Mir - Just About Baked

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Strawberry Cookie Chips Icebox Cheesecake

June 17, 2015
Mir
C is for COOKIE!, Cupcakes and Cheesecakes
30 Comments

It just hit me: July 4th is a few short weeks away. How did this happen?

Well, that’s a dumb question. It’s not like I didn’t work hard for July 4th to become a reality. Months of commuting to work in the dark, sometimes in the ice, often in the rain. Months of teaching teenagers the difference between “it’s” and “its.” Months of wrapping myself up in a blanket at my desk when the heat in my classroom, once again, failed to deliver.

I mean, it dang well better be July 4th. And it better be icebox cheesecake weather. Because no-bake is definitely the way to go right now! Especially when this holiday-themed, easy dessert is filled with delicious Hannah Max cookie chips!

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Cheesecake Brownie Chunk Ice Cream

June 15, 2015
Mir
Bars n' Brownies, We Scream for Ice Cream!
37 Comments

Whatever ice cream you love, whatever your favorite is, that is about to change. That’s how (over)confident I feel about this. Prepare yourselves!

Years ago, I tried Ben and Jerry’s Cheesecake Brownie flavor. And it was such a great flavor. After all, what could be better than cheesecake ice cream with brownie chunks? I asked myself that very question while I made this ice cream.

Answer? Cheesecake ice cream with BIGGER brownie chunks and chocolate chunks to boot! You’re welcome. Feel free to send me an award of some kind.

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Graham Cracker Bars

Every now and then, you run across something unusual in a torn out recipe at the bottom of a drawer that seems so nutty it might actually work.

This recipe is one of those finds. Four ingredients, guys. Four. In other words, any novice or reluctant or lazy baker can tackle this one!

If you have a can of sweetened condensed milk, a box of graham cracker crumbs, some baking powder and chocolate chips, pay attention. This recipe might be for you! But only if you like those ingredients. Me? I happen to love them.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Chips Mini-Cheesecakes

June 10, 2015
Mir
C is for COOKIE!, Cupcakes and Cheesecakes
37 Comments

That name is quite a mouthful, no?

So are the cheesecakes. In a really good way! Because in addition to being li’l bites of heaven, they’re not too heavy on the sugar. And they’re also completely full of Hannah Max chocolate chip cookie chips, i.e., my favorite flavor.

I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love a chocolate chip cookie. When you put them into crispy cookie chips, they’re that much more addictive. Add cheesecake and I’m not really surprised that people’s eyes lit up at work when they saw me bring these in.

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Salted PB Caramel Ganache Pie

I have no idea what to call this pie. Other than life-changing, that is.

The idea of making a pie crust used to terrify me. I knew that it involved a food processor, which I owned, but couldn’t put together. Seriously. The directions were so confusing. But then, I found a way around it for an easy crust you can make in a bowl. More details on that later.

By the way, I know how to use my food processor now. But whatever. What makes this pie so amazing is peanut butter caramel. Salted peanut butter caramel. Yes, that exists. And it’s easy to make!

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Smoky Salted Almond Toffee Bars

These. Bars. Are. Epic.

There are certain desserts I can’t stay away from. Snowball cookies (a.k.a. Russian Tea Cakes) are in that category. If they’re on a plate, I’m eating every last one. There’s no doubt about it. And when I’m presented with toffee bars, the same dang thing happens.

Add caramelized smoked almonds, and guess what? It’s known in my brain as, “Give these away now now now before I eat every last one.”

Sometimes when I’m busy brainstorming recipes to post three times a week or stuck in a baker’s block rut, I don’t take the time to fully appreciate what drew me to create this blog. Luckily, I had a reminder the other day.

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Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Hi-Hats

Cookies are out, people. Cookies with a gigantic pile o’ frosting and a chocolate shell? In. So in.

I never knew about Hi-Hat cookies until I started reading food blogs. And Julianne is the master, so I learned from her!

This is my first attempt, so bear with me. For a while now, I’ve been trying to come up with a chocolate-covered strawberry concept in a cookie. Originally, my plan was to do something simpler. But then, how could I resist a hi-hat?

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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.

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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.

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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.