Peanut Butter Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

It is Friday, January 17, 2014, and I'm calling it: I'm officially D-O-N-E with winter. I'm over it. I don't want any more cold, I don't want any more snow, I don't want any more below-zero wind chills. I'm so ready for spring that I'm practically aching with it.

I always get kind of blah during the winter, but this year, it's especially bad. I have no energy and no motivation and I know it's all connected to the weather. Basically, I would like to hibernate until at least April in flannel pajamas, in my cozy house, with my family and a few batches of these peanut butter bacon chocolate chip cookies to keep me company. Why can't that be my life?

Let's talk about these cookies, because if anything can pull me out of my wintertime funk it's these beauties. These peanut butter cookies not only have sticky, brown sugar bacon pieces in them; they also have bacon drippings in them. Along with peanuts and chocolate chips, of course. This is another of those instances where I need the smiley face emoticon with the hearts for eyes to describe how I really feel. These cookies are a little sweet, a little salty, and a lot sinful. So, in short, you're going to love them.

Peanut Butter Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Food Network

5 strips bacon
2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

1/2 cup roughly chopped honey-roasted peanuts
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Place the bacon on the baking sheet with space between each strip. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Bake, turning once, until bacon is crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings and set aside to cool. Set bacon aside to cool and, once cool, chop into small bits. 

 

2. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

 

3. Beat the butter and reserved bacon drippings in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the peanut butter until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the granulated and light brown sugar until creamy, about 4 minutes, then add the egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 more minutes.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture in 2 additions, scraping down the bowl as needed, until just combined. Stir in the peanuts and all but 2 tablespoons each of the chocolate chips and bacon.

5. Form the dough into 12 balls and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten with your fingers (the cookies will not spread in the oven); press the reserved bacon and chocolate chips on top. Bake until golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Let the cookies cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Cream Cheese-Stuffed, Streusel-Topped, Cranberry Orange Mini Muffins

A few years ago, I started hosting a Christmas brunch for my family every Christmas. It's always so much fun, and I try to keep the menu very simple so it doesn't become stressful. I make a Crock pot breakfast casserole and some muffins, and my sister brings her French toast casserole. I serve things I can make ahead of time, and never have I been more glad about that than last year.

I can't remember if I mentioned it here, but last Christmas Eve, I was struck with a horrible, terrible, no-good stomach bug. It was so awful. I was stuck at home in bed, feeling miserable, while my family was celebrating without me. Thankfully, I'd prepared everything for our brunch the next morning earlier in the day before I got sick, so I didn't have to cancel it. I didn't feel like eating much on Christmas morning, but I was so happy to just be with my family at that point!

Sorry for talking about sickness in a post about food, but all of that was to say: I made these muffins for Christmas brunch last year, and they were ah-mazing. Like seriously, seriously delicious. As I mentioned, I like to keep things easy for this particular celebration, so these muffins start with boxed mix that is jazzed up with the additions of a sweetened cream cheese filling and a delectable orange-pecan streusel. I don't typically bake muffins from a box, but I was so surprised by how well these came out and how fresh they tasted. They're the perfect balance of sweet and tart and such a festive way to start Christmas morning...or any morning, really.

Cream Cheese-Stuffed, Streusel-Topped, Cranberry Orange Mini Muffins

slightly adapted from StoneGable

For the muffins:

 

1 box cranberry-orange muffin mix (I used Krusteaz Light)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon orange zest

For the filling:

 

8 ounces cream cheese

3 tablespoons confectioners sugar

1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon orange zest

For the streusel:

1 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon orange zest 

1. Preheat oven according to muffin mix recipe. Spray two 24-cup mini muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. Mix muffin recipe as directed, adding vanilla and orange zest. 

2. In a seperate bowl, add all filling ingredients and beat on high with a mixer for 1 minute. 

3. In a third bowl, mix all topping ingredients with a pastry cutter or fork. The butter should be well-incorporated and the topping should be crumbly. 

4. Add a tablespoon of the muffin batter to each mini muffin cup (about half full). Add 1 teaspoon of the filling to the center of the muffin batter in the cups. Top with another tablespoon of the muffin batter. Top each muffin with crumb topping. 

