No-Bake Reese's Peanut Butter Bars

Happy 2014, everyone!

It's been awhile since I've posted, so I hope your Christmas/Hanukkah/Festivus celebrations were marvelous.

2013 was one of the best years of my life, and I'm super excited to see what this year has in store. As regular A Bitchin' Kitchen readers may have noticed, blogging took a bit of a backseat for me this past year. I'm one of those people who tries to squeeze 28 hours of living into a 24 hour day, and other activities became prioritized over maintaining this site.

Fortunately, I anticipate that things will start returning to a more normal posting schedule around here this month (hurray for improved time management skills!), so ten bajillion thank yous to everyone who is still actually reading this thing!

I made these bars on Sunday afternoon when my oven was occupied for 4 hours with a batch of my awesome pulled pork. James is a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan, and I'm a lifelong fan of events that revolve around eating, so during their Very Important Game Sunday night, I tried to give us both heart attacks with a feast comprised of cheese and crackers, onion rings, pulled pork sandwiches, and these amazingly simple and delicious bars.

These are pretty much a homemade version of a Reese's cup, which is every bit as amazing as you're thinking.

Blackberry Pie Bars

I suffer from a very unfortunate affliction known as secondhand embarrassment.

I can usually pinpoint when it will occur. For example, I know I'll cringe while watching the awkward antics of characters on Girls or The Office. I always feel it when I walk into the office bathroom and someone is pooping and goes dead silent in their stall until I hastily leave. When I'm stone-cold sober, and people around me are drunk and actin' a fool, the secondhand embarrassment is brutal.

You guys probably feel secondhand embarrassment all the time when you read the weird stuff I write here.

This quality isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm an empathetic person (humble-brag?), and feeling shame on behalf of others just goes with the territory.

Last Friday, I discovered a new situation where I feel a horrific level of vicarious embarrassment.

I was grabbing dinner at a bar in Arlington with my boyfriend*, and halfway through my french dip, I noticed something on my plate that was very out of place...

...because it had wings. That's right, nestled underneath my waffle fries, there was a greasy, crispy, deep-fried house fly.

Sidebar: I don't think I've ever mentioned here that I'm deathly afraid of bugs. A few years ago, I slept on my couch for a whole week because there was a spider near my bed that I was too afraid to kill (I finally killed it in a valiant battle involving a bottle of Windex and a giant wad of paper towels.) When I was five, my parents allowed me to watch Arachnophobia for some bizarre reason, and I'm convinced that it's the reason I've spent the past 24 years petrified of all insects. I don't even want a butterfly near me. Those bitches are creepy.

Anyway, I don't know whether it's my irrational fear of bugs, or the fact that finding a fly on one's plate is just plain gross, but I obviously lost interest in finishing my french dip. My disgust quickly devolved into a case of preemptive secondhand embarrassment for what our waitress was about to endure. I've been a waitress. I once waited on a table that found the finger of a latex glove in their chicken wrap, and was absolutely MORTIFIED even though I didn't make their wrap and had nothing to do with it.

Obviously our horrified waitress apologized profusely, whisked away the offending plate, and removed my food and beer from the bill. If only I'd had the foresight to pound half a dozen Miller Lights prior to finding the fly...

As is the case with most of the stories that precede my recipes, the fly incident has absolutely nothing to do with these blackberry pie bars.

These bars may be the best dessert I've made all year. They have a shortbread crust, an amazing blackberry and lemon filling, and a shortbread crumb topping. Those of you following me on Instagram probably saw that I brought them to a party a couple weeks ago, and it was extremely hard to avoid eating them all before I even left.

*Look at me just trying to slip in that little detail! So you know how I've barely posted for the last few months? Uhhh...now you know why. My evenings and weekends have been quite busy. 

Cinnamon Blondies with Vanilla Buttercream

You know what's really awesome? I just wrote a whole blog post, and it inexplicably got deleted right as I was about to hit publish.

No, I lied. It's not awesome. It's a giant load of crap, and now I have to remember everything I wanted to tell you guys about these blondies from memory. Here are things I'm good at remembering: birthdays of everyone I knew prior to joining Facebook, lyrics to 90s pop songs, every line ever spoken in Friends, my locker combination from 5th grade (5-11-37, thankyouverymuch), and the password for all 85 email addresses and social media accounts that I attempt to keep track of.

So, basically I can remember ridiculously miniscule details from as far back as 1994, but can't remember what I wrote 30 minutes ago. My brain works in mysterious ways. I just realized that I addressed my very bad memory in my last blog post also. Maybe I need to see a neurologist, but...meh. I get by with day planners and checklists.

