Peanut butter cup brownies

Technically, I am breaking a family rule to bring you Day #4 of Twelve Days of Christmas Treats. Dan and I recently came up with No Technology Tuesdays, when phones, tv and computers are not allowed all day (the exception being work situations). The boys do fine with it, and it gives us time to do non-techy things like read and play games and build racing tracks around the living room and kitchen (happening as I type).

I technologically bring you Day #4 of Twelve Days of Christmas Treats on this No Technology Tuesday!

This isn't a very Christmassy treat, but it is a versatile one that can be made any time so why not Christmas? One thing I will note about these gooey-yummy brownies is that it appears that they might be uncooked in the middle. Uncooked they are not, however. That moistness that you see in the photos is the chocolate that has been incorporated into the batter (drool). 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Mix and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine:

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Heat in 30-second intervals in the microwave until creamy, stirring after each interval.

In a large bowl, combine:

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add the chocolate mixture (such a fun photo).

Stir until combined. 

Gradually add the flour mixture, stirring after each addition until just combined.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking dish. Top with 12 Reese's peanut butter cups.

Top with the remaining batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Let cool and cut into squares.

Back to my sort of technology-free Tuesday!

Printable recipe: Peanut butter cup brownies

Peanut butter kiss cookies

I am doing my best to type over and around the head and arms of one of my precious monkeys right now, so please forgive me if I make a few mistakes! Sometimes Sammy insists on sitting next to (or on) me and "helping" me while I work. I cannot say no to that. He is in the absolute cutest stage right now. My heart melts into a puddle about 150 times a day.

I am onto Day #2 of Christmas Treats! This is such a staple for holiday baking, but so often these cookies are too crunchy for my taste. This recipe produces a gooey peanut butter cookie that will make you swoon! 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Mix well and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Using a hand-held mixer, mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy. 

Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until combined.

Pour 1/2 cup of coarse sugar into a small bowl. Using your hands, form 1-inch balls with the dough and roll them in the sugar. Place the balls onto the prepared baking sheets. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Immediately place a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie.

This recipe yields 22ish cookies, just so you can plan on how many kisses you have to spare can feed to your children while baking.

Let the cookies cool and store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. 

And now Sammy has something to share with you all: 253337 (our ages, from youngest to oldest). This is something he recites to everyone he meets, so consider yourself introduced!

Printable recipe: Peanut butter kiss cookies

Peanut butter & jelly bars

More than ever, the weeks absolutely fly by. Sometimes things pass by so quickly that I wonder if I have somehow "lost time," like Edward Norton's character in Primal Fear. The weeks used to pass quickly back when I was working full-time, but it was so. much. different. Back then I constantly felt a twinge (ok, a lot of twinges) of guilt about spending most of my time away from home. And I always knew what day of the week it was. Now I feel that my time is almost always productive and that I expend my energy on worthwhile tasks and people. And I never know what day of the week it is.

As I sat down to write this post, I first tried to grasp where I was in time. It's Monday morning, great! Oh, um, Wednesday afternoon. Nope! It's nearly Saturday evening. Goodness! So I'm clearly clueless about the passing of time, but I am just fine with that because I love what I spend my time doing. Even when it's crazy in this crazy crazy but awesome house of mine.

I am finding that baking helps me to keep better track of my days. I still have a few of these PB&J bars on my counter and I know I made them three days ago, so that was Wednesday and now it is Saturday! What a perfect excuse to bake more often! Or something like that.

I'm chewing on one this very second, and these things are goooood. Just like a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, but better.

(Recipe adapted from EveryDay with Rachael Ray magazine.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a food processor, combine:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Pulse until combined.

Cut a chilled stick of butter into cubes.

Add the butter to the food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add 1 cup of creamy peanut butter.

Process until crumbly.

In a small bowl, combine:

1/2 cup of the peanut butter mixture from the food processor

1 cup salted, roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Press the remaining peanut butter mixture from the food processor into the bottom of the prepared pan with your fingers.

Top with 1 cup of grape jelly, spread out evenly.

Sprinkle the peanut-crumb mixture over the top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool and cut into squares.

Happy SATURDAY! Enjoy the holiday weekend! It is a holiday weekend, right?!

Printable recipe: Peanut butter & jelly bars

Peanut butter & jelly cookies

It has been a gloomy week here in Minnesota. Lots of low, thick clouds that cause Elijah to constantly ask me if it is night-time. This winter has been uniquely and awesomely warm, minus a handful of cold and snowy days, so I'm not complaining about the gloom. Last year at this time I had icicles hanging from my frozen body that I thought would never melt. We Minnesotans are tough, but I don't know that we could survive two of those winters in a row. We would be forced to flee, like those being chased by "walkers" on The Walking Dead. Have you seen this show? It is grossly intriguiging and addictive! I highly recommend it.

And how does all of this relate to PB&J cookies? I HAVE NO IDEA (insert crazy laughter)! Cookies! Cookies cookies cookies! I have been dreaming up these babies for a good month and a half. Sometimes when I think too long and hard about a recipe the final product dissapoints. This one did not dissapoint. They were every bit as delicious as I dreamed them to be back in that meeting in December. 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. 

In a medium bowl, combine:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine:

1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

With a hand-held mixer, beat the mixture on medium speed until just combined. Add 1 egg and beat until incorporated. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until combined.

Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls with your hands. Place them onto ungreased baking sheets and press into the center of each cookie with your thumb to create a divot. 

In each divot, place 1/2 teaspoon of jelly and 1/2 teaspoon of creamy peanut butter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cool.

Pour yourself a nice big glass of milk and enjoy!

Click here for a printable recipe!

Loaded cookie bars

Apparently some people are wanting healthy recipes these days?! I'll get back to that in February. :) I spent much of my December brainstorming sugary, gooey treats, so it has been hard to get them out of my brain. Last week I was pondering a "loaded" cookie in bar form, and how easy they would be if I used pre-made dough.

These bars were super slick to make, and they were as yummy as they look. I did not share them very well with others!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine:

One 16.5-oz. roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough, at room temperature

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1 cup M&M's chocolate candies

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Thoroughly mix ingredients together with your hands. 

Press the mixture into the prepared baking dish, and distribute the dough evenly. There will be some "extra" goodies at the bottom of your mixing bowl. Top the bars with the extra candies, nuts, chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Let the bars cool completely before cutting into squares.

I love that different ingredients can be used to reflect differing tastes or even holidays! Use green M&M's for St. Patty's day or chocolate chip cookie dough for a more chocolatey bar. Be creative! Enjoy!

Click here for a printable recipe!