Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

Two weeks have passed since my last post. Holy moly, sugar lovers. That's just plain shameful. It's not that I haven't been baking, it's just been a busy few weeks around here.

I wanted to tandem on my last post and share the other goodie I made on my last day at my old job (which I can confidently say I don't miss much.) Peanut butter cookie sandwiches! I mean, don't you just wish you had one in front of you right now? The answer is YES.

I wish I could tell you I made these totally from scratch but Mr. Sugarcoated snuck a bag of peanut butter cookie mix into the grocery cart and was itching for me to make them. So, if you're looking for a homemade peanut butter cookie recipe, you'll have to keep surfing. Back in the day I would have been ALL over a cookie-in-a-bag recipe, but that's just not the case any longer. However, I thought some of my "semi-homemade" baking goddesses would appreciate this quick but delicious concoction. This is about as low maintenance as baking gets, folks.

Something to Slobber Over: Chocolate Caramel Brownies

Since I started this baking journey, I have gotten requests to post about all sorts of things. Savory cupcakes, doughnuts, lemon bars, pickle cupcakes (oh hubby, where do you come up with this stuff?) and most recently, all things chocolately. Since the office pals were tickled silly by my Oreo Balls,  I decided a choco treat was just the thing to do.

I have to mention my days as a cubicle chick are now over. I got a new job opportunity, moved over to another office, one floor below my old one (no cube required!) beginning just this week. While somewhat bittersweet, I'm ready to start a new chapter in my life and work towards the goals I have for my future. (and by this I mean Jedi Master baker)

I have dazzled my office peeps with my baked goodies for over a year now, so I wanted to go out with a bang on my last day. Go BIG or go home people. I whipped up a peanut butter cookie sandwich (next post!) and THIS brownie.

Woahh Momma.



This brownie will change your life. And if you have too many, maybe the way your jeans fit too. It's rich, chocolately delicious, delightfully gooey and oozing with caramel. Sound like something you may want to indulge in? In the words of one of my office buddies, "You'll have your hand on the second one before you even finish the first."  Beware!


Chocolate Caramel Brownie: (recipe inspired from Toll House)


2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt


Note: Make your brownie batter first by melting the butter and then mixing all ingredients together in the order mentioned above. Now on to the fun ingredients :)


1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
10 oz package of caramels (wrapped or unwrapped, but unwrapped is way easier!)
2 cups (12 oz. package of semi sweet chocolate morsels)



The How To:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix 2/3 cup of the evaporated milk and butter into the brownie batter. Spread half of the batter into an ungreased 13 x 9 baking pan.
3. Bake this portion of batter in oven for 15 minutes.
4. Heat caramels and remaining evaporated milk (1/3 cup) in small saucepan over low heat, stirring it constantly, until caramels are melted. Sprinkle chocolate morsels over the baked brownie mixture, then drizzle melted caramel mixture over it.
5. Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoons over the caramel mixture.
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set.
7. Cool in pan on wire rack.





I have officially had my blog for a little over a month now. When I first started it, I thought the site would get lost in cyberspace somewhere generating no interest whatsoever. I want to take the time to say THANK YOU to my family, friends, subscribers and followers who have made the site more popular than I thought possible. I'll keep posting if you keep reading! (And please comment if you stop by, it means so much!)

Til we meet again ladies and gents! :)

Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Frosting



Fall has finally arrived! It happens to be my favorite season, not only because of the cool crisp weather, but the wonderful flavors that remind me of it.

Like pumpkin!

Earlier this week I attempted to make a maple pumpkin fudge but that post will NOT be making it to the blog. I botched that recipe completely. Not once, but TWICE people. First batch was maple pumpkin gloop, second batch was a maple pumpkin brick. Both inedible. It was quite pathetic. I will sum it up to say I'm not a candy maker.

