Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

These days, a chocolate craving isn't just a craving. It's a non-stop need for something rich and chocolatey. We don't keep many treats around the house, so one day when the NEED came, I decided to figure out something yummy with the ingredients I had on hand. 

I found a recipe for Chewy Chocolate Cookies, but decided I was going to alter it to use to make sandwich cookies with a peanut butter filling. I followed the recipe except I omitted the chocolate chips. When they were cooled I made some peanut butter filling by simply mixing creamy peanut butter and powdered sugar until it was a frosting consistency. Spread it on and put another cookie on top and your ready to devour.

We immediately sat down to enjoy some. A cold glass of milk are these cookies' perfect dunking companion. YUM!

Carmel Apple Chex

Thanks so couponing, I had several boxes of Chex sitting in my pantry. When I got the boxes, I figured I could use it for making Chex mix of all varieties. Pinterest has several Chex Mix/Buddies recipes out there- one of my favorites being Lemon Buddies- so good! Today as I walked into the pantry, I saw those boxes staring at me. Though I've already done my share of baking this holiday season, I decided it was time to whip up a batch of Chex something-or-other. However, this time I was going to create my own recipe.

Introducing:

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp Butter

2 Packets Apple Cider drink mix

3 Tbsp Sugar

4 Cups Chex (I used rice variety)

1/3 cup Caramel bits

3 tsp water

Directions:

1. Put first three ingredients in sauce pan. Melt butter over medium-high heat and simmer 1 minute after melted, stirring constantly to combine.
2. Pour over Chex and stir gently to coat evenly.
3. Using same sauce pan, add caramel bits and water. Melt down until smooth. Drizzle over coated Chex. 
4. Cool and enjoy! 

Conference snackin'

We spent the day listening to General Conference (click for more information) I had a hunkering for a snack or some sort, preferably of the sweet variety, but I kept putting it off as the sessions went on. Then two little neighbor girls came over mid-way through the afternoon session wanting to play. So while the kids sat at the table coloring in pictures of ties to match the church leaders, I made caramel corn for us all to munch on. I shared this recipe a long time ago, but this was the first time I made it since posting way back when. So here's a friendly re-share of a quick and easy fall-tastic recipe:  Caramel Corn

That Calls for an Apron

With all of the fun new recipes I've been trying out, it might be time to share some of the aprons I made last month. I made one for a lady who enlisted my help in creating a Christmas gift for her daughter-in-law. She was making her DIL a cookbook and wanted to give her an apron to go with it. I've only made a handful of aprons before, and didn't have a pattern for one. So what do I do in instances like that? Take something I have, lay it on top of my fabric, and use it as a pattern. My mom made me a really cute apron, and so I used it as my pattern. After making the first, I knew that a second one, using the same pattern would be perfect as a bridal shower gift for a friend. Thus these two cuties were created:

I love the flared ruffle at the bottom, the contrasting pocket and binding, and the fun fabric combinations. Wearing something cute makes being in the kitchen even more fun.

And in case you're stuck in a cooking rut, you might want to head over to one of my new favorite cooking blogs.

I think we may try their Chunky Monkey Pancakes for dinner or possibly some fresh blueberry pancakes since I just bought two big cartons... we'll see. Either way it will be YUMMY!

Cinnamon Rolls

My hubs had been asking me to make some of my delicious homemade cinnamon rolls for a week or two, and I finally got around to making them this past weekend. Oh how glad I am that he asked me to make them, because I have been in heaven enjoying their deliciousness! A few friends have asked me to share the recipe, so here you go:

I halved my original recipe because it makes a ton. This halved version made 16 huge cinnamon rolls filling both a 9x13 and an 8x8 inch dish.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

1 1/2 T yeast
1/3 c. warm water
Dash of sugar

Combine the ingredients above in your mixing bowl and let proof for approx. 15 minutes until puffy.

Add:
2 c. milk
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 T salt
1 T lemon juice (I used fresh squeezed orange juice since I planned on making an orange frosting.)

-I then switched to a kneading hook on my KitchenAid before adding the flour. Add flour a cup at a time until the dough sticks together forming a ball and no longer sticks to the bowl. Don't add too much flour or your rolls will be tough instead of fluffy. I'm sorry I didn't keep track as a added, but I think it was somewhere around 4 cups, but I could be off.
-Cover bowl with tea towel or greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled in size.
-When dough has doubled, flour your surface, and place dough in center. Knead 4-5 times, and roll out into a long rectangle.


-Melt butter and spread on top of dough. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top of melted butter. (I even grated some orange peel in there.)
-Roll up into a long roll. Cut into 16 rolls, about 2 inches thick.
-Grease pan and place rolls into pan squishing each roll down just a bit. Cover again and let rise for 30-60 minutes (however big and fluffy you want them to be)
-Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until lightly browned and no longer doughy.

Cream Cheese Orange Frosting

With electric beaters, mix 2 1/2 T cream cheese, 2-4 cups powdered sugar, 1-2 tsp. orange juice, and grated peel of one orange. Mix until smooth. I give ranges on each of these because I just added a bit at a time to taste. It's even better the next day because the orange peel gets more infused into the frosting- DELISH!

