Name: Banana Caramel Cookies
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 30
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 caramel cake mix; 1/2 cup butter, softened; 1/2 cup smashed banana (about 2 bananas); 1 teaspoon vanilla; 3/4 cup white chocolate chips; 1/2 cup caramel baking bits

Brownie Batter Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes

Looking for a cute and easy dessert for your next event? These Brownie Batter Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes are the perfect mini dessert bites.

So, I have come to realize that as I get older, the way my kids "celebrate" my birthday is getting more technological.

Yesterday morning (and by morning, I really mean the middle of the night) I was awakened by the most obnoxious sound. Now when you are not used to hearing alarms go off at 4 am, it isn't the easiest to determine where it is coming from. The sound was coming from right beside my bed, so at first I thought it was my phone. Nope, not it. My laptop was also right there. I honestly thought the sound must be coming from it, but I had no idea how to turn it off. Like I said, I'm not used to getting up that early, so I might have been a little confused.

Now my husband already knew this was going to happen because my oldest son had told him about my birthday "present". So he turned the light on and laughed as I struggled to figure out what was happening. On the corner of the table by my bed was an old iPhone box hiding behind some books. I finally realized the annoying and very loud sound was coming from the box. As I opened the box trying to figure out why a box would be waking me up, a card fell out...along with my son's iPod.

That little stinker thought it would be funny to be the first one to say Happy Birthday to me. [Read more...]

Chocolate Reese's Cheesecake

Desserts made with chocolate and Reese's are definitely my favorite part of the meal. Don't you just want to sink your teeth into a Chocolate Reese's Cheesecake?

These chocolate cheesecake have a peanut butter mousse and Reese's peanut butter cups on top. They are delicious!

Is it bad that I can't stop thinking of new ways to enjoy more Reese's candies? It has been awhile since I made mini cheesecakes, and I had some peanut butter cups to use up.

That sounded funny because usually Reese's peanut butter cups don't last more than a day in our house. I used to have my kids trained to bring me their peanut butter cups...then they grew up and realized that peanut butter cups are like the best candy ever. They now hide their Reese's from me. Silly kids 🙂

Don't they know that I have a cupboard full of candy, and there is usually some sort of Reese's candies hiding in there. I just make sure to put the spices and baking powder in the front, so no one will ever know what is in the very back.

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Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cookie Bars

Eating these Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cookie Bars will send you to your sugar happy place right away. This bar cookie recipe would be a great addition to your dessert table anytime.

There is nothing that I would classify as too sweet. I am quite a dessert heavy weight (LOL literally).

Now my hubby on the other hand, he takes one or two bites and he is over it. We were at Cheesecake Factory a few weeks ago, and we both ordered cheesecake after dinner.

Now I purposefully only ate a small portion of dinner because one must leave room for cheesecake when you come to a place called The Cheesecake Factory. It is a given.

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10 Tips For Eating Healthy Lunches on the Go

Eating healthy at home can be challenging enough most days. It is so easy to throw out those healthy habits you have developed when you start traveling for vacations. Here are 10 tips for Eating Healthy Lunches on the Go to help you maintain your healthy eating. All you need is a plan and the right containers.

1. Bring a cooler with ice packs to store containers of vegetables and fruit. These healthy options will keep you from picking up a candy bar when you stop for gas. [Read more...]

Heath Brownies

Heath_Brownie_Pizzas, International Delights coffee creamer, Heath pieces

Mini desserts are definitely more fun to make and to eat. These mini Heath Brownies are very easy to make, but they have a great wow! factor when served for dessert.

The other day my youngest son wanted to bake something with me. Of course, any chance I get to bake with my little ones, I definitely fit it in. Now his only request was that they be plain brownies.

Now I don't know about you, but the word "plain" does not exist in my vocabulary in regards to baking...well, in anything really. I mean look at these Tiramisu Brownies and these Salted Caramel Brownies...definitely anything but plain comes to mind.

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Fruit Salsa Yogurt Cups

Eating healthy is all about moderation and food choices. These Fruit Salsa Yogurt Cups are a great way to enjoy a healthy dessert.

Having a dessert blog definitely has it's challenges when it comes to eating healthy. I get so many comments and emails asking how I stay healthy and fit with so many cookies and brownies in my kitchen. The biggest thing I have to say is moderation and lots of exercise.

