Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

I was under a cookie curse for about a month before my wedding.

No matter what recipe I tried to make in those few weeks, they were epic fails.  I burned one batch.  Another batch spread way too much to form one big jumbled mega-cookie.  My Silpat slipped and I dropped a different batch on my open oven door before I could bake them.  The oven door was hot so they immediately started cooking and it took like 20 minutes to scrape off and clean up.  Point being - there was some serious bad cookie juju going on.  The thing is... up until that point, I had NEVER screwed up cookies.  Some of these were tried and true recipes I've made a million times before.  I chalk it up to wedding brain and trying to focus on a million other things, but to this day I have not figured it out. 

The greatest part of these particular cookies?  No baking!  They're fast, there is no oven involved (perfect for summer if you don't want to heat up your house) and they're gluten free.  These come together in about 20 minutes total and are totally foolproof.  Take that, bad cookie juju.

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies:
Heavily adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Makes about 30 cookies


1 stick butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa powder
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats
peanut butter chips

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, sugar, milk and cocoa powder over medium heat.  Bring to a boil while whisking smooth, and let boil for about a minute.  Remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter and vanilla extract, and stir until the peanut butter melts.  Add the oats and stir to coat.  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto wax covered baking sheets.  Individually press peanut butter chips into the tops of the cookies, if desired.  Let cookies cool on baking sheets until they are set.

S'mores Cupcakes

Well, helloooooooo summer love.

To me, summer means a few things.  I am unfortunately not a kid anymore so summers off is not one of them.  But summer does mean the days are longer, the colors seem brighter, and I seem to be able to eat my body weight in fresh watermelon and cantaloupe.  Summer also screams for the classic combination of chocolate, graham cracker and marshmallow.  I've been looking for the perfect s'mores cupcake recipe for awhile now, but I couldn't find anything that fit my vision.  Most of the recipes I found had a chocolate cake base with a marshmallow frosting, and the graham sort of took a backseat with either a little square on top or some crumbs as the base.  Finally, I decided to take bits and pieces of other recipes to create my perfect Frankenstein s'mores cupcake.  These babies have a dense graham cracker cake, a milk chocolate filling, and a rich and fluffy marshmallow buttercream.  I rolled the outside in extra graham cracker crumbs and garnished with some chocolate pieces, mini marshmallows, a chocolate covered-graham cracker and a drizzle of ganache.  Ohmygoodness.  It's pretty safe to say these didn't make it two full days in our house.  They did, however, make it into my top 3 cupcake recipes of all time.  Allow me to introduce you to your new summer love (a la Justin Timberlake circa 2006).

S'mores Cupcakes:
Makes 12 cupcakes

Graham Cracker Cupcake (source: Vanilla Garlic)
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature

Puppy Chow Popcorn

One of my fondest memories of being on the summer swim team while I was growing up was... the snack bar.  Ha!  I really wish I was joking.  Swim star, I was not.

Every once in awhile they'd have homemade items that a few of the moms would sell along with the other goodies.  I'd always jump at the chance for the ubiquitous little plastic baggies of peanut butter & chocolate covered Chex® cereal that was coated in a nice thick layer of powdered sugar.  I grew up calling it "puppy chow" although it is also pretty well known as "muddy buddies".  Neither name sounds particularly appetizing if you ask me.  By the way, if you're going to google "puppy chow" for the original recipe, do not click on the first link that comes up.  Because that is actual dog food and that would be a mistake.

In a recent conversation with my husband, he let slip that he'd never actually had puppy chow.  Um, excuse me?  How is that possible?  I thought that was pretty much a childhood requirement, not to mention he is literally the king of anything chocolate + peanut butter.  If there were literally kings of such things.  He swears we've had this conversation before, but I think I would remember something as sad as someone never having puppy chow! 

Since I don't always have Chex® on hand, but we pretty much always have popcorn, I decided to look for some sort of Puppy Chow Popcorn creation.  Apparently, I'm late to the party because everyone and their mother has already had this ingenious idea.  This version I found on Tasty Kitchen is the same as the standard puppy chow recipe, but you swap popcorn for the rice cereal.  Try this chocolaty-peanut buttery-salty-sweet creation when a snack attack hits or when you're simply feeling nostalgic for a childhood treat. 

Puppy Chow Popcorn:
Recipe from Tasty Kitchen, adapted from Chex®

9 cups popped microwave popcorn
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Prepare your popcorn according to package directions and set aside in a very large bowl.  Be sure to remove any unpopped kernels at this point to avoid covering them chocolate and eating them whole later!  Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter together in the microwave until completely melted.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour melted chocolate mixture over popped popcorn.  Stir until everything is evenly coated.  Add the powdered sugar and stir again until everything is evenly coated.  Spread the popcorn mixture onto cookie sheets, and allow the chocolate to set.  Serve and transfer any leftovers to an airtight container.

