Honey and Peanut Butter Oatmeal

It's time to jump on the resolution bandwagon, and while I usually don't particularly go crazy with wanting to detox or get my butt in the gym, this year is a bit different.  Christmas cookies are my biggest weakness, and this past holiday season, I ate more than ever.  I just couldn't stop myself from eating cookie after cookie, and I'm feeling it now, for once.  We don't need to go into anymore detail than that, but it's safe to say that I'm ready to get back in my usual routine.  It's time to get back to work, back to eating square, healthy meals, and back in the gym, with the occasional treat every now and then, for the sake of my own sanity.  As ready as I am to kick this cleansing period into high gear, let's not kid ourselves.  I still have a love for all things made with butter, sugar, and chocolate, so I'm sure those less healthy indulgences will be making a comeback soon...but for now, I'll do what I can.  Healthy breakfasts are as good a place as any to start. 

I love a good bowl of oatmeal in the morning for breakfast.  Comforting and delicious, easy to prepare and full of possibilities, oatmeal is one of my go-to's whenever I want a breakfast I can feel good about eating.  One of my favorite oatmeal mix-ins is peanut butter, because a spoonful melts right into a bowl of hot oats, so you get a ton of flavor in every bite.  In college, PB+J oatmeal was in my regular breakfast rotation, and I always looked forward to making myself a bowl in the morning.  Lately though, I've really been enjoying oatmeal with peanut butter and honey.  A piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and a drizzle of honey is my typical pre-workout snack, because it gives me just the energy spike I need to ensure that I perform at my best, so swapping raspberry jelly for honey in my oatmeal makes perfect sense.  Honey, peanut butter and oats are the perfect combination of ingredients to wake me up and get me ready to start my day, everyday. 

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cereal Treats

Summer is officially winding down, can you believe it? It's that back to school time of year again, and I know many people have already gotten started, or are about to start in the coming weeks.  I always loved going back to school, and I loved it until the real heavy workloads started getting piled on.  When I was little though, I loved heading back to school and getting all of my stuff ready, whether it was my "first day of school outfit," or my school supplies, or picking out a new lunchbox.  A lot of thought needed to be put into the lunchbox! It had to be cool and pretty, and at the same time, meet my mom's standards for efficiently transporting my lunch from home to school without a disaster happening.  My mom would usually pack me a sandwich, a juice box, a fruit, and a sweet treat for dessert or snack time.  My favorite were the Little Bites Mini Muffins and Brownies, but every now and then she'd swap in a Rice Krispy treat, which I also really looked forward to. 

These Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cereal Treats are a throwback to one of my favorite lunchbox snacks. Back in the day, I only ever tried the plain Rice Krispy treats (did they have other varieties back then? I don't even know), so this chocolatey version was a very welcome change.  I used Cheerios, but you can use whichever cereal you like and change the flavorings to what suits you the most.  They're highly adaptable and incredibly easy to make, so they're a great make-ahead treat option for your little one's lunchbox (or for bringing along to work!).  For more pics and the full recipe, head on over to the Make and Takes blog!

Nutella Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

Annnddd I'm back with a chocolatey recipe! Not just chocolatey, but peanut buttery too!  I love it when ingredients like those collide and form something magical.  That's exactly what these cookies are- they are magic!  MAGIC! I'm a little excited about these cookies because they were a really big success, and by that, I mean they were gone in about a day.  Seriously, when something like that happens, you know there's some kind of magic sitting on your plate.

These cookies all started because of my mom.  Over the past several weeks, the spring cleaning bug hit my mom, and it hit her hard.  I mean, my mama has gone a bit crazy reorganizing most of the rooms in our house before, but this time it was something else, especially in the kitchen.  Let's just say that we are no longer allowed to have anything (literally nothing) on the counters (because then they don't look clean, duh) and I no longer know where the majority of our kitchen equipment is anymore; everything is hiding away in a drawer or behind a cabinet. This was a bit problematic the first time I attempted to bake something in our now spotless kitchen- I was ready to pull something out of the oven when I realized that I didn't know where all of the oven mitts and pot holders went.  I didn't even know where any of the dish towels were.  This scenario led to me running around frantically searching for an oven mitt as the timer on my stove was going off, and fortunately I found something to take out whatever I was baking from the oven before it turned extra, extra golden brown.  In addition to clearing out the counters and rearranging every last item in the kitchen, my mama also cleaned out the pantry, which I'll admit, was getting a bit out of hand.  It was just full of random half open boxes of food, food that hadn't even been opened, and other items that we just didn't know we even had anymore.  The pantry cleanout was necessary.  In this process, my mom discovered that we had three large half-filled jars of Nutella, obviously all purchased by me for my baking endeavors.  She ordered me to use them up ASAP, so I obliged. 

