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Healthier Oatmeal Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Cookies

April 13, 2013 · by · 4 Comments
Healthier Oatmeal Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Cookies from ItsYummi.com

Happy Saturday!

It's been almost 2 weeks since I joined Weight Watchers, and I have to say that it's going MUCH better than I thought it would!  The new 360 program focuses more on a balanced eating "all things in moderation" philosophy and less on obsessing about counting each and every calorie.  It's so much easier for me to follow programs where I don't have to deprive myself of things that I love.  Like cookies.  If I really want to eat a sleeve of Thin Mints or Double Stuffed Oreos, I certainly can, but at 4-6 points per cookie, my daily 26 points would be tanked pretty quickly.  Besides, I don't need junk filled cookies when I've got treats like these cuties.

 

Healthier Oatmeal Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Cookies from ItsYummi.com

 

The last time I went shopping at Sam's Club, I spied a bag of chocolate covered pomegranate arils.  I'd never eaten pomegranate before (I know, apparently, I've been hiding under a rock) so I bought a bag.  I fell HARD for those little gems.  Crunchy, tart pomegranate covered with sorta good for you dark chocolate...what's not to love?  SO good!

When I decided to create a couple of low point treats last week, I knew I wanted to find a way to include the chocolate covered poms, and placing them into cookies turned out to be a magical decision.  Rather than make a traditional cookie out of them, I used my mini-muffin pan.  It prevented the cookies from spreading and it kept them really chewy, something that's a must-have in my opinion.

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Filed Under: BAKING, Cookies, Healthy Foods, low carb, recipes · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies

December 7, 2012 · by · 9 Comments
Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies

THE GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED

I want to test your foodie knowledge.

Now now...Before you go gettin' all squirmy and filled with test anxiety, let me just say that because you're reading my blog, I already know how INCREDIBLY smart you are!  ;-)  I'm also willing to bet that you must be UBER smart when it comes to foodie knowledge!  OK, so here's your pop quiz:

 

WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU COMBINE THIS GOODNESS...

 WITH THIS GOODNESS...

Jenny Flake - a/k/a Picky-Palate.com
Photo Credit: LaylaGrace.com

ANSWER:  A whole lot of yummilicious food...in this case, in cookie form!

If you've never heard of Jenny Flake or visited her incredible website, Picky Palate, you truly need to pay a visit soon.  Jenny's personality is like a great big dose of sunshine on a cloudy day.  Her recipes are easy to make and incredibly enjoyable to eat, too.  She specializes in feeding picky eaters, so you know that the food she makes is down home simple pleasure.  Oh, and her desserts?  AHH-mazing!  The mere sight of some of her desserts is enough to make me pop the elastic on my stretchy pants.  The cookies pictured above were made by me, but inspired by THIS RECIPE of Jenny's.  YOWZA!  Can you believe the size of those babies?!

Jenny's been in national cooking competitions and she's even appeared on the Food Network a few times.  I'm in awe of her talent!  When Jenny heard that I recently celebrated my 1-year blogiversary and achieved 5,000 fans on my Facebook page, she was super excited and happy for me.  She even generously donated today's giveaway prizes...3 copies of her brand new cookbook!  Yes, Jenny has a cookbook... It was released this past October, and it's a HOT HOT HOT seller!

You can buy copies of the book at quite a few retailers, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Deseret Book, and Books a Million.  It would make a fantastic gift for anyone who enjoys cooking or baking.  But like I said, Jenny is giving three of you lucky readers your very own copy absolutely free.  Cool, huh?  I'll give the low down on the giveaway in a minute, but first I want to give you the recipe for the chocolate peppermint patty cookies!  Like I said earlier, Jenny's recipe for Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies inspired me to create my own stuffed cookie.  I'm crazy for peppermint patties and I've been craving some double chocolate cookies, so it only made sense to stuff one inside of the other :)  Peppermint, chocolate, gooey goodness... go ahead... drool on, my friend!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies
 
Created By:

Recipe Category: Dessert
Cuisine: Cookies
Serves: 12
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
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WHAT'S NEEDED
  • 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) bittersweet chocolate chunks or chips
  • 12 peppermint patty candies, unwrapped

HOW TO MAKE IT
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Unwrap 12 peppermint patties and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter and 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate together, stirring until combined. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.
  4. In the bowl of a mixer, combine eggs and sugar and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and beat in chocolate mixture until well combined.
  5. Add flour and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips or chunks.
  6. Using a small cookie scoop, drop tablespoon portions 2-inches apart onto prepared baking sheet.
  7. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Cookies should be slightly under baked so the interior stays chewy and soft. Remove pan from oven and transfer to cooling rack. Let cookies sit for one minute, then carefully cover half of the baked cookies with peppermint patties. Use a spatula to pick up a plain cookie and place it on top of one that has candy on it. Repeat until all cookies have been sandwiched together with a peppermint in the center.

