Gingerbread Cookie Butter Oatmeal Cookies

This time last year...

Most of our possessions were in boxes. We knew it was to be the last Christmas in our Pennsylvania home and we were preparing ourselves for the mental and emotional heartbreak that comes with saying goodbye to people and places that had come to be a part of us. I was pregnant with Daniel and on rest for placenta previa, rest that was much easier to accomplish since my foot was also still on the mend from a break that made mobility a bit more cumbersome. My knee scooter was my best friend. Our home was for sale, and we were having open houses every weekend leading up to Christmas. We also had found our current home and were in the process of purchasing it with the help of our amazing realtor who has become one of our dearest friends here. There was so much unknown on the horizon. Would we like our new home? Would the children adjust well in their new school? Would we be able to find a community like the one we enjoyed in Pennsylvania? How would I adjust being even further away from my family?

And now here we are...

The tree is trimmed, the winding banisters leading upstairs are covered with lights and garland, and we are eagerly preparing to celebrate our very first Christmas in Colorado. When we look back on how chaotic and stressful our lives were at this point last year, we can't help but feel so grateful that we not only survived that period in our lives but that we came out on the other side so happy and adjusted in our new home. We have been loving it here in Colorado - the sunshine, the beautiful scenery, the kind people. We are still forming our community and working on making friendships, a process that is innately slow and cannot be hurried, but we have already made some wonderful connections that we feel so blessed to have.

The kids are disappointed that we do not have as much snow on the ground as Erie would have had by now. In fact, we have no snow at all. What little snow that does fall from time to time quickly melts in the bright sunshine that beams down on us daily. I love it, but the children lament that they are unable to build snowmen, forts, or snow angels. However, Matthew did get to travel into high country to try his hand at skiing as I mentioned in a previous post. I promised that I would update you on what he thought about the skiing experience and all I have to report is that he did not complain about it one bit. He came back tired, exhausted really, but had very little to say about his day on the slopes other than that he wanted to go to bed and sleep. Believe it or not, that is a very good sign. If he had absolutely hated it, we would have heard about it. Matthew is much more vocal about complaints. He'll get back on his skis a few more times this season with Paul. The girls will take lessons together next winter and hopefully I'll get to ski with them as well. We are hoping that skiing will give them a whole new appreciation for the snow.

One thing I never did with the kids in Pennsylvania was go out of my way to visit Santa and have our pictures taken with the big guy. My kids have never been all that into Santa, mainly because Matthew has always said, "Santa creeps me out." And I had absolutely no problem with not going to the mall or somewhere and standing in a big long line to take a picture of my kids crying while sitting on the lap of an old guy dressed in red. No, thank you.

SO I have no idea what possessed me this year to take my kids down to the historic district of our little suburb where a Christmas market was being held and one of the most realistic looking Santas you will ever see was present hearing the Christmas requests of the children of Denver. Lucy announced that she wanted to visit Santa and I, being the sucker that I am, decided to do bundle everyone up and take them down there. When we arrived, about 20 minutes before Santa was supposed to arrive, the line of parents and kids was stretched out up and around the town square. I was informed that from where I was standing in line that it would be about an hour until we actually had our turn with Santa. I told the girls to forget it, but Lucy acted so disappointed and heartbroken that I was once again bamboozled into staying put.

So, we waited for over an hour and slowly inched our way closer and closer to meeting Father Christmas. The kids also became more and more tired and grumpy with every minute we had to wait. There were carolers entertaining the crowd and a real estate company was also passing out free hot chocolate so it wasn't complete torture to wait. But, it still was a long time.

Then FINALLY, we were next in line. I yanked Lucy out of the double stroller to prepare her for the big, highly anticipating meeting with Santa and what do you think she angrily tells me?

"I don't want to see Santa!"

You've got to be kidding me. After waiting in line for over an hour because LUCY was the one who wanted to see Santa in the first place? Oh, HO HO HO....you're definitely going to be seeing Santa, young lady.

When our turn was called, Emma happily leaped forward into Santa's arms and began feeding him lies about how well behaved and angelic she has been all year. Lucy, however, proceeded to burst into tears and yell: "I DON'T WANT TO SIT ON HIS LAP! HE'S SCARY! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!" She wouldn't stop wailing as she collapsed into a heap at my feet while simultaneously completely wrapping her little body around my ankles.

