heart broke for her. She invited us to celebrate Mikey’s life with his favorite peanut butter pie.

Hearing about such a tragedy only reminded me of how lucky I am for each day I get to enjoy with my loved ones. Whether it is via email, facebook, phone or in person, I’m thankful for each “touch” I get with them. Too often I get wrapped up in the busy days, stressful moments and minute problems to appreciate all of the good things.

When I finally got some time in the kitchen this week, I wanted to support Jennie, even if I was little late. Since she was talking about her husband’s favorite pie, I thought I should make something with love for my husband (who, we all know, dislikes peanut butter). I know that the combination of chocolate chip cookie and cheesecake is one of his favorite things, so I created a spin on that in pie form. The chocolate chip cookie crust, creamy cheesecake filling and rich chocolate glaze were all made with love.

In light of Jennie’s loss, the blogging community has come together in an incredible way. As she is now left with two young children, she will need more than just emotional support. A fund was started by Bloggers Without Borders to help raise money for Jennie and her family. Bloggers throughout the community are offering cookbooks, photos, baked goods, site redesigns… anything to auction and raise money towards the fund. Some auctions that I have found:

Madison is currently offering an amazing baked good basket that you could get any time between now and the end of the year
Jen is auctioning an incredible gift basket
Julie is auctioning adorable decorated cookies
Katie is auctioning a doTerra Pure Essential Oil Beginner’s Trio Kit
Deb’s brownies or cookies (your choice)
Deb’s print (your choice)

Chocolate Glazed Cookie Cheesecake Pie

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chocolate chip cookie dough

Cheesecake filling:
1 8-ounce package reduced fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup fat free sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze:
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 9-inch pie plate with non-stick cooking spray
Press cookie dough into bottom and around sides of prepared pie plate; bake for 10 minutes
While crust is baking, beat cream cheese with whisk attachment of electric mixer for several minutes or until light and creamy
Add sweetened condensed milk, egg and vanilla and beat until well combined
When crust is ready, pour cheesecake mixture into pie crust
Bake 15-20 minutes or until filling is firm; set aside
Combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup in a small pot over low-medium heat and stir constantly until mixture is completely melted
Stir in vanilla and remove pot from heat; pour glaze over pie
Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight
Cheesecake from All Recipes
Glaze from All Recipes

Are you hosting an auction? If so, leave your link in the comments below!

Blog, Recipes

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Surprise

August 23, 2011 Keep It Sweet Leave a comment

Since my birthday dessert (ie the Best Dessert Ever) was such a hit and there were so many requests, I got my mom to share a little bit more about her creation and tell us how to make it!

It appears that my love-inspired dessert, has sent quite a buzz through the world of creative sweet lovers! This cake was a process. And I couldn’t have gotten “to the top” without my other daughter Jessica. To say we went back and forth 1,000 times, with 1,000 or more ideas, would be putting it mildly. For those of you who know my Lauren, you know that she has more than one true love, of desserts, that is!

My objective was to incorporate as many of her favorite desserts into one flowing masterpiece. The ones that I couldn’t actually incorporate, well, I simply made as separate desserts as well! This is how the Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Surprise was created…
I already knew I was making one three layer cake. But when I saw a 10″ pan and a 6″ pan, (and knowing that I already had an 8″ pan), I thought how fun it would be to make a 3-layer cake, this one of varying sizes. Along with varying sizes, I decided on different layer components too.

I think I knew from the start that the bottom layer would be brownie. That’s the strongest of the bunch and capable of holding up the other two layers very well. My brownie recipe comes from a well-used Taste of Home’s Chocolate Lover’s Cookbook Magazine. (I used a brownie recipe I, of course, was already familiar with that calls for a 13 x 9 pan.) I knew it would fit the 10″ perfectly. When it had already been baked and cooled, I spread chocolate cool whip over it, and put that in the freezer. I like putting a little something in between my layers to help distinguish the different tastes and textures.

I decided not to do anything crunchy in between these three layers because I felt it would somehow be too much or overwhelm the creamy textures of the top two layers especially.

The next layer was the cheesecake. I have SO many cheesecake recipes!!! No doubt you do as well! But in one of Lauren’s latest blogs, she had a Peanut Butter Party, and that is where I found my latest cheesecake recipe! That came from Erin’s Food Files! So thank you, Erin! baked the cheesecake as directed, wrapped it in seran wrap, and placed into the freezer.

My chocolate ganache recipe came from All Recipes. The choice of chocolate ganache was Jessica’s; she thought of it while we walked together on the beach, wondering how in the world we would complete this dessert!

Next was the peanut butter mousse. This very old recipe comes from my very dear friend Gayle, who incidentally, could not remember this recipe at all! I lined the pan with seran wrap, poured in the peanut butter mousse, and placed it in the freezer to mold.

Finally, my peanut butter ganache. I don’t know how I thought of doing that. I really don’t. But I can tell you that the recipe itself, comes from Gourmet.LovetoKnow. I thought about shaving a bit of chocolate on top to finish the look. Clearly, we decided against that in the end.

The entire thing was put together once it was good and frozen. I knew it would be much easier to assemble. Finally, while Jessica held the cake for me, I sprinkled it with chopped dark chocolate peanut butter cups and peanut butter chips. I think the next time I make this……… I would use less ganache. It’s not that it seemed too much while eating, but appearance wise, maybe it’s a bit much? In the end though, it has as much to do with whom you share your eating experiences, as with the food itself. Sharing with my girls, for me, is always the “icing on the cake”!

[print_this]Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Surprise

You will need:

1 of each: 10-inch round cake pan, 8-inch round spring-form pan, 6-inch round cake pan

1 batch brownies prepared in a 10-inch round cake pan (any 9×13 brownie recipe or box-mix would do) Note from Lauren: Baker’s brownies would work

1 8-ounce container chocolate cool whip

1 cheesecake prepared in an 8-inch spring-form pan as directed

1 cup chocolate ganache

1 batch of peanut butter mousse (any of these recipes would work)

1 batch peanut butter ganache

optional: chopped peanut butter cups and peanut butter chips for garnish

Construction:

Prepare each layer the day before serving (layers can be frozen up to one week); you can build your dessert a couple of hours prior to serving and store in refrigerator

Prepare brownie in 10-inch round pan; once cooled, wrap brownie layer tightly in foil and freeze

Bake cheesecake as directed and allow to cool and set in refrigerator as directed; remove from spring-form pan; wrap tightly in seran wrap and foil and freeze

For the peanut butter mousse layer, line a 6-inch pan with seran wrap; pour prepared mousse into pan; cover with additional seran wrap and freeze

Once each layer is frozen, unwrap them and you can build the dessert

Place brownie layer on large plate; spread layer of chocolate cool whip over top

Place cheesecake on top of that layer

Spread chocolate ganache over cheesecake (may not need entire batch of ganache)

Top with peanut butter mouse

Drizzle peanut butter ganache over top layer and sides as desired

Store in refrigerator and sprinkle with peanut butter cups and peanut butter chips prior to serving

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What layers would you put in your fantasy birthday cake?

Uncategorized

Nutter Butter Bars {Guest Post}

August 14, 2011 Keep It Sweet Leave a comment

Wow, I can’t believe it is the last day of my official vacation. It has been good to get away from real life for a bit but I miss my regular baking and blogging. I promise to get back to that soon! Luckily, I have another amazing guest post today. My blog friends seem to know me so well and Alex from Yums and Loves is here with a delicious looking recipe for Nutter Butter Bars. Alex blogs about cooking, baking and life. Of course my favorite posts are all about the desserts: Sugar High Fridays, Funfetti Pound Cake, and Peanut Butter Wrapped Chocolate Cookies.

Hello Keep it Sweet readers! I’m Alex and I blog over at Yums and Loves. I like to write about all sorts of food, but also everyday life. I’ve been an avid reader of Lauren’s blog so I was thrilled to be writing for her! She has some great recipes and I love her writing. When I started thinking about a recipe to share with the Keep it Sweet readers I had several ideas. I knew I wanted to make a sweet dish, you just can’t beat a tasty treat. I decided to go with a combination that I know both Lauren and I love… peanut butter and chocolate!

I made a triple layer bar with chocolate, Nutter Butter cookies, and a whole lotta peanut butter! They were very easy to put together and almost a no-bake treat. The crust was simply crushed Nutter Butters with melted butter. Topped with a mixture of peanut butter and powdered sugar. The final layer is chocolate and you guessed it… more peanut butter! This will definitely suit your peanut butter and chocolate cravings. Easy to make….and so fun to eat!

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Nutter Butter Bars

Makes one 9×13 pan

For the Crust:

one package Nutter Butter cookies

6 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat oven to 325.

Crush cookies in food processor until you have fine crumbs.

Combine cookie crumbs with melted butter.

Press into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan.

Bake for 6 minutes.

Peanut butter filling:

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

½ cup softened butter

1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients using a hand mixer. Beat together until smooth.

Layer on top of cooled crust.

Chocolate topping:

In your microwave melt 1 ½ cups chocolate chips and if you want even extra peanut butter flavor add a heaping spoonful of peanut butter!

Melt for 30 seconds, stir and continue in 30 second intervals until smooth.

Pour on top of your peanut butter layer.

Let completed bars sit for at least an hour to harden up.

I added a few mini Nutter Butters for garnish on top.

Serve to all your peanut butter and chocolate loving friends!

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Thanks Lauren for letting me share a recipe with your readers. I had a great time writing for you….let’s do it again!

Blog, Recipes

Jackie’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cup Cookies {Guest Post}

August 11, 2011 Keep It Sweet Leave a comment

While I’m taking a few days off, Jackie from La Casa de Sweets was kind enough to offer to guest post! Since she made a delicious chocolate and peanut butter dessert for her post, I wanted to point out some other amazing looking chocolate and peanut butter recipes on her blog: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes, Crunchy Peanut Butter Brownies and Mini Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream. I think I need to get back to the kitchen!

Hello, Keep It Sweet readers! I am very excited to be sharing a recipe with you today while sweet Lauren is away having a fun time on vacation.

When I asked Lauren what some of her favorite foods are, one of the things she mentioned was peanut butter cups. I’ve been raving about the new Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for a while now, and even made some ice cream with them, so I knew I had to use them for Lauren! I decided to make a chocolate pudding cookie with chunks of mini Peanut Butter cups in every bite. Never had a pudding cookie? Believe me, they’re delicious. Every bite of this cookie is moist (that’s what the pudding is for!), and bursting with chocolate and peanut butter flavor. Reese’s fans, beware, these cookies will have you buying mini Peanut Butter Cups every week. Enjoy!

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Jackie’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup sugar
1 small (3.4 oz.) package of Jello Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix 2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2-1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
8-oz. package Mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (whole or cut in half)
1 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Cooking Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
In the bowl of your mixer, combine the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
On medium speed, beat in the pudding mix, eggs, and vanilla extract.
On low speed, mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Be careful to mix only until combined (do not over-mix!).
Stir in the mini peanut butter cups (or pieces, if you cut them in half).
Use a measuring tablespoon to scoop out the cookie dough onto the lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the centers of the cookies are just set.
Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, before cooling completely on cooling racks.
After the cookies have cooled, microwave the white chocolate chips at 30 second intervals until melted. Use a fork to drizzle the white chocolate onto the cookies. Let cool slightly.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

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Enjoy!

For more of my recipes, head on over to La Casa de Sweets, and you can also follow me on twitter and facebook!

Don’t forget to enter the Keep It Sweet birthday giveaway!

Uncategorized

Individual S’mores Brownies

August 7, 2011 Keep It Sweet Leave a comment

Individual Smores Brownies 7

You may or may not be on s’mores overload. For some reason, as many recipes as I’ve seen that put s’mores in some form of cookie/brownie/rice krispie treat, etc. it just doesn’t get old.

So of course when I was putting together some baked good packages for a friend I had to include something s’mores. I wanted it to be something that would travel in the mail without losing its form or taste in a couple of days. These Individual S’mores Brownies seemed up for the challenge.

I used a simple crust of graham cracker, my favorite brownie recipe, and topped them off with marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs. They are easy to make but cute and delicious to eat. The graham crackers add a nice texture to each bite and of course the gooey marshmallow tops it off nicely.

Take these to your next barbecue!

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Individual S’mores Brownies

Yield: Makes 2 dozen brownies

Ingredients

5 or 6 graham cracker sheets
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups mini marshmallows

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 muffin tins by greasing or spraying with cooking spray
Break graham cracker sheets into pieces and fit them into muffin tins to act as a crust; set aside remaining graham crackers and crumbs for topping
Melt butter and chocolate in large sauce pan over low to medium heat
You can also melt chocolate and butter in the microwave (I recommend heating for 30 seconds at a time and stirring to prevent burning the chocolate)
Whisk in sugar
Whisk in eggs and vanilla
Whisk in flour until smooth
When batter is smooth, spoon about 3 tablespoons of batter into each prepared cup
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until tops are puffed up slightly and toothpick comes out clean
Remove brownies from oven and press 4-5 marshmallows into top center of brownies and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs
Place back in oven for 1-2 or until marshmallows have puffed
Remove from oven and allow to cool before removing brownies from pans

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Inspired by Young Married Chic and Hot Blondies. Brownie recipe from Bakers.

What is your favorite way to enjoy s’mores?

Blog, Recipes

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Pretzel Pops

August 3, 2011 Keep It Sweet 55 Comments

I told you I’d come back with these cookie dough balls. Actually, the only thing that kept me from eating the entire batch at once was all of the ideas brewing in my head. Some of the ideas that you all suggested were kabobs, frozen yogurt/ice cream topping and mix-in, cheesecake, and cupcakes. I can’t wait to try them! This week, I wanted to keep it simple. Between apartment hunting, preparing for a week away from the office, and just the normal summer craziness I didn’t have a ton of time in the kitchen.

Hence, Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Pretzel Pops were formed! So easy, but so delicious. The hard chocolate shell on the outside and chewy cookie dough on the inside compliment a salty crunchy pretzel stick. How fun would these be at a party?

Speaking of party, I’m going to start a monthly blog party! The next one will be on Tuesday, August 30th with sweet and salty desserts. Send your favorite links to me by Sunday, August 28th (keepitsweetlcl at gmail dot com).

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Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Pretzel Pops

Ingredients (Makes 16 pops)

1 batch Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Dough Balls
2 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
16 salted pretzel sticks
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Dough Balls:
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup salted natural creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Prepare cookie dough balls as directed without freezing
Push each pretzel halfway into a cookie dough ball
Freeze pops for about thirty minutes or until cookie dough is firm
Once pops are frozen, melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments
Dip cookie dough pops into chocolate and place on a jelly roll pan covered with wax paper
Chill pops in freezer until ready to serve
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Dough Balls:
Line a jelly roll pan with wax paper and set aside
Whisk together flour and oats in a medium bowl and set aside
Use an electric mixer to beat together all of the wet ingredients until well-combined
Stir in flour mixture until just combined
Stir in chocolate chips
Use a cookie dough scoop or spoon to scoop about two tablespoons of dough; roll dough into a ball with hands; repeat
Freeze or refrigerate until balls are firm

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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Dough Balls can be found here.

Any exciting weekend plans?

Uncategorized

Frozen Mocha Brownie Torte

August 2, 2011 Keep It Sweet 58 Comments

So what did you think of the Peanut Butter Party? A few people suggested having a weekly party with different themes and I’m considering it. Let me know if that is something you’d like to see!

This past weekend was the first weekend all summer we didn’t travel anywhere. Matt and I just recently started house hunting* and needed a full Saturday to explore some new areas and get a better understanding of our options. It is scary and exciting at the same time. I can’t help but get enthusiastic when we see places that have more than double the square footage of our current home, a gorgeous kitchen and lots of natural light. The thing is, it’s kind of like registering for wedding gifts. A few days after we registered, Matt went looking in the kitchen for our new knives. I had to remind them that we wouldn’t have them until someone bought them for us. That hope for instant gratification gives the process some extra emotional ups and downs. I know we need to take our time and closing on a home isn’t a 24-hour event.

