Blog - Inside BruCrew Life

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

Add a fun twist to oatmeal banana cookies by adding a full-size Reese's peanut butter cup to the top. This oatmeal cookie recipe is soft, chewy, and loaded with oats, bananas, and chocolate chips.

Three oatmeal banana cookies stacked on top of each other with the top one cut in half showing the peanut butter cup inside

Oatmeal Cookies with Banana and Peanut Butter

Bananas are the one thing that we always have on our counter. They are the perfect pre-workout snack when they are green or yellow, and they are awesome to bake with once they turn spotty and brown.

Some of my favorite things to bake when we have an abundance of ripe bananas are bread, muffins, and cakes. Over the years, I have also started to include them in a few easy oatmeal cookie recipes.

If you are looking for something different to bake with your over-ripe bananas, try these oatmeal chocolate chip banana cookies ASAP. You will fall in love with this recipe because the cookies are soft and chewy.

Plus, they are loaded with oats and chocolate chips and topped with a full-size peanut butter cup. Peanut butter and banana is a classic combo that is so delicious together.

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Chocolate Fluff

Our creamy Chocolate Fluff Salad is perfect for spring or summer picnics. The easy mousse is filled with nuts, chocolate, and marshmallow goodness. If you enjoy Rocky Road ice cream, you'll love this pudding dessert.

The post for Rocky Road Fluff Salad was first published in April 2015. It was updated and republished in May 2021.

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Chocolate Salad

Let's talk about salad for a minute. When you first hear the word salad, I am sure you think of green leaves, vegetables, and dressing, right?

Did you know that a salad is actually a dish consisting of small pieces of food mixed with a sauce? So this chocolate pudding dessert could be called a salad! It has small nuts and chocolate mixed with a fluffy chocolate pudding "dressing." Sounds like a salad to me. Wink, wink!

One of our most popular fluff salads is this banana split fluff salad. It is an easy, no-bake dessert that is perfect for spring and summer picnics.

Since that dessert salad was such a hit online, I started thinking about other fun variations. Rocky Road ice cream is one of my favorites. I love soft marshmallows mixed with chocolate and nuts, so I added those flavors to this chocolate delight recipe.

This chocolate fluff salad with rocky road toppings turned out to be the best idea of the summer so far!

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Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

Lemon curd and fluffy marshmallow meringue frosting make this Lemon Meringue Cheesecake the perfect dessert for lemon lovers. Enjoy a creamy cheesecake with the taste of lemon meringue pie.

Every bite is creamy, delicious, and bursting with lemon flavor. This lemon cheesecake is great for summer time picnics or parties.

A slice of lemon cheesecake topped with lemon curd and meringue on a white plate.

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Does making cheesecake intimidate you? Trust me. I get it I used to steer clear of cheesecake desserts because I worried that I would mess it up, or the baked cheesecake would crack like crazy.

What I realized is that cheesecake is actually quite easy to make with just a few ingredients and some tips and tricks.

If you are still a little nervous, start out with some smaller ones like these lemon blueberry cheesecakes.

A few years ago I made a lemon cheesecake topped with fresh fruit for our cookbook Cheesecake Love. This time I gave the lemon cheesecake a lemon meringue pie taste with a graham cracker crust and a toasted meringue topping.

Why make a Lemon Cheesecake

This lemon cheesecake will be a dream come true for the lemon lover in your life. It is creamy, delicious, and has the perfect lemon flavor from lemon juice baked in it and the ribbon of homemade lemon curd on top.

The lemon flavor from the lemon cheesecake and lemon curd has the perfect sweet yet tart flavor. And the meringue topping is so fluffy and creamy.

No one will be able to resist a slice of this lemon meringue cheesecake when you share it with them!

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Orange Creamsicle Fudge

Escape to summer no matter the weather with this delicious Orange Creamsicle Fudge. This simple orange fudge recipe is easy to make with just a few ingredients, and the flavor will transport you to a tropical place.

But don't take our word for it, make a pan for yourself and see why this no fail fudge is so popular.

A white plate with a few squares of orange creamsicle fudge stacked on it

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A few weeks ago I made some pans of fudge, a few sugar cookie bars, and a lot of cheesecake parfaits for a school luncheon that we helped host.

We absolutely love the flavor from this dreamsicle cake, so I decided to use the flavors to make a simple fudge. Adding just a little orange extract and a swirl of color made this orange creamsicle fudge my new favorite fudge.

Why Make This Easy Fudge

Fudge is one of those treats that can be made in just a few minutes, and it is a hit with everyone. You only need one pan and two bowls to make this swirled treat.

You are going to love how easy it is to make this no fail fudge and how it tastes like an orange creamsicle bar. The bonus is that this creamsicle candy will not make your teeth chatter when you bite into it.

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Orange Creamsicle Poke Cake

Orange Creamsicle Poke Cake is a refreshing summer dessert. Fluffy vanilla frosting and orange flavor makes this cake taste just like the frozen treats from your childhood. This poke cake recipe is the perfect dessert for summer picnics and potlucks.

Love orange desserts? You need to try this Orange Creamsicle Fudge too.

Orange Creamsicle Cake

Poke cakes are one of the easiest desserts to make when you need a quick dessert. It's so easy to transform a simple box mix into a decadent and dreamy dessert that will wow everyone.

