Nutella Cookie Crusted Peanut Butter Blondies

Nutella Cookie Crusted Peanut Butter Blondies

Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe that I spent the first 19 or so years of my life without Nutella. Growing up, I remember seeing the commercials advertising Nutella as a “healthy breakfast”. Though I now know these claims are incredibly dubious, I was always intrigued. A chocolate spread for breakfast seemed right up my alley, though any food that could be described as “healthy” was not my usual style. I was in college when I first tried Nutella, and it was truly love at first bite.

For as long as I can remember, I have been a huge fan of peanut butter. It very much had a place in my life for all of those years before Nutella won over my heart. According to the National Peanut Board, the average child will eat 1500 peanut butter sandwiches before they graduate high school. Given that I brought a peanut butter sandwich for lunch almost every single day from kindergarten to high school graduation, and did not slow my consumption during the summer, I am sure that I had way more.

Lucky for me, I do not have to choose between my two favorite spreads. They taste great together. And though I do a lot of baking with one or the other, I have not made many things using both. This really is a shame, and it will surely change soon, because these sweet and salty peanut butter blondies with a Nutella cookie crust are absolutely delightful! I recommend you give these a try, here’s how:

Sweet Potato Cornmeal Waffles

Sweet Potato Cornmeal Waffles

There are many things I love in life.  I’m not going to list them all, because I would undoubtedly leave out something important. However, the list would certainly include my friends and family, froyo, Barcelona, baking, the color pink, Nutella, London, shopping, Which Wich, and last but not least, waffles. This post will focus on my love of waffles. I think this loves springs from my love of Waffle House, an ever-classy establishment that you may have heard of. Founded and headquartered in my home state of Georgia, Waffle House is close to my heart. When I am at home, Waffle House is nearly always available to me, as there are approximately two on every exit in the wonderful city of Atlanta. And they are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Ahhh I could just go on forever. I really love Waffle House.                              

Anyway, when I am in Nashville, which has recently been always, I do not get Waffle House nearly as much as I would like, since they are a bit more sparsely located here. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. This summer, when I was moving into my apartment, I had my mom bring my beloved waffle maker from home. Naturally, I was quite excited by the possibility of having waffles literally whenever I wanted. At the height of my waffle obsession, which coincided with the height of my sweet potato obsession, I decided to turn my sweet potato cornbread recipe (posted in March) into a waffle recipe. These waffles were delicious the first time I made them, but I have now made them several times and have finally perfected the recipe. Excuse my modesty, but these are probably the most delicious waffles you will ever taste.  

Mint Smore Cones

Mint Smore Cones

Nothing says summer like smores by a bonfire. Except maybe ice cream! I didn’t have a bonfire or ice cream on hand, but still managed to combine these two popular summer treats into one adorable and delicious delight! If you’ve never baked in ice cream cones, or even if you have, this is one easy and fun recipe you have to try!

Red Velvet Mocha Brownies

Red Velvet Mocha Brownies 

There are many universal truths in life. One I have realized recently is as follows:

Brownies are more delicious than cake 99.9% of the time.

There, I said it. Call the baking police, alert the wedding planners, whatever. I’m convinced, and if you’re not yet, you will be soon.

Given this new life philosophy, I decided to try turning red velvet cake mix into brownies. Also, I was in the mood to add some mocha to the mix, so I sandwiched some mocha brownies in between red velvet brownies, because I’ve learned after years of experience baking that delicious food + delicious food = REALLY delicious food. This creation fit the equation perfectly :-)

Chai Blondies with Chocolate Salted Caramel Filling

Chai Blondies with Chocolate Salted Caramel Filling




I just love the flavor of chai tea. Whether's it's in my ever-favorite soy chai latte at Starbucks or used in baking, the unique spice mix always puts a smile on my face. Recently, I've started buying chai concentrate. Oregon Chai makes a great sugar free (and calorie free!) concentrate that is great for making chai tea lattes at home for a fraction of the calories and dollars of a Starbucks chai tea latte. Though, just as a forewarning, low cal wasn't exactly my aim in this recipe. Still, I think the use of chai concentrate in baking is a really fun and easy way to add amazing flavor to your baked goods! Here's how I incorporated chai concentrate into my baking for the first time!

Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Crisps with Pistachio Chocolate Chip Dip

Dark Chocolate Nut Butter Crisps with Pistachio Chocolate Chip Dip

What could make a better party snack than chips and dip? Well, in my opinion, a lot of things. But for those of us with a sweet tooth, cookie crisps and sweet dip are quite the improvement on the traditional chips and dip! To be honest though, this concept was a bit of an accident. I wanted to make a sort of sandwich cookie, with the pistachio dip as the filling. However, it just wasn’t really the right consistency to work well as a filling. So, I ended up with these incredible, crispy thin cookies and a refreshing pistachio dip. Bring this to the next party you attend, set it next to the chips and dip, and see what gets finished first!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Rice Krispie Treats

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Rice Krispie Treats

                Just like the Caramel Mocha Brookies in the last post, these Nutella Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Rice Krispie Treats came to be largely due to what was on sale at CVS. Such is the life of a broke college student with no car and no grocery store in reasonable walking distance. This time, boxes of Rice Krispies were 3 for $5. Especially considering the ridiculous prices that CVS typically charges for food, this sounded like quite the steal to me. So, I got a box of Rice Krispies and another of Cocoa Krispies. The other major factor in the creation of these tasty treats was my ever-present desire to find more socially acceptable ways to eat cookie dough. Alas, my gluttony and the CVS gods (that's what I'll assume they call the people who decide the sales at CVS, and therefore, my impulse buying decisions) led me to yet another delicious recipe. As always, I am left with no shame and no regrets.