Doggie Birthday Cupcakes

A couple weeks ago, I saw a picture of Eric's cousin, her husband, and their beautiful dog on their wedding day. My immediately thought (other than awww, that's so cute!) was: why didn't we do that? The answer is simple: we didn't adopted Arya until about a month after our wedding. But it feels like she has been with us forever and we sometimes forget that there was a time before her.

October 16 marked 1 year since our little puppy love came into our lives. To celebrate, I baked her doggie friendly cupcakes! Both cake and frosting are made mostly from pumpkin puree. Canned pumpkin has a ton of fiber and beta-carotene and can be used to treat both diarrhea and constipation in dogs. However, don't let your own puppy love eat all (8) of these cupcakes at once. Like everything else, too much of anything is bad and could make your dog sick. (Source)

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/3 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin-pie mix)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water

Frosting
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup pumpkin puree

Kibble/dog treats, garnish, optional

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 8 paper liners.

Combine all of the cake ingredients in a medium bowl. Divide evenly between the muffin tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the center of the cupcakes set.

Allow cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.

Whisk together cream cheese and pumpkin puree. When the cupcakes have cooled completely, frost the cakes.

Remember to take off the paper wrapper before giving it to you pup!

Licking the batter bowl clean!

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Between my husband and the dog, peanut butter has become a staple in the house. So much so that I buy the huge 5 pound jar. A few weeks ago we ran out and it wasn't in the grocery budget to stock up on it. Eric and Arya had to go two whole weeks without their peanut butter, and I got plenty of complaints from Eric and sad eyes from Arya as she tried to give me her Kong toy (which usually gets filled with peanut butter). So when I finally bought a jar, Arya got her Kong full of peanut butter and Eric got these amazing peanut butter pancakes.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup water (or milk, if you prefer. I actually like water better)
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Heat griddle or skillet to medium heat. Grease with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, combine water, peanut butter, egg, oil, and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until well-combined.Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour 1/4 cup portions onto the griddle or pan. Cook until little bubbles appear, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve with butter or syrup, if so desired.

Peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and eggs with cheese, kale, and bacon

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes:
Blueberry Muffins
French Toast in a Mug
Homemade Hash Browns
Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins
Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins
Sweet Buns Three Ways: Cherry, Blueberry, and Cream Cheese 

Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies

These cookies are basically a Reese Peanut Butter Cup in cookie form, which just happen to be one of Eric's all time favorite candies--perhaps making these one of his all time favorite cookies? I don't know. He was asking me if it was possible to make an peanut butter cookie stuffed with peanut butter. But Eric isn't the only one in the house who loves peanut butter. Poor Arya couldn't figure out why I had the peanut butter jar out and she wasn't getting any (the main reason I even buy peanut butter is to put in her Kong toy). 

Anyway, if you love Reese Peanut Butter Cups, you'll love these cookies!

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Filling
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Cookie
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets with cooking spray.

Line a plate with waxed paper. In a medium bowl, combine the filling ingredients using your hands. Once the mixture us well combined, roll the filling into 30 1-inch balls and place them on the waxed paper plate. Freeze for approximately 30 minutes.

Beat the butter, brown sugar, white sugar and peanut butter in a large bowl until well combined. Add in vanilla and egg then combine.

In a second medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Refrigerate dough for 20 to 30 minutes. (If you don't refrigerate the dough, you will have a difficult time with the next step).

Remove the peanut butter balls from the freeze and the dough from the fridge. Wrap about 1 tablespoon of dough around each peanut butter ball and place on greased cookie sheets. You may want to work in batches. The dough can become quite sticky.

You can make these into cookie balls or flat cookies. If you want balls, just pop them into the oven. If you want flat cookies, gently press the cookies with the bottom of a glass.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set.

Cookies left in their ball state

Enjoy!

~Krissy!

More Cookie Recipes
Apple Cider Cookies with Spiced Rum Glaze
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Brown Sugar Cookies
Baileys White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Creamsicle Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Soft Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Spiced Rum Brown Butter Cookies

Puppy Chow

I had never even heard of puppy chow until I met Eric. Man, had I been missing out! Crunchy, sweet, peanut butter, chocolate . . . it is so addicting. Well, for our autumn wedding I decided to make the favors. Treat or trick bags filled with puzzle books and desserts--homemade sea salt caramels, pumpkin fudge, and you guessed it: puppy chow!