*By house hunting I mean 2-bedroom apartment hunting. Hey, one can dream:-)

Luckily, when it comes to dessert, there is instant satisfaction. After the long day in the real estate jungle, all I wanted was some summer comfort food. I try to steer clear of stress eating, but sometimes you just need a carton of ice cream some chocolate. That night, I was happy to find some of this Frozen Mocha Brownie Torte still in my freezer.

I created this dessert because I wanted something chocolaty and decadent but still light enough to enjoy during summer. The coffee I used was a sample from Godiva that I received through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. (I was actually pretty excited about this because I’ve been drinking their new Chocolate Truffle flavor in iced coffee form every morning. If you like coffee and you like chocolate, it is a winner!) The fudgy layer of brownie is topped with a mocha mousse filling, a layer of chopped Oreos and whipped topping. You can make it really decadent with regular brownies or keep things light with something like No Pudge.

Disclaimer: I received free coffee samples from Godiva, but the opinions I expressed are all my own.

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Frozen Mocha Brownie Torte

Yield: Serves 12

Ingredients

1 brownie mix with ingredients listed on box
1 3.4 ounce container instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup strong brewed Godiva Chocolate Truffle coffee
1 8-ounce container of cool whip, separated
14 Oreos broken into pieces

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a spring-form pan with non-stick cooking spray
Prepare brownie mix as directed and bake in spring-form pan
While brownie is cooling, prepare mousse layer; whisk together pudding mix, milk and coffee until well combined (about 2 minutes)
Fold 1/2 cup cool whip into pudding mixture; spread over brownie
Spread Oreo pieces evenly over mousse filling
Spread remainder of cool whip over Oreos
Freeze dessert for two hours or until filling is firm
Will stay good in freezer for up to a week

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Have you bought a home? Any advice for someone looking?

Blog, Recipes

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Dough Balls

July 28, 2011 Keep It Sweet 68 Comments

I had a couple options for tonight’s post, but it seems my Facebook fans and Twitter followers are huge peanut butter lovers like I am. For all the years before my blog, I thought I was alone in my peanut butter addiction. What a relief to know there is a support group! So, in honor of peanut butter lovers and addicts around the world, I’ll be holding a peanut butter party on the blog Sunday night. Email me (KeepItSweetLCL at gmail dot com) your links and I’ll include them in the post. And for those of you who don’t love peanut butter, who are you? I have a delicious frozen mocha dessert coming soon.

Now onto tonight’s recipe: A recipe that brings my love of peanut butter, cookie dough and chocolate all into one dessert. A recipe that is easy to make and relatively healthy enough to sub in for a mid-day snack (don’t you love sweets like that?). A recipe that I almost shouldn’t have because I’m officially addicted.

These may just become your favorite food. I’ve been eating dough balls individually straight out of the freezer but I can’t stop thinking about ways to incorporate them into other desserts. This could get dangerous.

[print_this]

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Dough Balls

Makes 16 dough balls

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup salted natural creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Line a jelly roll pan with wax paper and set aside
Whisk together flour and oats in a medium bowl and set aside
Use an electric mixer to beat together all of the wet ingredients until well-combined
Stir in flour mixture until just combined
Stir in chocolate chips
Use a cookie dough scoop or spoon to scoop about two tablespoons of dough; roll dough into a ball with hands; repeat
Freeze or refrigerate until balls are firm

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Adapted from Never Home Maker

What kind of dessert should I make with these cookie dough balls?

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Scones {Guest Post}

July 26, 2011 Keep It Sweet 31 Comments

One of the best things about this blog is all of you. Thanks for letting me vent on Thursday and thank you for all of the stomach tips. It sounds like I was not alone with stomach pains and A/C problems. Hopefully all of you are keeping cool and pain-free now!

Since last week was full of whining, I thought I’d switch things up with some fantastic news and what I’m thankful for:

Last night was the second night in a row that I was stomach-ache freeand the source of my pains doesn’t seem to be anything serious!
Last night was the first night we slept in an air conditioned bedroom!
The rain yesterday brought us a couple humidity-freedays.
I have a delicious guest post for you today and an exciting new recipe for Thursday

Can you tell I am a different person? I knew that my stomach aches were getting to me, but I didn’t realize how much they were affecting my mentality on a daily basis. As it turns out, it was my breakfast that was the culprit. Ever since summer started, I’ve switched my daily hot oatmeal to a yogurt/oatmeal mix. The thing is, I just mix the oatmeal and yogurt (kind of like muesli) without cooking the oats. Apparently my stomach does NOT like that. And evidently, I’m not alone. The fact that I am not allergic to gluten, dairy or anything else is a huge relief. I also feel very lucky that there is nothing seriously wrong with me.

Now, onto today’s post! Brandi from BranAppetit offered to share a delicious recipe with all of you. I only found Brandi’s blog a couple of months ago, but I am so glad I did. She is a fabulous self-taught cook and baker that posts various delicious recipes and peaks into her life. She focuses mostly on healthier dishes but also shares my love of indulgent desserts. A few recipes I need to make are her Vanilla Confetti Pound Cake, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Oat Muffins, S’mores Dip (!!!), and Vegan Frozen Chocolate Dipped Cookie Dough. Of course I chose the indulgent sweets.

Hi everyone! My name is Brandi and I’m the recipe maker, tester, and eater over at BranAppetit! I’m so happy to be guest posting for Lauren – her recipes are so fun and I’m excited to be sharing one of my own.

After years of thinking I didn’t like scones, I’ve completely changed my mind. My husband and I found these incredible chocolate chip scones at a local bakery, so I made it my mission to make scones at home that were just as good and a tad healthier.

In the past couple of years, Nick’s dad has been teaching me how to make biscuits from scratch (without using a recipe) and all the biscuit baking has definitely paid off!

Making scones isn’t very different from biscuits, except that you should definitely (and always) add in chocolate chips.

The basic process is really similar – cutting the butter into the flour, adding the liquid, and mixing just until the dough comes together and no more.

I definitely could have patted the dough out and cut into wedges, but I’m lazy and didn’t want to clean off my kitchen counter. I just divided the dough into 6 equal sections, formed them into rounds with my hands and plopped them on the parchment lined baking sheet.

Easy, less clean up, and – bonus – they look a little like chocolate chip-filled biscuits.

No wonder we like them so much.

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Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Scones

Yield: Makes 6 scones

Ingredients

1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose if you donâ€™t have this)
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons butter, chilled and diced
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup fat free buttermilk (plus 2 tablespoon for brushing)

Cooking Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and 3 tablespoons of sugar.
Cut the butter into the dough (with pastry blender, forks, or hands) until mixture feels like (and looks like) cornmeal.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour in buttermilk and mix, just until dough comes together.
Form into 6 rounds and place on baking sheet.
Brush the top of each scone with a little buttermilk and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
Bake 17-20 minutes until golden.

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You can also find Brandi’s original post here.

Blog, Recipes

Chewy Chocolate Covered Pretzel Bars

July 20, 2011 Keep It Sweet 86 Comments

This has been one of those weeks so far:

Our bedroom A/C has been broken since last Monday but won’t be fixed until next Monday, never mind the 100 degree weather
I thought I figured out the source of my daily stomach pains but was proved wrong, the mystery continues
As a result of the two items listed above, I’ve barely been sleeping and my stress-relieving gym trips are suffering/barely happening

Okay, is my whining enough already?

On the other hand, I found a delicious and easy no-bake (ie no hot oven) treat to make! These Chewy Chocolate Covered Pretzel Bars are kind of perfect for drowning my summer sorrows. They are chewy and crunchy at the same time with more of that salty and sweet combo that we all seem to know and love. The bars are actually quite addicting if you ask me!

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Chewy Chocolate Covered Pretzel Bars

Yield: Serves 24

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 10.5-ounce bag mini marshmallows
1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
6 cups salted pretzel pieces

Cooking Directions

Melting butter over low-medium heat in a large pot
Add the marshmallows and stir until they are completely melted
Remove pot from heat, and stir in chocolate
Add pretzels to the mixture and stir
Once everything is combined, press the ingredients into a 13X9 pan lined with foil and allow to cool
Once cool, remove bars from the pan; the easiest way to do this is to flip the pan upside down and peel off the foil
Cut the bars in to large pieces (I made slices in a 6X4 matrix) and serve or store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days

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What are you whining about this week? Vent in the comments!

Blog, Recipes

Cajun Brownies with Potato Chips

July 19, 2011 Keep It Sweet 36 Comments

I’m so excited to share a guest post from Lynn at The Actor’s Diet. I like to think of her as a celebrity blog friend:-) Lynn documents her daily eats and her life in LA so well that readers feel like they know her. Although she enjoys dessert, she doesn’t normally do a ton of baking. However, these brownies looked so interesting and delicious that I wanted her to share them with you.

Hello “Keep it Sweet” Readers! My name is Lynn Chen, and I’m an actress. My blog, “The Actor’s Diet,” follows my life in Hollywood, meal by meal. For years, I struggled with binge eating and anorexia, and took time off to come to terms with my body image and eating disorders. The blog has really helped me forge a new relationship with food that I never imagined was possible.

These days, I often get asked how I stay looking camera ready, and the truth is – I don’t diet. I don’t exercise. I don’t count calories. And I eat dessert, every single day. So of course, I love Lauren’s blog and her sweet creations.

Unfortunately, I’m not much of a baker. I don’t like measuring, mixing, waiting, or cleaning up. But recently I did come up with a recipe for Cajun Brownies with Potato Chips that I’m pretty proud of. It combines a lot of my favorite flavors – sweet, salty, and spicy – with a unique texture. You can read more about my thought process behind the creation on my blog, but here’s the recipe!

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Cajun Brownies with Potato Chips

Ingredients

10 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup egg whites
1/2 cup white flour
1 cup Cajun-flavored Potato Chips, crushed

Cooking Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
In a bowl, combine the cocoa powder, salt, and flour
Melt the butter, and add it to the dry ingredients, along with the vanilla and egg whites; stir until combined (40-ish strokes, I’m only guessing, Alice!) then fold in the potato chips
Pour into a greased 8×8 Pyrex and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges slightly moist (20 was all I needed)

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(adapted from Alice Medrich’s Best Cocoa Brownies)

Blog, Recipes

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mini S’mores Pies

July 14, 2011 Keep It Sweet 24 Comments

This will be the first in a series of guest posts throughout the summer. I have some great bloggers joining us to share some of their favorite desserts! I’m excited to start with Erin from The Spiffy Cookie. She has a wonderful blog with creative and delicious recipes and this one is amazing! Some of my favorite sweets that she posted include these Blueberry Blondie Cheesecake Bars, Peanut Butter Cup S’mores Ice Cream, and this Cookies and Cream Peanut Butter Pie. I want all of it! She has some great savory dishes too, but you know me and desserts:-)

Why hello there! My name is Erin and I’m guest posting here today from The Spiffy Cookie. I had the pleasure of Lauren guest posting on my blog last month with her Cream Cheese & Jelly Pound Cake, and am just as excited to now guest post on Keep It Sweet. Especially since I have some killer mini s’mores pies to share.

The blogosphere is overflowing with all kinds of s’mores recipes this summer and I cannot get enough of it. But I wanted to enhance this traditional treat by either incorporating chocolate chip cookie dough, or peanut butter cupsinstead of plain old (boring) chocolate. Like Lauren, I am a huge peanut butter fan but cookie dough in a s’more is something I don’t think I have seen yet. But again, peanut butter is so good! Dilemma.

I’ve never been good at big decisions, and yes dessert is exactly that, so I put up a poll-tweet to help the decision process. Most followers said “both”, so what the heck, I decided to do both in combination! What could possibly go wrong? Oh no it’s too much I cannot bear it… not possible. Prepare yourself for deliciousness.

A chewy and soft nugget of cookie dough is hidden underneath a peanut butter-chocolate mousse mixed with little bits of peanut butter cups and topped by toasted marshmallows. Do you have your spoon ready yet? Because you’re going to need it.

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mini S’mores Pies

Yield: Makes 6 mini pies

Ingredients

1 package Keebler â€œReady Crustâ€ Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crusts
6 tablespoons marshmallow creme
3 large chocolate chip cookie dough balls*, cut in half
4 oz (1/2 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
3 oz (1/3 heaping cup) peanut butter
2 oz reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup chopped miniature peanut butter cups
2 cups mini marshmallows

Cooking Directions

Begin by spreading 1 tablespoon of marshmallow creme in each of the mini crusts. Do this gently so the crusts don’t break. Then place 1 cookie dough half, cut side down, on the creme. Set aside.
Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Set aside. Whip cream to soft peaks. Set aside.
In a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar. Slowly add melted chocolate and continue to cream until smooth and softened. Gently fold whipped cream into chocolate â€“ peanut butter mixture by hand, followed by the chopped peanut butter cups.
Evenly spread the mousse into the prepared graham cracker crusts (you will have leftover mousse) and refrigerate pie until ready to serve, or at least a couple of hours.
Before serving, top the pies with a handful of mini marshmallows, about 1/3 cup each.
Place them on a baking sheet and put under the preheated broiler for 30 seconds (watch closely because they will burn fast), or toast marshmallows with a kitchen torch.

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*chocolate chip cookie dough balls

Source: Adapted from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen and Serious Eats.

If you want more s’mores inspiration, check out my peanut butter s’mores ice cream.

Blog, Recipes

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

July 12, 2011 Keep It Sweet 62 Comments

Sometimes you just want a chocolate chip cookie. There are very few things that smell as good warm out of the oven and even fewer things that will illicit a memory as wonderful as dunking a homemade chocolate chip cookie into a cold glass of cold milk.

My fond memories of eating the cookies standing up in the kitchen with my mom, before they even made it to the cooling rack, are some of my favorites. I think memories like that are the reason that after a long day at work or a rainy day on the couch, all I want is a batch of couple chocolate chip cookies.

These cookies are chewy (sorry, Dad), melt in your mouth and have that slight caramel flavor resulting from a higher portion of brown sugar to white. Just a warning: they are dangerously addictive if you are trying to show some sign of portion control.

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Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: Makes ~2 ½ dozen cookies

Ingredients

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
In a medium bowl. whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until thoroughly combined. Mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla
Slowly stir in the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined
Stir in the chocolate chips
Refrigerate dough for 2 hours (or up to 24 hours)
Use a cookie dough scoop (about 2 tablespoons) to lay out dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart
Bake cookies until golden brown, 12-14 minutes
Cool cookies on cooling rack and enjoy

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Source: The Brown Eyed Baker and Serious Eats, originally from Baking Illustrated

What is your favorite way to enjoy a chocolate chip cookie?

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

July 6, 2011 Keep It Sweet 73 Comments

Who doesn’t like chocolate covered strawberries?

And what is good in fruit form, has to be better in cupcake form. Am I right?

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes? Yes please!

These dense little cupcakes have a lovely hint of strawberry that pairs so well with a generous spread of chocolate frosting! If you are looking for a stronger strawberry flavor and pinker cake, I’d go with this strawberry cake recipe instead. This cake recipe would alternatively lend itself well to a strawberry frosting.

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Strawberry Cupcakes

Yield: Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup strawberry puree (made from ~2/3 cup fresh or frozen strawberries)
1/4 cup whole milk at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
2 large egg whites at room temperature

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare a 12-cup cupcake tin, spray with non-stick cooking spray or fill with cupcake liners
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside
In a separate bowl, whisk together strawberry puree, milk and vanilla extract and set aside
Using an electric mixer, beat butter in a large bowl on high speed until light and creamy
Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy
Reduce the speed to medium and add eggs until combined
Reduce speed to low and slowly add half of flour mixture
Add strawberry mixture and then remaining flour mixture mixing just until combined, do not overbeat
Pour cupcake batter into cupcake tin, filling each cup about 2/3 of the way
Bake in oven for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean

Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients

4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups confectionersâ€™ sugar

Cooking Directions

Set cupcakes aside and prepare chocolate frosting
In a large bowl beat cream cheese with an the whisk attachment on an electric mixer until creamy
Beat in butter until mixture is light and creamy
Stir in cocoa, milk and salt
Stir in 1 cup of sugar and then the other
Beat mixture on high until well combined and creamy
Once icing is ready and cupcakes are cool, remove cupcakes from pan and ice each cupcake with desired amount of frosting

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Cupcake recipe source: Martha Steward

Icing adapted from Cooking Light

What is your favorite cupcake flavor? I love red velvet with cream cheese icing!

