peanut butter brownie trifle.

i love trifles. and i absolutely love my trifle bowl. it has held some of the most wonderful desserts i have ever made. and they are usually super easy to make which makes trifles even better. this week we had a potluck at work and i have been pretty busy with school this week (two tests & a paper due) that i really didn't want to make something super involved. i remembered my trifle bowl and knew that was the answer. matt's mom makes a trifle with brownies that is yummy but i had this recipe in my stash so i decided to give it a try. unfortunately, i didn't get to go to the potluck so i wasn't there to see the response but i did get a text from my coworker, christa, who told me that it was already almost gone! i guess that's a good sign, huh?? 

peanut butter brownie trifle + printable version
--slightly adapted from mel's kitchen cafe

brownie layer:

1 9X13 pan of your favorite brownie recipe (i just used a boxed mix)
10 ounce bag of peanut butter chips

prepare brownie recipe according to directions. add bag of peanut butter chips. pour brownie batter into a 9x13 pan lined with foil and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. bake for required amount of time.cool completely.

pudding layer:

5 ounce package vanilla instant pudding mix
3 cups milk
1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 cup cool whip, divided

whisk pudding mix with milk for 2 minutes, or until thickened. you may have to stick in the fridge for it to firm up all the way. add peanut butter and vanilla until creamy. carefully blend in 1/2 cup of cool whip into pudding mixture.

peanut butter cup layer:

24 regular sized (about 2 inches in diameter) peanut butter cups, divided

**i  used a bag of mini reese's & quartered them but next time i would probably chop them smaller.

roughly chop up peanut butter cups into whatever size you prefer. reserve about 1/4 c for garnish. 

when the brownies have cooled, invert onto cutting board and cut into 3/4 in pieces or really whatever size you feel like. 

layer half of the brownies on the bottom of the trifle bowl or whatever bowl you are using. top with half of the pudding mixture and layer half of the remaining chopped reese's. repeat with remaining brownie pieces, pudding, and reese's. use the remaining 1/2 c of cool whip for garnish and top with reserved 1/4 c of reese's.

 **ps...i apologize for my poor quality photos...it was late & i was too tired to care.

caramel apple sticky buns.

so i am on a cinnamon roll kick. i made those amazingly easy and amazingly delicious traditional rolls last week and have been craving cinnamon rolls ever since. earlier this week, i tried to make dough for icebox rolls that look similar to the recipe that we have for our mama's cinnamon roll dough. however, it didn't go so well. i am not sure if the recipe is missing something or what but it was too flour-ey. i hadn't even put all the flour the recipe called for and i knew this wasn't going to work out. so it got pitched. maybe i'll mess with it another time. but for now i have a recipe that does work. the pioneer woman is one of my heroes. she is amazing. her pictures are phenomenal. and everything i have ever made of hers has been to die for. so i decided to give her cinnamon rolls a try. and that's when i found these babies. i even had a granny smith apple waiting in my fridge. i knew i was meant to make these. this recipe is halved from her original cinnamon roll dough and it still makes two cake pans full. so i suggest, for your thighs sake, you either have lots of friends around to eat the rolls with you, or you make friends with random strangers...they will love you forever. i promise. 

caramel apple sticky buns + printable version

dough:  
2 cups whole milk
1-¼ cup sugar
½ cups canola oil
1 package (2 1/4 Teaspoons) active dry yeast
4-½ cups flour, divided
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoons (scant) baking soda
½ teaspoons (heaping) baking powder
¾ cups melted butter
4 Tablespoons cinnamon

heat milk, oil, and 1/2 cup sugar until warm. do not boil - i used a candy thermometer to heat it to 185 F. allow to cool to lukewarm. i wait until it is around 105 F. sprinkle in yeast and 4 cups flour. stir gently and cover with a tea towel, allowing it to rise for 1 hour. after 1 hour, add remaining flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. set aside for later.

