Chickpea Chocolate Chip Blondies

I went to a New Years party where every family brought a dish.  Why bring regular brownies when you can sneak chickpeas into these blondies and shock everyone?  I put them out and didn't tell anyone there were chickpeas in them until after they ate them and loved them! :) 

Connor's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday Party

My big guy just turned 3!


Because of the new baby and such a crazy summer, we did a low-key birthday this year.  Nothing too big and not as many decoration and DIY as normal, but still just as much love and fun!  Connor was into Mickey for the majority of the year, so I decided that was the best bet for his 3rd birthday theme.


The party started at 4:00 after nap time, so we did some easy snacks before picking up pizza for dinner.  The hit of the party were the homemade Mickey & Minnie sugar cookies that we made!  I love baking, but I haven't had the best luck with sugar cookies.  After a lot of research, I found the perfect recipe here, and they came out perfectly!

 

 Mickey watermelon with blueberries

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse serving bowls and Mickey ears for the kids

 

Can't beat balloons for $1 and the best entertainment for toddlers!


Miss Caylee in her party dress :)

Connor with his Mickey birthday cake

He insisted on getting a piece with Mickey's foot on it and then only ate the frosting. Silly guy!

Happy Birthday, Connor!

Healthy Carrot Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Balls

A slightly odd mix of ingredients, but they're pretty good!  It's nice to have a sweet little snack that's not completely bad for you!

Adapted from Squash Blossom Babies
Ingredients:
• 2 ripe bananas
• 3 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 cups oats
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup grated carrots
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Mash the bananas in a large bowl.  Then add in the peanut butter and applesauce and mix.  

Pour in the remaining ingredients and combine. 

Using your hands, make 1 inch balls and place on a greased baking sheet or parchment paper.  

Bake for 10-14 minutes until firm.

Enjoy this little healthy & sweet treat!

Sweet Sugar Cookies

I can't decide if it's a bad thing or a good thing that I try to keep all the common baking ingredients in the house at all times. It definitely comes in handy when I have a random craving for something baked. Over the weekend, Hubby and I really wanted some cookies, so I was able to come up with something using stuff we had in the house. The verdict: 2 thumbs up from Hubby and all the cookies were gone by the next day!

Adapted from here
Ingredients:
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add in egg and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

Using your hands, make small balls of dough and place them onto a cookie sheet.

Bake 7-10 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown.

Dip in milk & pig out!

Strawberry Bars with Sugary Lemon Glaze

One word.

AWESOME.

I have to thank Bakeaholic Mama for her recipe.  I made a batch for work and a batch for my family and I honestly probably ate the majority of both pans!  I got so many compliments on these and they came out perfectly.  I followed her recipe exactly except that I added a lot more strawberries.  Why not?  Amazing recipe!

Healthy Chocolate Banana Cookies

I love dessert more than anyone, but I can't help but feel guilty when I eat too much of it. When I saw this recipe for healthier cookies, I had to give it a try. Sometimes you just need something sweet and these are a lot better than a package of chocolate chip cookies or a giant cupcake!

Adapted from Once a Month Mom

Ingredients:
• 2 bananas
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 1/4 c peanut butter
• 1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 c unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Mush bananas in a large bowl.
Mix in the rest of the ingredients.
Let mixture stand for 20 minutes to get more solid.
Roll small balls of cookie mixture and place on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy a guilt-free cookie!

Healthy Oatmeal Carrot Sandwich Cookies

I figured if I bake desserts that are healthier, I can eat more of them. Am I right?
I saw this recipe in an issue of Parents magazine and wanted to give it a try.

Ingredients (slightly adapted by me)

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup finely shredded carrots (about 3 medium-sized carrots)
  
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, sea salt, ginger, and nutmeg.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the oil, sugars, egg, flour mixture, oats, carrots, and raisins.

Make tablespoon balls of dough and place them onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake each sheet for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. Remove from the over and let cool.

For filling, mix the cream cheese and maple syrup. Spread about 1 tablespoon filling on the flat side (bottom) of half of the cookies. Top with remaining cookies to make sandwiches.

The verdict: We felt like the cream filling wasn't sweet enough, but of course, it's supposed to be healthy. If you want a little sweeter filling, I would suggest adding more maple syrup or a little sugar. Or just forget the cream filling because the cookies were really good just dipped in milk!

Cranberry Pumpkin Biscotti

I had a strange craving recently...for biscotti! I'm not sure why, but it sounded really goods and I kept thinking about how yummy it would be dipped in coffee or milk. I made some for myself and also to bring to work and they were gobbled up very quickly!

Adapted from From Apples 2 Zucchini

Ingredients:
• 4 1/2 c. flour

• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3 eggs

• 1 1/3 c. sugar

• 3/4 c. canned pumpkin puree

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1/2 cup applesauce

• 1 c. fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt.

In large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until the sugar dissolves and the eggs become pale yellow and foamy. Add the pumpkin and vanilla and mix. Slowly stir in the applesauce and cranberries.

