GF Double Chocolate Walnut Brownies

I know, I'm "on a diet" (I hate that but eating plan just makes me sound like an ass). Last week, my CrossFit Challenge team rocked the Paleo Potluck at Mary's Ridiculous House (Her kitchen is the size of my entire downstairs!) and my coach, as a treat to our sugar-starved and dessert-loving bodies made us these. I was skeptical at first. No sugar? NO SUGAR? But then again, wouldn't it defeat the point if it did? She did make a few Paleo-friendly substitutions that I kept in, and another one that I made just because I'm reasonably certain that in a fit of pique a few months pre-Paleo, I chucked my bottle of grapeseed oil. The original recipe is lovingly hijacked and then twisted from Elana's Pantry (www.elanaspantry.com) - THE site for gluten free deliciousness.

GF Deliciousness

• ½ cup dark chocolate chips (73% cacao preferred - you won't find this in the baking aisle)
• ¼ cup coconut flour (sold in the bulk section of Sprouts for far, far less than the Red Mill GF)
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt (I used McCormick Grinder's Sea Salt. $2? Sold!)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup honey (we used this instead of agave nectar and it was AWESOME)
• ¼ cup grapeseed oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract ½ cup chopped walnuts
• ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao
• (My addition - 1 tablespoon of hot/warm/cold/whatever coffee)*
  
1. Place ½ cup chocolate chips in food processor
2. Pulse in coconut flour, salt and baking soda until combined
3. Pulse in eggs, honey, oil, coffee and vanilla
4. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 pyrex dish
   

So, as you can see above. I multilated this recipe. Took it out back and just beat it. I didn't even use the darn chocolate chips because (shock) my Walmart was really lacking in quality chocolate. I marched over to the candy bar aisle, girded my loins, and grabbed two bars of Lindt 70%. They worked like a charm! But a dessert that is good at taking substitutions and my husband and inlaws loved and I could eat? AWESOME. This isn't really "paleo" but truly, it's as close as you're going to get with chocolate!

*I add coffee because in any recipe containing chocolate - it just takes it to the next level. It makes chocolate have this insane depth of flavor. I used to cheat and add it to boxed brownie mix all the time - your coworkers will love and hate you at the same time

One year, already?

It's hard to believe that Aaron and I have been married for a year already! We were lucky enough to spend our anniversary in Las Vegas and while my husband won first place in a national shooting competition - I won first place in the "best wife ever" category for sharing our anniversary with a national shooting competition. ;)

My best friend in the whole, wide world lives in Las Vegas and we were lucky enough to have a beautiful dinner with Deb and her awesome boyfriend, Barry at Mon Ami Gabi. My husband and I ignored our pledge to eat well, and instead - just ate like total gluttons. One of my favorites was the apple tarte tatin dessert, which I attempted to replicate with decent success below. I cheated a bit and used a store-bought Pillsbury pie crust, which worked like a charm and saved me the time of making my own!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 4 medium Golden Delicious apples, cut into thin 1/8" slices
• Ground cinnamon
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the butter and sugar together in a 12" ovenproof skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add your thin apple slices and stir to coat them with the melted butter mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon and cook them until the apples have softened slightly and start to take on a light brownish color - 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle them with a bit more cinnamon (depending on how much you like) and arrange them into one layer on the bottom of the pan. Try to make it pretty, this will be the top of your tarte!

Layer your pie crust over the top of the skillet and crimp the sides with a fork. Poke a few 'steam holes' in it and brush with the lightly beaten egg. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown!

mmmmmuffins!

As a raging carb-aholic there is little I love more than bread - but I do love a good blueberry muffin. With a cup of coffee in the morning, or really, snagged from the fridge at 2am where I eat it like a thief in the night - these are delish. :)

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk (I use 2% but whatever)
• 1-1/2 cups blueberries

Streusel

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter, chilled

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line your muffin tin with liners (use them, you savage). In a small bowl, take 1 tablespoon of flour and toss it together lightly with your blueberries until coated - this will make sure they distribute through the muffins and don't just sit on the bottom of the muffin!

