Peanut Butter Lover’s Cookie Cake

Peanut Butter Lover’s Cookie Cake

Time to whoop it up, my friends. My birthday approaches!

When it comes to my birthday, I still feel like a little kid. I want presents, parties, and many celebrations. Sometimes that means I’m setting myself up. Let’s face it: I’m a mom of three and nobody has thrown me a party since I was 25. That was a loooooong time ago. But still, I hold out hope!

One thing I’ve learned to do is bake my own birthday treat. A few years ago, I baked this cookie cake for the first time. It was my favorite cookie cake ever, but my photo skills weren’t so great back then. Plus, I wanted to see if I could make the whole thing GF and a little easier. Done and done!

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Raspberry Cheesecake Crumb Bars

Raspberry Cheesecake Crumb Bars

Mash-ups are just awesome. Wouldn’t you agree?

Well, unless you’re mashing up two things that are great separately and gross together, like steak and whipped cream. No, thank you. But when the mash-up combines the best of both worlds, mama is happy.

What could be better than a raspberry crumb bar, you wonder? How about a raspberry crumb bar with cheesecake filling? Do I have your attention now?

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Peanut Butter Cup Banana Cake

Peanut Butter Cup Banana Cake

Does the world need more dessert with peanut butter cups? Duh.

I’ve been on a banana kick this summer, and it’s probably just me making up for lost time. I barely posted any banana recipes in the first two years of the blog, so this summer it’s just bananas all the time. Plus, I don’t like to keep them on the counter in the summer. The bugs, they will come.

Plus, this feels like the right time to write about this cake. There’s a slice of it on my desk in my new office, and I’m looking out at the tree by my window and contemplating happy thoughts. Why not add a moist banana cake filled with both peanut butter cups and peanut butter chips to the mix? A gluten-free one, might I add?

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Peanut Butter Brownie Pizza

Peanut Butter Brownie Pizza

Do you feel as though you have an impact on the world around you?

I’ve always felt very satisfied at my chosen profession. With teaching, I’m fairly sure that I make an impact. I just have to strive my hardest to make it a consistently positive one for my students and the teachers I supervise. That’s one reason I don’t really want to go into anything else; I might be getting paid, but it’s also a way to give back.

Teaching is also about possibilities. Every day, I see new paths for both myself and the people around me, and that inspires creativity. It’s that same creativity that sparks my baking and that makes it so much fun to create new desserts. Thanks to NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® and their new line of baking mixes, I can take their Brownies & More with chocolate morsels mix and turn it into a quick and tasty peanut butter brownie pizza!

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Old School Nutty Brownies

Old School Nutty Brownies

My dad loves snacking on nuts.

When I was growing up, I got used to the sight of him sitting down at the kitchen with a bowl of shelled nuts and a nutcracker. He’d crack away, and I’d sit next to him and crack an almond here or there, since they were my favorite. Every now and then, he’d crack a walnut and I’d be in awe, since those are really tough to manage.

Well, my dad still snacks on nuts, and he also likes them in his baked goods. When given the choice between chocolate chips or nuts, he’ll go nuts all the way. But I say, why choose? So these brownies are full of both chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. Hello, old school brownies!

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Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies (GF)

Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies (GF)

Do you ever buy new items at the grocery store without a clear idea of what you’ll do with them? It’s just that, you know, you’ll need them later?

Because I do that all the time. Several months ago, I saw a gluten-free version of Pillsbury’s funfetti cake mix on the shelves, and I knew I had to buy it. After all, Kenny is a funfetti addict, but he also eats a primarily GF diet. My original plan was to go home, bake him the cake and be done with it.

But you know, I’m a baking blogger. What does that mean? I have fun with mixes! So instead of just baking the cake, I let the mix alone for a while to brainstorm ideas. Finally, these cookies came to light. And they’re great!

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Double Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

Double Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

It’s 100 degrees out and we’re trapped in the house. Who wants to turn the oven on?

Well, I do. I know, I know. No-bake treats are all the rage this time of year, but heck, I like to bake. A baker’s gonna bake. That’s how it goes. That’s why somebody smart invented air conditioning.

Every weekend, I find myself staring at tired bananas. They call to me, and sometimes I ignore them. That’s usually when I’m just as tired as they are. But sometimes I cut them up and freeze them for smoothies that I never really make, and that’s an effort right there. But if I’m feeling really energetic and serious, I’ll bake them into something. And this double chocolate chunk banana bread is probably one of the best ways ever to use those bananas!

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Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie Cups

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie Cups

Oh, weekend. I’ve been waiting for you.

One day a week, the possibility of sleeping in until 6 looms. It’s so lovely. On Friday nights I snuggle into bed with the knowledge that I can just loaf in the mornings. Well, no. But I can be dragged out of bed by a child, go downstairs, sit on the couch, and hope that nobody wants to play with me so that I can read my book in peace.

Another special thing about weekends? Good snacking options! While I’ve always been a big fan of peanut butter blossom cookies, I’m not as into how they need to be made with shortening to prevent spreading. I don’t like shortening much. So instead, I put them into cookie cups, and that works just fine!

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Rocky Road Fudge

Rocky Road Fudge

Summer is fudge season! Didn’t you know?

Well, you might not realize that if you don’t live near an east coast beach town. For those of us who are in the know about boardwalk treats, we get the joy of candy shops with thick slabs of fudge for sale everywhere. It can’t be beat!

I’m not due to hit the beach for another month or so, and I could just throw up my hands in despair and decide to wait. Or I could make this rocky road fudge, which takes about five minutes to put together and tastes oh so beachy!

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Cinnamon Caramel Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Cinnamon Caramel Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Happy National Ice Cream Day! It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

For a special day like this, I couldn’t just make any ice cream. No, siree. I had to really stretch my creative boundaries and think of a flavor that I wish someone would just go ahead and invent already. And you know what? Jackpot!

This is probably my favorite ice cream that I’ve made, and I’ve made a lot of winners. The base is creamy cinnamon with the best mix-ins in the world: cinnamon chips, chocolate chunks, and Rolos! Prepare to swoon.

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