PB+J Blondies

Hello, hello, hello!  The blog has been a bit quiet this week...much too quiet for my personal liking, but this little thing called life has been getting in the way.  You see, work has been busy and I've been getting home late. Then, since we're getting closer and closer to summer and I happen to run a blog that features desserts that emphasize the use of real butter, sugar, and chocolate in generous amounts, I've been kicking it into high gear at the gym during the week after work.  My attempts at getting to the gym after work have me coming home sometimes at 9:30 at night, and after I scarf down a quick dinner, it's time for my favorite activity of all, GRE prep. I can't even tell you how many irrelevant new vocabulary words that I will never ever use I've had to learn, and how much I can't wait until this stupid test is finished with.  There's literally only four weeks left until it's over and done with, so the end is near!  After doing an hour of GRE prep a few times a night, I'm usually pretty pooped and ready to just go to bed, meaning that my blog work has been taking a back seat.  Good thing I also caught the spring cleaning bug and have been doing lots of random projects in my bedroom, as if work, the gym, and GRE work weren't enough.  But I digress.  I've been busy, and I've missed getting to work on the blog.   

Fortunately, there's only a month left until the GRE is over with, so by then I'm sure that I'll have some more free time on my schedule and things around here can be a little more lively and dessert-filled.  Until then, just bear with me.  Recipes and photos will come up sporadically, but if they're a little far apart or my writing is reading a little wonky, just rest assured that this is only a temporary phase.  For now though, let's focus instead on these PB+J blondies.  When life gets too busy to handle, you need easy desserts to keep you sane, and these blondies are the simplest of desserts!

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Peanut butter cups are one of those candies that almost never, ever, EVER caught my eye when I was little.  I just never liked them, and I didn't understand why mixing something like peanut butter with chocolate was supposed to make the chocolate better.  I didn't grow up eating peanut butter, so that could have been the reason why, but chocolate always seemed to taste better when it was full of crispy wafer cookies, like Kit Kats, or layered with caramel, like Twix bars, or filled with crunchy peanuts, like Snickers.  Kit Kats, Twix, and Snickers...now THOSE were real chocolate candy bars!  Whenever I got Reese's peanut butter cups in my Halloween trick or treat pumpkin, I couldn't help but feel disappointed.  I would always trade my Reese's cups with my sister for other chocolate bars, and would instantly feel better.

Triple Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Guys, I'm really sorry.  I'm really really sorry.  Not only have I been holding out on this fabulous and rich and creamy and dreamy and amazing ice cream, but I also had the nerve of Instagramming a teaser photo FOUR days ago, and since then, I just have not had the time to sit down and write up the post to share the recipe with you.  Shame on me.  What was I thinking, sharing a teaser photo for Triple Peanut Butter Ice Cream without having a post ready to go and publish the next day?  Seriously guys, that won't happen again. A recipe for an ice cream this delicious needs to be shared ASAP!

I've been pretty busy lately, hence the lack of ice cream recipe sharing on my part.  Between applying for jobs, updating my portfolio, work, and fitting in my daily workouts, I haven't had much time left over to just sit and write.  This, combined with the fact that things at my house this past week, and especially this weekend, were a little circus overloaded has made for a pretty hectic past couple of weeks.  If you don't know what circus I'm referring to, definitely check out my last two Instagram photos, and it'll all make sense.  My baby cousin's first birthday party was yesterday, and my mom was once again in charge of the cake, and once again, she totally delivered an amazing and utterly adorable circus themed cake, complete with tiny fondant circus animals, hand-crafted by my sister, streamers, and caramel corn.  It was the circus cake to end all circus cakes!  If you don't have Instagram, a photo of the cake can also be seen on my Facebook page.  I'll make sure to post some more detailed photos of the cake in a small post this week!  

BUT ANYWAY.  I keep getting sidetracked and further delaying any talk about this Triple Peanut Butter Ice Cream.  Seriously, what is wrong with me!?

Soft Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting

This is the first post I write in a very long while where I don't really have anything else on my mind.  I mean, I do have other things on my mind, I guess, but they're small things: go to the gym, do laundry, pack, find a chance to go to the Met one last time, etc.  Nothing major, really, and it's so nice!  It's so great to have no other papers, assignments, or projects to think about.  Ahhh, the joys of being finished with college!  I've been able to take it easy ever since Wednesday, and I've done almost nothing.  Really.  I've taken naps when I've gotten sleepy, and I haven't had to feel guilty about it; I had a picnic in Riverside Park, just because it was a beautiful day; I've taken my time at the gym, since I don't have to rush my workouts to squeeze them in in-between classes.  Being done with college feels so good.

