Thick & Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

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It was fathers day on Sunday so I hosted a Father's day dinner at my house for my future Father-In-Law (Yes I finally moved into my new house, and yes I finally got engaged! All on the same day actually...) So I wanted to make a classic cookie that I know he would love.  Peanut butter cookies just seemed right.  I made the dough before they came over to let it refrigerate for about 2 hours before baking.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner of Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos and then it was onto dessert.  These cookies were amazing and made the house smell great.  Perfectly soft and chewy came out of the oven and we had a feast.  My future Mother-In-Law ate one too, which is rare because she normally doesn't eat cookies or sweets.  These cookies wont look done, but they will be.  Pour yourself a big glass of milk and enjoy these cookies!

Just got word from my Fiance that these cookies are like crack.  He has been hording some at his work and rationing his supply.   Little does he know I have more dough in the freezer....

Ready for the oven.

Adapted from Une Gamine Dans La Cuisine
Yield - About 2 dozen
Ingredients:
1 3/4 Cup Flour
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/4 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cream or Milk (I used milk)
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 Large Egg, room temperature

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, cream, and vanilla. Beat on med-high speed for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
3. Add the egg and beat for about 30 seconds - until just incorporated. 
4. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour. I let mine chill for 2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or use AirBake cookies sheets.
7. Using a medium cookie scoop, form the dough into balls and place them onto the prepared sheets, allowing about 2-inches of space between each cookie. 
8. Slightly flatten each ball of dough with the tines of a lightly-floured fork, creating a crisscross pattern.
9. Bake for 7-8 minutes - do not exceed 9 minutes. The tops should look underdone - they will firm up as the cookies cool.  My cookies were perfect after about 8 minutes. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for about 10 minutes before removing transferring to a cooling rack.
10. Enjoy!!

Key Lime Cupcakes

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Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a great Easter.  I love holidays so I have spent the last week getting decorations ready and trying to plan everything out.  We dyed some Easter eggs, had an egg hunt, and ate a ton of food.  In my opinion, these cupcakes were the best part!  I was a little disappointed I didn't double the recipe.  They were a big hit at both my moms house and at my boyfriends family party.  The cupcakes were very light and refreshing, a perfect summer recipe.  I have a half bag of key limes left and I am seriously considering just making more cupcakes to eat, and not sharing this time.  Please try these! I can guarantee you will love them!

I love all the lime zest!

Key Lime Cupcakes - Adapted from Sprinkles Cupcakes

Yield: 12 Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:
1 1/2 Cups Flour, sifted
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Whole Milk, room temperature - I used 1% Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Tablespoon Key Lime Juice - Plus some for brushing on after baking
1 Tablespoon key Lime Zest
1/2 Cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg, room temperature
2 Egg whites, room temperature

toothpick or skewer

For the Frosting:
1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter , firm but not cold
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
3 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted - I am lazy and didn't sift...
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Tablespoons Key Lime Juice
1 Tablespoon Key Lime Zest
1-3 Tablespoons Milk - depending on desired consistency


Cooking Directions

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
3. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, key lime zest and the lime juice; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. 
5. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
6. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
7. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely.
8. Use a toothpick or skewer to poke the tops of the cupcakes with holes. Use pastry brush to brush remaining lime juice over the top of the cupcake.
9. Let cupcakes dry slightly before topping with key lime frosting.

For the frosting:

1. Beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. 
2. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. 
3. Add vanilla, key lime juice and zest; mix until just blended. Do not over mix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream. - I didnt want mine as thick so I added more milk. 
4. Frosts over one dozen.
5. ENJOY!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

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So remember the Super Bowl a few weeks ago, well we were invited to a party and it can be considered rude to show up at a party empty handed, so I made these.   They were a huge hit and everyone loved them!  If only the 49ers would have won, it would have made these taste even better.   Although, they did taste pretty good with a few beers in my belly.  I thought it would be fun to make football themed cupcakes so I found these cupcake toppers online somewhere and glued them to toothpicks.  I hope you like them!

  

This chocolate cake recipe comes out perfect every time!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes - Adapted from My Baking Addiction

Chocolate Cupcake

Yield: 24 Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 Box Devil’s Food Cake Mix
1 5.9 Ounce Package Instant Chocolate Pudding Mix - I used Chocolate Fudge Pudding
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs, room temperature
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
1 Tablespoon Instant Espresso granules dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water - I use a Starbucks VIA packet
24 Reese’s Miniatures, FROZEN - this prevents them from disappearing into the batter

Peanut Butter Buttercream
Ingredients:
3 Sticks Butter, unsalted and room temperature
1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
2 Tablespoons Vanilla
5 1/2 Cups Confectioners' Sugar, sifted
6-8 Tablespoons Heavy Cream - I used about 4 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla and espresso water mixture. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined.
3. Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells; about 3 tablespoons of batter per well. Press one frozen Reese’s Miniature into the center of each cupcake.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched. 
5. Allow cupcakes to cool inside muffin tins for about 10 minutes.
6. Remove cupcakes from muffin tins and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, prepare your frosting.
7. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, cream butter and peanut butter on medium speed until fluffy. 
8. Turn your mixer down to low speed and slowly add in the confectioner’s sugar, and continue mixing until well blended.
9. Add vanilla and 4 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add an additional 1 to 4 tablespoons of heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy
10. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.
11. ENJOY!!

