This time of year, I’m usually basking in summer with not much to do. But thanks to a recent job promotion, I’m burning the candle at both ends. I wake up, work, work some more, and that’s kind of how it is. But at least the sun is shining!

And I have these to sustain me. The base is my favorite flourless peanut butter cookie dough filled with my even more favorite candy aisle choices: patriotic peanut M & Ms and Baby Ruth bars. Heck yeah!

Here’s the thing about holidays: baking bloggers LOVE them. You see, it’s hard to get constant inspiration from just life itself, so holidays provide a lot of ideas. Or at least, they provide a lot of candy with color schemes. I can’t tell you how excited I get every time the candy matches the season. It’s so darn cute.

Now that I’ve been blogging for two and a half years, I sometimes sit back and take stock of what I’ve accomplished so far. You see, I’ve been teaching for much longer, so compared to the time I’ve been in that profession, my time here on JAB is a drop in the bucket. Even so, I’m happy with where I’ve gotten so far with this little blog, and I try and take time to enjoy it.

Just a few days ago, I was texting back and forth with an old friend of mine. He had a rough day and wanted to know if I had “baked anything for the pain.” I immediately let him know that I’d just been paid to buy lots of ice cream and bake something to go with it, and that he should come on by with a huge spoon. In that moment, I felt very lucky. Lucky to be paid to work with ice cream, and lucky to have good friends to come over and share it.

They say that it’s super healthy to keep your brain active by trying new things and doing crossword puzzles. In theory, I love crossword puzzles, but my house is too hectic for me to sit back with that cup of tea and enjoy one on a regular basis. So instead, I’m a big fan of trying new things. This blog pushes every ounce of my creativity, and I’m so happy it’s here. Even though my day job is about to get a lot more hectic, I still want to hold on to what I’ve created here on JAB.

One of my favorite discoveries this season has been transferring flourless peanut butter cookie dough into bars. It’s even better than regular cookie dough. Wanna know why?

It’s the most intense peanutty flavor ever. When you reduce a cookie dough to mostly the star ingredient (peanut butter, in this case), it’s amazing. The flavors are so good. Add in peanuts and candy and the happiness overflows.

Another good thing about this cookie base? No mixer. About five seconds and no chill time is pretty much the situation! Feel free to thank me later.

It’s summer and things should be quiet, but they’re not. I’m cool with that, since we only go around once. Trying new things is important! Well, as long as we take our dessert breaks in between. We all need a moment here and there!

Whenever I see a gorgeous woman, I might feel a twinge of envy. Okay, more than a twinge. But then I remember that being cute has a much longer shelf life than being pretty. Or at least, I hope it does.

Besides, people like cuteness everywhere. I saw a chocolate-covered Oreo shaped like a flower last week and I just had to have it. I mean, I always want a chocolate-covered Oreo, but when you put it into a flower chocolate mold that looks like a daisy, hot damn. That’s one adorable treat. So I figure I should bake cute whenever I can.

Holidays provide a fantastic excuse to head toward the more adorable treats. And why shouldn’t I try for an approximation of an American flag on a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie cake with frosting?

While decorating this, I ran out of blue M & Ms. You learn so much from emptying out a whole bag of something about color allocation. Is it an accident that only about a quarter of the bag was blue? I have no idea. We should ask some food psychologists or something.

Apparently, colors mean something. My house is decorated in yellow and red, my two favorite colors. I learned as an adult that fast food restaurants use those colors because they trigger appetite. So maybe I just wanted to decorate my house in shades of hunger without realizing it. It might also be why I can’t put the brownies down. Nah. Brownies are just that good.

So is this cookie cake. It’s quick cheat, and you know I’m fond of those. You take Nestle peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough (it comes in a bag in the freezer section), thaw it, and use it as a base. The peanut butter frosting you make yourself, and then the peanut M & Ms on top just add extra joy.

If you can’t find the cookie dough I used, any peanut butter cookie dough will be fine. In that case, I’d recommend buying two packages (the equivalent of 32 oz.) to get that cookie cake nice and thick.

The frosting takes pretty much no time to whip up, and it’s my favorite. It all goes on there unless you want to reserve some and eat it with a spatula. Not that I did that. Surrounded by yellow and red walls.

Baking cute is the way to go for fun holidays like the 4th. You can save the serious baking for something that involves religion or some kind of suffering, or both. This recipe is purely for those of you who like to have fun and be adorable!