5. Bake according to box directions, minus about 5 minutes for mini muffins. When done, cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Take muffins out of pan and let cool completely.

 

Five-Ingredient Caramel Tassies

I posit that there are no cookies cuter than tassies. What could possibly be more adorable than a little cookie cup filled with sweet ingredients? I mean, even the name is too precious for words.

Not only are these cookies adorable and delicious; they're also incredibly simple. Those sweet cookies, in that picture up there? They're made with only five ingredients. Butter, cream cheese, flour, caramel sauce, and mini chocolate chips -- that's it. This fact alone makes them worth adding to your Christmas cookie trays. When you make as many types of cookies as I do (and believe me, I make a lot, as you'll see over the course of the next month or so), you really start to appreciate the super-simple-but-still-yummy-and-impressive-looking cookies. That's exactly what these caramel tassies are. They're just the best.

Five-Ingredient Caramel Tassies
adapted from Taste of Home

1 cup butter, softened
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups flour
Prepared caramel sauce
Miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

2. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; press onto the bottom and up the sides of ungreased miniature muffin cups. Prick bottoms with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

3. Fill each cup with caramel sauce and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Store in the refrigerator. Makes 4 dozen tassies.

Rugelach

I'm breaking my self-imposed no-Christmas-talk-before-Thanksgiving rule to bring you some Christmas treats. Over the coming weeks, I'll be sharing some goodies that I made for last year's Christmas trays. I go kind of insane with my Christmas cookie trays every year; I just can't help myself, so I have lots of delicious things to share.

I thought I'd start off the Christmas cookie talk with my number one, very favorite Christmas cookie of all time: rugelach. Rugelach is a flaky pastry filled with walnuts and cinnamon sugar, and if you've never had it, you are really missing out. The nuttiness of the walnuts, the sweet spiciness of the cinnamon sugar, and the buttery pastry are such a delicious combination. These cookies keep for a long time stored in an airtight container at room temperature, and both the raw dough and the baked cookies freeze very well, making them ideal for preparing ahead of the Christmas baking rush. 

Some versions of rugelach call for raisins, chocolate, or raspberry or apricot preserves. I prefer a simple version with just nuts and cinnamon sugar. If you're not a fan of walnuts or you just want something different, try using almonds, pecans, or cashews instead; I think those would be delicious substitutions.

Rugelach
slightly adapted from Allrecipes 

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1. Cut cold butter and cream cheese into bits. In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, butter and cream cheese, and sour cream until crumbly.

2. Shape crumbly mixture into 4 equal-sized discs. Wrap each disc and chill for 2 hours, or up to 2 days.

3. Combine sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts in a bowl.

4. Roll each disc into a 9-inch round, keeping the other discs chilled until ready to use. Sprinkle the rolled disc with the walnut mixture, pressing lightly into the dough. 

5. Using a chef's knife or pizza cutter, cut each round into 12 wedges. Roll wedges from wide to narrow, ending with a point. Place on ungreased baking sheets and chill for 20 minutes before baking.

6. After chilling, bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes until lightly golden. Cool on wire racks.

Makes 4 dozen rugelach

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie

It's September, so we gotta talk apples. This seems like the perfect time to tell you about this pie, which I am ashamed to say that I made one entire year ago. It's truly heinous that I haven't shared it with you before now, because it's insanely delicious. I made it last fall after our trip to the apple orchard, and since we're planning another trip soon, this pie has been on my mind. It will be happening again in my kitchen very, very soon.

This pie. Oh, this pie. It's like a cross between pecan pie, apple pie, and cheesecake, all in one delicious slice. I don't really know what I need to say beyond that. I actually probably didn't need to say anything, right? I think the photo says it all. Apple-y, caramel-y, creamy deliciousness.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake  Pie

slightly adapted from Ezra Pound Cake

For the crust: 

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

1 cup chopped pecans

For the apple filling:

5 apples, peeled, cored, sliced very thin (I used Rome; you could really use whatever cooking apple you like)

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the cream cheese filling:

8 ounces cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

For the topping:

1 1/2 cups whipped topping

1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. For the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Mix well and press into a 10-inch pie plate and up the sides. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until golden in color. Remove pie shell from oven and cool completely.

