Ina Garten's Reese's Cupcakes

Chocolate and peanut butter are a truly wonderful combo- as you are probably aware. Of course I've been dying to make some cupcakes like this for some time, but I was waiting for the right occasion.

A friend's birthday party came up and so I decided to make these - the only condition was that I could not take any home with me! The result? Success! :) Ina Garten is a genius!

I only had one- at the party. My craving was satisified and these received RAVE reviews. Everyone thought it was the perfect combo. Choppped reeses cup make the perfect topping, if you can resist snacking on them... :)

Triple Layer Cookies & Cream Crunch Brownie Bars

I'm going to tell you right off the bat, these are DANGEROUS! I'm warning you that if you make these you will need to find them a new home right away. Keeping them in your fridge will only make you sneak a piece after every meal. Even breakfast. Don't say I didn't warn you!

I didn't know there could be such a delicious combination of oreos and chewy brownie and melted chocolate and peanut butter and Oreo crumbs (did I mention that?). I really like that its cold. Its freaking amazing! :) Danger #2- you will not get rid of an entire package of oreos with this recipe. You will have to make it twice.... I hope you have a bake sale or something, for your own sanity!

Miss Debbie's No Bake Cookies

These cookies remind me of home. My mom (Miss Debbie) always wanted to make these with me whenever a craving hit. They are perfect since you just cook them up on the stove in a few minutes and then you let them harden on wax paper. I always used to swipe my finger around the warm, gooey edges to make sure they were good. By good I mean not poisonous. :) They never look perfect, but they always taste great- the combo of PB, chocolate and salty oats is very yummy in my tummy.

When my mom came to visit a few months ago, she told me on the way back form the airport that she had a craving! haha surprise surprise! We had to call my roomie to make sure we had "Quick Oats." Check!

The regular kind of oats will not be cooked thoroughly in this recipe and result in very chewy cookies.

One note- make sure you pay close attention to the cooking time- too little and they will not setup, too much and they will be like rocks... They taste best the first day, but they will keep for a day or two- best to give away!

Miss Debbie's No Bake Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen small cookies

• 2 cups sugar
• 3 heaping TBSP cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup salted butter (If you use unsalted, add a pinch of salt)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I use creamy)
• 3 cups Quick Oats
• 1 tsp vanilla

First things first, spread some wax (or parchment) paper on your counter. In a large pot, melt sugar, cocoa, butter and milk over medium-high heat. Stir continuously until it comes to a boil.  Pay close attention! 

After it comes to a boil, reduced heat and boil for 1 minute while you keep stirring. Make sure your other ingredients are already measured out and ready to go...

Turn off heat and add peanut butter, oats and vanilla, stirring quickly until thoroughly mixed. 

Place onto wax paper by the spoonful and allow to cool and set slightly before eating.

Wash those sticky fingers and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

I cannot tell you how much chocolate and peanut butter have been on my mind lately! I mean, it is a FABULOUS combination, but I have never craved it so much before! I do not usually eat a lot candy, but I have seriously been wanting some Reese's... I knew I needed to get my little craving out of the way, so I whipped these up in no time and brought them over to a little Superbowl viewing party. They were still warm and received rave reviews. I do have to say, that they are not very good the next day unless you warm them up, so make these for a party/gathering/sharing. Believe me, you won't want these in your peripheral vision while you're trying to convince yourself to go to the gym... 

Banana-Bo-Bana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

I hosted an appetizer-themed Ladies Game Night for some co-workers last week. So fun! I wanted to make something sweet and I KNEW I had to make some cupcakes when my friend Jenna gave me this darling cupcake stand last weekend as a belated Christmas present. :)

 

I'm also obsessed with this adorable cakestand my mom gifted me with last year!

I decided on banana cupcakes when I had some bananas that were the perfect ripeness for baking and I was not making anymore trips to the store! ha I just invented my own recipe (basically the same as my banana muffin/bread recipe- See the love marks?)