Just a heads up: this has gotten my wheels turning for other puppy chow inspired ideas: Cake? Truffles? Cupcakes? Stay tuned!

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes (with Nutella) for 2!

I made 72 cupcakes last weekend. Yikes.

They were obviously not all for me.  Even I have limits!  But after delivering half to a coworker for his holiday gathering and taking the rest to our Easter dinner, I still had about a dozen left over.  When there are only two people in your house, that's just bad news.  I am only human, after all... and who would go for the oatmeal in the morning when those bad boys are staring at you from the cake stand?  No one.

That's why Christina over at Dessert for Two is such a godsend.  She makes delicious dessert recipes scaled down for a household of two!  On normal, non-holiday occasions when I want just a small taste of dessert for my husband and me, she has all kinds of recipes that fit the bill.  No more having to give the rest away at work or to family just to save me from myself and a late night cookie/cupcake/insert-other-dessert-here binge.  Make sure you head over to her site to

Red Velvet Cake Balls

One thing that stinks about being an adult: lack of birthday parties. 

You may still get together with friends, have some wine, go out to eat, etc.  But I'm talking about old school birthday parties with elaborate themes, every single one of your friends, cake, ice cream, candy, soda and party favors.  Before you cared about counting calories or where on your thighs those snacks would end up.  Where you'd run around with your friends for a few hours and be sent home buzzing around like a maniac from the crazy extreme sugar high.  I was at a few with ponies.  Oh yes.  Those were the days.

I had the same college roommate all four years of school (hiiiiii, Di!).  We had known each other from high school, and decided to room together when we found out we were attending the same college.  She lovessss her some red velvet cake, so her mom made her one every year for her birthday.  Ever since we graduated, in an attempt to relive the glory days and/or sugar highs of childhood, I make her red velvet cupcakes.  I wanted to switch it up this year and try red velvet in a different form.  These cake balls have all the flavors of red velvet cake, with the cake and frosting rolled together and then dipped in dark chocolate.  I gave these babies a nice neon chocolate drizzle in homage to our 90's upbringing and finished them with some confetti-colored birthday sprinkles.

I'm bringing the candy-induced sugar coma back for birthdays, baby.

Red Velvet Cake Balls:
Makes around 60 cake balls

1 box of Red Velvet cake mix + ingredients required on the box to make it
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups of powdered sugar
chocolate candy melting wafers (milk, dark or white - I used dark)
colored chocolate melting wafers for drizzle, optional
sprinkles for decoration, optional

Bake the red velvet cake in a 9x13 pan according to package directions.  Set aside to cool completely.

While cake is cooling, make the frosting.  In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth.  Add the sugar on low speed and beat until incorporated.  Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Once the cake has cooled, crumble with your hands into a large bowl.  Take 1 3/4 cups of the cream cheese frosting and spoon in the bowl with the cake crumbles.  Freeze any remaining frosting for later use (resist the urge to promptly devour over the kitchen sink with a spoon).  Mix the frosting and the cake crumbles using your hands until thoroughly mixed and uniform.  If too dry, add a few more spoonfuls of frosting, but be sure it's not too wet or it will be difficult to roll.  Using your hands, roll into one-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to make them easier to dip. 

When ready, melt the chocolate candy melting wafers in 30 second increments in the microwave.  Stir until smooth.  Dip each cake ball in the chocolate and place back on the wax paper-lined cookie sheet.  Drizzle with colored chocolate and sprinkles, if desired.  Store in the refrigerator.

They're like a party in your mouth.

Chocolate Covered Easter Eggs (Peanut Butter and Coconut Crème)

I must be feeling awfully generous today.  I have not one, but two wonderfully festive Easter candy recipes for you!

I have enjoyed these recipes my entire life and they are two of the many reasons I look forward to Spring every year.  I love Starburst jelly beans and Cadbury eggs as much as the next girl, but homemade peanut butter eggs and coconut crème-filled eggs pretty much rock my world.  I would eat these all year long if it wasn't for fear of my waistline exponentially expanding.  My mother got the recipe almost 40 years ago from a Pennsylvania Dutch woman named Bonnie Dry, who had the recipe in her family as long as she could remember.  You can tell it's a really old school recipe by the presence of egg whites.  If this skeeves you out, you can totally omit them, but I like what they do for the consistency.  You can read more about egg safety here.  We've been eating them this way forever and while I may be a little strange, I am otherwise unscathed. 

And let's get real for a second.  You people that don't like coconut... we can't really be friends anymore.  Okay we can still be friends, but I will outwardly judge you and try to change your mind every. single. year.  Because you're crazy.  Don't worry, my husband is among you, but you're crazy.