3. Pour caramel into pie shell, and sprinkle with 1 cup of chopped pecans. Refrigerate pie shell while making apple filling.

4. For the apple filling: In a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat, melt butter and add brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add apples and stir. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes until apples are softened and tender. Let cool for 10 minutes and pour into pie shell.

5. Reduce oven to 350 degrees. 

6. For the cream cheese filling: In a medium bowl, using a hand-held mixer on low speed, combine cream cheese and sugar for about 1 minute until smooth. Add egg, lemon juice and vanilla and beat for 1 minute or until fully blended. Pour over apple filling in pie shell.

7. Bake for 30 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. Remove pie from oven and let cool. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Let stand outside the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

8. Top with whipped topping and caramel. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

I haven't done a lot of baking this summer, much to the chagrin of my family and friends I'm sure. I haven't been motivated, it's been too hot, I don't want to deal with the dishes, etc.; I have tons of excuses, but the bottom line is that I've been using my sweets allowance for Twix ice cream bars. You guys know those exist, right?

I did manage to pull myself out of my baking funk long enough to make this pie for a recent family gathering, and I'm so glad I did, because this is one amazing dessert. There's no gelatin here -- just a tart-sweet pile of strawberries atop a creamy, tangy cream cheese layer, all nestled within a buttery crust. Needless to say, slices of this pie, topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream, were very well-received. It's summer on a plate -- and well worth turning on the oven for.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie
adapted from Busy Cooks on About.com

Pastry for 1 9-inch pie
6 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 vanilla bean
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup whipped topping

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate, fluting the edges. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned. Cool completely.

2. Thoroughly mash 1 1/2 cups of the strawberries. Mix sugar and corn starch in a heavy saucepan and stir in the strawberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Cook and stir for one minute and remove from heat. Scrape the pods from the vanilla bean and stir into the strawberry mixture. Cool completely.

3. Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl. Fold in the whipped topping. Spread the cream cheese mixture into the cooled pie crust.

4. Slice the remaining strawberries and place them evenly over the cream cheese layer. Pour the cooked and cooled strawberry mixture over the top. Chill for 3 to 4 hours before serving. Keep refrigerated.

Minion Cupcakes

You guys all know what happens next week, right? Hint: The event that I’m thinking of doesn’t involve fireworks, parades, or cookouts. It does involve a villain with a really long nose and some adorable little yellow guys that do his bidding. That’s right: Despicable Me 2 comes out next Wednesday, and in our house, I think it may be generating more excitement than the upcoming Fourth of July festivities. And not just with my kids! Joe and I are equally excited about this movie, if not more so!

My boys love the first movie so much that I actually made these cupcakes for Will’s birthday, back in January. I thought this would be the perfect time to share them. Needless to say, they were a huge hit with all of the kids that had one, and I’m pretty sure they’re the cutest cupcakes I’ve ever made. There’s no real recipe involved here, and while they do take some time to make, they’re not difficult at all. I used two boxes of Twinkie-like sponge cakes, so I ended up with 16 minions.

Trust me, the little minions in your life are going to love these!

Minion Cupcakes

inspired by tons of pins on Pinterest

1 box cake mix

Water, oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

Prepared vanilla frosting

2 boxes Twinkies (or equivalent)

Black decorating gel

Melted semi-sweet chocolate

White M&Ms (available in the bulk candy aisle)

Chocolate sprinkles

1. Bake cupcakes as directed on box. Frost each cupcake with a layer of frosting, frosting more heavily in the center. Reserve about 1/4 cup of frosting.

2. To make the minions, slice each Twinkie in half cross-wise. Tint the reserved frosting gray with the decorating gel. Place a dot of the now-gray mixture on the back of two M&Ms and place them in the top middle of a Twinkie to make the minions’ eyes.

