Peanut Butter M&M White Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Before I tell you about these delicious cookie bars, I am super excited to share with you that our baby boy was born on March 28 weighing 7lbs 15oz. He is absolutely perfect and we couldn't be more happy! Of course the sleep deprivation might take awhile to get used to, but it is worth every minute that we get to spend with him.  So blog posts will probably be brief and sporadic for awhile as we get use to our new lifestyle but I will try to squeeze them in during nap times here and there :)

I made these cookies to celebrate baby K's one week old birthday.  With my busy work schedule leading up to his birth and then being out of commission for a little while after he was  born, I was really itching to be in the kitchen again.  I bought these Easter/Spring peanut butter M&Ms as a post-pregnancy craving one afternoon and I knew as soon as I took a bite that I needed to put these in a cookie.  The next time I was at the store I picked up three more bags (that's only slightly embarrassing, right?) so that I could make cookies and have a stash to snack on too!  

The nutty flavor of the browned butter compliments the peanut butter in the M&Ms really nicely and gives the cookies another level of flavor as well.  The white chocolate chips were a happy accident because I realized that I only had a handful of regular chocolate chips left in the pantry half way through making the cookies.  The white chocolate ended up giving the cookies a wonderful creamy sweetness.  The bars are both chewy and crunchy at the same time and are a great time saver for when you are trying to get a fantastic dessert without too much effort.  Definitely make these with regular peanut butter M&Ms during other times of the year when the Easter candy is not available!    

Peanut Butter M&M White Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

1 cup butter, browned
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter M&Ms

In a medium sauce pot melt the butter over medium heat stirring constantly.  The butter will get very foamy and then it will subside. Then the butter will begin to turn a light brown color and have a toasty/nutty fragrance. Turn the heat off as soon as the butter begins to brown because the remaining heat from the pan can make the butter burn if you let it get too browned. Browning the butter will take about 5-7 minutes depending on the strength of your stove.  Let the butter cool for about 15 minutes before continuing with the recipe.

In the same pot, add the sugars to the butter and stir with a wooden spoon until well incorporated.  Stir in the egg and vanilla and then all of the dry ingredients.  Make sure everything is mixed well and then add the white chocolate chips (use regular chocolate if you don't want to use white chips).  Press the cookie dough into a greased 9x13" baking pan and lightly press peanut butter M&Ms evenly all over the top of the dough.  Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes until lightly golden brown on top.  Cool completely and cut into bars before serving.

Enjoy!

Inspired by Pale Yellow

Individual Frozen Lemon-Lime Pies

Happy Pi {3.14} Day!  I actually made these cute little lemon-lime pies a few weeks ago and didn't plan to coincide this post with pi day, but life has been super hectic lately so I am just getting around to posting these now anyways. I picked up some lemons and limes at the grocery store planning to make a bright and citrus-y dessert to try to cheer up the winter blahs we have all been suffering from.  I hoped that something sweet and tangy would bring us happy thoughts of the spring months yet to come.  Originally I was going to make my super delicious key lime pie recipe but I didn't want to have a whole pie sitting around to eat so I was really excited when I found a frozen version of the pie.  I decided to make the pie into individual servings so I could just keep them in the freezer and have a super delicious dessert snack on hand for whenever the mood strikes.  

The ingredients are basically the same as a standard key lime pie recipe other than the quantities differ slightly.  The only major difference is the preparation of the filling.  In a standard key lime pie, all of the filling ingredients are whisked together and the whole pie is baked in the oven.  In this recipe, you essentially make a lemon-lime curd over a double boiler and then fold that together with the sweetened condensed milk to create a very similar texture to the baked pie version.  This process is very simple and happens a lot quicker than having to bake off a whole pie.  The only down side is waiting for the pies to freeze!  

These individual pies are perfect! They have a beautiful bright citrus flavor and the frozen texture is fantastic.  You could make this same recipe with any combination or ratio of citrus that you like.  If you prefer lemon over lime, add more lemon juice than lime, or try it with just one citrus.  You could also try this with orange or grapefruit juice too.  The pies don't get so firm that they need to thaw before you eat them; feel free to take a bite right out of the freezer.  The filling is smooth, creamy, and tart just like a lemon-lime pie should be.  Frozen whipped cream has an lovely, intriguing texture with little frozen crystals all throughout that goes wonderfully with the smooth filling and crunchy crust.  I hope you give these a try as the weather turns more spring like and you are looking for a sweet citrus dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth!