At this point, I pretty much hated my life.

The elf helper was yelling at me to start taking pictures to capture this beautiful moment with Santa. I couldn't move because Lucy was so tightly wound around my legs and my camera was buried in the diaper bag in the back of the stroller. I awkwardly shuffled over towards it, slowly dragging a little limp Lucy along with me, and pulled the camera out to hopefully snap a quick photo of Emma with Santa before leaving the wretched place with my tail between my legs. Without even looking into the viewfinder, I snapped a couple quick shots and then encouraged Emma that we had to beat it. She happily waved goodbye to Santa and I shoved everyone else out of the way to make way for the next parents.

And these were the treasured shots I captured...

At least we got a coupon for free cookies and a couple candy canes out of the deal. And I will never, ever, ever be doing that again.

And speaking of cookies, it's time for a cookie recipe! What clever segue that was! Not much really to say about today's recipe except that they were a new recipe I decided to try this Christmas season and they certainly paid off in flavor. In a word, these are simply scrumptious or "scrummy" as Mary Berry would say. My kids love everything gingerbread or molasses flavored. When I asked them what cookies they wanted to help make for Christmas, ALL of them wanted "gingerbread men" and nothing more. As a child, I don't remember being particularly drawn towards gingerbread flavors, so this fetish must come from Paul who also adores molasses anything. Another thing Paul adores is cookie butter - particularly the Trader Joe's variety. So, when I spied this recipe and noted that it not only contained ginger and molasses but cookie butter as well, I knew it had to result in a tasty treat. This recipe has quickly found a spot in the "favorites" file. The kids have already eaten a dozen or so and would have eaten more had I not cut them off, stashed the remainder into a tupperware, and hidden it atop our refrigerator where they all are fortunately still too short to reach.

If you get your hands on a jar of cookie butter, make these! You can find the Biscoff brand of cookie butter in the aisle with the peanut butter at most major grocery stores or, of course, if you are blessed enough to live near a Trader Joe's, their cookie butter is pretty amazing. Lucy enjoyed a few spoonfuls before the rest was dumped into the cookie dough.

Gingerbread Cookie Butter Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) butter, softened to room temperature
1 2/3 cup (14-ounce jar) cookie butter (see note)
3/4 cup (5.5 ounces) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (5.5 ounces) packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 cups (7 ounces) quick oats

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. (Just always always always do this for cookies)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer), cream together the butter, cookie butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and ginger until creamy and fluffy, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the molasses, vanilla and eggs and mix until well-combined, 1-2 minutes, Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour and quick oats and mix until combined (don't over mix, just mix until evenly combined and no dry streaks remain).

Scoop the dough into balls about 2 tablespoons each (I use my #40 cookie scoop) and place a couple inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until set around the edges with a few cracks on top but still soft in the middle. Let the cookies rest for a few minutes on the baking sheets.
Remove the cookies to a cooling rack. The cookies stay soft for a couple days stored well-covered at room temperature and freeze well, too, for several months.

Halloween Candy Cookie Cake

This week was brutally busy. I'm not even sure with what but I went to bed exhausted every single evening. Part of the reason was due to the fact that Paul was traveling for work this week and being the sole caretaker for the kids really does take a toll on me. When Paul comes home, it at least gives the kids another body to annoy, complain to, or climb all over besides me! Plus, Daniel has been going through a super fussy period at night. He used to be the best sleeper and is now waking up multiple times at night. My guess is teething but that's pretty much what I blame any fussy behavior on at this age. I know it will pass, but right now it seems as if I will never experience a restful night of sleep every again!

So, that's what's up with me. Here's a little update on each of the kids because they've all had pretty interesting weeks.

Let's start with Lucy. She woke up bright and early on Tuesday of this week and decided from here on out that she was no longer a little girl, but a puppy. Not just any puppy, but a puppy named "Ruff Ruff." In fact, she will correct me any time I refer to her as "Lucy" and not "Ruff Ruff." Now, Ruff Ruff is very specific about how she wants to be treated. She has been known to give me prompts "Pet my head" or "Tell me to do some tricks" or "Put my water on the floor so I can lick it like a dog" (I decline to indulge that request). She loves to play fetch and initiates the game by scratching my leg while I am working in the kitchen until I bend down and toss whatever toy she has in her mouth into the next room so she can chase after it. Just like any overly-energetic puppy, Ruff Ruff never seems to tire of this game. The worst part about having Ruff Ruff around, at least in my humble opinion, is that I never know when I am going to be gifted with a wet, warm, saliva-drenched lick on the back of the leg. Ruff Ruff strikes at any time with this sign of affection - while I am making dinner, nursing the baby, or reading a book - and it makes me cringe every single time. I personally will be very happy when Ruff Ruff leaves and Lucy returns. But, as I type this out, it is Friday morning and Ruff Ruff is rolled in a ball, pretending to sleep at my feet, occasionally letting out a bark. Really hoping Lucy returns before we have to go to church tomorrow for Matthew's First Communion.

Matthew is very excited about receiving his First Communion and Confirmation on Saturday. He has been looking forward to this day for a long time and has studied very hard to prepare for it. He chose Saint Francis to be his Confirmation saint because Saint Francis loves animals and, in the words of Matthew, that means "he probably loved dinosaurs too and since I want to be a paleontologist, Saint Francis would be a good patron saint for me." I failed to tell him that I actually did a little research to see if there was a patron saint of paleontology and there is, but it isn't Saint Francis. It's Saint Augustine. Who ironically is the son of Saint Monica, my saint namesake. But regardless, Matthew has his heart set on Francis. He actually had to write a short paper about Saint Francis for his Confirmation class. In order to properly research his paper, I bought a biography of Saint Francis for him and he read it eagerly, cover to cover. When it came time to write his paper, I sat him down in front of the computer and urged him to type out what he had learned. The result was a plethora of information about the good saint but in a jumbled format and order that gave me a glimpse into the manic nature of Matthew's third-grade brain.

One of my favorite lines read as follows: "Saint Francis saved a village from a wolf. He told him to stop doing bad things and the wolf was fed by the people for the rest of his life. We actually don't know if it was a girl or a boy wolf. So we should just say it was a girl/boy wolf."

It's the little details that he obsesses over.

Matthew is actually turning into quite the little writer. He has been avidly writing a bunch of short stories, inspired by the sights, sounds, and experiences of his daily life. My favorite project of his, a short story he wrote for creative writing class in school, is called "Every Fig." If you are familiar with the Bible, you may recall a story in the Gospel where Jesus rebukes a fig tree. Matthew decided to write that story from the fig's perspective. It was hilarious stuff. Basically, in the story, the hardworking figs receive a promise from an angel that their tree will never catch fire. But then, Jesus came along. I was in stitches as Matthew retold what he wrote. It was pretty creative. I've been very proud of him this school year. He had been excelling in his schoolwork and even won the music award this quarter.

Emma is also excelling at school. Socially that is. She is a bit of a troublemaker at school because she so loves to make others laugh. The result is that she is often disruptive at inappropriate times in her classroom. She has been sent to the Principal's office on more than one occasion. Matthew, whose classroom is directly next door to Emma's, has been able to witness his sister being reprimanded on more than one occasion. This actually helps me out a bit because I can obtain all the juicy, gossipy details from Matthew before confronting Emma about what happened.

Despite her troubles, Emma is very well liked by both students and teachers alike at the school. Matthew has actually been very annoyed at how much the girls in his class baby and adore Emma, often "taking care of her" during recess. Emma has a knack for getting others to do favors for her. An extra example of this would be when some men came to our house to deliver our new kitchen table. They arrived at the same time I pulled in with my carload of kids fresh from school pickup. I asked them to give me a minute as I carried in Daniel, Lucy's shoes, and an assortment of mail we had just collected from our mailbox. When I came back outside, I saw Emma walking between the two delivery men, one of them carrying her backpack, another carrying her shoes and coat. She was instructing them where to put her things once they got inside. She's a bit of a prima donna.

Emma made my week very eventful by feigning illness three out of five days. The first day, the school nurse called to tell me that Emma had been complaining all morning that she felt like she was going to throw up. After a nap in the sick room, she still wasn't feeling perky, so I was asked to bring her home. The minute she got into the car, she began requesting to dip into her Halloween bucket, followed by a high intensity game of chase with Lucy (I'm sorry, I mean Ruff Ruff). Obviously she wasn't feeling too awful. I should also mention that she ate plenty during her "sick time" at home so I was pretty sure she was manipulating people as usual. So, when I got another call from the school two days later stating that Emma was making the same complaints, I told them to tell her to knock it off and get back to class. And (surprise, surprise) she never once threw up.

On a positive note, Emma has been spending all her free time paper crafting. She's been working diligently making many beautiful paper flowers that are now decorating our home. She also made a crown for Pumpkin Bear. She's a crafting maniac.

And little Daniel...he's rolling everywhere he can and getting frustrated that he's not more mobile. He shall be crawling any day now and I can already forsee the destruction! Even with his limited mobility, he still manages to roll over to a cabinet of choice, open it, and expel all the contents! I'm going to be in big trouble when he really starts going!

He's wearing some of his Dad's old clothes in these pictures. So cute.

The kids also had rosary club this week. It's held once each month at their school and basically involves them spending an hour after school making rosaries for missionaries while praying the rosary with their teachers and friends. Matthew and Emma both love it. I had promised the kids that I would send in some snacks for club this month, so I raided the candy bags once again and came up with this lovely Halloween Candy Cookie Cake. It made for a fun and eye-catching treat for the kids and they all raved about it! They loved finding different fun-size candy bars in each bite - apparently each kid had two slices (I did try to cut them as thin as I could!). This was a fun way to use up some of that candy...although I honestly feel as if I haven't made a dent! There is still so much left!!

Halloween Candy Cookie Cake

For the Cookie Cake:
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups leftover Halloween candy, roughly chopped (use mini candy bars, m&ms, peanut butter cups, etc)

For the chocolate frosting:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
1 and 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, more if needed
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons heavy cream, more if needed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9" pie plate with non-stick baking spray; set aside.
In a large bowl add the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar; beat well until combined. Cool for 5 minutes, then beat in the egg, egg yolks, and vanilla. Add in the flour, cornstarch, and salt and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix here! Fold in the chopped candy bars. Spread the mixture into the prepared pie plate (it will be very thick), smooth the top, and bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, the edges are completely set, and the center of the pie is only slightly jiggly.

Top the warm cookie cake with extra candy, if desired. Transfer cookie cake to a wire rack to cool for at least one hour before topping with frosting (if using) and slicing.

To make the chocolate frosting, sift together the confectioners sugar and cocoa powder, whisking well to ensure it is free of lumps.

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy; about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the sifted sugar/cocoa powder, alternating with the cream, then add the vanilla and salt. Once all of the ingredients have been added, beat on high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Scrape frosting into a piping bag fitted with an large star tip or other decorating tip of choice and pipe onto the cooled cake. Enjoy the sugar rush!

Twix Blondies and a Halloween Recap

This begins my annual Halloween post. The post I write every year detailing what my kids wore on Halloween night, what their Jack-o-lanterns looked like all lit up and glimmering spookily in the night, and, at the end, a recipe utilizing a small portion of the pounds and pounds of candy they collected from our neighbors. This recipe for Twix blondies is definitely one of my absolute favorite ways to use candy bars in baking. My kids collected an exorbitant number of fun size Twix bars this year and they are more inclined towards the sugary sweets rather than the chocolate so they were more than happy to donate their Twix for this recipe. Plus, I just portion the blondies out and freeze them individually wrapped to use in their lunches in the coming months. So, they still get to eat their candy, just in a re-purposed manner. So don't feel too sorry for them. My sisters always tease me about using my kids' candy for baking.

But before we get to this incredible recipe, lets recap how the kids looked in their costumes. We actually trick-or-treated three separate times because we're insane and really enjoy standing in long lanes while waiting for our turn to beg for candy. Instead of putting together new costumes for the kids, I just told them to hunt through their dress up box and find something to wear. Unfortunately, that didn't work too well for Matthew who has grown so tall over the past year that nothing fit him. He had his eye set on dressing up as Spider-man after seeing a costume at Costco while we were shopping. I told him that he could earn the costume dollar by dollar by performing extra tasks around the house. Matthew diligently pulled weeds, raked the yard, picked up dog poop, and dusted furniture, eventually earning enough to purchase his costume. He was proud.

Emma also wanted to earn enough money to purchase a new costume. She had spied a fairy costume at Costco and I told her that she could do the same as Matthew and perform extra chores to earn it. She worked hard for a day and earned a total of three dollars before deciding that it was just too much work and abandoning the project. She chose to be Princess Belle while trick-or-treating at the zoo and then switched to wearing Matthew's old dragon costume when the weather got more chilly. She was perfectly happy with her choice and the dragon costume strangely fit her personality.