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To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is answer two quick questions.

The first question is:  Which do you enjoy more...creating dishes from scratch or putting your own twist on convenience products (box mixes, pre-cooked meats, etc.) ?

The second question is:  What type of recipes would you be most interested in seeing here on It's Yummilicious? (This question isn't limited... I really want to hear what you'd like to see recipes for!)

Answering those two questions is required to enter the giveaway, but there are also some options on the Rafflecopter form that you can complete for EXTRA entries.

GOOD LUCK, and HAPPY BAKING!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Christmas, Cookies, giveaway, recipes · Tagged: , , , , ,

{Feed Your Stomach} – Oh Henry! Bars

November 21, 2012 · by · 3 Comments
Oh Henry! Bars from ItsYummi.com

I love visiting old fashioned candy stores.  I attempt to stop time as I carefully select pieces of my favorite penny (OK...quarter) candies from big glass jars;  recklessly peel sugar dots away from long pieces of paper, popping them into my mouth with sweet abandon, and placing over sized wax lips into my mouth to bare a goofy grin.  I wonder...Does that make me nostalgic or just plain old?  Makes no never mind to me if you call me old, I'm a kid at heart and when it comes to consuming my favorite sugary sweets, I don't ever wanna grow up!  One of my favorite candy bars was the Oh Henry!

 

There's just something amazing and wonderful about chocolate and peanut butter combinations, and when nougat, caramel and/or something crispy is added to the mix, I'm all over them.  Oh Henry!  bars fit that bill really well.  With as many as I've eaten through the years, I find it kind of odd that I couldn't recall exactly what was in them, but I did remember how much I loved their chewy, crispy crunch and that smooth peanut butter and chocolate topping.  When I was perusing Pinterest the other day for something sweet to make, I followed a couple of links and finally came across this knock-off recipe for Oh Henry! bars.  I was super excited to give it a try.  So excited, in fact, that I didn't read anything past the ingredient list.  BIG MISTAKE.  You guys, learn from my error and ALWAYS read a recipe completely before you dive into it for the first time.  If I had spent even 30 seconds paying attention to the ingredient list, I would have learned that this recipe wouldn't even remotely resemble an Oh Henry!  bar.  How would I know that by reading an ingredient list?  Well, for starters, the real thing has caramel in it, but there's no caramel to be found in this recipe.  I would've also learned that peanuts were missing from the action.  In fact, the recipe I found didn't even call for crunchy peanut butter, but I kind of lucked out on that, since that's all I had available.  So what DID I make?  Well, something absolutely YUMMILICIOUS, but nothing at all like an Oh Henry! candy bar.  Let me show you what I put together and maybe then you'll be willing to help me come up with an appropriate name.  Are you ready?  LET'S BAKE!

 

 CHOCOLATE OATMEAL PEANUT BUTTER BARS

Prep time:

Cook time:

Total time:

Serves: 24

What do you get when you combine crunchy oats, crunchy peanut butter, and chocolate? A treat that's completely yummilicious!

Ingredients 

  • 4 cups rolled oats (not instant)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 6 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup crunchy peanut butter

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 if using convection oven)
  2. Lightly grease a 13" x 9" baking pan
  3. In a medium bowl, mix oats and both sugars. Pour melted butter over and mix well to combine.
  4. Use back of wooden spoon to press mixture into bottom of pan
  5. Bake in oven for 18 minutes (don't overbake)
  6. Place pan on cooling rack and cool completely.
  7. In microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together. Spread over cooled oat mixture and chill in refrigerator until set.
  8. Cut into squares for serving.

SO.... Please leave a comment below!  What do YOU think I should name this recipe?

 

This recipe was shared with the THURSDAY TREASURES LINKY PARTY

Chocolate, Chocolate and more

Filed Under: BAKING, Candy & Confections, recipes · Tagged: , , , ,

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

November 8, 2012 · by · 12 Comments
Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars from ItsYummi.com

It's been a while since we've chatted, my lovelies.  A LOT has happened in my personal and professional life over the past couple of weeks, but nothing in comparison to what that crazy, creepy, downright terrifying super storm, Sandy has done to some of you!  I know that many of you suffered damage from her wrath, and some of you are STILL suffering.  Please know that I'm praying for your well-being and safety.  Healing and recovery can take a long time, but you've got lots of loving, positive thoughts and prayers being sent out on your behalf.  STAY STRONG!

I'm not sure about you, but I'm an emotional eater.  Happy, sad, angry, elated... makes no never mind to me... I want to eat.  Probably has something to do with the stretchy pants invading my closet, but it is what it is.  I yam what I yam.  Right now, I yam being helpful.... Far be it from ME to keep my foodie goodness from YOU, right?  RIGHT!  Take a look-see at this yummilicious creation.

PEANUT BUTTER PRETZEL BARS... AKA, Take 5 candy bars in a pan!  WOO to the HOO!

 

 

Come on... what's not to love about chocolate, peanut butter, and crunchy pretzels?  The trio just sings my tune!

Earlier this week, I had a nasty awful case of the boo hoos.  Seriously, Lovely... I could NOT stop crying.  If you had seen me, you'd think I had just watched a marathon of "The Notebook" or 15 Hallmark commercials or something.  It was pathetic.  Anyway, the first thing I thought of to help wipe away the sadness was a jar of peanut butter.  Shoveling it into my mouth by the spoonful wasn't doing the trick, so then I wanted buckeyes.  You know what I'm talking about, don't you?  THESE yummies.  But then I decided that I wanted something crunchy and a bit salty, too.  Enter pretzels.  That's where this little diddy of an idea spawned from.  Grab your drool bib and a cutesy apron and let's head to the kitchen.  I'm going to show you how incredibly easy it is to make this yummilicious treat!

FIRST THINGS FIRST:  PLEASE washeth thy hands!!  For the love of bacon, please wash your hands well before you delve into this recipe.  It involves lots of hands on activity and I really don't think you'd enjoy germy peanut butter and pretzels covered in chocolate as much as the clean version.  OK, now that I've got that off of my chest, let's commence!

STEP ONE:  Prepare and bake your pretzel crust.  It's super simple to do.  Just toss your pretzels into a food processor with some melted butter and pulse until everything is ground into a powder (or close to it) and then press it into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan.  NOTE:  My pans are strange sizes.  I have an 8.5 x 11-inch and an 11 x 14-inch.  I chose to use the smaller sized pan, so my crust came out a little bit thicker than I would have liked.  It didn't taste bad, it was just extra thick.  No biggie.

After about 10 minutes in the oven, your crust will be nice and golden brown.  While it's cooling a bit, prepare your peanut butter mixture.

STEP TWO:  Prepare peanut butter layer and press into the pan on top of the pretzel crust - Creamy peanut butter... check.  MORE butter (softened, not melted)... check.  Powered (confectioner's) sugar...check.  Oh, and a touch of vanilla extract for good measure.  Mix, mix, mix, then spread into the pan on top of your crust.  Use your fingers  to press it evenly on top of the crust.  If you forgot to follow my numero uno step, or you couldn't keep your fingers out of the bowl (not that I would know ANYTHING about that...), then please feel free to use a spatula to press the mixture in.

STEP THREE:  Sprinkle some more crushed pretzels over the peanut butter layer.  Your creation should look something like this:

 

STEP FOUR:  Spread some chocolate love on top.  I used my trusty microwave to melt some semisweet chocolate chips and a little bit of vegetable shortening together.  45 seconds on high...stir...another 45 seconds and a final stir and it was perfectly melted.  If you prefer to melt your chocolate via the double boiler method, be my guest.  It's the end result that matters...and HERE, my Lovely, is the end result.

After a 30 minute chill in the fridge, the chocolate and peanut butter have hardened a bit and are the perfect consistency for slicing...and eating.  ENJOY!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars
 
Created By:

Recipe Category: Dessert
Cuisine: Bars
Serves: 24
Print

 
Creamy peanut butter and crunchy pretzels covered in smooth, sweet chocolate, all lovingly placed into a crushed pretzel crust. This is one yummilicious treat!
WHAT'S NEEDED
  • FOR THE CRUST
  • 8 ounces thin pretzel sticks
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 6 ounces (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
  • FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER & PRETZEL FILLING
  • 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I used JIF)
  • 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar
  • 4 ounces thin pretzel sticks, roughly broken/chopped
  • FOR THE CHOCOLATE TOPPING
  • 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening (I used Crisco)

