M&M Cookie Pie

So, on one of the blogs I read, she shared a recipe called "Kitchen Sink Skillet Cookie." It's very similar to my Heavenly Skillet Cookie. I liked the look of the new recipe, but decided to play with it a bit and combine some ideas. This was the result!

This is, without a doubt, perfect. And since it was a combination of a couple different recipes, it needed a name! Adrian didn't really come up with anything (but hey, he's only 2 1/2, so...). Gabriel, however, came up with the name "M&M Cookie Pie." (And let me tell you, he was pretty proud of himself!)

However, as to the name-- it doesn't have to be M&M's! Use Reese's Pieces, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, whatever... (Gabriel does strongly recommend M&M's though! And Adrian doesn't recommend any changes either.) ;)

Remember, comments make the pregnant lady happy! What's your favorite skillet dessert recipe?

Printable Recipe

M&M Cookie Pie

Ingredients

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup old-fashioned oats
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup mini M&M’s
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• ½ cup peanut butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°, and spray cast iron skillet (or 9”x9” pan) with cooking spray.
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla; whisk to combine. Add flour, oats, baking soda, salt; mix well. Add in M&M’s and chips. Reserving a heaping cup, press the dough into the skillet. Set aside.
3. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt peanut butter til runny. (Approximately 30 seconds.) Pour peanut butter over the pressed dough. Drop tablespoon-sized chunks of the reserved dough into the skillet.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges begin to barely crisp up and most of the top surface of the cookie has set. The center may not be completely set. Careful not to overbake! 

Yield/Time

12-16 servings

45 minutes

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

471 (12 servings)/354 (16 servings)

Source (for original): Picky Palate & Averie Cooks

Berry (or Fruit!) Crumble Bars

I know, I know. I live in Michigan.

It's not berry season. Or fruit season. It's cold, and everything is covered in inches (or feet, for the unlucky) of snow.

But let's be real: after the holidays, we all need something that makes us feel good about eating it. Even if it's not really healthy, we can at least pretend.

Well, I'm pretending this morning. (And my little pregnant self thought it sounded good.) 

This is really similar to most other crumble recipes, but I think it's my favorite now. I used it a bit this summer, and it's definitely wonderful. I've only ever used it with berries, but I think it would be awesome with peaches. (Which is going to be my next attempt!)

This is something that, regardless of the weather, will make you feel like summer! 

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite reminiscent-of-summer recipe?

Printable Recipe

 
Berry (Or Fruit) Crumble Bars

Ingredients
Crust and Topping

• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup old-fashioned oats
• ½ cup light brown sugar, packed

Berry Layer

• 2 cups berries
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray an 8” square pan with cooking spray; set aside. 
2. Combine all ingredients for crust; mix well. Set aside 1 heaping cup for topping. Press remainder evenly into prepared pan. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, toss together all ingredients for berry layer. Evenly distribute over the crust.
4. Sprinkle the reserved crumble over berry layer. 
5. Bake for about 45-60 minutes, or until edges are set and crumble is a golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Yield/Time

16 pieces

1 ½ hours + cooling

Nutrition Facts

140 (using a mixture of blueberries & strawberries)

Source (for original): Averie Cooks

Banana Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Muffins

These are fairly similar to my other banana muffin recipes (Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal, Healthier Banana Muffins/Bread, & Nutella Oat Banana Muffins), but with some slight variances. Honestly, I could probably cut down to just 1 or 2 banana muffin recipes... but I truly can't decide which recipe I like the most. So, I just keep them all! This recipe I like because of the chips in it.... they aren't overly sweet, but the chips add just enough!

I originally made an extra large batch of these with the plan of sending some as a snack for Gabriel's preschool... until he woke up sick. Poor baby, this is the first day of preschool he's missed, and I think he's pretty disappointed. So....since he isn't going to school, I have about 30 muffins in my house right now. Adrian ate 2 for breakfast (scratch that, while I was typing this he decided he wanted another one... in addition to the 4 smoky links he ate. Growth spurt, anyone?), which makes up for the fact that Gabriel has no appetite... but I hope my coworkers like them, I need somebody to eat more! My family cannot go through that many! (Well, Adrian might, at this rate...)

Check out the recipe, and let me know what you think!

Comments are loved--what is your favorite banana muffin/bread recipe?