Homemade Peanut Butter Eggs:
Makes around 75 eggs (depending on the size you roll them)

2 sticks of butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 egg whites
1 small jar peanut butter
1 1/2 lbs powdered sugar
chocolate for dipping (I usually use dark)

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, vanilla, the egg whites and the peanut butter until smooth.  Gradually add the powdered sugar.  Mix until uniformly combined.  Roll into egg-shaped blobs and refrigerate or freeze for 20 minutes or so to make them easier to dip.  Melt the chocolate, dip the peanut butter eggs into the chocolate, and shake off excess chocolate.  Decorate, if desired, but I mostly prefer mine naked.  Refrigerate until hardened.

Homemade Coconut Crème Eggs:
Makes about 75 eggs (depending on the size you roll them)

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
2 cups coconut
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 lbs powdered sugar
chocolate for dipping (I use dark)

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together cream cheese, butter, coconut, and vanilla until combined.  Gradually add the powdered sugar.  Mix until uniformly combined.  Roll into egg-shaped blobs and refrigerate for 20 minutes or so to make them easier to dip.  Melt the chocolate, dip the coconut eggs into the chocolate, and shake off excess chocolate.  Decorate, if desired.  Refrigerate until hardened.

Cannoli Stuffed French Toast

Happy Weekend!  I know that last post was all about healthy breakfasts and all... but after a challenging week at work, can you imagine anything better than waking up late on Saturday morning to these babies?

I certainly can't.  We all know weekends are for the really fun breakfasts you just can't squeeze into the work week.  This French toast is the perfect special occasion brunch item... or you know, just because you're feeling fancy on an ordinary Saturday like I was.  Plus, I have a crazy affinity for cannolis (um, who doesn't?) so I pretty much knew these had to be amazing from the moment I saw them over at Two Peas and Their Pod.  The filling is creamy and decadent, with a yummy crunch of mini chocolate chips in every yummy bite.  I had mine with syrup because I believe in Buddy the Elf's basic food groups, but this really was to die for on its own. 

Cannoli Stuffed French Toast:
Original recipe by Two Peas & Their Pod

1 cup ricotta cheese (I used low-fat)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup regular or mini chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream or milk
4 slices French bread
2 tablespoons butter
powdered sugar, for serving
syrup, if desired

In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, powdered sugar & vanilla.  Stir in the chocolate chips and set the mixture aside.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream (or milk) until thoroughly combined.  Spread 2 of

Banana Oatmeal Cups with Chocolate Chips

Much of my life is spent in a constant struggle between wanting to shove cake in my face every five minutes and wanting to live solely on green smoothies, salads & protein shakes.  And believe me when I say I fluctuate every day between the two mindsets.  This is the life I lead, people. 

So when I find something that is both healthy and lets me have chocolate (especially for breakfast), I am sold.  Enter these Banana Oatmeal Cups with Chocolate Chips.  These are pretty healthy & tasty and give you a great boost of energy in the morning.  Plus they are a great way to use up any bananas you have that are on the brink of extinction.  I like them warm so that the chocolate chips are all melty and glorious, so feel free to pop any leftover oatmeal cups in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before you head out the door.  Disclaimer: these are definitely not meant to be as sweet as a muffin or a cupcake, so if you like things extra sweet you may want to add a sweetener of some kind to the batter.  I added some sweetened shredded coconut to half this batter and loved it!

This recipe is also the perfect reason to introduce you to one of my favorite things: PB2 powdered peanut butter.  It adds all the flavor of peanut butter with but with less fat calories than normal peanut butter.  They have a chocolate peanut butter flavor, too, which is great mixed with plain Greek yogurt or in your

Double Mint Dark Chocolate Cupcakes (St. Patty's Day Special!)

Contrary to what it may seem like, I do not eat cupcakes every day.

My husband had a special request for something in the chocolate mint category, and I figured St. Patrick's Day was a perfect occasion to try out this flavor combo for him.  When brainstorming, I knew I wanted a dark chocolate cake with a some sort of creamy mint filling, and a refreshing (and festive!) green mint buttercream on top.  I am not even 1% Irish, but who doesn't love a good holiday? Besides. . .  I like to think I look good in green, and these cupcakes do, too.

I adapted the dark chocolate cake and mint filling recipe from Dinners, Dishes & Desserts, and topped it with my favorite buttercream recipe spiked with a bit of peppermint extract.  And what cupcake

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Try to be unhappy when you're eating a cupcake.  Just. . . try.  It's pretty much impossible.  Just looking at this picture makes me giddy.

So last weekend, I finally decided to tackle these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes.  They have been on my list for awhile, but I needed to scour the Internet to find the perfect recipe that had the right balance of chocolate chip flavor in the cake, an eggless cookie dough filling and a fluffy brown sugar buttercream.  And spell check really needs to stop telling me "buttercream" isn't a word because it's going to be a reoccurring theme on this blog.  Obviously.

I hit the jackpot with this recipe from Amanda at Fake Ginger.  It has a dense, chocolate chip flecked cake with a filling that tastes exactly like the cookie dough you sneak while baking that you know you