Snickerdoodle Blondies

I laid by the pool this weekend. With fun people and a drink in hand...

I needed that.

I think I've been whining for months about wanting to escape to Mexico, or somewhere where the water is clear and the sand is white. I fantasize about getting away with that man of mine and having no worries for a few days.

Well, sitting by the pool is the closest thing I can get for now and I shall take it!

It was a reminder that I have been hibernating for weeks though. Someone offered me their sunblock and I politely obliged stating "I don't really burn unless I'm in the sun for a couple days in a row". I looked real dumb when my shoulders were bright red after sitting in the sun for 45 minutes.

I'll take that sunblock, thanks.

Whoops. Someone needs to stop hiding from the sun.

I think it was December when I bought those Hershey's Cinnamon Chips. I have spent the last few months just staring at them wondering what the heck I should do with them. Why did I buy them? 

Well, these blondies have been floating around the blog world for a while now and have been on my list. That man of mine loves cinnamony/snickerdoodley-like desserts so I thought I'd give em a try and add the cinnamon chips.

He loved 'em...what-d-ya know?

Snickerdoodle Blondies
Adapted from Food.com

Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup cinnamon chips
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and/or line a 9×13 inch pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and set aside.

In large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Add cinnamon chips and stir just until combined. Spread evenly in prepared pan (it helps to use a greased spatula). Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon, in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool before cutting. Makes 20-24 bars.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.

Duh.

As much as I want to say it is only a Hallmark holiday and as much as I truly believe one shouldn't need a holiday to show someone you care...I do appreciate the excuse to get into "cheese" mode and do something cute.

I firmly believe that being thoughtful and showing someone how you feel about them should happen frequently...on Holidays or on your average plain ol' day. BUT...yes, there is a BUT...I will accept the Hallmark holiday as an excuse to have a nice dinner and eat a lot little chocolate.

That man of mine and I are making dinner together tomorrow. We did it last year when we made that lovely salmon meal and I kind of like the idea of making it a tradition to make a nice dinner together.

It is usually me doing the cooking so it should be nice to work on a meal together...and I think stuffed shells is just perfect for that.

In other news...I have a confession.

I know this is going to set me apart from all that is normal but I am not the biggest fan of red velvet.

Ok. Ok. Hear me out. It is really just a mild chocolate cake with some vanilla that tastes like food coloring. Yes, the frosting (if it is cream cheese) is da-fricking-bomb but the cake for me has always been "eh".

Yeah, I know. I have heard that I am crazy once or twice.

That man of mine happens to love red velvet...as do the other inhabitants of his man cave so I decided to suck it up and make him/them some of these brownies...

That I can't stop eating.

What the?

It must be the use of dark chocolate rather than cocoa and my lack of control when it comes to cream cheese.

Yeah, that must be it.

Long story short? These brownies are the exception to my "red velvet rule"...and The Cheesecake Factory's red velvet cheesecake (again...the cream cheese is totally to blame there).

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies
Adapted from SweetPeasKitchen.com

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp red food coloring
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
8-oz neaufchatel cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 8 inch metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.

In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined and very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.

Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Distribute the cheesecake mixture in 8 dollops over batter in the pan. Swirl in with a knife or spatula.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.
Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack before lifting out the parchment paper to remove the brownies.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

I'm alive!!

Well, kinda. If you consider being the most busy you have ever been in your life "alive" then yes, I qualify.

It has been a long time since I have posted. Too long I'm afraid. Along with my usual class and work schedule I have recently started an "internship"-type gig where I do real-life signing with real-life people!

I know, crazy right?! You spend all this time learning sign language and practicing these mock situations with your fellow peers who pretend to be deaf for so long that you kind of forget that the whole reason you are even in the program is to interpret for living and breathing deaf people!

It has been something else. Let me tell yah. I have been tirelessly adjusting to the new craziness that is my life that my lovely little hobby that is Dame Good Eats has been neglected.

I must say, I have missed the excuse to be creepy and take pictures of everything I eat and make...I also miss the excuse to try to come up with the most outlandish kind of dishes in the hopes that maybe, just maybe they will be successful.

I kinda miss you all :(

I have set a goal for myself this quarter to allow myself more "me" time and more time to enjoy the things I like to do with my "free" time. Well, I no longer have this "free" time (I think it's a myth) but I decided I need to make some...even if just a teensy bit...I miss reading novels, cooking and blogging about my obsession with food.

We shall see how this transpires eh?

I have like 10 billion recipes from months ago just patiently waiting for me to post them. So stay tuned!

Ps...did anyone eat themselves into a 2-day food coma on Super Bowl Sunday because there were too many different types of dip and dip is one thing that forces you to throw all other cares out the window? No?...yeah me neither :/

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
From Beantownbaker.com

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (18 ounces) creamy peanut butter
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) strawberry jam or other jam
2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don't worry if all the jam isn't covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

Birthday Cake Blondies

Something happened to me today...