caramel topping:
1 stick salted butter
1-½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon dark brown corn syrup
2 Tablespoons cream
2 Tablespoons apply brandy or apple juice (optional - i didn't have any)
1 whole granny smith apple, peeled & finely diced  

add 1 stick butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, cream, and optional apple brandy or apple juice. allow to melt over low heat until totally combined. boil for a few seconds, then remove from heat. set aside.

roll out half the dough into a large rectangle. pour on half the melted butter, half the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, and half the cinnamon. roll into a long roll, then slice into rolls. i used my new favorite cinnamon roll cutting method -- dental floss! and repeat with the second half the dough.

spray two 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray. pour in half the caramel topping in each pan. sprinkle half the diced apple over the top in each pan, then arrange sliced rolls all over the two pans. allow to rise for 20 to 30 minutes.

bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, covered in foil for the first 25 minutes. i actually cooked them for the entire 35 minutes.

invert on a cake pedestal or serving plate. let rolls cool slightly before serving.

cinnamon rolls.

when i was little, our mama (my mom's grandma) used to make us cinnamon rolls when we came to visit. in fact, one time she had made a batch of cinnamon rolls and she told my older sister that she had made them for her. and my sister literally took that to mean they were only for here. she ate the entire batch without anyone knowing. so when my mom and mama asked where the cinnamon rolls were, my sister told them she ate them. all of them. we still laugh at her for this. however, these aren't like the cinnamon rolls mama used to make. i'm still on the hunt for a recipe like hers. but that's okay. these are still delicious. for the cinnamon rolls i used a recipe found on our best bites. but i am not a huge fan of the powdered sugar icing/glaze so i decided to make a cream cheese icing instead. the one i used is from mel's kitchen cafe. i like that this roll recipe since it only makes 12 rolls instead of the million that i normally get out of a cinnamon roll recipe. it also doesn't take all day so if, i mean when, you get a craving for a cinnamon roll, and who doesn't, then you can actually have one fairly soon.

i made these this past weekend and on sunday afternoon, there were three left. i figured i was safe to leave and return to have a cinnamon roll waiting for me. i thought wrong. my boyfriend ate ALL of them. not one, not two like i thought he might. yep, three. thanks a lot, babe.

i'm dying to make them again. 

cinnamon roll dough + printable recipe

-- from our best bites

 

1 cup milk (i used skim and it worked just fine!)

4 Tbs butter, cut into chunks

3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 pkg instant yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

put milk and 4 Tbs butter in a microwave safe bowl. heat for 1 minute 30 seconds on high. butter should be at somewhat melted. stir and set aside for later. i did this a little differently. i only put about 3/4 c of milk and the butter in the microwave. that way i could add the remaining 1/4 c milk cold so it would bring the temperature of the milk mixture down quicker.

in a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 C flour, yeast, white sugar, and salt.

when milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm (not hot), add it to the flour mixture along with the egg while the beater is running. beat until well combined, about 1 minute. switch to the dough hook now (if using a kitchenaid or stand mixer) add remaining flour only until dough barely leaves the sides of the bowl. it should be very soft and slightly sticky. continue to let the dough knead for 5 minutes.  

**if you are not using a stand mixer, place dough on floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes.

turn dough out onto a floured surface and let rest for about 10 minutes while you make the filling.

                          

filling:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

make sure butter is soft and mix with brown sugar and cinnamon.

roll dough into a rectangle about 12 x 14 inches. spread brown sugar mixture over dough. you may have to use your fingers or a knife to spread around. roll up from the longer side of the rectangle and pinch edges closed. score the roll into 12 equal pieces starting from the middle and then cut into rolls. i used dental floss for the first time to score and cut my rolls and it worked beautifully! place in a 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. cover pan with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. to create a "warm" place for the rolls, i placed a small microwave safe bowl of water in the microwave on high until it boiled. i moved the bowl over to the side and placed my 9x13 pan in the microwave and shut the door.

preheat over to 350 F. bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. while the rolls are still warm, spread on icing. 