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Can’t Get Enough

July 5, 2011 Keep It Sweet 54 Comments

How was everyone’s weekend? Mine was good, especially since a 3-day weekend means a 4-day work-week. I love how that happens:-)

Matt and I went out to the Hamptons to visit his Parents for a couple days and then went to a college friend’s wedding on Sunday night. It was a lot of fun being with friends we haven’t seen in a while and seeing how happy the newlyweds were was wonderful.

Yesterday was a baking marathon at our apartment with cupcakes, ice cream cake and two types of cookies. I can’t wait to share everything with you. The summer has been so busy so far and I’ve barely had any quality kitchen time so it felt good to have a day devoted to something I love. I wish that could happen more often!

One of the batches of cookies I made yesterday was a spin-off of these amazing bars I baked a few weeks ago. Given that the original recipe was supposed to be a cookie, I’ve had in my head to make a cookie variation ever since. By reducing the flour and baking soda, I was able to make a dough that stuck together well when shaping cookie dough balls. The dough was actually a little greasy, but the finished product was the perfect balance of chewy and crispy. You don’t want to know how many cookies I ate within hours of baking them. The scent of peanut butter, the warm bursting blueberries and the melted chocolate just called my name. It was like the blueberry pie filling climbed into a perfect peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. This surprising combination of flavors is just so good.

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Chocolate Chip Blueberry Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients (Makes 3 dozen cookies)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ cups salted creamy natural peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 ¼ cup blueberries

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda, set aside
Using a mixer, in a large bowl beat peanut butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture just until combined
Stir in blueberries and chocolate chunks
Use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to place cookie dough balls (about 2 TB each) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (Note: the dough will be greasy, that is OK)
Bake for 11-13 minutes until cookies are brown around the edges

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What do you do when you have a free day to spend however you want?

Blog, Recipes

Cookie Bottomed Cupcakes

June 23, 2011 Keep It Sweet 21 Comments

I’m guest posting over at the lovely Frosting for a Cause today.

Head over there to get the recipe for my Cookie Bottomed Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing and support the women with cancer in your life.

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Brownies for Breakfast?

June 23, 2011 Keep It Sweet 60 Comments

Do these brownies look gooey enough to you?

They did to me too…

…at 8:30 this morning.

What, you don’t eat brownies for breakfast? Yeah, me neither. I actually eat a wonderfully healthy breakfast every morning; think yogurt, oatmeal, fruit and peanut butter in some combination or another. It is actually my favorite meal and I’m always a little sad when it’s over.

But back to the brownies. I made this evil baked good last night (sorry, I’m not usually that mean to my desserts). I woke up this morning ready to cut and photograph them to find out that about 75% of my work was underbaked….. uhoh.

I started cutting the brownies and found that the fudgey inside was getting stuck on the side of the knife. So I did what any normal person would do, I tasted them.

And then I tasted them again.

And then a taste turned into a slice and into another slice…. and before you know it more brownies than I care to admit had disappeared. Not my finest moment. But hey, at least I can vouch for the recipe!

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Peanut Butter Caramel “Baked Brownies”

Serving Size: 36

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder (use a good one like Valhrona)
1 teaspoon salt
11 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate coarsly chopped (I used 60% cocoa)
1 cup, 2 sticks, unsalted butter cut into slices
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs at room temperature
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, separated
1 7-ounce bag caramel candies
3 tablespoons creamy salted peanut butter

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Grease a 13×9 pan lined with foil; set aside
Whisk together flour, cocoa and salt in a medium bowl; set aside
Place large heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water; in that bowl combine chocolate, butter and espresso powder
Stir mixture until completely melted and turn off burner
Leaving the bowl over the pot of water, whisk in sugars
Move bowl to counter and once at room temperature, whisk in 3 eggs
Whisk in remaining eggs and 2 treaspoons of vanilla, do not overbeat
Gently fold in flour mixture until just combined
Pour brownie batter into prepared pan and set aside
In a microwave-proof bowl, combine caramels, peanut butter and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Microwave for 1 minute and stir; microwave for additional 30-second increments until melted, stirring in-between
Drop spoonfulls of caramel mixture over brownie batter
Use a knife to swirl caramel through brownies; Don’t worry about it looking pretty, the caramel will sink into the brownie and that is ok
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean being careful not to overbake

Notes:

I found the brownie recipe on Apples and Twinkies; it is originally from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Caramel filling from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey cookbook

I baked the brownies for 25 minutes but I think 30-35 minutes would result in a perfectly baked brownie

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Have you ever eaten dessert early in the morning?

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Bars

June 21, 2011 Keep It Sweet 69 Comments

What a whirlwind couple of weeks it has been!

I skipped my Sunday post this week and haven’t done a real recipe post in almost 2 weeks! Since then, we spent a weekend celebrating our anniversary (think lots of delicious food, including top tier of our cake!) and this past weekend we celebrated Adam and Sara’s wedding. It has been a fun year from their engagement, to the bachelorette party, and then the shower. The weekend was perfect night for the two of them and it was wonderful to see how in love they are.

Keeping up with baking has been a little tough given everything going on, but I managed to squeeze in this delicious no-bake dessert. Plus, I have baking to do almost every night this week. I’m especially excited about something I made last night, but you will have to wait a few days for that one;-)

But I digress… tonight’s dessert is the perfect way to honor the official start of summer! These bars are a play on cookie dough ice cream. I’ve always loved cookie dough ice cream, but there is just never enough cookie dough to go around. I may be known to pick all the cookie dough out of the carton only to be left with a melted mess of vanilla ice cream. The beauty of these bars is that you get all the good stuff in every bite, chocolate chip cookie dough, vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Bars

Yield: 12-16

Ingredients

1 batch prepared chocolate chip cookie dough (recipe below)
3 cups vanilla bean ice cream
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

Cover prepared cookie dough layer with vanilla ice cream; cover and freeze for an hour
Once ice cream is frozen, place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl
Melt chocolate in microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in-between
When chocolate is melted, spread evenly over ice cream layer, cover and re-freeze for an hour or until ready to serve
Cut into bars and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons milk (I use skim)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

To Make the Cookie Dough:
Beat butter and sugar until fluffy
Mix in milk
Gradually mix in flour and salt
Stir in chocolate chips
Press into a 9×9 pan lined with wax paper

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Cookie Dough recipe adapted from these brownies

I have to admit, these busy summer days away from the computer are refreshing. What’s keeping you busy this summer?

*There is still time to donate baked goods for next week’s online bake sale*

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate Chip Mandelbread

June 8, 2011 Keep It Sweet 35 Comments

Matt’s grandma is turning 90 years old on Monday! A few months ago we were talking and she told me that all she wanted for her big birthday this year was Mandelbread. Lucky for her, I don’t forget any food-related requests.

And even luckier for her, I have the most amazing mandelbread recipe that my mom’s been making for as long as I can remember. She doesn’t remember the source but it was someone who had a good taste in desserts.

Mandelbread, otherwise known as Mandelbrodt or kamishbrot, is not so far off from biscotti. Baking this type of cookie requires a few more steps than usual as the dough is baked in loaf form and then cut up and baked again. These extra steps are worth it because you end up with a wonderful crunch, although I do like the middle-of-the-loaf pieces that are a little thicker and usually have a little chewiness to them.

While many variations include some sort of nuts, I like to stick with the chocolate chips only. The semi-sweet chips along with a light cinnamon-sugar coating is a perfect flavor combination for me. Plus, given that these are crunchy to begin with, nuts don’t add much value from a texture standpoint.

Chocolate Chip Mandelbread
Yield: Makes ~2 dozen slices

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, separated
3 large eggs
½ cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside
Beat 1 cup of sugar with all wet ingredients (eggs through orange juice)
Stir in dry ingredients until combined
Stir in chocolate chips
Form dough into two separate loaves on baking sheets lined with parchment paper
Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until light brown
While loaves begin to bake, combine remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with cinnamon
Remove baked loaves from oven and immediately cut into slices while hot
Turn each slice onto a side and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture
Re-bake for 12 minutes
Remove from oven, immediately turn each slice onto opposite side and sprinkle them with remaining cinnamon sugar
Continue to bake for another 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown

Do you have any baking requests for the blog?

Blog, Recipes

PB&J Meets PB & Chocolate

June 5, 2011 Keep It Sweet 54 Comments

I love peanut butter. I love peanut butter with chocolate, I love peanut butter and jelly, I love peanut butter by the spoonful. You already know this, but I just had to get it off my chest.

I expressed my love of blueberries and peanut butter before, and then I combined chocolate and blueberries. And of course there were all the times I put together peanut butter and chocolate. It was only a matter of time before the three collided.

Over the weekend I put three of my favorite flavors into one and made Blueberry Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Bars. These aren’t the prettiest bars I’ve ever made, but oh boy are they delicious! This was one of those times where I could have eaten the whole batch out of the oven! They smelled amazing and the melted dark chocolate, juicy blueberries and flavorful peanut butter cookie base had an amazing balance. It was a good thing I had a birthday barbecue to bring these to because otherwise my waistline would have been in big trouble!

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Blueberry Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Bars

Note: The dough may be very crumbly. Press it down tightly into pan before baking to prevent the bars from being too crumbly once they are done.

Yield: Makes 24 bars

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups salted natural creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chunks
1 1/2 cup blueberries

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda, set aside
Using a mixer, in a large bowl beat peanut butter and sugars on high until light and fluffy
Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour mixture just until combined
Stir in blueberries and chocolate chunks
Press dough into a 13×9 baking pan lined with ungreased parchment paper
Bake for 20 or until firm and a knife comes out clean

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Have you ever eaten a dessert by yourself that you were supposed to share with friends?

Blog, Recipes

Dark Chocolate Kissed Almond Butter

June 2, 2011 Keep It Sweet 37 Comments

I had big baking plans for last night, but with the temperature around 90 degrees, turning on the oven just seemed wrong. A no-bake dessert probably would have been a good solution, but Matt has been asking me to make chocolate almond butter for a few weeks now. It shouldn’t have taken so long to get to it because homemade nut butter is so easy to make, but I get lazy sometimes!

Not sure if I mentioned this on the blog, but we have a never-ending stock of Hershey’s Kisses in the apartment. Dark chocolate kisses and milk chocolate kisses with almonds to be exact. I use them every chance I get and probably will continue to do so until they are gone.

By the way, do you know how good a 10-pound bag of Hershey Kisses smells? I wish we had a hiding place for the chocolate because it is haunting my senses!

Anyway, I put a handful of Kisses to good use in this Dark Chocolate Kissed Almond Butter. It worked out well because the nut butter is creamy and chocolaty, but not overly sweet. I love using it on sliced banana, over ice cream or even by the spoonful. Now that I think about it, Matt better act fast or I may eat the jar before he gets a chance!

To make the nut butter, grind almonds in food processor until creamy, stopping to scrape the sides every minute or so

Once creamy and wet, add vanilla and melted chocolate

Blend until completely combined

Store in an old nut butter jar or tupperwear

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Dark Chocolate Kissed Almond Butter

Yield: Makes ~1 cup or 16 tablespoons of almond butter

Ingredients

2 cups salted roasted almonds
12 dark chocolate Hershey Kisses, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

Grind almonds in food processor until creamy, stopping to scrape the sides every minute or so
Once creamy and wet, add vanilla and melted chocolate
Blend until completely combined
Store in a jar or tupperware at room temperature for up to a month

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Inspired by Oh She Glows

What do you think I should do with all these Hershey’s Kisses?

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Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Pie

May 25, 2011 Keep It Sweet 65 Comments

I have to tell you, the pictures don’t do this dessert justice. Whoever has tips for taking pictures of ice cream please send them my way!

So lately I haven’t been showing enough love to my two favorite food groups: peanut butter and ice cream

What, those aren’t food groups? Could have fooled me!

Does peanut butter combined with chocolate make up a food group?

Protein, healthy fats, antioxidants? Am I close?

Oh well, because you know what, when it comes to dessert you just have to enjoy what you love. Personally, I’m good at that…

…just need to work on eating one slice, one scoop or one cookie and being satisfied. I’ll get there one day.

But in the meantime, send over some self-restraint so that I don’t eat this entire Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie in one sitting

To make the crust, grind up about 8 Nutter Butters in a food processor until fine

Add melted butter and stir to combine

Press crust mixture into a prepared 9-inch springform pan

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crust darkens around the edges and allow crust to cool

When ready, layer half of chocolate ice cream over crust

Next cover the entire layer with large peanut butter cups

Then, cover peanut butter cup layer completely with chocolate ice cream (shh I ran out of peanut butter cups); Freeze until ready to serve

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Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Pie

Yield: Serves 12

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups Nutter Butter crumbs (about 8 cookies)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 quarts your favorite chocolate ice cream or frozen yogurt (I used Edyâ€™s slow churned)
24 large peanut butter cups

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray, set aside
To make the crust, grind up about 8 Nutter Butters in a food processor until fine; add melted butter and stir to combine
Press mixture into prepared pan
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crust darkens around the edges and allow crust to cool
When ready, layer half of chocolate ice cream over crust
Layer peanut butter cups over ice cream and then cover them with remaining ice cream

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If you could create a new food group, what would it be?

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Magic

May 22, 2011 Keep It Sweet 43 Comments

Magic: Possessing distinctive qualities that produce unaccountable or baffling effects

source

The ability for a pie to exist one minute and be gone the next, that seems like magic to me.

The ability for a dessert to call your name and whisper sweet words into your ear, I’d call that magic.

The ability for a dessert to sit on your counter one day and your butt the next, yes magic.

All of those elements make this cookie bar turned pie magic.

I’ll be honest, I only like my version of magic bars. No coconut, no nuts, just gooey, chocolaty, chewy and delicious. And so in my Magic Pie, that is what you get: graham cracker crust and a sweet oozing filling made up of dark chocolate, milk chocolate and toffee. Don’t tell me this doesn’t pull at your sweet tooth for an extra slice bite. I made this pie at about 3pm one afternoon… by midnight it was gone. And here is a little secret, Matt thought it was too sweet.

I’ll let you come to your own conclusions.

Start with a pre-made or baked graham cracker crust and pour sweetened condensed milk into the shell

Arrange dark chocolate kisses

Sprinkle with toffee bits

Sprinkle on the milk chocolate chips

Bake for about 25 minutes or until filling appears set and has bubbled around the edges; allow to cool before slicing

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Magic Pie

Next time I’m going to sprinkle pretzel pieces on top immediately after baking to add a salty crunch to the pie The Edy’s slow churned Caramel Delight ice cream was the perfect complement to this pie

Yield: 6-8 slices

Ingredients

1 pre-made or baked 8-inch graham cracker pie crust
1 cup sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free)
21 dark chocolate Hershey kisses (~1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips would also work)
1/3 cup toffee bits
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Pour sweetened condensed milk into shell pie
Arrange dark chocolate kisses along on top of the milk
Sprinkle with toffee bits and milk chocolate chips
Bake on a baking sheet for about 25 minutes or until filling appears set and has bubbled around the edges
Allow to cool before slicing and serve with a scoop of ice cream

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Adapted from Magic Cookie Bars

I’ll let you in on a secret- I didn’t like the crust (that’s what I get for using a healthier pre-made) so I left that behind and ate all some of the filling. Have you ever picked out the parts of a dessert you like and gotten rid of the rest?

Blog, Recipes

Double Chocolate Mint Krispie Treats

May 17, 2011 Keep It Sweet 34 Comments

First of all, a huge thank you for all of your inspiring comments on Sunday’s post! I was actually a little nervous to hit publish but I’m so glad I did. I love this community:-)

Now, let’s get back to the desserts! For the shower, I made some of my old favorites and a couple of new recipes. Additionally, I made cookie brownie layer bars, a strawberry birthday cake (recipe to come!) and these Double Chocolate Minty Treats.

Coming up with the menu for an event like this is so much fun. Just like with my Thanksgiving dinner party, I wanted to have a variety of delicious and fun pick-up desserts. After accounting for chocolate, caramel, peanut butter and sweet and salty, I knew I needed to fill the hole for Sara’s love of chocolate with mint. Madison’s rice krispie treat pops immediately caught my eye, but I knew I didn’t have time to make individual pops for a big crowd. Instead, I made the rice krispie treats in their regular form and dipped them in chocolate to keep them special, fun and delicious. It turns out these were the favorite for quite a few people so I think the recipe was definitely a success!

