Finals time = early Christmas baking!

I LOVE the Holiday season!
Family, Friends, Relaxation, and Christmas baking!!

I'll do more baking closer to Christmas of course, but finals time at college = festive baking! I finished my finals early and was able to make bake for my roommates, sorority, and friends who were still here! Nothing better than a treat while studying!

First I made Red Velvet Cupcakes! Moist cake with creamy cream cheese frosting, topped off with Christmas sprinkles!

Then I decided to make up a basket of goodies to bring to my sorority's house. Peanut butter cookies with Hershey's kisses is one of my favorite Christmas cookies of all time and are always a hit! Then I made soft chocolate cookies with crushed up peppermint Oreo-type cookies in them. Finished it off with little pretzel-chocolate-m&m bites.

After putting it in the kitchen, the basket was empty in less than an hour.

YUM!

Finally, before leaving to go home for the winter break, I made banana pumpkin bread. Fat-free, whole wheat, reduced sugar, moist, and delicious!

Happy Holidays!! More Christmas baking to come soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving!

What a perrrfect time for togetherness & baking! My annual Thanksgiving signature: Apple Pie.

Tried making a new recipe this time and it was DELISH! The key was turning the brown sugar mixture into a sauce, essentially a caramel sauce, and mixing it in with the apples. Then, after arranging the lattice top-crust, I poured more of the sauce over the top. Yummm. Perfectly sweet and amazing topped with vanilla ice cream (or frozen yogurt). No leftovers, which was sad, but at least that means it was enjoyed by my loving family! :)

On Friday I made these peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, in the spirit of giving of course, for my two brothers to bring back to college with them! I brought some back to DC with me for my roommates too!

Next post: December!! Christmas cookies here I come!

Look what you can do with a bottle of wine...

Wine + Baking = AMAZING! Now, I'm not a big cake person...I personally prefer the denseness of a brownie to the fluffy crumb of a cake. BUT this cake, along with the ~2 others posted on this blog, are the exceptions.

First time making this Red Wine Chocolate Cake, and it certainly will not be the last! The wine and chocolate flavors meld well together and create a unique taste that is out of this world! So moist it's like it melts in your mouth. Made some whipped mascarpone topping to go with it and it was the perfect compliment to the cake! Picture it with some fresh strawberries (when the season is right)...mmmmmmm.....

Red Wine Chocolate Cake with Whipped Mascarpone

My first piece :-D

SO the way I got started with baking with Red Wine was with these cookies. I made them for the first time in May and have been doing so ever since! Simple Red Wine Cookies. The flavor of the wine is subtle and the cookie is just sweet enough. You won't be able to eat just one (which is why I make them little)! ;)

Healthy, In-Season, & Scrumptious: That's What It's All About

Happy Fall!
The colorful, cooler season brings warm, comforting flavors to the forefront, and gives me an excuse to test out lots of new pumpkin and apple recipes!

I made these little guys for my group's presentation to Whole Foods.
They are Pumpkin Apple Cinnamon muffins. Made them mini so that everyone in the class could try them! The best part? They are whole wheat, fat-free, reduced sugar, and DELICIOUS! The Marketing Manager of Whole Foods loved 'em, that says something, right?!

More Fall Baking to come!!

Two of my Favs!

2 different treats this week; 1 made for big/little week, and the other made for Halloween! First, for my little and glittle to give to their new littles, I made my super fudgy, chocolate chunk brownies. YUM! Always one of my favorites.

THEN, in the spirit of Halloween, I made possibly my favorite cookie of all time. 100% Oatmeal cookies (no flour) with peanut butter, oreos, and reese's pieces, topped with Halloween sprinkles.

Enjoy!

Some new treats...

Haven't posted in awhile! The pictures say it all- YUM!

The most moist chocolate cake EVER with peanut butter frosting, topped with peanut butter cups. Oh. baby.

Should have taken a picture after cutting into it. Guess I'll have to make another one! :)

Super-thick, gooey, delicious, Oreo brownies. A personal favorite of mine and a sure crowd-pleaser!

Oatmeal cookies with cut-up Hershey's minis (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, Mr. Goodbar, & Krackel) and Hershey Kisses. Eclectic? Perhaps, but a wonderful combo!

And finally, Pumpkin Bread. with 1/3 less sugar than the recipe originally called for actually. Make this one every fall- another fav!

the center is my favorite part ;)

That's all for now!! More to come soon! Recommendations? Shout 'em out!

August Baking = PEANUT BUTTER!

I've been crazy busy! Taste of DC, moving, trip to MA, classes starting up-yikes! But of course, baking doesn't cease! I've been on a serious chocolate and peanut butter kick. Hands down my favorite flavor combination of all time.

Peanut butter-chocolate cookies with Reese's pieces.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondie Bars

Oatmeal-peanut butter-hot chocolate- chocolate chip cookies (yeah, these are mindblowing)

Cupcakes & Cookies

Cupcakes & Cookies--> what could be better?!

Who doesn't like red velvet cupcakes?! Moist & delicious, finished with creamy cream cheese frosting. YUM!




And now the cookies! These are oatmeal cookies with chocolate covered toffee pieces and chocolate chips! A touch of cinnamon adds a unique taste to these! They are definitely one of my favorites!

OREO Brownies

I'm pretty sure I've already established my love of chocolate, and brownies....and Oreos...

Why not put 'em all together?! These are my favorite brownies that I've made to-date. YUM! So so good- I even froze a few to have later when I want a treat!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!

First birthday in the Taste of DC office! This is a peanut butter banana cake, frosted with chocolate peanut butter frosting, and then topped off with peanuts for the words!
I must say, it was finger-licking good. YUM!

Baking Update: yumyumyum

It's been a little while since I posted, but don't worry- I haven't stopped baking! My photos here aren't fantastic, but the treats were scrumptious! I brought 'em into work at Taste of DC!

Here's a little recap...

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Classic.

Chocolate cookies with mint chips, dark chocolate chips, and peppermint pattie chunks. SO good. These were truly addicting.

And finally, fudgy peanut butter swirl brownies. I love anything and everything that combines chocolate & peanut butter, and these are no exception! I've made them before- always chocolaty, fudgy, peanut buttery goodness. YUM

Lemon Coconut Cookies

I wanted to make a lighter, summer-y cookie; this is what I came up with! A wonderful lemon coconut cookie dusted with powdered sugar. The perfect amount of sweetness to be a treat, but light enough to enjoy on a hot Washington, DC summer day :) Enjoy!

Zucchini Spice Cake! YUM

This is DELICIOUS! A wonderful, moist, flavorful spice cake. And full of zucchini! Perfect as a breakfast bread, snack, or even dessert!

Taste of DC: Day 1!

Today was day 1 at Taste of DC! So of course, baked goods were in order. These are peanut butter-oatmeal-chocolate chip-m&m cookies. Definitely one of my favorites, and I think they went over very well :)

Oreo Overload

I LOVE Oreos. A lot. So it's only natural that I would make a cupcake like this. It's an oreo cupcake (aka vanilla cupcake with oreos mixed in), with oreo frosting, and an oreo on top. YUM! Didn't make these for any particular reason, so let me know if you want one!