I don't even have any of these blondies left with which to console myself, since I made them 2 weeks ago and am just now getting around to sharing the recipe. I actually created this recipe with the sparse collection of ingredients I had on hand, since I didn't feel like venturing out to the grocery store for ingredients. I wasn't sure if they'd be blog-worthy, but they turned out to be shockingly delicious. 

They are generously spiced and perfectly chewy, and are topped with a layer of vanilla buttercream that takes the deliciousness to the next level. The worst thing you can do to blondies is over-bake them, so start checking these at the 20 minute mark. I think these would also be amazing with some chopped crystallized ginger mixed into the batter, or even some toasted walnuts. Someone play around with this recipe and report back!

Salted Maple Pecan Pie Bars

Is Thanksgiving seriously in 3 days?

I feel like Labor Day was last week. How on earth did this holiday sneak up so quickly? I haven't even completed my traditional pre-Thanksgiving ritual of watching all 10 Thanksgiving episodes of Friends back to back. Have I mentioned my obsession with Friends on here before? You know how there's comfort food? Friends is the TV version of comfort food to me. I own every season, I know every line, and something about the familiarity and predictability of it is very relaxing to me. The Thanksgiving episodes are the absolute best, and the phrase "squtternut bosh" will never not be hilarious. 

One of my favorite episodes titled "The One With All the Thanksgivings" occurred in season five of the series. This episode revolves around the group's flashbacks to their worst Thanksgivings ever. One of the flashbacks reveals that during college, Ross brought his Thanksgiving-hating roommate, Chandler, home to Long Island for Thanksgiving. Chandler's refusal to eat any Thanksgiving foods prompts Ross' younger sister Monica to make him a batch of macaroni and cheese. At one point during the episode, (see 3:08 in this video), she asks Chandler if he liked the macaroni and cheese, to which he nonchalantly replied, "oh yeah, it was great, you should be a chef." Monica exclaims, "okay!", and as any avid Friends fan knows, she did just that.

Ever since I started cooking, I've always loved that moment because I totally get Monica's enthusiastic response. One of the reasons I love to bake is because it makes people happy, and makes them feel loved and appreciated when you put the time into making something homemade just for them. The approval that Monica got from Chandler in that moment is something I get a little bit of every time I make something delicious that people enjoy, albeit in a less sarcastic tone.


I guarantee you that if you make these salted maple pecan pie bars this Thanksgiving, you'll have a Monica and Chandler moment with one of your dinner guests. I think I like these even better than traditional pecan pie. I know most people are all about the crust when it comes to pie, but I'm more of a pie filling kind of girl myself. The crust is good, but it's not what I'm there for. Here, instead of a traditional pie crust, you have a brown sugar shortbread type situation that is absolutely delicious. It's topped with a traditional pecan pie filling, and sprinkled with fleur de sel to balance out the intense sweetness. If you're having a lot of people over for Thanksgiving this year, this would be an excellent dessert to make since it serves way more people than a traditional pie.

Any other Friends fanatics out there? I'm assuming if you're still reading, you are. If you are, just know that we'd be friends in real life. I got to know one of my great friends (hi Molly!) when we shared an office at my last job, and I'm pretty sure that 50% of the reason we became friends is because both of us understood that a "moo point" is a cow's opinion.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving to all of my U.S. readers, and for everyone else, have a happy fourth Thursday in November!

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups flour (plus a bit more if necessary)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups pecan halves
Fleur de Sel for sprinkling 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 glass baking dish with heavy duty aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on all four sides.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and 1 cup brown sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in flour until coarse crumbs form. If your dough is still a bit sticky, add in more flour by the tablespoon. I used an additional 3 tablespoons. The dough should be crumbly, but able to stick together when pressed.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan, and press evenly into the pan, packing down well. Bake for 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven, until it has slightly puffed and appears dry on top.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, corn syrup, 3/4 cup brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir in the pecan halves.

After removing the crust from the oven, pour the filling over the top, and spread evenly. Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. (Note: a reader told me that hers needed an additional 5 minutes on top of this to fully cook. Use your best judgment, because you don't want to under-cook these! They should not be excessively sticky on top when you remove them.) Remove from the oven when the filling appears mostly set (mine took the full 20 minutes), and sprinkle with fleur de sel.

Cool for 2 hours at room temperature, and refrigerate overnight before cutting. I refrigerated mine for about 18 hours before slicing these - definitely don't rush it! Remove the bars from the pan using the foil handles (you may need to loosen the edges with a sharp knife, because the sugary syrup gets below the foil a bit), and cut into 24 bars with a sharp knife. Serve cold.