I guess you could call it an out of body experience.

Sure, we'll call it that.

The little kid inside of me (yep, she's still kickin) hijacked my grocery store pit stop today. My intention was to get milk.

That is all.

But within inches of the milk was frozen breakfast food. I don't buy a lot of frozen food, but like I said, out of body experience people.

They had french toast sticks! I was instantly brought back to elementary school. French toast stick day was the best.

And I have a confession. It's weird. I am well aware. But I would alternate dipping my french toast sticks in ketchup and syrup. It's gross I know. But it's kind of like dipping your Wendy's fries in your chocolate frosty. I know it's wrong...but I don't wanna be right.

You know what else they had? Confetti waffles. Yes. This isn't a joke. I am obsessed with anything that has sprinkles in it. I would probably eat mashed potatoes with sprinkles in it...

Well maybe not...but still.

I know sprinkles dont actually change the taste or anything but somehow my mind tricks me into thinking it does. Nothin beats funfetti cake. Nothing.

They had confetti pancakes too. Yep, my freezer is now packed. The best thing about all this though? Most of it wasn't packed with sugar like many of the breakfast foods are. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the waffles were low in fat and sugar.

Happy happy me!

I feel the need to prove that these fabulous finds are not a product of my imagination.

See? I don't lie...except about the mashed potatoes...that was kind of a lie.

Now check out these blondies. I have seen a couple recipes out in the blog world for these gems but I wanted to make my own. I borrowed a simple blondie recipe and tweaked it to come up with these. If you are like me and you can't stop yourself when something is good then put on your stretchy pants...

I was literally at the counter with a fork and shoveling the piping hot brownies into my gluttunous (there is no spell check on this thing) mouth.

I made these for my aunts birthday...because she's a member of the blonde trio (my mom and two aunts) and because you can't have a birthday without sprinkles.

Have I mentioned I really love sprinkles?

Well, now you know.

Birthday Cake Blondies
Dame Good

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup boxed yellow cake mix (dry)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup sprinkles (rainbow jimmies)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Combine the flour, cake mix, baking powder and salt.

Melt 1/3 cup butter. Add the sugar and mix well. Cool slightly.

Add egg and vanilla. Blend well. Add flour mixture, a little at a time, mixing well.

Add chocolate chips and sprinkles and mix until combined.

Spread in 9 x 9 x 2 inch pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Funfetti Treats

I am so delighted to see that the blog world has gone cake batter crazy! Batter has always been my favorite part of baking (yes, I have a chronic bowl-licking illness) and I love that everyone is coming up with fun recipes that incorporate cake batter. Google it, its everywhere.

These are from my blog idol. She has done quite a few interesting things with cake batter, all of which I love. I am excited to try more because I loved this. These lasted about 12 hours in my house. That's all I'm going to say...

Oh, and sprinkles belong in everything.

The end.

Funfetti Treats
Adapted from Howsweeteats.com

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup funfetti cake mix (dry)
6 cups crisp rice cereal
1 10-oz bag miniature marshmallows
1/4 cup sprinkles (jimmies or non-pariels, or a combination like I did :))

Directions:

Spray a large bowl with cooking spray (as well as the spatula or spoon you plan to use). Put the cereal and 3 tablespoons of the sprinkles in the bowl and mix up.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low-medium heat. When the butter is melted add the marshmallows and stir constantly until the marshmallows are about 3/4 melted (I prefer not to melt mine all the way so there are chunks of marshmallows in the treats). Slowly add the cake mix and stir until combined.

Pour the marshmallow mixture over the cereal and sprinkles and stir until combined. Press into a greased 9x13 baking dish (or an 8x8 if you want thicker bars). Top the bars with remaining sprinkles.

Let cool for about an hour (to speed up the process, put them in the refrigerator). Cut into squares with a knife. Dig in!

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Pretzel Treats

I will be the first to admit that oftentimes my food or presentation of my food is not that pretty per se. I mean I get it. I'm aware....

Many times this is because I either A.) I don't have the patience to make it pretty because I want to get to the eating part... B.) I care more about how it tastes than it looks...or C.) I don't have a very good camera

This lovely treat that I threw together is a little bit of all of the above... A, B and C.

As I have said many times before I have this little obsession with the chocolate, peanut butter and pretzel combination. Remember my Love Triangle Cookie? Yeah, anything like that!

I had some rice crispy cereal and marshmallows laying around and decided to try to have some fun with them and make a few fun things...this is the first fun thing (since the Whatchamacallits)...and by fun I mean super, sinfully awesome.

