Fluffernutter Bars

Have you heard of fluffernutter sandwiches?

Have you ever tried one?

Life changing!

Before Christmas I had heard of these sandwiches I just never tried one. Crazy right?!

While visiting family over the Christmas holiday, my nieces and nephew were making little fluffernutter sandwiches. I thought...hmmm... those look pretty good, I think I'll try one.
My brain exploded...seriously...Exploded!
Why have I never tried one before? I have been missing out and I need another one! And another one!

I am not kidding people. I ate one every day for like a week. I even went out and bought the largest container of fluff I could find.

Now that I feel like a giant marshmallow, I decided I need to do more with peanut butter and fluff.

Then I saw a recipe on "Confessions of a Cookbook Queen" and knew I had to try it.

Wait for it..... Fluffernutter Bars! Oh yes!

Mix up some peanut butter chocolate chip goodness. Top with the Fluff fantastic, then sandwich it in with some more goodness.

Bake it to golden brown, cool and enjoy. Ok... truthfully, I couldn't wait I scooped some out while it was warm....another life changing moment. Yum!

If you want to slice it into cute little squares you will have to refrigerate until completely cool. But, if you want it to ooze fluffiness, leave it at room temp.

Here is the recipe:

Fluffernutter bars

adapted from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

3 cups all purpose flour
1 TBS baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 sticks salted butter, slightly softened
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 1/4 cup packed dark or light brown sugar  (I used light brown)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 large eggs
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
13 oz (the large jar) Marshmallow Creme

Instructions
-Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
-In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
-In the bowl of your mixer, beat butter, peanut butter, and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla.
-Stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl before adding the eggs one at a time, beating after each. --Scrape the sides of the bowl again.
-With the mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture until incorporated. Using a wooden spoon, make sure all the flour mixture from the bottom of the bowl is mixed in (batter will be thick). Fold in chips.
-Spread approximately 2/3 of batter in prepared pan.
-With the lid (and packaging seal) removed, microwave the Marshmallow Creme, stirring every 20 seconds, until it's softened and easy to spread. Spoon evenly over batter in pan and spread gently.
-Spoon remaining batter over marshmallow, as evenly as possible. Spread a bit, then using a sharp knife, drag through the batter, creating a "swirl". Bake for about 30 minutes, until edges are brown and bars are dark golden all over

(some of the marshmallow may puff up and get darker brown than the rest of the batter this is okay).
-Let bars cool completely. Refrigerate until firm for ease in cutting (this also keeps the marshmallow from oozing out).

From my heart, to your kitchen,

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Gluten Free Oatmeal "Enjoy Life" Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dear Person who tried to check out with 25 items in the 10 items or less line,


I know you were quite upset when the check out lady asked you to count your items because you were only allowed 10. It really wasn't necessary to throw your hands in the air and storm off to a different check out. Sometimes you just need to embrace the rules, they are there to protect you. She was just doing her job.

Sincerely,
The Person in a hurry behind you with 5 items

Ever been there? I, for one, was so grateful for the check out lady that day. Rules are rules.

Speaking of 10 items or less, this cookie is packed with 12 items, in this case, it's a good thing. Trust me. Even if you don't need to eat gluten free, you need to make this cookie.

I was drawn to this recipe because you don't need any special flours or binders. 

Oh and the chocolate chips.... we will get to those gems soon.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies
(adapted from makeitnaked.com)


1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup peanut butter
3 cups rolled oats
8 oz "Enjoy Life" chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream together the butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy.
Add the eggs, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Mix.
Add peanut butter and mix.
Add the oats and almonds. Mix slowly until combined.

Add the chocolate chips. Mix slowy until combined.
These chips are awesome, the best tasting dairy, soy and nut free thing I've ever put in my mouth. My husband couldn't even tell the difference. I found them at Target, how awesome is that. Invest in some, you'll thank me later.

Scoop about a teaspoon of dough onto a greased or parchment-covered cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly brown at edges. Remove and let cool on wire rack.

I taste tested about 5 immediately, no lie, I really needed a cookie and these were so good.

My sons absolutely love them too, bonus!


Baking from my heart to your kitchen,

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Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies and another Green Smoothi

Week 2 of Green Smoothie every morning. The one I made this morning will be at the end.
Week 1 of Gluten-free (gf), Dairy-free (df) diet. 

I know you are anxiously awaiting to hear how it's going.   
First few days were a bit torturous challenging. I was a bit discouraged with all the foods I couldn't eat. I'm just plain hungry.  
This may not be a big deal to you, but to a foodie like me, it was difficult to wrap my brain around. Then I started finding a TON of gf recipes and blogs and started cooking.
I also went out and bought some gluten-free snacks, some were great and some where down right ew. Coconut milk yogurt, not so great. Veggie chips, not too bad. 
Trail mix, ate the whole bag in two days. Chex cereal with Lactaid, surprisingly delicious.


One super great side effect, my clothes are looser. After only a week, well two if you count from the smoothie beginning. 
I would love to tell you I lost weight, but I don't own a scale. As soon as I get one, I'll let you know the results.

However, I need cookies! I need to bake! I finally couldn't take it anymore and searched for a gf recipe that I could make with the ingredients I already have. I found....
Peanut Butter Cookies!
Score!

Super easy too!

Here is what you will need:

1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used the Natural pb)
1 cup white sugar (I did 1/3 white and 1/2 brown)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Basically, throw all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a spoon. I told you it was easy.

Roll the dough into balls and roll in sugar. Press criss-cross with a fork. My 3 year loved that he could help.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes depending on your oven. Don't Overbake! 

Right out of the oven they are yummy (as you see the missing spot where I am munching one while taking the picture) Don't judge, I seriously needed a cookie.
Meanwhile, while they were yummy, it was not entirely the same as a pb cookie with flour.

My hubs said it tasted like the dough, just baked... um sweetie... that's what cookies are... baked dough. I couldn't resist, he really opened himself up for that one. Upon further discussion that really is the best description. That grainy texture of cookie dough.

If you have enough will power to wait a day, they taste even better. Maybe they just have to sit and come to terms with the fact they don't have flour.
We all agree here in my house, better the next day. My 5 year old keeps asking for more. So, definitely kid approved.

What should I try next? 
I'm a bit excited about these new possibilities.

Let's talk Smoothie:

1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup Pineapple (all I had left, you could add more)
1 Peach (I peeled the skin off mine)
1 Pear
1 Carrot (medium size)
Handful of Spinach

I put it all in the blender in the order of ingredients. I read somewhere to put the soft fruits and veggies first, end with the spinach and ice. Not sure why, but it works much better.

This mornings green color did not look that appealing, but it was actually really good.

If you are wondering how filling they actually are, they do pretty good. I start to get hungry again 3-4 hours later and grab a snack before lunch. I have made the smoothie as a morning snack after breakfast. 

Do I have more energy? Really hard to judge since I'm chasing around 3 boys all day, but I definitely don't feel as tired as I usually do. I have had no stomach pains this week either. 

What do I eat? 
Yesterday I had.....
Breakfast: Coffee with Lactaid and a Green Smoothie
Lunch: Salad with turkey, carrots, cucumbers and sesame seeds with vinaigrette dressing.
Snacks: Trail mix and veggie chips
Dinner: BBQ chicken, gf sweet potato casserole and peas
Sweets: gf peanut butter cookies

There are so many supportive blog full of wonderful recipes. 
Week 2 here I come!

Baking from my heart to your kitchen,

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M&M Cookie Peanut Butter Sandwich

I have a quick little goodie for you today.



Are you ready?


M&M Cookie Peanut Butter Sandwich!


I know right? Extreme Goodness.

I will be going on vacation next week.
Try to survive without me, I know it will be hard, but I have faith in you.


Oh did I mention on top of packing and getting ready,  I am doing crafts at VBS this week. 
I love little 4 and 5 year olds, I mean, I have one, however...


well, let me just say, they can only glue and color for so long before they start getting anxious and start glueing their fingers together. The last 10 minutes I have to improvise, we fly our projects around making animal sounds or march like soldiers. Today I took one of the table cloths off and we were bulls.. Ole! I am wiped out! I will be ready for vacation.


There is always time for cookies though. I decided to make M&M cookies for the trip, cookies are a must on the road. 
I had made some peanut butter frosting for some cupcakes earlier this week and I was sitting in the kitchen trying to figure out what to eat for lunch... then it hit me!


Make a sandwich, with the cookie and frosting. A winner! I had to share it.
You know, cause I love you so much.


First make the cookie.


2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) of salted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
m&m’s

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix the butter and sugars until they are combined.
Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and stir until mixed. Gradually add flour and mix until a dough forms.

I had to put mine in the fridge to harden some. I think I didn't let the butter fully cool. 

Divide the dough how you choose (1/4 cup portions for 18 large cookies or 2 tablespoon portions for 36 smaller cookies). Shape each portion into a ball with your hands then pull each ball into two equal pieces. Turn each half so that the rough side of the half (what used to be the inside of the ball) faces upwards and then put M&M's inside and on top, squish both halves together. Place the dough rough-side up on a baking sheets. If you’re doing large cookies, I’d leave about 2 inches in between each.


I know that step seems weird but it works.


Bake for 12-15 minutes (large cookies) or 8-12 minutes (small cookies) or until the edges are slightly brown. The centers should be
soft and puffy. Do not over bake.