Citrus Sugar Cookies

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I love citrus.  I love the smell of citrus, the taste of citrus, when my fingers smell like citrus and more.  These cookies have lemon, lime and orange in them.  They are super refreshing and taste like summer.   I made my cookies a little big, and my helper (aka my boyfriend) smashed them pretty flat with a cup.  But the flavor was great and this is for sure one of my favorite sugar cookies.  The best part is using the extra zesty sugar to dip strawberries.  Delicious!

Adapted from Shugary Sweets
Yield: 2-3 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
1 1/2 Cups Sugar, divided
1 Egg, room temperature
2 Cups Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Orange, zested
1 Lemon, zested
2 Limes, zested

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, zest all the citrus. Remove about 2 tsp of zest and place in a separate bowl. Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar to the 2 tsp of zest. Combine with a fork and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, add butter and remaining 1 cup sugar. Beat for 1-2 minutes. Add egg and beat until combined. Add flour, baking powder and baking soda. Beat until combined. Add in zest.
3. Roll cookies into 3/4-1inch balls. Then roll them in the sugar/zest mixture, coating generously. Place ball on cookie sheet and repeat. 
4. Using a flat bottom of a cup, press the ball slightly to form a disc. Repeat for all balls. I then pressed a little extra sugar on the tops of the cookies at this point (totally optional). 
5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove and cool on wire rack.
6. Enjoy.

Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

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Question -Who doesn't love Cookies & Cream ice cream?  Well everyone does in my house.  I made this ice cream and it was gone in like a day.  Its kinda annoying when you go into the freezer for something and its all gone.  But on second thought, at least you know it was delicious.  This ice cream was very easy, quick and amazing.  The best part about this recipe is the extra Oreo's left over that you can eat... Yum.

Cookies & Cream Ice Cream - Adapted from Erica's Sweet Tooth

Yield - 1.5 Quarts

1 1/2 Cups Whole Milk - I use non-fat milk
1 1/8 Cups Sugar
3 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
15 Oreo's Crushed - I used about 20

Directions:

1. Make sure your ice cream maker is in the freezer for at least 24 hours before starting this recipe.
2. Stir the milk and sugar together in a medium-sized bowl until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes.
3. Mix in the cream and vanilla
4. Pour the mixture into the ice cream machine and let it run for the manufacturer’s recommended time.   I ran mine 15 to 20 minutes.  Add the Oreo's in about 3 minutes before the time is up
5. Put the ice cream in the freezer to firm up completely.
6. Enjoy!

Mint Chip Ice Cream

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This year I asked Santa for an Ice Cream maker, and guess what, I GOT IT!  Best gift ever.  Its now January 12th and I have made 5 different types of ice cream already and I have a big list of recipes to make.  Needless to say, ill be busy the next few months making ice cream and sorbets.   So all the recipes I have made have been super easy.  I have been too impatient and lazy to make the fancy ice creams where you have to temper in egg yolks and drain it through sieves and chill for hours.  These next few recipes I am going to post are fool proof.   This mint chip ice cream was truly amazing!  I would highly recommend this Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.   Its quick and easy, what more can you ask for.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream - Adapted from All Recipes
Yield - 1.5 Quarts
1 1/2 Cups Milk - I used non-fat milk
1 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract
2 or 3 Drops Green Food Coloring - optional
3/4 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips - or Shaved Chocolate

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the milk, cream, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and peppermint extract until the sugar has dissolved. Color to your liking with the green food coloring.
2. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. After about 10 minutes into the freezing, add the chocolate chips. After the ice cream has thickened, about 10 minutes later, spoon into a container, and freeze for 2 hours.

Eggnog Cupcakes with Spiced Eggnog Buttercream

At my work today we hosted a Holiday party for all the clients.  I decided to take on the task of making all the treats for the party instead of ordering bakery items from somewhere.  I wanted to make a few different types of things to please all taste and this was one recipe I found that I thought was festive and delicious.  It was a huge hit and everyone loved them!  I will be posting all of the recipes I made over the next few days, so stay tuned.

Eggnog Cupcakes - Adapted from Createdby-diane.com

1 Box White Cake Mix

1 1/3 Cups Eggnog - I used Vanilla Spiced Eggnog
1 Teaspoon cinnamon
1 Teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons Rum - I used spiced rum
3 Eggs

1/3 Cup Oil

Directions:

1. Follow the directions on the box - mix all ingredients together. 
2. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake at 325 for about 16-18 minutes.  Be careful not to over bake or they will become dry.