Printer-friendly
Source: Adapted from Pinch of Yum

Pecan Turtle Black Cocoa Brownies

Random thoughts as I attempt to cobble together a blog post at 12:39 AM:

1. I considered titling this recipe Special Brownies, but realized that would have a different implication than what I intended. These are special brownies because they contain awesome and pricey ingredients (not ganja), and should be served only to special people that you really, really like. Pecans, vanilla beans, and black cocoa all make an appearance in these brownies. They are spendy but worthwhile splurges!

2. I actually Googled "slang for marijuana" to make my previous point. I've never smoked the giggly weed/wacky tobaccy/chronic in my life, and clearly do not have the vernacular down. Do people actually call it any of those things? Wait, don't answer that and incriminate yourselves. Drugs are scary guys. Let's stick to wine.

3. I'm headed up to New Jersey tonight to visit with my Mom and seester, and fully intend to force-feed them the whole pan of these. Although, they're super-duper good, so I'm hoping that force won't be necessary. Perhaps I can convince them that these are healthy, since they contain lots of nuts and dark chocolate. Antioxidants!

4. Friends is on Nick & Nite in the background, which makes me feel exceedingly old. When I was a kid, Nick & Nite was all about I Love Lucy and Bewitched. Having 90s shows on there just seems wrong. Also, it's "The One With the Morning After," and I'm still mad at Ross. "We were on a break!" is not a valid excuse dude.

5. I usually hate dressing up for Halloween, but recently decided that I want to go as Honey Boo Boo Child. One problem - I simply don't have the legs to pull off a short pink pageant dress. Someone out there, please take this idea, and report back on November 1st, so that I can live vicariously through you. You'll need a short pink dress, a pig named Glitzy, and a bottle of Go-Go Juice. In the words of Mama, you'll look beautimous. Please don't judge me for watching this amazingly hilarious train wreck of a reality show. For those of you who somehow don't know who Honey Boo Boo is, I feel like this best sums her up:



This recipe makes 15 super dark, super rich brownies. If you're unfamiliar with black cocoa, it's Dutch-processed cocoa that has been super alkalized. You know how Oreo cookies are almost black? That's how this cocoa powder looks. It actually kind of smells like crushed up Oreos. Since black cocoa has less fat than traditional cocoa powder, it's typically paired with natural or Dutched cocoa to ensure that baked goods don't dry out. A little goes a long way with this stuff! I know it seems like there is an insane amount of sugar in the recipe below, but do not reduce the sugar unless you want a dried out brownie. The dark chocolate balances out the large quantity of sugar well, and while these are rich, they are not tooth-achingly sweet.

Here's what you'll need:

For the brownies:

1 cup salted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup black cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

For the pecan topping:

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, contents scraped
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped and toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 9x13 metal baking pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugars, and vanilla extract with a spoon until thoroughly combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powders, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet, until just combined.  Mix in chocolate chips.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Let the brownies cool, then make the caramel.

In a liquid measuring cup, combine heavy cream, vanilla bean scrapings, and vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, water, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar has completely dissolved. Continue to boil, swirling the pan occasionally but NOT stirring, until the mixture turns a deep amber color - anywhere from 7-15 minutes. Caramel goes from perfect to burnt in a split second, so don't walk away!

When the caramel has reached the correct color, remove it from the heat, and immediately pour in the heavy cream and vanilla mixture. Be careful, as it will bubble up quite a bit. Stir until thoroughly combined, and add in the pecans. Immediately pour over the brownies, and spread evenly to cover. Let cool completely before cutting.

Printer-friendly
Brownies adapted from these, and caramel topping adapted from Chow

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Hi friends. Sorry I disappeared on you. Truth be told, I've had a really crappy two and half weeks, and when I'm "in my dark place" (see the 4:25 mark in the video) as Annie and I like to say, it just feels really phony to post here about brownies and cookies while acting like all is right in the world.

However, I made these amazingly delicious red velvet cheesecake brownies 3 weeks ago tomorrow, and holding out on you for much longer due to my less than stellar mood just didn't feel right. These take all of 15 minutes to mix up, and allow you to get your cheesecake fix and your brownie fix in one dessert. I made these to bring to a get together at a friend's house, and actually had to make a second batch because I scarfed down a few too many from batch number one. I'm completely powerless around cheesecake. Make these this weekend for your friends, and be sure to act humble when the compliments pour in.

Update (12/27/12): I've been told by a couple people who have made these that they've needed to bake them for up to 50 minutes. I've baked these twice in my oven using the time range posted below, but be advised that they may require additional baking time! My oven might be too hot. 

For the red velvet batter:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons red food coloring
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

For the cheesecake swirl: 

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch, metal baking pan with aluminum foil, overlapping to create an overhand on all four sides. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a microwave-safe container, combine chocolate and butter. Melt for 1 minute in the microwave, stirring halfway through, until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, red food coloring, and salt. Add in the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Gently stir in the flour until no streaks remain.

Pour the batter into the baking pan, and prepare the cheesecake swirl.

Using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla until creamy and combined. Drop dollops of the mixture over the red velvet batter, and gently swirl with a butter knife.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until golden around the edges, and just barely jiggly in the middle.

You're supposed to let these cool before cutting them, but I tried one warm because I'm rebellious like that. You should probably refrigerate these if you plan on keeping them around for awhile, due to the cheesecake swirl.

Printer-friendly
Source: Adapted from Baking Bites

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Posted by: Maggie

While I never post a recipe on here that I don't absolutely love, most of the baked goods I share aren't made with my own personal tastes in mind. Jeff doesn't like my favorite dessert combination of peanut butter and chocolate, and since I typically pawn off my desserts on him so I'm not tempted to eat them all, lots of the baked goods that I post are things I know he'll love. 

If this blog was strictly about Maggie-friendly desserts, it wouldn't be an actual blog - it would just be a live streaming webcast of me face-planting into a bowl of peanut butter frosting and violently exploding all over my apartment a la Mr. Creosote. (<--Don't click there if you're about to eat, or just finished eating. You've been warned. If you know who Mr. Creosote is without clicking, consider yourself my new best friend.) 

This is the first dessert recipe in awhile that I made specifically for me. I love and adore peanut butter, want to have a civil union with cheesecake, and would happily make brownies my prison bitch. A recipe combining my three twisted desires clearly needed to be made.

These do not disappoint. In fact, I don't ever want another dessert again. I'll stick a candle in this as my birthday cake in a few months. When I get married? I want my husband to feed me a big 'ole slab of this during the reception. Next time I make them, I might add peanut butter chips to the brownie portion. If it's possible to improve these, that would be the way.

Please go make these now. Thanks.

Here's what you'll need:

For the brownies:

14 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

For the peanut butter cheesecake swirl:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
6 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 metal baking pan with foil, and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl, and microwave on 50 percent power, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted. This takes about 3 minutes in my microwave.

In a large mixer bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and sugar. With a mixer on medium speed, beat in melted chocolate mixture. Beat in cream cheese until fully incorporated. Add in eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat thoroughly after each addition. Beat in vanilla and salt. Lower the mixer speed and add flour until just combined.

Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Now, make the peanut butter cheesecake swirl. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar for 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until fully incorporated.

Drop the peanut butter mixture over the brownie mixture in blobs, and gently swirl with a knife or a skewer. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until center is just set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I tested these at both room temperature and chilled, and preferred the cold ones!

Printer-friendly
Source: Annie's Eats, who adapted them from Kitchenist 

Peanut Butter Nutella Brownies

Posted by: Annie

These brownies almost didn’t happen - but I am oh so glad they did. Last weekend, Scott and I moved into our first place together! Super exciting, super fun, but also SUPER exhausting. I designated Wednesday as my first free opportunity to bake and I set forth to make Peanut Butter & Nutella brownies. Well, the universe was certainly working against me.

First, I realized that I did not have baking soda (woes of moving into a new place - baking staples need to be replaced,) so I had to stop at the food store on my way home. I arrived home, put on How I Met Your Mother, began to bake and finally began to relax… and then I realized I did not have any eggs. I literally sat on the floor of my kitchen in defeat (or maybe because we don’t have a kitchen table yet) and briefly considered giving up on my brownies, but decided that it was a waste of perfectly good ingredients, so I bundled back up and went out to the store. 

When I arrived at the store I ended up buying not only eggs, but American cheese and beer?? I took my eggs and impulse purchases home and finished mixing up the brownie batter, to only realize that I had greased a 9x13 pan, did not have my 8x8 pan and the recipe clearly was made for a smaller pan…

At this point I stomped around and was debating cooking my brownies in a sauce pan (just kidding - sorta,) and then realized that duh… I could just double my recipe.

So, many issues later, I give to you Peanut Butter Nutella Brownies!

What you will need:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 stick of butter (melted)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup nutella 
1/4 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Next, grease a 8x8 baking pan or line with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Next, in a large bowl combine melted butter and sugar. Stir in eggs individually, and then add vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients and chocolate chips.

In a small microwaveable bowl, melt Nutella and peanut butter (approximately thirty seconds) until runny. Fold into brownie batter.

Transfer batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting. 

Printer-friendly

Source: Adapted from Food Fondness 

Peanut Butter and Fleur de Sel Brownies

Posted by: Maggie

Merry Christmas Eve! I know everyone is basically done with their holiday baking at this point, but I couldn't resist squeezing in one more recipe.

I recently discovered an awesome store called Spice and Tea, which is barely a mile from where I live in Virginia. It's a tiny store with walls of spices, teas, and fancy salts, and I literally could've spent hours in there just staring. I'm still in shock that I've lived so close to it for years and had no idea it existed. I tweeted a picture from when I was there a couple weeks ago if you want to take a peek at the insane wall of spices.

Anyway, I bought a little bag of fleur de sel when I was there. I've been drooling over this recipe that Lindsay from Love and Olive Oil made last month, and decided that they'd be the first thing I baked with my fancy new salt. If you make these for someone who loves the sweet and salty combo, or the peanut butter and chocolate combo, they'll pretty much worship the ground you walk on.

I hope all of you who celebrate have a very Merry Christmas tomorrow!

Here's what you'll need:

For the brownies:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For the frosting:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon Fleur de Sel (or another flaky sea salt)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Butter an 8 inch square pan, and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides. Butter the parchment paper.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Microwave in 30 second increments on 50 percent power until the butter is just melted. Stir mixture until smooth.

Add the eggs to the cocoa mixture one at a time, stirring well after each to fully incorporate. Stir in vanilla extract. Lastly, mix in the flour, and stir about 40 times, or until just incorporated. Do not overmix! Spread the batter evenly into the pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool on a rack.

To make the frosting, cream the butter and peanut butter. Slowly add the powdered sugar, and beat until combined. Spread the frosting on the cooled brownies, and sprinkle with sea salt. Cut into 16 squares.

In an effort to cut these neatly, I froze them until the frosting had slightly firmed up. I wiped off the knife in between cuts, and dipped it in hot water, and shook off the excess before making each slice.

I put half of these in the fridge, and left half at room temperature. I strongly preferred the cold ones!

Printer-friendly
Source: adapted from Love and Olive Oil, originally from Not Without Salt

Chocolate Chip Cookie & Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar

Posted by: Annie

While I was making these brownies, I couldn't help but be reminded of the SNL skit "Taco Town." The skit is a parody of a commercial for a chain taco restaurant, and advertises the most ridiculous taco ever. The taco ultimately ends up wrapped in a blueberry pancake and deep-fried. For your viewing pleasure (and so I don't seem like I'm totally crazy) I have included a link:

As tempting as it was, I did not roll these brownies in a pancake and deep fry them. But, these brownies, like the taco town tacos, are truly three great tastes all rolled into one. When you make these brownies you can't help but relate to the taco town commercial as you are pouring a layer of brownie batter on top of an entire package of double stuffed Oreos, that are sitting on a layer of chocolate chip cookie batter...you get what I mean.

When Scott walked in and saw these brownies, he immediately had to try them - despite the fact that they had only been out of the oven for like ten minutes. Needless to say, he was floored. He may have even been speechless - maybe because his mouth was full of hot brownie, but seriously they are amazing. I also went a little "taco town" on these brownies and put additional hot fudge sauce on top - so, so, worth it!

What you will need:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 package double stuffed Oreos
2 boxes of your favorite brownie mix - I chose Ghirardelli Double Chocolate
1/4 cup hot fudge

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 9x13 baking dish, then line with parchment paper and generously butter the paper.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for approximately four minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Lower the speed, and gradually mix in the flour, until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of the prepared dish. Top the cookie dough with a layer of Oreos.

Next, prepare brownie mixes according to package directions. Mix in hot fudge sauce. Pour brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos, and spread evenly. Bake for 45 minutes. Let brownies cool completely before cutting. Serve with additional hot fudge topping if desired.

Printer-friendly
Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Posted by: Maggie

Blueberry and lemon is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. I have been sitting on this recipe for over two years, ever since Emily first posted it on her blog. I'm not sure why it took me so long to make this, but I am kicking myself for not making it sooner. These things are delicious. Thank goodness I gave most of them away, because I could have easily polished off the pan.

Fortunately for my waistline, my dad moved to Arlington, Virginia (precisely 3.1 miles away from me!) on Sunday, and I was able to give most of these bars to him. I'm so excited to have him living here in the area. The rest of my immediate family all lives in New Jersey (now including co-blogger Annie - she just moved back to Jersey from Philly), and it's nice to know he's just a short drive away!

In unrelated news...

1. I have watched the first two seasons of Friday Night Lights on Netflix Instant in the span of 13 days. I'm not proud of this. I'm just kind of appalled at the level of couch potato commitment that takes, and felt the need to share it. P.S. Watch Friday Night Lights if you don't already. I know I'm turbo late to the party, but now I want to talk to people about Tyra and Landry and how stinkin' cute they are.

2. Jeff and I ended up being hermits on Saturday, and stayed in to watch The Shining (which both of us have seen many, many times) instead of going to see Horrible Bosses as planned. We googled stuff about The Shining while watching, since we're movie trivia nerds, and ended up finding this gem:

Image via


Yes, that is a cuckoo clock. Yes, Jack Nicholson pops through on the hour and yells "Hereeeeee's Johnny!" No, it is not available for sale. Yes, I got irrationally angry when I found out it was art, and not a mass produced item.

