Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies & Pumpkin Choc Chip Banana Bread!!

Happy Weekend!

Wrapping up college has been a crazy, continuous whirlwind, to say the least, but I've been able to get some baking in!!

Up first, I made Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips & Reese's Pieces! To this day, these are my brother & sister's favorite cookie! (Sorry Emily & Mark-- next time I see you I'll make more!)  

If you are a chocolate and peanut butter lover, like I am, these are the cookie for you! A soft, chocolaty cookie with bursts of peanut butter...Heaven. 

I brought most of these into work with me! A very-welcomed & appreciated Tuesday Treat!

 Before making these, I made my good ol' Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Banana Bread!  In addition to these two big guys (8'' x 4''), the batch made 2 little loaves too (5'' x 3'') ! (NOTE I made a double batch of the recipe linked to this post! A single batch, as posted, would make a very-mounded 8'' x 4'', or the 8'' x 4'' + a little one!) Made with 100% Whole Wheat flour and no butter or oil, you can even feel good about eating a slice (or two..or three...)! ;)

Much more baking to come after finals are over and as graduation nears!

You can find the recipe for the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Banana Bread here!

Cookie recipe below!

Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips & Reese's Pieces

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa (I used Hershey's this time)

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened 

(if you use salted butter, just leave out the added salt)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 11oz bag peanut butter chips

1-2 cups Reese's Pieces

(I usually use 2 cups, but I got a little carried away "taste testing" them before making the cookies...:))

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use electric mixer to beat softened butter, granulated sugar,brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy.  Add in the 2 eggs and beat well (scrape down the sides of the bowl if you need to).

Then, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Beat at a low speed, or just fold in by hand.  When almost all of the flour streaks are gone, mix in the peanut butter chips and Reese's Pieces with a wooden spoon. Keep mixing until everything is combined.

Scoop spoonfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet (~1-2 inches apart, depending on the size of the cookies).  I usually line my cookie sheets with parchment paper for easy clean up / to prevent sticking. Bake for 8-11 minutes, or until they look firm and not-shiny. Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.  

Enjoy warm or fully cooled! 

Warm & crumbled over some vanilla fro yo or ice cream is my eating-method-of-choice!

Have a great weekend!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bars! *healthified & delicious!*

What's a girl to do with 4 baking-ready (aka mushy) bananas?

As you may have noticed from previous posts, when I have extra bananas, I usually make banana bread (except for that one time I made banana cupcakes with honey cinnamon cream cheese frosting). I've done regular banana bread, chocolate chip banana bread, peanut butter chocolate chip banana bread, pumpkin chocolate chip banana bread.....

and they're all tasty! But I wanted to make not-a-bread.

So,

I made these! Whole Wheat Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Bars!! As the title makes rather obvious, these are made with 100% whole wheat flour and old-fashioned rolled oats. Also, I made them with no butter or oil! The only fat comes from the eggs and the chocolate! You could of course leave out the chocolate to make a healthier product; however, I believe everything is better when chocolate is involved.... ;)

They turned out soft, moist, and full of flavor! The chocolate-banana combination was delicious, and the oats gave them a hearty-healthy texture. mmmmmm mmmmmmmmm

Recipe!

Rachel’s Whole Wheat Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Bars

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
3-4 medium/large bananas, mashed
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
10 oz bag mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 15x10 inch jelly-roll pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray (i.e. PAM).

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and brown sugar. Stir in Oats. Add all of the wet ingredients (applesauce, eggs, mashed banana, and vanilla) and fold into the dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread into greased jelly-roll pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in the pan on a cooling rack. Delicious cut and served warm, or cooled!

Enjoy!!!

Good Ol' Chocolate Chip Cookies!

When I ask people what their favorite kind of cookie is, I'd say at least 8 times out of 10, the answer is chocolate chip. It's a classic. It has chocolate. and it is the perfect sweet treat!!

I like to mix things up a little bit and make things that aren't exactly what is to be expected. So, when I made these chocolate chip cookies, I made them with 100% Whole Wheat flour!! The results?? DELICIOUS! No one had any idea they were whole wheat. Packed full of semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips, these babies are high in fiber and whole grains too!

Recipe? You bet!

Rachel's Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

3 T milk

2 tsp vanilla

1 12-oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 11-oz bag milk chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars with electric mixer until well combined and fluffy. Add in the 2 eggs, milk, and vanilla. Beat until mixed. Then, add in the flour mixture and the chocolate chips (I put them in at the same time). Mix with the mixer just until combined, or fold in by hand.

Scoop onto baking sheet (I always line with parchment paper. and I used a small-sized cookie scoop). Bake 7-9 minutes or until just starting to brown around the edges.

Let cool on baking sheet for about 2 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

SO GOOD warm out of the oven!! Also delish with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fro yo!

Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday & Happy Easter!