Lucia, my sweet little girl, was the only one of my children who did not complain for a new costume. Rather, she was more than happy to wear a different costume from her dress up box for each trick-or-treat outing. First, she was Doc McStuffins, wearing the same costume she wore last year, at the Boo at the Zoo. Then, she decided to be Minnie Mouse, complete with wearing a pair of my pumps. I really had to talk her out of shuffling around in those. Finally, for the chilly Halloween night, she wore a baby elephant costume she had found in one of our clothing bins that I had completely forgotten about.

And baby Daniel was a character from the 100 Acre Wood each time, Tigger first and Eeyore second. Paul wasn't too happy with the Eeyore costume since it was a pink and purple color and little old ladies kept coming up and telling us how beautiful our baby girl was, but it didn't bother me. Eeyore is a boy after all and someone telling me my baby is beautiful is always a welcome compliment.

And once again, I could not get Paul to dress up in a costume so he just went as a grumpy old man. I went as a tired Mom.

As typical, we began Halloween night with a simple dinner of subs and pizza. Lucy picked out decorations for the table, including "spooky spider" napkins and plates. Emma made a hand out of popcorn and candy corn at school that she just had to have displayed in the center. The kids ate well before lighting our jack-o-lanterns on the front porch. I actually helped carve the pumpkins this year, but I'm really not so great at it. Emma wanted me to make a spooky cat and while I was carving it I accidentally cut out the ear and dislodged the whole body from the circle meant to hold it intact. I propped it up with toothpicks long enough to have it lit, but by the end of the night the entire thing had fallen out of the pumpkin. Epic fail.

The kids drew their own designs for the pumpkins. Lucy adamantly wanted a sad pumpkin.

Matthew went with a big, happy pumpkin. With eyebrows. He was very adamant about it having eyebrows.

And Emma wanted to the pumpkin face adorning the front of her favorite stuffed animal "pumpkin bear", a teddy bear inside a jack-o-lantern that she has been sleeping with the for the past couple of years.

It was a freezing cold night. The kids did great despite the frigid air with the exception of Daniel. He wanted none of it and made his opinion known. He lasted a grand total of three blocks before I turned around to take him back home. Lucy chose to join me. Daniel was much happier once we got him in front of a roaring fire which is where he wanted to be in the first place. I was secretly glad that he gave me an excuse to get home.

Matthew and Emma did a few more blocks with Paul before they also retreated inside. Not that they had any lack of candy. I don't think we have ever collected so much candy. I'm crying just thinking about all the cavities.

So when I took about 30 mini Twix bars to make these blondies, it did not make so much as a dent in the actual candy collection of these kids. And between you and me, I would gladly buy a bag of mini Twix just to be able to make these blondies. They are sweet, salty, and extremely addictive. They have a bit of a different texture than other blondies thanks to the shortbread cookies in the Twix bars and I personally just love it! So did Paul and all the kids. Way better than eating a Twix bar straight up.

Twix Blondies

3/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups light brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon flaked (or coarse) sea salt
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
30 mini Twix bars coarsely chopped - about 2 cups worth.
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9×13 baking pan with foil and coat with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the butter and brown sugar on low speed. Add in the eggs, vanilla, baking powder and salt and mix until smooth.

With the mixer still on low add the the flour and mix until just combined.

Stir in the Twix and chocolate chips until evenly incorporated.

Spread batter into prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes until the edges are set and the center is almost set.

Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Amazing Zucchini Brownies

I have been very much mistaken in my disdain for zucchini brownies. Mea culpa.

After this post in which I declared that zucchini brownies were soggy, tasteless, disgusting confections that I was not fond of, a reader sent me this recipe and told me to try it as it just might change my mind. The day before, I had actually obtained quite the harvest of fresh zucchini from a friend's garden so it seemed a fitting time to give it a whirl.

I wasn't expecting much, but this recipe completely blew me away. Not only were the zucchini brownies perfectly delicious, they were downright one of the best brownies I've had in a while. High praise, but oh so true. Fudgey, moist, very chocolaty. The zucchini is completely undetectable. I enjoyed watching Emma gobble down a piece and then announcing that they were made with a hefty dose of her least favorite vegetable. She didn't believe me and insisted that I was pulling her leg.