Start by melting butter in a large pot

Add the marshmallows and stir until they are completely melted

Remove pot from heat, and stir in Andes

Add rice krispies to the mixture and stir

Once everything is combined, press the ingredients into a 13X9 pan lined with foil and allow to cool

Once cool, remove the rice krispie treats from the pan; the easiest way to do this is to flip the pan upside down and peel off the foil

Cut the treats in to small cubes (I made slices in a 9X7 matrix)

Now set up a space to dip your treats in chocolate; I suggest lining 2 jelly roll pans with wax paper for the chocolate to harden

Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring in-between each until chocolate is smooth

One at a time, dip rice krispie treats in the chocolate to cover half of each bar

Allow to cool for 1-2 hours[print_this]

Double Chocolate Mint Krispie Treats

Adapted from Espresso and Cream

Makes ~60 rice krispie bites

Ingredients:

½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 10.5-ounce bag mini marshmallows
1 heaping cup Andes (or mint chocolate candy of choice)
7 cups rice krispies
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate for melting

Directions:

Melting butter over low-medium heat in a large pot
Add the marshmallows and stir until they are completely melted
Remove pot from heat, and stir in Andes
Add rice krispies to the mixture and stir
Once everything is combined, press the ingredients into a 13X9 pan lined with foil and allow to cool
Once cool, remove the rice krispie treats from the pan; the easiest way to do this is to flip the pan upside down and peel off the foil
Cut the treats in to small cubes (I made slices in a 9X7 matrix)
Now set up a space to dip your treats in chocolate; I suggest lining 2 jelly roll pans with wax paper for the chocolate to harden
Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring in-between each until chocolate is smooth
One at a time, dip rice krispie treats in the chocolate to cover half of each bar
Allow to cool for 1-2 hours

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Have you taken any big risks in your career? Are there risks you wish you had taken?

Blog, Recipes

Brownie Cheesecake Insanity

May 10, 2011 Keep It Sweet 29 Comments

Let’s talk about this dessert.

Let’s talk about how many emails my mom and I exchanged regarding the details of this dessert.

Ok, let’s not, because it is a little embarrassing. Let’s just say I started craving cheesecake around 7am every day over the course of a week or so. No big deal.

We can’t help ourselves. What is more fun to talk about than how you are about to gain 10 pounds your next dessert creation?

Cheesecake. Caramel. Brownie. Ganache. Cashews. This is my life. Sorry I’m not sorry.

After salivating over seeing this masterpiece on Sprinkle Bakes, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So many delicious components in one place, her recipe is genius!

But I do want my pants to fit, and trust me that isn’t easy these days. So we brainstormed and we emailed and we emailed some more until we found our perfect balance of insane decadence and self-control. I’m talking self-control with ingredients, not eating. One step at a time.

What my mom ended up creating was almost perfection. I may have to recreate it soon because I don’t have step-by-step photos or even a full photo for you. Ok, or I just want to eat it again.

[print_this]Brownie Cheesecake Insanity

Inspired by Sprinkle Bakes

Ingredients:

1 batch of brownies baked in an 9-inch cake pan (we used No Pudge)

½ batch of Low Fat Banana Cheesecake without the crust prepared in an 9-inch cake pan

1/3 cup caramel sauce of choice

½ cup chopped cashews or cashew clusters

1 batch Chocolate Ganache & Gananche Frosting

Directions:

Remove cooled cheesecake from pan and freeze for 1-2 hours

When cheesecake is ready, remove cooled prepared brownie from pan and place on a serving plate

Drizzle caramel sauce over brownie and top with chopped cashews

Top that layer with cheesecake and put dessert in freezer

While dessert is freezing, prepare Ganache as directed.

Remove dessert from freezer and top the cheesecake with ganache; ice entire dessert with the Ganache Frosting

Store dessert in refrigerator before serving

Notes:

The Cheesecake Brownie may be easier to slice if frozen

I recommend lining your cake tins with wax paper for easy removal of brownie and cheesecake[/print_this]

Is there a dessert that you can’t stop thinking about?

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Oreo Mallow Clusters

May 8, 2011 Keep It Sweet 47 Comments

Happy Mother’s Day to all of my mom and soon-to-be mom friends! I hope that all of you had a great weekend. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen but also a lot of time outside. The sunny and warm weather makes me so happy. Yesterday I got to take a long walk along the water with a good friend. We caught up on life and it was wonderful. Today we celebrated Mother’s Day by grilling and eating outside with family. The fresh air is like free therapy.

After the last chocolate cluster recipe I made, I knew I wanted to make another version. They are so easy to whip up and so delicious. Who doesn’t love homemade candy filled with delicious mix-ins? So in the midst of a baking marathon, I made some Oreo Mallow Clusters in a matter of minutes. They are milk chocolate clusters filled with Oreos and marshmallows (or in my case Peeps). And you know what? Huge success. It figures that this 10-minute recipe turned out so much better than an overly complicated dessert I also made.

To make these, you will need some broken up Oreos

And chopped up Peeps (sorry bunnies)

And of course milk chocolate

Just melt your chocolate

Stir in the mix-ins

And drop clusters onto wax paper

Chill in the refrigerator

[print_this]

Oreo Mallow Clusters

Ingredients (Makes 15 clusters)

12 ounces high-quality milk chocolate
1 1/3 cups Oreo chunks (~8 Oreos)
2 cups chopped Peeps (~8 Peeps) or marshmallows

Instructions

Gently melt the chocolate in 30 second increments in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring in-between
Once chocolate is completely melted, add Oreos and Peeps and stir until completely coated
Use a tablespoon to drop large clusters of the mix on a baking sheet lined with wax paper
Chill chocolates in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until candy is completely firm
Store chocolates in a cool place for up to 7 days

[/print_this]

P.S. The above picture was taken with my Dad’s DSLR, what an amazing quality difference! I am FINALLY getting one and hopefully my blog will be prettier very soon.

How was your weekend? Is the weather getting better where you live?

Blog, Recipes

Sweet & Salty White Chocolate Blondies

May 5, 2011 Keep It Sweet 48 Comments

Can you believe it is May now?! Memorial Day is only a few weeks away and summer is so close I can taste it! This winter was pretty brutal in the Northeast and I am just now feeling like myself again. The cold and the snow tends to put me in complete hermit mode. Good for my baking blog, not so good for my real life. Now I am ready for longer days, dates with friends, flip-flops and spending all of my money on frozen yogurt. I’m also ready to plan my summer calendar and travel schedule.

Living in New York, I’ve found that we spend most of our summer weekends out of the city and as a result away from my kitchen. This is pretty normal for Manhattanites. Come to the city for the 4^th of July and you should be able to get almost any dinner reservation you could imagine. You also will sweat your way from place to place and especially waiting for a subway. While I’m a homebody at heart, I have a definite preference for the beach or a pool during those days.

All of this means that most of my cooking and baking from May through the end of August takes place at night after work. On a good day, I’ll be home by 7. Given that I am 8626 years old and get into bed before 10pm, that means only three real hours of kitchen time. I’ve gotten pretty good at coming up with quick dinners for these nights (when in doubt, make eggs), but baking in that time span as well can be a bit more challenging. Baking is like therapy for me, not something I like to rush. This means planning ahead, making desserts that aren’t overly complicated, and making desserts that don’t require an insane amount of oven time (air conditioning isn’t NYC’s best quality). Think cookies, brownies, and ice cream desserts.

These Sweet and Salty White Chocolate Blondies are the perfect dessert for baking under a time constraint. They are pretty easy to make and take only 30 minutes to bake. Plus, they are easy to wrap up and bring to a summer barbeque or gathering. The texture has a wonderful chew to it and there is a lovely sweetness and caramel-like flavor from the white chocolate melted in the batter. Some chocolate chips and pretzel pieces add crunch and my favorite salty sweet taste combo.

Start by melting butter and some of your white chocolate chips over low-medium heat

Stir occasionally; Don’t worry if your butter and chocolate separate, you can fold them together to combine

Once completely melted, set white chocolate mixture aside

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside

In a large bowl, beat together sugars, eggs and vanilla until well-combined

Reduce speed of mixer to medium and add white chocolate mixture

Stir in the dry ingredients until well-combined

Stir in white and semi-sweet chocolate chips and pretzels

Pour batter into pan lined with wax paper and greased

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and a knife comes out clean; allow to cool before slicing

[print_this]

Sweet & Salty White Chocolate Blondies

Yield: Serves 24-36 depending on size

Ingredients

6 ounces white chocolate (any form, to melt)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup salted pretzel pieces
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup white chocolate chips (for mix-in)

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Line a 9×13 pan with wax paper and grease; set aside
Melting butter and white chocolate over low-medium heat
Stir occasionally; donâ€™t worry if your butter and chocolate separate, you can fold them together to combine
Once completely melted, set white chocolate mixture aside
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside
In a large bowl, beat together sugars, eggs and vanilla until well-combined
Reduce mixer speed to medium and add melted white chocolate mixture
Stir in the dry ingredients until well-combined
Stir in white and semi-sweet chocolate chips and pretzels
Pour batter into prepared baking pan
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and a knife comes out clean; allow to cool before slicing

[/print_this]

Are you taking any weekend trips this summer?

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Flourless Chocolate Cookies

April 28, 2011 Keep It Sweet 43 Comments

You know I can’t go anywhere with only one dessert. That just isn’t my style.

So, once I made cheesecake with berry sauce for Jessica’s Passover dinner, I had to make something else. Originally I planned to make Passover brownies. They weren’t a ton of work, but the idea of separating eggs and whipping them separately just wasn’t in the cards that day. I wanted something easy.

I went through my gmail recipe folders to see what else I could make. As soon as I found this recipe I knew it was the one. A few months ago, I made these Flourless Chocolate Cookies with my mom and my family ate most of them that day. There isn’t any butter, so they are healthy, right?

These cookies are easy to make and are really delicious. The inside is chewy and fudgey, but the outside is light and crisp like a meringue.

Start with some good quality cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar and salt

Whisk these dry ingredients together

Add in 2 egg whites

Whisk the egg whites into the dry ingredients; if the batter does not get thick and glossy like below, add one or two more egg whites as needed

Stir in semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bake the cookies on parchment paper until the top of the cookie is glossy and the outside forms cracks

Recipe from Recipe Girl

Happy almost weekend! What are your plans?

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3 Reasons to Make Truffles

April 17, 2011 Keep It Sweet 52 Comments

I had a huge problem on Saturday.

There was almost an entire pint of organic heavy whipping cream in my fridge and it was about to expire.

The horror!

But I prevailed. I went through cookbooks and blogs searching for the perfect recipe to experiment with. Whipped cream, ganache, caramel… for some reason I just wasn’t moved.

But then I saw some truffles and realized a few things:

1) Truffles might be one of the easiest desserts to make

2) Truffles are fun to make

3) Truffles are kosher for Passover!!!!!

Chocolate, cream and butter. No flour, no baking powder, nothing like that. I actually see truffles as an un-Passover Passover dessert.

I’ve experimented in the past with ingredients like potato flour and matzo meal, but those desserts often have an “off” flavor. The problem with trying to replicate a normal dessert and make it work for the holiday is that it will never come close. Desserts that are kosher to begin with, those are the ones to go with. Flourless chocolate cake- yes. Kosher-for-Passover chocolate chip cookies- not so much.

Granted, some of the toppings I used aren’t actually acceptable for those who follow Passover strictly (for example, peanuts aren’t kosher for Passover), but they can easily be modified to be so.

Start by putting your heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan over low-medium heat

Bring the cream to a light boil and add chocolate

Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in chocolate until completely melted

When well-combined, whisk in butter until smooth

Then, chill mixture in refrigerator for two hours or until it is firm

Use a small teaspoon or small ice cream scoop to form small ball-shaped truffles approximately the size of thumb-tip

Dip each truffle into topping of choice

Store finished truffles in refrigerator for up to a week

Chocolate Truffles
Yield: Makes ~20 truffles

Ingredients
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
5 ounces chopped chocolate, any type*
2 ounces unsalted butter, softened at room temperature*
1/2 cup topping of choice

Cooking Directions
Start by putting your heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan over low-medium heat
Bring the cream to a light boil and add chocolate
Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in chocolate until completely melted
When well-combined, whisk in butter until smooth
Then, chill mixture in refrigerator for two hours or until it is firm
Once firm, use a small teaspoon or small ice cream scoop to form small ball-shaped truffles (approximately the size of thumb-tip)
Dip each truffle into topping of choice
Store finished truffles in refrigerator for up to a week

Notes:
Source: Lindt Chocolate Passion Recipe Book
*When using white chocolate, do not add butter
My flavor/topping combinations were dark chocolate + chopped peanuts, milk chocolate + unsweetened cocoa powder, and white chocolate + non pereils

What would you use to coat your truffles?

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate Chip Toffee Oatmeal Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting

April 14, 2011 Keep It Sweet 48 Comments

Yes, I’m still making cookies. I just can’t help myself, though! And believe me, you should be happy about this.

A few months ago I made some oatmeal cookies with toffee and chocolate that were delicious. The cookie wasn’t exciting enough, though so I stepped them up.

This time I made Chocolate Chip Toffee Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches with Peanut Butter Frosting. Chocolate. Toffee. Peanut Butter. Love it.

These mini cookie sandwiches are perfect for a plate sampler. If your name was Matt, I’d say these were 2-bite cookies. For the rest of us, however, it is more like 3 or 4 bites.

The cookies are soft and chewy and the peanut butter frosting is sweet, salty, and thick. It is the perfect consistency for holding the the sandwiches together.

Each component is easy to make, it is just a matter of taking the time for both recipes as well as making them into sandwiches. Matt actually helped with that part so it didn’t take long at all. Peanut butter recipes are the best ones for my husband to help with since I won’t have to worry about him eating most of the work!

I recommend making your cookies the day before the frosting so that you can freeze them before icing them. Otherwise, the soft cookies can be a little too fragile and might break during the sandwich making. I didn’t include cookie-making photos, but for sizing the dough balls refer to this post

Beat butter and peanut butter on high until creamy

Reduce speed to low and gradually add in Half & Half and then vanilla

Gradually add sugar until completely combined

When frosting is done, gently spread on bottom half of cookie and cover with another cookie to make sandwich

[print_this]

Chocolate Chip Toffee Oatmeal Cookies

Yield: Makes 120 mini cookies or 60 cookie sandwiches

Ingredients

1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt
3 cups quick or old-fashioned dry oatmeal
1 cup milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup toffee bits

Cooking Directions

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, and baking soda; set aside
Beat butter and sugars in an electric mixer on high until light and fluffy
Mix in eggs and vanilla
Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture
Once combined, stir in the oatmeal; then stir in chips and toffee bits
Chill dough in refrigerator for 2 hours (or up to 24 hours)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Place dough balls of about Â½ tablespoon 1 inch apart from one another on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Bake 9-10 minutes or until cookies are golden brown

Peanut Butter Frosting

Yield: Makes ~3 cups of frosting

Ingredients

1 cup smooth salted peanut butter (I used natural)
Â¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
10 tablespoons Half & Half (can substitute cream) (plus more as needed)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 Â½ cups confectionersâ€™ sugar (plus more as needed)

Cooking Directions

Beat butter and peanut butter on high until creamy
Reduce speed to low and gradually add in Half & Half
Mix in vanilla
Gradually add sugar until completely combined

To make the sandwiches:

Spread a layer of frosting onto the bottom of a cookie

Top with a second cookie and lightly press down

Repeat until all of your cookie sandwiches are complete

Notes:

Cookie recipe adapted from here this recipe, originally adapted from Quaker

Frosting recipe adapted from Cooks.com

I recommend making your cookies the day before the frosting so that you can freeze them before icing; this will keep them from breaking while putting sandwiches together

If frosting is too thick, add half & half, 1 tablespoon at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency

If frosting is not thick enough, add confectioners’ sugar, ¼ cup at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency

[/print_this]

Chocolate Chip Toffee Oatmeal Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting

Are you sick of my cookie baking? What would you like to see more of on the blog?