Printable Recipe

Banana Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 ½ cups mashed bananas
• 2 eggs
• ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup peanut butter chips (or any other chips) This time I used a combination of peanut butter, mini chocolate chip, and semi-sweet, to empty some partial bags I had! They are great!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Grease/line with paper 24 count muffin tins.
2. In large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, vanilla and applesauce. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Carefully mix in peanut butter chips. 
3. Spoon batter into prepared tins. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center muffin comes out clean. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and let cool on wire rack.

Yield/Time

22-24 muffins

30 minutes

Nutrition Facts

164 (based on 22 muffins)

Source (for original): Food

Nutella Oat Banana Muffins

I love Nutella. I know I've mentioned that before, but it's worth mentioning again. It's a pretty important Serena-fact. Right up there with the book & nerd obsessions. If I could get away with it, I'd add Nutella to pretty much everything. Assuming, of course, that there is any left after I've just eaten it from the jar.

Just kidding, I don't eat it from the jar. Very often.

Anyhow, you get the point. Nutella is a staple in the Lee household. So when I saw this recipe... Nutella Oat Banana Muffins? Yes, please. I've already mentioned that I love adding oats to muffins, and I love banana muffins in general. Now we're adding Nutella? It's practically my birthday! (No, not really. There's not nearly enough sugar in these things to qualify as something for my birthday.)

These are one of those recipes that the boys & I could devour, no problems. When I've shared them with work & family, same thing. Nate, on the other hand, has decided he doesn't like these. That's OK, more for me. ;) Don't worry though, he gets his own muffins! Recipe to follow for that soon!

(Oh, and random tidbit: the off-brand Nutella at Aldi's is not worth buying. Trust me. That's not Nutella.)

Printable Recipe

Nutella Oat Banana Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup applesauce (or vegetable oil)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 bananas
• Nutella

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line muffin tins with 15 papers, or lightly grease.
2. In a medium bowl, all dry ingredients. Stir until well combined.
3. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir to mix ingredients until well combined. 
4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; add wet ingredients until combined. Do not over stir.
5. Divide batter evenly among the muffin tins.
6. Add 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of Nutella to the top of each muffin and gently swirl with  toothpick to produce pretty swirls. (Note: "pretty swirls" is very relative, as you can see in the picture.)
7. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Yield/Time

12 muffins

40 minutes

Nutrition Facts

128/muffin (153 if using oil)

Source (for original): Chef in Training

Remember, comments are loved! Tell me about your love of Nutella. ;)

(Healthier) Banana Muffins/Bread

We all, at some point or another, have bananas that get past their prime. I usually don't eat bananas until they are all speckly brown (about 2 days before they turn themselves into banana bread), but the boys will eat them whenever. Bright green, pretty yellow, almost completely brown... Adrian, especially, doesn't care. "Ba-nana, ba-nana!" With his love of bananas, we don't have nearly as many that get over-ripe, but with the humidity this summer it happened more often than not. Once that happens, our usual preference is banana muffins. I love making my traditional banana muffins/bread, but I have adapted that over the years to be a bit healthier. 

I honestly prefer these over my more traditional recipe. Knowing that it's healthier for me is a great, and I love the oats in this! Oats in muffins are some of my favorite things. They add a bit of texture, and some great health benefits.

In general, I love making things like this. Using up bananas that would otherwise go to waste, and making something that all my boys enjoy (and myself!), is a win-win situation!


Printable Recipe

Banana Bread/Muffins, Healthified

Ingredients

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• ¾ cup rolled oats
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¾ cups mashed bananas (approx 3 large or 5 medium)
• ¾ cup sugar
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil or applesauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° for bread, or 375° for muffins.
2. Grease bottom and ½” up the sides of 1 loaf pan OR grease 18 count muffin tins; set aside. Combine flours, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl combine eggs, bananas, sugar, and applesauce. Add all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 55-60 minutes for bread, or 18-20 minutes for muffins. (Or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.) If necessary, cover loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking bread to prevent overbrowning. *note: it may just be me, but I always have to cook the bread about 10-15 minutes longer.
5. Cool bread in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. 
6. Remove muffins from pan immediately and cool completely on wire rack. 

Yield/Time

1 loaf (16 servings) OR 18 muffins

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 20-60 minutes

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

Bread: 120  

Muffins: 106

(using applesauce)

Source (for original): Better Homes & Gardens, adapted

Double Chocolate Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

OK, you guys should realize by now that I have a serious love for cookies. I could've named this blog "Don't Judge Me for My Massive Cookie Recipe Collection" and it would be pretty accurate. (I refuse to show the size of the "desserts" collection of my recipe book here; you have to see it in person. I don't need photographic evidence for people to laugh at.)