HOW TO MAKE IT
  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Place pretzel sticks n the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely crushed. (If you don't have a food processor, place pretzels in a gallon sized plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin). Add melted butter and pulse to combine.
  3. Using fingers or spatula, press crumbs evenly into bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned.
  4. Remove from oven and place baking dish on a wire rack to cool slightly.
  5. In a large bowl, use a spoon to combine peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Mix until well incorporated. Use fingers or spatula to spread evenly on top of pretzel crust.
  6. Sprinkle 4 ounces of crushed pretzels evenly over peanut butter filling.
  7. Place chocolate chips and shortening into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 45 seconds. Stir and heat on high for another 45 seconds. Stir until chips are melted. Use spatula to spread chocolate evenly over pretzels.
  8. Chill bars in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

IMPORTANT STUFF
Yield: 24 bars

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Filed Under: 5 ingredient dishes, BAKING, recipes · Tagged: , , , ,

Chocolate Zucchini Flaxseed Muffins

September 4, 2012 · by · 5 Comments
Chocolate Zucchini Flaxseed Muffins

There are healthy things in these muffins I made... things like zucchini and bittersweet chocolate, and flaxseeds....AND they're low in sugar.

Say whaaaat?!?!

 

 

I know, I know.  It's REALLY weird, and I can't explain it.  I mean, come on... I'm a self-professed carboholic.  I crave sweets worse than those Toddlers & Tiaras girls crave their Go-Go juice before a pageant.

Know what else?  These healthy muffins actually taste REALLY good.  They're moist and fudgy (dare I say DECADENT?), and the flax seeds give them a great little bite.  In fact, these muffins rocked so much that I savored one with a cup of coffee after dinner and didn't even want a Dilly Bar.  For reals!

 

 

Of course, if someone had offered me a Dilly bar WITH these muffins, you bet your bacon I wouldn't have turned it away.  I may be a little loopy, but I'm not certifiably crazy or anything.

Hope that clears up any confusion.  Now please go bake some of these yummilicious muffins.  They're super easy, bake up lickety split, and they'll bring a smile to your face... and I love to make you smile!

 

Chocolate Zucchini Flaxseed Muffins
 
Created By:

Recipe Category: Snack, Breakfast, Dessert
Serves: 12
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
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These moist, fudgy, low-sugar zucchini muffins are loaded with great chocolate flavor. They're high in antioxidants and fiber, too!
WHAT'S NEEDED
  • 1 and 1/2 cups (5.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa, sifted
  • 1/4 cup golden flax seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 6 packets Nectresse or Truvia (equal to 1/4 cup granulated sugar)
  • 4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup (2 ounces) vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk (or 1/4 cup regular milk mixed with 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice)
  • 1 cup zucchini, washed and dried, ends and stems removed, grated
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

HOW TO MAKE IT
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, flax seeds, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon; set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugars, butter and oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time until combined. Stir in vanilla, buttermilk. Gently stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined, then fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips.
  4. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and muffin tops are springy to the touch, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. If desired, dust lightly with powdered sugar before serving.

IMPORTANT STUFF
Recipe adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/07/11/chocolate-zucchini-muffins/

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Serving size: 1 muffin Calories: 235 Fat: 13.8 grams Saturated fat: 5 grams Unsaturated fat: 7.2 grams Carbohydrates: 28 grams Sugar: 12 grams Fiber: 3.2 grams Protein: 4.4 grams Cholesterol: 41.5 grams

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Filed Under: BAKING, chocolate, Healthy Foods, muffins, recipes, snacks · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Chewy Raisin Breakfast Bars

July 31, 2012 · by · 10 Comments
Chewy Raisin Breakfast Bars from ItsYummi.com

Many of you know by now how what a carb lover I am.  You've also likely heard one of my gazillion rants about how overweight I've become in the past 6 months.  Because of my severe anemia, I'm unable to do any real strenuous exercise, so those adorable *gag* carbs have stored up sugar and fat in my body and it's now bursting at the seams.

For about 2 seconds, I considered going on a paleo diet, where the land of no carbohydrates lives in abundance.  I just couldn't (or wouldn't) gain the willpower to give them up completely.  However, I am trying to keep my daily intake of them at or below 40 grams a day.  At least my body will have a fighting chance to drop some excess weight.  I also cut all soda pop out of my diet.  I was drinking 3-4 caffeine-free, sugar-free sodas a day.  Basically empty carcinogens into my bloodstream.  So, I've joined the August challenge over at Skinny Ms., which is to go an entire month without ANY soft drinks.  I'm hopeful for positive results!

One of the contributors over at Skinny Ms. also gave me a recipe for a healthy breakfast bar.  I was excited to try it, until I saw that it contains dates.  Meh...I'm just not a fan.  So I put on my recipe development hat and went to work adapting her recipe to something that sounded awesome to me and was pretty much equal in nutritional value.  Here's what I came up with.  I hope you try and enjoy them!

 

Print
Chewy Raisin Breakfast Bars

6 bars

Serving Size: 1 bar

Chewy Raisin Breakfast Bars

recipe adapted from Chocolate Peanut Butter Almond Bars at SkinnyMs.com

WHAT YOU\'LL NEED

  • 1.5 cups dark raisins
  • 1/3 cup natural crunchy peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural)
  • 3/4 cup old fashioned (not instant) rolled oats, toasted
  • 2 Tablespoons golden flax seeds, toasted
  • 1/4 cup Spanish peanuts, with skins
  • 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)

HOW TO MAKE IT

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and evenly distribute oats and flax seeds. Toast until lightly golden, about 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool at room temperature.

Add raisins to a food processor and pulse until raisins form into one big piece. It’s very important to make sure the raisins are more than just diced, but are as stated, “one big piece”. Add peanut butter and pulse until combined. Add oats, flax seeds, and peanuts and continue to pulse until all ingredients are well combined. Scrape sides and pulse one additional time.

Dough will be a little sticky, so if necessary, add one drop of water to make it easier to handle. Use the same lined cookie sheet as above. Shape dough into a square 9 inches x 9 inches x approximately 1 inch tall.

In a small saucepan, add chocolate chips, melt over low heat, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and spread across the top of the bars.

Place cookie sheet into a freezer or refrigerator and allow chocolate to cool and set. Use a bench scraper or a sharp knife and cut the bars into 6 equally sized pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 7 days.

Notes

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION Serving Size 1 bar (82.7 g)

Amount Per Serving Calories 350 Calories from Fat 157 Total Fat 17.4g Saturated Fat 4.5g Trans Fat 0.0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 39mg Total Carbohydrates 46.2g Dietary Fiber 5.7g Sugars 26.8g Protein 9.4g Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 1% Calcium 4% • Iron 15% * Based on a 2000 calorie diet

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Filed Under: 5 ingredient dishes, chocolate, Healthy Foods, recipes · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Peanut Butter & Banana Stuffed Devils Food Cupcakes

July 3, 2012 · by · Leave a Comment
Peanut Butter Banana Stuffed Devils Food Cupcake by ItsYummi.com

Confession: I'm sort of disappointed in myself right now.  This is the reason why...

 

They are freakishly good Devils food cupcakes that I stuffed to the gills with peanut butter & bananas, then topped with a chocolate peanut butter icing.

To clarify, I'm not disappointed in myself for MAKING them.  Oh NO sir-ee bob.  They are out-of-this-world yummilicious!  I'm disappointed because I had a complete lack of self-control and restraint when it came to consumption of them.  I'm not even remotely kidding, you guys.  Even the BATTER was sinfully good.  I lost count after eating the 3rd cupcake in a row.  Maybe I lost count because I passed out from insulin shock or something.  I'm not quite sure...

All I know with 100% assurance is that I was a complete oinker over these cupcakes.  Just set up a trough and start practicing your best sooooo-eeeeeee.  I'll be over your way in a flash.  But be sure to make a batch or four of these before you call me.  Otherwise, you may have a wild boar on your hands.  *oink*

 

Peanut Butter & Banana Filled Devil’s Food Cupcakes

Slightly adapted from recipe by Bobby Flay / Food Network Kitchens

 For the cupcakes:

3/4 cup (3.3 oz.) cake flour

1/2 cup (2.2 oz.) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch- process cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (5 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (11 oz.) granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup (4 oz.) buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup (4 oz.) strong coffee

For the filling:

1 very ripe banana, mashed

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Jif®)

1 cup confectioners' sugar

For the frosting:

1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup chocolate-flavored peanut butter (I used Jif®)

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 to 2 teaspoons whole milk (if needed)

3 tablespoons roasted and lightly salted chopped peanuts (optional)

18 dried banana chips (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 18 cupcake liners into muffin tins.

In a medium sized bowl, sift the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl), beat the butter and sugar together at high speed for 15 seconds until combined and creamy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Continue beating until light and fluffy, about 6 more minutes.

With the mixer at its lowest speed, beat in one-third of the flour mixture. Beat in the buttermilk and vanilla, then another one-third of the flour mixture. Beat in the coffee and then the remaining flour mixture.

Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full and bake for 18-23 minutes, or until the centers spring back when lightly pressed. Set the pans on a rack to cool.

While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the filling by combining the

For the frosting

With an electric or stand mixer, beat together the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until the frosting is light and fluffy. (If needed, add milk 1/2 teaspoon at a time to make the frosting smooth.)

Frost the cupcakes. Optional: Sprinkle the tops with an even amount of the chopped peanuts and garnish the tops of each cupcake with a dried banana chip.