Now slather that frosting on your warm cinnamon roll and savor or devour each delicious bite!

Lemons Part II

After making lemonade you will have a pile of lemon peels staring you in the face just begging to be used. Every morning for breakfast I eat a yogurt parfait. I was putting my parfait together with those lemons staring me in the face. So what did I do? Pulled out my grater/zester. The result was DELICIOUS and so fresh and refreshing!

Strawberry Lemonade Yogurt Parfait:

1 individual strawberry yogurt
1/2-1 cup fresh cut strawberries
1/2-1 cup granola
lemon peel zest

Layer strawberries, yogurt, granola, and sprinkle some lemon zest then do another set of layers until you've used all of your ingredients. I always end up mixing it all together so that the granola gets a good coating of yogurt. This works really well with the lemon zest because it mixes throughout the whole bowl and tastes perfect! Enjoy!

When Life Hands You Lemons...

It's summertime and lemons seem like the perfect summer taste. I bought a big bag of lemons and have been using them all over the place.

But the first and most obvious thing we made was LEMONADE! YUM!

Homemade Lemonade

Mix together the following ingredients:

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 cups of water
1/2 cup sugar

You can play with the proportions until it's just how you like it! We've been gulping this stuff down faster that we can squeeze those lemons- it's the perfect summer heat refreshment!

Banana Coconut Lime Bread

The other day I really wanted some yummy bread. Coconut kept coming to mind as a flavor I wanted. As I was trying to think of what to make, I thought, oh! coconut and lime go together and I just happen to have a lime that I need to use up. Hum... maybe I could alter my banana bread recipe, throw in some coconut and lime, and have my dream bread. Well, I started making it, adding random amounts of those main flavors and it turned out DELISH!! The loaf disappeared all too quickly, and I headed to the store and bought a whole bag of limes to make more loaves. So here is my recipe to share with all of you hungry friends- Enjoy!

(I didn't take a picture of the bread, so here is your visual.)

Kinzie's Banana Coconut Lime Bread

Ingredients for 2 loaves:

- 1 1/4 cups sugar

- 1/2 cup butter, softened

- 2 large eggs

- 3 ripe bananas, mashed

- 1/2 cup milk

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- juice from 1 lime

- 1 teaspoon (more or lest) zest from same lime

- 2 1/2 cups flour

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1 cup shredded coconut

1. Heat over to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans.

2. Mix sugar and butter. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, milk, vanilla, and lime juice. Beat until semi-smooth (though I like to leave the bananas a bit chunky. Add lime zest. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt just until moistened. Stir in the coconut. Pour into pans. {optional: sprinkle some shredded or flaked coconut on top of loaves before baking.}

3. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Sandwiches

My daughter and I made these yummy ham and cheese pastry sandwiches this weekend, and our family gobbled them up. Try this fun, fast, and festive recipe for a simple Halloween snack or meal.

Ingredients:
1 box refrigerated pie crusts (2 count)
Sliced ham
Sliced cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 425ºF. Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil.
2. Unroll pie crusts and cut each of the two crusts into as many pumpkin shapes as you can fit (make sure you have an even number as you wil use two pumpkins for each pastry sandwich.) Using a round cutter slightly smaller than your pumpkin cutter, cut 24 rounds from the sliced ham and 24 rounds from the sliced cheese.
3. Layer 2 slices each of ham and cheese in the center of half of the pumpkins. With a small brush, brush beaten egg around edges of pumpkin crusts
4. Top with remaining pumpkins, carefully pressing on edges to seal. Using a spoon, make ridges on pumpkins by pressing into tops in a few places. Pierce ridges with a knife in a couple of places to vent.
5. Place on pan. Brush tops of pumpkins with beaten egg. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light golden and flakey. Let cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

Caramel Corn

Did you know that they sell microwaveable caramel popcorn? They don't yet have it at WalMart, and I was too lazy to go drive to another grocery store for it, so I decided to make it from scratch. Glad I did, because fresh caramel popcorn is the best!! Something about it is perfect on a cool, lazy Fall day.

Caramel Corn

Approx. 12-15 cups of popcorn

1 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. stick butter

1/4 c. light corn syrup

1/2 tsp. salt (I suggest less if you are using presalted/buttered popcorn)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Optional: You could also add M&Ms, nuts, or other candys to the popcorn before tossing with caramel sauce.

1. Cook brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbly around edges.

2. Continue cooking 5 minutes; remove from heat.

3. Stir in baking soda until foamy

4. In a large bowl or dish, pour mixture over popcorn and toss until evenly coated.

5. Let cool slightly and ENJOY! Store in airtight container or in ziplock bags.

October Preparedness...

I love the Fall, and I love Halloween. It's so festive and fun! Plus, with too kids to dress up, it makes the holiday even more exciting. There are so many fun Halloween ideas lurking on every blog to help us all get even more excited. Here are a few that I love and want to try:

I think these fun painted candy corn cones would be perfect for a block party or to have out while trick-or-treating. ZakkaLife shows you how to make your very own.