I love how refreshing a poke cake is on a hot day. There is seriously something so good about eating cold cake when it is warm outside. Please tell me I am not alone in my love of eating things like this S'mores Cake and this Lemon Poke Cake.

A few weeks ago one of my friends was talking about this Orange Creamsicle Cake that she had made. Unfortunately, she doesn't live close enough for me to just go eat hers, so I decided to make an easy Jello cake the very next day.

Jello poke cakes are a delicious way to add flavor and color to a box cake mix.

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Blackberry Cheesecake Pie

Enjoy two desserts in one with this Blackberry Cheesecake Pie. A homemade graham cracker crust is filled with creamy cheesecake and swirls of blackberry pie filling.

Homemade whipped cream and fresh berries make each slice look perfect. This cool and creamy cheesecake pie is the perfect summer time treat.

Blackberry Cheesecake Pie

One of our favorite desserts to make is cheesecake. It is easy to add to just about any dessert recipe you can imagine. The problem with a full cheesecake is the time it takes to make, bake, and chill. If you want to eat cheesecake for dessert, you really have to plan ahead so it can be ready in time.

Making a cheesecake pie is my solution to the time issue. It has the same great taste as a whole cheesecake, but it is ready in half the time. I call that winning at the cheesecake game.

Trust me! Cheesecake and pie were meant to be together. Combining two favorites into one show stopping dessert is sure to catch everyone's attention at the party table.

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Strawberry Bundt Cake

This Strawberry Bundt Cake is a delicious and fun way to say, "I love you" to your family and friends. Adding chocolate chips and chocolate covered strawberries make this easy strawberry cake a pretty dessert for any party or dinner.

Easy Strawberry Cake:

A few years ago I used a strawberry cake mix to make these pretty Strawberry Filled Cupcakes that are always popular in the spring. So this year I decided to change it up and make a strawberry bundt cake.

I have noticed lately that I have a thing for bundt cakes. Seriously, every cake I have made lately has been a bundt. What can I say, "I like big bundts, and I cannot lie." LOL!

To give the strawberry cake some fun pizzaz I added mini chocolate chips to the cake batter before baking. Once it was baked and cooled, I decorated the top with chocolate drizzles and chocolate covered strawberries and added some fun paper straw decorations.
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Crispy Fish Tacos

Jazz up your taco Tuesday with Crispy Fish Tacos. In less than 30 minutes you can have battered fish, sweet and spicy coleslaw, and cheese all wrapped in a warm tortilla. This easy fish tacos recipe will satisfy all your taco cravings.

A metal taco holder with fish tacos loaded with crispy fish, slaw, and cheese in them

Crispy Fish Tacos

Tacos are one of our favorite dinner staples. They are easy to make, great with shells or salad, and everyone loves them. Every once in a while I like to change things up and use fish instead of our normal beef. There is just something about fish tacos that makes you feel like you are at the beach.

These are some of the easiest fish tacos you will ever make. To save time on dinner prep on busy nights, I buy boxes of SeaPak beer battered cod from our grocery store. All you have to do is place the pieces on a sheet pan and bake. Easy, peasy.

One thing that I really enjoy on baked fish tacos is some type of homemade slaw or this Homemade Peach Salsa. Something about the cold fresh ingredients and hot crispy fish is so satisfying and delicious.

Since our youngest son loves spicy food, I made a Sriracha fish taco sauce and added it to coleslaw this time. Adding a can of pineapple tidbits gave these easy fish tacos a great sweet and spicy flavor.

A metal taco holder with four easy fish tacos in it filled with crispy fish, slaw, and cheese

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No Bake Strawberry Pie

A No Bake Strawberry Pie with a graham cracker crust and strawberry glaze is the perfect summer dessert. It is easy to make with just five ingredients. Add a swirl of homemade whipped cream to these mini strawberry pies for a finishing touch.

Have extra berries after making the pies? Use the rest of your fresh strawberries to make a batch of this strawberry filling.

A mini strawberry pie topped with whipped cream and a tray of pies behind it

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Why This Works

One of my favorite things in the spring or early summer is fresh picked strawberries. We used to take our kids to u-pick farms all the time when they were little.

This no bake strawberry pie is one of my husband's favorite desserts. He grew up eating one similar, and now we make this no bake strawberry pie with Jello for him each time we get fresh strawberries.

It is also an easy summer dessert because you can also swap out the strawberries for any other fresh fruit in this mini strawberry pies recipe. Using different Jello flavors is another way to change it up.

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Chocolate Avocado Muffins

Chocolate for breakfast? Now you can with these amazing Chocolate Avocado Muffins. Two different kinds of chocolate plus avocado make these fudgy chocolate muffins a delicious breakfast choice.

Chocolate Avocado Muffins:

Recently, we had some ripe avocados sitting on the counter, so I decided to use them in place of eggs in these healthy chocolate muffins.

Of course, I had to work chocolate into these avocado muffins because there is no way our kids would have eaten them if they saw green muffins on our counter.

The first batch of avocado muffins had some baking issues and were undone when I pulled them out. So, I went ahead and worked on round two with a few variations.

And, boy, am I glad that I did because these are now a family favorite. Using avocados, applesauce, yogurt, and coconut oil made these chocolate muffins a little bit healthier, and oh, so decadent! [Read more...]

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