Blog, Recipes

Blueberry Pretzel Clusters

April 10, 2011 Keep It Sweet 71 Comments

There is a place at the Jersey Shore (not that Jersey Shore) that sells the most amazing chocolates. Every summer I look forward to a few trips for chocolate clusters filled with high quality fillings like caramel, nuts and marshmallows. On a good day, my grandfather will leave a box of them out in the kitchen with a knife. (Calories don’t count when you cut off a little piece each time you walk by) Without a doubt, by the end of the day, the box would be empty.

Jagielky’s has an incredible variety of chocolates with unique items like Double Dip Mints, essentially peppermint patties dipped in ANOTHER layer of chocolate – milk on dark or dark on milk. A couple of summers ago they started selling chocolate covered blueberries. These were large clusters of blueberries coated with a wonderful rich dark chocolate. It is heaven biting into the creamy dark chocolate and then having a huge blueberry burst in your mouth. Unfortunately, the chocolate covered blueberries are so popular that they are often sold out by the afternoon.

A few times I considered making my own but didn’t get around to it until now. And rather than stick with just the basic chocolate and blueberry mix, I added pretzel pieces to mine. These Blueberry Pretzel Clusters have a wonderful balance of sweet and salty flavors in addition to the contrast in textures from the crunchy pretzels, the juicy berries and the creamy chocolate. With the right dark chocolate, you can create a rich high quality candy.

Put these clusters out for your friends but make a secret stash for yourself because you will crave them once they disappear. Just be sure to refrigerate the chocolates so that the berries don’t spoil.

Start with some of your favorite dark chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl (I used Trader Joe’s 72%)

Gently melt the chocolate in 30 second increments, stirring in-between; once chocolate is completely melted, add blueberries and pretzel pieces

Stir to coat berries and pretzels completely

Use a tablespoon to drop large clusters of the mix on a baking sheet lined with wax paper

Chill chocolates in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until candy is completely firm

[print_this]

Blueberry Pretzel Clusters

Makes 14 clusters

Ingredients:

9 ounces high-quality dark chocolate
3/4 cup salted pretzel pieces
1 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

Instructions

Gently melt the chocolate in 30 second increments in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring in-between
Once chocolate is completely melted, add blueberries and pretzel pieces and stir until completely coated
Use a tablespoon to drop large clusters of the mix on a baking sheet lined with wax paper
Chill chocolates in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until candy is completely firm

Notes:
Store chocolates in refrigerator for up to 3 days[/print_this]

What is your favorite chocolate candy?

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Spiked Cookies and a Winner

April 7, 2011 Keep It Sweet 45 Comments

Last weekend I had lots of plans for vegetables.

Vegetables and chocolate cake (random, I know).

But then I got caught up on Recipe Girl’s collection of chocolate chip recipes.

And got busy with the Brown Eyed Baker’s Salted Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies.

Oh yes, and I went a little crazy with Peeps.

So vegetables took a backseat, chocolate cake didn’t seem as exciting, and cookies became the new black.

And then I decided to make a third variation of cookies for the weekend.

Thank you, Recipe Girl for inspiration. I adapted her cookie recipe for my own version of Spiked Mocha Chip Cookies.

These cookies are light but chewy and have a strong mocha flavor with a hint of liqueur in the background. They were very easy to make and I can see making them for a party to add something unique to the cookie platters.

To make the cookies, whisk together dry ingredients and set aside

Combine butter and sugars in a mixer on high speed until light and fluffy

Add eggs, vanilla and coffee liqueur and mix until well-combined

Stir in dry ingredients

Stir in chocolate chips and then chill dough in refrigerator for two hours

Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Place dough on baking sheets lined with parchment paper with a cookie dough scoop or by the tablespoon

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are lightly firm to the touch

[print_this]

Spiked Mocha Chip Cookies

Adapted from Recipe Girl

Yield: ~4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons coffee liqueur
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside
Combine butter and sugars in a mixer on high speed until light and fluffy
Add eggs, vanilla and coffee liqueur and mix until well-combined
Stir in dry ingredients
Stir in chocolate chips
Chill dough in refrigerator for two hours
Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Place dough on baking sheets lined with parchment paper with a cookie dough scoop or by the tablespoon
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are lightly firm to the touch

[/print_this]

*Congratulations to Katie (comment 6) who said “I am a fan on Facebook!” for winning the Hot Blondies giveaway! Look for an email from me with details.*

Did you ever get caught up in an accidental cookie baking marathon?

Blog, Recipes

Ooey Gooey Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Crunch

April 5, 2011 Keep It Sweet 69 Comments

You know I have a weakness for holiday candy.

These weren’t even on sale but I had to buy them. My sister pointed out how pretty the color was and I agreed. Plus, when was the last time I had a Peep? Trust me, it’s been too long. Never mind the fact that I don’t celebrate Easter. Details. Candy is candy and when it comes in pretty colors it doesn’t matter what religion you are.

So after picking up a few packages of Peeps, I realized I didn’t actually want to eat them. I wanted to take advantage of the innocent marshmallow candies and use them in something so gooey and delicious you would forget that you were deprived of baskets full of chocolates, jelly beans and stuffed animals every spring as a child.

But I digress. After buying these lovely little Peeps, I decided I wanted to put them inside of a cookie. Jenny has already showed us that there are no limits when it comes to stuffing cookies, so why not? And what would go well with warm chocolate chip cookies filled with gooey melty marshmallows? A crunchy salty pretzel of course. That is how I came up with these Ooey Gooey Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Crunch.

I was so excited about this cookie idea that I didn’t even bother to make my own cookie dough. There is a time and a place for Nestle pre-made cookie dough and this is one of those times. Using the pre-made dough makes these so easy that within 25 minutes you will find yourself licking melted chocolate and sticky melted Peeps off of your fingers. When was the last time you ate a chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven? If you can’t remember, do it now. And stuff it with a Peep and a pretzel.

To make these cookies, start with a layer of cookie dough (about an ice cream scoop’s worth)

Top that dough with a mini salted pretzel and push it into the dough

Top the pretzel with a Peep

Take a heaping scoop of cookie dough and top the Peep

Use your hands to mold the dough around the Peep and pretzel, making sure the filling is completely covered with dough; It will look like a large egg-shaped cookie

Place cookies at about 3 inches apart (further than as seen here!) on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 13-15 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned around the edges

Allow to cool for a couple minutes and dig in

[print_this]

Ooey Gooey Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Crunch

Ingredients (Makes 1 dozen X-large cookies)

2 packages chocolate chip cookie dough (16.5 ounces each)
1 package Peeps (should have 12 peeps)
1 dozen mini salted pretzels

Instructions

Start with a layer of cookie dough (about an ice cream scoop’s worth)
Top that dough with a mini salted pretzel and push it into the dough
Top the pretzel with a Peep
Take a heaping scoop of cookie dough and top the Peep
Use your hands to mold the dough around the peep and pretzel, making sure the filling is completely covered with dough; It will look like a large egg-shaped cookie
Place cookies at about 3 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 13-15 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned around the edges
Allow to cool for a couple minutes and dig in

Notes:

Make sure the dough is very cold; it will be easier to handle this way

These would be amazing topped with ice cream when they are straight out of the oven

Don’t be afraid to make a mess; it is SO worth it

I ate 2 cookies when they were still melting and barely ready to come off of the pan. They may be the size of my head, but hey, 2 cookies is still 2 cookies;-)[/print_this]

What is your favorite Easter candy? I love the big milk chocolate Hershey’s eggs with the candy shell.

*The Hot Blondies Giveaway is open through Wednesday (4/6) at midnight (est)*

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Hot Blondies Giveaway & Review

April 3, 2011 Keep It Sweet 82 Comments

Hot Blondies Bakery: A+

Classic Brunette: “That brownie could bring world peace”

I am very excited about this!

Maybe it is because I got to eat a variety of delicious brownies and blondies that were delivered to my apartment.

And maybe it’s because the baked goods came after being tortured in a bathing suit during Puerto Rico withdrawal.

Or maybe it’s because nothing makes you feel better on a cold day of rain and snow in April than a box full of chocolate desserts.

I think it is all of the above. But now for the part that will make you excited! One reader will get the chance to win their own box of fresh-baked deliciousness.

When Lorin at Hot Blondies Bakery contacted me, I was happy to accept a sample to review. I was anxious that the baked goods wouldn’t be as tasty as they claim since I am often let down by dry blondies or too-sweet brownies. Fortunately, this was not the case.

From the website:

“How many blondies does it take to start a totally awesome online bakery? Thanks to fabulous colorists and boring desk jobs, only two super hot ones.

When we first met, it was girl crush at first site. We quickly realized we were way too foxy for any lackluster office job. We needed to share our impeccable taste, superb sense of style and sensational creative skills with the world. We needed to spread the hotness.

So, our mutually stunning golden locks combined with Laura’s mad marketing skills and Lorin’s blondie baking prowess, led us to bring you Hot Blondies Bakery.”

I received a box of regular-sized blondies and brunettes (brownies) as well as this box of adorable “babes.” They are the perfect size for tasting if you want to eat a variety. At least that is how I justified eating half a box several of them as I sampled these babes “for the blog.”

Matt and I both tasted each flavor. He even tried the peanut butter blondie! I have to admit, although I enjoyed almost every kind, the classics were my favorite of each.

The Classic Blondie was soft, chewy and moist. It tasted like the perfect chocolate chip cookie in bar form. I enjoyed the other flavors also, just not quite as much.

Oatmeal Raisin had a really nice cinnamon flavor. It wasn’t dry at all but wasn’t as soft and moist as the Classic. I think the oats gave it a nice crisp edge.

Obviously I enjoyed the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk. The peanut butter flavor was just right- nice and flavorful but not too strong. There were a few peanut pieces in there and chocolate chunks (though, I would have liked a few more of those).

Butterscotch White Chocolate Chip was Matt’s second favorite blondie. The texture was perfect like the classic but I am bias against butterscotch and white chocolate. However, if you like those flavors you would love this.

When we moved onto the Brunettes, Matt had to get up for a glass of milk (in a good way).

Oh my, the Classic Brunette was unbelievable. It was fudgey but light, almost like a souffle, with a wonderful rich chocolate flavor. It blew every other blondie and brownie out of the water with its deliciousness. That brownie could bring world peace.

The S’mores Brownie was good, but after tasting the Classic, it was hard to eat anything else. I did enjoy the texture from the graham cracker crust and the bit of saltiness that came with it, but as Matt put it, “once you have the Classic, why would you eat anything else?”

I have a confession. I don’t love Nutella. I don’t not like it, I just wouldn’t cheat on peanut butter with it. However, for the Nutella addicts out there, you would love the Nutella Hazelnut Brunette. It has a strong Nutella flavor with a nice crunch from the hazelnuts. And hey, if this flavor means others will swoon over it and more Classics for me, I won’t complain.

The last brownie we tasted was the Espresso White Chocolate Chip. Maybe it’s because we were 7 flavors in (who am I kidding, I have no limit), but this was my least favorite of the bunch. While it had a nice texture like a corner piece, the flavor wasn’t distinct enough for me. I actually only knew it was espresso by process of elimination.

After enjoying our samples, I am so happy I get to share the baked good love. See below for giveaway details.

Not only did the girls from Hot Blondies offer a sample to giveaway on the blog, but they also sent me some great baking tips to share. I want to be friends with these girls.

Hot Blondies Bakery Blondie and Brownie Fun Tips

Think outside the pan. We often hear the saying “Baking is a science, cooking is an art.” But without a multitude of scientific errors, many important discoveries would have never been made. Therefore, Rule #1 at Hot Blondies Bakery is to never be chained down by a recipe. We like to play with ingredient amounts and switch out add ins to try new flavors. It takes time, patience, trial and error, but you can come up with some really fabulous results.

We are the first to admit, blondies and brownie making is a simple (yet delicious) form of baking. Which is why it can be the most fun. A good blondie recipe can be the basis for a whole variety of tasty and unique bars and desserts. Here are some tips, from the Hot Blondies, on how to take your blondie and brownie baking to the next level.

– Fruity fun. Swap out the chocolate chips in your fave blondie recipe with some dried fruit and some fun flavoring. Try orange zest and dried cranberries or almond extract and dried figs. Top a warm blondie with vanilla ice cream and sauteed bananas for a yummy dessert.

– I Want Candy. Get inspired by your favorite candy choices. Love Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups? Chop some up and sprinkle them on top of your unbaked brownies. Or stick a mini cup on each one when they are still warm from the oven. Love Almond Joy? Throw some sweetened shredded coconut and chopped almonds into your batter.

– Kid Around. Reminisce about what kinds of flavor combos you loved as a kid and use them as your baking muse. Add some peanut butter into the blondie mix and top with strawberry jelly and chopped peanuts for a PB&J twist. Spread marshmallow fluff onto cooled brownies and sprinkle with Graham crackers to evoke a campfire feel. (Or try our S’mores Brunettes!)

– Go Ethnic. Think about what kinds of global cuisines excite your palate and spice up your bars with those seasonings. Add a touch of cayenne and cinnamon to your brownies for a Mexican feel. Try matcha powder or ginger chews for an Asian flare. Jasmine or lavender add a subtle exotic vibe.

– Get Festive. Decorating tricks are not just for kids. Holidays and birthdays are the perfect excuse to get your sprinkle on. We love any excuse for food coloring in blondies. Red, white and blue for July 4th. Yellow and pink for Easter. Green for St. Patty’s. The options are endless.

– Sundae Fun Day. Ice cream toppings make great blondie and brownie additions. Try spreading some wet nuts on top or mix them in pre-baking. Magic Shell makes a tasty and travel friendly topping. Caramel and butterscotch sauce make a great quick and easy swirl in. Chopped maraschino cherries with some cherry liqueur create a decadent grown up brownie.

Giveaway Details

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For additional entries (max of 3 entries per person), leave a comment below to tell me:

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Giveaway is open until Wednesday (4/6) at midnight (est).

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Brownies for a Guest

March 10, 2011 Keep It Sweet 36 Comments

One of my best friends is coming to town.

Kristen and I have been friends since we were in 2^nd grade. No, that is a lie. We have known each other since then but actually weren’t really friends until 6^th grade. I don’t really remember why it took so long, but we have been best friends ever since. She was even a bridesmaid in my wedding.

When given the choice, Kristen requested a dessert with dark chocolate and fruit or dark chocolate and peanut butter. Well, it’s been almost 2 weeks since I posted a dessert with chocolate and peanut butter so I figure that it was about time to make another one. I don’t want my readers going through withdrawal or anything.

These Fat Witch Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips are from Lora’s wonderful blog, Cake Duchess. I saw the brownies the other day and couldn’t resist making them. Besides, brownies are terrifically easy for weeknight baking. The brownies came out incredibly fudgey and moist with the added texture of peanut butter chips. Some people might say they are so rich you can only eat a small piece (I am not one of them).

I followed Lora’s recipe with very few changes. I whisked everything together rather than using a mixer and doubled the portion of peanut butter chips. Check her blog for the specifics and to send her some hugs (she just shared the news of a health scare). We are thinking about Lora and her family and wish her the best.

Start by melting butter and chocolate together in a saucepan over low heat; set aside

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs

Then whisk in sugar and vanilla

Whisk in chocolate and butter mixture

Whisk flour and salt

When dry ingredients are completely incorporated, fold in peanut butter chips

Pour batter into pan and bake for about a half hour or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean

Top brownie with powdered sugar and serve

What do you bake when you are short on time?

Blog

Must Make This Now

February 28, 2011 Keep It Sweet 26 Comments

There are a few occasions when I see a recipe on a blog and I know that I need to make it immediately. Of course, I bookmark several new recipes each week, but I never have time to try all of them. Unsurprisingly, it was a chocolate and peanut butter recipe that made the “must-make-this-now” cut.

When I saw this cake on chocolate and carrots, I wanted to stick my fork through the screen. Realizing that the cake was made with black beans, I was even more intrigued.

I’ve actually made black bean brownies before, but they were dense and fudgy. This cake, on the other hand, looked light and, well, cakey.

