Lovin' From the Oven

Day 1: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

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It’s that time of the year again…. My 12 days of cookies to keep you prepared for the holidays! Spread the cheer by baking something delicious for the people you live with, work with, see all the time. It’ll make a world of a difference in their day, trust me!

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I’m finished with training for work and am so relieved that I graduated! It was definitely a memorable experience and I already miss seeing everyone’s faces every day. It’s mind blowing how fast you can get attached to a group of people without even knowing it. Spending twelve hours a day with them for five weeks surely makes a difference!

My parents and aunt came up this weekend so not only have I been busy with work, I’ve been spending all my time with my family. I hardly ever see them since I moved up north, but I’m so thankful I’ll get to see them a lot more now. Let’s just say a weekend with my parents means good food 5 meals a day. Just what I needed!

Day 1 of my 12 days of cookies: Dark chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies. These cookies were a HUGE hit. I used a cookie scoop to form my dough so they were all pretty uniformed and rose beautifully. The peanut butter I used from Trader Joe’s is so good from the jar that it had to be exceptional in a cookie. If you’re looking for a cookie to add to your baskets, look no further! Recipe from Spoonful of Sugar.

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Day 1: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 2 cups quartered mini peanut butter cups (I used the dark chocolate ones from Trader Joe's)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Cream together the peanut butter and butter until well mixed.
  3. Add in the brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until blended.
  4. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour just incorporated.
  5. Carefully stir in the peanut butter cups.
  6. Scoop out the batter onto the cookie sheets and bake for 6 minutes.
https://lovintheoven.com/day-1-dark-chocolate-peanut-butter-cup-cookies/

In case you needed more ideas, be sure to check out my last year’s list of 12 days of cookies (and the year before!).

Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds

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We survived through the first food coma of the year and are quickly rolling around to the next (and my favorite!!). Christmas is especially my favorite holiday because that means I get to bake non-stop without looking like a crazy person. I’ll just look like I’m caught up in the holiday cheer!

What’s even better is that my friends over at Oh Nuts are on top of the upcoming season and sent me some goods to get my baking started. I love that you can choose your specific color of chocolate covered sunflower seeds or go for an assortment, like I chose to. Next time, I’ll go for the holiday assortment to really kick my Christmas baking up a notch. Not only do they taste good, they make desserts look extravagant!

As for these bars, I had to bake them twice in a week since my DB devoured the first batch. I left a good chunk of the pan at home for pictures and asked my DB if he wanted me to leave any to eat. He replied, “Nope! I don’t want any. I won’t eat anything.” When I came home from work, they were all gone and I was picture-less. The first thought that came through my mind was, “My blog! I have to blog about everything I make! How am I going to blog about these?!” So there I was, making them again, two nights in a row. Ohhhh the life of a food blogger.

It’s okay, though…. the both times that I made these bars, they disappeared within 24 hours. That’s gotta mean something, right? Recipe from Lindsey Yeo.

Print
Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup peanut butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup toppings (I used semisweet chocolate chips and chocolate covered sunflower seeds from OhNuts!)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8″ square pan with foil.
  2. In a mixing bowl, mix the butter, sugar, and peanut butter. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Gradually incorporate the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
  3. Spread batter in the pan and sprinkle toppings evenly over the top and press down a bit. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
https://lovintheoven.com/peanut-butter-blondies-with-chocolate-covered-sunflower-seeds/

Chunky Monkey Smoothie

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I slice my ripe bananas prior to freezing them so they’re easier to handle.

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As usual, all my ingredients are from Trader Joe’s, including my 19 cent bananas.

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Throw all your ingredients in the blender and blend away.

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Aren’t these cups fancy? I adore glass cups that are made for coffee/hot drinks. You can never have enough glasses when you’re a food blogger. I got these at TJMaxx, where I spend nearly 3 hours on every trip. Ridiculous, I know… but when I shop, I make time to search and rummage through each pile for the best deals.

I thought I’d try something new and include a printable recipe with each post. I’m not sure how to include it for previous posts without going through each one separately, so for now it will just have to be for future posts. Does anyone know a way to make it so that I can add a print button to all of my recipes without being too strenuous?

This is a very simple smoothie with only five ingredients– all of which I’m sure you already have on hand. To make it really “Chunky Monkey,” I’d throw in a couple of walnuts next time to complete the flavor. In case you don’t know what Chunky Monkey is, it’s Ben & Jerry’s flavor of ice cream, as mentioned in my previous post here.

Chunky Monkey Smoothie
Click Here for a Printable Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 large frozen bananas, sliced
  • 1/2 cup plain vanilla yogurt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Instructions:

  1. Place all of the ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

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