Brownie Red Velvet Smores Bars

These bars are time consuming but so worth the work to make them.  So rich, so chewy, so... yummy!

This is a recipe that you want to make sure you have milk in refrigerator before making. 

I love the way the bars look when you cut into them. 

Brownie Red Velvet Smores Bars
Recipe from Picky Palate

Ingredients:
-1 brownie mix, 9x13 size
-graham cracker, about 7 sheets
-1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
-2 cups mini marshmallows
-7 oz sweetened condensed milk (1/2 can)
-1 box red velvet cake mix
-1/2 cup butter, unsalted
-1 egg, large
-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper.
2.  Prepare brownie mix according to package directions.  Pour into bottom of prepared baking dish.
3.  Layer with sheets of graham crackers, chocolate chips, marshmallows and drizzle evenly with sweetened condense milk.
4.  Mix red velvet cake mix, melted butter, egg, and vegetable oil until dough forms.  Dough will be thick.  With a cookie scoop, scoop dough over marshmallow layer.  Press dough so it's flattened and marshmallow layer is not showing.
5.  Bake for 40-45 minutes until baked through.  Let cool completely before cutting into squares to serve. 

Love love love the way these taste.  I would say this is a great bar to bring to a pot luck party.

Keep baking friends!

XOXO

S'mores Bars

Oh my gawd!  These are amazing.  Drool worthy.  I am pretty sure this S'mores Bar is better than smore's itself.

So amazing.  It's very rich so a small piece will be very satisfying.  But I won't stop you from washing 3 pieces down with a huge glass of milk.

S'mores Bar
From Wit & Whistle

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cup marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Instructions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
2.  In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light.
3.  Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
4.  In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt.
5.  Add dry mixture to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
6.  Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.
7.  Place chocolate bars over dough.  2 king size Hershey's bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate if necessary to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick.
8.  Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff.
9.  Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff.
10.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool completely before cutting bars.

Please try to resist from cutting the bars before it cool.  It is worth the wait. 

Let the baking season begin!

XOXO

Rice Crispy Treats

Tzu Chi has started the summer math tutoring program for July.  This is really a great program for kids.  Every Saturday from 10am to 12pm kids grades K-algebra can come and get math tutoring for free.  I am pretty sure that free is always good. Snacks are also provided.  Since I am no math pro I will be part of the snack making crew.

For the first session I wanted to be extra careful since I did not know if any kids had allergies yet.  So what do I make?!?  Rice crispy treats!  Now I didn't know that there were people who didn't know how to make homemade rice crispy treats.  But I got asked for the recipe so I figured I would share on the blog.

Rice crispy treats really are super simple.  Any kinds of sprinkles or candies can be added.  If you want to get adventurous you can use other cereals instead of rice cereal too.

Rice Crispy Treats

Ingredients:
1 box rice crispy cereal (12 oz box)
1 bag mini marshmallow
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup M&Ms

Directions:

1. Microwave butter in a large bowl.
2. Add mini marshmallows into bowl with the melted butter.  Microwave in 30 second intervals until melted.  Stir after each interval.
3. Add vanilla extract to the marshmallow mixture for extra flavor. 
4. Spray a very large bowl with cooking spray and fill with cereal.  Add the marshmallow mixture to the cereal and mix.  
5. Add any sprinkles or candy.
6. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.  Press rice crispy cereal mixture into pan.  Let set for about 10 minutes.
7. Slice and enjoy!

These homemade rice crispy treats were a hit with the kiddies.  But then again who wouldn't love something covered in marshmallow?  El Hubby even considered coming to volunteer to eat some rice crispy treats.  I let him have some for the promise of volunteering next time.  We will see.

Khloe the pup really only has two speeds.  Excited and lazy.  She is very good at both. 

Keep on cooking!

XOXO
Peggy

PB&J Marshmallow Oreo Stuffed Cookies

Let me start out saying these cookies are the mama jama of cookies.   There's peanut butter.  There is marshmallow.  There is M&Ms.  And if all that was not enough ... stuffed inside is a berry burst oreo.  Take that normal little cookie! 

However, I am suppose to making cookies for math tutoring that contains not nuts, gluten free, etc.  Clearly I did a epic fail. 

These cookies are so big you have to make them in a muffin tin! 

WARNING!  These cookies are not for the faint at heart.  They are rich.  Rich in flavor and content.  Please eat with care and preferably with a big glass of milk. 

 I hope Kraft never stops making mallow bits.  These things are awesome!  Got get some at your local Target store if you have not already done so.  If you don't bake you can at least enjoy them in your hot chocolate. 

PB&J Marshmallow Oreo Stuffed Cookies
Adapted from: Recipes from Kevin & Amanda

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Jet Puffed Mallow Bits
1 bag milk chocolate M&Ms
1 pkg Berry Burst Ice Cream Oreos

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a standard size muffin pan with cooking spray.
2.  Beat peanut butter, butter, and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes)
3.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Beat until well combined.
4.  Whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt.
5.  Add dry mixture to wet mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.  Stir in marshmallow bits.
6.  Add 5-6 M&Ms to bottom of prepared muffin pan.
7.  Add a scoop of cookie dough, one Oreo, another scoop of cookie dough and press down to flatten.  Top with 5-6 more M&Ms.
8.  Bake at 350F for 15-18 minutes or until the edges of the cookies just start to turn brown.