Eggnog Buttercream Frosting Recipe
1 Cup Butter, Unsalted, room temp
4 Cups Powdered Sugar
3 Tablespoons Eggnog
1 Tablespoon Rum - I used Spiced Rum from our trip to St. Lucia
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg

Directions:

1. Beat butter and shortening until smooth.
2. Then add powdered sugar, eggnog, rum, cinnamon and nutmeg until light and fluffy.
3. Frost your cupcakes.
4. Enjoy!

Two Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are a bite of heaven in your mouth.  The original name for these cookies was "I want to marry you cookies"  but I made they and well I am still not married so I figured I would change the name.  They are made a little differently then most cookies and in the beginning I was a little worried but in the end they came out perfect!  You melt the butter and then add lots of brown sugar which give the cookie a caramel flavored base.  Then with the oatmeal and both white chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips you get a delicious cookie.  The real kicker here is the hint of cinnamon.  My boss told me they taste like Christmas and she wants to have me make some for her Christmas party this year.  You cannot go wrong adding these cookies to your holiday baking list.

I Want To Marry You Cookies - Adapted from Cookingchanneltv.com
1 Cup Butter, unsalted
1 1/4 cups Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg, room temperature is best
1 Egg Yolk, room temperature is best
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Cups Flour
1 Cup Rolled Oats
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
3/4 Cup White Chocolate Chips
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until melted. Remove from the heat.
2. Add the dark brown sugar and white sugar and stir until sugars are incorporated and smooth. Chill the mixture for 10 minutes or more.
3. Remove from the refrigerator and stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
4. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cinnamon and mix together.
5. Stir in the white chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips.  At this point it will look pretty oily, so I chilled the dough for the 30 minutes and then formed the balls and chilled a little more.  
6. Roll by hand into about 30 medium-size balls or use a cookie scoop, and place on a light-colored cookie sheet.
7. Chill for 30 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Choco-nilla Birthday Cake

Its that time of year again, my boyfriends birthday.  Every year I make him a cake and this year I was struggling with an idea.  He is pretty laid back and will eat whatever so that makes it even harder.  I found this cake (a cake for "fence-sitters") and I figured it would be perfect for everybody.  A little chocolate and a little vanilla, nobody can complain.  It was a huge hit and was gone in about 2 days.  I made the banner on the computer from a blank word document because I couldn't find any templates I liked.  It was easy enough, and then I used a needle and double thread to hang it all together.   I am very happy with how it all came out and I hope my boyfriend loved it too!

Happy Birthday Joe!

Idea adapted from Kingarthurflour.com

Chocolate Cake - 

1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix
1 4oz Box of Instant Chocolate Pudding
1 Cup Sour Cream
4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Water or Milk

Vanilla Cake

1 Box Vanilla Cake Mix
1 4oz Box of Instant Vanilla Pudding
1 Cup Sour Cream
4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Water or Milk

Chocolate Buttercream - MY NEW FAVORITE!
1 Cup (2 Sticks) Butter, Unsalted and Room temp
5 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, sifted
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2/3 Cup Milk

Directions:

1. For the cake, follow directions on box but with the listed ingredients. Bake according to the box. I did 4 - 8in pans and it was about 30 minutes each.
2. For the buttercream, cream the butter with the whisk attachment of your kitchen aid until light and fluffy. Alternate adding the wet ingredients and the dry until everything is in the bowl. Whip up until desired consistency, add more milk if needed. 
3. Frost you cake, and ENJOY!

Brown Butter Snickerdoodle

I have a love for cinnamon so these cookies were a no-brainer.  My boss has a love for soft and chewy snickerdoodles so I decided I had to make these for her as a thank you gift.  I texted her and told her not to eat breakfast because I was bringing her some amazing cookies.  She ate about 5 large cookies in maybe 30 minutes.  That's how good these cookies are.  The flavor is amazing and the texture is great.  I didn't have all the ingredients to follow the recipe but I still think they came out perfect.  I was a little ambitious though and made two little mistakes.  First, I didn't want to wait 2 hours to chill the dough so I put the dough in the freezer for about 20 minutes, and second I put way too many cookies on the cookie sheet which is why they are square!  Whoops.  Next time I will be more patient and make smaller cookies.  This recipe is a must for the holidays! 

Sorry for the crappy photo - Thats what happens in the winter when its dark by 5pm!

Browned Butter Snickerdoodles - Adapted from Ambitious kitchen

Yield: 24-30 Cookies

Ingredients:

2 3/4 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoons Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ Teaspoon Salt
2 Sticks (1 Cup) Unsalted Butter
1¼ Cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar ( I used light brown)
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Large Egg plus 1 Egg Yolk
1 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon plain Greek yogurt ( I didn't add this...)

For rolling mixture:
1/4 Cup Sugar
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon


Instructions:

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt in a bowl and set aside. 
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a 10 minutes.
3. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined.
4. Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator (important!), You want the dough cold.
5. Preheat the oven to 350F. Once dough is chilled measure about 1 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. 
6. Meanwhile mix 1/4 cup sugar and the 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a bowl. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
7. Bake the cookies 8-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Bake longer if you like crispier cookies. 
8. Cool the cookies on the sheets at least 2 minutes. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
9. INDULGE!