Buckeye Brownies

It is pretty tough to find a better dessert combination than chocolate and peanut butter. This dessert is no exception! These brownies are one of my most requested desserts. They are very tasty!

Buckeye brownies

I did change the topping layer a tiny bit: I use a whole stick of butter and 12 oz of chocolate chips, instead of the smaller amount called for. I just don't have a lot of recipes that call for 6 oz of chocolate chips, so I don't want them to sit around and expire. Plus, a little extra ganache never killed anyone.

Bottom line: If you like chocolate and peanut butter, try these! They are super rich, so take them to feed a crowd. I like to store them in the fridge, but let them sit out about 30 minutes before you'd like to dig in. That way, the middle layer softens up and the ganache is no longer crunchy. I have eaten them cold, of course, and they are still good, but I like the gooey room temperature ones even better!

No Fuss Pumpkin Cake

Nothing says fall like pumpkin. I love this time of year, and I love that this dessert starts with a cake mix!
No fuss pumpkin cake recipe

The only thing I changed was to make my own cream cheese frosting, instead of mixing a can of pre-made with some cream cheese. My frosting recipe is super easy, very rich, and makes a ton! If you are gonna frost something, I say pile it on. Mix together 1 stick softened butter, 8 oz. softened cream cheese, and 1 pound of powdered sugar. If you feel it is too thick, add a couple tablespoons of milk. Voila!

Bottom line: this is really easy, and really good! The pumpkin makes it very moist, and the spice makes it taste just perfect for fall. The frosting is awesome, of course! I have made this in the recommended 15x10 pan and in a 13x9, they both work fine. I have found the cooking time stays the same at about 28 minutes. Nobody will guess this started from a mix, and you don't need to volunteer that information!

Chess Squares

Any recipe that is also known as "gooey butter cake" has a special place in my heart. This is so simple and so good!

Chess Squares Recipe

Bottom line: Yummy! Sweet, but not hurt-your-teeth sweet. Definitely very gooey. The edges get a tiny bit crispy, but the center is a glob of goodness! Soon after I took the above picture, I ate the rest of the row...they are that addictive. I only had a white cake mix on hand, and these tasted wonderful. I am not so sure the flavor of the cake mix matters, and it would be fun to experiment with different flavors. I imagine spice cake mix would be fabulous, as would funfetti.

Bruggies

What, pray tell, is a Bruggie? It is a brownie made for one, in a mug. In the microwave. In about 3 minutes start to finish. Semi-dangerous yumminess!

Bruggies recipe

So...I don't have a picture because I ate the brownie too quickly. On a side note here, let me say I plan on getting back to the blog more often, but this pregnancy has zapped me completely of all energy...and is also the reason I uncontrollably inhaled this brownie. Back to the food at hand: it was gooey and yummy, but it certainly didn't have the same texture as a brownie cooked in a pan in the oven. No chewiness here.

Bottom line: I will make this again when I am in desperate need of a sweet treat and don't have eggs on hand, which is why I made this particular recipe in the first place. It wasn't as sweet as a traditional brownie, but the ice cream I put on top really helped in that respect!

Crock Pot Candy

If you don't like the idea of standing over a pan for 45 minutes with a candy thermometer, this is your kind of candy recipe.

Crock Pot Candy Recipe

This is totally foolproof! I even had a crock pot snafu and mine turned out perfect. When the cooking time was up, I was so excited to try it that I burned off more than a few taste buds. Do yourself a favor, give the mixture like 15 minutes to cool before putting it into the mini cupcake liners; it sticks together much easier, and the bits you drop from the spoon to your counter won't burn your fingers (or mouth, because we both know that is the final destination).

Bottom line: Perfect! I will most definitely make these again. I gave tons to my parents, which was only because I knew I could eat all 56 pounds on my own. Seriously, it does make a lot of candies. This was so easy. I had these bad boys cooking when I was preparing other holiday desserts. I was pleasantly surprised. My Dad is a huge foodie, and quite a critic, and he even liked them! They are creamy, crunchy bits of goodness. Oh, and I am the lone white-chocolate lover in the family. In fact, the others claim to hate it...but everybody loved these! What they don't know can't hurt them.