3. One of my favorite things about having a blog is finding out how readers happened upon our site. I regularly check our stats to see what search terms people are using to find us. Yesterday, someone searched for "my boyfriend calls me a devil." Someone searched for "squirrel sitting in refrigerator" (edited for spelling) a few weeks ago. To both googlers, thanks for stopping by, and I am sorry you only found recipes here instead of useful solutions to your problems. To devil girlfriend, I suggest telling your boyfriend that said nickname hurts your feelings. To squirrel person, I suggest donning protective clothing, gloves, and head gear, opening your fridge slowly, and letting the squirrel out. I would not suggest cooking it, as I hear they are gamey. That is your daily advice, courtesy of A Bitchin' Kitchen.

I will stop rambling and give you the recipe now!

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar

Filling:

12 ounces (1.5 packages) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons, grated
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
1 pint blueberries

Crumb Topping:

1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang to lift bars out. Spray foil thoroughly with cooking spray.

For the crust, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, and gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. The mixture will be crumbly; that's how it's supposed to look! Press mixture firmly into the bottom of a prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

For the filling, beat together cream cheese and sugar on medium speed in a medium sized bowl. Add in lemon zest, lemon juice, and almond extract, and beat thoroughly to combine. Beat in the eggs until combined (about 1 minute).  Pour the filling over the top of the crust, and sprinkle with blueberries. Return pan to oven, and bake for 20 minutes, or until set.

To make the topping, combine the brown sugar, flour, toasted almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Stir together until mixed. Knead in pieces of butter using a fork or pastry blender until butter is well incorporated. What I do at this point to make sure I get sizable crumble chunks on my dessert is this: Take the crumble mixture you just make, and pack it into two or three balls. Crumble the ball into pieces. This way, chunks will stay together and you will get the perfect crumble texture. I just typed crumble a lot. Crumble, crumble, crumble. Sprinkle the crumbles over the cheesecake layer. Return pan to oven, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for an hour before lightly covering and chilling for 2 hours.

Slice into 15 bars, and enjoy!

Printer-friendly

Source: Sugar Plum

Chocolate Chip Crumble Bars

Posted by: Annie

I learned something about myself as a baker. I SUCK at crumbling. These are supposed to be chocolate chip CRUMBLE bars, and mine kind of just look like normal bars. Don't get me wrong, they were delicious (I may have even eaten one on my way to work at 6:30 am with a Red Bull - epitome of health you are talking to here,) but my crumbles kind of baked all together to look like non-crumble. Crumble-fail.

I was actually very surprised at the texture of my Chocolate Chip non-Crumble Bars; they were very cakelike and incredibly moist. I made these bars for my good good good friend Jinnely who just received her master's from Temple University in Education! We have been friends since middle school (awww,) and now work together as teachers in Philadelphia. She graduated on Thursday evening and walked in to a big plate of these bars on her desk the morning of her big day.

Me and Jinnely!

What you will need:

2 cups flour

2 cups brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter

2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup for the topping, 1 cup for the batter)

1 egg

1 cup milk (I used fat free)

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine flour, brown sugar, butter and salt. Mix well and use a fork to crumble the mixture. Reserve 1 cup of the crumb mixture and set aside. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips, egg, milk, vanilla and baking soda. Mix well and pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Add 1 cup chocolate chips to the reserved crumb mixture and sprinkle on top of the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the crumb topping is golden brown. Cool and cut into bars. 

Source

Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

Posted by: Maggie

I LOVE Oprah.  My love for the Oprah show is only obstructed by the fact that I have a full-time job that overlaps with Oprah hours, and I'm too cheap to pay for DVR.  I used to love when I'd come home from school before my sisters got home, and I could sit and watch it with my mom.  I'd be glued to any episode about medical or psychological issues (probably kind of odd that as a teenager I preferred those over the celebrity guests), and like most Oprah fans, I fantasized about being an audience member in one of her famous Oprah's Favorite Things episodes.

When I heard that Oprah was retiring from her talk show and starting her own network called OWN, I was super excited.  24 hours a day of Oprah approved programming? Sign me up.  I was even more excited when I discovered that my bottom rung cable package was actually offering the channel without making me pay extra. 

Fast forward a couple months when I get a friend request over on Tasty Kitchen  from Kristina Kuzmic, and she writes on my wire to check out her facebook for updates on the Oprah competition.  "What Oprah competition??" I thought to myself, before switching over to facebook to check it out. 

