bake. eat. repeat.
Do I have a cookie recipe for you guys today? These little whoopie pies have quickly moved into my top favorite list. Who knew that a brownie mix could turn into these cute chewy cookies? I love to make cake mix cookies like these Butterfinger Whoopie Pies. So, I decided to sub in a brownie mix and see what would happen. [Read more...]
Looking for an easy No Bake dessert to keep on hand for when it is too hot to turn on the oven? These Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles are a quick and easy fix for those steamy days.
Over the past few months I have been updating old recipes and re-editing old pictures. I thought about redoing the pictures completely, but I do enjoy seeing the old pictures to see how far I have come…and I really don’t have time to add that to my schedule right now. Maybe one day. [Read more...]
Are you a party planner? Do you wait to the last minute to get all your supplies? If you answered yes, to either of these questions, then Walgreens is the place for you. You can find all your last minute party planning snacks and treats in a hurry.
This weekend the last games in the big college basketball tournament will be happening. Will you be watching them? Who are you rooting for? I have to be honest, my bracket is still blank.
I’m not as into watching sports as the boys in my house. They can sit and watch all the games every weekend. But what I am into, is planning a fun party for friends to come over and enjoy treats and the big game with us.
I had the opportunity this week to visit Walgreens and to buy some snacks for a last minute party. You can check out my shopping story on Google+. Walgreens is a convenient place to shop for snacks and party decor when you only have a few minutes to spare.
Our Walgreens was stocked with lots of Coke Zero and Reese’s products for game day. Buying lots of Reese’s to snack on scores big points with me any day of the year. While I was shopping, I picked up some 12 packs of Coke Zero to share with our guests. Having drinks in cans means I can get away with not buying cups, and we can recycle those cans.
Of course I bought every kind of Reese’s product that Walgreens offered. You don’t have to tell me twice to buy Reese’s. They are my all time favorite candy. I love baking different sweets like these Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies, Chocolate Reese’s Cheesecakes, and Marshmallow Reese’s blonde brownies with lots of Reese’s in each bite.
When you have a lot of people over for a big game, you want your party food to be finger foods that can be easily eaten. Cookies are always a good party choice. I had a box of Hershey’s chocolate pudding in my cupboard, and I thought that would make the perfect pudding cookies with a few boxes of Reese’s pieces added in.
The answer is yes, I did eat some of the cookie dough before it was all baked 
It was delicious and who could resist all that candy?
I wanted my game table to be festive but easy. This corner of our living room was the perfect size for our 6 foot folding table. I covered the table with a white plastic tablecloth that I found at Walgreens. The party streamers were actually ones I had leftover from previous birthdays. I love that I had the colors to match the serving bowls and trays that I bought from Walgreens.
I wanted some disposable plates on our table, so I wouldn’t be doing dishes after everyone left. Walgreens had some different colored plates on one of their shelves. I grabbed a few packs of the orange ones because they reminded me of basketballs. I even used a sharpie to draw lines on a few of those orange plates making them look like basketballs that I could hang on the front of the food table.
Now it was time to get everyone together to enjoy all the treats and a game. We have lots of friends who just love when we send them a quick message saying we want to spend time with you, and we have treats to share too. I think the treats are what sold them this time. All I had to do was mention Reese’s recipes and they came running. I am thankful for great friends that we can spend a fun evening with chatting and eating snacks.
Walgreens is definitely the place to shop if you want to get together with friends for a last minute basketball game. You can find everything you need to enjoy a night of #snackmadness . You don’t have to tell me twice to start planning the next party. And if that party include more Coke and Reese’s, I think it will be another win for the BruCrew Team!
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Chocolate cookies made with instant chocolate pudding and Reese's pieces are the way to go if you are looking for a chocolate fix.
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“I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Walgreens #cbias #SocialFabric” All opinions are 100% my own.
Looking for a new and easy cookie recipe? Have you tried cake mix cookies yet? These Banana Caramel Cookies will satisfy the cookie monster in you.
Cookies are the one thing that we are never short on around here. They are the perfect after school snack or after dinner treat. I bake quite a few and then freeze bags of them for lunches, or for my hubby to take to his meetings. They all love to see him coming with a tray of goodies. I’m glad they are willing to be my guinea pigs for all the recipes I make up.
Cake mixes are one of my favorite go to’s for a fast cookie. All you need is a cake mix, some butter, and usually an egg. But today we are substituting the egg for some BANANA. For some reason my kids are not eating the bananas on the counter, so I have resorted to making lots of Banana Bread muffins and cookies to use up those brown bananas.
These Banana Caramel Cookies are just a spin off the Banana Reeses cookies that I made last year. They are one of my all time favorite cookies. They are soft and puffy and just perfectly full of Reese’s. It was so fun to see one of the ladies from our church make them for our Christmas cookie exchange!
One thing I will suggest with these caramel filled cookies is to use a Silpat or parchment paper on your baking sheet. The caramel will melt under the cookies and stick to the pan if you don’t get them off quick enough. I absolutely love using my Silpat because I don’t worry about things sticking any more. Another quick warning is to put them on parchment paper to cool as well. I made the mistake of putting my first batch of cookies on a wire rack. Yeah…they stuck to the wire just a little bit when I went to move them over for the next batch.
Hey, wait a minute? Who has been sneaking bites of my cookies? I better find a better hiding spot in the freezer. Wink, wink!!!
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Here are a few other ways we like to get rid of brown bananas:
Caramel cake mix cookies made with bananas for a great after school snack.
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Instructions
Shared on: Work It, What’s Cooking, Weekend Potluck,
Looking for another pudding cookie recipe? These Butterscotch Pudding Cookies will satisfy any sweet and salty cravings you might have today!
Today I am sitting in the airport after attending the Build Your Blog conference in Salt Lake City. My brain is swirling with all the things I learned and the lack of sleep. But what a fun (and quick) weekend!
I got to meet so many bloggers that I have been “stalking” over the years, and they are just as sweet in person as they are on their blogs. I also got to meet so many people that read my blog….you girls totally filled my bucket this weekend! I heart all of you for making me feel like a rock star! I can’t wait to meet back up with all of you in June at BlogHer.
Maybe some cookies when I get home will help me think through everything I learned this weekend. Lately every time I make cookies I get the urge to throw pudding into the batter. These Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies started this crazy attraction to pudding cookies. Last fall I made these Butterscotch Pudding Cookies and shared them on I Heart Naptime…can you believe that I never shared them here???
I have 3 hours of layover time today, so I thought I would share this pudding cookie recipe for your kitchen. If you are a sweet and salty fan, these cookies are for you. Soft, chewy butterscotch pudding cookies filled with butterscotch and chocolate chips and crunchy bits of salty pretzels. Are you tracking with me here?
The pudding mix in the batter keeps the cookies soft, even days later. (Although let’s be honest…cookies never last long in a house with 3 kids.) When I bought the butterscotch pudding, I knew I wanted something else to pair with it since butterscotch can be overly sweet. I grabbed a bag of pretzels thinking that the salt from those would balance out the sweetness. It was the perfect mix of sweet and salty in every bite.
Maybe it’s a good thing my kids are cookie monsters…less pudding cookies for me to chow down on.
Here are a few other pudding cookies that we like to munch on:
Coconut S’mores Pudding Sandwiches
Peppermint Mocha Pudding Cookies
M&M Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies
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Butterscotch pudding and pretzels give these cookies a fun twist.
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Instructions
Shared with: Mop It Up, Funday Party, Craftomaniac, Bulletin Board, Mealtime, Mix It Up, SaltTree Social, Talent Show, Whimsy, Wow Me, What’s Cooking, Show & Share,
These Red Velvet Cookies with three kinds of chocolate chips will be a favorite Valentine’s Day treat this year.
A couple months ago I made these Chocolate Mint Cookies. I had to give them away, or I would have eaten the entire batch of cookies before the day was over. They were that good!
Have you tried the cake mix cookies yet? They are one of my favorite go-to cookies at the moment.
I love quick and easy they are to mix up and bake. You could bake them right away, but I like to let the dough chill in my refrigerator for about 30 minutes. It helps the dough from spreading out too thin. And DO NOT bake them more than 9 minutes. They will look very undone, but they will set up quickly.
My favorite way to eat them is fresh out of the oven. The center is still so gooey and soft and just perfect. Plus the chocolate is so melty and delicious.
I wanted to make some of these Red Velvet Cookies with a Valentine’s flair for this month. When I was shopping at Walmart I found the Nestle Valentine’s mix of chocolate chips. Every bite of these cookies has a good amount of chocolate in it.
