M&M Coconut Blondies

I made these yummy bars for Valentine's Day but you could make them any time. Just use different colored M&Ms and they're perfect for any time of the year.

Printable Recipe

M&M Coconut Blondies
10 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/4 cups M&Ms
extra M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8x8 baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it browns and starts to smell nutty. (Do not let it burn.) Let the butter cool until just barely warm.

In a large mixing bowl, combine browned butter and sugars. With a wooden spoon, stir in egg, vanilla, and salt. Stir in flour, coconut, and M&Ms until mixed well.

Pour the batter in prepared pan and smooth on top. Sprinkle additional M&Ms on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares.

Makes 16 bars

Recipe adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff

Past Recipes:
One year ago: Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Two years ago: Sesame-Grilled Asparagus Rafts
Three years ago: Crock Pot Chicken

Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Last night my husband made steak topped with bleu cheese and lobster tails for our Valentine's dinner so I got a break from cooking. But I did make these delicious brownies. I think I may have a new addiction. This frosting is the best frosting I have ever tasted. It has a hint of white chocolate that gives it a little something special.

Printable Recipe

Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Brownies:
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 oz red food coloring (or 2 Tbsp)
2 tsp vanilla extract, divided
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz good quality white chocolate (not chips), melted
2-3 Tbsp heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour an 8x8 baking pan.

In a small bowl, slowly stir together cocoa powder, food coloring, and 1 tsp vanilla into a thick paste until there are no lumps of cocoa. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in remaining 1 tsp vanilla. With the mixer off, add cocoa mixture. Turn the mixer to medium speed and beat until mixture is one uniform color. Slowly add the flour and salt and mix on medium-low speed, just until combined without overmixing.

Remove the bowl from mixer and stir with a rubber spatula to ensure all of the flour has mixed in and it's all one color. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting, place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream butter until soft and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Allow the sugar to mix in before adding the next 1/2 cup. Add in the melted white chocolate and beat on medium speed until incorporated. With the mixer on low, add the heavy cream 1 Tbsp at a time until it reaches desired consistency.

Makes 16 brownies

Recipe adapted from Smells Like Home

Past recipes:
One year ago: Just Like Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Frosting
Two years ago: Sugar Cookies

Valentine's Day

Can you believe Valentine's Day is next week? Wasn't it just barely Christmas? It seems like the older I get, the faster time seems to go by. Valentine's Day isn't usually a huge deal in our house. My husband doesn't think he needs a special day to say "I love you" when he says it to me every day. But I still think it's a really fun holiday. My husband always makes me a gourmet dinner on Valentine's Day so I'm definitely looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to the Valentine's baking. I made a list of some of my favorite dishes that would be perfect for Valentine's Day. I hope your Valentine's Day is fabulous!

Brazilian Coconut Shrimp Kebobs

Sesame-Grilled Asparagus Rafts

Butter and Garlic Shrimp Penne

Honey Grilled Salmon

Penne with Chicken and Pesto

Chicken Parmesan Bundles

Every year I make sugar cookies and frost them with my kids. These are the best sugar cookies!

 Sugar Cookies

You could make the same cookies but use this frosting recipe instead.

Just Like Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Frosting

If you want sugar cookies but don't want to take the time to cut them out, you could make these yummy bars. 

Frosted Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Bars

I love these Oreo Truffles. I found pink chocolate at the craft store and I thought it would be perfect for Valentine's Day!

Oreo Truffles

Cheesecake

Lindt Truffle Chocolate Cupcakes

Frosted Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Bars

I LOVE sugar cookies but I don't love the time it takes to roll out the dough and cut out the cookies. That's what's so great about these bars. You get the same great taste of sugar cookies without all the work. These sugar cookie bars were so good that I've already made them twice in the last two weeks. If my kids don't object, I might have to replace my Valentine's sugar cookie tradition with these bars.

Printable Recipe

Frosted Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Bars
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3-5 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
food coloring

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and egg until frothy, about 4-5 minutes. Add vanilla and almond extract and beat for 1 minute more.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat for about 2 minutes. Pour the dough into a greased cookie sheet. Spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting, combine butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl or stand mixer. Beat for 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, almond extract, and food coloring. Mix for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Frost cookies. Cut into bars and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Amanda's Cookin'

Past recipes:
One year ago:  Chicken Taquitos
Two years ago:  Swiss Mushroom Chicken

Sesame-Grilled Asparagus Rafts

My husband made this with our Valentine's dinner and it was so delicious! I love asparagus and this recipe definitely takes it to another level.