Long story short, I adored the show.  For those who missed it, it was called "Your OWN show" and it was an "Apprentice" style competition to win a show on Oprah's new network.  In Kristina's case, she was competing for a cooking show.  I rooted for Kristina from the beginning, and was thrilled to see her (and the other finalist Zach) both receive their own shows out of the competition. 

This recipe for chocolate oatmeal bars was posted on Kristina's facebook several weeks ago.  After having the first delicious taste, I decided that I wasn't going to share with my coworkers, and these were going to be my breakfast for the rest of the week.  The oatmeal negates the stick and a half of butter and makes these breakfast appropriate, right?

What you'll need:

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter
½ cup + 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 Tablespoon milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang to use as handles to lift bars out, and spray with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Melt the butter over medium low heat.  Add the brown sugar, and mix until well incorporated. Stir in the vanilla, oats, and milk, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

After oats are cooked, press half of the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan.  Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together in the microwave, stir to blend, pour over oat crust, and smooth with a rubber spatula.  Sprinkle the rest of the oat mixture on top and press lightly into the chocolate.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting into bars.  Keep refrigerated.

Source: I tried to link to the facebook post with the recipe, but it has disappeared.  I'll try and find it again later, but until then check out her page!

Lemon Bars

Posted by: Maggie

Thursday through Saturday of last week were absolutely gorgeous here in Washington, DC.  While I'm typically a lover of cold weather, it was a really nice change to have a few 70-something degree days in a row, and it really got me looking forward to spring. 

I usually try to have some type of baked treat around on the weekend when Jeff is here, and I thought these lemon bars from Heather Christo's site (thanks!) looked like a nice fresh treat to match the sunny weather. 

These absolutely did not disappoint.  They had the perfect amount of tart lemon filling, and even my chocolate loving boyfriend really enjoyed these.  I meant to distribute the leftovers among my friends when I saw them yesterday, but I forgot the container in my fridge.  Now I have half a pan of these taunting me.  Sigh.  I guess I'll just have to eat them myself!

Here's what you'll need:

For the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the filling:
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 large lemons)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Using a pastry cutter/dough blender (or a food processor) thoroughly combine the crust ingredients.  I used a dough blender since my food processor is tiny, and this takes a good 10 minutes (and expect a sore arm!)

Firmly press the crust into the pan using a spatula, and poke a few holes with a fork to release steam while baking.

Bake crust for 15 minutes.  When you remove it from the oven, press down with a spatula to release air bubbles and make a more compact crust. 

While the crust is baking, make the filling.  Whisk together eggs in a medium bowl until fluffy.  Add the sugar, whisking constantly until well combined.  Add the flour and mix until well combined.  Lastly, add the lemon juice and whisk until thoroughly combined. 

Pour the filling over the hot crust when it comes out of the oven.  Return to the oven to cook for another 15 minutes.  Let the lemon bars cool completely (I stuck mine in the fridge because I'm impatient), and sift powdered sugar over the top before cutting into bars. 

White Chocolate Cranberry Blondies

Posted by: Maggie

I know, I know.  I really should have made these a month ago, and posted them before Christmas.  The fact is, I was way too busy eating the very similar Starbucks' Cranberry Bliss Bars to even bother making a copycat version.  Unfortunately, Starbucks' version is only available around Christmas, and I need want them the other 11 months of the year.

I made these Sunday night, without really thinking about the fact that a) I'm not seeing my dessert-loving boyfriend again until Friday, b) I'm going to South Carolina this week for work and therefore can't share these with coworkers, and c) I'm completely weak around anything with cream cheese frosting.

Therefore, I ate one and stuck the rest in the freezer.  I do not plan on seeing how they taste directly out of the freezer.  I'm sure they're disgusting.  I'm just going to keep telling myself that. 

Here's what you'll need:

For the bars...

3/4 cup salted butter, cubed
1-1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips

For the frosting...

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tablespoon grated orange peel (I actually used a clementine)
1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped

In a microwave, melt butter; stir in brown sugar. Transfer to a large bowl; cool to room temperature. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; gradually add to butter mixture. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate.

Spread into a parchment paper lined 13x9 inch baking dish. Bake at 350° for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Cool in pan on a wire rack.

For frosting, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and orange peel until blended. Gradually add half of the melted white chocolate; beat until blended. Frost brownies. Sprinkle with cranberries. Drizzle with remaining melted white chocolate. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Source

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Brownies

Posted by: Maggie

Happy October!

It's time for more pumpkin!!! When I mentioned on Tuesday that I have a truckload of pumpkin recipes to get through, I wasn't kidding in the slightest.  I see a lot of recipes for pumpkin cheesecake, and pumpkin brownies, but I wanted a recipe that combined the two.  Unfortunately, I'm not talented enough to make up recipes on my own, so I was happy when I came across exactly what I was looking for on Beantown Baker's blog originally from Cara's Cravings.