The best thing about these cookies is that they stay soft for about 5 days. I’m sure they would stay soft longer, but cookies just don’t last long enough in our house for me to test that theory.
I hope you like red and pink Valentine’s Day treats because I kind of went overboard this year and baked quite a few. So get prepared for a new one every day and maybe even one after the heart day is over.
Here are a couple more Cookie recipes for Valentine’s Day treats that you might like:
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Red Velvet cake mix cookies with three kinds of chocolate chips
Ingredients
Instructions
Shared on: Talent Show, SaltTree Social, Tip Me, Lil Luna, Wow Me, Creative Time Out,
Peanut Butter Pudding cookies can make a fun Valentine treat when filled with red and pink M&M candies and chocolate chips.
These cookies will be gone before you know it.
I made these M&M Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies a few weeks ago. I thought they would last the entire week for the kids to pack in their school lunches. I should have known better! We did the same thing when I made these Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies and these Caramel Corn Pretzel Cookies. The kids kept trying to eat these for breakfast. It is full of peanut butter so I guess it is great protein.
For these particular peanut butter pudding cookies, I decided to combine both of those old recipes into one delicious cookie. If you can keep your family from devouring them right away, they would make a great Valentine treat. They are so easy to make, so grab your mixer and a baking sheet and let’s get baking.
You will start by creaming your butter and sugars until light and fluffy. I use my Kitchen Aid for every recipe…I love having my hands free to measure (and instagram). Then start adding the ingredients little by little. This recipe really is a one bowl kind of recipe. Do you like it when you only have one bowl to wash? Yeah, most days I do too!
After your dough is mixed up, you will need to chill the dough. Now quite honestly, you could bake the cookies right away, but they will not be quite as thick and puffy. Give the dough at least 30 minutes of chilling time and then start rolling the M&M Peanut Butter Pudding cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch or 2 inch balls. The dough will be slightly sticky, but it should roll easily. If not, refrigerate it longer. Keep your dough in the refrigerator while each batch is baking.
I like to bake my cookies on a Silpat. It will keep your cookies from spreading out even more. Look at that freshly baked peanut butter pudding cookie. Yes, I know that it looks underdone, but DO NOT bake any longer than 9-10 minutes. I promise you they continue to bake and set up after you pull them out of the oven. I always let my cookies rest about 2 minutes on the tray before moving them to some parchment paper on the counter. For the cookies that are really fat and tall in the center, I gently pressed the centers down with the back of the spatula or a spoon. Not too hard…just enough to flatten it out just slightly.
Store your peanut butter pudding cookies in a tightly sealed container once they are cool. I had one of these 2 days after I made them, and they were just as good as the day I made them. Obviously the kids thought so too. By the end of the 3rd day, all our M&M Peanut Butter Pudding cookies had disappeared! I would call that a recipe success.
I guess I need to find two more of my favorite cookies and try to combine them into another great cookie recipe.
More Peanut Butter recipes you may enjoy:
Peanut Butter Mini Cheesecakes
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Peanut Butter Pudding cookies with peanut butter M&M candies and chocolate chips....great for Valentine's Day treats.
Ingredients
Instructions
Shared with: 36th Ave. Link Party, Taste and Tell, Pin It, Chic and Crafty, I’m Lovin It, Inspiration Gallery, Tickled Pink, Weekend Potluck, Free For All, Show & Tell, Super Sweet, Create & Inspire, Weekend Wrap Up, Super Sat Show & Tell, Sundae Scoop, Share With Us, Finding the Pretty,
I know Christmas is long gone, but you want another chocolate mint cookie recipe right?
This week I worked on cleaning out some of the cupboards in our kitchen. I organized my baking liners and drink mixes, got rid of extra plates and cups we don’t use, and looked through my baking supplies. Turns out I am a baking supply hoarder.
I stopped looking through that particular cupboard after I counted 15 bags of different baking chips. It was easier just to shove it all back in and close the door. That cupboard is scheduled for clean out on another day because I don’t think I really want to know how many bags of chips, marshmallows, and cake mixes I have accumulated.
This chocolate mint cookie uses a cake mix up and some of the baking chips that fell out when I opened the cupboard door. Apparently I overbought on the Christmas baking chips this year because I still had 2 bags left of the mint and dark chocolate pieces. Every time I went to Walmart, I felt the need to buy a few bags of Christmas baking chips, so now it is quite possible that I am stocked for Christmas 2013.