And then, there's the part that does not feel so good.  That thing called commencement?  It's happening, this Tuesday and Wednesday, to be exact.  That thing called packing and moving back home?  It's happening way too soon.  That thing called REAL LIFE?  I don't even want to think about it!  I'm not ready, neither physically nor mentally for any of it.  It's not that I'm not excited about graduation and entering "the real world,"it's just that I've had such an amazing four years at Columbia, and there's so much I wish I could have done had I had the chance.  I wish I could have taken a few more crazy classes outside the architecture department, just for fun; I wish I had eaten more slices of Koronet's pizza and had more of Tom's famous milkshakes; I wish I had made more of an effort to visit new up and coming museums, and I wish I had learned to drink coffee earlier in my college career, so that I could have stayed awake and been more active in all of my classes, because damn, I was really fortunate to have taken classes with incredibly smart and interesting classmates and professors, and I sometimes feel like I missed out on truly learning what was being taught.  In the end though, I loved every moment of college (even if I didn't know it at the moment, aka, the weekend before every design studio final review), and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I've made amazing friends, met inspiring professors, grown into my own person, and affirmed my love of New York City and Columbia.  As excited as I am to excited to see what comes next, I think that for now, I'm going to continue to live in this mini panic mode of "oh-my-god-I'm-graduating-the-day-after-tomorrow-wtf."  

Peanut Butter, Jelly, & Cocoa Thumbprint Cookies

It's back to school time!  For some it's a good thing, and for some, it's a bad thing, but I think that for most, it's somewhere in the middle...or at least it is for me!  I'm super happy to be back on campus and getting to live in an awesome apartment for my senior year, and my classes all seem to be really great, so I'm definitely looking forward to the challenges that they will bring.  On the downside, school of course means getting re-adjusted to going back to work, having deadlines and responsibilities, and of course, the inevitability of an all-nighter at some point during the semester (although, now that I'm not enrolled in a studio class, perhaps the frequency of these events will be greatly reduced this semester...I'm crossing my fingers and toes for this to be true!).  Sigh, oh well.  There's nothing that can be done!  It's just a matter of reality that homework comes with school, but at the same time, so does fun!  It's all a matter of achieving a sense of balance. 

Speaking of balance, it's important to be able to find a sense of balance in all aspects of life, not just between work and play.  Cookies are, of course, no exception to this rule.  For instance, a chocolate chip cookie needs to have the perfect balance of crisp exterior and gooey center, while at the same time having just the right amount of chocolate chips.  I'm a huge chocolate person, but even I will admit that a chocolate chip cookie can't be completely consumed by chocolate chips...it just wouldn't be right I think.  I'm getting a bit sidetracked though.  Balance is important, but chocolate chip cookies are not the cookies we have at hand at the moment.  We must discuss peanut butter, jelly, and cocoa thumbprint cookies.  Let's try to stay focused, please.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream Sandwiches

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream Sandwiches- jeez, that was a mouthful.  It's definitely the longest title I've had to use for a post, but in this case, it was totally necessary, as the title perfectly describes exactly what you see in front of you: an ice cream sandwich that has the classic chocolate chip cookie exterior updated (although in this case, let's say "upgraded") to a chocolate chunk cookie made with peanut butter and banana.  Two of these soft cookies get a a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, a quick roll around some sprinkles, and then a trip to the freezer to firm up.  After a couple of hours of chilling, you'll have so much yummy goodness waiting for you...

I wish I could say that these ice cream sandwiches were the result of a quest to cool off on a hot summer's day, but I would be lying to you.  The weather we've been having in New York as of late has been pretty miserable.  I mean, it's been nothing terrible; it's been gray, overcast, rainy, windy, and chilly for the past week, so the weather has been very out of season.  The weather just hasn't been its usual pre-summer self.  Despite whatever has been going on with Mother Nature, these ice cream sandwiches were created nevertheless, because I wanted them to exist.

That's right.  I had a craving for homemade ice cream sandwiches and I was gonna have one, even if the weather refused to cooperate with me...so that's exactly what I did.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are super delicious.

I didn’t grow up eating them, and I didn’t even grow to like peanut butter until only a couple of years ago.  I also don’t like using “classic” white bread, but instead prefer a multigrain or whole wheat bread when making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich…I just don’t really like white bread, whole wheat is so much yummier.  Yes I’m weird, I know.  It’s ok though.

To this day, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches aren't something I eat very often, but every now and then I find myself craving a pb&j sandwich, because they’re filling, sweet, and so simple to make.  These bars are just as easy to prepare.