You can eat them as is, totally acceptable. 
Or you can sandwich some peanut butter frosting in the middle for extreme goodness.


Peanut Butter Frosting
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbls heavy whipping cream or milk
1 tsp vanilla


Cream peanut butter and butter for about 30 seconds.
Sift in the powdered sugar. Add vanilla
Gradually add the cream/milk until desired smoothness.
Beat about 2 minutes until light and fluffy.








Baking from my heart to your kitchen,

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Linking Love:

Chocolate Cake and Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting

My son had his 3rd Birthday over the weekend and all he wanted for his party was to play basketball.



The theme for his party was a no-brainer....soccer... kidding....basketball, of course.
I had tried a ball cake in the past and was not very successful, so to be honest, I just didn't want that kind of drama in my life right now.


He was sitting on my lap when I was looking for basketball cakes, when we came across I similar one like the one I made. He said, "That one", and there you have it. The decision was made.
I was happy too, it looked yummy and easy to put together. 


Since I was using Reese's pieces I decided to go with the Peanut butter-chocolate combo, always a winner.


I know the cake is not that hard, but here are a few tips. 


Try to resist putting the Reese's pieces on the night before.
The peanut butter oils start messing around with the Reese's overnight and caused them to make a little oil around the bottom.
Totally learned this the hard way.


Here are a few pictures of the process....

First make the basketball outline.


I also measured the distance on each side to try to get them as even as possible. This was for my husband's benefit. He likes things to be even.

Then just start filling in with orange. 
I know what you are thinking, what happened to all the yellow pieces.
Just go ahead and snack on those while you are making the cake.


Totally acceptable.

I did use a few of the yellow to attempt a 3 on the sides.

 

My cute lil' red head had a great birthday filled with friends and basketball!

Just FYI, that peanut butter frosting was a perfect balance of peanut butter and sweetness.
In case you are wondering if it is too peanut buttery, my husband, who is not a huge fan of peanut butter desserts,  he really enjoyed this frosting.

Chocolate Cake

adapted from the Hershey's recipe

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee

 Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
 Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. 

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.

Stir in hot coffee (batter will be thin). 

Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. 

Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting

1-3/4c. creamy peanut butter
 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
 1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
 3 c. powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy.

Slowly beat in 1/2 of the confectioner's sugar.

Slowly start mixing a little of the cream to smooth the consistancy.

Beat in the remaining confectioners' sugar. Add the vanilla. 

If necessary, add a little more cream until the frosting reaches a good spreading consistency. Makes enough to frost one 2 layer 9 inch cake or one 9x13 inch cake.

Baking from my heart to your kitchen,

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Dessert and Devotions: Peanut Butter Chocolate Goodness

It is time for another "Dessert and Devotions". I have posted about this before so I won't go into the details of how this came about. I was really looking forward to a night of encouragemnet. 

One of my mom friends gave some great advice; just be honest about how we really feel as moms sometimes. I totally agree! I would love to say my day is filled with rainbows and sunshine, but I have three boys under the age of 5. My day is filled with dirt, daredevils and wrestling.


Rabbit trail: Must my boys fight and wrestle up and down the halls on a daily basis? Is this necessary? The response is always, "well, they're boys". Does being a boy give you a free pass to mayhem and stinkiness? Seriuosly?! My 5 year old makes flowers wilt when he takes off his shoes. He is 5 people! Why do his feet smell that bad? 


Ok, back on topic. We had a wonderful "seasoned" mother of five give us a devotional. She has been through the teenage season and lived to tell about it. She was a great encouragement and blessing to all of us and answered our bombardment of questions with such wisdom.
One of the points she made was that, as moms, we get angry at our children sometimes *gasp*! She reminded us to look at them as our little gifts from God that we need to train and encourage through life. Yes, it is not easy, and some days I feel I am banging my head against the wall, but they are worth it. 
Are we exhausted, yes... Do they still jump on the couch after you have told them not to 100 times... yes. Do we give up... No.
I am very thankful for a this mom who was willing to take time out of her busy day to stop and remind me what a blessing it is to be a mom. If you knew this mom, she is meek and quiet and her children are awesome! So to think she had the same issues and worked through them with God's help is an incredible encouragement to me. There is hope for me yet and maybe I don't get the badge of mothering shame for the month. 


Keep it up Moms out there, you are doing a great job! There are sweet children living inside those little monsters blessings. 


Speaking of sweet, let me show you what I made.

Layers of peanutty chocolate goodness! 


Let's start at the beginning

You will need:

Peanut butter cookie dough

Box of brownie mix

Chocolate chips

Reese's Mini's

Preaheat oven to 350 degrees

Make the peanut butter cookie dough and the brownies.

Spread the peanut butter dough into a 9x13 greased pan

 FYI, I use chunky peanut butter, I love the crunch of the peanuts in this. I also  used only 3/4 of the batter and made cookies with the rest. Bonus!

Sprinkle on the chocolate chips. 

Pour on the brownie mix of choice. If you want a thicker brownie layer, make an extra box or use the family size box. I may do that next time.

Next step is one of the best ideas ever! Unwrapped mini cups!

Press those into the brownie.

Bake for 40 -45 minutes.

Let cool completely before cutting into. Unless you are like me and couldn't wait, then dig in. Just beware, it is gooey yummines that the knife doesn't like to let go of. Can't blame it.

These were really good and even better the next day.

I put some aside to give away, but when I went to package them up they had mysteriously disappeared. Wonder how that happened?

Baking from my heart to your kitchen,

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Peanut Butter Cookie

As I was "Pinning" one day I came across a peanut butter cookie recipe that claimed it was soft and chewy, not crunchy. It was on createdby-diane.com found here. She definitely had my attention and I knew I had to try them. I knew that I was going to try them today, so all through my class at the gym this morning it is all I could think about. If that instructer only knew that while she was killing me with lunges I was thinking of cookies. You know what? I was so distracted with cookie thinking that the class flew by. I think I'm on to something here. I definitely work out so I can eat more cookies. It's justified, don't judge. 
These cookies did not dissapoint. So yummy! 
I decided to make it a little fun for spring with a flower cookie cutter. 

This is just the beginning of the peanut butter cookie recipe. Tune in later this week for another peanut butter goodie.


First the recipe.....

You will need:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups flour

Beat butter, peanut butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs one an a time, then vanilla. Mix baking powder with flour, then add flour a cup at a time.

Pretty simple right!

Roll the dough into little balls

Press down a bit then press the flower cutter on top, but not all the way through. Unless you want it flower shaped of course.

You can leave it like this or press the cutter down again

Sprinkle on some sugar... Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes

Simple and delicious!

Baking from my heart to your kitchen,

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Inside Out Peanut Butter Cups

One night a friend of mine pulls a plastic baggie from her purse with a little piece of cookie in it. She excitedly hands me the bag and says you have to taste this. I reach in the bag and pull out a small bite of cookie. Her husband got a half of this cookie, which he quartered and brought home to his wife to taste. She then halved the quarter to bring to me to taste. So here I sat, bite in hand and thought "what in the world", but I proceeded to put it in my mouth. It was very obviously peanut butter and chocolate. They both loved this cookie so much, they wanted me to try to recreate it. Hmmm.... on a bite of cookie? I am always up for a challenge, so I decided to do a little more research. As it turns out, it is from a bakery downtown and the cookie is called an Inside Out Peanut Butter Cup. There were no pictures or explanation, that was it. I could have driven downtown and bought one, but I have three small children to pack in the car and that just didn't seem fun and where is the challenge in that. What follows is what I came up with. Enjoy!

First up, find a fab peanut butter cookie recipe.

Ok , so I found a recipe, but it didn't turn out as "peanut buttery" tasting as I wanted it too. I am still on the quest for one. When I find it, I will come back here and amend this post. These were still delicious, I just suggest making your tried and true peanut butter cookie recipe if you have one.

Here is the recipe I used: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/peanut-butter-cup-cookies/detail.aspx

It is a recipe for peanut cookies that you press a peanut butter cup in. I think I need just a regular cookie recipe.

We will skip to the "put in the oven" part. After you make your fab peanut butter recipe, if you have one, please share. I am looking for a moist peanut butter cookie. Put the cookies in a muffin tin and bake.

I used a mini muffin pan, but come to find out the original cookie was regular muffin size. I guess that is what I get for not driving downtown. 

After you take them out of the oven, while they are still warm, press an indent in the top with a spoon.

Fill the cups with Ganache. I got this part right. Woohoo! The chocolate was great and a good consistency, but it over powered the peanut butter flavor. Again, a moist peanut butter cookie that has a strong peanut butter flavor. Ok, moving on.

I had some trouble getting them out of the pan so I used a toothpick to get the cookie started, then I could lift them out. Otherwise you may just keep getting chocolate all over your fingers. Not such a bad thing though. 

Place on wire rack to cool. These cookies were best warm, wow they were good. Once they cooled, they seemed to have lost the moist,  peanut buttery goodness. My sons and I ate about a dozen while we were waiting for them to cool. So the key is, if you are going to use this recipe, eat them warm. 

If you are already thinking of a recipe that would be perfect, please, OH PLEASE, share it with me.

Until then, I will be searching and experimenting.

Oh, by the way, my friend still loved these and managed to eat her fair share of them, however, she agreed they needed to be bigger, moister and have a more pronounced peanut butter taste.

The quest continues.......

Baking from my heart to your kitchen,

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