Chocolate Chip Cookie Pudding Cake

So easy and so yummy. It's not pretty, but it will please a crowd!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pudding Cake

Slutty Blondie Brownies

I must confess, I have no idea why this recipe has "slutty" in the title, but I don't care! This is a delicious layered bar of sugar cookie dough, Golden Oreos, and blondies. I made the exact recipe in  a 13 x 9 dish instead of the recommended 9 x 9 to stretch the amount of bars it would make. It came out fine - just watch the baking time, as it will probably take a little less.

Slutty Blondie Brownies

Rocky Road Ice Cream

Although this ice cream calls for a custard (more work) it looked delicious and I wanted to make one with marshmallows. I actually served it alongside the Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream so instead of using peanuts in this I used the same amount of white chocolate chips. Enjoy!

Rocky Road Ice Cream

Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream

This ice cream looked easy enough - no praline to make and you just have to swirl the peanut butter in at the end of churning. I didn't use natural peanut butter (and I've actually read in The Perfect Scoop that it's not recommended), just regular smooth Skippy. It was delicious!

Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

I have to say that I didn't even make these, my sister did. But I watched her make them, does that count?! It is a lengthy process to make these, but they're well worth it!

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Coffee Ice Cream

A labor-intensive recipe (as ice creams go) that is well worth it, even for a non-coffee-ice-cream lover like me. Made this for my dad's birthday!

Coffee Ice Cream

Homemade Twix Bars

Delicious!

Homemade Twix Bars

S'mores Gooey Cake Bars

Another great dessert! Although I love white chocolate I didn't understand the need for it here and substituted milk chocolate chips for the white.

S'mores Gooey Cake Bars

Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars

One of THE BEST desserts I have made recently. Plenty of chocolate - I decreased the amount of chips in the top layer to two cups and there was still almost too much. Best when stored in the fridge.

Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars

Strawberry Bread

Strawberry Bread

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Creamy Pumpkin Glaze

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Creamy Pumpkin Glaze

Peanut Butter Fudge Oatmeal Bars

Peanut Butter Fudge Oatmeal Bars

Birthday Cake Bark

Birthday Cake Bark

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle Dessert

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle Dessert

Cookies and Cream Double Chocolate Cake Bars

I chose this recipe to make to bring to a barbecue because A. it looked super easy and B. it looked super delicious. And I was right on both counts! I mean, how can you go wrong with Oreos, chocolate cake, and chocolate chips?

The only note I have on this recipe from Picky Palate is that once I reached the prescribed baking time, my bars were still rather jiggly in the oven. ;) I needed about 15-20 minutes more, to make sure the middle was set, but then the bars were on the dry side. I am notorious for underbaking so I was nervous about them but next time I won't overbake quite as long. So basically what I am telling you is just to watch the oven!

Cookies and Cream Double Chocolate Cake Bars

Raspberry Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

You really can't go wrong with a dessert that has cheesecake, chocolate, and raspberry in it. And these little bars definitely did not disappoint. A delicious layer of dark chocolate brownie is topped with a layer of creamy cheesecake swirled with raspberry jam.

The recipe calls for chopped dark chocolate, but you can just as easily use dark chocolate chips. Other than that, the directions were perfect, so the link is below!

Raspberry Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Mother's Day Dinner 2011

This year for Mother's Day, Chuck and I had our families over for dinner to celebrate. I enjoyed spending my second Mother's Day with Abbie as well as with my fantastic mother and fabulous mother-in-law. I wanted dinner to be easy to put together beforehand and asked all the siblings to help with appetizers and dessert. Everyone brought something delicious and we all had a good time eating, drinking, and blowing bubbles with Abbie. :)

Mother's Day Dinner 2011

Appetizers

• Brie-stuffed mushrooms


• Spinach artichoke feta dip with pita chips


• Bacon appetizer crescents


• Assorted cheese and cracker platter

Dinner

• Grilled chicken with barbecue sauce or honey dijon marinade


• Cavatelli salad with artichokes and goat cheese


• Southwestern layered cornbread salad (without the chicken)


• Zucchini and yellow squash gratin
  

Dessert

• Bakery cupcakes


• Cookies and cream cheesecakes


• Assorted cookies

Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake

I was hosting a little ladies' lunch with some friends and saw this in a recent issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray. There is a zucchini bread I make that I really like, so I figured if you add chocolate it just gets even better!

This was a very tasty little snack cake, but personally I would stick with serving it at lunch and not after a fancy dinner party. It was a pretty dense cake, with a nice chocolate taste, and the only way you could tell there was zucchini in it was the texture. A little on the dry side, I would definitely recommend serving it with the vanilla yogurt as pictured and suggested in the recipe. If you don't have espresso powder, ground coffee will do just fine; and I used the more neutral-tasting canola oil instead of olive oil. Enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake

Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

I was never a huge fan of bread pudding because I always thought it came out too dry and not sweet enough. Well, this one changed my mind! Soaked in a creamy caramel sauce and dotted with chocolate, the bread was moist and delicious.

Make sure you buy a nice egg bread, or challah, for this. The only change I made from the original recipe was to use dark chocolate chips instead of bittersweet, and I would suggest using a whole cup instead of just a half.

If you can't find dulce de leche sauce, mixing equal parts butterscotch and caramel sauce works just fine, and you can really taste the rum so use one of good quality.

Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding

Oreo Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

This is a great, classic dessert bar with a made-from-scratch brownie foundation and a delicious sweet cream cheese topping. And don't forget the Oreos! They kind of reminded me of the Princess Brownies I have blogged before, but more delicious (and more time-consuming). This is a perfect dessert to bring to a party or to keep in the house and devour yourself.

A few notes: 1 1/2 cups of Oreo cookies is about 18 cookies (although if you have leftovers, they make a perfect topping for ice cream). I also baked this for way longer than Annie directs, about 38 minutes in my oven; and although Annie suggests storing these in the fridge, I think it dries the bars out, so try them at room temperature. Otherwise, these are perfect - enjoy!

Oreo Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies