Black Bottom Cookie Bars

I have been trying not to bake as much because my husband doesn't really eat what I make and then I have to eat all of it. But I saw this recipe and it was super easy and it looked so good I had to make it. And I am glad that I did!! This recipe is easy to make and if you bake at all you will have all the ingredients laying around. The chocolate is just enough to make it super yummy and the top layer of cookie is gooey and delicious!! So I ate one last night, and now my husband is going to take them to work to share with his coworkers so that I don't eat them all

Black Bottom Cookie Bars

• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted (plus more for baking dish)
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 & 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan.

Whisk together butter and both sugars in a large bowl. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour and salt, mixing just until moistened.

Divide batter in half, and transfer one half to a separate bowl. Stir in cocoa powder and chocolate chips until combined.

Place chocolate batter in baking pan. Spread evenly and smooth top. Spread plain batter on top of chocolate batter. Smooth top.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Makes 24 bars. (I cut mine bigger so it only made 15)

Watermelon Sangria

I realize it has been awhile, so please forgive me!!

This drink is a perfect summertime drink. It is cool and refreshing and it looks pretty too.

Watermelon Sangria

12 Cups of Cubed Seeded Watermelon (approx 1 personal sized watermelon)
1 Bottle of white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
1 Cup Vodka
1/2 Cup Triple Sec
1/2 Cup of simple syrup
Fresh Blueberries

Puree 9 cups of watermelon in a blender, pour through a strainer into a pitcher. Pour in the wine, vodka, triple sec and simple syrup. Stir to combine, add the rest of the watermelon and the blueberries. Let cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving. Overnight would be even better. The watermelon and the blueberries absorb some of the alcohol and they are delicious!!
Happy Summer!!

Romano Chicken with Lemon Butter Sauce

I made this a few weeks ago for dinner and it was a huge hit. You coat the chicken in romano cheese and you make a lemony wine sauce that is delicious. You bake the chicken in the sauce for a little bit at the end, which I think it what makes it so tender. And you throw the lemons in, so they bake also and your whole house smells like lemony goodness. The kids even loved it!! Hope you do too.

Chicken Romano w/ Lemon Butter Sauce

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup flour

3 eggs

3/4 cups romano cheese

3/4 chicken stock

1/2 stick butter

1 whole lemon

1/3 cup white wine

1/2 tablespoon dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350. Add olive oil to skillet on medium heat.

Tenderize chicken, then dredge through flour, egg and cheese. Place in skillet and brown on both sides. Once brown, turn off heat. This is what it should look like

Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add lemon juice and chopped up lemons. Try to discard all seeds. Add white wine and parsley. Let come to a boil. then pour entire mix into chicken skillet. Add chicken stock to skillet.

Cover and bake for about 20 minutes at 350. Serve with pasta or rice.

Finished product!!

Baked Brownies

Let me start out by saying that I generally make things from scratch, I very rarely use a mix. This is the exception. I recently went to Williams Sonoma and they were making brownies in the store and they smelled amazing. They tasted even better. They were the Baked Brownies mix. If you have not heard of this, Baked is a brownie shop in NYC that is famous for their amazing brownies. Now you can purchase the brownie mix at Williams Sonoma. It is not cheap, it costs $12, and I thought I could make it from scratch for less than that, but it turns out I can't. The real recipe has a lot of high end chocolate in it, which is why it is so delicious, but that makes it more expensive to make.
These brownies are fudgey, and lovely. This is probably the only time you will hear me say that the mix is better than scratch. I made the peanut butter brownie and the dark chocolate, they are both delightful, I love the peanut butter, but that is my preference. They are amazing and you should give them a shot
Here is the link to the website

Valentines Ideas

Valentines is a fun baking holiday too. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Valentines Bark with Conversation Heart
This one looks very festive and a good use of conversation hearts. Because, let's face it, conversation hearts are fun and cute, but they don't taste very good

Cupcakes with Piped Hearts: You can melt white or milk chocolate and put it in a piping bag and pipe hearts onto wax paper. They will harden and then you can stand them up on top of the cupcakes. Super cute!!

Anything Red or Pink
Sugar cookies cut into hearts and decorated with pink and red sprinkles or frosting are always a big hit. Also red velvet cake or cupcakes are a good Valentines treat, here are some red velvet suggestions along with recipes

Cupcakes for 2
This is a fun little treat if you and your Valentine are staying in and you don't want to eat 24 cupcakes!!

Happy Valentines Day, I hope that you all have a wonderful day with your sweetie!!

Mega Berry Streusal Muffins

We struggle with breakfast at our house. My girls don't really want to eat it, they could take it or leave it. So I am always looking for things that they can grab and eat that will be good for them, but they will still eat. I recently read a book called "How to Bake a Perfect Life" It is fiction, but it is about someone who owns a bakery and it is filled with recipes. That is where I found this one. It has yogurt, oats, whole wheat flour, and not a lot of sugar. And it has a ton of fruit, so it appeals to the kiddos. I made them last night, and they were a big hit, I loved them too.
Hope you enjoy!!
Berry Streusel Muffins

1 1/2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup Oats
1 T Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Honey (or raw sugar) I used 1/2 cup of each
1 1/2 Cups of Plain Yogurt (I used plain Greek yogurt, it adds a little more protein)
1 6oz container of Blueberry or Raspberry Yogurt
1/2 Cup Milk
3 T Canola Oil
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Large Egg
1 Cup Each of Raspberries and Blueberries (I only used blueberries, you could use any combination of berries you like)

Preheat oven to 400, line muffin tins with liners, or grease them
Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine all the wet ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and combine until completely mixed. Fold on the berries. Divide among the muffin tins and set aside.

Streusel Mix (you nay need to double this to have enough for the muffins)
1/4 Cup Flour
3 T Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Chopped Nuts (walnuts, pecans. or almonds)
1 1/2 T Melted Butter

Combine all the ingredients and sprinkle on top of muffins

Bake for about 15 minutes. Let cool in the pans for about 15 minutes to let the berries set, then cool completely on a wire rack

Holy Cow!!

These look amazing and I shall make them at once!!
Sprinkle Bakes