cream cheese icing
-- from mel's kitchen cafe  
 

8 ounces cream cheese
½ cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

**i halved this recipe and it was the perfect amount!  

cream together butter and cream cheese until well mixed. add vanilla and sugar and mix again. add milk until it is the consistency you like.

oatmeal raisin bars.

i made these bars for the first time a couple weeks ago. honestly, this is one of my favorite bar/cookie recipes. if i could have, i would have eaten the entire 9x13 pan. i am not lying. ask my sister. oatmeal raisin cookies are good but i have a hard time getting the soft, under-baked cookie that i so, so love. this recipe solves that problem. you have to try them. i promise you will love them as much as i do. if you don't, something is terribly wrong with you. 

** i wrote this paragraph right when i began the blog...so it's been a couple months since i originally made these...

BUT we made these bars again last night and my first paragraph was reconfirmed. i L O V E these bars!

so last night we had one of my best friends, alyssa, over for dinner...we just grilled up some steaks and i made some amazing mashed potatoes from pioneer woman's blog (i know this a baking blog but i might have to share this recipe because they are THAT good!), corn on the cob and caesar salad. but i knew i needed some dessert so decided on these. 

for those who know alyssa, never in a million years would you have guessed that she is the one that made these! (she once asked if she could cook on the stove with a metal bowl, yeah...) so when i started to get the ingredients out last night and she asked if she could help and i of course said sure. and before i knew it, she basically made the whole recipe...i'm so proud of her! and don't worry, she knows i am talking about her...she was the one to suggest that these go on the blog this week...she wanted a picture of her "baking" but we couldn't find the camera! maybe next time...

oatmeal raisin bars + printable version

-- from young and hungry cookbook by dave lieberman.

2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) margarine

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in 1/4 inch pieces

1 c sugar

1 c lightly packed dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups rolled (old fashioned) oats

1 cup raisins

preheat oven to 350. grease a 9x11 inch baking pan (yeah, i don't have one of those so i use a 9x13 pan). 

stir flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl. in another bowl, beat margarine, butter, and both sugars until creamy. beat in eggs and vanilla until fluffy. add flour mixture to butter mixture in two batches and beat until thoroughly mixed. stir in oats and raisins until they are evenly distributed. 

spoon batter into prepared pan and pat it down to an even layer. (i always spray my hands with non-stick spray or wet them with water, so the batter doesn't stick to my hands) 

bake 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the edges start to get crispy. remove from oven and cool in the pan. (i only baked mine for 25 so they are a little gooey-er) 

**the recipe says it makes 16  2 x 2 1/2 inch bars

strawberry lemon cupcakes.

i honestly had never heard of cupcakes in a jar before -- they are so flipping cute. my mom's good friend, merry introduced me to this funky way to do dessert. she's pretty awesome like that. her endeavors include a smores one, which i'm sure is to die for, pina colada, and turtles. she may have more but i just haven't heard about them yet! anyway, when my mom told me about merry's cupcake in a jar, i was intrigued. after sneaking a peek of merry's creations on her facebook page (thanks, mom!) i began envisioning flavor combos in my head. i know for sure i want to try some type of pumpkin and spice cake but i figured that should be for later in the fall. so i tried to figured out something summer-y and one thing that came to mind was strawberry lemonade. so i began searching for inspiration for my strawberry lemonade cupcakes and i remembered these babies. i had wanted to make these earlier this year, and never got around to it. so i thought maybe i should turn this "crunkcake" into a cupcake in jar. i did some more research and found another blogger who had made these for a bachelorette party. she commented that the lemon cupcakes turned out "lopsided" and if she made these again, she would probably use a different lemon cake recipe. i decided to find a different recipe and ended up using one i found on your home based mom's blog. the cupcakes were definitely yummy and i would make them again!

i was a little intimidated by the frosting recipe. i had never made meringue frosting before but i am happy to say that it worked great! i loved the hint of malibu (coconut) flavor and thought it was perfect with the lemon and strawberry flavors. i would definitely recommend it!

i am going to have to practice my technique for assembling the cupcakes in jar. i wasn't super please with how they "looked" even though i thought they were delicious. oh well, just means more baking and i'm okay with that =)


strawberry lemon cupcakes + printable version

lemon cupcakes:

1 package lemon cake mix 1 C sour cream
3/4 C water
3/4 C oil 4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding

mix together dry ingredients in large bowl (preferably something like your kitchen aid mixer). add wet ingredients. mix on medium speed for about two minutes. it is a pretty thick mixture.

pour batter into prepared cupcake tins, either with paper liners or nonstick spray. i ended up with 24 full cupcakes.

bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. don't over bake.