I made the caramels and fudge and Eric made the puppy chow. I can't tell you how hard it was not to eat it all ourselves!

Ingredients:

9 cups crispy rice cereal squares (like Chex)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar  

Directions:
In a large sauce pan, met the chocolate over low heat. Stir in the peanut butter and mix until smooth. Remove from heat, add cereal to the pan, and stir until all the cereal is coated. Pour the powdered sugar into a large ziploc bag, add cereal, and shake well until the cereal is well coated. Store in airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Banana Wontons

Chocolate, peanut butter, and bananas, I don't know why, but these three ingredients always taste so good together, comforting some how. I was originally just going to make chocolate banana wontons, but then I saw the peanut butter in the cupboard--how could I resist?

Ingredients:
16 wontons
1/4 cup chocolate chips*
8 teaspoons peanut butter
1 small ripe banana cut into 16 slices
powdered sugar, optional

*Like the smores wonton I made earlier, I made these with chocolate chips, but U had problems with the chips puncturing the wonton. I think bar chocolate like a Hershey candy bar will work better. I haven't made these with bar chocolate yet, but I'm guessing you could just break the bars in half and that would be plenty of chocolate for the wonton. (Hershey bars come with 12 bars so you'd need 8 bars broken in half).

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.** Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease with cooking spray.

Place 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter in the center of the wonton. Add 1 banana slice on top of the peanut butter. Place 6 to 8 chocolate chips around the banana. 

Wet all four edges of the wontons with water (I used my finger, but you could also use a pastry brush) and fold over diagonally, pressing the edges together to seal.

Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until the wontons turn a golden brown.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar. (This was Eric's idea and it did improve them.)

**You can also deep fry these if you so desire.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Wonton Recipes
Homemade Pizza Rolls
Cream Cheese Rangoons
Chocolate Hazelnut Ravioli
Smores Wontons
Jalapeno Popper Wontons

Skinny Peanut Butter Brownies

Source

Source

Source

So I've been M.I.A. for the last month and a half. With work and wedding planning, I haven't been spending very much time in the kitchen. However, for Valentine's Day I managed to find time to make these delicious, fudgy brownies. Not only are the yummy--decadent really--they are semi-healthy (or at least not super bad for you). You see, Eric and I joined a gym at the beginning of the year so we can look all tone and fit for our wedding. These brownies make us feel a little less guilty for indulging in our sweet tooth. Plus, these are the easiest made-from-scratch brownies ever. You just throw the ingredients into a food processor or blender! Easy to make, easy to clean up.

Original Recipe (I made a few minor changes).

Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup vanilla yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
1/4 cup skim milk
1 egg
dash of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8x8-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Pour the rolled oats in the food processor or blender and blend until the oats are ground up. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor, except for the peanut butter. Blend until the mixture is smooth.

Pour the batter into the baking dish. Beware: it will be thin but that's okay. Microwave the peanut butter for 30 or until it's melted. Drop spoonfuls of peanut butter into the batter and using a butter knife, swirl the peanut butter to give the brownies a marbled effect. Don't over mix.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. You will notice the edges of the brownies pull away from the sides of the pan when it's baked. Allow the brownies to cool completely and serve.

Eric had no idea that these were skinny brownies until I told him. Even I was surprised by how rich and fudgy they turned out.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Also Check Out:
Healthified Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Fudge

Since my butterscotch fudge didn't turn out as planned, I decided to try one more fudge recipe this holiday season: peanut butter fudge . . . and it was a success!

Ingredients:
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup peanut butter
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature and cup into little blocks

Directions:
Line the bottom and sides of an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.

Combine the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, peanut butter chips, peanut butter, and butter in a medium glass (heat proof) bowl.

Create a double-boiler by setting the bowl over a medium-size saucepan of simmering water. The bottom of the bowl shouldn't touch the water. Stir in chocolate chips. Mix until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth.

Pour the fudge into the prepared dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Refrigerate for 5 hours or until the fudge is firm.

To cut the fudge, remove the parchment paper from the dish. Run a knife under hot water, dry it off, and use it to cut the fudge into squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

2012 Christmas Baking List
Christmas Kiss Cookies
Tea Cookies
Cornflake Wreath Cookies
Candied Citrus Peels
Christmas Candy Corn
Homemade Chocolate-Covered Cherries
Sea Salt Nutella Fudge
Spiced Cranberry Juice

Check out last year's baking list!