Makes 18 cupcakes

Filed Under: BAKING, cupcakes, recipes · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Sweet Brownie M&M Cookies

May 30, 2012 · by · Leave a Comment
Sweet Brownie M&M Cookies

Have you ever pondered the healing powers of chocolate?

OK, so maybe the rumors are true and I really am nutty as a fruit cake, but I get a bit obsessive when it comes to chocolate talk.... or chocolate consumption.... or chocolate photography...or.... you get the idea.

When I was in culinary school, one of my baking class projects was to take an amazing cookie recipe and make it healthier.  I wasn't thrilled about the concept of losing delicious flavor by removing half of the fat and sugar, but in the end, it didn't turn out half bad.  I started with a base recipe for sweet brownie cookies, which is where today's cookie also got its roots.

These cookies are obscenely chocolate-y.  They also have a texture that is a wonderful hybrid of chewy brownie meets crispy cookie.  It's just AHHH-MAZ-ING!  Add in a few M&M's for good measure and I can guarantee that it will please even the most extreme chocolate obsessed people in your life.

Speaking from personal experience, the dough tastes almost as yummilicious as the final cookie, so make a double batch of dough and throw a few chunks of it into your favorite vanilla bean ice cream, then have a loved one take pictures while your eyes roll into the back of your head.  You've been warned.

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Sweet Brownie M&M Cookies

3 dozen cookies

Serving Size: 1 cookie

204 per cookie

12 grams

Sweet Brownie M&M Cookies

Recipe adapted from Chef Jenn Malovitz-Solloway at Fox Valley Technical College

WHAT YOU\'LL NEED

  • 8 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
  • 8 ounces unsalted butter
  • 5 whole eggs
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces (1 cup) all-purpose flour
  • 4 ounces pecans, chopped (optional)
  • 10 ounces M&M chocolate candies (optional)

HOW TO MAKE IT

Heat oven to 325 degrees F (300 convection)

Whip the eggs and sugar with a paddle mixer attachment for 10 minutes

While the eggs/sugar are mixing, melt chocolate and butter together over a double boiler.

Add the melted chocolate and vanilla extract to the eggs.

By hand, stir in the flour, nuts, and M&M's. DON'T OVERMIX!

Using a #24 scoop (3 Tablespoons), drop the cookies onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating pan after 10 minutes.

Notes

These cookies are SINFULLY rich and decadent... as evidenced by the calorie and fat content! Feel free to share with a friend...or not!

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Chunky Monkey Bars

May 27, 2012 · by · 7 Comments
Chunky Monkey Bars

Earlier this morning, I posted my weekly Sundays with Joy recipe for Vegan Chocolate Banana Cupcakes.  If you haven't taken a peek yet, please do so.

I'm sorry. I caved under peer pressure and published TWO blog posts on the same day.

No....I take that back. I'm NOT sorry. This is a recipe that I created off the top of my head yesterday, and a group of my fans over on the It's Yummilicious Facebook page asked me to get the recipe posted today. So here it is. I'm really rather proud of it, and I think that if you make it, you'll agree that it's worth buying a pair of stretchy pants for.

I was in the mood to make something peanut buttery, but beyond the basic peanut butter cookie.  I thought about making some buckeye cookies, but I was too hot and lazy to be bothered with rolling a bunch of cutsie peanut butter dough balls and then dunking them into melted chocolate.  Then I realized that I had a couple of bananas that were aching to be eaten, and I'm a big fan of combining those two flavors  PB&B sammies were one of favorites as a kid.  But the fact remained that I still wanted to incorporate chocolate into my dessert too.  After all, if I was going to gorge myself and gain weight, chocolate needed to be involved. It's one of the Yummilicious food commandments.

Thou shalt consume chocolate and bacon as often as humanly possible.

For those of you who aren't yet versed in the Yummilicious commandments, the next one is quite similar:

Thou shalt encourage chocolate consumption among thy brothers and sisters. 