Individual Frozen Lemon-Lime Pies

Crust:
1 sleeve graham crackers (about 8-9 crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Crush the graham crackers (I like to use the cinnamon flavor) in large plastic ziploc bag with a rolling pin or mallet or use a food processor, until you have fine crumbs.  Mix the crumbs together with the sugar and then toss well with the melted butter until the crumbs are evenly coated.  Press about 1 tbsp of this mixture into paper lined muffin tins and bake for about 8 minutes.  Set aside to cool while you make the filling.

Lemon-Lime Filling:
6 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 lime and 1 lemon
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and juices together in a medium heat-proof bowl.  Place the bowl over a pan with about 2" simmering water (double boiler) and whisk constantly until thickened and frothy.  This will take between 5 and 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the sweetened condensed milk and zests.  Spoon this mixture evenly into cooled muffin cups and level out.  Place the muffin trays in the freezer for about 2 hours.

Whipped Cream Topping:
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl beat the cream until soft peaks form then add the sugar and vanilla.  Continue to beat for about a minute until you have stiff peaks.  Spoon or pipe dollops of whipped cream on top of the filling and return to the freezer for about 2 hours or until completely firm.  Wrap each pie in plastic wrap and store in the freezer in a ziploc bag.

Enjoy!

Inspired by: Lick My Spoon

New York Style Crumb Cake

Food is incredibly nostalgic for me. Whether it be the taste, smell, or even just a picture or thought of a specific food, it can bring back a whole variety of memories.  Sometimes the memories will come in the form of a particular day or certain time of year but more often than not, food will make me think about the person I most associate with that food item.  Food is about so much more than just nourishment to me.  Of course, we all have to eat to survive but I believe that food and food traditions have an incredible emotional and cultural impact on life.  When I cook or bake something to share with others, especially for a special occasion, I put a lot of thought and love into what I am preparing and I hope that what I create brings happiness to the people enjoying it.   I think many people can relate to this feeling and no matter whether you are the one sharing or the one receiving, it can really make a lasting impression.

I made this crumb cake because when I was walking through the grocery store, I happened to notice a Entenmann's pastry display with a huge "buy 1, get 1 free" advertisement.  I briefly thought about buying some for memory sake because when I was a child and we visited my Nanny I remember she always seemed to have an Entenmann's crumb cake.  Usually it was the original version but occasionally she had the "Ultimate" crumb cake which was my favorite because it has more crumb topping than cake. The memory of the crumb cake brought back many other food memories that I have of her.  She made delicious meringues, jam thumbprints, and party mix just to name a few. She always had tins of cookies stashed in the pantry and a bags of party mix in the freezer to share with visitors.  

After my Nanny passed away, my aunt began making a lot of Nanny's traditional recipes for holiday parties and get-togethers, along with many of her own wonderful recipes.  Lately, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on these memories, along with many others, because unfortunately my aunt passed away last week.  Her specialty was chocolate covered peanut butter balls.  I can only imagine the amount of time she spent every year making gigantic batches of peanut butter balls; rolling out tiny balls of dough and hand dipping them all in melted chocolate.   She always made sure that no one left her holiday party without a tupperware full of peanut butter balls and a baggie of party mix too.  Her love of sharing her homemade treats with family and friends was just one of her so many amazing qualities.  The world has lost a truly generous, wonderful woman and she will always hold a special place in my heart and my memories.  May she rest in peace.    

Since I decided against buying the pre-made pastries, yet the memories of crumb cake stuck with me, I found this great homemade version to make instead.  This crumb cake has the perfect 50/50 crumb to cake ratio and tastes absolutely wonderful.  The vanilla cake layer is dense and moist and the topping is perfectly sweet and crumbly with a lovely hint of cinnamon.  The combination of textures work so well together and make this cake a delicious breakfast snack or a fantastic brunch item.   Give this recipe a try next time you want to make an easy sweet for your family or friends that will definitely leave them feeling happy. 


New York Style Crumb Cake

Topping
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
8 tbsp melted butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a medium bowl, whisk the white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon together and then stir in the melted butter. Add the flour and mix with a spatula (or your fingers) until combined.  Set this mixture aside while you make the cake batter.

Cake
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, cubed and slightly softened
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk or milk
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 8x8 inch square pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on each side so that you can lift the cake out after baking. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Using an electric mixer or stand mixer, briefly mix together the cake flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.  Turn the mixer onto low speed and gradually add the butter cubes, continuing to beat until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is well distributed through the dry ingredients.  Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla and buttermilk and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until the batter is well combined, light, and fluffy.     

Pour the batter into the baking pan and then sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over top of the cake batter.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until the topping is lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool in the pan and then remove using the foil overhang.  Dust the cake with powdered sugar, if desired and cut into squares to serve. For best results storing the cake, do not pre-cut squares and wrap the cake in a layer of plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. 