Last week, I had some time off from work and took advantage of the opportunity to try this wonderful dessert. Links to the recipe components for this Chocolate Black Bean Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and Chocolate Glaze are below.

Start the cake by combining dry ingredients: cocoa, baking powder and baking soda; set aside

dry ingred

Combine black beans, sugar, vanilla, and some of the eggs in a blender until mixture becomes liquid; set aside

Beat softened butter in a mixer until light and creamy

Add remaining eggs, one at a time

Once fully combined, add the black bean mixture and mix; then add the dry ingredients

Mix batter until everything is well combined, batter will be just like regular chocolate cake batter!

I did not have small cake pans, so I baked the cake in a spring-form pan instead (20-25 minutes)

Set cake aside to cool

For cream cheese peanut butter frosting, use cream cheese softened at room temperature

Beat well until light and creamy

Add peanut butter and then confectioners’ sugar

Frosting is ready when creamy but slightly stiff (I used fat free cream cheese and had to add a tablespoon of milk to the icing because it was too stiff)

Scoop peanut butter frosting onto cooled cake

Cover cake entirely

icing on cake 5

Since we didn’t have cream, I made a chocolate glaze instead of a ganache

Combine chocolate, butter, and corn syrup over low heat; stir in vanilla

Top cake with glaze immediately

Slice and serve!

The black bean cake was light, moist and perfectly complemented by the rich chocolate glaze and creamy peanut butter frosting. It was lower in calories than a typical cake, but still satisfying enough that I was able to enjoy one slice and walk away (a slight miracle for me). I can’t wait to make it again!

Click links below for the following recipes:

Chocolate Black Bean Cake

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Glaze

What was the last recipe you saw and had to make immediately?

Blog

Twix Gone Wrong

February 19, 2011 Keep It Sweet 37 Comments

For Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be fun for Matt and me to make a homemade version of one of his favorite candies, Twix Bars. I’d seen a ton of great-looking recipes around the blog world and thought it would be a good idea to take ideas from them but make my own version. You can see different examples of homemade Twix Bars on Mangio Da Sola, Hoosier Homemade, Chocolate and Carrots, and Not Without Salt.

I started with the Mangio Da Sola shortbread crust, easy enough

I thought that using packaged caramels would be a really easy shortcut for the middle layer; I guess I forgot how hard they get so quickly

Topped the caramel with salt, because I am kind of obsessed with that combination

And then melted milk chocolate; here you really can’t go wrong

The first problem was getting the bars out of the pan; the shortbread was too crumbly and cutting through the caramel was tough

I think a foil-lined pan would have been better

These would have been so much better with a layer of caramel sauce or filling, instead of melted caramel candies (unless breaking a tooth is your goal)

We tried to eat them but it just wasn’t worth it, I may have eaten the entire layer of milk chocolate off the top… wasting chocolate is just wrong!

Have you had any desserts gone wrong recently?

Blog

Black and White and Loving Vanilla Bean

February 9, 2011 Keep It Sweet 23 Comments

My sister’s 23^rd birthday is coming up, and she is having a cocktail party* to celebrate. The color scheme for the evening is black and white so I am helping out by baking desserts with those colors. The first thing that came to my mind was black and white cheesecake bars. That is slightly ironic given that Jessica doesn’t like cheesecake. However, she doesn’t eat gluten either, so most of the desserts are not even for her.

*way for twenty-somethings to get drunk and feel classy

I started by adapting this recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars. I swapped gingersnap crust with Oreo and got rid of the pumpkin. But then I thought, how could make it even more special? Instead of using just a plain cheesecake layer for the “white”, I made it vanilla bean. Wow, this took the dessert to a whole new level. I’d never baked with vanilla bean before and I think I might be hooked! When you take a bite of the Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Bars, you get a sweet creamy layer and then that chocolate crunch from the crust. The rich chocolate cheesecake layer comes through next, but then when you think you are done, the vanilla bean kicks in. Layers of flavors are what make desserts stand out. Make these.

To make the crust, grind up about 17 Oreos in a food processor

Set cookie crumbs aside

Melt butter; add melted butter and sugar to cookie crumbs

Press mixture into a 9×13 pan lined with tin foil and cooking spray; spread evenly using fingers to push down crust mixture and set aside

To make your cheesecake filling, beat cream cheese in mixer until light, creamy and lumps are gone (about 5 minutes)

Add granulated sugar and combine on medium-high speed well until light and creamy

Beat in eggs, one at a time, on medium speed

Mix in flour on medium speed

Add your vanilla extract and salt and beat until your mixture is thick and creamy

Now, separate 1/2 of the cheesecake filling and set aside in a separate bowl

Split the vanilla bean open with a sharp knife

Scrape out the awesomeness of the vanilla bean with the back of the knife

Add vanilla bean to the batter and stir

Melt chocolate chips and butter in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave; mixture will get very thick

Add chocolate to the filling still in the mixer and combine thoroughly

Pour chocolate batter over crust and bake for 15 minutes

Remove from oven and pour remaining cheesecake filling on top

Bake for 33-38 minutes or until edges begin to separate from foil and middle bounces slightly when touched

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight

Remove cheesecake from pan and cut into small bars

Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Yield: 36 small bars

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (about 17 cookies); I used reduced fat Oreos
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, separated
2 8-ounce packages light cream cheese softened at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean (if leaving this out, replace with 1 tablespoon of additional vanilla extract)
1 pinch of salt
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
Line a 13Ã—9 pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray, set aside
To make the crust, grind up about 17 Oreos in a food processor until fine; set cookie crumbs aside
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and pour over cookie crumbs
Add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and mix until well combined
Press mixture into a 9Ã—13 pan lined with tin foil and cooking spray; spread evenly using fingers to push down crust mixture and set aside
To make your cheesecake filling, beat cream cheese in mixer until light, creamy and lumps are gone (about 5 minutes)
Add granulated sugar and combine on medium-high speed well until light and creamy
Beat in eggs, one at a time, on medium speed
Mix in flour on medium speed
Add vanilla extract and salt and beat until mixture is thick and creamy
Now, separate 1/2 of the cheesecake filling and set aside in a separate bowl; add vanilla bean and stir
Melt chocolate chips and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave; mixture will get very thick
Add chocolate to the filling still in the mixer and combine thoroughly
Pour chocolate batter over crust and bake for 15 minutes
Remove from oven and pour remaining cheesecake filling on top
Bake for 33-38 minutes or until edges begin to separate from foil and middle bounces slightly when touched
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight
Remove cheesecake from pan and cut into bars

Notes:

Adapted from this recipe which was adapted from The Curvy Carrot

I used light cream cheese because I wanted a final product that wasn’t overly rich, but regular cream cheese would work as well

When cutting the bars, I recommend cleaning your knife with a paper towel between slices to keep from contaminating the layers with one another

Do you have any expensive ingredients that you can’t live without?

Blog

Boston and a Chocolate Cupcake

February 2, 2011 Keep It Sweet 41 Comments

Last weekend, the Husband and I went to Boston for a short trip to visit our foodie friends/newlyweds, Jon and Ali. Given that they love food as much as we do, most of the weekend’s itinerary revolved around eating! We had brunch at The Friendly Toast, tasted beers at Harpoon Brewery, dinner at B&G Oysters, and another brunch at Buttery. Our friends treated us well! Last but not least, we were able to pick up lunch for the bus ride home at Flour.

I’ve been hearing about Flour throughout the blog world forever. The bakery was made famous nationally by the wonderful pastry chef, Joanne Chang. (Sidenote: I didn’t know until just now that Joanne was an Applied/Math and Econ major at Harvard. Incredible!) Anyway, I’m so glad we got a chance to check it out. Matt picked up a sandwich and jelly-filled donut that looked delicious. You could see the high quality of jelly when he bit into it. I got a salad that was really only a way for me to justify dessert;-)

There were so many delicious looking desserts to choose from, especially the cookies and brownies. However, when I spotted the giant Low Fat Vegan Chocolate Cupcake, I was really curious. I was no longer on my Vegan Challenge, but I figured if they were selling a vegan cupcake, it had to be good. The cupcake wasn’t good. It was delicious. It was moist and chocolaty and it was all I could do not devour it in 3 seconds flat. I’m not saying it was good for a vegan cupcake, it was good for any cupcake. Moist chocolate cupcakes are hard to come by and this one had me at first bite.

Okay, so in my excitement over the cupcake, I forgot to take a picture. Luckily, I had fallen so in love with it that I immediately went on a hunt to find the recipe. Much to my delight it exists here. As soon as I got a chance to pick up all of the necessary ingredients, the cupcakes were in the oven. That is barely an exaggeration because this is one of the easiest recipes I’ve made in a while! No fancy equipment needed.

I was excited for my first time using the VALRHONA cocoa my parents brought back from Belgium. The good quality cocoa powder has a richness to it that you can’t get from your average cocoa. Additionally, I picked up molasses, which I’ve actually never used before. It smelled a little funny (I expected a syrup aroma) but it seemed to work out okay! Espresso powder is also often used in chocolate baked goods to add a richness to the flavor. I picked up some of that as well.

To get started, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and line 18 regular sized muffin tins with cupcake liners. How cute are these Valentine’s Day liners?

Whisk together your dry ingredients: flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda and salt

Add the chocolate chips and whisk them into the mixture

Set aside

Whisk together all wet ingredients: water, oil, molasses, and vanilla

The mix will look a little like balsamic vinaigrette, don’t be alarmed

Then stir the wet ingredients into the dry, do not overmix

Use an ice cream scoop to fill cupcake liners about halfway (about 1/3 cup of batter per cup)

Bake cupcakes for 8-12 minutes or until a knife comes out clean; allow to cool on a cooling rack

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar before serving

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Low Fat Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe from V02, created by Joanne Chang

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used about a tablespoon less since the VALRHONA is so rich)

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (finely ground espresso beans)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (dairy-free for vegan)

1 cup cold water

1/4 cup oil canola

2 tablespoons molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line 18 regular sized muffin tins with cupcake liners

Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda and salt

Add the chocolate chips and whisk them into the mixture; set aside

Whisk together all wet ingredients: water, oil, molasses, and vanilla

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, do not overmix

Use an ice cream scoop to fill cupcake liners about halfway (about 1/3 cup of batter per cup)

Bake cupcakes for 8-12 minutes or until a knife comes out clean (do not overbake); allow to cool on a cooling rack

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar before serving

Notes:

Do not leave out the chocolate chips, they add a lot in terms of texture and flavor

While these weren’t quite as delicious as the bakery’s cupcakes, they were still very tasty. I overbaked mine probably by a minute or two (12 minutes total) and I think that made a big difference

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Each cupcake comes out to 4 Weight Watchers Points+

Have you eaten your way through a city lately?

Blog, Recipes

Chocolate Cherry Maple Cookies

January 30, 2011 Keep It Sweet 37 Comments

*Check out the ask me anything post, good questions coming in so far

**Check out the discussion on my Vegan Challenge in the Comments section

After the successful Lemon Pound Cake, I figured I should try a few other desserts with different flavor profiles. Don’t worry, I’ll always come back to my true love peanut butter and chocolate, but in the mean time, I’ll entertain the idea that other combinations can taste good too!

Recently I was in search for something that would be easy enough to make on a weeknight and freeze well so that I wouldn’t eat waste all of the leftovers. I found a recipe in this cookbook and adapted it to make Chocolate Cherry Maple Cookies. I used semi-sweet chocolate chunks to get a big blast of flavor, but not too much chocolate because I didn’t want to overpower the cookie. The dried cherries add a slightly tart contrast to the cookie as well.

The cookie dough isn’t overly sweet but it has a nice hint of maple flavor. Their texture is in-between shortbread and butter cookies and they are a little bit addicting as a result. These cookies would make a great addition any dessert platter.

To begin, combine butter, sugar and syrup in a mixer

Beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes

Then, add the egg and vanilla; beat well

Once well-combined, slowly add the flour while mixer is on low speed

Then stir in chocolate and cherries

Once dough is mixed, split dough into two sections and roll each up in saran wrap

Refrigerate for several hours or overnight

Slice logs of dough into cookies about 1/4 inch thick

Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for 10-12 minutes

Cookies will be just slightly darker and firm to the touch when done

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Chocolate Cherry Maple Cookies

Makes ~30 cookies

Adapted from the Lindt Chocolate Passion Recipe Book

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 heaping tablespoons maple syrup

1 large egg at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

1/3 cup dried cherries

Directions:

Combine butter, sugar and syrup in a mixer; beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes

Add the egg and vanilla; beat well

Once well-combined, slowly add the flour while mixer is on low speed

Stir in chocolate and cherries

Once dough is mixed, split it into two sections and form logs with diameters of about 2 1/2 inches; wrap each tightly with saran wrap

Refrigerate for several hours or overnight

Once ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Slice logs of dough into cookies about 1/4 inch thick

Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for 10-12 minutes

Cookies will be just slightly darker than dough and firm to the touch when done

Notes:

I made the dough one night and baked the cookies the next. You could easily freeze the dough for several weeks prior to baking if needed.

You may want to consider chopping the cherries into smaller pieces to get them more spread-out through the dough. That would work well if you want cherry in every bite.

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What new flavors have you tried lately?

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For the Chocoholics

January 23, 2011 Keep It Sweet 35 Comments

Every time I visit my parents, my mom and I email constantly the week before about what we will bake. There are always too many things for us to try, so it’s usually a pretty fattening special looking recipe that makes the cut. Last weekend we made Picky Palate’s Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookie Sandwiches and Candy Bar Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches. They were amazing.

This weekend I couldn’t help but be inspired by those delicious cookies. As if a chocolate chip cookie stuffed with a Snickers Bar or Oreo Cookie wasn’t enough, I had to take it a step further for all of the chocoholics out there. Why not take one of my favorite chocolate cookie recipes and stuff it with chocolate candy? I made Stuffed Triple Chocolate Cookies.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t tasted them yet. I am on my 6th day of a week-long deprivation vegan challenge and baking these was an extreme form of torture. Luckily, I have the Husband to do my taste testing for me in a time like this. If the number of Hershey Kiss stuffed cookies he ate is any reflection of the verdict, I’d say these are a winner. Trust me, though, when vegan week is over, I’ll be inhaling a dozen cookies doing my own “quality control”. (More on Vegan week in an upcoming post!)

The Triple Chocolate Cookie dough is adapted from Jill O’Connor’s Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey. I’ve made the cookies using her exact recipe as a standalone cookie and they never disappoint. You may remember my Gooey Caramel Butter Bars were also from that cookbook.

To begin, you take semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate along with a stick of butter and place them in a microwave-safe bowl

Microwave the ingredients for a minute and stir; microwave again for 30-second increments until everything is almost melted; stir the remaining lumps until smooth and do not overheat. Set aside

Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and set aside

In your mixer, combine eggs, sugars and vanilla

Beat on high speed for about 5 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy

Reduce the speed of your mixer and add in melted chocolate and butter

When that is well-combined, stir in flour mixture but do not over-mix

Stir in chocolate chips

Refrigerate cookie dough for an hour or more prior to making the cookies

Choose any chocolate candies of your preference. Smaller candies will yield more cookies. I selected these chocolate meltaway Kisses because, well, why not make these as intensely chocolate as possible?

Other candy included dark chocolate Peanut Butter cups and Peppermint Patties. Once dough is chilled, pre-heat oven and unwrap your chocolates

Use a cookie dough scoop to form balls of dough; place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place candy on top of dough mound and then push down

Gently form cookie dough around the candy until it is completely covered; it might be easier if you freeze your Peppermint Patties first because they can break if you push too hard with the cookie dough

Repeat process

Use just enough cookie dough to cover the candy; size will be about 50% larger than candy alone

Make sure your candy is completely covered with dough or you may end up with some oozing like my Peppermint Patty cookies experienced

Bake the cookies for about 9 minutes and set aside on a cooling rack to cool

This is the deliciousness you will experience when you bite into the different cookies:

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Stuffed Triple Chocolate Cookies

Inspired by Picky Palate and adapted from Jill O’Connor

Makes ~50 cookies (more cookies with small candy, but less with large)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

7 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Place semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate with butter in a microwave-safe bowl

Microwave the ingredients for a minute and stir; microwave again for 30-second increments until everything is almost melted; stir the remaining lumps until smooth. Set aside

Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and set aside

In your mixer, combine eggs, sugars and vanilla; beat on high speed for about 5 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy

Reduce the speed of your mixer and add in melted chocolate and butter

When that is well-combined, stir in flour mixture but do not over-mix

Stir in chocolate chips

Refrigerate cookie dough for an hour or more prior to making the cookies

Once dough is chilled, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and unwrap your chocolates

Use a cookie dough scoop to form balls of dough; place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place candy on top of dough mound and then push down

Gently form cookie dough around the candy until it is completely covered; repeat (make sure your candy is completely covered with dough)

Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes and set aside on a cooling rack to cool

[Edited to add] Note: The Peppermint Patty and Hershey Kiss versions were the most popular. I think the larger Reeses Cups would be better so that the candy is in every bite.

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What candy would you put in your cookies?

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Cookie Sandwiches Guest Posted

January 7, 2011 Keep It Sweet 36 Comments

The below post is also being featured today on Liz’s blog, Blog is the New Black. Check out her blog for great recipes for any part of the meal.

On New Year’s Eve, my husband and I went to his brother’s apartment for a fun but low-key night. They made us a delicious dinner and I, of course, brought dessert. There were four of us and I made two desserts, an ice cream pie, and “cookies” composed of my favorite flavor combination, chocolate and peanut butter. What better way to end the year?!

This was actually a very last minute dessert. I happened to have extra peanut butter filling in my freezer and an open package of chocolate wafers in my cabinet. You don’t even want to know how much baking chocolate I have on hand… When I thought through my inventory and the last time I used peanut butter filling, this recipe just came to me.

This recipe is really easy! First, prepare the peanut butter filling (recipe below) and lay out twenty chocolate wafers on a baking sheet lined with wax paper

Spread about a tablespoon of peanut butter onto each wafer

Press another wafer down to form a cookie sandwich

Repeat with all twenty cookies

Place tray of cookie sandwiches into the freezer for about an hour

Can you spot the tray? Welcome to my life…

Once cookies are chilled, set up your white chocolate for dipping

Melt chocolate by microwaving it in thirty second increments and stirring in-between

Then dip the cookie to cover about halfway on each side with chocolate

Make sure you get the chocolate around the edges

Set white chocolate cookies aside

Repeat the process with semi-sweet chocolate; Store cookies in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving

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Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

Makes 20 cookie sandwiches

Ingredients:

Peanut Butter Filling

1 package chocolate wafers (you only need 40 cookies)

8 ounces white chocolate chips

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Prepare Peanut Butter Filling

Lay out twenty chocolate wafers on a baking sheet lined with wax paper

Spread about a tablespoon of peanut butter onto each wafer

Press another wafer down on top of peanut butter to form a cookie sandwich; repeat with all twenty cookies

Place tray of cookie sandwiches into the freezer for about an hour

Once cookies are chilled, set up your white chocolate for dipping

Melt chocolate by microwaving it in thirty second increments and stirring in-between

Then dip half of the cookies, covering half of each with chocolate; set white chocolate cookies aside

Repeat the process with semi-sweet chocolate

Store cookies in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving

Peanut Butter Filling

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons salted natural creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Beat butter until light and creamy

Beat in peanut butter

Mix in confectioners sugar on low speed and then beat until light and fluffy

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What is your favorite thing to dip in chocolate?

Blog

Delicious End to 2010

January 4, 2011 Keep It Sweet 36 Comments

As I take a look at some of the last month’s activities I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that my pants don’t fit…

We had our 5th annual Thanksgiving with Friends

(the infamous dinner with 8 desserts)

Had and fulfilled intense cookie cravings

Tried to make the perfect cookie

Baked the Brown Eyed Baker’s Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Not pictured but worth mentioning, made Jessica’s Cookie Dough Dip in Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle and Chocolate Fudge

Went home to visit with family

The sister made chocolate covered pretzels

Dad gave me photography lessons

Mom made a zillion cakes

(Outrageous Brownie with Peanut Butter Icing and Chocolate Ganache)

(Pumpkin Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream and Cinnamon Whipped Cream)

(The third cake was a Chocolate Cake with Vanilla and Chocolate Buttercream)

Went home again for the 14th Annual Christmas Eve Brunch with my best friends from home

It snowed, so I rushed to the train to beat the blizzard

And since it was snowing, I had to make a trifle

We celebrated New Year’s Eve

With Frozen Yogurt Pie

And Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Sandwiches

This delicious food and the fun events with family and friends was definitely worth gaining a few pounds. Better keep reminding myself as I fill up on vegetables over the next few weeks;-)

What memorable food did you eat this holiday season?

Blog

Ice Cream Pie with a New Year’s Eve Worthy Topping

January 1, 2011 Keep It Sweet 37 Comments

A few months ago I received a few coupons for free Stonyfield’s ice cream or frozen yogurt. I finally used the coupons just in time for their expiration date and was inspired to use my frozen yogurts to make a New Year’s Eve dessert. I’ll leave a full review of the yogurt for a separate post, but I am very happy with the delicious dessert I came up with.

You are looking at layers of crunchy gingersnap crust, pumpkin frozen yogurt, and chocolate frozen yogurt topped with a salted caramel cream sauce. I came up with the dessert because chocolate and pumpkin are some of my favorite flavors, but as soon as I created it I realized that this mimics my favorite cheesecake bar. Ok, so it wasn’t the first time using these flavors, but I promise that it was worth the lack of creativity for an excuse to make the topping. This Frozen Pumpkin and Chocolate Yogurt Pie with Salted Caramel Cream Sauce was a very worthy end to 2010.

I love that the filling to this pie is fat free frozen yogurt, because it makes you think you are being really healthy. Never mind that the crust has half a stick of butter in it and the sauce is based on sugar, butter and heavy whipping cream. Details, details. Moderation is key, or so they say.

The pie is really easy to make. The sauce is a little more challenging. I simplified it after my first attempt where I ended up with rock-hard chunks of sugar and butter. It took a lot of soaking to clean that pot!

First thing to do is run your gingersnap crumbs through a food processor

Grind until the cookies are mostly fine crumbs

Melt the butter

And mix it with the cookie crumbs

Next, add sugar

When the crust is fully mixed, press it down into a 9-inch spring-form pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray

Bake for about 8 minutes or until firm

Allow the crust to cool and put the vanilla frozen yogurt in a medium bowl

The vanilla is the base for your pumpkin layer

Fold in the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice until well combined

Spread pumpkin layer over crust and freeze for about 10 minutes

Meanwhile, remove the chocolate frozen yogurt from the freezer so that it is softened

Spread chocolate yogurt over the pumpkin and freeze covered with foil until ready to serve

To make the caramel, begin by heating sugar over low to medium heat in a small sauce pan

Add butter

Stir butter and sugar until butter is melted and fully combined with sugar

Reduce the heat to low and add cream

Stir continuously until mixture bubbles

Then remove pot from heat and stir in corn syrup

Add salt and stir

The sauce will be a thick liquid that hardens as it cools; store it in the refrigerator and microwave on a low setting to re-heat

When it is time to serve the dessert, carefully remove outside of springform pan

Cut slices and drizzle with caramel cream sauce

When no one is looking, steal some extra sauce for cookies, fruit, your finger…

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Frozen Pumpkin and Chocolate Yogurt Pie with Salted Caramel Cream Sauce

Sauce adapted from the Serendipity Sundaes cookbook

Serves 8-12

Pie Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups of gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 25 cookies)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

2 cups vanilla frozen yogurt (I used Stonyfield fat free vanilla)

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning

2 cups chocolate frozen yogurt (I used Stonyfield fat free chocolate)

Pie Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray, set aside

To make the crust, grind up about 25 gingersnaps in a food processor until fine; set cookie crumbs aside

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and pour over cookie crumbs

Add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and mix until well combined

Pour mixture into springform pan

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until firm

Remove from oven and allow to cool

Remove vanilla frozen yogurt from freezer a few minutes before use

Place the yogurt into a bowl and fold in the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice until well combined

Spread pumpkin layer over crust and freeze for about 10 minutes

Meanwhile, remove the chocolate frozen yogurt from the freezer so that it is softened

Spread chocolate yogurt over the pumpkin and freeze covered with foil until ready to serve

Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 teaspoon sea salt

Sauce Directions:

Heat sugar over low to medium heat in a small sauce pan

Add butter; stir until butter is melted and fully combined with sugar

Reduce the heat to low and add cream; stir continuously until mixture bubbles

Remove pot from heat and stir in corn syrup

Add salt and stir

When it is time to serve the dessert, carefully remove outside of springform pan

Cut slices and drizzle with caramel cream sauce

Notes:

The sauce is best served immediately; if not, store it in the refrigerator and microwave on a low setting to re-heat at 15 second intervals stirring in-between

The sauce will firm up over the ice cream, don’t worry, that is supposed to happen!

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I hope that everyone enjoys a happy and healthy New Year!

What dessert did you have for New Year’s Eve?

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Peanut Butter Cheesecakes with Pretzel Crust

December 28, 2010 Keep It Sweet 31 Comments

You already know that my pants don’t fit. I don’t know about you, but I find it nearly impossible to diet around this time of year. It is so cold out that the last thing I want to eat is salad. What really appeals to me are dishes like chili, lasagna, fresh baked cookies… comfort food. Add on holiday celebrations, office treats, and Christmas candy sales; I am hopeless. Well, it is fair to say that I won’t lose any weight in the last week or so of December, but I will do anything I can not to gain more weight. As a result, I am making an effort to lighten up some of the desserts I am making over the next few hours weeks.

Honestly, I don’t do well “giving up” anything. I don’t do well with portion control either. The first step in trying to combat that is pre-portioning desserts. The other thing I like to do is take out some of the fat and calories where it won’t be missed. Previously I’ve made ice cream desserts that taste delicious but are made with lots of low-guilt ingredients. Well, I decided to make Individual Peanut Butter Cheesecakes using lower fat cream cheese with a few more decadent ingredients to balance them out.

These cheesecakes are made with a crunchy pretzel crust, a creamy peanut butter filling and chocolate chips snuck in as a layer above the crust and throughout batter. By the way, you’d be so proud of me. I only ate two of them! That may or may not be because I gave some to friends and left the rest in my parents fridge. Sorry, Mom:-)

This recipe is actually very easy and revolves mostly around a food processor. I figured if I needed to take out the appliance for making a crust, I might as well use it for the cheesecake batter too!

To begin, fill up your food processor with salted pretzels

Run them through until they are mostly fine crumbs

In a small bowl, pour melted butter over the pretzel crumbs

Add sugar

Stir until all of the crumbs are moist

Press a couple tablespoons of crust ingredients into two muffin tins sprayed with non-stick cooking spray; bake for about 6 minutes

When crust comes out of oven, layer with several milk chocolate and caramel chips

Regular chocolate chips would also work, but I really like the combination of caramel, chocolate and peanut butter; set pan aside

Meanwhile, prepare cheesecake batter; you can shake out the crumbs from the food processor, no need to wash it

Cream 2 blocks of cream cheese in the food processor

Add sugar, flour, vanilla and salt

Combine well

Add your eggs

Measure 1 cup of peanut butter chips

Microwave about 45 seconds and stir; microwave in additional 20 second increments until chips are melted; note this will be very thick

Add peanut butter to cheesecake batter

Process until smooth and creamy

Pour cheesecake batter into a separate bowl and fold in chocolate chips

Use a small ladle or large spoon to put about 1/3 of a cup of batter in muffin tins

Bake cheesecakes for about 15 minutes or until mostly firm

Serve drizzled with chocolate and caramel or sprinkled with pretzel crumbs

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Individual Peanut Butter Cheesecakes, lightened up

Makes 24 mini-cheesecakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups finely ground pretzel crumbs

4 tablespoons melted butter

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, separated

1 8-ounce block fat free cream cheese, softened

1 8-ounce block reduced fat cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter chips*, melted

1/2 cup milk chocolate and caramel chips

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

To begin, fill up your food processor with salted pretzels and run them through until finely ground

In a small bowl, pour melted butter over the pretzel crumbs

Add 2 tablespoons sugar and stir until all of the crumbs are moist

Press mixture into two sets of muffin tins sprayed with non-stick cooking spray; bake for 6 minutes

When crust comes out of oven, sprinkle a few milk chocolate and caramel chips into each cup; set aside

Shake crumbs out of food processor and use it to prepare cheesecake batter

Cream 2 blocks of cream cheese in the food processor

Add sugar, flour, vanilla and salt; cream until well combined

Add eggs and mix well

Add melted peanut butter chips to cheesecake batter and process until smooth and creamy

Pour cheesecake batter into a separate bowl; fold in chocolate chips

Use a small ladle or large spoon to put about 1/3 of a cup of batter into each cup

Bake cheesecakes for about 15 minutes or until tops are mostly firm

Notes:

*You can replace these with regular peanut butter (not natural)

The peanut butter flavor isn’t really strong; some people may prefer this but I may try increasing the amount of peanut butter chips next time (using regular peanut butter could also help)

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Are you worried about weight gain during the holidays?

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How do You Define the Perfect Cookie?

December 23, 2010 Keep It Sweet 31 Comments

Who doesn’t like a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie? No one I know. At the same time, if you put 100 people together in a room and had them each describe their perfect chocolate chip cookie, you would get 100 different answers. My dad, for one, LOVES crispy cookies. He likes to bite into a chocolate chip cookie and have it crunch and crumble inside his mouth. My mom would take half-baked if you had them. Who needs to wait for cookies to bake and cool when you can take them out of the oven after a few minutes when they are gooey, warm and delicious? My sister will take her cookie and eat around the chocolate chips (who is she?). And the Husband, he is happy as long as you give him a glass of milk to dunk into.

I am somewhere in between. While I don’t love extra crispy cookies, I can recognize their appeal. And really, who can resist warm and melty cookie dough?! There is a time and a place for all forms of chocolate chip cookies, and yes that includes a plain old Chips Ahoy in times of desperation.

However, right now, I am on a quest to reinvent the most delicious chocolate chip cookie I have ever had. Every year someone sends the most amazing cookies to our office, and let me tell you, I don’t eat office treats unless I think they are really worth it. These cookies, worth it. They are dense and chewy with the perfect hint of salt and a lot of chocolate chips. Something about them is so addicting. I’ll go into the kitchen and grab one, because look at me, I can eat just one cookie. But about two seconds after I take that last bite, I am back for more, because who am I kidding, I can’t eat just one cookie.

On my way to figuring out a recipe to recreate this “perfect” cookie, I found something quite different, but quite tasty. These Doughy Chocolate Chunk Cookies are about as addicting. To me, they exemplify the flavors of freshly mixed cookie dough in baked cookie form. Moist, chewy, doughy and slightly underbaked with the perfect amount of big chocolate chunks. I used Christmas colored dark chocolate M&M’s to give them a festive appeal and chunks of milk chocolate Hershey’s Kisses for the sweet contrast. Any form of chocolate chip would work just as well.

To begin, lightly chop your Kisses and set aside

Combine flour with the other dry ingredients

Whisk together and set aside

Next, combine the butter and sugars until light and fluffy

Then, add your eggs and vanilla and combine well

Reduce the speed of your mixer to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients

Scrape your bowl a couple of times to make sure flour is fully mixed in

Stir chocolate pieces into your batter

Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight

Use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon for cookies

Lay them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Once done, allow cookies to cool on a cooling rack

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Doughy Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup dark chocolate M&M’s

1 cup milk Hershey’s Kisses, lightly chopped

Directions:

Lightly chop Hershey’s Kisses; set aside

Combine flour with the other dry ingredients and whisk together; set aside

Next, combine the butter and sugars; beat well until light and fluffy

Then, add your eggs and vanilla and combine well

Reduce the speed of your mixer to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients

Stir chocolate pieces into your batter

Chill your dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight

Once ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Scoop heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper

Bake in the oven for 9-10 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges; cookies will not change color much

Set the cookies aside on cooling racks

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Any tips for me on making this “perfect” cookie? I am having trouble finding that dense chewy texture that was so enjoyable.

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Chocolate and Peanut Butter Love

December 19, 2010 Keep It Sweet 39 Comments

I love peanut butter. If a day goes by where I don’t have it, I experience withdrawal symptoms. A few days without it? Don’t mess with me.