3. Place the melted chocolate in a plastic bag and use it to pipe the frames of the glasses, the eyeballs, and the mouth.

4. To make the minions’ hair, gently press individual chocolate sprinkles into the top of the Twinkies.

5. Place a minion upright in the center of each cupcake.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I can’t believe it’s Memorial Day weekend already! All of the months tend to fly by these days, but this month went especially quickly. And now, it’s officially time to kick off the holiday cookout season!

This pound cake is something that I will most definitely be making for several cookouts this summer, and I highly recommend that you bake it for your celebrations this weekend. It’s probably one of my new favorite desserts...ever. It’s made with pantry staples, so it won’t require you to purchase any special ingredients, and you can customize it in tons of different ways. The first day, we topped it with macerated strawberries and whipped cream. The second day, I made a simple chocolate sauce, which we poured over our slices and topped with vanilla ice cream (and yes, that was as phenomenal as it sounds). The cake itself has a slightly tangy flavor from the cream cheese and is dense and moist. I love the flavor that the almond extract provides. Just like the toppings, the cake itself can be customized (with the additions of citrus zest, fresh fruit, chocolate, etc.) – but I think it’s simply perfect, just as it is.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter at room temperature

1 8-ounce package cream cheese at room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan (or spray with cooking spray).

2. Place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and airy, at least five minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, then the flour and salt all at once. Beat just until incorporated.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake lightly to even out the top. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 1 1/4 hours.

4. Place the pan on a cake rack and cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

Mint Chocolate Cookies

I sometimes occasionally often get obsessive over things until I either make them/buy them/read them, etc. Recent examples of this include re-decorating our kitchen and bathroom and purchasing about 10 books by my favorite childhood author because I couldn't stop obsessing about re-reading them. There are countless more examples, because I do this frequently, I assure you.

These cookies were one of my obsessions. They started out in my mind as regular chocolate chip cookies with mint M&Ms, and they evolved into chocolate dark chocolate chip cookies with mint M&Ms and crushed Thin Mints in the batter. It was a delicious evolution, I think. Joe said they're some of the best cookies I've ever made (second in his mind only to the chocolate peanutella chocolate chip cookies). They have the perfect amount of minty flavor without the use of any extract. They're crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. The cookie base is pretty perfect, and I'm eager to start experimenting with different types of add-ins. I'll keep you posted!

Speaking of add-ins...If you're anything like me, your Girl Scout cookies were gone pretty much the same week you received them. So if you don't have Thin Mints on hand, you could easily replace them with mint Oreos or any other mint cookie you like. But replace them with something, because the texture that the cookies provide is really fantastic.

Mint Chocolate Cookies

adapted from Food Network

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups dark chocolate chips

1 cup mint M&Ms

1/2 cup chopped mint cookies (like Thin Mints or mint Oreos)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. In another large bowl cream together butter and both sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, and cocoa. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture and mix until combined. Stir chocolate chips, M&Ms, and cookie pieces. Stir to distribute evenly.

3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake 10-13 minutes until cookies are set. Cool on a baking rack.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pudding Cake

This is one of those really, really dangerous desserts. Like, really dangerous. Like, This dessert is so rich that eating one piece is plenty but I think I'll go ahead and have three more dangerous. It's basically a giant chocolate chip cookie, layered with pudding, sweetened cream cheese, and whipped cream. And a sprinkling of chocolate chips. So, basically, it's heaven in five layers.

I would suggest making this immediately, like this weekend, but just be sure you have a large group of people to share it with. If not, it will probably be hard for you to resist eating it all yourself...and don't say I didn't warn you.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pudding Cake

as seen on Stephanie Cooks

1 16.5-ounce tube  refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 12-ounce carton frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided

3 cups cold 2% milk

1 3.9-ounce package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 3.4-ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix

Chocolate chips

1. Let cookie dough stand at room temperature for 5 minutes to soften. Press into an ungreased 13- x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in 1 3/4 cups whipped topping. Spread over crust.

3. In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping and chocolate chips.

4. Allow to sit in the fridge overnight or at least 8 hours.

Biscoff Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the cookies that made my almost five-year-old tell me in ecstasy, "Mommy, you make the best cookies I have ever, ever eated."