Enjoy!

Inspired by Spoonful of Flour

Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry

Stir fry is a big favorite in our house. It is a relatively easy, quick, and inexpensive meal, which makes it a great candidate for a busy weeknight dinner.  We have a few different varieties of stir fries that we rotate through; changing up the type of meat and veggies to whatever we have on hand or was on sale at the grocery store.  Sometimes we make the stir fry into more of a lo mien style dish and serve it with noodles but a lot of the time we have it over rice.  I got an awesome rice cooker for Christmas which has made stir fry nights even easier!

Up until we found this recipe, our top two favorite stir fry dishes were chicken lo mien and beef with broccoli or snow peas.  Both of these recipes take between 20 and 30 minutes to make and are absolutely delicious.  I always try to keep the basic ingredients, such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic on hand so that whenever we are craving stir fry it is just a matter of picking up the meat and veggies (or if you prefer, skip the meat all together) that we feel like having.

This recipe is just as amazing as our other two favorites, can be extremely customizable, and you might have all of the ingredients on hand already.  I have never really cared for the pre-made teriyaki sauces that you can buy at the grocery store, so I was very excited to find this homemade version and see how simple the ingredients are.  The sauce has a great balance of sweet and salty that compliments the marinated beef and crisp vegetables perfectly.  The quick cooking style of stir fry makes for very easy preparation and develops great layers of flavor as well.  So, even though it is a little bit of prep work to cut all of the ingredients up, the fast cooking time completely makes up for it.  Give this delicious teriyaki beef a try next time you are in the mood for an easy Asian style meal at home!  Don't forget to add those green onion on top to garnish; they add a great pop of flavor and freshness to the whole dish.  

Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry

2 cups cooked white or brown rice

3/4 lb top round steak, sliced very thin

1/2 cup carrots, sliced

1/2 cup snow peas, ends trimmed off

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin

2 scallions (green onion), chopped

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp canola oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper  

Pinch of ground ginger

1 cup teriyaki sauce (1 recipe below) or your favorite brand

1 tbsp cornstarch

Prepare the rice on your stove top according to package instructions or use a rice cooker.  You want to have about 2 cups of cooked rice to serve with the stir fry.  While the rice is cooking, slice the beef very thinly and toss with the soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, ground ginger and black pepper.  Let this marinade for a few minutes while you prepare the vegetables.  You can use whatever cut of beef that you like (we have also done flank and flat iron steak) or you could substitute chicken or all vegetables.  

Place the sliced carrots and snow peas in a microwave safe container and add about 2 tablespoons of water to the container.  Cover this with a paper towel and steam in the microwave on high for about 1 minute, 30 seconds.  This will help give these vegetables a head start with the cooking process. 

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or wok) over medium high heat and add a small amount of the canola or another flavorless oil.  Place a single layer of beef in the skillet and cook for about 1 minute before flipping to the second side. You want the beef to start to caramelize and brown but not be over cooked.  Turn your heat up slightly if this is not happening.  Cook for about 1 more minute, remove from the skillet onto a plate, and continue this process until all the beef is cooked.  You may need to add a small amount of oil in between batches.

Make sure your skillet is still nice and hot and, if necessary, again add a small amount of oil to the skillet.  Then add the white parts of the scallions (save the green tops that you cut for garnish) and the bell pepper. Cook this for about 1 minute and then add the par-cooked and drained carrots and snow peas.  Let this cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly. Once the vegetables are cooked but still crisp, add the beef back into the skillet.  Stir the cornstarch into the teriyaki sauce and then add the sauce to the skillet.  Stir everything together and let it cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce has thickened.  Serve the stir fry over rice and garnish with a sprinkle of the green onion tops.

Note: the quantities above can be easily modified for your taste preferences and are not an exact science.  For example, I do not generally measure out how many cups of each vegetable or how much of each spice that I used so I have provided you with an estimated amount for guidance.

Enjoy!

Inspired by A Family Feast

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup honey

2 tbsp white sugar

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp mirin (optional)

1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced

1 tsp sliced fresh ginger

Measure the first 3 ingredients into a glass measuring cup and then stir in the sugars and mirin until well combined.  Transfer this mixture to a small saucepan and add the slices of garlic and ginger.  Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat and cook for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally.  Strain the sauce to remove the garlic and ginger pieces and reserve until needed.  The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks or can be frozen for several months. 

Soft Baked Sugar Cookies & Nursery {In Progress} Pictures

Sorry for two cookie recipe posts in a row, but lately that has been the only thing that I have made in the daylight hours and had a chance to photograph. This dark before 5 p.m. thing is really inconvenient for food photography!  K and I have made some great dinner recipes including beef and broccoli and baked ranch chicken nuggets that I would love to share on the blog but unless they get made for lunch on the weekend that isn't likely to happen anytime soon.  Maybe I will look into a light box/indoor photography options in the near future.  Also, we have been super busy with various meetings, baby classes, working on decorating the nursery, etc so not too much has been happening in my kitchen anyways. 

This past Saturday was our baby shower, so of course I had to bring a little something sweet to share with everyone who came to celebrate with us. The night before the shower, I was looking around on Google images for baby cookie ideas but they were all sugar cookies with super detailed designs involving lots of colors of frosting and time consuming piping and filling.  If I had a bit more time and energy I might have gone this route because a lot of the cookies were super cute, but I only had about an hour to dedicate to making cookies.  I started to get discouraged and considered just making a batch of chocolate chip or something simple and then I thought of those soft baked sugar cookies that they sell in the grocery store bakery that everyone seems to absolutely love. I figured I could still make them into a cute shape and just do a simple buttercream frosting.  I rummaged around in my box of 101 cookie cutters hoping there was something baby related in there and came out with a foot print, which was perfect!

I quickly found a recipe that sounded like it fit what I was looking for and got baking.  From start to finish these cookies took under an hour to make, including the cooling time between coming out of the oven and frosting.  I was incredibly happy with this recipe especially because it was fast, simple, and crazy delicious.  I gave one to K to taste test and he told me that I had to make another batch for the shower because he was going to keep these for himself.  The cookies were soft and sweet; one of the best sugar cookies I have ever eaten.  They would be excellent on their own without the frosting, but the creamy buttercream adds another level of delicious-ness to these cookies.  The consistency of the buttercream was perfect for quickly piping the foot shape onto the cookies and held up very well.  If you are looking for a great sugar cookie recipe that is easy and simple, I would highly recommend giving these a try!

Side note: here is a couple of pictures of the nursery because I am super in love with it so far and feel the need to show it off :-).  This first picture is the unofficial "before" shot because the walls are already painted.  We painted the walls back in the spring because I was tired of looking at the intense red/orange that the previous owners had painted the room.  I picked out the light gray thinking that maybe it could be used in a baby room down the road.

We painted the ceiling which had some funny patched spots and red/orange paint left on it, painted the trim a nice crisp white instead of beige, and laid seamless carpet tiles on top of the badly scratched up painted wood floor.  A few weeks later, my mom came over and helped K and I paint the beautiful birch tree mural on the back wall.

I love this room so much. It came out so much better than I had been imagining. Every time I walk upstairs, I stick my head in there and just think about all of the exciting times to come.  The room is stuffed with baby things from the shower now, but maybe I will do another picture update when we get everything organized!

Soft Baked Sugar Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) room temperature butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract and the seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract (I highly recommend not leaving this out, it really makes the cookies amazing)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
Powdered sugar for dusting rolling surface

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Cream together the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add the egg, extracts, and vanilla bean seeds (if using) and mix until well combined.  Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until everything is just incorporated.   Do not chill the dough, it should be soft but stiff enough to roll out. Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a smooth surface, dusted with powdered sugar, and form into a ball.  Roll the dough out into a circle between 1/4" and 1/2" thick.  Mine were about 1/4".

Use a cookie cutter to cut out the shapes and place the cookies on parchment lined baking trays.  Combine any scraps you have into a ball and continue to roll out until you have used up all of the dough.   Bake for 6-8 minutes depending on how thick you rolled out your dough.  Let the cookies rest for about 3 minutes after removing from the oven before you transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling, make the buttercream recipe below.  The cookies should cool fairly quickly and you can pipe the buttercream onto them or just spread it on with a knife.  I put my buttercream in a large ziploc bag and snipped off the tip.  I piped an outline around the foot and then partially filled in the middle. I took a butter knife and smoothed the middle out, blending into the edges.  Decorate with sprinkles or other candies of your choosing. Give the cookies a chill in the fridge if the frosting needs to harden up and then store in an air tight container. 

Buttercream

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) room temperature butter
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp milk
Food coloring, if desired

Beat the butter and sugar together, add the extract and 1 tbsp of milk, and continue to beat together.  Add additional milk if the consistency is too thick.  I recommend using gel food coloring if you are going to color the frosting.  It won't change the consistency and has a more intense color.  Store the frosting in the refrigerator if you are not using immediately.

Enjoy!

Inspired by Dixie Crystals