Celebrating 100!

Hi everyone! Today I am celebrating the number 100! Why you ask? There are exactly 100 days until this guy comes home-



Let me introduce you to my dear friend K.C. John. K.C. is serving a mission in Brazil right now, and he is doing great! He is such an example to me of someone who works hard and doesn't give up. Any trial he faces only makes him that much stronger. I am so thankful to have him as a friend! K.C. is also an incredible soccer player! It is so fun to him play watch! This is a picture of us at his last game before his mission. K.C. is one of my very, very best friends and I'm excited for him to come home!



So that's why I am celebrating 100 today! Will you celebrate with me? How about you celebrate 100 too and make these cookies-



YUM. Are you drooling yet? If so, take a minute to grab a napkin and wipe off your keyboard and then listen up! These are S'mores stuffed chocolate chip cookies and they are heaven! I don't know about you guys but I am totally ready for summer! You know- campfires, camping trips, swimming, vacations, s'mores, etc. Well, here's a little taste of summer right here. I did a little cookie experiment a couple of weeks ago and these were one of the recipes that I tried. You can find the recipe over at Picky Palate! I am always so impressed with all of the creations that she comes up with. They are always so cute and so delicious!

Anyways, give them a shot! These cookies are MASSIVE. Seriously you could probably share one with someone. My mom and I split one and we were both content with our portion sizes- which is rare. :)

Have a wonderful 100 day celebration everyone!

Spring Break & Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Hi everyone! This past week I spent my time here-



doing this-



and this-



and this-



and this-



looking in this-



drooling over this-







and eating this-



Let's just say it was the best spring break ever. It was so nice to get away to somewhere warm and relax with my friends. I think I was born to live in California because hanging out at the beach all day felt all too natural to me. The only thing I would have to work on would be my driving. California drivers are straight up crazy!

Speaking of crazy, let me tell you about a bar cookie that is crazy good. I found the recipe for these on the blog Baking and Boys. She adapted the recipe from Kraft Foods, and I adapted it a little bit more. Here is what they look like-



Drooling yet? If you love peanut butter this is definitely a treat for you to try! The recipe calls for a chocolate cake mix, but I didn't have one so I used a yellow cake mix instead and it turned out great. I have made these once before using a chocolate cake mix and they were absolutely divine, so I guess it just depends on your taste buds and what kind of treat you're after. I omitted the peanuts because we didn't have any on hand, but my family (Josh) doesn't really like nutty treats anyway. I didn't have very many chocolate chips, so I chopped up a couple of mini Mr. Goodbars (I guess there were actually a couple of peanuts in there after all)and Hersheys bars that Josh got from his friend to make up for it. Anyways, I love these bars! They are addicting so be careful! Don't leave yourself alone with a pan of these- that's dangerous.



Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
From Kraft Foods, Adapted by Karina from Baking and Boys

1 chocolate cake mix (or yellow)

1 package (3.9 oz.) Jell-O Chocolate Instant Pudding (I used vanilla since I used a yellow cake mix)

1/2 unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup cold milk

6 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped (I used chocolate chips and chopped up mini chocolate bars)

1 cup Planters' Peanuts, divided (I omitted)

1 3/4 cups creamy peanut butter (Kraft recipe only uses 1 cup, Katrina thought it needed more, I agree)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil. Spray lightly with cooking spray.

Mix the first 4 ingredients until blended. (The dough will be thick.) Press half the cake mix mixture into the prepared pan. Bake this for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle half the chocolate and half the peanuts over the hot crust. Top this with peanut butter. For easier spreading, let it sit a few minutes to warm and thin out. (Again, original recipe only calls for 1 cup of peanut butter, but I thought it spread better when I added more AND it's good!) Sprinkle the remaining cake mix mixture over the peanut butter and then the rest of the chopped chocolate and peanuts. Press down gently with a spatula. Bake 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate 4 hours before cutting into bars. (Don't skip this and try to cut them too early. It REALLY helps them set up.)

ENJOY!!

Oreo Fudge Bars

Hello everyone! I'm starting to think I should rename myself and my blog the "Weekend Baker" because I just don't have much time for it during the week. I have a list of recipes piled up that I need to share with you! I'm going to try and remember to post a least one of those during the week since I usually don't get around to baking until the weekend.

Anyways, let's talk about Oreo Fudge Bars! I found this recipe over at Baking Blonde's blog. I love these bars! They are pure heaven! They are super rich so if rich, chocolaty desserts bother you- go a little easy. Along with being super delicious, these bars are so simple to make! Only 4 ingredients! Quick, easy, and very yummy!

Go here to find the recipe!