Soup is perfect this time of year. And there's no better way to serve a thick soup than in a bread bowl. Check out The Idea Room's pumpkin shaped bread bowls- they are so cute and look delish!

On to more candy corn (I LOVE candy corn!) Here is an adorable beanie and booties set from ForStitchesSake. Your little one would look so cute (and tasty) in these!

Here's another amazing idea from The Idea Room- Mummy Dogs. I'm definately going to try making these since my daughter loves hot dogs. She also shows you how to make Mummy Pizza. Two ideas too cute to be scary!

Here's one last candy corn item- A candy corn bunting from pamwares. I'm always a fan of a cute bunting, and this one is festive and unique!

Now I'm itching to throw a Halloween party. How are you getting in the Halloween spirit?

White Chicken Chili

What started as this: Turned into this: White Chicken Chili
Given the temperature got up to the 70s yesterday, and it wasn't really chili weather, this just sounded good as I went through my recipe box. I got the recipe way back in high school and finally tried it out. The result was delicious. We topped it with sour cream, fresh tomatoes, cheese, and we ate it with tortilla chips and corn bread- YUM!

White Chicken Chili

1 large onion chopped (about 1 cup)

1 clove garlic finely chopped - I used 1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 c. margarine or butter

4 c. chicken breats, 1/2" cubes

3 c. chicken broth

2 T. snipped cilantro or parsley

1 T. dried basil leaves

2. t. ground red chilies

1/4 t. ground cloves

2 cans (16 oz. each) great northern beans, drained

1 can white peg corn, drained

1. Saute onion and garlic in margarine over low heat, stirring until lightly browned.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
4. Serve topped with tomatoes, sour cream, tortilla chips, cheese, or whatever else sounds good to you! Enjoy!

Makes 6 servinges- 1 1/2 cups each

Tasty Ghosts in the Graveyard

Here is a fun idea for your halloween parties or get togethers... and doesn't it just look so yummy!

15 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies , crushed
3 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 (12 ounce) tub COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
3 CAMEO Creme Sandwich Cookies
Decorating gel
5 candy pumpkins
10 pieces candy corn

Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Let stand 5 min. Gently stir in 3 cups of the whipped topping and half of the cookie crumbs. Spread evenly into 13x9-inch baking dish; sprinkle with the remaining cookie crumbs.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, decorate creme sandwich cookies with decorating gel to resemble tombstones. Set aside until ready to use.

Insert decorated cookies into top of dessert just before serving. Add candies. Drop large spoonfuls of the remaining whipped topping onto dessert to resemble ghosts. Cover and store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

Yield: 18 servings

Baby Shower Bonanza

Wednesday night, my friend and I hosted a baby shower for another one of our friends. It was so fun to be around all of the great and fun women that I have come to love over the past year and half living here. It was sad though knowing that it would probably be my last social event before we move. I really will miss all of them so much. Anyways, on to happier notes... the shower went great! Here are a few things there:

Pink sprinkled cupcakes- they were tasty (from a box mix, I'm not that ambitious!) Don't they look so cheery?! I will now reveal what I have been creating using the fabric stash I posted here. This is the little dress I made for the guest of honor.
I love little eyelet trim. This one was a tea-stained color- LOVE it!
This set was for the friend who I hosted with, who is also having a girl in August.
My first little attempt at a bow headband. I think bows are so fun for little girls!
Lastly, this was the fruit salad I brought. I can't take credit for the idea, but I can tell you that I was pink with watermelon juice after cutting up to look like this. It was well worth the wetness!

Summer seems to be the time for having babies around here. So happy baby season to all!!

Coconut Chicken- Mmmm!

So a little while back I decided that I wanted to try some new recipes and branch out from the easy ones I have been making for forever. We had this Chinese food cookbook just sitting on its shelf so I decided to look through it. It was little surprise that everything looked and sounded incredible, seeing as I love (and David loves) Chinese food. The recipe title "Coconut Chicken" seemed to stand out in my mind as I searched the pages- so that's what I made. It called for some fun new ingredients that don't frequent my kitchen: coconut milk, ginger root juice, and the like. Our little family walked to the Chinese grocery store and bought all that we needed, and some. Then I got to work... I had to somehow get juice out of that funny looking ginger root! Not much time later and we had this delicious meal to devour! If anyone wants the recipe let me know but for now I am too lazy to type the whole thing out. Let me just tell you that David said that it is his new favorite food :) Doesn't it look like a dessert?! Yumm

Carrot Souffle

For all of you who aren't visitors of our family Bake 'n Make blog, here is a link to a recipe I just tried- Carrot Souffle. My cousin-in-law posted it and I made it today and loved it. I especially loved its bright orange color- so cheery and summery feeling despite the snow we woke up to this morning. If anyone has any other great recipes, let me know. I'm always keen on trying something new. While we enjoyed souffle, K enjoyed some freshly cooked carrots!