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and well mixed. Add in the eggs, one at a time - beating the batter until the egg is concorporated before adding the next egg, and then add in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, stir together the baking powder, salt and flour and set aside. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, stirring between each addition until just combined. Fold in your blueberries last and then spoon the mixture into the muffin tin - filling each cup 3/4 the way full.

In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of flour, brown sugar and the cinnamon. Cut in the butter using a fork until mixture resembles course crumbs and sprinke over the unbaked muffins. Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

For Jamie :)

This recipe is honor of Jamie Hart - the lovely sister of my lovely best friend, Deb. Being as she currently resides in England with her wonderful wife Tanya- it has been FAR too long since I've seen her! My scone recipe (being decidedly English!) brought her to mind.

Jamie & Tanya's Simple Scones

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, SERIOUSLY cold
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to mix it thoroughly. Next, take your butter and cut it into small cubes and drop into flour. Work it into the mixture with a fork or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add in raisins and toss to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and the egg until smooth. Then, using a fork stir the egg mixture into the flour until a large ball of dough forms. You may need to get your hands in there and press it around the bowl. Trust me, it's enough liquid.

Turn out the dough onto a floured board and pat into an 8 inch circle. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar and use a super sharp knife to cut the dough into 8 triangles. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 7 minutes before eating. It'll be difficult but at least you won't burn your tastebuds off!

Cake Truffles!

A large craze in Texas at the moment is cake truffles... or really, let's be honest - they're called cake balls. But calling them this in mixed company will result in your husband/male friends/significant others/brothers/whatever giggling like 3 year old girls. I was surprised at how easy and delicious they are to make - all you really need is cake mix, frosting, and chocolate chips. (well, and whatever the cake mix calls for!)

Cake Truffles a la Kelly

• Yellow cake mix (prepared according to package directions)
• Whipped vanilla frosting
• Chocolate chips

Bake the cake according to the package directions. Pull it out of the oven and set it aside to cool. After about 30 minutes, cut the cake into little slices and one-by-one drop them into a large mixing bowl and shred with a fork until it dissolves into tiny crums. Continue until you've crumbled the entire cake. Next, add the entire container of frosting and stir until combined.

Place the mix into the fridge for 30 minutes and use a 1" cookie scoop (or just measure it with your hands and wing it!) to scoop out even-sized portions onto wax paper. When you've scooped them all out, slide the sheet back into the freezer if you can. Next, melt chocolate chips on a double boiler. When 90% of the chips have melted, pull the glass bowl off and finish mixing until the chips are all melted. One by one, drop the cooled scoops of cake into the melted chocolate and then set on wax paper to harden.

Cream Cheese Frosting

For all of you who thought cream cheese was just for bagels - this post is for you! Why is it that we always drool at the thought of Cream Cheese Frosting but then we reach for a can of premade frosting at the first hint of baking? Here's my recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting - it's worth it!

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 - 8 ounce packages of cream cheese frosting (Don't you dare get lowfat!)


• 1/2 cup butter, softened


• 2 cups, sifted confectioner's sugar


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. (You can use a mixer on medium or just put it in your stand mixer bowl). Next, mix in vanilla until combined. Slowly add in the confectioner's sugar about a half cup at a time until completely combined. Store in refrigerator!

See? Now that wasn't so hard!

Super Special Post Today

Today's a wonderful day in Austin, Texas. My lovely friend and former co-worker Sharon (of Sharonlovesthis blogger fame) is tying the knot with her wonderful beau, Kyle. In celebration of this momentous event - let them eat cake!

Sharon & Kyle's Chocolate Cake (formerly world's best chocolate cake)

- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup strong brewed coffee
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Using a baking spray or butter/flour, grease 2 - 9 inch cake pans and line the bottom of them with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Dig out a "well" in the center of the dry mixture and add the eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix together well. (Your batter should be soupy and thin!).

Pour the batter evenly into both pans and bake for 30-40 minutes or until you insert a toothpick in the middle of the cakes and it comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This is the hard part. I shamelessly admit that I use Betty Crocker Whipped Milk Chocolate Frosting for this. That's right. Not from scratch but I swear, it's DELICIOUS.

Apologies again for the blog break. They're not intentional. Life just catches up with me! Onto the recipes!

