Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

Last night I had a want to bake moment again!  I have so many things in my favorites on foodgawker that it's hard not to bake when I have a few minutes.  These bars were something I knew I had all the ingredients on hand to make and I did.  They were super easy to make, and so amazingly good!  My husband has a huge love for peanut butter and chocolate together.  Me on the other hand thinks those two ingredients are very rich together and can only eat a little of any dessert containing these two things.  I will say I love the taste though.  Peanut butter and chocolate just seem to melt in your mouth!  You can find the original recipe here at the pinch of yum blog.

Prep time:  20 mins, Cook time:  40 mins, Total time:  1 hour, Serves: 20 (I got 9 bars)

• 1 stick butter, unsalted (1/2 cup), softened
• ½ cup white sugar
• ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt (less if you don’t like salty/sweet)
• ½ cup rolled oats
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven 325 degrees

Make the cookie dough by creaming the butter, sugars, and peanut butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture in with the butter and sugar, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.

Make the cheesecake filling: Cream the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

Press half to two-thirds of the cookie dough in the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish. Pour the cheesecake filling over the dough. Crumble the remaining dough and sprinkle over the top, OR roll it into a flat layer and place it over the cheesecake layer.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes; remove foil and bake for another 15-25 minutes, or until tops is lightly browned and cheesecake layer is set. Serve warm or cold and store leftover bars in refrigerator.

Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

This is an all time favorite dish in my house!  It truly is some of the best chicken spaghetti I've ever had.  My friend shared her recipe with us many years ago and it's the only way I've made chicken spaghetti since.  I really don't like chicken spaghetti if it is dry and thick.  With this recipe it never seems dry, and that's one of the biggest things I love about it!


Paula Dean Seasoning (salt, blk pepper, garlic powder, onion powder)
Montreal Steak
Tones Garlic & Herb
Lawry's Seasoned Pepper
Chicken Bouillon
1 can Original Rotel
1 can Mild Rotel
2 can Cream of Chicken
1 can Cream of Mushroom
2 lb Velveeta 
2.5 lb bag chicken tenders
2 12oz boxes of thin spaghetti noodles
Shredded cheddar cheese

Place frozen chicken tenders in 5qt pot, cover with water and boil until cooked and fork inserted causes tender to split.  Be careful not to overcook and dry chicken out.  Remove from burner, cover with lid and let sit for 15-20 minutes to cool some.

Prepare spaghetti noodles as directed on package. I break mine in half before placing in pot.

Remove chicken from pot, place in dish or on plate and shred to pieces with two forks.

Pour about 4 cups of broth into bowl or container for use later.  Leave remaining broth in pot.  This allows all the seasoning to be used in making the sauce.  Place sauce back on burner and set on medium heat.  Add rotel, cream of chicken, and cream of mushroom.  Begin cutting velveeta in chunks and add a little at a time to pot, allowing it to melt some before adding more.  Continue stirring until all ingredients are blended together and smooth.  During this you will need to add more form the reserve broth as needed to thin out sauce.  You want it to run off spoon smoothly, not too runny and not thick.

Place noodles in two 9x13 glass baking dishes.  Stir chicken into them both.  Pour sauce into baking dishes a little at a time, stirring it into the noodles and chicken.  Cover with shredded cheddar cheese.  Bake 20-25 minutes.

Christmas M&M Cookies

I actually had a little bit of spare time today, and what did I find myself wanting to do?  There is just that love for cooking that has me wanting to bake!   Just some cookies I saw on foodgawker and knew the kids would love them.  So it was time time to whip them up on a whim, and they were easy, fast, and yummy!

Christmas M&M Cookies
Yields about 1 1/2 dozen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup salted butter, chilled and diced into cubes (about 1/2-inch)
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2  large egg
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 (11 oz) bag M&M's


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. 

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, blend together butter and sugar on low speed until it starts to come together then increase mixer to medium speed and whip until creamy, about 3 - 4 minutes. Mix in egg and egg yolk. Stir in vanilla.  With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combine (batter will be thick due to the chilled butter). Mix in M&M's (I set aside about 1/4 cup of the M&M's to lightly press into the tops of cookies before baking so they show through more, totally optional). 

Scoop dough out 2 Tbsp at a time and shape into a ball, place on nonstick cookie sheet  - fitting 8 per sheet.  Bake in preheated oven 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Allow to cool on baking sheet several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container. 

Dark Chocolate Banana Bread

I love baking anytime, but especially in Fall and at Christmas time.  Breads are wonderful to bake, and I love eating them for breakfast with a cup of coffee.  This is the first time I've ever made a chocolate bread and I really like what I did here with the dark cocoa.  Of course I love dark chocolate so I really like this bread.  I got the original recipe from Becky Bakes, and made a few changes and had to substitute the buttermilk. It still turned out delicious!

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup substitute buttermilk (1 cup milk, 1 Tbsp vinegar)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with Bakers Joy and place it on an insulated baking sheet when baking,  this extra insulation will keep the bottom of the bread from overbaking.
 
Mix milk & vinegar, and let stand until needed, at least 5 minutes.
 
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Working with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed for about a minute  until soft.

Add the sugars and beat for 2 minutes more.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the mashed bananas.  Add the dry ingredients in a little at a time, mixing until they disappear into the batter.  Still on low, add the buttermilk slowly a little at a time. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.  Pour batter into pan.  (you could make two thinner loafs by using 2 pans, this makes a lot of batter)

Bake for 3o minutes.  Cover the bread loosely with a foil tent to keep the top from getting too dark, and continue to bake for another 50-60 minutes (total baking time is between 80 and 90 minutes, this is for one pan, bake time would have to be less if batter is split to two pans), or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs.  Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for at least 20 minutes before flipping out of pan.  Let cool to room temperature.