I moved on from the fudge and made a cookie using the same flavors since I still had most of the stuff on hand.  I found this recipe on Glorious Treats, one of my favorite baking blogs. I made these for a dinner party I had with some of my girlfriends and they got such rave reviews, I made two more batches a few days later.

Elmo Cupcakes!

I just wanted to share these charming little cupcakes because they were so fun to make! One of my dear friends Aireka held an adorable barnyard birthday party for her son Joey. Folks, you KNOW you're getting old when you start attending birthday parties for your friends' children instead of theirs. Hah.

 I will be totally honest. I had no idea what to buy a 2 year old for his birthday. Aireka told me one of Joey's favorite characters is Elmo, so I decided to put my decorating skills to the test and attempt a cupcake that would look just like the furry little guy.

I used the chocolate cupcakes and cream cheese frosting recipe from an earlier post to do this so I will save time not typing the recipe here, just head there to find it.  

I dyed the frosting red to match Elmo's fur. I will warn you that AT LEAST two bottles of red food coloring will be needed to dye the icing red. (I used three small ones!) I used halved marshmallows for the eyes and gumballs for his nose. Finished off the mouth with a halved Oreo. I have to say, they were the spitting image of the Sesame Street star.

Here's what I used:

1 bag of jumbo marshmallows

1 bag of orange gumballs

1 tube of black decorating icing

Oreo cookies
Red food coloring (at least two, i would suggest 3)

Strawberry Heaven Cake

I seem to be on a fruit binge lately. But the recipe I am about to drop on you is much more forgiving on your waistline.  Caught your attention yet?

If angel food cake, ice cream and strawberries had a love child, this cake would be it. It's absolutely heavenly. Hence the name.

I wish I could say I dreamed this dish up all on my own, but that honor must go elsewhere. This recipe was inspired by a treat I had at my pal Shawna's bridal shower. Her maid of honor made it. I could have taken the giant serving spoon and polished it off myself if there hadn't been 20 other women ohh'ing and ahh'ing over it too. I slightly adjusted a few things by adding some sugar free options, fresh strawberries and some homemade vanilla whipped cream to top it off.

Apple Bavarian Torte

Before the days when baking was my obsessive hobby, every now and then I would try to bake something sweet for a special occasion. I tried this recipe out last Christmas and just about died over it. This torte is the bomb diggity, ya'll!

I revisited the recipe a few days ago because I was craving something fruity and it was just as awesome as I remember it. Maybe a little better since I'm just a tad better in the kitchen now. So I wanted to share it with you.

The torte is made in a springform pan. Sweet vanilla cream cheese filling, toasted almonds and cinnamon-kissed baked apples make this dessert of my favorite autumn recipes. The name may sound fancy pants, but it is one of the easiest things to make! Try it if you don't believe me. You can thank me later.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Two weeks later and I STILL don't have my car. Let's just sum it up to say that like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.. when you BUY your auto insurance, not so much when you FILE a claim.

Despite all the crappiness surrounding me, there have been some silver linings along the way. While I may have lost my car for a few days, I have gained a Kitchen Aid stand mixer! Heckkk yeahhhh! My mother was kind enough to "donate" hers to me until I get one for myself. You have no idea how long I have been wanting one of these and it has already made such a difference in the quality of my baking. If you don't have a stand mixer and you can afford to drop a few on one, I would highly suggest it. It will change your baking life.

I wanted to thank my mom for doing such an awesome thing for me so I made a cupcake especially for her. Her favorite: Red Velvet.  Keep in mind I have never made these before so I learned a few things while making them...

#1. Did you know food coloring is what makes them red? I did not know this. I thought there was some magical ingredient involved. I am EXTREMELY embarrassed.

#2. They are actually chocolate cupcakes. Yep. Didn't know this either.

After picking myself up off the floor in shame for my lack of knowledge, I used my new mixer to whip these cupcakes up. And they turned out straight sexy and delicious. I brought them to mother's house the next day and she smiled with joy when I showed up with cupcakes in hand.