** the original recipe said that the cupcakes will fall after they come out of the oven. this is normal and you just need to fill up the indentation with more frosting. i definitely had this happen but i wasn't to worried since i knew they were going into the jars.

malibu italian meringue buttercream:

2 egg whites, room temperature
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
12 tbsp (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened
1-2 tablespoons malibu caribbean rum, coconut flavor, to taste

beat the egg whites in the bowl of your mixer with the whisk attachment until frothy, then add the cream of tartar and beat just before stiff peaks form.

while that is going on, stir together the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. when syrup reaches a boil, put your candy thermometer into it and continue boiling, without stirring, until it reaches about 238-242 degrees fahrenheit.

immediately remove from heat and with your mixer on, slowly pour the hot syrup in a thin stream into the egg whites, beating constantly at high speed and making sure to not pour directly on the side of the bowl. beat meringue until the bowl is cool to the touch.

change out your whisk for your paddle attachment and scrapes down the sides of the bowl. on medium speed, gradually add butter about two pieces at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated. continue beating until buttercream is smooth. **don't worry if your mixture may look curdled before all butter is added - it will come back together before beating is finished. if that doesn’t work, try chilling it a bit in case your meringue was too hot.

finally, add the malibu and mix thoroughly.

strawberry puree:

5 ounces frozen strawberries, thawed - i ended up using fresh 1 teaspoons sugar, more or less (to taste) - i probably ended up using more, big surprise 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, more or less (to taste)
in a blender, pulse strawberries a few times until pureed. stir in the sugar and lemon juice until it taste like you want it to.

sliced strawberries

i only had a few strawberries and i just cut them into slices so only a few of the jars ended up with layers of strawberries.

to assemble: **i used 8 oz jelly jars (i found mine at walmart in the canning section)

because i had never made these before, i definitely experimented a little with how to put these together. my first couple jars, i sliced a cupcake into thirds, horizontally, and put the bottom piece into the bottom of the jar. i then layered sliced strawberries, frosting, another layer of cupcake, some more strawberries and frosting, finishing up with a swirl of frosting (i just used a ziploc bag) and i drizzled strawberry puree on top. i also tried not slicing the cupcake and just used two cupcakes as the layers. another variation was to drizzle strawberry puree in the first layer to soak into the cupcake layer.

but you can really do it however you want!

i was not super happy with how the end product looked from the side view. i thought they ended up being a little too messy so next time i will have to figure out a better way to add the frosting without smearing the glass. i'll let you know what i figure out!

banana bread muffins.

so i thought i should mix it up a bit. something other than cookie club and over the top sweets. as a result, i'm posting my favorite banana bread muffin recipe. i love banana bread. who doesn't? but i usually have a hard time cooking it long enough so that the middle is done without the outside being burnt. is it just me? in effort to solve this problem, i decided to make muffins. holy cow. these muffins are divine. all i need is some butter and i am in heaven. actually, they don't really even need butter - they are that good. the recipe i use is posted on all recipes, although i have no idea what the original recipe post is called. banana bread recipe II? yeah, that must be it. i'm sure of it.

a lot of time i never bake/cook things as long as the recipe suggests. i always like things underdone. however, in this case, i like banana bread to be 'done.' the tops end up being almost crunchy, sweet goodness. so good.