, but I got so many compliments on these little cuppies! Speaking of cuppies, remember these darling little cupcake liners I found in my stocking? I just love them!

The peanut butter icing is SO yummy. It just adds that extra-something when combined with the banana bottom. Warning! You will probably have a little icing leftover, and you will want to pipe it directly into your mouth...

Yellow Birthday Cake with Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Filling

I often crave chocolate and peanut butter.Like A LOT. Such an amazing combo. Lucky for my arteries, I was making this cake for my friend Jennifer's birthday. Is it healthy to channel my cravings into gifts for other people? It's OK she liked it too!


I have had my eye on this recipe from Bree for sometime and was waiting for the right time to make it. J told me she likes yellow cake, so I made Bree's recipe for the peanut butter chocolate chip filling and the milk chocolate butter cream and coupled with this moist and delicious yellow cake recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Simply divine. I did try a piece, and I have to say it was quite tasty.

The chocolate really takes a backseat here though. One thing to note is that the PB filing is not quite as rich as a PB icing since its made with whipped cream. Honestly, it wasn't as peanut buttery as I was imagining, but it was still good. The PB flavor really seeps into the layers. I stored in the fridge (due to the cream), which made it taste more dense and cold. If you left the cake out or warmed it up it might have a different consistency. Still, I think this is a birthday cake anyone would love! Oh and the cake batter, SO AMAZING that I shamelessly licked the entire spatula clean! OK- maybe the bowl too...

Moist and Buttery Yellow Cake

• 4 cups & 2 TBSP cake flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken

*If you don't have buttermilk, start with 2 TBSP (1 TBSP per cup of milk) fresh lemon juice and fill up to the 2 cup line with milk.

Preheat oven to 350. Line two 9 inch round cake pans with parchment circles and then butter parchment.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy.

Beat in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down bowl after each. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled- that's OK!).

Add flour mixture in three batches, until each batch is just incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in both pans, rapping on counter to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (About 25-40 minutes- OK I can't remember how long I baked mine for). Cool in pan on cooling rack for 10 minutes then run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert cakes on rack.

Discard parchment and cool completely- around 1 hour.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Filling

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (not the natural kind)
• 2 oz. cream cheese
• 1/4 cup plus 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (mini are best, but I only had regular)

When your cake is like 5 seconds away from being cool, whip the heavy cream and set aside.

Cream together peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar until well combined. Add vanilla.

Fold whipped cream into peanut butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

It will spread best when at room temperature, but if you need to make ahead of time, keep in fridge and remove 15 minutes before you "fill" the cake, stirring until it warms up a little.

To fill your cake, place one layer on your cake stand/cake carrier etc. and place large dollop of filling on top, spread evenly and place second layer on top.

Keep in mind that this is only used for the filling, so you may have some extra if you don't give this cake a generous filling. I won't tell if you eat it with your spatula too! I may have saved a couple scoops and eaten with a spoon for dessert...maybe... :)

Use the side of your spatula to "seal" the layers together with the remaining filling and place in fridge for 2 hours to chill and firm.

Milk Chocolate Buttercream

• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
  
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, melted and slightly cooled
  
• 2 TBSP cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2-3 TBSP heavy cream

* The chocolate flavor in this frosting is mild due to the milk chocolate. I added the cocoa powder to make it a bit richer, but if you want to go all out, then I would use 1/2 cup cocoa powder instead of the chips and powder listed above. You could also go with a dark chocolate.

Make this right before you're cake is finished "chilling" in the fridge. Cream butter and sugar. Gradually add cocoa powder and then melted chocolate. Add just enough cream to get the consistency for spreading. Add vanilla. Now you're ready to put the finishing touches on your cake!

To ice your cake, start by icing the top. It helps to have a handy dandy icing spatula like mine. It's OK to push the extra icing the edges. This will help us ice the sides.

