Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

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After a little break from baking, I’m back in the kitchen! We’ve been in the middle of a heat wave so I didn’t want to heat up the oven and really push the AC to its limit. And this past weekend my sister-in-laws (yes, both of them!) and almost 7 year old nephew were in town to visit. We had SUCH a good time! My nephew is a little fish so we swam every day, twice on Friday. We also found time to do a little shopping and eat at my favorite yogurt place – Orange Leaf. YUM!

Now to the cookies! I’ve been thinking about these cookies since my trip to Trader Joes. I bought these Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups and I knew they belonged in cookies. I jazzed it up with adding them to an Oatmeal Cookie recipe and it turned out AMAZING!! The cookies are soft and chewy and the Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups just bring it to a whole new level of yumminess.

The recipe makes a little over 3 dozen cookies. I decided to only make 2 and freeze the remainder of the dough for another day….which actually might come in handy this coming weekend because my mother and father-in-law are coming to visit! I love having family visit and it makes me keep my house clean. :)

Here we go…

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Adapted from MomsWhoThink.com

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats
1-2 cups mini Peanut Butter Cups

In a medium bowl, cream together white sugar, butter, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla and almond extract (if using).
Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats and then stir in peanut butter cups. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.

*Yeah, I didn’t read the recipe all the way through to see this step so my dough was only in the frig for about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Use cookie scooper to drop dough on to cookie sheets and place 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8 - 12 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

*One other note, I only had 2 cups of oatmeal, so my cookies were a little thinner, I think. I would do the full 3 cups next time.

Printer Friendly Cookies

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Trader Joe's and Guacamole

So you might have heard on my Facebook page that a Trader Joe's just opened less than a block from my office. My foodie friend and co-worker, Sierra, and I ventured over during our lunch break. It was CRAZYYY busy but we kept our focus and pushed that cart right though the packed isles. Every checkout line was ½ to ¾ the way down every isle. But, really, people were in good spirits and patient so it was kinda fun!

Here are my goodies….

Of course some chocolate….you’ll see these in something baked soon.

We had this Mandarin Chicken and Brown Rice for dinner last night. And will be eating leftovers today. Yum.

Also picked up some General Tsao sauce – my favorite Chinese food so I’m hoping it’s good. I’ve always wanted to cook with coconut milk so grabbed a can of that.

But the main thing I wanted was this salsa and these chips! Amazing. I could, and we almost have, eat the whole thing in one sitting. Good thing I got 2 of each.

You know what would also go really well with these chips? Guacamole! Sierra shared her recipe with me and I desperately want a bowl right now.

Enjoy!

Guacamole
Sierra from Put Some Spice in Your Kitchen

There are a few treats that always seem to remind me of summer strawberries, lemonade, and definitely guacamole. I whipped some up to have with tacos and didn’t regret it. So good!

What You Need:
2 medium-large avocados
1 quarter of red or white onion chopped finely
1 clove garlic minced
8 sprigs of cilantro
1/2 medium tomato or two roma tomatoes, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers de-seeded chopped finely
salt/pepper to taste
1/4 tsp lemon juice

Peel husks and remove pit of avocados. Here is a quick video demonstration of how to prepare an avocado.

Chop onion, garlic, tomato. Split jalapenos down the center and remove seeds. Chop jalapenos and cilantro finely. Squash avocados into a chunky paste. Add chopped ingredients. Fold over the mixture on its self a few times. Add salt, pepper and tomato. If ready to eat in next two hrs add lemon. If not, wait 30 min before serving and blend.

What else should l look for at Trader Joe's? I think I will quickly become a regular….

Thanks for stopping by!

Banana Blueberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I did it again. I forgot to eat my bananas and they turned brown. But this time around blueberries were on sale. Add a little cream cheese frosting and banana crisis averted!
I think this cake is best served chilled, but still delish at room temperature. The original recipe called for lemon juice but I was without so I substituted 1 tablespoon white vinegar. I didn’t notice the flavor in the finished product; I think it just helped make the milk more like buttermilk.

I really wanted to do this as a layer cake, but for transporting/sharing purposes I knew a sheet cake would work best.

Enjoy!

Banana Blueberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Your Homebased Mom

Cake:
¾ cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
1 ½ cups mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
3 cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ cups milk
1 tbsp white vinegar (or lemon juice)
2 cups blueberries, washed and picked over

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Grease a 9×13-inch pan, or could do 9 inch round pans or even muffins (adjust cooking time).

In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars. Add in the eggs one at a time, and mix until creamy. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and bananas. Mix until creamy.

Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir the mixture roughly, but do not combine completely.

In a measuring cup, mix the white vinegar (or lemon juice) with the milk.

With the mixer running, slowly pour the milk into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix until smooth. Fold in the blueberries.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan(s) – FYI, my batter was pretty runny and I was a bit concerned but baked up just fine!!

Bake the cake for 60 to 75 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely (could put in the refrigerator if in a hurry) before frosting.

Frosting:
¼ cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package light cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
4 cups powdered sugar
Pinch salt

For the frosting: In a large bowl, whip the butter and cream cheese together until very smooth. Beat in vanilla and almond extract. Add the powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) and salt and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. Spread on cooled cake. (I did have a little too much frosting, but if you do a layer cake you’ll need a little more.)

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Cinnamon & Sugar Roll-Ups

After my sugar overload last weekend I’ve steered away from sweets this week. Until tonight. I just needed something sweet. I was flipping through a cook book and found one that involved pie crust and cheese. *light bulb* I have Pillsbury Pie Crust! But cheese was lame and would not solve my problem. Cinnamon and sugar on the other hand, not lame.

This is a super easy and super quick little treat. It’s pretty much like a little fancier, buttery version of cinnamon toast. But don’t they look like little cinnamon rolls??  Yummy. You could make your own pie crust to make a bigger batch but I’m a pretty big fan of that little dough boy and his pie crust.

Cinnamon & Sugar Roll-Ups

1 prepared pie crust (Pillsbury is my fav!)
1 tbsp butter
Cinnamon
Sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Unroll pie crust. Lightly cover with butter (I used spray butter). Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Roll the pie crust back up. Slice and place on lightly buttered cookie sheet.

Sprinkle with a little more cinnamon and sugar (because why not) and bake for 8-12 minutes until lightly browned.

Let cool before popping in your mouth.

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1st Birthday Celebration.....mmmmm cake.

My little nephew, Grant, celebrated his 1st birthday this past weekend and it was so much fun!

I arrived at my sister’s house Friday afternoon to help her make the cake. She found a really cool cake design using fondant and was determined to make it. She is much craftier than me so I was more so there for moral support and sister bonding time. But I will say rolling out and covering cake with fondant is much easier with 2 people.

We also made Grant his own cake to kind of match the fancy cake.

My sister used fondant to make the animals for the main cake and for Grant’s little cake.

I made the Sugar Cookies just to make sure we had enough treats for everyone.  I used my favorite sugar cookie recipe and my loot from Sweet!. 

Over the course of the weekend I think I made 3 batches of my favorite frosting. By Sunday, my sister and I both agreed that we were very much ‘over’ cake and frosting.

Grant was a trooper on his big day! He loved his cake and all the frosting and still had energy to open his presents.

I do think I need to take a break from sweets for a couple weeks. After the sugar cookies, lemon cupcakes, cream bouquet discovery, it’s time for more salty treats and meals.  Hummm.....

Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Cream Bouquet: Wedding Cakes Secret Ingredient

It’s wedding season and we all know the best part about weddings is the cake. How would you like to make your own wedding cake, anytime?!?! Here is how I discovered the secret to wedding cake.

I work for a real estate company doing admin work and agent training. This role allows me to travel to real estate offices in different parts of Kansas and Missouri. I have so much fun visiting the towns and getting to know the people. Every day is something different!

A couple weeks ago, at our corporate office, we were celebrating the opening of a new office in Topeka, Kansas with cake (yum). I was talking to the new broker about how the cake tasted like wedding cake and wondered why wedding cake tastes so different. She shared with me that it’s an actual flavoring called Cream Bouquet! She learned about it in a cake baking class. My next question was where and when can I get some! Sadly her magical baking supply store was an hour away in Topeka.

But wait! I was on the schedule to visit Topeka with my boss the following week! Score! During our visit, the conversation turned to cake and this magical baking supply store. I know my boss enjoys spending time in the kitchen just like me so we planned to swing by before heading home. Double score!

Seriously, I wish someone would have been filming me as I saw this shop. I was like a kid walking down stairs on Christmas morning…I might have squealed a little bit. It’s called Sweet! Baking and Candy Making Supply. They have almost a whole wall dedicated to cupcake liners and another to sprinkles. Not to mention they have all the newest and must have baking/decorating items. You should check out their site; freebies, recipes, online ordering, and good inspiration.

I tried to stay focused and not spend my whole paycheck (even though prices were very reasonable; $2.00 for cupcake liners and $1.35 for sprinkles). Here is my loot…cupcake liners, sprinkles, and a LARGE bottle of Cream Bouquet flavoring.

I knew I would be making wedding cake cupcakes that evening for sure.

After work, I made a sensible dinner and then started in on the cupcakes. I used a box white cake mix and added ½ tsp of Cream Bouquet to the batter. For the frosting, I used the recipe from Sweets! website.

The final product was delicious and tasted like wedding cake!

It took me back to my wedding day; perfect day and perfect cake.

This is one of my favorite pictures from our wedding…Jacob’s expression as he gives me a very large piece of cake.

Sum up…

Cake:
Boxed White Cake prepared as directed
½ tsp Cream Bouquet added to batter before baking

Buttercream Frosting:
From Sweet! Baking and Candy Making Supply
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup plain shortening (I used butter flavored because that is what I had on-hand, but plain would keep the white color much better.)
2 pounds powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon Creme Bouquet
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup water or milk
pinch of salt

Mix with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Can add coloring if needed. It does store well in the refrigerator. Also tasted good by the spoonful….

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your wedding cake!