Pretzel and M&M Peanut Butter Cookies

::begin vent:: I have been searching my baker butt off to find a rental in the area between Providence and Boston. And have been pretty unsuccessful. I thought I would have choices in places on where to live ... I was wrong. Just finding ONE place is proving to be difficult. At first it was finding places that were in our budget. But I soon learned that this was not the biggest issue. The big issue was finding a rental that would accept dogs -- big dogs. And by big anything over 25-40 pounds. I mean seriously!?! There are other breeds beyond toy breeds. Do not get me wrong, all fur babies are wonderful and some people like the little ones but others like the big fur babies -- as in my Ninja face ... my love bug ... my baby! ::sigh:: Also big dogs can be just as well behaved and clean (if not better) than little dogs ... never judge a book by its cover.

I was even going to give in and just rent one of those fancy "luxury" living complexes and spend extra to bring Ninja with me but ... I hit my next road block. Apparently Shar- pei are considered an "aggressive breed." I mean really?!? Have you seen Ninja on his birthday -- that munchkin is anything but. If its not one thing, it is another right? I really hate to comprise safety so I am still searching for a safe place that is large breed pet friendly. Definitely proving to be more stressful than the fun I thought it would be. Keep your fingers crossed or if you happen to live in the middle of Boston and Providence and have some thoughts on where to live -- I am all ears!

So the hubby just learned that stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Clearly he needs to spend more time on Pinterest ;) Keeping with that theme and being the dessert loving food blogger that I am ... I decided to turn my stress upside down and make dessert. hahaha I actually made this dessert for the hubby's grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. But I did sneak some for myself and enjoyed them once we came home. I usually am a chocolate gal and do not like to mix my sweet and savory but every now and again I get these peanut butter cravings and I have really come to appreciate salty mixed with sweet. And man am I wishing for some right now to calm my apartment hunting nerves. Poor hubby had to come home to a grumpy wife so I bet he could have used these as well!

PRETZEL AND M&M PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Concept from Sally's Baking Addiction

Peanut Butter Cookie slightly adapted from Lil' Luna 

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 350F Degrees

3 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. peanut butter
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 c. pretzels*
2/3 c. M&M*

*Optional: keep extra for topping

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda - set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, cream together (on medium speed) shortening and both sugars until fluffy. Then add in peanut butter, eggs (one at at a time), milk and vanilla -- in that order. Scrape down sides. Then reduce to low speed and add dry ingredients. Combine until just incorporated. Remove from stand mixer and fold in pretzels and M&Ms.

Line baking sheet with baking mat, aluminum foil, parchment or wax paper. Scoop out 1 1/2-2 inch, cookie dough balls onto sheet (roll between the palm of your hands for a nice round shape). Space the cookies 2 inches apart. Slightly flatten the cookies using the palm of your hand. Press any extra pretzel crumbs or M&Ms into the top of the cookie dough balls. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Enjoy,

Chocolate Raspberry Hugs Cupcakes

Let the recapping continue. Weird fact before I begin. I probably "start" a post like 10 times, only to delete it and try again.  I obviously do not usually write about it, but today I was kinda irritated by the non-flow (is that a word...non-flowingness....I should probably not be in grad school...haha) of my post :/ BUMMMMM-ERRRR...that's pretty much how I sound in real life. Hahaha...I've probably convinced half of you that, you would never want to meet me in person ;)

Okay, well the day after my birthday dinner with the fam bam (i.e., my actual birthDAY) -- was very full. I started the day attending  a baby shower thrown for my cousin. Fun fact: she is due any minute now....and I'm just waiting to hear about her new baby girl :) It was a sweet shower, with yummy food and quality time with my cousins. It was super cute, because they knew it was my birthday so they surprised me (after my cousin cut her baby shower cake) with an ice cream birthday cake.

 Another fun fact (are these even fun for you?): before the pizookie platter birthday cake obsession, I would always insist on having a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake. Why? Because the cake of an ice cream cake (the half cake-half ice cream kind), for some reason, taste differently than a cake not topped with ice cream. Sadly it was so hot in California (yes, in January) that the cake melted by the time they came....whomp whomp...BUT I am totally a person who believes in the thought that counts :) And it made me smile and feel special! Another reason why I LOVE my family. The rest of my birthday-day....to be continued....(dun, dun, dunnnnnnn.....::not a very good cliffhanger::)

So, it is now Day 3 of my countdown to LOVE (or as other people like to non-awkwardly say...Valentine's Day). The hubby stumbled upon these seasonal raspberry Hershey's hugs. Usually you see chocolate covered strawberries, but I have also seen chocolate paired with raspberrry so I thought why not try to incorporate that into a dessert. Plus I wanted to try out this really cool recipe I found for incorporating jam into buttercream, and I happened to have a bottle of raspberry jam that I mistakenly picked up for strawberry jam that I needed to use! AND I hadn't made cupcakes in FOREVER....so it was like a win, win, win... :)

Photograph taken by the amazing Helen

Anther photograph taken by the amazing Helen :)

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY HUGS CUPCAKES

Cupcake concept inspired from Bru Crew Life

Buttercream adapted from Your Cup of Cake

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 325F

CUPCAKES
1 box of Duncan Hines Devils Food Cake (or equivalent substitute)
1 c. of water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs, room temperature
18 raspberry Hershey's hugs

RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
1 1/2stick of butter, softened
2/3 c. raspberry jam
3-5 c. powdered sugar, sifted
heavy cream (if needed for thinning)
Sprinkles
18 raspberry Hershey's hugs

DIRECTIONS

For the cupcakes:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment -- sift in cake mix (I hate lumps). Then add in water, vegetable oil and eggs. Mix on low speed until ingredients are combined.

Line a cupcake pan with liners. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each liner about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes (on bottom rack) until inserted toothpick comes out clean. I bake cupcakes at a lower temperature on the bottom rack, but for the same amount of time, because it creates fluffier cupcakes. 

Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes. Then insert, point facing downward, one raspberry Hershey's hug into the center of each cupcakes, pushing down until flush with top of cupcakes (see above picture).

For the raspberry buttercream:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream butter and raspberry jam until creamy. Add in sifted powdered  sugar, 1 cup at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. You want buttercream to be stiff enough to hold shape when pipped. If too much powdered sugar is added, add 1 tbsp. of heavy cream until desired consistency is reached.

Pipe buttercream onto cupcake. Garnish with sprinkles, if desired, and top with a raspberry Hershey's hug.

Enjoy,
Chika

Red Velvet M&M Cake Mix Bars

::insert scream here:: isn't text scream something like ?!@!#$?!@@!! -- or maybe that is swearing. hahaha. I am definitely trying to scream and not swear. Anywhoo, I am so sorry that I have once more went MIA for bit. I was venting to the hubby how frustrated I get, that I cannot ever seem to blog regularly for a consistent amount of time, even when I have recipes to share. It is just plain annoying. He gave me some good feedback and pointed out that I just need to be honest with you all and myself.

(...tangent....doesn't this sound like a break up speech...hahah...where I am about to say. 'it's not you, really, it's me'...don't worry this is not where this is going)

And basically -- I just need to be open about that fact that at any random moment, even when I think I'll be free, graduate school will sweep in and take over my life. You know, people have always told me, "it'll be worth it." My response instead of "yea I know.."...is now "I will let you know about that." hahaha...The worst part?!? First year faculty have told me that it only gets worse?!?! WORSE!?!? Like whaaaaaaa? Not.Even. So what does that say about the future... :/ That is why not blogging is so annoying. Not only does that mean I have nothing to share with you all. But I stop doing one of the few things that help me de-stress, unwind and smile. Maybe, just maybe, one day I'll find a balance. But as of now, I'm failing. It's okay, not in a sad way, just in a...I am so sorry way :) Forgive me? Again?