Chocolate, peanut butter, and oreos?? Yup, you bet!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lindsay and Sammie!! I love that you both have the same taste in treats as I do...;)

These are Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting and topped with crushed up Oreos!!!

(^^No Oreos on these guys yet!^^)

All boxed up and ready to go to the birthday girls!!

As someone who is not a big cake fan, I LOVE these!! It was a new recipe, and one that I will definitely make over and over again! Check out the recipe at the end of the post!!

Peanut Butter Oreo Cupcakes

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)

Crushed up Oreos (however many you want! I do two sleeves)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with 24-30 baking cups (I made 2 dozen cupcakes, plus a small loaf "cake" with the extra batter).

Combined the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and eggs and beat well. Alternate adding the flour mixing and the milk. With the beater on low speed, I poured in about half of the flour mixture, then half of the milk, then the last half of the flour mixture, and ending with the rest of the milk. Gently fold in the crushed Oreos.

Scoop into prepared baking cups and bake in preheated oven for 16-24 minutes, or until they spring back when lightly touched. Cool on a baking rack.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 cup cocoa powder

dash of salt

2 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup milk (again, I used soy milk)

6-7 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, melt the stick of butter. While the melted butter is still hot, mix in the peanut butter with the butter. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt, and stir until well combined. Then break out your hand mixer if you have one, because the next step is MUCH easier with a mixer, rather than by hand with a spatula or spoon. Add in about half of the powered sugar and about half of the milk. Use hand mixer on low speed until well combined. Then add the rest of the sugar and milk, and again beat until combined.

Frost cooled cupcakes with frosting. Top with additional crushed Oreos if you desire! (of course!!)

P.S. I know 6-7 cups of powdered sugar seems like a lot, but it's right, trust me!! I used 6 cups. You get enough frosting for all of the cupcakes and it tastes delicious!!

If you have any issues let me know! I will try to help ya through it!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful friends, and Happy Easter!

Enjoy!

Update #2! Cookies, Muffins, and Homemade Nutella!

Hello again!

This is update #2 of my spring break baking adventures!

Midweek, I made these cookies!

They are soft toffee cookies with milk chocolate chips. I hadn't made anything with toffee in awhile, but let me tell you, these were addicting!! Brought some into work and froze the rest for when my roomies come back from break!

Later in the week, I had even more overripe bananas, and I had just made those 3 mini banana breads! So, I decided to make Chocolate Banana Muffins. They are 100% Whole Wheat, and have applesauce in place of the oil. The only fat comes from the cocoa powder. They are yummmmy!

155 calories per muffin too, in case anyone was curious (I did the math)!

Lastly, I made Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, aka homemade nutella!! Now, I am not someone that really buys nutella, and I don't love it as much as some people do, but I had bought hazelnuts and never used them, and I wanted something chocolaty to go with the other two mini banana breads (from update #1). This worked out perfectly!! Not quite as smooth as the stuff you'd buy at the store, but the chocolate-hazelnut-iness is tastttyyyy! Definitely a good topper for the banana bread, and lots of other things! My favorite is to eat it with pretzels-- salty-sweet, right?!

Now break is over and it's time to shift back to classes! Baking will continue of course, just not quite as much as this week! :)

Have a wonderful week!

Enjoy!

CUPCAKES!

A new experiment!!

Chocolate Cupcakes with a peanut butter center frosted with creamy chocolate frosting and topped with Reese's Pieces!!!

I used my go-to chocolate cake and frosting recipes. The experiment was the filling in the center! I have to admit, though tasty, it didn't work how I wanted it to. I believe the source of the issue was that I used natural peanut butter, which has always worked for cookies, brownies, and anything where I'm baking it. However, I wasn't able to achieve the consistency I wanted when I was whipping the filling for these cupcakes. Note to self: go back to buying the non-natural stuff for baking.

That being said, it still tastes DELICIOUS! Personally I'll just make a different filling next time :)

The picture above is kind of fuzzy, but it shows you the center! (as well as the very large bite I took, ha!)

I love this chocolate cake because it is super moist, and never fails (at least not yet!) I'm not a huge cake lover, but I.Love.This.Cake!!

I made them for my friend Nicole's 21st birthday!!! She doesn't know it yet, so I might be spoiling the surprise... ;)

The ones I don't give to her will be part going with me to work in the morning and part staying in my room for my roommates (and me) to enjoy!!

Happy Hump Day!

Only 2 days 'til the weekend! Wahoo!

Blondies from the Blonde :)

HAPPPYYY FRIDAYYY!!!!

This was a long week and I am SO glad it's Friday. Today's treat--
~*Chocolate Chip Blondies!!*~

The best way I can think to describe them is this: they taste like a super-soft chocolate chip cookie...almost like cookie dough, but cooked...

...mmmmmmm....melts in your mouth....

Delicious as is, or try with a scoop of ice cream for an extra-special treat!

Have a great weekend!

Oat-banana-chocolate protein super healthy "cookies"!

