Lovin' From the Oven

Chunky Monkey Bars & Winner

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Before we get to the bars, I’m sure you guys are all wondering who the winner of the Shabby Apple giveaway is! Well, with some help from random.org, the winner is….

Tree! Congratulations! Keep an eye out for an email from me so I can get your contact information and size for the dress. 🙂

I was craving Ben & Jerry’s “chunky monkey” one night and didn’t want to drive all the way to the grocery store at one o’clock in the morning. Since I had the three main ingredients on hand, I decided to whip something up (not to mention my family somehow has a never ending amount of ripe bananas). Of course these aren’t as good as the real thing, but paired with vanilla ice cream, they’d give them a run for their money. This recipe does make quite a bit, so cut it in half if you’re not feeding a family of twenty.

These bars are very light– they’d make a great breakfast or brunch snack to take on the go. The walnuts can be omitted, and the chocolate can be changed to white or milk… whatever floats your boat.

  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 1 cup oats
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 1 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 very ripe, mashed bananas
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 8 oz chopped dark chocolate
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. Grease a rimmed cookie sheet with butter or oil.
  3. Cream together the butter and both sugars. 
  4. Mix in the eggs, bananas, and vanilla until well blended.
  5. Mix in the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until incorporated.
  6. Stir in chocolate and walnuts. Spread into prepared cookie sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Marshmallow Monster Cookies

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I’ve got a bone to pick with you guys. With summer coming up in full swing, which sunscreen do you guys use? The spray or lotion kind? I’m usually a lotion kind of girl, but we recently bought the aerosol version since it seemed so much easier to apply.

Never again. The bottle lasted my DB and I literally 3 days. Not only that, but it doesn’t quite spread everywhere. We both got burnt with zebra stripes on our backs/arms/legs, despite our efforts of putting it on twice in one afternoon. Ouch. So it’s more expensive, doesn’t last nearly as long, and isn’t quite effective. I definitely won’t be using the aerosol kind anymore. Am I doing something wrong or does it truly suck?

These cookies were wonderful. They were hearty with a good mix of peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate, and had a wonderful texture. They were thick and chewy, while the marshmallows were a nice addition to the mix. My DB even ate these and he HATES oatmeal! He barely noticed that they were even there. This recipe is adapted from Pinch of Yum and lives up to the “monster” name!

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 2 cups quick-cooking oats
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup miniature marshmallows
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
  2. Stir together the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. 
  3. Cream butter and both sugars until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. 
  4. Add the peanut butter and mix until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture until just combined.
  5. Stir the oats and chips into the dough with a wooden spoon.
  6. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Push in 4-5 marshmallows into each cookie dough ball. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, until golden.

Cookie Dough Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

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I’m back from SF! And very glad to be back, might I add. No matter what, I will always be a SoCal girl. I’m just not made for cold weather… which is kind of ironic, because it looks like I’ll be moving up north this summer. I went with my DB for admitted students weekend at Berkeley, and he really fell in love with Boalt. We did our fair share of eating, walking, and mingling, but darn, it feels good to be home. Foodie pictures to come!
While home, I pop cookie dough bites like there’s not tomorrow. So when I saw this recipe from Visions of Sugar Plum, it was a given that I had to make them. You can buy the cookie dough bites candy from Target, the movie theatre, or even Dollar Tree!
These cookies are perfect. Hearty, soft, and chewy.. the trifecta of cookies. Give them a go, cookie dough lovers!
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted
  • 1 cup chocolate chunks
  • 2 (4 ounce) packages chocolate covered cookie dough bites
  1. Sift together flour, baking soda, and sea salt.
  2. In a separate bowl, beat oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla. Cream in softened butter until mixed.
  3. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in dry ingredients until incorporated.
  4. Stir in walnuts, chocolate chunks, and cookie dough candy until combined.
  5. Chill cookie dough in the freezer for at least an hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  7. Roll the dough into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown on top.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

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