So what have I been up to? Well....IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY last month. And if you remember, I love my birthday. It's like a national holiday for me. I go all out and pretty much get everything I want for my birthday. I know, that sounds absurdly spoiled. I cannot lie and say I am not. I am extremely blessed with my loving hubby, family and besties. And they understand just how much, for some odd reason, my birthday means to me. This year, the hubby and I went home to California for my birthday! :) It was so nice. I had such a fun an amazing time! I'll share bits of my trip in each post after this!

This is Day 1 of my Valentine's Countdown :) The countdown to love....hahaha! And what screams Valentine's Day like RED VELVET! Plus, M&Ms came out with a seasonal red velvet flavor and they are delicious! Addicting, really....So  I decided to make my M&M Cake mix bars, because my last one was such a big hit. And these were also definitely a hit. Took them to a party and they were all gone :) The hubby only got to try the edges and he was bummed that was all he got. This is as easy peasy to make as it gets! So if you are in a pinch and want an easy, go-to treat....this....is....it!

RED VELVET M&M CAKE MIX BARS

Cake mix bars from Inside a BruCru Life

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 325F Degrees 

1 box of Red Velvet Cake mix
1 egg
1 stick of butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
9.9 oz bag of Red Velvet M&Ms (or Valentine's M&Ms)*

*I only found the Red Velvet M&Ms at Wal-mart

DIRECTIONS

Line a 7 3/4 x 11 3/4 baking dish with aluminum foil. Grease aluminum foil with butter, shortening or cooking spray. This will help when removing bars from baking dish, allow for cooling, and easier, cleaner cutting into squares.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, sift in cake mix. Then stir in egg, butter and vanilla. Do not over mix. Remove from stand mixer and fold in half of the red velvet M&Ms.

Evenly press dough into baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining M&Ms evenly onto the top of the batter and gently press in. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to completely cool before cutting into bars.

Enjoy,
Chika

Snickers Brownie Bombs

Yesterday we made the almost 6 hour trek to Louisiana to have a belated celebration with the in-laws. Although the journey was LONG it was a super nice and sweet get together. I am always a fan of spending time with family. Not only was it a fun way to extend the holiday celebration and enjoy deliciously amazing food (I mean YUM), we got to celebrate two engagements and a wedding (that we unfortunately had to miss this past September). I got to meet the new hubby and the two new fiances :) One of which I had been chatting with on Facebook and so it was great meeting her in person (and it's always great meeting someone you personality meshes well with). I wanted to be creative with our congratulations, so I made them this:

I really love doing cartoon like drawings. I used to do it all the time when I worked at the daycare. I would decorate these posters that told the parents what their kids did that day. Then when I came to work at Texas Children's hospital, I got to continue with my creative side. I would make cards, magnets, and posters for kids I work with. It was really fun. And since starting graduate school, I got to expand on my creative side by baking, cooking and blogging but I haven't really gotten to do much drawing, so it was nice to get back into it. I really hoped they liked it!

Since it was technically after Christmas I wanted to make my last two dessert, not so much Christmas only type desserts but more holiday inspired dessert but those that you can eat at any time :) I have been seeing these brownie bombs/brownie bites on Pinterest lately and wanted to make them because I love bite sized dessert ideas like truffles and cake balls. Have you ever heard of brownie bombs? They are basically a sweet treat, covered in a brownie layer, dipped in chocolate and garnished with sprinkles or mini-chocolate chips. I chose to use Snickers, but what is great, is you can switch it out with any other treat you like (Hershey kisses, Milky Ways, etc.).

SNICKERS BROWNIE BOMBS 

Adapted from Skinny not Skinny

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven o 350F Degrees

1 family size boxed mix of fudge brownies
18 oz. chocolate bark or candy melts
1 tsp. vegetable oil 
26 Snickers bites or 13 fun sized Snickers (cut in half) or other candy of choice
Sprinkles or mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Bake brownies according to package directions for "fudgey" brownies. Allow to completely cool. Once cool, cut the edges of the brownie off (i.e., the dry parts). Cut the remaining brownie into 1 1/2 inch squares.