 These cookies were amazing!  However, I could only eat 1.  The husband however has been chowing down on them.  Oh and then he has a co worker who ate 2 and then took 3 home to his family.  Ah I love people who love my baking. 

 Seriously I think I need to start entering Kong balls in our financial budget.  The pup loves them.  They are everywhere in my home.  My favorite is driving away and seeing a ball that has escaped the front gate onto the porch. 

 Keep baking and eating good food!
XOXO

Rocky Road Cookies

So Kraft came out with these marshmallows called Mallow Bits.  In short, they are basically the marshmallows that are dehydrated in hot coco mixes.  Or that least that's how I would describe them.  They are sold in a bottle kinda like ice cream toppings.  I found mine at Target.  They were just randomly on a end cap.  I saw vanilla and peppermint.  I got the vanilla one cause peppermint sounded too Christmas-y.

So what do I think of when I think of marshmallows?!?  Rocky road ice cream!  Okay whatever.  Don't ask me why but that's what I thought of when I saw these marshmallows.  So I decided to take a stab at making some rocky road cookies. 

Rocky Road Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

4 ounces hot chocolate mix (not sugar free)

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sliced almonds

1 cup super mini marshmallows (Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits)

1 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Whisk flour, cocoa mix, salt, and baking soda together

2. Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes)

3. add eggs 1 at a time.

4. Add vanilla

5. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture until combined. DO NOT OVER MIX

6. Fold in the almonds, marshmallow bits and semi chocolate chips

7. Chill dough for about 1 hour (very important)

8. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

9. Use a cookie dough scooper and drop about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

10. Bake them 1 sheet at a time for about 9 minutes. Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

I love that these cookies came out so moist and chewy.  However, next time I do think I will use regular size chocolate chips in stead of the mini ones.  Maybe even switch out the semi sweet to milk chocolate.  The husband made a comment that the cookies were not chocolaty enough.  Man he is a cookie snob now. 

I feel like I am constantly washing the TV blankets.  Now I know why.  Apparently the pup snuggles in them.  How can one get mad at this cute little fur ball?

 With the weather being so chilly lately I can't even blame the pup for snuggling in some blankets.  Her face when she wakes up cause her mean momma flashes a camera at her. I love this dog.

Keep on baking!
XOXO

S'more Brownies

Brownies are sooooo good. I don't think I know anyone who doesn't like brownies. Maybe someone who doesn't like chocolate. But then whoever doesn't like chocolate is INSANE!

So for my birthday BBQ I wasn't sure what to make but I knew I wanted something different. After looking in the pantry I decided on S'more Brownies. Why not? Sounds BBQ-ish to me!

Ingredients:
1 box instant brownies (all ingredients required to making box brownies)
1/2 bag of mini marshmallows
1 sleeve of graham crackers
2 cups mini chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray
2. Make box brownies as per directions on the box. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Sprinkle 1 cup mini chocolate chips on top of batter. Bake as per directions on box.
4. Crush graham crackers
5. 5 minutes before brownies are done take out of oven and sprinkle marshmallow, mini chocolate chips, and graham crackers on top. Bake for 5 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
7. Cut and serve

These are hands down delish. Best of all super easy to make. I would even say semi-homemade would be appropriate. But who even cares when they are this good? No me! Save room in your tummy cause you will want more than 1 piece of this brownie.

Enjoy!

XOXO

S'more Brownies

So my mother is really picky with her sweets. As most Asian people will complain that American desserts are too sweet my mother is no different. So this year for her birthday I decided to try to make something she can't complain about. Hence my homemade s'more brownie recipe. Just enough sweetness to satisfy the sweet tooth.


Ingredients:

Crust:
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
pinch of salt

Brownie:8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour

Topping:1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
3 to 4 cups mini marshmallows
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 8x8 inch pan with non stick cooking spray.

2. Prepare crust: In a bowl, mix butter with graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Prepare brownie: Place butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Melt and stir until completely melted. Add sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate and mix together. Add eggs and beat vigorously until you see a thick and glossy batter. Stir in flour and mix just until incorporated. Pour batter over the baked crust. Bake until top is set and toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.
4. Remove pan from oven. Turn oven to broil. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the baked brownie. Add a nice thick layer of marshmallows. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on top.

5. Place your pan of brownies back into the oven. Toast under the broiler until golden brown. Keep a close eye on it. 1 to 2 minutes should do the trick.

6. Cool for a few minutes in pan before trying to cut. Use a wet and sharp knife when cutting brownies.


This was a hit with my mom. She found the marshmallow topping not too sweet but just enough. Thank goodness cause she is one picky mom.

Enjoy!

XOXO