Fluffernutter Sandwich Cookies

It's no secret I'm a fluffernutter fiend. <-- Make those cupcakes and you'll see why.

I lived in Spain for four months during my junior year of college.  For those who may be unfamiliar, they don't really eat peanut butter in Spain (or anywhere in Europe that I visited for that matter).  I didn't really consider this before moving or I probably would have packed about 26 jars in my luggage.  No friends, this was a lesson learned the hard way.  The funny part is, I brought my host family a gift that included Reese's Peanut Butter Cups when I arrived and my 19-year old host brother literally ate the entire bag in two days.  So I guess he didn't hate them.

After about my first month there, I discovered a little tiny store run by an expat that sold international foods, teas, and trinkets.  Lo and behold.... peanut butter.  I think it was like 8 or 9 euros a jar but obviously it was a no-brainer.  I would have asked the shop owner to procure me some marshmallow fluff, but I didn't want to push my luck.

Fluffernutter Sandwich Cookies
Makes about 10 sandwiches (20 cookies)
Cookie recipe from Bakers Royale; frosting adapted from How Sweet Eats

1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

For the cookies: place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low until combined.  Using a cookie dough scoop or a rounded tablespoon, place about a tablespoon and a half of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheet.  Use a fork to flatten the dough using a criss-cross design.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until they begin to turn golden brown around the edges.  Let the cookies rest on the sheets for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool completely.

For the frosting: beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy.  Add the fluff and beat again until combined.  Scrape the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated.  Stir in the vanilla. Finally, stir in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time and then beat until creamy.

To assemble: spread the marshmallow buttercream between two (completely cooled!) cookies to make a sandwich.  Enjoy!



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.

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!

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.

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

Fluffernutter Cupcakes

These cupcakes. I live and die by these cupcakes.



I know you're thinking "not such a wonderful picture you have there" but the truth is these really didn't hang around long enough to be photographed in any sort of presentable manner.

Okay, that's a bit dramatic.  But these really are the most amazing cupcakes on the planet.  Sorry, I can't stop.

My husband's dessert philosophy baffles me.  Chocolate and peanut butter all the way, all the time.  Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing combination, and one that I enjoy myself quite often.  But I'm different in the way that I order desserts depending on what mood I'm in at that very second.  Lemon & white chocolate one day could be followed by some sort of chocolate indulgence overload the next, and then next time I'll want something with salted caramel oozing out of it.  This is why it takes me 10 minutes at our favorite ice cream shop at the beach to order - I have to figure out what I'm in the mood for while he looks at the menu, spots "chocolate & peanut bu...." and closes it back up.  There are so many crazy delicious combinations in the world that I can't imagine just limiting myself to one. 
I digress.

These cupcakes were originally found on my favorite food blog of all time, How Sweet It Is.  Jessica is my