Making: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

Every three weeks Ben and I attend a bible study with a couple people from our church. At every gathering someone makes a dessert. I love this tradition. I get something super tasty every few weeks and I occasionally get to try a new recipe! 


In May I made Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies. They were very sweet (even for my sweet tooth) so I'm not sure how often I will be making them but I was happy to at least try the recipe!


I got the recipe from Recipe Girl here. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

COOKIE DOUGH (EGG FREE!):
3/4 cup salted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 Tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup semisweet chips (for topping)

Directions:

1. Prepare the brownies: I just used a box of brownies but Recipe Girl makes her own. 

2. Prepare the cookie dough: In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Mix in milk and vanilla. Mix in flour just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Spread cookie dough over the cooled brownies. Refrigerate until the dough is quite firm. It's okay to speed up the process and place it in the freezer too. The firmer the dough, the easier it will be to cut into neat squares. Use a sharp knife to cut the brownies. You may need to wipe the knife off with a paper towel in between cuts since the fudgy brownies and cookie dough will tend to stick to the knife a bit. These brownies are best to serve placed inside cupcake papers and served with a fork.

4. If you'd like to add chocolate drizzle on top, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Scoop the melted chocolate into a zip baggie and snip off the corner. Squeeze the bag to drizzle the chocolate on top of each brownie. 

Enjoy!

Making: Camo Cupcakes

I wanted to make something fun for my brother's birthday. What says Justin more than CAMO CUPCAKES!! I got the idea from here on Pinterest. 


They were super easy to make and I foresee myself going through the same process in the future with fun color combinations! (Please forgive me for the bad photos towards the end, my brother came early and I was RUSHING to get the cupcakes baked and put away before he noticed!)

Make the cupcake batter and divide it into thirds.

(Note: I only used half of the cake batter, the other half was used to make a separate cake)

Make three camo colors; I made dark green, bright green and brown. 

Add blue and yellow to make green. I added extra green dye to one cup to make a vibrant green. For the brown I mixed a ton of food colorings together. 

Starting with one color add in about a tablespoon into the cupcake liner. Then add the second color. Then the third. The batter separates as you add each color leaving the cupcakes looking like this. 

 Then take a butter knife and swirl around the colors. 

Done! 

I wanted the guests to see the camo so I didn't frost the cupcakes. I dyed vanilla frosting bright green and let the guest frost their own. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dessert

I mentioned a while back about adding some Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects on the blog and look forward to sharing some of those with you. I also want to include some of the recipes I am making or have made in the past.


Here is a dessert I made while Justin and Tia were visiting.


Since it was over 100 degrees most of the week I wanted something that was cool and didn't include heat (microwave, stove or oven!). 


I knew the recipe book I got from Grandma Kathy for Christmas would be perfect.


Simple Desserts Made Special with Cool Whip


Chocolate Peanut Butter Desserts


2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 cup thawed Cool Whip
2 cups cold milk
1 package (4-serving size) Jello-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding and Pie Filling

All the goodies I used for this recipe.

Four Ingredients! Perfect!

Mix 2 tablespoons milk and peanut butter in small bowl. 

Stir in whipped topping. 

Pour 2 cups milk into large bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes.

Spoon pudding and whipped topping mixture alternately.

I used Pampered Chef bowls because they had lids!

Refrigerate one hour or until ready to serve.

Garnish with additional whipped topping. 

Delicious!

It was chocolatey and peanut buttery.. perfect!