If it's a cookie recipe, I'm probably willing to try it. OK, scratch that, unless it calls for ingredients I know I don't like, I'm definitely willing to try it. And even if it calls for things I don't like... I'll probably just make it to give to someone else. (Hello, anything with coffee.)

So, it's no surprise that I have tried quite a few variations of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Of all the ones I've tried, this is my favorite. Try it, and it will be yours too. These cookies (that I have a bad picture of, sorry) are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. They were the perfect consistency for oatmeal cookies. I'm guessing it's the combo of regular oats and quick oats, which I will be trying with any other oatmeal cookie recipes, assuming I ever remember.

Oh, and before I get questions on a regular oatmeal chocolate chip recipe... I actually don't have one that I think it satisfactory. I have a patient that sometimes brings in oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for us, and I haven't found any that compare. I've mentioned that I need the recipe, but no luck so far. (And FYI, patients that bake and bring goodies in are kinda my favorites. I work in a small town, and I really truly love all my patients, but if you've ever brought my cookies... I love you a little more. That goes for any of my friends/family, though. Food is love. I love you more if you feed me. I won't treat you any different, but I will love you more. For what that's worth.)

Printable Recipe

Double Chocolate Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature *I almost exclusively use Crisco vs. butter, but for some reason I actually used butter here... and it turned out great. So, sticking with butter.
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup quick oats
• ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 ¼ cup milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line four large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until creamy and light in color, 2-3 minutes.
3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and both kinds of oats.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until a few dry streaks remain. Add the chocolate chips and mix until everything is just combined.
5. Drop the batter by heaping tablespoon-sized scoops, or roll into balls, about 2” apart.
6. Bake for 10-11 minutes until the edges are just set but the middles are still soft. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat scooping and baking with remaining cookie dough.

Yield/Time

Approx 44 cookies

1 hour

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

145/cookie

Source (for original): Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite oatmeal cookie recipe?

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

My family is not the type to accept anything in return for doing you a favor. Get a Grandma or Aunt to watch the baby at the last minute? (Or, in the case of my mom, on a regular basis in place of daycare?) If you try to pay them, not only will you offend them, but you'll get an earful about it. (I have a few funny stories about that, too.) So, I have just learned to provide 'payment' with food. "Oh, you watched the baby for me? Here, have a batch of cookies." No one turns down food. (Not in my family, at least.)

So when Mama agreed to watch Gabriel overnight the other day, in addition to watching him during the week, I knew I should do something nice for her. What to do, what to do. I wanted to try a new recipe for her, one I knew she would like--and I've been eyeing the raspberry oatmeal bars over at Heavenly Homemakers (an awesome blog, btw) since she posted them a couple weeks ago. It's something she's guaranteed to like, but was easy to make when I made the decision at 9:30 at night. 

Essentially, it's a bit like a cereal bar, with jam between 2 layers of an oat mixture. Mmmm!

They even have whole wheat flour & oats--that makes them good for you, right? ;)

It did stress me out to use an entire jar of strawberry jam for this. If these hadn't turned out, I think I would've cried.

 

I did play with the recipe a bit, but there are more changes I would recommend. 1, if using sweetened jam (like I did with my homemade jam), cut down on the brown sugar. Maybe ¼ cup? And 2, cut down on the butter. A lot. I would try ½ to ¾ cup; 1 cup is entirely too much for my tastes. The pan may need to be greased if you cut it down too much, but it would be worth taking the extra butter out. (And please let me know if you try this! I would love to hear how it turns out!) 
 

 Remember: Comments are love! And if you have a problem commenting on the blog, please let me know! I know people have in the past, but I think that should be resolved,
 

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ cups rolled oats
• ¼ - ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ - 1 cup butter, melted
• ¾ cup strawberry jam, warmed (Or blackberry, or blueberry, or peach, or apple jelly, or....whatever!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients.  Stir in melted butter until crumbly. (You need to be able to press it into the pan, but don't necessarily want it to be soaked in butter.) 
3. Press half of the mixture into an 8”x8” baking pan.  Spread jam evenly over the top.  Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top of the jam layer, pressing down to cover.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Yield/Time

20 pieces

45 minutes

Source (for original): Heavenly Homemakers