I made THREE batches of these. I experimented with butter and oil, finding both of them perfectly delicious. For more fudge like brownies, up the butter by 1/2. I also added espresso powder - a must when working with chocolate in my opinion - and a few extra chocolate chips certainly couldn't make these any less delicious. My favorite part about this recipe is that there is no need to drain the zucchini. That's often the part about zucchini recipes that I detest the most because the process oftentimes leads to a stained towel and anxiety over whether enough water had actually been removed. In this recipe, the liquid from the zucchini is required to transform the mixture into a brownie-batter consistency before baking. For this reason, it is recommended that in-season zucchini is best for use in this recipe. So making this with zucchini purchased from the store in mid-February might not be as wonderful.

In short, dear readers, I stand corrected. These are pretty amazing. Give them a try before zucchini season ends!

Zucchini Brownies
adapted slightly from Two Peas in a Pod

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil or vegetable oil (or butter)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups shredded zucchini (don’t squeeze out the moisture)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (divided)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan with parchment and set aside.

In a stand mixer, combine sugar, oil, and flour, combine until mixture resembles wet sand. It will appear dry. While mixing, on low, add cocoa, shredded zucchini, vanilla extract, espresso powder, salt and baking soda. Mix until well combined. The mixture will moisten once the zucchini is added. Stir in one cup of the chocolate chips.

Pour brownie batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the brownies are set.

Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut brownies into squares and serve.

Salted Caramel Banana Bread Brownies

The interior of our home has been filled with the music of Les Miserables and Evita. Paul and I have been on a musical kick for the past few months, ever since we took Daniel with us to see the Broadway version of Les Miserables. As I type this out, I realize that I should have mentioned in my last blog post about Daniel that he has already seen a Broadway show at the tender age of three months. When we walked up to the box office with our tickets (which we had purchased back in February) we were politely informed that we could not bring the baby into the theater until we had purchased an "infant in arms" ticket for him. Ridiculous, right? His ticket cost almost as much as ours! Thank goodness he was a complete angel and slept the entire time so we were able to enjoy the show - which was incredibly amazing. Paul is already asking when we can go see another show although I have a hard time believing any show can top Les Miserables.

So, we have been blasting "Master of the House" "One Day More" and "On My Own" while washing the dishes and getting the kids ready for bed. And as far as Evita is concerned, I haven't even thought about that musical since high school but randomly started singing some of the songs. Matthew heard me and asked me about it, which led to me seeking out the soundtrack online, and now my kids are familiar with most of those songs. Emma especially loves the song "High Flying Adored" whereas Matthew prefers "The Lady's Got Potential." If you have no idea what I'm talking about, look these songs up on YouTube. They're great! We've become quite the musical family recently. Beware, we might morph into a Colorado-based version of The Von Trapp Family Singers, only with far less talent and relatively no originality.

Speaking of no originality (on my part at least!), here is a recipe for Salted Caramel Banana Bread Brownies that I made exactly as written from the remarkable food blog Plain Chicken. If you haven't heard of her blog, check it out. All her recipes are simple, no-fuss, and guaranteed crowd-pleasers. When I spied the picture for these brownies and then glanced at the pile of five blackened bananas sitting on my counter with a growing colony of fruit flies floating about, I figured it was worth a try! The banana bars would be a great snack for the kids to pack in their lunches since they love banana anything, although apparently not actual bananas since whenever I buy them they go uneaten and turn mushy and black.

I was completely prepared not to like these. I normally find the texture of zucchini or other vegetable-based "brownies" to be completely abhorrent. These, however, were really quite fantastic. It probably had something to do with all the chocolate, caramel, and butter but I very much enjoyed eating these for breakfast this week...you know, because they have bananas and go so great with coffee. I need to work on my sugar addiction.

Will I choose these over straight-up brownies? Probably not but that doesn't mean they're not delicious.

I found the salted caramel chips at Kroger! They actually have their own Kroger brand of them probably inspired by Hershey's Salted Caramel Baking Chips. If you can't find either version of them, I think Butterscotch Chips would be a fine substitute.

Salted Caramel Banana Bread Brownies
from Plain Chicken

6 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup chocolate chips
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 to 4 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1-3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup salted caramel chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x9-inch baking pan. Set aside.

