Chippy Bars with Peanut Butter Frosting & Chocolate Drizzle

I have a sweet tooth. I think it's safe to say a lot of people do. Life is just more fun with sweets. Plain and simple. 

I love making these bars. They are easy and always a crowd pleaser. By adding a peanut butter frosting and chocolate drizzle, you can knock some socks off with tastiness and eye appeal. The platter will be empty before the party even starts.

Cookies (Tollhouse recipe):

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla 
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Frosting:

6 oz Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

6 tbsp butter
1 tbsp light corn syrup 

Chocolate Drizzle:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 tbsp shortening

For cookies:

In a bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix butter, sugars and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add chips and mix just until chips are evenly distributed.

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray or rub olive oil on bottom and sides. 

Bake for about 25 minutes or until a knife stuck in the middle of the bars comes out clean.

For Frosting:

Melt together chips and butter, once smooth add in corn syrup and mix well. Pour over cooled chippy bars. Let the bars cool on the counter until frosting has set then chill in fridge for 2 hours. 

For Drizzle:

Melt together chips and shortening in microwave for 45 seconds or so. Careful not to burn. Stir well and drizzle over bars. 

Enjoy!

Loaded Tator Tots

Potatoes, cheese, bacon... can you say yum?!?

When I make tots for my kids I usually make a handful of extra ones for me. Sometimes I eat them just as is or I make something a little special with them. These loaded tots are amazing and so easy. It seriously takes less than 3 minutes to put together.

What you'll need:

Pile of tator tots, cooked extra crispy is my preference.
Handful of cheddar cheese
Green onions, chopped
Tomato, diced
Bacon bits
Sour cream

Group the tots together on a microwavable plate. Layer them with cheddar cheese and microwave for about 45 seconds or until cheese is melted. I quick chop the onions and tomatoes while the tots are getting nuked. Top the tots with sour cream, onions, tomatoes and bacon bits. That's it!

My List

Let me just start by saying that I'm a very happily married woman of almost 13 years. My husband is amazing and he's perfect for me.

But I do have a "list." Remember the Friends episode where they discuss the "freebie list"? It is a list of your five favorite celebrities that you could spend a little time with without the other spouse getting upset. My husband fully knows about my list and I've been working on it over the years. I think it's a pretty solid list. I've encouraged my husband to work on his own but I'm pretty sure I've given mine a bit more thought. :)

At the top of my list are my Ryans - Ryan Gosling and Ryan Reynolds...yes, there is a tie...

Whew...had to take a moment there! I've tried long and hard (a-hem) to pick one over the other but just can't. Ryan Gosling is my sweet and intellectual guy and Ryan Reynolds is my funny and charming guy. My husband fully knows that if either showed up at my doorstep, I'll be submitting a request for vacation days (and same goes for him, his #1 girl is Rachel Weisz).

Next on the list...

The "early" Brad - so nice to look at and completely the only reason any woman saw the movie "A River Runs Through It." That thing he does with his mouth when he's listening to someone talk? Outstanding. I'm sad to see his grungier side now but I just remember fondly the good old days when he was hotter than heck.

#4...

Leonardo DiCaprio. This guy knows how to age...hummina, hummina. I think he's a really talented actor, too. And if he and I ever got stranded in freezing water, I totally have a well-thought out plan to save both of us.

#5...

Dr. McSteamy himself...Eric Dane. It was tough to select the picture for him because he's got quite the smolder but this sexy smile lured me in.

So in honor of one of my top Hollywood boyfriends, I made this superb dessert that some may know as the "Next Best Thing to Robert Redford" but I've renamed it for my own individual tastes (not that Mr. Redford is not nice to look at!) and I present to you the "Next Best Thing to Ryan Gosling" dessert. 

Next Best Thing to Ryan Gosling Dessert

Origination unknown but thank you to whoever it was!

1 cup flour
2/3 cup butter
1 cup chopped nuts (I omit because of a nut sensitivity in my family - if you do, add a smidge more flour)
8 oz package cream cheese
1 cup sugar
16 oz whipped topping, thawed
5.9 oz package instant chocolate pudding mix
5.1 oz package instant white pudding mix
3 cups milk
1/8 cup grated semisweet chocolate or nuts for garnish

Combine flour, butter, and nuts. Press into 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

Mix cream cheese, sugar, and 8 oz whipped topping. Gently spread over crust (crust is really flaky & soft).

Mix both pudding mixes and milk until thick. Spread over cream cheese filling. Next, spread remaining whipped topping on top for the last layer. Add desired garnish. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

This dessert is delicious...just like Ryan. ;)

Homemade Playdough

We go through lots of playdough in our house. With all the tools and different colored dough, the kids stay entertained for quite awhile, which is a mega bonus for moms and dads everywhere.

This homemade dough is awesome in many ways. It smells AMAZING! The process of making it is fun and educational. It's a perfect molding dough and it stays fresh for quite awhile. We made our dough 2 weeks ago and the scent and texture hasn't changed at all. 

Here's what you'll need:

Makes 1 ball:
3/4 cup flour
1/8 cup salt
1 packet of fruit drink mix (I used Hawaiian Punch)
1 cup boiling water
1 tbsp oil

In bowl mix together flour, salt and fruit drink mix. Boil water and add to flour mix. Knead it all together for a minute then add the oil and knead until the color is evenly disbursed.

After adding the oil I put the dough on wax paper and let them cool for about 5 minutes before letting the kids continue to knead.The more you knead the less sticky they become.

Store in an air tight container or Ziploc bag. 

Ham and Potato Hotdish

Talk about comfort food! This delicious mixture of potatoes, veggies, ham and cheese will fill your tummy with mad love.

8-10 potatoes, diced
1 small onion, sliced
1 cup carrots, sliced
Handful of mushrooms, sliced
1 cup (or more!) of diced ham
Salt and pepper
1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare a baking dish by rubbing down the bottom and sides with olive oil.

Combine veggies and ham into the prepared baking dish. Dash with salt and pepper. Slice butter into about 4 pieces and scatter them on top of the potatoes.

Bake the potatoes for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add mozzarella cheese to the potatoes and return dish to the oven. Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

 Top with green onions and serve.

PS... this dish is great for grilling too. Grill it in single serving sizes in aluminum foil.

Croissant Surprises

Here is a very kid-friendly treat. These croissant rolled candy bars are fun, easy and quick to make. The kids loved rolling their own candy bars, clean-up is easy and the treats are really good.

Croissant rolled Milky Way Simply Caramel

Croissant Surprises

Tube of Pillsbury croissants
Assorted Mini Candy Bars

Preheat oven as suggested on instructions. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or baking mat.

Peel/unroll croissant and place one candy bar on the wider side of the croissant and begin rolling it.

Tuck up or squeeze together any openings.

Bake croissants per the instructions on the tube or until they begin to brown.

We used colored toothpicks to keep track of what candy bar was inside

Warm, gooey goodness!

Reese's Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars

Last week Cara shared Hugs and Cookies xoxo's cheesecake bars on our Facebook page.

I knew I had to have them. ASAP. I didn't want to be a total copycat so I changed it up a little. Check it out:

Cookie Crust (original recipe calls for Oreo cookies, which I'm sure would be awesome)

1 row Fudge Stripes Original (6 cookies)

1 row Fudge Stripes Dark Chocolate (8 cookies)

6 tbsp butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

Dash of salt

Prepare an 8x8 pan with nonstick foil. Crush the cookies, add sugar and salt. Pour in melted butter and stir. 

Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Let cool.

Cheesecake with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

8oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup sugar

1 egg

2 tbsp flour

8 oz bag of mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

Mix cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and mix until smooth. Add egg and flour. Mix well. Pour in the bag of Reese’s. Gently stir them into the cheesecake.  

Pour cheesecake over cooled cookie crust.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven once the cheesecake begins to slightly turn brown. Cool to room temperature. I sped up the cooling process, just as Hugs and Cookies xoxo did, in the freezer.

Chocolate glaze

6 oz milk chocolate

8 tbsp butter (next time I will use 6 tbsp, my glaze came out thinner than I would have liked)

1 tbsp light corn syrup

Melt together the butter and milk chocolate. Once smooth stir in corn syrup. Pour over cheesecake. Smooth the top to disperse evenly. Let cheesecake sit on counter until the chocolate glaze has cooled then chill the bars for a couple of hours. Use a sharp knife to cut these delicious bars into squares.

Peanut Butter Drizzle

½ cup peanut butter baking chips

1 tbsp shortening

Melt ingredients together in microwave for 45 seconds or so. Careful not to burn. Stir well and drizzle over bars.

Refrigerate leftovers.