I know a lot of people are weirded out by the chocolate/pumpkin combo, but believe me, it's delicious.  Then again, what isn't better with chocolate?  I tried chocolate covered bacon at this restaurant called CoCo Sala back in February, and it was everything I dreamed it would be.


Here's what you'll need:

Brownie Batter
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 T vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 t salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Cheesecake Batter
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
2 T + 2 t all-purpose flour
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 t vanilla extract
2/3 t cinnamon
1/3 t ground ginger*
1/3 t ground cloves*

*Do 1/3 teaspoons even exist? My brain was feeling a tad gelatinous last night from playing flip cup, and rather than try and figure out that situation I just used heaping 1/4 teaspoons...moving on...

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8" square metal baking pan.

Beat together melted butter, sugar, and vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients and then gradually stir into butter mixture with a wooden spoon. In separate bowl, beat together cheesecake batter ingredients.

Spread about 2/3 of chocolate batter into prepared pan, and spoon cheesecake batter over. Dollop remaining brownie batter over cheesecake batter. Swirl the batters together by running a butter knife back and forth through the pan.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack and chill before cutting and serving.

Pretzel M&M Bars

Posted by: Annie

Pretzels and chocolate have always been one of my favorite combinations. That being said, the new Pretzel M &M’s are constantly finding their way into my shopping cart. I was in a baking mood after work yesterday and really wanted to bake something involving pretzel M&M’s, so I was thrilled to find a recipe that called for not only M&M’s, but peanut butter. From there on Peanut Butter Pretzel Crumbly Bars were born. I adapted the recipe from here.  Enjoy!

What You Will Need:

1 stick butter

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter

¾ cup sugar

2/3 cup  packed dark brown sugar

2 cups flour

¾ tsp baking soda

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

1 “Medium” Bag Pretzel M&M’s (9.9 oz)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together the butter, eggs, peanut butter, dark brown sugar and sugar. Gradually mix in  the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, and mix until smooth. Remove 1 ½ cups of the dough mixture and set aside. Press the remaining dough into the bottom of an ungreased 13x9 pan. Add the M&M candies to the reserved dough and crumble into the pan pressing down lightly. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cut into bars.

Hello Dolly Bars

Posted by: Maggie



Here's what you'll need:

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
9 graham crackers (5 ounces), crushed
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup butterscotch chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang to act as handles for lifting the bars out of the pan. Spray with non-stick spray.

Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and bake until the outer flakes just begin to brown, about 4 minutes. Pay close attention to it, as it can go from brown to burnt very quickly. Set aside.

Melt the butter and combine with graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl. Toss with your fingers until the butter is evenly distributed. Press the crumbs evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan.

In order, sprinkle the walnuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut over the graham crumbs. Pour the condensed milk evenly over the entire dish.

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Remove from the pan using the parchment handles, and transfer to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into 18 bars.

Chewy Chocolate Bar Cookies

Posted by: Annie

The other afternoon I really wanted to make cookies but was being incredibly lazy and did not feel like scooping out each cookie one by one from a big bowl of dough. So based on the ingredients I had - which was literally a bag of Reese's peanut butter chips and some flour, I discovered this wonderful recipe on hersheys.com. They are very quick and easy to make, but taste like you worked all day! Enjoy!

What you will need:

2-1/2 sticks butter (softened)

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 10 oz package of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a jellyroll pan.

Mix together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl blend together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Gradually add this mixture to the butter mixture. Stir in peanut butter chips and spread the batter in prepared pan.

Bake 20 minutes.

Cool on wire rack and then cut into bars.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Posted by: Maggie

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

The first time I made these brownies for coworkers a couple years ago, people were practically offering me their first born in exchange for the recipe. I politely declined, but passed along the recipe anyway.

I always made boxed brownie mixes before trying this recipe, and NEVER will again. These are the fudgiest, densest, most indulgent brownies I've ever tasted, and everyone who has tried them has raved. Best of all is that the ingredient list is incredibly simple, and comprised of ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and fridge.

These are dessert for New Years Eve dinner with my boyfriend tomorrow night, and I'm hoping I have the willpower to leave them alone until then!

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup salted butter, melted
1 1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 c dark brown sugar
1 T vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t salt
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 9x13 baking dish lightly with cooking spray.

Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each until thoroughly blended.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. (The original recipe says to sift, but I don't believe in sifting. Mainly because I don't have a sifter.)

Gradually beat in flour mixture until thoroughly blended. Stir in chocolate chips, and spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. (Mine were perfect after 35 minutes).

Remove from oven, and cool pan on wire rack for 1 hour before cutting.