banana bread muffins + printable version

-- original recipe from all recipes

3 or 4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 c butter, melted
1 c sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 c flour

preheat oven to 350. line 12 - 16 cupcake tins with paper liners. i always end up with a different amount of muffins every time i make these. it just depends on how big your bananas are or how many you use. like today, i only had two medium size bananas and it made about 13 muffins, filled 2/3 of the way. or spray with non-stick spray.

in a large mixing bowl, mix melted butter into mashed bananas. mix in sugar, egg, and vanilla.

sprinkle baking soda & salt over banana mixture. mix to combine. add flour in last. mix until just combined.

add about 2 Tbsp of batter to each liner. or about 2/3 full. bake for 18-20 minutes. like i said earlier, i like them a little dark so i end up closer to 20 minutes.


**if you want to bake this as a loaf, the original directions say to pour mixture into a buttered 4 x 8 inch loaf pan and bake for 1 hour at 350. cool on rack and remove pan to slice. like i said, i never have much luck with banana bread loaves. but i'm sure you won't have any problems!

sugar cookie bars.

i first found the recipe for sugar cookie bars on a website called kitchen koala. according to dorothy, sugar cookies bars were a huge craze throughout the food blogs back in spring of 2009. she goes on to say that they have recently made a comeback. not that i am that knowledgeable of all things baking but i was definitely surprised that i hadn't seen these before! the original recipe is credited to anissa of anissa's kitchen but if you read her blog, she says her recipe is from a friend.

i think sugar cookies are so good and i found a recipe i love earlier this year but they are still kind of a pain to make. not anymore! if you want the taste of sugar cookies but don't want to deal with making sugar cookies, this is the way to go. it also makes a ton...depending on how you cut them, so they are great if you need to feed a crowd or for something like cookie club =) i was nervous about the frosting since i have never made frosting with shortening. but it ended up really yummy. perfect for the bars which aren't super sweet. by the way, you can thank my lovely boyfriend for the frosting color. i asked him what color he wanted and without hesitation, he responded with green! i should have known.

 



sugar cookie bars + printable version

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

5 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

cream butter and sugar until fluffy. add eggs in one at a time, mixing after each egg. mix in vanilla. in another bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda & stir with a whisk to combine. add to butter mixture and mix just until combined.

spread on a greased baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan).

bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. cool completely and frost.

 

frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening (crisco)

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

4 cups powdered sugar

5 Tbsp milk

food coloring (optional)

combine butter and shortening until smooth and creamy. add vanilla and salt. add powdered sugar in 1 cup increments until combined. add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency.

make sure the cookies are cool before spreading the frosting. also frost before cutting bars. it might help to stick the frosted cookies in the fridge to help set the frosting.

cinnamon sugar muffins.

also known as french breakfast puffs. i found this recipe on pioneer woman's blog. but i am pretty sure i have made these before. they were just called something else. anyway, these are so good. and they freeze really well. if you have any left to freeze, that is. by the way, my boyfriend says these are his new "favorite" muffins. i'm pretty sure he had four scarfed down before i was even finished rolling them in cinnamon sugar. and he probably had about four more when i told him i was finished taking the pictures. and then he had a stomach ache. big surprise.

cinnamon sugar muffins + printable recipe

muffins:
3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 c sugar

2/3 c shortening

2 eggs

1 c milk

cinnamon sugar topping:
1 1/2 c sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

2 sticks butter

preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease about 12 muffin cups. i actually made around 20 muffins when i made them.

stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. set aside for later.

in another bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and shortening. add eggs and mix. stir in flour mixture alternating with milk until you have a creamy mixture.

fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. bake for between 20-25 minutes or until golden.

in a bowl, melt 2 sticks butter. i thought this was a lot a first so i only did one stick but i definitely needed 2. in a different bowl, combine 1 1/2 c sugar and cinnamon. dip muffins in butter, swirling around to make sure the muffins are well coated and roll muffins into cinnamon-sugar mixture.

**p.s. like i said earlier, these muffins freeze really well! since we had way more muffins than we needed to eat, i decided to freeze some and i can say for sure that they definitely taste just as good reheated...maybe even better.