As much as I loved being in Italy for my honeymoon this summer, going without peanut butter for almost two weeks may have been enough to convince me that getting back to real life still kind of sucks isn’t so bad after all.

Oatmeal with peanut butter? Good. Banana and peanut butter? Yum. Ants on a log? Underrated children’s snack. Chocolate and peanut butter? The pair should have its own show.

You may remember that my Thanksgiving with Friends featured eight desserts. I enjoyed coming up with a fun and delicious variety of pick-up baked goods, but was stuck when it came to THE peanut butter and chocolate item. You have seen my fan favorite cookie bar and the peanut butter brownies with chocolate ganache. So have my friends. Both items were a hit, so I knew when it came to my peanut butter loving friends, I was going to have to outdo myself.

Well, I did. If you are human like peanut butter and chocolate, you are going to LOVE these. The one upside to marrying a crazy wonderful man who DISLIKES peanut butter? More for me!

These Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling start with a rich chewy cookie dough, used here, and are slathered with a creamy peanut butter filling that is irresistible. Salty and sweet, chewy and creamy. Oh, and these cookies are even good eaten right out of the freezer, not that I would know. Have I mentioned my pants don’t fit?

Begin by making the cookies

Mix together the dry ingredients- flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, and set aside

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer

Beat until light and fluffy

Beat in the sugar, eggs and vanilla

Mix well

Gradually add your dry ingredients with mixer on low, then mix at medium speed until well-combined

Next up, milk and semi-sweet chocolate chips

Stir in the chips

Use a cookie dough scoop for the most uniform cookies

A tablespoon will also work; beware, the dough will be sticky when shaping into balls

Cookies will flatten while baking, that is expected

Let them cool on wire racks

While cookies are cooling, make your filling

Cream softened butter until light and smooth

Add peanut butter and cream some more

Beware of the incredible aroma

Mix in sugar

When mixture is smooth and creamy, it is done

Time to make your sandwiches

Slather a tablespoon or two onto the bottom of one cookie

Cover with another cookie and gently press down

Repeat

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Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling

Cookie recipe from Hershey’s

Makes ~2 dozen cookie sandwiches

Cookie Ingredients:

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

Dash of salt

1 ¼ cup (2 ½ stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups granulated Sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 3/4 cup salted natural creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

Cookie Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375

Mix together the dry ingredients, except for sugar, and set aside

Cream butter and sugar

Beat in the, eggs and vanilla

Gradually add dry ingredients with mixer on low; then mix at medium speed until well-combined

Stir in chocolate chips

Drop dough in heaping tablespoons on baking sheets lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart

Bake at 375 for 8 minutes or until cookies are slightly puffy

Let cool on cooling rack

Filling Directions:

Beat butter until light and creamy

Beat in peanut butter

Mix in confectioners sugar on low speed and then beat until light and fluffy

Sandwich Directions:

When cookies are cool, spread one to two tablespoons of filling on the bottom of a cookie

Top with a second cookie and lightly press down

Repeat

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Do you know anyone that can resist peanut butter and chocolate?

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Extra is Better

December 12, 2010 Keep It Sweet 35 Comments

This recipe was a complete accident. I was making Cookie Dough Topped Brownies and feeling over-confident in my memory of the brownie ingredients. When I got past the step of stirring in sugar, I realized something was wrong. The batter was much thicker than it should be.

Fortunately, I realized that my mistake was adding 50% more sugar than the recipe called for. Rather than throw everything away at that point, I added 50% extra of every thing else. As a result, I had an extra 9X9 pan of brownies and nothing to do with them…

Until I thought about what was in my freezer. Did you know that buttercream stores very well in the freezer? How about some White Chocolate Buttercream?

And then I looked again. Did you know that mocha ganache also freezes well? I happened to have extra from my Chocolate Chip Cookies with Mocha Ganache…

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Oh that is right, one rich chocolate brownie topped with not one, but two incredible toppings.

Thanks to a small mistake and leftovers from baking, I made Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream and Mocha Ganache, another delicious dessert for our Thanksgiving with Friends.

Make these. No mistakes necessary.

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Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream and Mocha Ganache

Makes 16 brownies (more if you want small pieces, brownies are very rich)

Ingredients:

Brownie (recipe from Baker’s)

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick)

1 cups sugar

1 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup all purpose flour

White Chocolate Buttercream

2 ounces baking white chocolate

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 1/2 tablespoons milk (any type is fine)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Mocha Ganache

5 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate

1/4 cup extra-strong brewed coffee

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Directions:

Brownies

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Melt butter and chocolate in large sauce pan over low to medium heat

Stir in sugar

Stir in eggs and vanilla

Whisk in flour until smooth

Pour into a 9×9 pan lined with foil and greased or sprayed with cooking spray

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until knife comes out clean

Buttercream

While brownies are cooling, make buttercream

Combine the white chocolate and whipping cream in a medium saucepan on low-medium heat, stirring continuously

Remove from heat and stir in milk

Refrigerate for mixture for half hour

When white chocolate mixture is cool, finish making the buttercream

Beat the butter until creamy

Beat in confectioners’ sugar until butter and sugar are light and fluffy

Now beat in the cooled white chocolate mixture until buttercream is creamy and light

Spread over cooled brownies and refrigerate until buttercream hardens slightly

Ganache

While brownies with buttercream are chilling, prepare ganache

Chop up the chocolate, coarsely, and prepare extra-strong coffee

Slice up your butter and set aside

Now set up your double boiler; bring water to a simmer in medium pot over low-medium heat

Place heat-proof bowl of chocolate over the pot

Pour the coffee over your chocolate

Continuously stir until chocolate is melted and smooth

Remove bowl from heat and whisk in the butter until creamy

Then allow ganache to cool, stirring occasionally

Ganache is ready when the mixture gets nice and thick

Spread over buttercream layer

Keep brownies stored in a cool place

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What would you do with extra brownie?

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Brownies with Cookie Dough Topping

December 7, 2010 Keep It Sweet 49 Comments

I learned to bake by watching my mom, the Original Baker. Most of my memories are of standing next to her at the kitchen counter as she measured ingredients and put them together effortlessly. I’d help pour the sugar into the bowl or turn on the mixer, and sometimes even crack the eggs. The best part, of which I have many memories, was getting a beater fresh off the mixer with “extra” chocolate chip cookie dough.

Luckily I never got sick from eating the raw dough! Sometimes I doubt that is even possible because I have a lot of experience licking cookie dough, brownie batter and other delicious pre-baked desserts full of raw eggs off of spatulas. If I didn’t get sick from copious amounts of raw cookie dough, who has?

But just in case you can in fact get sick from raw eggs, no-bake (eggless) cookie dough is a kid’s dream! Now, imagine slathering that cookie dough onto rich chocolate brownies? Oh yes. Cookie Dough Topped Brownies is a dessert any kid would dream about, and well, any adult too;-)

First thing to do is make your brownies. I used the tried and true Baker’s recipe that is also used for my Chocolate Lover’s Bites.

Melt butter and chocolate in large sauce pan over low to medium heat

Stir until smooth

Remove from heat and stir in sugar

Your batter will get nice and thick*

Stir in eggs and vanilla

Then the vanilla

Whisk in flour until smooth

Batter will get nice and thick

Pour into a 9×13 pan lined with foil and greased or sprayed with cooking spray and bake

While brownie is cooling, make your cookie dough

Combine your butter and sugars

Then add a little bit of milk

Mix in some flour

And of course I have a 6-pound bag of chocolate chips

Add them in

Stir until the chips are mixed throughout the dough

Now it’s time to spread your cookie dough

Wait until your brownie is completely cool, it wouldn’t hurt to freeze the brownie first since the dough is very thick

A long strong spatula is good for spreading

Once finished, keep your brownies in a cool place; they also freeze very well

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Cookie Dough Topped Brownies

Makes 36 brownies

Ingredients:

Brownie (recipe from Baker’s)

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all purpose flour

Cookie Dough (Adapted from the Blue-Eyed Bakers)

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

4 tablespoons milk (I use skim)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Brownies

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Melt butter and chocolate in large sauce pan over low to medium heat

Stir in sugar

Stir in eggs and vanilla

Whisk in flour until smooth

Pour into a 9×13 pan lined with foil and greased or sprayed with cooking spray

Bake for ~30 minutes or until knife comes out clean

Cookie Dough

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy

Mix in milk

Gradually mix in flour and salt

Stir in chocolate chips

Allow brownies to cool completely (might be easier if they are frozen) and then spread cookie dough over the top

Store in refrigerator (or freeze)

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*While I was making these, I accidentally added too much sugar. In an upcoming post I’ll tell you how I rectified that and ended up with another delicious dessert.

Do you eat raw cookie dough?

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A Bite-Sized Dessert You Will Love

December 4, 2010 Keep It Sweet 31 Comments

Do you remember the sandwich cookies I served at my Thanksgiving with Friends? Well I am finally sharing my recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies with Mocha Ganache!

It was all I could do to keep the Taster from popping a dozen of them into his mouth before our party, but luckily this recipe makes A LOT of cookies.

The cookie itself is soft and chewy. It isn’t too sweet and acts as a light balance to the rich mocha ganache. I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d make this ganache again. Ever since I made that banana cake I’ve been trying to find another excuse to slather that rich mocha deliciousness onto something. There is one more recipe coming soon that uses this ganache as well, it is THAT good!

The recipe is time consuming, it probably took me the better part of a day from start to finish. Between baking dozens of cookies, making a ganache and sandwiching them all together, be prepared for a project.

But, they are well worth it. One, they freeze very well so you can make them ahead of time, and two, they make so many you can find a couple of uses for them.

This cookie recipe is adapted from Chocolate Chip Cookies II in this cookbook. Side note, if you are ever in the market for a basic cookie cookbook, this is a great one. My dad bought it for my mom as a gift forever ago, and I had to buy a copy for myself a few years ago.

The first step for making Chocolate Chip Cookies with Mocha Ganache is to make your cookie dough.

The recipe calls for sifted flour

So you will actually need to sift it prior to measuring. When a recipe says “1 cup of flour, sifted” it means you measure the flour first, then sift. If it says “1 cup of sifted flour” it means to sift the flour, then measure it out

Sifted flour is much lighter so you will get less of it cup for cup than had you not sifted it

Combine your flour with the other dry ingredients and whisk them together then set aside

Next, combine the butter and sugars

Mix well until light and fluffy

Then add your eggs and vanilla

Combine well

Reduce the speed of your mixer to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients

Now, since I made mini cookies, I thought mini chips were more appropriate. Stir them into your batter

Chill your dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight

When ready to bake, scoop teaspoonfuls of cookie dough

Roll them into balls (see how small?)

And lay them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake in the oven for 7-8 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges

Notice that the cookies barely brown?

Set the cookies aside on cooling racks

While cookies are cooling, prepare your ganache (Refer to this post for step-by-step photos). Once the ganache is thick, you are ready to make your sandwiches

Although the cookies were mostly uniform in size, I lined them up in pairs to make sure each half was as close in size and shape as possible. This made the sandwiching process go more quickly

Spread a layer of ganache onto the bottom of a cookie

Top with a second cookie and lightly press down

Repeat until all of your cookie sandwiches are complete

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Chocolate Chip Cookies with Mocha Ganache

Makes 35-40 sandwich cookies

Ingredients:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Chocolate Chip Cookies II in The Search for The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

3 cups sifted flour*

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mocha Ganache**

10 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate

1/2 cup extra-strong brewed coffee

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Directions:

Cookies

Combine sifted flour with the other dry ingredients and whisk them together; set aside

Next, combine the butter and sugars; beat well until light and fluffy

Then add your eggs and vanilla and combine well

Reduce the speed of your mixer to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients

Stir chocolate chips into your batter

Chill your dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight

Once ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Scoop teaspoonfuls of cookie dough and roll them into balls with the circumference of a quarter

Lay them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake in the oven for 7-8 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges; cookies will not change color much

Set the cookies aside on cooling racks

While cookies are cooling, prepare your ganache

Ganache

Make ganache while cookies are cooling

Chop up the chocolate, coarsely, and prepare extra-strong coffee

Slice up your butter and set aside

Now set up your double boiler; bring water to a simmer in medium pot over low-medium heat

Place heat-proof bowl of chocolate over the pot

Pour the coffee over your chocolate

Continuously stir until chocolate is melted and smooth

Remove bowl from heat and whisk in the butter until creamy

Then allow ganache to cool, stirring occasionally

Ganache is ready when the mixture gets nice and thick

Cookie Sandwiches

Spread a layer of ganache onto the bottom of a cookie

Top with a second cookie and lightly press down

Repeat until all of your cookie sandwiches are complete

Notes

*When a recipe says “1 cup of flour, sifted” it means you measure the flour first, then sift. If it says “1 cup of sifted flour” it means to sift the flour, then measure it out. So you will actually need to sift it prior to measuring.

**This is actually more than enough ganache than you will need for this recipe. Save your extra cup or so because I have ANOTHER recipe for you to use it!

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These cookies would be perfect for holiday cookie swaps. What do you think, is this a sandwich you can get behind?

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Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

November 20, 2010 Keep It Sweet 46 Comments

Crispy gingersnap crust, rich chocolate cheesecake layer and a light pumpkin cheesecake filling, i.e. a delicious dessert just in time for Thanksgiving.

I may have served eight (yes, 8) varieties of pick-up desserts at my Thanksgiving with Friends, but these Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars won me over as the number one pick for the evening. That wasn’t easy because all of the desserts were decadent and delicious. Maybe it was the combination of two of my favorite flavors, pumpkin and chocolate. Maybe it was the surprising spice from the gingersnap cookie crust. Maybe it was the lovely creamy texture with a perfect thin crispy crust in one bite. Maybe it was the balance of richness and lightness that allows you to eat not just one, but four two. Frankly, it doesn’t matter. These are delicious and if you like the sound of any of that, you must make them.

I saw Sharon’s recipe on the Curvy Carrot about a month ago and new right away I had to make it myself. There were a couple of modifications, but the recipe is largely based on hers. Just like she said, they were easy but a little time consuming. Definitely worth every minute, though!

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

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Crispy gingersnap crust, rich chocolate cheesecake layer and a light pumpkin cheesecake filling, i.e. a delicious dessert just in time for Thanksgiving.

Author: Lauren Lilling

Recipe type: Dessert

Makes: 36 small bars

Ingredients

Crust:

275g (2 cups + 2 tablespoons) gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 35 cookies)
85g (6 tablespoon) unsalted butter

Filling:

454g (2 8-ounce packages) light cream cheese softened at room temperature
371g (1¾ cup) granulated sugar
165g (3 large) whole eggs
16g (2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
240g (1 cup) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
5 milliliters (1 teaspoon) vanilla
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ g (1/8 teaspoon) salt
170g (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
28g (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
Line a 13×9 pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray, set aside

Prepare crust:

Stir together gingersnap crumbs and melted butter
Spread evenly into prepared pan using fingers to push down crust mixture and set aside

Prepare filling:

In the large bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, whip cream cheese on medium high speed for several minutes until creamy and lumps are gone
Add granulated sugar and combine on medium-high speed well until light and creamy
Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium speed in-between; mix in flour on low speed
Add pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt and mix on medium speed until mixture is thick and creamy
Now, separate 380 grams (1¾ cups) of the pumpkin cheesecake filling and set aside in a large bowl
Melt chocolate chips and butter in a small saucepan over low heat; mixture will get very thick
Add chocolate to the pumpkin filling that you set aside and stir thoroughly
Pour chocolate batter over crust and bake for 15 minutes
Remove from oven and pour remaining pumpkin cheesecake filling on top
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until edges begin to separate from foil and middle bounces slightly when touched
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight
Remove cheesecake from pan and cut into small bars

Notes

Adapted from The Curvy Carrot
I used light cream cheese because I wanted a final product that wasn’t overly rich, but regular cream cheese would work as well
When cutting the bars, I recommend cleaning your knife with a paper towel between slices to keep from contaminating the layers with one another

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it on Instagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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Make something from the blog? Be sure to share it onInstagram with the tag #KeepItSweetDesserts.

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