Blueberry Peach Crisp

I am loving all this summery fresh fruit stuff going on these days. 
When I did the grocery shopping this week there were these beautiful peaches I had to buy. I felt like I needed to make peach crisp... 
Today, my husband had to work, which is a major whomp on a saturday...so me and the baby girl were just lounging around this morning, when I decided it was the perfect time for some peach crisp- for breakfast!
But wait. It gets better. 


I threw in a bunch of juicy, fresh blueberries. 


Does any one not like crisp? Any kind...apple, pear, plum, strawberry rhubarb...SO GOOD.


I served myself up some with a big dollup of whipped cream and It was the best choice I ever made. Today, at least.

Blueberry Peach Crisp
-heat oven to 375


Filling:
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed
6 peaches ( I didn't bother peeling mine, and it made no difference to me)
2 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Topping:
3/4 cup oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup pecans


In a large bowl, mix the filling ingredients together very well.
Pour into a large pie plate.
For the topping, combine all ingredients in a large bowl (I just re-used the same bowl for the topping) and cut in the butter with a fork.
Sprinkle over the filling.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Best when served warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!

Enjoy!

Rolo Stuffed White Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I hosted my first ever Lia Sophia party last night at my house! It was really fun. Not that many people were able to come, but that's okay cause my house is really small...So it all worked out, and I had fun.

I made a few little things for us to munch on, one of those things being these cookies. They are totally my new favorites! Peanut butter + white chocolate + chocolate/caramel = true love.

And don't bother mentioning how creative I am with naming things. It comes naturally.

Please please please make these.

White Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Rolo Stuffed Cookies
Pre-heat oven to 350.

-Your favorite recipe for PB cookies
-1 Cup white chocolate chips
-1 pacakge-ish of unwrapped Rolos

Make cookie dough, and at the end, mix in white chips.
Take a small amount of dough, and flatten it into a disc.
Place rolo in the disc and form dough around rolo.
Use as little dough as possible so the cookie to rolo ratio is right!

Bake for 8-9 minutes.
I enjoyed mine fresh out of the oven- YIKES!
Also they are still amazing cold, but I don't think you can really experience the joy of this wonderfulness in it's entirety without it being a little warm.

White Chocolate Chip Buckeye Brownies

My husband dear ate one of these and said: 'wow, I just want to eat the whole plate!'.
So, that means they're good and you should make them for your husband. And yourself.
They're nothing crazy or fancy pants, just plain old good.

White Chocolate Chip Buckeye Brownies
Preheat oven to 350.


- 1 package of brownie mix
-2 eggs
-1/3 cup melted butter
-1 cup white chocolate chips
-1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
-3/4 cup peanut butter


Combine brownie mix, eggs and melted butter. Mix very well.
Spread 3/4 of the brownie mixture on the bottom of a greased 9 x 13" pan with the back of a greased spoon.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine sweetened condensed milk with peanut butter and mix until smooth.


Pour over brownie layer.

With greased hands, roll balls of brownie batter and flatten into discs, laying over peanut butter layer.

Bake for 28-33 minutes.

Let cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

It's a mouthful of a name. But It's also the best pumpkin coffee cake I ever had....and yes, I am back with the pumpkin- it's been too long!

This recipe is the perfect marriage of coffee cake and pumpkin pie. It is truly amazing...

Pumpkin Pie Coffee Cake

Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13" pan.

-Cake Layer:
1/2 Cup butter
1/2 sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

-1 Bag Chocolate Chips

-Pumpkin Pie Filling:
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree (1 1/2 Cups)
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger


Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup cold butter
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger


Making the cake batter:
In an electric mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
Add in eggs and vanilla, mix until well combined.
Add in dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.
Spread into prepared pan.
Pour whole bag of chocolate chips over batter layer.

Making Pumpkin Pie Layer:
Rinse out the bowl you used to make batter, and mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, milk, brown sugar and spices.
Mix very well until smooth and completely combined.
Pour over chocolate chip layer.
Rinse out the bowl again/give a quick wash.

Making the Crumb topping:
With whisk attachment on your mixer, mix butter, flour, sugar, baking powder and spies together on medium-high until crumbly.
Sprinkle evenly over pumpkin pie layer.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool before slicing.

Eat for breakfast, dessert, or a snack, plain or with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream!

ENJOY!

White Chocolate Chip Chewy Gingersnaps

Yesterday, I had a crazy craving for gingersnaps...I think it's from seeing everybody posting things on Pinterest ALREADY for fall. Didn't summer, like, just begin???

I only whipped up a half batch of these babies at first, cause I didn't want 3 dozen cookies lying around my kitchen. But after I made that half batch and tasted a cookie, I couldn't even believe how amazing they were, so I made another half batch. Have you ever had white chips in your gingersnaps?! OUT. OF. THIS. WORLD.

 So do yourself a favor, save yourself extra dishes and time and just make a full batch the first time....

White Chocolate Chip Chewy Gingersnaps
Yield: 32 cookies
Pre-heat oven to 350

3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
2 cups flour
1/2 Tbsp. ginger
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 bag white chocolate chips

1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cinnamon


In an electric mixer, whip butter and sugar together.
Beat in the egg and molasses til well blended.
All at once, add in flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Mix on low just until combined, then briefly add in white chips.
Roll into 1-inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.
Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 9 minutes.
Cool on pan for 2 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Reeses Puff Krispies

Yesterday afternoon I went to the farmers market and bought things for the first time ever!

Have you ever been to a farmers market?

Man.....I easily dropped $60 in things I never even knew I needed... Like Carrot Cake Jelly!

???!!!

There are no words. We ate half the jar last night. Also, we got some local honey, maple syrup, and tons of fresh produce...It was one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life. This one lady was selling fresh cherry tomatoes that she had picked THAT MORNING and let me just say, I will never buy cherry tomatoes from the grocery store again...

Safe to say I'm a farmers market person now.

Also, my mom has a stand at this particular market selling yummy goodies and organic/vegan soaps and such, and ever since she started participating, I feel really strongly about helping out our community and supporting local entrepreneurs.

Plus, everything is SO GOOD!

Last night I made pancakes for dinner so we could test out our syrup, honey and jelly...We ate all the pancakes, and were also soaking some bread I had in the goodness....

I feel like it's so easy to be inspired to eat healthy and fresh and local when you're outside at the market. And then you get home, and real life sets in. As in you start to want something unhealthy and peanut-buttery.


I present to you, the Reeses Puff Krispie, and they are super!!!

Reeses Puff Krispies
1/4 cup butter
1, 10 oz. bag mini marshmallows
4 cups reeses puffs cereal
1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
1 bag chocolate chips, divided

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and marshmallows over medium-low until smooth.
Stir in Peanut butter.
Add in cereal and mix until well combined and evenly coated.
Sprinkle in 1/2 cup chocolate chips and mix.

Press into whatever sized pan lined with lightly greased wax paper. (Depending on desired thickness)
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

In a bowl, melt the remaining chocolate chips VERY carefully at 20 second intervals. If you are afraid it might size, add a couple tablespoons of butter or shortening.

When chocolate  is completely smooth, pour over krispies, and spread evenly.

Pop back in the fridge for at least another 30 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!!!!!

The Best, Most Chewy French Bread Ever!

I'm always on a hunt for 'the best' of everything when I'm baking...especially breads. Every time I am making bread, I always use a different recipe cause I just haven't found the one.


Until now.

Last night I made it.

You know how bakery bread is just.......so perfect? So is this. You will never buy bakery bread again. This bread is pretty easy to throw together and your kitchen will smell pretty close to what I think heaven might smell like.

French Bread
Makes 2 Loaves

1/2 Cup very warm water
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 Tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. oil
2 Cups water
6 Cups AP flour
2 Tbsp. yeast

Dissolve sugar and salt in warm water, add oil, and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add 2 cups water, 3 cups of the flour, and the yeast.
With a dough hook, mix on low-medium until flour is incorporated, then add the rest of the flour 1 cup at a time until it is all mixed in.
Turn up to medium and mix for 5 minutes.
Leave dough in bowl.
Over the next hour around every 10 minutes, turn mixer back onto low-medium and mix dough for 10 seconds. You want to mix it 4-5 times.
Dump dough onto a floured surface, and cut in half. Roll each half into a rectangle-ish shape.
Roll up halves jellyroll style.
Neatly tuck ends under and place on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
Cut 3 diagonal slits on each loaf.
Brush loaves with the egg white of one egg mixed with a tablespoon of water. Make sure loaves are completely coated.
Loosely  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 425.
Bake loaves for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350, and bake for 18-20 minutes more.

Enjoy!

Half Baked Trifle

For the 4th of July we went to a cookout, and I made this trifle.

Me and my husband LOVED it, and it was all gone in a matter of minutes, but I think it may have been to sweet for the average person. I don't understand such things, but I decided to re-make the trifle yesterday when my daughter decided to take an almost 3 hour nap and I had tons of time to spare! 

So with a few changes, I bring you the Half Baked Trifle! Is there any flavor better by Ben and Jerry's?! In my opinion, no.

Except for their Chocolate Therapy. And the Chubby Hubby. Also Late Night Snack, Peanut Brittle, Phish Food, and Imagine Whirled Peace. 

But for now, I'm working with the flavors of half baked. By far, my new favorite trifle to make!

Half Baked Trifle

1 9x13" pan of your favorite brownies, under baked by 5 minutes

1 Recipe for hot fudge sauce

1 Recipe of for your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough, without the eggs, and rolled into 1" balls

2 Boxes of Vanilla Pudding, OR your favorite vanilla pudding recipe to serve 8

1, 16 oz. and 1, 8 oz. container of cool whip

Method:

-Layer half of the brownies on the bottom

-Half the pudding on that

-Then half hot fudge sauce

-Half cookie dough balls (cut each ball in half)

-Half the whipped cream over cookie dough balls

Repeat till all ingredients are used up!

Turtle Cookies

My computer has been broken for the past week, so I haven't been able to post anything I've been working on and it has been killing me!


I made these cookies last saturday to bring to church for the fellowship time afterwards on Sunday...As I was finishing up making them, my husband had one, and said to me "Do we have to bring them all?? These are amazing!".


Indeed, they are. 


They're really pretty simple too...I suggest you make them.

Turtle Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans


For the Caramel Drizzle:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 heavy whipping cream
1/2 confectioners sugar


For the Chocolate Drizzle:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. shortening or butter


In a large bowl beat butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg and vanilla.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt gradually and add to creamed mixture.


Roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll into pecans. You might have to press them into the cookie dough a little.
Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking pan, and flatten slightly. Don't skimp on the pecans!


Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.
Cool for 2 minutes before removing the a wire rack to cool completely before drizzling.


In a small saucepan, bring brown sugar and cream to a boil.
Remove from heat, and whisk in confectioners sugar.
Immediately drizzle over the cookies.
In the microwave melt chocolate and butter in 20 second intervals, mixing very well each time til smooth. I found 2 intervals was enough!


Drizzle chocolate over caramel drizzle on cookies. Let stand until set and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!