Sure, its not that pretty. In fact, its a bit of a mess but I'm gonna call that fun...because the taste sooo makes up for it :)

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Pretzel Treats
Dame Good

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 (10 ounce) package regular marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups Crisp Rice cereal
1 1/2 cups broken pretzels (break each pretzel into 4 pieces)
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Add the cereal, pretzels and chocolate and mix up.

In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter until melted.

Pour the marshmallow mixture over top of the cereal mixture. With a spatula that is sprayed with cooking spray, combine the two mixtures and stir until everything is evenly coated. The chocolate will begin to melt, but that okay.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray (or an 8x8 pan if you want thicker bars). Using a spatula evenly press mixture into prepared pan. Let cool for about 15-30 minutes. Cut into even squares.

Cherry Oatmeal Bars

Some time ago I posted a stone fruit bar thinking it was the closest thing to this bar from the bakery that I am obsessed with. At the bakery we have this Cherry Oat bar and it is one of my most favorite things we make (among many others). Little did I know I had this little recipe saved that is very similar (sharing our recipe would just be mean). I lightened the recipe just a tad so I could allow myself more than one bar (I'm sick I know). These are probably the closest thing there is out there to satisfy my craving of the cherry oat bar and can't get them at the bakery. Trust me, they're good.

Cherry Oatmeal Bars
Adapted from myrecipes.com

Ingredients:

Crust:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4whole wheat flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons reduced-sugar orange juice
Cooking spray

Filling:
1 1/3 cups dried cherries (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°.

 To prepare crust, weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through cinnamon) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle butter and juice over flour mixture, stirring until moistened (mixture will be crumbly). Reserve 1/2 cup oat mixture. Press remaining oat mixture into the bottom of an 8–inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray.

To prepare filling, combine cherries, sour cream, granulated sugar, and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well. Spread cherry mixture over prepared crust; sprinkle reserved oat mixture evenly over filling. Bake at 325° for 40 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies

There aren't many combinations that go together as perfectly as peanut butter and chocolate; at least in my eyes. There are great combinations out there; peaches and cream, pumpkin and spice, salty and sweet...the list is goes on but nothing is quite as divine as peanut butter and chocolate.

Halloween is coming up which makes me want to eat 600 reese cups and carve pumpkins. Reese's might be my favorite candy (along with whatchamacallits, snickers and peanut m&ms...oh yeah and cherry twizzler bites). Okay so I have lots of favorite candies but reeses are a classic...I even made a reese cupcake back when that was AWESOME!

This brownie is a delightful combination of chocolate and peanut butter. I had actually made these a few months ago and just found the post draft hidden away. How could I forget to post this!? It's too amazing not to share! I made these for Shawns family for letting us use their car to drive up and visit my family in Minnesota. That meant the WORLD to me so I wanted to make them something super duper delicious. These are just that!

Heads up: refrigerate them, they'll be less messy! The origional recipe called for chopped salted peanuts on top which I'm sure would taste fabulous but I didn't have any :( boo...

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

Brownie Layer:
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Layer:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Ganache Layer:
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8-inch pan with cooking spray.

For the brownies, microwave the butter and unsweetened chocolate in a microwavable bowl at high power until the butter is melted, about 2 minutes. Stir until combined, then mix in the vanilla extract. Meanwhile, beat the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and add in the chocolate mixture. Stir in the flour, baking powder, salt and chocolate chunks. Spread the brownie mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the brownies are set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out clean, about 22 to 28 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes.

For the peanut butter cookie dough: Add the butter and brown sugar to a large bowl and mix until creamy. Mix in the milk and the peanut butter, then stir in the flour and salt. Spread the peanut butter cookie dough evenly over the cooled brownies.

To make the ganache: In a small microwavable bowl, microwave the dark chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream, uncovered, on high for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. Continue stirring until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Spread the ganache over the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until the dough and ganache are set, about 1 hour. Cut into 16 squares and arrange on a serving platter to serve.

SIDENOTE: I just finally finished reading "Wicked" just in time for Halloween. I LOVED it! I'm just really bummed I couldn't see it when they were on broadway here in Columbus :(...Up next: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

S'more Cookie Bars

This is something that I have seen floating around the food blog world for a little while now and was dying to try. I made these along with the lemon blossoms. They were a little messy but that didn't seem to bother anyone. If messiness turns you off (like it does me...usually) then pop them in the refrigerator and everything sets nicely. These are definitely a new favorite of mine...Ps, if you're a S'mores fan like myself...try out these cookies I made a while back...they are AWESOMEEEEE! There's something so comforting about S'mores. They remind me of campfires. While nowadays I don't do much  any camping, I loved it as a kid.

S'more Cookie Bars
From Bakingbites.com

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.

Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick.

Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned.

Cool completely before cutting into bars