Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Brownies. Right here. Right now.

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I have a family thing this weekend. I have to bring something. The problem is, there's travel involved. UGHGH. What to make?? What to do?? I need to make something ahead since I have to work then travel, and SINCE it has to travel, it has to be sturdy--none of this delicate, fancy business. Plus, I work, so it's not like I have all this time—I need something easy peasy. I suppose there's always the option of going to the store and buying something, but yuck. Who wants that?? Gross. I'm cringing just thinking about it.

That's when I remembered something I saw on Bakerella. No, I can't take full credit here. And I think Ms. Bakerella found this through Betty Crocker if I'm not mistaken. Here's the deal. It's a box of brownie mix + a box of chocolate chip cookie mix. You make the brownie mix according to the instructions & pour the batter in a 13x9 pan. Then you make the cookie dough and drop the sweet little blobs right into the unbaked brownie batter. You bake them together, et voila! Chocolate chip cookie dough brownies. Top them with a rich chocolate ganache and you got yourself a winner. I made them about a year ago for a friend's birthday. I assure you, they won the hearts of all who ate them.

BUT THIS TIME. Oh no, this time I did something a little bit different. I made a peanut butter filling. So first it's brownie mix, then I dropped in the peanut butter filling & swirled it for peanut butter marble brownies, THEN dropped in the chocolate chip cookie dough. HEEEECK YEAH, baby.

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You then bake according to the instructions. The brownie boxes say 350°. The cookies say 375°. I opt for 350° so nothing cooks too quickly & burns.

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Unfortunately, this is going to have to be a two-parter. A cliffhanger! I've coated them in ganache and they're in my fridge, however, photos of a big pan of ganache aren't quite as exciting to stare at, oh no. So this weekend, once I finally rip into these little delicious monsters, I plan to take the finished process photos and post away. I'll also give you the recipe for the peanut butter filling, I promise. Until then, to be continued... ;-)

Shiny New Recipe Cards

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Who doesn't get excited about new stuff? New clothes. New shoes. New pots & pans. New episodes of TV shows. Heck, even new shampoo! It's thrilling! So that's why I'm excited right now. I have a new recipe card available in the Etsy shop! It will be available as a PDF file with 3 color variations of the same design (pictured above... as if you needed to be told). Perfect for writing down a bunch of NEW (or old) recipes. ;-)

Key Lime for the Win!

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I stumbled upon this on Jezebel by way of NYMag. (If you haven't heard, I like to pretend I'm a New Yorker and read NYMag.com constantly. Anywho...) I don't really care about March Madness. I WANT TO. I want to so badly. I want to go to a bar and yell and get super into the game but I just...can't. I get bored. Yaaawn. Beer can only keep me entertained for so long (I know, right?). But anyway, on Friday, I came across the article on NYMag speaking about a new kind of "bracketology" of the Cake Vs. Pie variety. SAY WHAT???

Hmm, cake vs pie. Now that's something I could get into! Normally, I choose cake. I love cake. Obviously. What do I sell? Gimme a C! Gimme a U! Gimme a P! Gimme a CAKE!!! And fruit pies are NOT my thing. They're alright, but I wouldn't choose it. Cream pies and goo pies? That's a different story. I love pumpkin pie. Some kind of chocolate goo pie? Peanut butter pie? Key lime pie?? Heck yeah, I'd hit that. Little did I expect this to happen though:

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KEY LIME FOR THE WIN!!!! Holy cow! I love funfetti. I love red velvet (especially my own & Sprinkles'—most others fall short) but WOW... KEY LIME. FOR. THE. WIN. I didn't see that coming at all. You know why? Key lime pie, to me, can transcend traditional pie expectations. The creamy texture, the burst of exquisite flavor, the buttery graham crust, but most importantly the possibility for sophisticated gourmet alterations—it's just beyond a normal pie in my opinion. Now, one could argue that ANY pie could achieve similar heights but here on this blog, Key Lime reigns.

So I'm for pie. Who knew? Even if I had to switch it up, peanut butter pie would be my champ. I have an undying love for peanut butter, but that's a whole other blog post.

What are you thoughts? What's your bracket? Most importantly, WHO IS YOUR CHAMP?

Pretty petals of frosting.

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Flower cupcakes, piped at a friend's special request. By no means is this some technical method of piping. It was a trial & error discovery. But I'm digging them! They remind me of dahlias. They're not the official way to pipe dahlias, but hey... who says there's only one way, right? One of these days I'm going to practice piping dahlias, roses, begonias, peonies, chrysanthemums... yeah, all those.

Culinary Covet List: Femme Fab

I have a serious shopping problem. I want thing, lots & lots of pretty things & sooner or later I can't control myself. Well, I can... it's just not nearly as fun & it's a lot harder than it seems! That's when I came up with the idea to share my Culinary Covet Lists as a form of personal therapy for when I develop serious "I WANT" syndrome, & it's also a way for me to share all the cool stuff I come across. Plus, it also gives me a way to develop eye candy for the blog. We like eye candy here, right? That was rhetorical, ps. :-)

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— Covet List No. 001: Femme Fab —

1. Spring Fed Dinnerware 10" melamine plate from Pop Ink
2. Luster Bell Optic Flute-Set of 6 in green from Target
3. White & Silver square tray with bird graphic from Pier 1
4. Liberty of London for Target tiered dessert tray. From Target, in stores March 14
5. Sparrow Salt & Pepper Shakers from Fred Flare
6. Damask Embroidery Table Runner in beige & olive, from KainKain's Etsy Shop