Melt butter and chocolate chips in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and cool.
In a bowl, mix together the vanilla, sugar and mashed bananas. Add the eggs and beat well. Mix until everything is well combined.

Sift flour and salt and add to banana mixture. Stir in salted caramel chips.

Fold in 2/3 of the chocolate mixture into the batter. Stir just until combined - a few chocolate streaks in the batter is perfectly fine.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Drizzle the remaining chocolate mixture on top of the batter. Use a knife to create streaks of chocolate.

Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack 1 hour before cutting. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

S'Mores Chocolate Chip Cookies

While Emma and Matthew are in Montana with their grandparents, I had the pleasure of spending the entire week focusing on Lucy and Daniel. With Matthew and Emma not around to fill the silence with their endless chatter, things have been much more quiet and a bit more peaceful. Lucy does seem to miss her older siblings but simultaneously is enjoying getting all the attention to herself. As I mentioned earlier, the main focus of the week has been potty training and, overall, things are going really well! Lucy has taken full advantage of the fact her parents are so desperate to get her out of diapers that they are fully open to any bribery necessary to make it happen. As a result, Lucy has been showered with all the sugar, sweets, and ice cream she wants each and every time she successfully uses the bathroom. In fact, whenever she has to go, she normally stands in the middle of the room, in her underwear, and declares loudly: "I need to go pee on the potty right now. And after I pee....I am going to get an ice cream cone." And, of course, since we are beyond desperate to only have one kid in diapers, Paul and I have to acquiesce to her requests.

In addition to dishing out endless amounts of sugar, we also took both Lucy and Daniel to the movie theater to watch Christopher Robin. It was so much fun taking Lucy - she is still mostly unspoiled and so fun to treat! She got a kick out of having the entire movie theater basically to ourselves. We went to one of those nicer theaters that are super clean and have large, reclining seats which made the whole experience very enjoyable because we could cuddle comfortably with the kiddos during the entire film. We made sure to also get Lucy a very large popcorn and an even larger cup full of root beer, the latter of which made us very nervous that a certain type of accident might occur. Thankfully, it didn't and we all enjoyed the movie - it was such a great, family-friendly film with a wonderful message. Go see it with your little ones!

Lucy and I also made cookies together to get ready for the school year. I find it very useful to make a huge batch of cookies that I can freeze and use for school lunches - or work lunches for Paul -  over the coming weeks. It also gives me an opportunity to eat a ridiculous amount of cookie dough while I test out a never-before-tried recipe. Lucy, like her sister Emma, also relishes any opportunity to eat butter by the spoonful. During the execution of this particular cookie recipe, I'm certain Lucy ate her weight in the raw dough since I entrusted her with scooping the cookie dough at one point as I straightened up the kitchen. Ten minutes later, the kitchen was sparkling and Lucy had yet to scoop a single mound of cookie dough onto the baking sheet. However, she was licking her chops and telling me how "Deeeeelicious!" it tasted. After that, I fired her.

But Lucy's right! The raw cookie dough for these S'mores Chocolate Chip Cookies was delicious but the BAKED version is even better. Chewy, thick, full of chocolate and marshmallow bits, and boasting a delectable graham cracker flavor...these are the cookies of which dreams are made. Dorky, but true. This recipe is going into my regular cookie rotation!

S'Mores Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Note: I found the marshmallow bits at Target for a little over a dollar. Check the Target website for local availability as well as for information about where in the actual store it is located. Otherwise, they can also be ordered from Amazon. Regular marshmallows will NOT work. Thankfully, this recipe is worth the hunt! Also, as always, at altitudes above 5500 feet, cut the baking soda in half for higher-rising cookies!

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup (7.5 ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
1/3 cup (2.5 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (8.75 ounces) all-purpose flour (see note)
1 cup (4.5 ounces) graham cracker crumbs (about 9 rectangle crackers crushed)
2 cups (12 ounces) chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup (1.75 ounces) miniature marshmallow bits

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

Using an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer, add the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix together until very light and creamy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until evenly combined.

Add the flour and graham cracker crumbs and mix until just barely combined.

Add the chocolate chips or chunks and marshmallow bits and mix until incorporated.

Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing at least 2-inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until just golden on the edges and a little crackly on top. Let the cookies sit for a few minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tim Tams

Have you ever heard of Tim Tams?

