Peanut Butter Blondies- Cooking Light

So I could think recipe in Cooking Light...but I had a hard time really believing it is "light".
Let's see...
- butter
- peanut butter
- chocolate chips
- peanut butter cups

Nope.
Don't believe it.
However, these are very, very good and satisfying.  I did get lots of laughs at work when I mentioned they were "light" from Cooking Light magazine.
In full disclosure, I did add more Reese's peanut butter cups than the original recipe called for (6 instead of 4) and I did add 1/4 cup of peanut butter chips, as I had them on hand. 
Clearly I am responsible for these not being "light".

AS you can see, I did not take a picture of my ingredients.  The silly part?  I set up all the ingredients and even framed it with my camera, however I must not have hit the button as I have ZERO photos of the ingredients set up on my phone.  Clearly, I am the silly one.

Makes 16 2inch squares
Ingredients

   

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly

2 Tbsp reduced-fat milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips)
1/4 cup peanut butter chips (optional)

Cooking spray

6 (0.75-ounce) peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped (3 dbl packages, or 6 individual "snack" sizes)

 

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Combine peanut butter and next 4 ingredients (through eggs), stirring well. Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips.

Scrape the batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray, and arrange the peanut butter cups over batter. Bake at 350° for 20-23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.  Best to let it cool completely before cutting.

The original recipe called for 4 individual pieces, or 2 packs. Ummm, I used 6 snack size individual ones.

Here it is ready to go to oven

Lazy Girl Cake Mix Cookies

Laziest cookies ever!

I saw this on Pinterest and scoffed.
Yes, I scoffed in disdainment.
And then I went back.
I had to look again. I couldn't look away.
Someone stop me, I'm about to embarrass myself.

But, Heck, I had some cake mixes in my pantry that I never use.
Why not?
This intrigued me, what if it was really good?
What if I missed telling you about something great, and easy too???

Think of the possibilities with this idea:

• Yellow cake mix and regular chocolate chips
• Chocolate cake mix with peanut butter chips
• Chocolate cake mix with mint chocolate chips
• Yellow cake with white chocolate chips and sprinkles? 
• White cake with dried cranberries and nuts
• Chocolate cake with M & M's

Please stop me, I could go on and on...

I settled on Lemon cake mix with white chocolate chips.  I added a couple additional flavor components (extract, zest, juice) but those weren't in the original recipe.  It's up to you.
But use your imagination, this might be the perfect cookie/bar to make when  you have zero inspiration and zero time.

I'm not saying that this will win you ribbon at the state fair, but it does put cookies on the counter in record time. It made people happy at work today. Isn't happy what it's all about?

Makes one 9x13 pan
Ingredients

1 box of lemon cake mix
2 eggs,  beaten
5T melted butter
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 Tbsp lemon juice and little lemon vest (optional)
1/2 tsp lemon extract (optional)

Mix together and bake in 9X13 pan on 350 for 20-25 min.
I let mine rest for 20-30 minutes before cutting into bars. 

Ummm... mixing took me like 10 seconds.  Really though, I might hit the cake mix with a whisk before adding the liquid, because cake mixes can be kind of lumpy.

What it looks like after pressing into a 9x13 pan.  I must admit, I sprayed my hands with Pam cooking spray and patted it down.  I really hate sticky things on me.

After baking, I probably could have baked it 5 more minutes, but I liked the fudgy texture.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

It seems everyone likes Red Velvet cake, but you should see them go for Red Velvet Cheesecake brownies!!!  I love moist, fudgy brownies like these. Later on I promise to blog about my great Red Velvet Cake recipe that is super moist with a surprising taste addition that makes it so much better than most cakes.

I made these brownies from another blog for a potluck football party, but the original recipe only made an 8x8 pan... which really, really isn't enough for a crowd.  If you are going to go to the trouble of making some scrumptious dessert to share, you really need more than 16 brownies!  Also,  the cheesecake topping recipe made entirely too much for an 8x8 pan, but it's perfect for a 9x13 pan.  I actually threw away some of the cheesecake topping when I first made this... I was just kind of DONE with little dabs of perfectly "good" cheesecake filling in my fridge.

Of course, you could access the original recipe here and make a small batch for your family. Thank you to Sweet Peas Kitchen for the original recipe, it was enthusiastically recieved with major thumbs up from my football taste testers!

About 24-35 brownies
1- 9x13 pan
Ingredients:

1 cup butter

4-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 teaspoons red food coloring

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:

8-oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment, or spray with nonstick spray.

In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined and very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.

Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.

To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Distribute the cheesecake mixture in even dollops over batter in the pan. Swirl in with a knife or spatula.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.

Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack before lifting out the parchment paper to remove the brownies.

Here's some more brownie recipes that I have loved...
Brownies topped with Pretzels & Toffee
Merlot Dark Chocolate Brownies

Merlot Dark Chocolate Brownies

Every gal I know loves to have chocolate, coffee and wine for dessert- it's the perfect trifecta of flavors and tastes. But wine in brownies?  Sure, why not? I was inspired by some great pairings in Sonoma Valley with wine and chocolate on a recent trip.  

Reducing the wine softens the flavors and intensifies the jamminess of the flavor in the brownies.   I adapted this recipe from the "One bowl brownie" recipe on the back of the Baker's unsweetened baking chocolate box. It really is a great recipe, and almost easier than using a mix.  I changed it up a bit by removing the vanilla, adding wine and increasing the flour.

A couple of friends and I took a 5 mile hike today and made sure to pack wine, cheese, crackers, veggies and these brownies.  Seemed to be a hit with all, and especially good for rewarding ourselves after a job well done hiking to the top of the mountain.

   

Makes one 9x13 pan
Ingredients:

4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate, 1 oz. each
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup Merlot, reduced down to 1/4 cup***
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup walnuts, toasted

***Before you start baking, reduce your wine!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small saucepan, take 1 cup of Merlot and on medium high heat cook down until it is reduced to 1/4 cup.  This should TAKE about 10 minutes if you use a large bottomed saucepan.  Keep your eye on this, it takes a short time to reduce. In fact, I had to do it twice because I reduced it to 1/8 cup in much quicker time than I anticipated.  See how thick and jammy it looks below?



Toast the walnuts for about 8-10 minutes in your preheated 350 degree oven.  Be sure to set your timer, so you don't forget and let them burn!

Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper, or butter well.

In a glass measuring cup, melt your butter in the microwave.  When melted, add the 4-1 oz. squares of chocolate to the butter (melts faster if you cut each square in half first) and return for to the microwave for 30 second intervals until the chocolate is fully melted. 

In a bowl, add the flour, sugar and then the melted butter, chocolate mix.  Stir in eggs. Finally, add the reduced Merlot and the toasted, chopped walnuts.  I didn't add any salt to this recipe, it didn't seem to need it. But you could if you wanted!

Add to the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.  It took exactly 30 minutes in my glass pan.  Don't over cook them, they are best when they are moist and kind of fudgey. 
Let cool for about an hour and cut into squares.

This makes a great treat to bring to friends or co-workers, and would freeze well to have on hand for unexpected guests, or for midnight cravings...

Need some more chocolate?  Here's some other recipes to try:
Chocolate Grand Marnier Pot du Creme
Fudge for Dummies
Reese's Stuffed Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting