Search Results: peanut butter

Friday Finds #8

Friday Finds #8

We took a few weeks off but we’re back with another Friday Finds! It’s hard to believe this is the last Friday in August! Hope you have a great weekend 🙂 Starbucks is finally introducing almond milk. Of course, we can’t enjoy it until our 

Friday Finds #3

Friday Finds #3

Happy Friday! Here’s to another wonderful summer weekend ahead! The Idaho State Correctional Center has a new program for inmates that not only teaches new skills and  gives back to the community…it is actually saving the state money. Bet you can’t guess what it is! 

Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

While making more technical, impressive looking desserts can be fun, there’s something to be said for a quick batch of cookies. You know, the kind you make when you find out you’re supposed to bring dessert to someone’s house later that day and have nothing made but since everyone knows you’re a baker you CAN’T bring store-bought? Yeah. That happens a lot.

Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies | longdistancebaking.comEver since finding the little Kraft caramel bits I try to keep them on hand. They’re the perfect addition to cookies and bars, elevating them from plain Jane to something a little more special.

I’ve also been obsessed with pecans this past year (blame the South) and I love adding them to anything and everything. I like to pretend they make whatever you’re baking fancier, just by association.

Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies | longdistancebaking.comI have a confession though. When a recipe tells me to refrigerate the dough, a lot of times I don’t. I’m too lazy and impatient to wait. But you need to let this dough chill. The caramel melts too much if you don’t and you end up with flat crispy cookies. If that’s what you’re into that’s fine, but otherwise please be patient. Put the dough in the fridge for at least an hour and let the baking sheets cool completely between batches.

Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies | longdistancebaking.comWe ended up bringing these cookies to a super bowl party. While I know I don’t need to eat an entire batch of cookies myself, I do get a little sad whenever I have to share. Don’t mind me if I go whip up some more to eat and make up for the ones I was forced to part with last time.

~Stephanie

Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies | longdistancebaking.com

Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 1 1/4 c oats
  • 1 1/4 c flour
  • 1/2 tsp soda
  • 1/2 tsp powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 c butter (softened)
  • 1 c brown sugar
  • 1 c sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 c peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 1 c chopped pecans
  • 1 c chocolate chips
  • 1/2 c caramel bits (I used Kraft)
  1. Combine oats, flour, soda, powder and salt in bowl. Set aside.
  2. Cream butter and both sugars until fluffy. Add in eggs and beat until combined.
  3. Mix in peanut butter and vanilla.
  4. Slowly add in dry ingredients, scraping down sides as needed (this dough is thick).
  5. Stir in caramel and chocolate chips by hand.
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 325 or until edges start to brown.
  7. Let cool in and store in an airtight container.
Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Peanut butter and jelly. Macaroni and cheese. Spaghetti and garlic bread. Whiskey and water. Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez (even though I’m the only one still rooting for them).  Celine Dion and Las Vegas. Buster Posey and the Giants. USC and football. Nutella and everything. 

Homemade Loaded Granola Bars

Homemade Loaded Granola Bars

I have a hard time buying granola bars at the store. I think it’s because they’re somewhat expensive for such a little snack, they’re never as healthy as they appear, and half the time they don’t fill you up anyways! Growing up, my mom made 

Candy Bar Pie

Candy Bar Pie

I consider it a win that I did not eat Halloween candy for breakfast today. Unfortunately, I’m sure my continual snacking on it throughout the day is just as worse. Those mini kit-kats are just so addicting!! Tomorrow I will try to be better…
candybarpie_2You see, I suffer from Severe Sweet Tooth and Zero Will Power Syndrome. Sufferers from SSTZWPS always want something sweet and whenever faced with sweets, have a hard time saying no. We can never eat just one cookie, we’ll go back and nibble until they are all gone. It’s a real thing, ask my entire family.

I’m willing to bet a lot of people suffer from this as well and just don’t want to admit it. I was there once too. But as they say, step one is admitting you have a problem.
candybarpie

Step two is make a pie.

Yes, you read that right. You see, this disease means it’s virtually impossible to say no to sweets. So instead of eating Halloween candy every day until it’s all gone, you can just make a Halloween candy bar pie, adapted from my Aunt Teri’s delicious Candy Bar Pizza! This way you can use up all your remaining Halloween candy and share the pie with friends so you aren’t stuck eating it all!
candybarpie_3It’s the only known cure. Make dessert, eat a piece, then give away the rest before you eat it all. Trust me it works… sorta! Enjoy!

-Kelly 

Ingredients:

  • Cookie dough, any kind (I used chocolate chip cookie dough sans chocolate chips)
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3 tbsp peanut butter, (heaping tbsp!)
  • Halloween candy, chopped in small pieces

Directions:

  1. Make desired cookie dough and press into pie pan. Bake according to directions. You can use store bought dough or if you want to make some from scratch, check out these recipes here, here or here.
  2. While the dough is cooking, unwrap and chop Halloween candy you want to use.
  3. Once dough is cooled, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in microwave for 30 second intervals. Stir in between until melted together.
  4. Spread melted chocolate chip/pb combo on top of the cookie pie.
  5. Sprinkle the Halloween candy on top. Let set for a few hours until the chocolate chip/pb combo hardens. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Halloween Recipe Roundup

Halloween Recipe Roundup

Happy Halloween! For as much as I love fall, I never seem to get that into Halloween. I’m such a baby when it comes to scary things…it’s just not a day meant for me! On the other hand, it is the one time of year 

Banana Chip Ice Cream

Banana Chip Ice Cream

Bananas are one of my favorite fruits and a staple in our house. I eat them all the time and particularly love them with a frozen waffle and peanut butter… you should definitely try it! When Steph and I were in Portland a year and a 

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com

I’ve never been to Tennessee in my life, and now I’ve been there twice in three months! My sister Cassie and I decided on Nashville for our second annual Sister Vacation (Chicago was the first) and it did not disappoint. I didn’t go with too many expectations or have much on my to do list, but I loved every minute of it. Here’s my Nashville To-Do List:

To Eat & Drink

Breakfast
Pancake Pantry
The Pancake Pantry has been a Nashville tradition since 1961. It’s one of those breakfast places that doesn’t take reservations and has a line around the block. Aka the best kind of breakfast place. Their specialty is pancakes (obviously) and they have a wide variety to choose from. Georgia Peach and Lemon Apricot were our picks and my oh my they were good. Even Matt’s plain Buttermilk Pancakes were some of the best I’ve ever had! If I lived in Nashville I would be a regular here, plain and simple. Oh…and did I mention they have a theme song?

What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com

Biscuit Love
Located in the super fun neighborhood of The Gulch, Biscuit Love is a go-to brunch spot. It originally started out as a food truck, then did so well that it became a full-fledged restaurant! So you know it has to be good. There are all sorts of biscuit menu items, ranging from savory to very, very sweet (like a biscuit smothered in chocolate, peanut butter, carmelized bananas and pretzels). And if that isn’t sweet enough? They have bonuts…fried biscuit dough. It’s as delicious as it sounds.

What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com
Bonuts = fried biscuit dough

Lunch/Dinner
Edley’s
If you’re anywhere even remotely close to the South you have to get BBQ. It’s a known fact. Edley’s has two locations so you’ll have no excuse to not get at least one meal here. Pulled pork, chicken, brisket, catfish…whatever kind of BBQ you want, you’ll find it here. Plus with sides like baked beans, potato salad, corn bread and mac and cheese? You really can’t go wrong. I’m getting hungry just thinking about the pork tacos I had! We went to the 12South location (another adorable neighborhood) and it was a perfect night to eat outside on the patio.

What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com

Burger Republic
Let me preface this by saying I’m not a big burger person (I know, I know. I’m un-American. I’ve heard it all before). But you can’t go to a restaurant that has won multiple awards for their burgers…and not get a burger. Everyone else got the Tennessee Burger (with Jack Daniel’s glaze and local bacon) but I wanted to branch out and got the Hawaiian (with teriyaki, pineapple and avocado). By the end of the meal we were all in agreement…that was the best burger we’ve ever eaten. Again, in the amazingly cute Gulch neighborhood, with a perfect outdoor patio, and you can even bring your dog! Rumor has it their truffle tots are to die for, so I guess I’ll just have to go back again someday and try them.

What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com

Drinks
Broadway
Broadway in Nashville is like The Strip in Las Vegas, Bourbon Street in New Orleans or Beale Street in Memphis. With bar after bar for blocks around you, there’s bound to be one with the style and atmosphere you’re looking for. We had fun just walking up and down the streets stopping in whatever looked fun. The most entertaining thing was watching a bachelorette dance it out at a Dueling Piano bar. That poor girl…her friends have blackmail for life.

What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com

My favorite bar though doesn’t have a name (that I know of). You go into the George Jones Museum, walk to the back, then take an elevator up to the roof. It has live music, both covered and open outdoor seating, and a view of the river. Our drink of choice for the night also doesn’t have a name, but just ask for Apple Pie Moonshine and ginger ale. You won’t regret it.

What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com

To Do
Vanderbilt University
I don’t know about you, but I always like walking around college campuses. Makes me (almost) wish I was going back to school. And unless you went to an Ivy League, Vanderbilt is going to make your college campus seem like a high school. Definitely worth grabbing a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and taking an afternoon walk.

What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com

Belle Meade Plantation
For your history lesson, you’ll want to take a tour of the Belle Meade Plantation. The land was purchased in 1806 and the plantation was in operation for 100 years. It is most well-known for it’s horses. Belle Meade was a large thoroughbred farm and is still considered to be one of the best lineages of horses. Secretariat, Sea Biscuit and American Pharaoh ALL have blood lines back to Belle Meade. You can take a guided tour of the plantation, walk around the grounds and then finish your trip with a wine tasting at their winery.

What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.comWhat To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.comWhat To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com

Within a few hours of being in Nashville I’d already decided I could live there. If you get the chance, you have to go. With so many unique neighborhoods, local restaurants and live music…I’m convinced you could never get bored there.

~Stephanie

What To Do in Nashville | longdistancebaking.com

Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Smoothie

Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Smoothie

I’m on a health kick… again. Remember, I strive for progress not perfection blah, blah, blah… but with this smoothie, I don’t feel like I have to give anything up! This is the summer of oatmeal and coconut. Lately, I can’t seem to make a recipe