Roll each brownie square into a ball. Continue kneading, pressing and rolling the brownie in your hand until the the dough is smooth. Flatten the dough and place a piece of Snickers in the middle. Gently wrap the brownie around the piece of Snickers. Then roll between the palms of your hands until the entire piece of Snickers is covered and the ball (or bomb) is smooth. Repeat with remaining brownie squares.


Dipping the brownie bomb:
Melt either chocolate bark or candy melt according to package directions. This is my secret, once the chocolate is melted I stir in the vegetable oil. This makes the chocolate have a smoother and shinier coating :)

Now, I am going to tell you how I get perfectly dipped brownie bombs but if you have your own method that works-- you are more than welcome to do it that way -- this is just whats worked best for me: 

• Once chocolate has melted, take the brownie bomb and while holding the top half, dip the bottom half into the chocolate, then dip a cake pop stick into the chocolate (about 1/2 inch) and push into the center of the cake ball until about, no more, than half way through (this may be hard because the stick may hit the Snickers -- just try your best). Let cool. This will make it much easier to dip the rest of the cake ball. Otherwise I have found that the cake balls get stuck in the  chocolate or falls off the stick.

Once cooled, dip the top of the brownie bomb and a little part of the bottom, that was already coated into the chocolate. Shake off excess chocolate. Garnish with sprinkles (while chocolate is still wet). Allow to cool by sticking into flower foam. Once dried, holding the brownie bomb with one hand, gently twist the cake pop stick with your other hand and pull out. 

Enjoy,
Chika

Chocolate-Gingerbread Twix Brownies

Merry Christmas! The day has finally come when you are supposed to hang out with loved ones, eat lots of goodies and spoil yourself with presents! The day when blasting your N'SYNC Christmas Album is acceptable. When admitting you were a Justin Timberlake (JT) teenie bopper fan, the days when he had yet to hit puberty, comes without judgement. Okay, okay...that always comes with judgment BUT I am right there with you. I used to do the Bye, Bye, Bye dance when TRL (yes, remember TRL?) used to play them and run fan comments on the bottom. Submitting comments is where I drew the line but JT screen saver was still within the line ;) Hahaha...this blog is like my dirty little teenage secret space of confession on the itnerweb. Unless, you are JT -- and in that case -- I LOVED YOU  ;)

My boys (my big one and my furry one) were excited for Christmas and so was our fur-baby guest. Ninja and his friend Deacon had a fun helping to open their presents! 

Christmas "cookies" for the pups

One of the recipes I want to share with you are these gingerbread brownies with chunks of Twix. Not just regular Twix, which are already delicious by itself, but GINGERBREAD Twix. They are yummy! I thought it would be pretty nifty to pair the chocolate-gingerbread candy bar with a chocolate-gingerbread brownie! It came out perfect. Usually chocolate covers the subtle taste of gingerbread but these bars have a wonderfully strong gingerbready taste with just a hint of chocolate. And the crunchy Twix mixed in gives great bursts of flavor and crunch. The hubby is actually eating them as I write. I recommend getting two bags of of these Twix because they are so yummy that you are going to want to eat one as you make these brownies. Ain't nothing wrong with that ;)

CHOCOLATE-GINGERBREAD TWIX BROWNIES

Gingerbread Brownies adapted from Martha Stewart 

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 350F Degrees 

1/2 stick of butter, melted 
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. pumpkin-pie spice
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. honey or molasses
1 egg
1/2 c. sour cream
10 oz. bag of gingerbread Twix, chopped into pieces

DIRECTIONS

Line a 8x8 baking dish with aluminum foil. Grease aluminum foil with butter, shortening or cooking spray. This will help when removing bars from baking dish, allow for cooling, and easier, cleaner cutting into squares. Dust with cocoa powder, set aside. 

In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, ginger, pumpkin pie spice and baking soda -- set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine butter, brown sugar, honey, egg and sour cream until creamy and smooth. Stir in dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Remove from stand mixer and fold in 1/2 of the chopped Twix. 

Transfer batter to the lined baking pan and smoothed top with spatula. Evenly distribute remaining Twix pieces on top of the batter and slightly press in. Bake 30-35 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy,
Chika