HEALTHY SNACK!

Yes yes, they are. I had some bananas that were perrrfect for baking, and I wanted to use them to make something healthy...a healthy snack!

So check these out, I might even eat them for a quick breakfast on-the-go!

What makes them healthy you ask? Here are the ingredients:

Bananas

unsweetened applesauce (just a little)

Old Fashioned Oats

dried figs, cut up

2 scoops chocolate protein powder (no added sugar)

cinnamon

vanilla

That's it!

The oats for a slow-digesting carb, high in fiber from the figs and oats, protein from the protein powder, a little healthy fat from the protein powder and the oats, and the taste of chocolate!

They were an experiment, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but they actually taste pretty good!! The touch of sweetness from the bananas melds really well with the oats and protein powder! And they're chocolate!!

I wouldn't really call them a cookie, but that's what they look like...I think I'll try them with peanut or almond butter spread on top too :)

Healthy "treat" = success!

I'd love to know what healthy recipes/treats other people make! I love experimenting!

And the Oscar goes to...

Peanut butter, Oreos, and Chocolate!!

Since it's such a winning combination of flavors, I decided to use them to bake for the Oscars (as if I really needed a reason)! I made a peanut butter oreo sheet cake and frosted it with chocolate oreo frosting!

They look a littttle sloppy...I was in a rush so the cake wasn't completely cool before I put the frosting on. So that's why it was gooey...

...but oh-so-delicious! The cake was really moist and the frosting was wonderfully chocolaty!!

One thing I love about sheet cakes is that you can cut them into bars ahead of time, making them easier to eat at group gatherings. No need for cutting a cake while everyone waits for a piece, no forks, and really plates aren't even necessary (though it doesn't hurt if you have them)! Also, it makes it so the quantity goes further! I used them for three different things!

(1) I brought some to the Oscars party I went to with my sorority sisters, (2) kept some for me and my roommates, and (3) am bringing the rest to work tomorrow!!

Enjoy!

Have a great week!

End of the Week Treat!

Happy Friday!!

I'm totally on a chocolate peanut butter kick!

SO, I made chocolate peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Bringing them to work, to a reunion potluck, to a sorority retreat...lots of places to bring along baked goods for peeps!

Have a great weekend!

Super Bowl = Ultimate Brownies

GO PATS!!

and eat brownies.

I tried something new, and I am officially addicted to them! Think, fudgy, chocolate chunk brownies with layers of peanut butter oreo swirl. OM NOM! You gotta see this...

As you've probably gathered from reading through my blog, I am basically obsessed with peanut butter, oreos, and chocolate...

Pats + Super bowl Commercials + these brownies + great friends = huge win :)

Chocolate & Peanut Butter AND Coconut, Walnuts, & Chocolate...

Peanut butter, chocolate, oats, Reese's pieces, and dark chocolate chunks...what's not to love?! Soft, thick, chewy, flavorful, addicting, and perfect for any chocolate-peanut butter lover. They explode with peanut butter and chocolate flavor! They are truly my favorite and absolutely addicting!

I brought them into work at LivingSocial today! Excellent response. I'm glad everyone liked them as much as I do!

Oh, and did I mention they have zero calories? Ha, I wish. Only kidding. But they are made with all oats (no flour), more peanut butter than butter (healthy fat), and dark chocolate (antioxidants). Totally healthy, right? :) Enjoy!

The week before making the chocolate peanut butter cookies, I made these puppies and brought them into LivingSocial on my first day! They are oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with coconut & walnuts. Sweet treat = smiles. Yum!

My goal is to bake one treat per week! Feel free to send suggestions my way! rachellovesbaking@gmail.com

Winter Break Baking!

First post of 2012! How exciting! While I was home for winter break, I baked a few different things!

For Christmas Eve dinner, my family always does the traditional Italian Seven Fishes Feast for dinner. My Dad heads that up, while my brothers, sister, and I help in different ways. I always do the desserts.

And this is what I made! The main dessert is Chocolate Red Wine Cake with Whipped Mascarpone Frosting (plus more to dollop on top) garnished with strawberries. I also made Christmas cookies (some with my sister and my mom too)! There are walnut snowballs, spritz, almond crescents dipped in chocolate, gingerbread cookies, and peanut butter kiss cookies! And to add some healthfulness to the mix, I served a fruit tray with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, kumquats, clementines, figs, apricots, and dates. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Red Wine Cake with Whipped Mascarpone & Strawberries

Cookie Tray!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies, Snowballs, and Gingerbreads!

Banana Breads + some muffins!! Made it for my family to have for breakfast! I make this all the time; it is consistently delicious & loved by all!

These are 100% whole wheat, and the one without chocolate chips is fat free. The base to the chocolate chip bread is fat free, just has the addition of chocolate chips! The flavor is fantastic and the texture is super-moist! No one can tell they're actually healthy!

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!