peanut butter & chocolate banana bread.

i realize i am not the first one to ever do this but i wanted to make sure that you knew about it. 

i love banana bread. 

i love reese's peanut butter cups.

and 

now i love reese's peanut butter cups in my banana bread. 

 

 i used one my favorite banana bread recipes and added a bag of mini reese's peanut butter cups. they are perfect. 

sooo easy and sooo good.

you're welcome.  

 

s'mores cupcakes.

i made these cupcakes for this first time this past weekend. i found them on pinterest and my mom asked me to make them for the family for fourth of july. 

for someone who isn't completely in love with chocolate...you really wouldn't know it because i sure keep making over-the-top chocolate desserts.  

ultimate brownies.
s'mores bars.
cookie dough topped brownies.
oreo brownies.

yeah. so. anyway.


these cupcakes are made from scratch and are super yummy.


the marshmallow fluff center is creamy and ah-mazing. 


and, the graham cracker buttercream is basically fantastic. 

the recipe is from your cup of cake. this is the first of her recipes that i have made and i have no doubt that it won't be my last. 

s'mores cupcakes:
--recipe from your cup of cake

chocolate cupcakes:

1 ¾ cup sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder                          

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup boiling water

graham cracker crumbs

marshmallow cream centers:

4 oz cream cheese

½ cup marshmallow cream

1 ½-2 cups powdered sugar

craham cracker buttercream:

8 oz cream cheese

½ cup butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons whipping cream or milk (i used milk) 


directions: 
preheat your oven to 360 degrees and line two cupcake tins with liners (this makes about twenty four cupcakes).  spoon about a teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs on the bottom of the liner.

in a large bowl, mix sugar, brown sugar, and oil for about three minutes or until smooth. add sour cream and vanilla to sugar mixture.  

add eggs one at a time. gently mix to incorporate. 

in another large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

alternating between the two, add dry ingredients and boiling water to the sugar mixture. mix to combine. 

fill liners about 3/4 full.

bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
let completely cool before adding the cream centers. 

marshmallow cream centers: 
in a large bowl, beat cream cheese, marshmallow cream, and powdered sugar. add more powdered sugar to taste. 

when cupcakes are cooled, remove a small section in the top and pipe the cream into it. 


graham cracker buttercream: 
in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with the butter until fluffy. add powdered sugar, vanilla, and graham cracker crumbs. the mixture will resemble cookie dough until you add enough milk or cream to create buttercream consistency. pipe frosting on top of marshmallow cream filled cupcakes. 

you can also drizzle chocolate and sprinkle with mini marshmallow, only if you want. 

but seriously, why wouldn't you?  

ultimate brownies.

i have a new addiction. 

it is taking over my life. 

it is called pinterest. go check it out. 

but then again, don't blame me when you are unable to stop pinning. 

i have found a bazillion new recipes i want to try as soon as possible. 

seriously though.

cookie dough + oreos + brownie. can you get any more over the top?! 


i cheated and used premade cookie dough tonight. this dessert is super easy to make and literally was in my oven in less than ten minutes and i only used one bowl. what more could you ask for? 


p.s. i only ate about two bites of this and it was more than enough :) 

 

oh, and they are definitely going to work with me tomorrow. 

ultimate chocolate chip cookie n' oreo fudge brownie bar: 

--recipe from kevin & amanda

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 ounces) milk chocolate chips
1 pkg double stuffed oreos
1 family size brownie mix (9 x 13)
1/4 cup hot fudge topping  (optional) 

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed cream sugars and butter for three to five minutes. add in the eggs and vanilla. mix well. in a another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. slowly add to butter mixture. stir in chocolate chips. spread the cookie dough in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish that’s been lined with wax paper and sprayed with cooking spray. add layer of oreos.  make brownie mix. you can add an optional 1/4 cup of hot fudge topping to the mix to make them more "fudgey." pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and oreos. 

bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes. 

(i only baked mine for about 30 minutes)

this can be made in a 8x8 pan -- just half the cookie dough recipe. 

s'mores bars.

i wrote this post a LONG time ago but never got around to baking/taking pictures of them. i finally got a chance to bake tonight :) 

as you may have noticed, i like to bake. a lot. and i like to bring whatever i bake for others to enjoy. because i'm nice like that. so whenever my family gets together, everyone knows i'll be bringing a dessert. and i'm okay with that. and it all started with these sinfully delicious bars. ok, so i realize i make a lot of bars. i'm ok with that as well. i honestly don't remember where i found this recipe. i obviously didn't make it up...it was probably from all recipes. the original recipe is for an 8x8 pan which in my opinion is not enough. especially if you plan on taking the bars any where. plus, if you are going to go through all the effort, you might as well make a 9x13 pan.

so on a side note -- my cousin (whom i love dearly) asked for this recipe so she could make it on her own. i asked her how it went and this was her response: ummmm.... i'm going to need an inside tip or something. can you buy graham cracker crumbs? do you use all that butter? mine just weren't as good as yours...

i love her.

on a second side note -- these were also a huge hit at cookie club. so you know you can't go wrong.

graham cracker layer: 

½ cup butter

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/3 cup flour

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

chocolate layer:

3-4 hershey's chocolate bars

marshmallow layer:

1 cup marshmallow crème/fluff

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. beat butter & sugar together until light and fluffy. add egg and vanilla. mix well. in another bowl, stir in flour, crumbs, baking powder, and salt. add flour mixture to butter mixture. beat until blended.

Press half of the dough into a lightly greased 8x8 pan. arrange chocolate pieces over dough. spread crème on top (this part is a pain – it is sooo sticky! i don't really have a tip so good luck!). 

layer the second half of the dough on the top of the marshmallow layer.

bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

cookie dough topped brownies.

these have to be the easiest homemade brownies in the world. everything is mixed in a sauce pan. it is fabulous.

plus, cookie dough is amazing. i could eat it every day. 

i have made these a couple times before and every one loves them. they are super rich so don't try to eat the whole pan. you might get sick. don't say i didn't warn you. 

but this time, i decided to make brownie cupcakes...i think they turned out super cute!

like i said, these are super easy and i would almost bet you have everything you need for them in your kitchen right now.

cookie dough covered chocolate brownies + printable version
--mel's kitchen cafe

brownie layer:

1 12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (i use milk chocolate chips)
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
cookie dough layer:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3 T milk
1 t vanilla
3/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
chocolate chips

preheat your oven to 350 degrees. cut butter into small chunks and place in a medium saucepan with chocolate chips. melt over low heat, stirring constantly.

remove from heat when chips are fully melted. 

mix sugar into the melted chocolate mixture. add eggs, one at time. finally, add flour and salt and beat until air bubbles begin to form. pour batter into a greased 9 X 13-inch pan. 

bake for 20 minutes and the turn heat down to 325 degrees and bake for 10 more minutes.

cool completely and frost with cookie dough icing.

in a bowl, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy. mix in vanilla and milk. gradually add the flour and salt. stir in as many chocolate chips as you like.
cut into bars and store in refrigerator.

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.