Red Velvet Brownies

I’ve been dying to make this recipe for a while. It is hard to resist when I see recipe pop up on Pinterest a bazillion times and each time I see it, it looks better than the last. Also, how could I pass up the opportunity to make and consume a baked red velvet treat with cream cheese? You see what I mean?

Anyways, I learned a very important lesson while making these brownies. It’s a lesson I already know but like I said earlier, this recipe is simply irresistible! It is important to let the brownies cool before eating. Not only do you prevent burning of the fingers and tongue, you get the brownie taste and texture when it has cooled. While I didn’t burn myself as I cut a piece, I was disappointed with the end product. The brownies tasted like cake and it didn’t have the dense and slightly chewy texture that brownies are notorious for. However, the next day when the brownies were cooled, they had the perfect brownie texture and taste. This made me one happy gal. Okay, okay, I know. I need to learn to be patient.

My original intention was to make these brownies for a work function but I thought it was better suited for my own consumption…oops!

Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

With summer here, that can only mean one thing...strawberry season! Okay, strawberry season starts in the spring but summer is the time where we can eat strawberries all day, everyday. That's how things are in my house at least. I bought a four pound container of strawberries yesterday and intend to make ridiculous amounts of strawberry goodness. I started with strawberry cheesecake bars. I felt like doing something nice for my sister since she's done a lot for me lately. She is a huge fan of strawberries so this was the perfect dessert to make. If you thought I loved strawberries, you definitely haven't met my sister. She is a vicious strawberry devourer, no joke.

Back to the strawberry cheesecake bars, it starts with a standard graham cracker crust layered with a strawberry banana cream cheese filling and topped with a cinnamon streusel. The crunchy goodness from the streusel and graham cracker crust gives great texture to the bars and it makes these bars addictive. See the picture to the right? Need I say more?



I made a chocolate chip cookie cheesecake bar a few months back and this recipe was a play off of that. You're probably wondering where the post for that recipe is? Well, it was eaten so quickly, I didn't even have a chance to take a picture. No picture, no post. I know, sad day but it will be made again one day in the near future!

To give the bars an added layer of flavor, I chopped some additional strawberry pieces throughout the cheesecake batter so you know for sure it was a strawberry filling!

Apple Cinnamon Banana Bread

I've been having an urge to make something with apple. I was struggling on what to make because I wanted to use apples but not in its typical way through a pie, streusel, etc. That's when I saw the ripe bananas chilling on my counter and thought to myself, why don't I add some apple to my banana bread recipe? I also incorporated cinnamon to compliment the apples and bananas. This is a great banana bread variation, especially since I just made banana bread last week. The apples makes the bread super moist and adds nice textural element. Another great textural element are the walnuts which is slightly crunchier than the apple pieces throughout the bread.The cinnamon gives another depth of flavor throughout the bread. It's like eating apple pie and banana bread together. I don't mind that at all!

One note, because there are apples and bananas in this recipe, it won't keep long on the kitchen counter. I portion my loaf into serving sizes and freeze it. This way, I can pull out some bread for an out the door breakfast or midday snack. The bread last longer and you won't have discard your hard work when it's not edible anymore!

Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Cupcake with Cookie Dough

Can you guess what's inside???

This cupcake is filled with a special treat for you. What is this treat you ask? Cookie dough of course! Now don't you worry about getting sick from this cookie dough because it is eggless cookie dough, which only means one thing...unlimited consumption until your stomach hurts from another reason besides the one you would get from eating raw cookie dough! To top it all off, it is stuffed into a chocolate chip cinnamon cupcake! The combination of the cookie dough and the cinnamon from the cupcakes is like a match made in Y-U-M-M-Y land! One of my favorite combinations is cinnamon with chocolate so this cupcake was absolutely divine.

Only one word can describe this...Y-U-M-M-Y!

The end product - cookie dough blends nicely with the cupcake!

Marshamallow Lover Cupcakes

I have a problem. It's more than just an obsession, it's an infatuation...with marshmallows. It's the craziest thing because marshmallow is pure sugar and I believe it's one of the great inventions ever. I do not exaggerate. There are times I go to the grocery store to buy a munchie and leave with a bag of mini marshmallows in hand. Marshmallows are multifunctional....at least in my life. I can make Rice Krispie treats, dip em in practically anything, stuff em in a peanut butter sandwich, or eat em on their own. Oh, I did forget one more way to eat marshmallows...in a cupcake! This cupcake is a ode to my one and only love, the marshmallow!

http://www.countryliving.com/cooking/about-food/spring-centerpiece-0406#slide-1

My crush...no one knows except for you!

Marshmallow lover cupcake is a yellow cupcake with marshmallow fluff filling, topped with chocolate malt frosting and a chocolate covered marshmallow. This cupcake is great from scratch (cupcakes, marshmallows, frosting, etc.) but it is also a great assembly cupcake. What do I mean by this? While I love baking things from scratch, sometimes we need a dessert but not enough time. This is a great cupcake to make that is, like how Sandra Lee says, semi-homemade. In this instance, I used boxed cake mix, store bought frosting, marshmallow fluff, and chocolate covered marshmallow. All I had to do was to bake and assemble the cupcakes. Sounds like a piece of marshmallow, right?