Living in Texas gives me a new appreciation for sweat. Summer here is like living on the surface of the sun, perhaps next to a lake, or really, in Florida. Being a SoCal girl at heart, humidity slays me. Short of spending my life's fortune at my favorite yogurt shop, Tomunchi - I make sorbet.

God-It's-Hot Orange Sorbet

- 2.5 cups of water

- 1 cup granulated sugar

- 2 orange rind pieces

- 2 2/3 cups of fresh orange juice (no pulp!)

- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it boils. Add the orange strips to the pan and stir. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Retrieve orange pieces with a spoon and discard. (You can also strain this in a sieve if you're an overachiever). Set the mixture aside to cool.

Add orange juice and lemon juice to cooled sugar mixture and mix WELL. Add the mixture to either a) the ice cream container of the ice cream maker you registered for when you got married and never use or b) a small glass pan (you need something freezer safe!). Put in freezer for one extremely-long hour and then serve!

Kitchen Tip #2

A second kitchen tip for your cooking pleasure! I bake a lot of cookies, but my chocolate chip cookies have been infamous among my friends for well, almost 15 years. One of my cookie tips-

Keep everything cold. Start by placing your cookie sheets in the freezer. Once your dough is prepared, place the entire bowl of dough into the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.

In between batches, keep your cookie dough in the refrigerator. This will keep the edges from overcooking and burning. This happens because your cookie dough starts spreading and baking the moment it hits the hot pan - by cooling your dough and your cookie sheets, you'll avoid this.

Happy Baking!

A celebration!

Happy Birthday to my lovely sister, who we will say is 25 again today :) Since my sister would probably carjack a nun for some cheesecake, in celebration of her birthday - that's today's recipe.

Cheesecake Tips:

1. Beat in all the ingredients on LOW speed. You do not want to incorporate air - it will make the cake crack when baking.

2. Do not overbeat the mixture. This will also cause cracking.

3. When checking during baking, you want the cheesecake to look "wet" and wobble a little bit if you shake the pan. Don't overbake!

Cheesecake for Courtney

Crust:

• 2 cups of Graham Cracker crumbs (place the crackers in the food processor and process until tiny crumbs)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar

Filling:

• 4 - 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature (use full fat! not a spot for shortcuts!)
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 5 large eggs, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons, all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then , grease (or use Pam Baking Spray) a 9" Springform pan and place the pan on a cookie sheet and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, add the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter for the crust. Mix together with a spatula, until combined. Turn the mixture out into the bottom of the Springform pan and press firmly into the bottom of the pan. Cover and refrigerate.

In a large bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar and flour and beat on low speed until just combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and incorporate all the ingredients! Next, add the lemon zest, whipping cream, and vanilla and beat on low until incorporated. Take the chilled crust from the refrigerator and pour the cream cheese mixture on top. Place the Springform pan on the cookie sheet and place it into the oven.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 250 degrees and bake for another 90 minutes until the cheesecake is mostly firm - but still wobbly. Remove from the oven and place on wire rack. After cooling, place in refrigerator for at least 8 hours (or overnight is best!). When you're ready to serve, slide a spatula around the edge of the pan to loosen the crust from the sides of the pan. :)

Pudding!

Yes, you can make pudding from a box with some milk - but no one's ever going to write sonnets to your existence with that sort of effort. Yes, the way to your friend's hearts (and your loved ones too) is solely through the stomach. Start with this pudding. I personally hate whipped cream but it's a nice touch if you like it. Don't you dare use the stuff in a jar after all this effort!



Chocolate Pudding

• 2 cups whole milk (yeah, i know.)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 4 teaspoons corn starch
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup whipping cream

Start by heating 1 1/2 cups of the milk, all the sugar, and all the cocoa over medium high heat until it reaches a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, pour the remainder of the milk and add the cornstarch, salt, egg yolks and vanilla and whisk together. Next, temper the cornstarch mixture by SLOWLY adding the hot milk and whisking. Return to the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat whisking constantly until the pudding has come to a full boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low to a simmer, and keep whisking for 2-3 minutes until the pudding thickens.

Pour the pudding into 5-6 small cups and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight until set.