Carefully mix in the flour mixture until the dough forms a ball.

Lightly cover your hands with flour and mold the dough into a 4 inch by 14 inch log.

Carefully pick up the dough and place on the baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Bake for 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and feels firm.

Let the biscotti cool to room temperature. Then uses a serrated knife to cut 1/2-inch slices.

Place slices back on the baking sheet cut side down and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden brown. For a softer cookie, bake them a little less.

Let biscotti cool and serve with coffee or milk.

Dipping in milk! YUM!

Peanut Butter Cookies (might induce labor!)

After dinner on August 22, I was still hungry so I hinted to Hubby that he should make us dessert. Peanut butter cookies are our little secret dessert that we make randomly when we need a snack and don't have anything in the house.

He whipped up a batch of these things and we pigged out in bed while we watched tv. 4 hours later and I was having painful contractions. 12 hours after that, I had a beautiful baby boy! While I was in labor we kept joking that it was the labor cookies that did it. So beware! They're good, but you never know what might happen if you eat them! : )

Adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup flour• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt


Preheat oven to 375°F.

Beat the butter until creamy or for about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for 2 more minutes. (We mixed by hand, but I think an electric mixer might be easier.)

Mix in the peanut butter and egg.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the sugar butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Flatten in a crisscross pattern with a fork.

Bake until light brown or for about 10-15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute and transfer to rack to cool completely.

Heavenly Whoopie Pies

I recently had my first whoopie pie at Corner Bakery when I was having a bad day and needed a little something to cheer me up. Hubby and I both took a bite and were suddenly in heaven! I thought it would be fun to surprise him with some one day...Ohhhh, they're good!

Ingredients:

• 1 package devil's food cake mix

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

• 3 tablespoons milk

• 2 cups confectioner's sugar

Still with me?

Mouth watering yet?

Here's how you make them.

Prepare devil's food mix as shown on package except use only 3/4 cup water.

Using a spoon, pour batter on a greased cookie sheet in 2-3 inch circles. I found that using a coffee scoop worked perfectly for that size.

Bake as directed on box or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into a cookie.

*Be sure to let these cookies cool completely. I suggest at least a few hours.

To make the peanut butter filling, put peanut butter and butter in a bowl and combine with a mixer.

Gradually mix in sugar and milk and continue to mix.

Beat with mixer for at least 3 minutes until frosting is thick and fluffy.

Once cakes are cool, spoon peanut butter filling onto each and top with another cake to form a sandwich.

And grab a glass of milk...you're gonna need it!

Sweet peanut butter cookies

Hubby has figured out a new trick: we can pretty much make cookies any time we want just from the random stuff we have in the house. He knows I LOVE dessert so it's hard for me to refuse when he wants to bake for me! Anyway, he made these really yummy peanut butter cookies the other day and I had to share them with you.

Ingredients:
• 1 c sugar
• 1/2 c butter
• 1/2 c peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 c flour
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt

Preheat the oven to 300.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Form a ball with the dough and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate the ball for at least 30 minutes.

When you're ready to bake the cookies, use a tablespoon to create small balls of cookie dough and place on a lightly-greased baking sheet.

Bake at 300 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

These are amazing dipped in cold milk!

My Favorite Holiday Party Foods

It's that time again! Holiday parties galore! You know you wanna impress everyone with your awesome cooking skills, right? Checks out some of my favorite holiday recipes.

Yummy Pecan Pie Cookies
This is definitely YOUR favorite holiday recipe on my blog! It got a ton of hits last year, so I wanted to pass it along to all the newbies.

Fun & Cheesy Fondue
Fondue party, perhaps? We did this for New Years last year and it was a blast!

Appetizing Deviled Eggs
No party is complete without these.

Gorgonzola & Onion Cheese Ball
My in-laws are known for their cheese balls for all family functions.
Here's a twist on the usual one.

Toffee Coconut Cookie Bars
Dessert is the best part of the meal! I love these bars!

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Linking up the yummy food here

Yummy Toffee Coconut Cookie Bars

Over the weekend, Hubby and I were sitting in bed watching our usual Saturday night crime shows. (I call it Crime Time Saturday) Anyway, he left to get his laptop and disappeared! I didn't even realize how long he was gone until he came back with a smile on his face. He told me he had dessert in the oven!

Good hubby! He knows how much I love surprises and dessert! Once the timer went off, he came back with a huge plate of these and a cold glass of milk to munch on while we watched Law & Order SVU. I was in heaven!

So in honor of his yummy surprise, I wanted to share it with you.

Toffee Coconut Cookie Bars

Ingredients:
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3.5 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup toffee bits (I used Heath Bits O'Brickle toffee bits)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 3 eggs

Preheat over to 350.

Lightly grease 9x9 baking pan.

Beat all dry ingredients in a large bowl until blended.

Add wet ingredients gradually and beat until blended.

Pour into greased baking pan and spread evenly.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy with a cold glass of milk : )