Fluffernutter Mug Cake

Marshmallows make anything better, at least in my opinion. When Eric and I were up north at my parents' cabin last summer, we stopped by Dairy Queen for some ice cream. For the first time I saw marshmallow fluff as a sundae topping. Best sundae of my life. So I saved my favorite mug cake for last.

This recipes comes from here with some minor alterations. 

Ingredients:
1 egg
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons self-rising flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons peanut butter
3 tablespoons milk
2 large marshmallows

Directions:
Add all the ingredients except for the 2 marshmallows into a large mug. Make sure you use a large mug. I learned this the hard way when making my chocolate-hazelnut mug cake. With a fork, whisk the ingredients until well combined. On high, microwave the cake for 1.5 minutes. Add the 2 marshmallows on top and microwave the cake for another minute. The marshmallows will expand. Keep in mind that baking times will vary with each microwave.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Mug Cake Sample Platter

Also Check Out:
Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug
Chocolate-Hazelnut Mug Cake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake
Gluten-Free Mug Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mug Cake
Pumpkin Mug Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Reese Peanut Butter Cups, Peanut Butter M&Ms, Butterfingers . . . Chocolate and peanut butter are one of those combinations that was surely created in heaven. So you know I had to make a chocolate peanut butter mug cake. Out of all the mug cakes I have made, I think this one is the least sweet, and I think that's what I like best about it.

This recipe comes from here.

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
a handful of chocolate chips

Directions:
With a fork, mix all the ingredients together in a coffee mug.  Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. Keep in mind that all microwaves cook differently. My cake took 1.5 minutes.

I enjoyed this cake as is. But I also think this is one of the few mug cakes you could add frosting or whipped cream to without making it treacly.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Mug Cake Sample Platter

Also Check Out:
Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug
Chocolate-Hazelnut Mug Cake
Fluffernutter Mug Cake
Gluten-Free Mug Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mug Cake
Pumpkin Mug Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Going Bananas: Diary-Free Ice Cream and Pudding

If you're on Pinterest at all, you've probably seen ice cream made from frozen bananas. I was floored by just how creamy and diary-like the ice cream came out. And the slightly over-ripe bananas give it the perfect sweet taste. I've spent a good portion of the summer coming up with different flavor combinations for this icy treat. The banana-based ice cream has been a hit with Eric (his favorite is the chocolate peanut butter, mine is the almond) and both our families. Impatient to taste my creations, I've also discovered that if you don't freeze it, it makes a delicious pudding!

Basic Recipe:
Makes about a pint

Ingredients:
4 slightly over-ripe bananas; peeled, cut into coins and frozen solid (I've found leaving them overnight yields the best results)

Directions:

Place the frozen banana pieces into a food processors and blend. At first the bananas will resemble little pieces of gravel, but if you keep on blending, they turn into a thick, creamy mixture that resembles soft serve ice cream.

This is how it starts out . . .

. . . and this is how it turns out.

At this point you can eat it as banana pudding. Or put it in the freeze for 4 or 5 hours and have banana ice cream. Or you can create flavors by adding other ingredients to the food processor. You don't ever get rid of the banana flavor all together, but it does become more subtle.

Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream
4 bananas
3 tablespoons peanut butter

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream
4 bananas
3 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 1/2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

Chocolate-Hazelnut Banana Ice Cream
4 bananas
4 tablespoons home chocolate-hazelnut spread or Nutella

Vanilla Banana Ice Cream
4 bananas
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Caramel Banana Ice Cream
4 bananas
4 tablespoons caramel sauce

Almond Banana Ice Cream
4 bananas
3 tablespoons almond butter

Sadly, I haven't been able to create a good chocolate banana ice cream. To get the chocolate flavor I'm after, I have to add a lot of the cocoa powder, but then the bitterness of the cocoa powder overrides the sweetness of the bananas, and I can't stand what that much powder does to the texture of the ice cream (I've also been experimenting with a chocolate avocado pudding and the cocoa powder is throwing me off there, too).  The next time I make banana ice cream, I think I want to use 2 or 3 tablespoons hot fudge sauce or chocolate syrup. Not as healthy, but it's ice cream, it's supposed to be a treat.

Enjoy!

~Krissy