May, 2015 | Just About Baked

Sea Salt Peanut Butter Cookie Chips Ice Cream

May 31, 2015
Mir
C is for COOKIE!, We Scream for Ice Cream!
32 Comments

If you’ve been following Just About Baked for any length of time, you know that I love the food. All the food. And the food products. My life is one happy trip to the grocery store to find new things.

A couple of years back, I was in the bakery section of my local Safeway (not an unusual place to find me) when I spotted Hannah Max Cookie Chips on the shelf. They had several flavors, and I picked up the chocolate chip, not knowing what to expect.

What I got was a crispy cookie that tasted absolutely homemade. And they were so good that Kenny (these were the days prior to his gluten-free lifestyle) ate the entire bag. And when I bought more, I was wise enough to hide them.

Brownie Mix Cheesecake

May 29, 2015
Mir
Bars n' Brownies, Cupcakes and Cheesecakes, Gluten-Free Goodness
32 Comments

This one is for all of you who love mixes. Don’t worry: you’re not alone!

From time to time when I bake for people, they ask if I used a mix. I’m never sure how to take that question, other than to find it rude. The thing is, I bake mostly without mixes, or as a layperson would put it, “from scratch.” But when I use mixes, I usually doctor them or put them into a form for which they weren’t intended.

German Chocolate Cake

My dad just had a birthday, so I made his favorite: German chocolate cake. And like the dutiful daughter I am, I didn’t work crazy hard on it because my dad told me not to. My parents are always telling me to take it easier.

While I was baking this cake, I realized that I don’t talk about my dad much on this blog, which is odd. My parents are a huge part of my life. We live close to one another, so I see them almost daily. And my dad explains a lot about who I am.

Almost Summer Pie

Hiya! I’m actually going to be digital-free until Monday night, so I’ll be back to see you all later. But I had to share this recipe anyway. Yay for setting posts to automatically publish!

This looks like a cheesecake. But it’s not. It’s something very, very special.

Hey, it’s almost summer! This time of year, baking blogs undergo a shift as fruit actually becomes available. Like, good fruit. Not the stuff that looks really pretty and tastes like nothing.

Mega Peanut Butter Cup Cookie

Big cookies are better than regular-sized cookies. But mega cookies are the BEST.

I can’t think of anything more tempting than a giant cookie. They always look so good in bakeries, like the antidote to a gloomy day or a sleepless night. Or both.

Back in high school, I had a bit of a dirty secret. You see, my parents never packed me lunch. I guess they trusted me to do it myself, just like they trusted me to change the sheets on my bed or do homework instead of watching reruns of Family Matters. Sorry, but I still think Urkel is kind of hilarious.

Lemon Pie Crumb Bars

If you’ve ever heard the expression “easy as pie,” you know that it was coined by someone who eats pie, not someone who makes it. Pie is not crazy difficult to make, but if I had to make up an expression about something being easy, I would not pick pie. Maybe “easy as microwave popcorn?” Nah. That’s hard. I burn it a lot.

Besides, if you’re going for ease, you should probably pick a finger food. Pie is easy to eat if you have plates and forks, but I cannot tell you how often someone brings a pie into the office and there are no implements with which to consume said pie. When given the choice, I turn my pie into bars. And when given further choice, I make lemon pie bars. With endless crumbs on top!

Cherry Blossom Cookies

Have you ever visited D.C. in the springtime?

If you have, you know all about the cherry blossoms. The trees are beyond gorgeous, with little delicate pink blossoms sprinkled all over the tidal basin. It’s so lovely. It’s also mega-crowded. The tourists come from everywhere to see the blossoms, and it’s almost impossible to walk. People just shuffle along, elbow to elbow, taking awkward selfies.

Still, cherry blossoms in D.C. mean spring, warm breezes, and fun cookie flavors. How could I not try to put all that cherry blossom aura into a cookie? So I did.

Stuffed Peanut Butter Rolls

If you are not a fan of stuffing awesome food into more awesome food, this post is definitely not for you.

For the rest of you (a.k.a. America), welcome! Today your peanut butter will be served in the middle of a light fluffy roll. With a Hershey bar piece on top. Why? I don’t know. It just seemed like a good idea at the time!

You know what also seems like a good idea? Digital downtime. You know, spending time away from the phones and iPads (I love you, iPad, don’t listen to me right now) and social media. But maybe that’s just because I’m afraid of social media.

Cherry Almond Scones

I’ve never posted scones before! So I have to use lots of exclamation points!

Okay, I’m kidding. About the exclamation points, not the scones. I’ll try and control myself, but it can be hard sometimes.

When you’re a parent, weekends are often more tiring and hectic than the weekdays. Most people head home Friday afternoon with happy plans to sleep and kick back. Or at least, that’s the perception I get. But our weekends are quite different.

Reese’s Brownies

Last week, Kenny and I had a mini-getaway to Hershey, PA. A lot of people were confused about our choice of location since we went without our kids, but if you know me, it’s not confusing at all.

For one thing, it’s close to home so if there’s a kid emergency, we can get back fast. The resort is super fabulous. I mean, there’s a chocolate spa. And best of all, there is chocolate everywhere.