So now that you understand why I HAD to share this recipe today, please do me the honor of making a pan full for someone you love this week.  Even (and especially!) if that person you love is you.  :)

Chunky Monkey Bars
 
Created By:

Recipe Category: Dessert
Cuisine: Bars / Cookies
Serves: 24
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WHAT'S NEEDED
  • 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
  • 11.5 ounces (1 box) Whole Grain Peanut Butter Cheerios
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large bananas, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
  • 2 cups (12-ounce package) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Nestle semi-sweet)
  • 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup cashew pieces, finely chopped (I pulsed mine in a food processor)

HOW TO MAKE IT
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. (325 if using a convection oven)
  2. Place the cereal into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it turns to crumbs. Pour melted butter over the crumbs and pulse to combine.
  3. Reserve approximately 1/2 cup of crumbs and press the remaining crumbs into the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake the crust for 8 minutes and remove from oven. Let cool slightly (about 5 minutes).
  4. Meanwhile, melt all but 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips and the sweetened condensed milk together in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
  5. Arrange the sliced bananas across the bottom of the crust. Pour the chocolate mixture over the top of the bananas and spread to cover as much surface area as possible. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup of crumbs, 1/2 cup of chips, and the chopped nuts together and sprinkle over the chocolate filling.
  6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the center is set. Cool in pan before slicing and serving.

IMPORTANT STUFF
Yield: 24 bars

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Vegan Chocolate Banana Cupcakes

May 27, 2012 · by · 6 Comments
vegan chocolate banana cupcakes2

Even for the carnivores in the bunch, vegan cooking and baking has taken on a stronger presence in the food blogging community recently. I suspect it's because the FDA has been doing a less than stellar job of keeping foods safe for human consumption. They don't seem to give a hoot about the excessive hormones being pumped into Tom the turkey or Christa the chicken, nor do they have concerns about the "pink slime" burgers moving their way onto store shelves and into fast food restaurants, and they definitely don't give a care as to the fact that some of the larger food manufacturing companies out there (read KASHI), continue to include GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) into so-called healthy foods.
Truth be told, if it weren't for my ever-present adoration with bacon and eggs, I might seriously consider jumping onto the vegan train for the long haul. There are some incredibly healthy protein options available for vegans, and it seems that every day, another vegan option appears onto store shelves.
Before I tell you more about this week's recipe, I want to encourage you to purchase a copy of the book that I'm cooking my way through so that you can make some of these yummilicious recipes for yourself.  It's a fabulous cookbook written by the extremely talented and sweet as pie Joy Wilson, also known as Joy the Baker. I searched for the best price on the Internet for the book and found it HERE

Joy's vegan chocolate cupcake recipe actually calls for the use of avocados, but since I just baked with those last week, when I made her avocado fries, I thought I would substitute the avocado for an equally awesome fruit that pairs well with chocolate and can be used as a fat replacement.  Enter BANANAS!
I'm not too experienced baking vegan treats, but Joy did a great job in her book of explaining what to expect in the way of texture, taste, and overall appearance.  That really helped after I mixed up the batter and saw how loose it was.  Turns out, the lack of eggs and real butter in the recipe prevents the batter from getting exceptionally thick and/or fluffy.  Let me tell you, the batter might be thin and lifeless, but the cupcakes were DEFINITELY fluffy and fabulous!  The end result was a moist cupcake with a consistency very similar to sponge cake.  Lots of chocolate flavor with just a slight hint of banana.  The vegan buttercream frosting fluffed up nicely too, lending itself to perfect piping consistency.

For decorating, I placed the frosting into a pastry bag that I fitted with a large coupler and a Wilton 1M pastry tip.
To make the rose effect with the frosting, I started in the middle of the cupcake and piped my way around and out to the edge of the cupcake.  For a better visual on the procedure, check out this great how-to video that Amandamade.  It really helped see just how easy the technique is!

Now that I know how to make them, this is your advance warning that you're going to see a LOT of roses on my future projects.  I can hardly wait to experiment with different colors and create myself a world full of buttercream roses!
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this recipe if you make it, or any of my others for that matter.
Here's wishing you and yours a safe, fun-filled Memorial Day.  For those of you who are members of our armed forces, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service to this country!  God bless and protect you all!

Becca

Filed Under: BAKING, chocolate, cupcakes, Food Facts, recipes · Tagged: , , , , ,

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

May 3, 2012 · by · Leave a Comment
Chocolate raspberry tart

Did you know that today is National Raspberry Tart day?  It's Earth shattering news, isn't it?!

If you DIDN'T know earlier, you definitely know now, and since I'm such a food nerd, I am quite certain that I should be your go-to source for all things food...including national food holidays!

I'm a raspberry lover.  No, I don't mean that I'm head over heels for a guy who is red faced and covered with bumps....I mean that I adore those plump, juicy berries that go so well with baked goods like muffins and scones and are a perfect compliment with chocolate and whipped cream.  Hence, the reason for baking this tart.

I used a luscious, decadent bittersweet chocolate and paired it with fresh off of the vine raspberries.  Then I topped it off with some home made whipped cream.  The result...a slice of Heaven right here on planet Earth!  Bake one of these bad boys up, grab a fork, and dig in, my friend.  It's a melt-in-your-mouth sensation that your taste buds will want a repeat performance of!

 

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Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Rating: 51

8 servings

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

WHAT YOU\'LL NEED

    For the crust
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons cold water
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 6 tablespoons raspberry jam
    • For the filling
  • Filling
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 4 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2 1/2-pint baskets fresh raspberries

HOW TO MAKE IT

For the crust:

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa and salt in medium bowl. Add butter and rub in, using fingertips, until mixture forms looks pebbly. add water and egg yolk and mix in with fork until well incorporated.

Gather dough and shape into a flattened circle, then wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 20 minutes.

(Alternatively, ingredients can be pulsed in the bowl of a food processor, which helps prevent the butter from melting from the heat of your hands)

Heat oven to 375°F. (350°F for convection ovens)

Butter and flour a 9-inch tart pan with 1-inch-high sides and a removable bottom. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper to a 10-inch circle.

Peel off 1 waxed paper sheet. Invert dough into prepared pan, press evenly to fit, including up the sides of the pan. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Peel off second waxed paper sheet and trim edges.

Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until crust is set, about 12 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until crust just begins to darken around edges, piercing with toothpick if crust bubbles, about 12 minutes longer. Remove from oven and maintain oven temperature.

Spread jam over bottom of crust. Bake until jam is set, about 3 minutes. Transfer pan to rack; cool completely.

For the filling:

Bring cream to a boil in a small, heavy saucepan. Remove from heat.

Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer chocolate ganache to bowl and refrigerate until chilled but not firm, about 30-45 minutes.

Using electric mixer, beat ganache until very thick and semifirm. Spread ganache over jam in crust.

Arrange raspberries atop ganache.

Notes

Adapted from [Epicurious.com] http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY-TART-456

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Citrus Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

April 15, 2012 · by · 4 Comments
Chocolate & Citrus Dipped Strawberries

If you've been hanging around my Facebook page for the past few days, you likely heard that I've had a bit of a struggle with my health this past week.  Without divulging the yawn-worthy details, I'll just say that there's a slight chance that I'm going to have to go AWOL for a few days this week.  I'm not feeling well physically, which has now taken its toll on me emotionally.  UGH...those two illnesses do NOT go well together, so I'm going to do what needs to be done to get myself well again.  Simple as that.  Well, except for the fact that I'll be away from you for a while and I love you more than Nutella straight from the jar, so it's gonna be tough for me.  Real tough.  That's why I made us both some comfort food, dessert style.  In full disclosure, I must say that this treat was inspired by the wonderful, beautiful Yani from Help! Mom's On A Health Kick.  I asked her for some healthy dessert inspiration and she guided me in this direction.  I think she's brilliant!

You DO like chocolate, don't you?  Heck, I like you so much, I even made us healthy dessert.  Look, there's fruit in the middle!  Fresh strawberries....yum.  Then, because I'm a kick-it-up-a-notch kinda girl, and I have crazy mad love for True Citrus products, I sprinkled the strawberries with some wonder powder of the citrus world:

In case you're wondering, that there was a shameless, uncompensated plug for the True Lemon products...  I really do love them that much!  OK, on to the simple dimple assembly instructions.  You ready?  Let's do this!

  • Line a mini muffin tin with 12 paper liners and spray them lightly with non-stick spray
  • Rinse and pat dry 12 small to medium-sized strawberries.  Trim the tops off and place one strawberry into each liner, cut side down.
  • Sprinkle each berry with a little True Lemon.  If you're following directions well, you should now have something that looks like this:

  • In a small bowl over a double boiler, melt about 10 ounces of 60% cacao (bittersweet) chocolate.  You can use semi-sweet or milk chocolate if you'd like, but the sweetness from the strawberries is complimented really well with a bittersweet chocolate.
  • Pour the melted chocolate over each strawberry, filling the liners almost to the top.  Place the pan in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes, until the chocolate has set.
  • By this time, you'll be going crazy to bite into one of these beauties, which you are certainly entitled to do.  Quality control is encouraged.  If you want to kick them up a Yummilicious notch, melt 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips or candy coating and drizzle a little bit over each berry.
  • Back into the fridge with those babies for another couple of minutes so the chocolate can set and then you're ready to indulge to your chocolate loving heart's content!

I really am going to miss being with you this week, but I promise you that when I return, I'll be a better version of my current self.  We'll pick right back up where we left off and be BFF's forever and ever.  Amen.

May your days and nights be filled with lots of good food for your stomach AND your spirit!

This post was shared on the MELT IN YOUR MOUTH MONDAY blog hop!

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