Homemade Twix Bars

Mmmm...cookie, caramel, and chocolate!

Homemade Twix bar recipe

In this recipe, you make a delicious shortbread, yummy caramel filling, and cover it in chocolate. The shortbread is very crumbly, so it will be a pain to get it in the pan and press it down. I ended up baking mine for about 40 minutes.

The caramel filling is foolproof and delicious! I added an extra Tablespoon of cream so it would be a bit more gooey.




It was good up to this point. But only melting chocolate chips for the topping? They didn't get spreadable, but thick. So I added about 3 tablespoons of butter and it got a bit creamier. But it still wasn't what I wanted. I was expecting a ganache-type topping. More fudge and gooey, not so blah.

Bottom line: Meh. The caramel was definitely the best part of this dessert. The shortbread was okay, but it was dry. The chocolate layer needs removed and reworked! I plan on making this again after I find a ganache recipe for the top and a softer shortbread for the bottom, and I will report back!

Apple Snickerdoodle Bars

Snickerdoodle cookies and apple pie all rolled into one!

http://www.shakentogetherlife.com/2013/07/apple-pie-snickerdoodle-cookie-bars.html

A 3 ingredient baked treat?! Yes! This was a super easy treat to put together. And it was pretty tasty.

Bottom line: I grade this a solid B. It was good, but it didn't have that homemade taste to it. I'd rather have a crust than pre-packaged cookie dough. I would also rather have my apple pie filling than canned. All that aside, it still tasted good. Just not great.

Sugar Donut Muffins

What's a donut muffin? It's a muffin that tastes like a donut! And it's yummy.

http://stylishcuisine.com/?p=1242

These were very simple to put together. I was a bit nervous about the low sugar content, as I was afraid they would be too bland.

They baked up absolutely perfect. And the dipping in butter and sugar part was quite fun.

Lemon bars

The author of these bars calls them brownies, but I just couldn't do it. They aren't brown and contain no chocolate...they aren't brownies. But, they will satisfy a sweet tooth.

http://www.beckycharms.com/2012/04/lemony-lemonies-lemon-brownies.html

Mmmmm, butter! I love butter, as you will come to find out. The juicing and zesting of the lemons, not so much. But it made the kitchen smell wonderful. 

This seriously took like 4 minutes to prepare.

The only thing I changed is the pan size. I don't have an 8x8 pan (people, if you are gonna make a dessert, go big or go home). I was just gifted this new half pan (weird name) by Nate, so decided to use it. I doubled the recipe to fit this pan, but left everything in proportion.

Apple Crisp

Let me start by saying I do not like apples. At all. Why did I choose to make this? Nate has been asking for apple crisp for about a month. I felt like baking, so there you go! I turned to Martha for this recipe and she didn't disappoint.

http://www.marthastewart.com/316288/apple-crisp

There are pleasantly few ingredients in this recipe. I had everything on hand except for the apples (naturally). Which brings us to the apples...

What a huge pain. I now remember why I don't cook anything requiring peeled, sliced, cored apples. Once that torture was over with, the topping was a breeze.

Loaded M&M Oreo Cookie bars

These sound delicious, don't they?

First off, this woman's blog made me salivate. So many good ideas...and all sweets! I literally spent over an hour perusing. 
Okay, as for the food at hand. These were good. Not great. Not quite chewy enough for me, though I doubled the recipe so had to cook it longer (in a 9x13). The edges were crunchy, which I greatly dislike in a bar or cookie of any kind! I think if I had made the bars as directed, instead of doubling up, they would have worked better. That being said, they were gone in 2 days between my fiancé, my brother's girlfriend, and my coworkers (read: my father). I love that I only dirtied one bowl. I also enjoyed smashing up the Oreos! 

Bottom line: I wouldn't make these again, but I am super grateful this recipe lead me to such a great blog! If you like cookie dough, Oreos, or chocolate covered candies, give them a try. If you don't like them, it won't be hard to find someone who will. 
http://www.averiecooks.com/2013/09/loaded-mm-oreo-cookie-bars.html