If you're a whipped cream loving heathen - pour the whipped cream into a chilled bowl and starting on low, use a hand mixer and beat the whipped cream until soft peaks form and then stop immediately - if you overbeat it, it will become grainy. It's done! Enjoy!

World's Best Carrot Cake!

• 
  
  Ever since Aaron and I had the most delicious Kerbey Lane Carrot Cake - we've been pretty addicted. Never a huge carrot cake fan, I don't know about the sudden addiction to carrot cake but in case you have it too - try this one :)
  
  
  
  
  
  The World's Most Delicious Carrot Cake
  
• Unsalted butter to grease the pan
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 12 ounces grated carrots
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 6 ounces of plain yogurt
• 6 ounces of vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup, chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ounces of cream cheese
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9" round and 3" deep cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and set it aside. Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside. Put the flour, baking power, baking soda, spices, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for 5 seconds. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until well-coated.

In the bowl of the food processor, combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt. Mix until combined and while running, drizzle in vegetable oil. Pour sugar mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined. Add walnuts Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes in the pan, before turning the cake out onto a rack and letting it cool completely.

While cooling - make the cream cheese frosting below!

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter and mix on medium until just blended. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. With the speed on low, add the powdered sugar in batches and beat until smooth. Put the frosting in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before using.

Time for a little dessert...

I love dessert. It's a fact of life that I can't escape. I love the sweets. In the summertime, I love to take advantage of the fresh fruit and make delicious crumbles that melt in your mouth and enhhance the flavors of the summer. Here's one of my favorites!

Peach and Strawberry Crumble

Filling

• 1 pound of medium strawberries, tops removed & cut in half
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 pounds yellow peaches - peeled, pitted & sliced
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

Topping

• 2/3 cup all purpose flour (whole wheat works well too!)
• 2/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, chilled & cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 x 8 glass baking dish and set it aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and flour until smooht. Add the strawberries, peaches, and brown sugar. Gently toss until the fruit is coated and then pour the fruit mixture in the prepared pan.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, oats, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pulse until mixed and then add the butter. Pulse until the butter is about the size of peas. Sprinkle the mixture over the filling and bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. (may I suggest some nice vanilla ice cream?)

Lemon cookies

My husband loves all things lemon. Which I find strange and slightly freakish but I use to my advantage when I feel like baking but can't be trusted not to eat the final results. For this, we have lemon cookies. They're a basic variation on sugar cookies but with a boatload of mouth-delighting lemony goodness.

Lemon Cookies

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup of butter (room temp or softened in the microwave)
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons, finely grated lemon peel

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together 1 cup of the sugar and the melted butter until combined. Add in the egg, lemon juice, and zest and mix together until just combined. Next, gradually blend in the flour mixture.

Take out two piece of waxed paper and spoon half the dough onto each. Roll into a log with the paper and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (I did two and it worked perfectly!)

After your dough has firmed up, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap 1 log of your cookie dough and cut into slices about 1/4" thick. Sprinkle with a little of the remaining sugar and place onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until LIGHTLY brown around the edges.

Enjoy! (or let your husband ;) )

Butter Pound Cake

I have to admit, even though I love to bake - I used to eat Sara Lee Pound Cake (delish!) instead of ever making my own.. until I found this recipe. It's delicious. When I'm feeling lazy (read: Mon - Thurs), I might still be tempted to buy the Sara Lee kind, but this one freezes well sooo... :)

Mama's Butter Pound Cake

- 1 cup butter
- 6 eggs
- 3 cups white sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour 1 bundt pan and 1 loaf pan (this dish makes enough batter to make both!). In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and combined. Next, add in the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.

Alternate adding in 1 cup of a flour with 1/4 pint of heavy cream, mixing between until all of the flour and cream have been incorporated. Last, add in the vanilla and lemon extract and mix well. Pour the batter into the two pans until each pan is about 2/3 full.

Bake for 1-1.5 hours or until the cake is lightly browned on top and springs back when you touch it.

A little bit of romance...

Have you ever tried to make chocolate dipped strawberries and had the chocolate separate from the strawberry just a bit once they cooled? Me too. I hunted and hunted for a good recipe and the magic way to do this until I found the lovely recipe below, from a good friend in Arizona. I hope this will inspire you to make these little treats often! This makes 1 pound of strawberries but is pretty easy to scale to your size!

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

• 1 pound, milk chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons, vegetable shortening
• 1 pound fresh strawberries (with stems if possible!)

In a double boiler (or just place a glass bowl over 1" of simmering water in a pot), place the milk chocolate chips and vegetable shortening and stir until melted and combined. Lay out a sheet of wax paper to let the chocolate dipped strawberries harden post-dipping. Grab a strawberry by the stem and dip into melted chocolate until desired coverage is acheived. Lay strawberry to harden on wax paper. Repeat until all strawberries are coated. Then go back and eat the first one you dipped. (at least that's my addition to the recipe).

A little prep work is necessary

I think gingerbread cookies aren't just for Christmas. They require a bit of prep work as you have to chill the dough for at least a few hours (or overnight if you have the time). However, your neighbors will be jealous by the lovely, lovely scents coming out of your kitchen.





Gingerbread Cookies - makes 18 cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 dark corn syrup
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

In a medium saucepan, stir together butter, brown sugar, and dark corn syrup over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Pour mixture into a large mixture bowl, and let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Once cooled, stir in the egg and vanilla until smooth and combined.



In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Once combined, mix into the wet mixture in 1/3rds until combined. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight if possible.



Preheat oven to 325 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until about 1/4" thick. Dip cookie cutters into flour and press out shapes. Gently lift off the board and place on unbuttered cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cookies are firm. Let them cool and decorate if you wish - or just devour!

Easy Dessert For When You Don't Have All Day

I love to bake, but I don't have all day sometimes. Our lovely friends, Shelly and Jerome come over for dinner quite often and I like to have something for us all for dessert. This one is delicious and simple. I think you'll find it on the menu rotation quite a bit. :) Serve it with some vanilla ice cream.

Baked Apples

• 4 Granny Smith apples
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, cold
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Core the apples and peel a ring of the core off the center of each apple. In a small bowl, mix together the butter and the brown sugar until combined. Stuff each apple with 1/4 of the mixture and sprinkle with the cinnamon and chopped pecans.

Stand each apple up in the baking dish and add water to the pan (just enough to cover the bottom of the dish). Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the apples are soft.

More Chocolate. More Peanut Butter.

Sorry, apparently I've got a craving for peanut butter and chocolate this week! Here's another no bake recipe for a chocolate/peanut butter dessert just in case you're craving it too!

No Bake Peanut Butter Squares

2 cups confectioners'/powdered sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil (leaving an overhang on the sides) and set aside. In a large bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar, butter, 1 cup of peanut butter and the vanilla. Next, with a rubber spatula and fold in the graham cracker crumbs. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Place the chocolate chips and the remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals at half power, stirring after each, until fully melted and smooth.

Pour the chocolate mixture over the peanut butter layer and spread it evenly. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until the chocolate is set. Use the foil to lift the bars out of the pan. Remove the foil from the bars and cut into individual squares. Return the squares to the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2 hours, or until firm. Store the squares in the refrigerator until you've devoured them all or had to take them to work to avoid eating them all!

Peanut Butter. And Chocolate. Nuff said.

This dessert is especially awesome in the hot summer months (which feels like it's light years away at the moment in this cold weather!) and has gotten rave reviews from our out of town guests. Share it with yours (or keep it all for yourself!)

No Bake Peanut Butter & Chocolate Pie

- 8 ounces of reduced fat cream cheese

-1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

-1 cup of reduced-fat creamy peanut butter

-16 ounces of Cool Whip (nonfat works well), thawed

-1 cup chocolate syrup

- 2 ready-made graham cracker crusts (9 ounce size)

With a mixer, beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until combined. Next, add in the chocolate syrup and peanut butter and mix until mixture is well combined. With a spatula, gently fold in the thawed Cool Whip until just combined - do not overmix!

Pour mixture into the two graham cracker crusts and freeze until firm (generally at least 4 hours). Keep frozen until you serve, and refreeze the leftovers. Feel free to serve with even more chocolate syrup :)