Who am I kidding?
If I don’t bake with them, chances are very possible that I will eat them when I am craving chocolate like a mad lady at midnight! Anyone else do this???
Now I am really hoping that some of you crazy bakers have the same problem as me because this is one cake mix cookie you need in your life. And I am talking like now…as in right this very minute. Don’t do another thing today until you have this cookie in your oven. You will thank me later…or curse me when you can’t button your pants. Either way…you’re welcome.
This chocolate mint cookie is kind of a cheater.
It starts with a cake mix, but by the time it comes out of the oven, you will not recognize it as cake anymore. These taste like a deep fried Oreo, minus all the fat from frying, if you eat them right from the oven. It was so super chocolate-y and divine that I was glad I had someone else to give them too.
The thought crossed my mind that I should just hide these from everyone and make something else to give. But my tight jeans reminded me why that wasn’t such a good idea. Curse you holiday bulge!!!
If you make these chocolate mint cookies (AND you definitely should) I want you to know that I hold no responsibility for the tight pants that will come from eating the whole batch. Now I know I just told you to bake these before anything else today, BUT I don’t recommend making these cookies if no one is home with you. You will probably want to eat all of them…at least hide them in the back of the kitchen closet for your midnight raids.
Or you could freeze the leftovers like I did. I enjoyed the last two before I went to bed last night.
Just pop the bag in the microwave for 10-20 seconds, and it’s like they are fresh from the oven.
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Easy chocolate mint cookies from a cake mix.
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
If you can't find the chocolate and mint baking chips, you can substitute the Andes mint baking chips.
Shared with: Sugar & Slice, Mop It Up, Mealtime, Mix it Up, Craftomaniac, Bulletin Board, Show My Your Plaid, Open Call, Tasteful Tuesday, Totally Tasty, What’s In Your Kitchen, Round Up, Adorned From Above, Treasures, Taste and Tell, Chic & Crafty,
Yesterday we had our first big snow storm of the season. Some parts of the state were under a blizzard warning. I am so glad we only got about 4 inches of the white stuff.
Want to know a secret? I don’t like snow. Oh, I don’t mind it one day a year when I can watch it coming down from inside my window. Sooner or later though I have to leave our warm cozy house and head to the store for groceries. There are others in my house who get grumpy when we don’t have real food for dinner [Read more...]
As soon as Walmart started carrying the Andes peppermint crunch pieces, I have been baking with them. I’m kind of addicted to those pink chips!!! I am also severely addicted to pudding cookies…but you know that already:-) This past spring I made Peanut Butter Pudding cookies, and they became my all time favorite cookie. Until now…
I have had a jar of the Jif Mocha spread in my cupboard just waiting to be used. Have you tried that mocha spread yet? It is my new love!!! (It’s possible that I may eat it by the spoonfuls.) I just subbed the mocha spread for the peanut butter and added those yummy peppermint pieces for a fun Christmas cookie. As soon as I ate one fresh from the oven, I was in cookie heaven. These are my absolute favorite cookies now! I need to stock up on more of those Andes chips, so I can make these year round. [Read more...]
A few weeks ago I participated in a Cookie Week with Nikki from Chef in Training. These gingerbread cookies are what I brought to share on her blog. I had to share them with you here too. They were absolutely delicious and disappeared so fast from my cookie jar. You can see my original post here.
This time of year I like to bake lots and lots of cookies. Well, really I like to bake cookies anytime of the year. But at least during the holidays, people don’t look at you funny when you bake 12 different kinds in one month:-) [Read more...]
This week I had someone order 10 dozen sugar cookies for an open house at a local hospital. Ten dozen sugar cookies is a lot of cookies. Mixing and baking is actually the easy part. But after frosting 120 cookies, my hand was tired of holding that frosting bag. It is always a great feeling when I box up an order, and know that I am done. Then I can move on to making goodies for all of you:-)
There was half a batch of sugar dough leftover when I got done with my order. Now you would think that I wouldn’t want to see another sugar cookie for at least a week or two. But no, I have had this Cinnabon syrup and sugar topping just waiting for the right time to bust it out. These sugar cookies were the right time. I couldn’t wait to finish them up and taste them. They were everything I wanted them to be:-)