Labeled as "Australia's favorite cookie" and introduced to American consumers less than ten years ago, the Tim Tam is a fantastic little indulgence consisting of two chocolate biscuits sandwiching a light, malted chocolate filling and finished with a milk chocolate coating. It is heavenly, especially if you are fond of chocolate. I was first introduced to this delightful treat by Roydon, a pilot hailing from New Zealand who grew up on Tim Tams and seems to have made it his life's mission to introduce ignorant Americans to the wonders of this cookie treat by bringing a package or two with him to every dinner party, family gathering, or general meeting of two or more people.

And speaking of Roydon, he's really not a random New Zealander who feeds me cookies every now and then, but rather a soon-to-be relative. Just this past weekend, he proposed to my sister Sophia at the grotto on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. And she said yes!

Aren't they cute?

I'm really happy for Sophie and her life of happiness ahead, but I'm also really glad for me and my stomach - we have access to a lifetime supply of Tim Tams. Because these babies just might be my new favorite cookie.

After first trying Tim Tams, I knew I had to figure out how to make them. And figure it out I did, although they were quite the time-consuming little project. This really upset Lucy who gets excited anytime I start working with chocolate and had to wait literally hours to finally eat a cookie. First, you have to make the biscuit dough which takes five minutes. The dough needs to be rolled very thin between parchment paper and then refrigerated for a few hours so it is easier to work with. Next, the dough needs to be cut into cute little rectangles that are the exact same size. Being a meticulous individual, I actually got a ruler out for this part and while I got those rectangles fairly uniform, I found it all very tedious and frustrating especially when the dough started to warm up and squish together when I tried to transfer one of the cut shapes to a baking sheet.

Once cut, the rectangles are baked until firm. Then they must cool completely, during which time you make the malted chocolate butter filling - which holy cow, I could eat with a spoon, it was so good! After each cookie is filled and sandwiches, refrigerate it to chill while you make the chocolate coating. Once the chocolate coating is made, dip each cookie individually in it until completely covered and then set aside to firm up. Once all the cookies are dipped, they all must be chilled to ensure the chocolate sets. THEN, my friends, you  may eat one. It's a long process, but well worth the effort, especially if you like your chocolate.

While it is far easier to buy these cookies at Target - Roydon confessed that he can buy them there - this really is a fun project if you're into multi-step baking. I found it not-so-fun just because the children expected to be eating cookies within 30 minutes of the announcement that I was making these and thus kept bugging me for hours during the process asking me if they could eat one. Not really an issue with the cookies themselves, more to do with the fact that I have no patience (and neither do my kids, apparently!).

Homemade Tim Tams
from The Sugar Hit

Note: For a more traditional flavor, use regular cocoa powder and milk chocolate for your tim tams. I used Dutch-processed cocoa powder and dark chocolate because that's what I had on hand and I tend to prefer dark chocolate myself. Both forms are delicious here.

For the Biscuits:
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 whole large egg
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
pinch of salt

For the Filling:
4 ounces unsalted butter softened, 1 stick
1 cup powdered confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon malted milk powder

For the Coating: 
7 ounces milk chocolate chopped
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl, add the egg and continue beating until the egg is incorporated and the mixture lightens in color. Add the cocoa powder and beat until smooth and no lumps appear. Add the flour and salt until fully incorporated. The dough will be very soft. Turn the dough onto a piece of parchment paper or wax paper. Top with another piece of parchment paper, and roll the dough out into a large rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Put the dough on a baking tray and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Take the dough out of the freezer and slice it into 28 small (1 1/4 x 2 1/2 inch) rectangles. Separate the rectangles and spread them out on the prepared baking trays. Bake for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, cream the butter until soft, add in the remaining ingredients and beat until well combined. Spread a heaping teaspoon of filling onto half of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies, then place in the refrigerator to chill while you melt the chocolate for the coating.

For the coating, place the chocolate and coconut oil in a heat-proof bowl and melt together in the microwave on High (100%) in 30-second bursts, stirring well after each burst. Once the chocolate is mostly melted, remove and stir gently until smooth. You may also melt the chocolate on the stove over a double broiler.

Take a chilled cookie and carefully coat it in the chocolate.

Chill in the refrigerator and then dip one more time through the melted chocolate if desired. Place back on the baking trays and chill until the chocolate is solid.