Printable Recipe

Sesame-Grilled Asparagus Rafts
adapted from Primal Grill

1 lb asparagus
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp sesame seeds

Snap off the woody ends of asparagus and discard. Trim the ends so they are all the same length. Skewer 4 or 5 asparagus spears together using bamboo skewers or toothpicks. (like a Huck Finn-type raft)

In a small bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, and garlic. Stir with a fork to mix. Brush mixture on asparagus rafts on both sides. Season with a little salt and lots of pepper.

Place rafts on a hot grill until browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Sprinkle asparagus with sesame seeds as they grill. Serve as rafts or unskewered.

Brazilian Coconut Shrimp Kebabs

Every year for Valentine's Day my husband cooks us a delicious dinner. He was a little ambitious this year because he decided to make shrimp kebabs, halibut, salmon, and asparagus. He didn't have enough time to make it all after work so I made the shrimp kebabs. If he would've read the recipe earlier he would've realized it was supposed to marinate for 1 to 2 hours and I could've made it during the day while he was at work. Instead it only marinated for about a half hour. But it was delicious! I can only imagine what it would've tasted like if it would've marinated the full amount of time.

Printable Recipe

Brazilian Coconut Shrimp Kebabs
adapted from Primal Grill

32 jumbo or extra large shrimp (about 1 1/2-2 lbs), peeled and deveined
1 1/2 onions
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch triangles
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch triangles
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, halved
1 piece (1-inch) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and membranes removed, cut into chunks
1 can (14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
lime wedges, for serving
skewers

Soak skewers in water to prevent burning. Rinse shrimp under cold water then blot dry with paper towels. Take the whole onion and cut it into 8 pieces. Then break each piece into individual layers. Thread the shrimp onto the skewers, alternating with onion and bell pepper pieces. Place in a baking dish.

Marinade:
Cut the remaining onion into quarters. In a food processor, finely chop onion, remaining bell pepper, garlic, ginger, and jalapenos. Add the coconut milk, lime juice, oil, salt, and pepper. Add more salt and pepper if necessary. Add cilantro and pulse a few times just to mix. Don't overmix or it will turn green. Pour over kebabs and let marinate for 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator, covered. Do not over-marinate or the shrimp will toughen. Turn the kebabs several times for even marinating.

Place the shrimp kebabs on a hot grill for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, until shrimp is cooked through. Serve with lime wedges.

Just Like Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Frosting

If I had to choose any kind of cookie to eat, I would have sugar cookies with frosting. Every year on Valentine's Day I make these and frost them with the kids. It's such a fun tradition for us. This year I wanted to try a new frosting recipe. I used this sugar cookie recipe. They are the best sugar cookies. They're so soft. They remind me of Lofthouse cookies but they're not as thick. So I found this recipe for Lofthouse frosting to go with it. Delicious!!!

Printable Recipe

Just Like Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Frosting
adapted from Food.com

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
6 Tbsp milk or half & half
5 cups powdered sugar
food coloring

Cream butter until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Mix over low speed until well blended.

Lindt Truffle Chocolate Cupcakes

Happy Valentine's Day!!! I made these cupcakes last night and they were a huge hit. One of my absolute favorite treats is Lindt Lindor Truffles. When I saw this recipe I knew I had to make these cupcakes. They were so delicious!!! I didn't have quite enough truffles for the whole batch so I experimented and used some other chocolates I had. I recently discovered my new favorite chocolate. It's Hershey's Bliss milk chocolate with a raspberry meltaway center. I can't get enough of those. They're so addicting. I decided to use them for some of the cupcakes. Oh my goodness! It was so good. I almost think I like that better. But either way it was so delicious! 

Printable Recipe

Lindt Truffle Chocolate Cupcakes

adapted from The Sisters Cafe

1 box devils food cake mix

1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 cup sour cream
24 milk chocolate Lindt Lindor Truffles

Preheat oven to 350. Unwrap truffles and place in a bowl. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, water, and sour cream. Mix well. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 5 minutes. Lightly press truffle into partially baked cupcakes. Bake for an additional 13-15 minutes. Cool completely then frost.

cream cheese frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

food coloring, if desired

To make frosting cream together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar until mixed well. Add desired food coloring. 

Makes 24 cupcakes

Sugar Cookies

This is the best recipe for sugar cookies. They are so soft. I make these cookies every year with my kids for Valentine's Day.

Printable Recipe

Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

4 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

In a large mixing bowl, mix butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat well until all blended. In a separate bowl, mix flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Beat all together. Dough will be really sticky. Pour some flour on counter or table. Take a ball of dough and roll to 1/2 inch thick. (You need to use a lot of flour because the dough is very sticky) Cut out cookies. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Frost with cream cheese frosting or Just Like Lofthouse frosting.

Buttermilk Syrup

This recipe has been moved to The Traveling Circus.

Click the link below for the recipe

Buttermilk Syrup