All I can say is...WOW!

Hi everyone! It has been a while since I've been around. We became a family of five on December 27th when we welcomed Knox Canaan into this world. We are absolutely in love! So, needless to say, I haven't been cooking as much as I would like to be. I'm excited about getting back to cooking and trying new recipes. I think the best way to start back is with this YUMMY dessert! Trust me...make this ASAP!

Smores Bars

2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsps. vanilla
2 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 14 full graham crackers)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6-8 Hershey chocolate bars
3 cups marshmallow fluff (that’s roughly one 16-oz. tub of marshmallow fluff)

Makes a 9x13-inch pan of bars

Lightly grease the baking pan and line it with parchment paper, so the paper hangs over the sides a little. (The parchment will make it really easy to air lift the bars out of the pan if you want to.) Set it aside.

In a mixer, combine butter and sugar and mix until fluffy. Add in the vanilla and the eggs. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Slowly, add the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Mix until it is combined.

Gather the dough into a ball. Divide it in half with a knife. Take one half, put it in your prepared pan, and smoosh it down so that it covers the entire bottom of the pan completely in an even layer. Then, unwrap all your chocolate bars. Cover the dough with a single layer of chocolate, cutting the bars as needed to fit your pan and so as much of the dough is covered. Next, cover the chocolate in an even layer of marshmallow fluff.

Take the other half of the dough and (using a rolling pin) roll it out flat (flour the board lightly, if you want, to make it easier to get the dough off). Make it roughly the same size and shape as your pan, so you know it’ll be big enough to cover the whole top. Then, slice it into strips. Take each strip, one at a time, and place it on top of the fluff covering it completely. It will be a little messy but that is ok!

Place the pan into your preheated oven. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

YUM YUM!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Cupcakes are definitely on my list of favorite things! I just love them. If I had the time, I think I would make them everyday. Here are some pics of the last ones that I made for a friend to take to her friend's shower.

Yummy Treats

Last night, at my church, we had a Ladies Night Out. It was absolutely wonderful. First of all, walking out the door without kids was so sweet. Then, I got to spend the evening worshiping and learning about my Savior while getting to fellowship and laugh with a bunch of sweet ladies. It was absolutely delightful! We had cookies and coffee to make the night even sweeter. I made Paula Deen's Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies. Oh my word. They are so amazing! It isn't very often that I make cookies using a box mix, but trust me, these are worth it. Then, I made one of my all time favorite cookies...snickerdoodles. And, these snickerdoodles, are just the perfect texture. You really should try these. You will not be sorry!

Snickerdoodles:
2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk (really good...a couple of minutes) the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together the shortening and butter. Add sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.

Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon in bowl. Roll the dough, by hand, into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar. Place them on an unlined cookie sheet or a baking stone, spacing them evenly. Bake until light brown, but still moist in the center, about 12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.


Paula Deen's Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies:

1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix (I used betty crocker's double chocolate fudge.)
Confectioners' sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls (I didn't do this because I didn't have the time and it was fine...just messy). Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely.