Chocolate Chip Peanut butter Balls

This recipe is from one of my best friends, Sivan. Every event or party she ever had, There have always been peanut butter balls. This is a little spin on what she normally does. For the chocolate lover in me, the peanut butter ball has been intensified. Sivan usually drizzles most of them with chocolate, but I have taken it one step further and put chocolate inside and also dipped them in melted chocolate.You can really change it up how ever you like. I have also seen M&Ms and Oreos in them. I hope you use your imagination and change them up! Enjoy! ps... they are so easy to make!

Ingredients:

1 Jar of peanut butter (creamy works best)

2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1 bag of mini chocolate chips

10 oz of Semi sweet chocolate (to melt an coat with)

1. Place peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Gradually beat in sugar at medium-low speed until well blended. Stir in Mini Chocolate Chips.
2. Roll into 66, 1” balls, place in a single layer on waxed paper-lined pan. Freeze 1 hour. Melt the chocolate a few minutes before removing peanut butter balls from freezer.
3. Dip  ball in chocolate; gently shake off excess chocolate. Return balls to pan. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Keep refrigerated.

Baked S'mores!!!

The second I saw them.. I wanted them! They are gooey and chocolaty! I need to make these! The concept is so classic-S'MORES! Everyone has had one, but not like this. These are baked in the oven so that all the ingredients can come together in one familiar tasting bite. I want to make them for my class and share the love! S'mores are one of my favorite summer treats. In the summer, my family and I go camping or to the beach, and we NEVER forget the S'mores. One of the biggest problems with S'mores for me it that the chocolate never melts well, so I always use Nutela. It works really well, but it doesn't taste the same sat the classic Hershey's chocolate. This recipe solves the problem! 


The idea is very simple, it is one layer of cookie, another of chocolate bars, then marshmallow spread and lastly, another cookie layer. Bake it in the oven and enjoy! You can't get any easier! All of the chocolate melts with marshmallow but they stay in the little sandwich shape! The only thing that is missing is the camp fire!

I got this "How To" recipe from  http://www.theaprongal.com/2011/11/baked-smores.html.


Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla 
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 7 full graham crackers)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 or 3 super-sized (5 oz.) chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Directions


Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom of **8 by 8 or 11 by 7.

**Note, I have only made these in an 11 by 7 and a reader who made them in an 8 by 8 said she thought the marshmallow was too thick in that size pan. I personally loved the thinner bar in the 11 by 7, but you can do whichever you prefer, the only difference is adding an additional large Hershey's bar as seen in my pictures above.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt.

Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. 

Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5 oz. Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly [for 8 by 8] side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer. [use 3 Hershey's for 11 by 7 pan]

Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the creme. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms or rolling pin to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open it up carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up and carefully spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely or almost completely for the melty factor before cutting into bars. 

Wana Be Girl Scout Cookies

Every one has a favorite.. Girl Scout cookies are iconic! My personal favorites are the Thin Mints. They are small, minty, chocolaty and crispy! Ever since I was a Girl Scout myself, I have craved Thin Mints. When I when to Girl Scout camp,  we used to use the Thin Mints as gram crackers for our smores... they are addicting,  you have been warned. 

Thin Mints are Americas cookie. Every time its Girl Scout season, there are Thin Mint flavored treats every were. I have seen Thin Mint ice cream,Thin Mint shooters, Thin Mint Blizzard from DQ, Thin Mint pie.. and the list goes on.

 So that brings us to the "Wana Be Girl Scout Cookies". They are fun to do at home and you don't have to wait for Girl Scout season to make them! There are a few steps involved, but hey... they are Thin Mints.






THE COOKIE:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk (any kind)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp peppermint extract

CHOCOLATE COATING:

10-oz dark or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and the extracts. Mixture will look curdled. Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.
Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches (or about 4 cm) in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick – if they are too thick, they will not be as crisp – and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you can put them quite close together.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every 45-60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating.
Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm.
Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into.

Cake Pops!

Right now, Cake pops are "ALL THR RAGE". You can't walk into a singe Starbucks with out the haunting temptation of a "Birthday Cake Pop". Maybe for you its the connivance of the stick or the chocolate shell, but for me  its the small bites! When ever I have a cake at home I try and convince myself that I will only have a small piece... but I end up eating half the cake. I have no self control.. so if your like cake pops are a must!

I have seen so many cute way to decorate cake pops. From ice cream cones, to The Cookie Monster, cake pops are so fun! I like taking white chocolate and drizzling over for a cute contrast. Some of my friends like to dip them in white chocolate with food coloring for a fun pop of color. But no mater how you do it, they are so fun! The red velvet one is my favorite, but you can change the cake to whatever you want. Hope you like it!

Red Velvet Cake Pops:
1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

Lolly-pop sticks

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting.  3. Roll mixture into Golfball size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50.)

4. From the top, stick the lollypop stick half way through the ball.

5.Chill in the freezer for several hours. 
6. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
7. Dip balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm then tap off extra.

Reeses's Cheesecake Brownies!!!

REESE'S CHEESECAKE BROWNIES- This recipe is something I've been drooling over for weeks, but I've never gotten around to it. With so much school work combined with sheer laziness I have run out of time in the day. Hopefully, I will manage to make time and make this delicious square of goodness.  It looks amazing but so unhealthy so plan on 2 and a half hours of prep time cooking, and 2 hours working it off. The great thing about this recipe is that all of the ingredients are familiar, so if you are a little health conscious you can swap out chocolate chips for dark or sugar free chocolate, the whipped cream for light cream, and the cream cheese for light.  I found this recipe on pintrest if anyone wants to check it out! http://pinterest.com/pin/174021973071196611/ 

I love this desert because it combines so many of my favorite things... cheesecake, peanut butter, chocolate, M&Ms, and brownies!!! If your are a Reese's lover, this is for you!!!! The cooking part is really easy, but it does take a lot of time. So, if you have a big enough craving to spend a lot of time on it, this is an AMAZING treat. I hope you like it and I hope its as good as it looks!! Tell me what you think!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Prepare a 19.5-oz. box of chocolate fudge brownie mix according to package directions. Spread the batter in the pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat one 8-ounce package of softened cream cheese with a hand-held mixer until fluffy.

Add:

One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Beat until smooth.

Stir in a 12-ounce package of Reese's Pieces candies.

Spoon the mixture over the brownie batter and spread evenly.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the cheesecake layer is set and the edges are golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Add the following ingredients to a small microwaveable bowl:

One 12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips

3 tablespoons whipping cream

Microwave on high for 1 minute, or until the chips are melted. Stir until smooth. Spread over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle 12 large Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (chopped) over the top. Store covered in the refrigerator.

I hope your enjoy!!!