I could probably just end this post there, right? I mean, if a five-year-old with lots of experience eating various types of cookies says these are the best, why even bother looking any further?

I have to agree with Andrew's assessment. These cookies are seriously delicious. They taste a lot like regular chocolate chip cookies, but then you get the spicy hint of the Biscoff spread that takes them from good to fantastic. The spicy-sweet Biscoff works so perfectly with the dark chocolate chips, and the texture of these cookies is just perfect: crisp on the edges and chewy in the center. Basically, they are some of the best cookies you will ever, ever eat.

Biscoff Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

slightly adapted from Life's Ambrosia

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup Biscoff spread

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 10-ounce bag dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Beat butter, brown sugar and white sugar together until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each egg. Beat in vanilla extract and Biscoff spread.

3. In another bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly beat flour mixture into egg mixture. Mix well. Fold in dark chocolate chips.

4. Roll out tablespoonfuls of dough and place them on cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges have started to brown. (Note: When baked for 10 minutes these are chewy cookies. Baked for 12 minutes they're more crispy. I definitely like them chewy, so I took them out after exactly 10 minutes.)

5. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Granola Pie

My cooking club's theme for January was "childhood favorites," and as soon as I was assigned the dessert course I knew exactly what I was going to make. This recipe isn't exactly a childhood favorite, because I don't think my mom started making it until I was a teenager -- but once she started making this pie I never stopped asking for it, and we probably had it at least once a month. I'd never made it myself before, but I knew it's what I had to make for cooking club.

This pie was every bit as delicious as I remembered. I know it sounds a little strange -- granola bars crushed up in pie? -- but it just works. The granola bars give it such a delicious texture and work perfectly with the walnuts, and the chocolate chips make this so rich. I've only ever made this with oats and honey granola bars, but I bet you could use any flavor and get delicious results. I like eating it with a (large) dollop of whipped cream on top, which is the perfect thing to cut through all the sweet richness.

Granola Pie

slightly adapted from Pillsbury

Crust for 1 9-inch pie

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup corn syrup

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs, lightly beaten

4 crunchy oats and honey granola bars, crushed

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup oats (quick-cooking or old-fashioned will work)

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Whipped cream for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate and crimp the edges.

2. Microwave butter on high for 1 minute or until melted. Sitr in brown sugar and corn syrup until blended. Beat in salt, vanilla and eggs. Stir crushed granola bars, walnuts, oats, and chocolate chips into the brown sugar mixture. Pour into the crust-lined pie plate.

3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until filling is set and crust is golden brown. During the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover the crust with strips of foil to avoid over-browning. Cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve at any temperature with whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.    

Cake Batter Dip

I'm Grumpy today. Yes, that's right: Grumpy with a capital G. It's just been one of those days, and even though it's still early, I already just want to call it quits and settle into a hot bath with a cold glass of wine. But since I can't do that, I'm going to do my best to improve my mood by sharing an adorable, delicious recipe with you.

It just doesn't get much cuter than this cake batter dip. It's so easy to throw together, and it's addictively delicious. This recipe makes a ton, so be sure you have someone to share it with, or you just might end up eating all of it yourself (not that I know that from experience or anything...).

This is such a sweet and festive treat for a Grumpy-with-a-capital-G day...or any day, really. How I wish I was that lion animal cracker right now!

Cake Batter Dip

adapted from Honest Cooking

1 package of Funfetti cake batter mix (box variety)

2 cups vanilla yogurt

1 1/2 cups whipped topping

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons sprinkles

Vanilla wafers, animal crackers, and graham crackers for dipping

Blend the cake mix, yogurt, whipped topping and vanilla with a mixer. Place in a tupperware container; cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Before serving, add the sprinkles to the top of the dip. Serve with assorted dippers.

Cookies and Cream Layer Cake

Exactly one month ago today, my sweet littlest love, William, turned three years old. It's such a cliche, I know, but I seriously have no idea how the time passed by so quickly. It seems like yesterday Will was just a sweet little bundle of baby, and now he's rapidly becoming a little boy. A charming, beautiful, amazing, very loving and very loved little boy.

In our house, we don't do giant parties, but we always have a small family party for the boys' birthdays. For Will's cake this year, I knew pretty much immediately that I wanted to do something with Oreos. The boy is an Oreo fiend, and he comes by that trait naturally. I kept the cake itself pretty simple and made it special with cookie crumbs and a wax paper "3." I loved how this turned out, both in taste and in looks; the cake was so moist, and the frosting was so creamy and sweet. 

And, most importantly, the birthday boy was very, very happy with his cake.

Cookies and Cream Layer Cake

cake adapted from Taste of Home; frosting is my recipe

For the cake:

1 package white cake mix

1 1/4 cups water

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups coarsely-chopped Oreos

For the frosting:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 8-ounce package cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup whipped topping

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, water, oil, eggs and vanilla; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high for 2 minutes. Gently fold in crushed cookies.

3. Pour into two greased and floured 9-inch round baking pans. Bake  for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

4. For frosting, beat the butter, cream cheese and vanilla in another large bowl until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time. Gently fold in whipped topping. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cooled cake. Decorate the top and sides with cookies if desired.

Pecan Pie Bites

The Super Bowl is coming up in a little over a week, and, while I have never been one to turn up my nose at a delicious, hot, melty, savory dip (and will be making and devouring a few of those for the occasion, as a matter of fact), dessert is something that can never be ignored -- even when it comes to the Super Bowl.

Wow, that was a long sentence.

Anyway. I made these for Thanksgiving, but I think pecan pie is appropriate for pretty much every occasion, Super Bowl and random Tuesdays included. These little pecan pies using phyllo shells are perfect, because they can be assembled ahead of time, they're corn syrup-free, and they're as delicious as they are adorable. We topped ours with dollops of whipped cream, which I believe is a must when we're talking about pecan pie in any way, shape, or form. Yum.

Pecan Pie Bites

from Skinnytaste

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 large egg

4 teaspoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

15 miniature phyllo shells (1 package, from the frozen section)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except pecans. Mix well. Stir in chopped pecans.

3. Arrange mini shells on a baking sheet. Fill mini shells with one heaping teaspoon of pecan mixture. If any of the mixture remains, distribute evenly between all the shells.

4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Whoopie Pies with Cookie Dough Buttercream Filling

I'm not even going to lie: When I look at these whoopie pies, the first thing that pops into my head is the beginning chords of "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye. Because, I mean, for real. Look at those beauties. They are every bit as delicious as they look, let me assure you.

There are countless recipes out there for chocolate chip cookie whoopie pies, but I haven't seen very many that use chocolate chip cookies as the pies themselves, and use chocolate chip cookie dough buttercream for the filling. Typically one or the other is chocolate. A chocolate version would of course be delicious, but I was seeking to make the ulitmate chocolate chip cookie whoopie pie. I think this recipe succeeds on all levels. The whoopie pies themselves have crisp edges, but they're soft in the middle, and the buttercream is smooth and creamy and tastes just like chocolate chip cookie dough.

These cookies are rich and satisfying, and, with a glass of milk on the side, I just can't possibly think of anything better.



Chocolate Chip Cookie Whoopie Pies with Cookie Dough Buttercream Filling

adapted from Everyday Desserts and Baking Junkie

For the cookies:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

For the filling:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 + 1/8 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream

1 1/4 tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

2. With an electric mixer, beat together butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed for 1 minute. Add egg and beat until smooth. On low, beat in vanilla and flour mixture just until blended. Stir in mini chips.

3. Drop by tablespoons onto parchment-paper lined baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

4. To make the frosting, cream together butter and brown sugar. Add powdered sugar in increments until smooth. Add a pinch of salt, then add the vanilla and as much heavy cream as needed to reach desired consistency.

5. After the cookies have cooled, invert half of the cookies and use a piping bag to pipe on filling. Top each half with another cookie of similar size and shape. This recipe makes 12 whoopie pies.