What a mess! Next, slowly add icing to sides in small batches and using excess from top, smooth sides. Once you're done, carefully hold back of sspatula at an angle against edges and run around to remove excess icing.

Put remaining icing in an icing bag with a star tip and pipe around top and bottom edges for decorations. This effect will cause people to "Ooh" and "Aah." It's amazing! :)

Dig in and enjoy (with your birthday friend of course) with a glass of milk....or champagne! :) Both in our case.

On a side note- we spotted these white peacocks at J's birthday brunch at Green Pastures in Austin. All of us were chasing them around trying to take photos- haha so cute!


What is your favorite kind of birthday cake?

-Marissa

I'll make you banana pancakes, pretend like it's the weekend now...

Since this is a short week with a LONG weekend- you know you will probably need some pancakes! I know I kind of already have a banana pancake recipe on here (made from leftover waffle batter), but this one is really good- so good that it deserved its own special post. It's made specifically for pancake perfection. I used to not like pancakes (too soggy), but lately I've been a pancake fanatic! I think I only like pancakes with special goodies inside (bananas, chocolate chips, pumpkin). I even had some leftover pancakes for dinner last week! DELISH! :)

A lot of times pancake batter can be runny. This is not good in my book. I like thick, puffy pancake batter. This makes it easy to flip and easier to shape. The best pancake recipe I've come across so far is this pumpkin spice one. I used this as a guide and came up with my "Pretend like its the Weekend Banana Pancakes." The bf's verdict? "These are really good. Perfect. Thanks Babe!" Mission complete. The thing you need to know about this recipe is that your banana should be VERY ripe- so ripe that you only want to pick it up with two fingers and toss it in the trash. Those bananas make perfect pancakes and banana muffins.

Pretend like its the Weekend Banana Pancakes

• 1 1/4 cups AP flour
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• dash of ground nutmeg
• dash of ground cloves
• 1 cup milk
• 1 very ripe banana, mashed
• 1 large egg
• 2 TBSP melted butter

Preheat oven to 200- keep pancakes warm on a baking tray until you're finished making the whole batch- love this trick! :)

Whisk together dry ingredients in small bowl. Mix wet ingredients in larger bowl. Slowly incorporate wet into dry until just combined. Lumpy is OK! :)

Heat skillet/griddle over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter by 1/3 cup-fulls and cook until top and sides bubble. Flip over and cook a few more minutes until both sides are golden brown.

Serve with hot maple syrup or PB syrup (my fav). To make PB syrup, heat 1 part smooth PB and 2 parts maple syrup in the micro until melted. Mix well and enjoy!

P.S. You've probably noticed that I've been showing off my cute little ceramic bird couple lately. Aren't they the cutest salt and pepper shakers you've ever seen? I spotted them at Pier One a while back and my mom picked them up for me for about $2- what a sweet deal!

-Marissa

Repurposed Banana Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup

I did not use someone else's old pancakes to sponge the walls or anything...ha I just used the leftover batter from these delicious Waffles last Saturday morning to make some yum yum banana pancakes! (It's OK- it was only 6 days old and the original recipe said it would be good for 10!) Note- this works best if you refrigerate the plain batter and add your banana right before you use it again.

Anywho, after reading all about my friend Sarina's peanut butter obsession over at Veggies and Beanz day after day, I've been craving lots of PB lately- yum!!! :) I remember reading one post of hers that talked about making your own PB syrup. What goes better with bananas than PB? So i mixed a little up for myself in the microwave and enjoyed it on top of my banana pancake. The bf snarled up his nose at the sound of PB syrup and used the regular kind-BORING! That's OK- I didn't have to share.

PB Syrup:

• 1 TBSP creamy peanut butter
  
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Place together in heatproof container. Heat in the micro for 1-2 minutes, stirring in between. Stir until smooth and enjoy!

DELISH!!!! Seriously you must try this soon!