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

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!!!

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St. Patrick's Day Boxes

March is the month for green. These cute green St. Patrick's Day Boxes are a fun craft that you can fill with "gold" for your kids or their teachers.

St. Patrick's day is always so bright and colorful with everything green, pots of gold, and rainbows, so I knew that I wanted to incorporate those elements into these green treat boxes.

This month I pulled out all my die cuts with the intention of making our kids a cute treat container just for them.

Now don't get me wrong, every recipe I make, they eat. But sometimes that recipe is just a wild creation that I have come up with, or it is something that we need to take to a get together.

I wanted to make them a special treat that would surprise them when they come home from school.

[Read more...]

Thin Mint Brownies

If you love thin mints, this is the treat for you! These Thin Mint Brownies are a great way to enjoy your favorite cookies all year long. The creamy mint fudge and crunchy cookies add a great texture that will have you coming back again and again.

Two brownies topped with mint fudge and thin mint cookie crumbles.

You are not dreaming. Thin Mint brownies are a real thing, and they are amazing.

We love adding girl scout cookies to our desserts. This thin mint cheesecake and these thin mint granola bars are some of our favorites.

Now you can enjoy your favorite brownies with thin mints! We added creamy mint fudge loaded with thin mint cookie crumbles to a chewy chocolate brownie.

Why This Recipe Works

Thin mints are one of the most popular Girl Scout cookies, but they are only available for a limited time each year. If you love these mint chocolate cookies, you know the wait for them every year is torture.

Our thin mint brownies are the perfect solution when you are craving those mint cookies. We added a creamy mint fudge and topped it with a healthy dusting of crumbled mint chocolate cookies, so you can enjoy your favorite girl scout flavor all year long.

This brownie recipe is the perfect treat for any occasion. Plus, they will impress all your family and friends.

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Behind BruCrew Life

I thought I would share a few of my favorite iphone pictures from behind BruCrew Life today.

Blogging is always an adventure.
Thank goodness for Starbucks WIFI when the internet is down at home.
I met Liz from Love Grow Wild ...yay for local (ish) blogger meetups. Today she and I are on an adventure to Salt Lake City. Going to BYBC to learn how to be better bloggers.

I am not a fan of early mornings, but when you see a sunrise like this one, it's all worthwhile. Our God is amazing and I love witnessing creation in work.
Happy mail days include cases of Chobani yogurt. We love the new banana and peach flavors.

A new yogurt place opened in town, so we had a double date with 2 of our kids.

This sign cracked me up when I saw it in the store...I'm thinking about going back to buy it. What do you think?
Baking fail for the week...the rolls expanded too much and made the filling spill everywhere.

I have natural curly hair, but every once in a while I get the urge to go straight. Cracks me because everyone at church can't figure out who the new girl is on our praise team...then it hits them that it is me.

Eating Nutella straight from the jar, means buying new jars when I actually want to use it in a recipe.

This is a normal shopping trip to Walmart for me...there is always way more sugar items than regular food.
My shopping and eating habits means I have to endure Billy Blanks kicking my butt in Taebo. Not happy about it, but summer is coming really quickly!

The kids were out of school this week, so the girls went shopping while the boys went rock climbing.
I love my family and love spending that time with them!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!

Strawberry Cream Bars

Chocolate-covered strawberries are the top Valentine's Day treat. These Strawberry Cream Bars are much easier than dipping strawberries, though.

Last week, I asked everyone on Facebook what the first thing they think of when they think of Valentine's Day desserts is. Almost everyone said chocolate-covered strawberries!

I was planning on making some cute cupcakes with those flavors, but then I ran out of time for that. Lucky for all of you chocolate and strawberry lovers, I already had made this pan of Strawberry Fudge Magic Bars. I know it isn't quite the same or as fancy, but the taste is out of this world. [Read more...]

No Bake Caramel Mud Pie Cups

These No Bake Caramel Mud Pie Cups are the perfect no bake treat for when you only have a few minutes to make a chocolate dessert to appease that sweet tooth.

Last week I didn't bake anything at all. I know! I was just as shocked as you.

Over the past few weeks I have made so many pink and red treats to share with you, that I was kind of ahead of the game in baking. All I had to do was edit and post each day. Plus, I thought no baking means no yummy chocolate treats in the kitchen tempting me from my diet.

Because we all know that sugar talks to me...and the sad thing is that I listen to whatever it tells me to do. "Oh hello, delicious cookie. Why yes, I do want to eat you. And your friend? Of course, I'll see what I can do." It's ok. I know I'm a little off my rocker. It's the sugar talking again.

I knew the no baking would end in me making something. The last time I tried to do no baking, the week ended with these Chocolate Avocado Muffins. It was only a matter of time before I made something sugary. [Read more...]

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