Moderation is eating just one brownie, even though you really want to chow down on 4 more. I think that as long as you eat healthy throughout the day there is nothing wrong with a small treat, but that is definitely the key. I have found that keeping track of what I eat helps me stay on track.

Life here gets busy between work, school, sports, baking, blogging, and church activities. But I know that taking time each day for daily exercise and drinking plenty of water helps me be healthier, and it also helps me be a better mom and wife. This winter we bought everyone updated bikes, and we are looking forward to lots of trail riding this summer. It will be fun to share this "fun" exercise with our children. I want them to learn healthy eating and exercise habits early in life.

Staying active is definitely a big part of being healthy, but you also need to eat healthy foods. My metabolism has definitely slowed down as I have gotten older. That means it is even more important to watch and record what I put into my body. I have to keep my sweet tooth in check more often. [Read more...]

Banana Caramel Cookies

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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Recipe

Banana Caramel Cookies

Yield: 30 cookies

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Caramel cake mix cookies made with bananas for a great after school snack.

Ingredients

1 caramel cake mix
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup smashed banana (about 2 bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup caramel baking bits

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat butter, bananas, and vanilla. Add the cake mix and mix thoroughly. The batter will be very thick.
Stir in the white chips and caramel bits by hand.
Chill dough 30-60 minutes. This will help it from sticking to your hands.
Roll dough into 1 inch or 1 ½ inch balls. Place on baking sheet that has been lined with a Silpat or parchment paper so the caramel doesn't stick.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not over bake. The cookies will look undone, but they will set up as they cool.
Let cool on tray for a few minutes before removing to parchment paper to cool completely.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 78Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 54mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 0gSugar: 7gProtein: 1g

Here are a few other ways we like to get rid of brown bananas:

Banana Reeses Cookies

Banana Toffee Scones

Banana Split Cheesecake

Key Lime Pie Popcorn

Do you have any family traditions? One thing that we try to do with our kids each week is Friday movie night with pizza and popcorn. Last week I created this Key Lime Pie Popcorn for our night together.

This tropical twist to chocolate covered popcorn is a fun treat to enjoy any night.

It's that time of year when Spring is just around the corner teasing us here in the Midwest.

We had a few mild days, and then a winter storm came through and dumped about 9 inches of wet, cold snow on us. The good thing is that it is supposed to be warming up again, and that snow should melt. I am starting to get anxious for warm weather, although I shouldn't complain because we have had the mildest winter ever. This is the first real snow storm all year.

But it still has me dreaming of warm beach weather.All the fun new spring flavors at the stores are really putting me into that warm weather mode too. Citrus must be the flavor for the spring season. I have seen so many different products using key lime, orange, and lemonade. It has me craving these Key Lime Cheesecake Cookie Bars too!

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Carrot Cake Fudge

Looking for a fun and different Easter dessert recipe? This easy Carrot Cake Fudge has a layer of carrot cake and cream cheese fudge, plus colorful M&M candies on top.

When I start on a flavor, I tend to run it into the ground. Carrot cake is my choice of flavor right now. On Sunday I shared these Carrot Cake Magic Bars, today it is fudge, and I really want to make another batch of these Carrot Cheesecake Muffins tomorrow.

There were a few other ideas I thought about making, but I will add those to my list for next year.

For some reason I had this strange desire to make carrot cake fudge this year. Of course a quick search on Google brought up quite a few different recipes, but I didn't see any for the idea that I had swirling in my head. Gotta love that.

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Carrot Cake Cookie Bars

Do you like carrot cake? These Carrot Cake Cookie Bars are a quick and easy treat to serve after Easter dinner.

Carrot cake bars topped with green and orange candies on a dark orange plate.

The other day I was shopping at Walmart, and I came across this season's newest M&M flavor. They created a white chocolate carrot cake M&M.

Now you either are an A person who decided immediately that it sounds nasty, or you are a B person who is intrigued and want to give it a try. I am usually a B person with most new flavors, unless they are sour. Sour candy gives me the heebie geebies! Just can't do it!!!

Anyway, I instagrammed a picture asking opinions on this new flavor, and sure enough, the results were about half and half on whether you guys would try these too. Of course being a B person, I brought them home with me.

I'm sure you are wondering how those M&M's taste. Let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised. The white chocolate has enough cinnamon and nutmeg that it just gives it a very spicy taste that I actually liked!!!

[Read more...]

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