It’s my birthday week! I mean, I guess yesterday technically started my birthday week, but my internet was down so I could not share this post with you. I wanted to take this week to share things I love with you. This post focuses on two things I love: clearance aisles and cinnamon.

I am obsessed with the clearance aisle at Target. Well, I’m pretty much obsessed with Target in general, but mostly because that is where I do my extreme couponing. Even if I do not have a coupon for something, I love all the weird finds with those little red stickers on them. This weekend I found that little heart shaped plate in the top picture for under a dollar. Valentine’s may be over, but my affection for everything adorable clearly isn’t.

My two true loves when it coms to baking are vanilla extract and cinnamon. I have had multiple people write me about recipes claiming there was an error with the vanilla extract in it. Nope. I just really like vanilla extract. It tastes awesome and smells like what I want heaven to smell like. Then there is cinnamon. Oh. Man. That is why when girls at work offered me this recipe,  I jumped at the chance to make it. These cookies are so simple, yet so tasty. They are soft, doughy, and rolled in cinnamon sugar bliss. Try them for yourself.

Recipe: Simple Cinnamon Cookies

Makes 2 dozen

What You Need:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar

   

  What To Do:

  1. Heat the oven to 350 F.

  2. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla extract until smooth.

  3. Stir in all dry ingredients.

  4. Roll into balls a little larger than golf balls. Roll each ball of dough in cinnamon sugar.

  5. Bake for 10 minutes.

I am so excited for Christmas this year. I am pretty sure I bought more presents than I ever have before. There is something so special to me about the thought that goes behind selecting gifts for people. The present doesn’t even have to cost any money. It isn’t about what you get, it’s about spending the holidays with the people who matter. This year I have encountered so many new people who are already so incredibly important to me, especially friends I made at the job I started over the summer. While several of them and I are exchanging actual gifts, I am working hard to develop some holiday-themed snacks to share with the rest my newfound crew.

Anyone who is close to me will tell you how much I love couponing. My favorite source is Ibotta, a free app that pays you back when you buy a specific product. I discovered through the app that Jif now makes spreadable chocolate- peanut butter hybrids and immediately stopped what I was doing to go purchase all of them. The whipped peanut butter and peppermint one is insanely good and is the icing on these chocolate delights.

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter & Peppermint Cookies

Makes 2 dozen

What You Need:

• 2 & 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup crushed peppermint
• 1/2 cup Jif Whipped Peanut Butter and Peppermint Chocolate Spread

What To Do:

1. Mix the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl.

2. Add in all other ingredients except for the peppermint and the Jif.

3. Sprinkle in half of the crushed peppermint and mix until fully combined.

4. Refridgerate dough for at least one hour.

5. Pre-heat oven to 375 F.

6. Scoop dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet by the heaping teaspoon.

7. Gently flatten the dough by pressing it lightly with your fingers.

8. Bake for seven minutes.

9. Let cool completely.

10. Spread a generous spoonful of the chocolate spread onto each cookie until it creates an even coating. Top each cookie with the remaining peppermint pieces.

11. Refrigerate the cookies until you are ready to eat them. The icing will never fully harden, so be careful when storing the cookies in containers.

Remember that one time I forgot that Leftovers Club posts were due? I have no idea how this week snuck up on me. It has been a busy few weeks I suppose. Anyway, after attempting several recipes to no avail, I came up with these cookies. They are soft and fluffy chocolate chip cookies stuffed with mini marshmallows. I had to make several batches before I just got them right, but even the wonky ones where the marshmallow evaporated in the oven still tasted amazing.

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies

Makes 14 cookies

What You Need:

• 1/2 cup mini marshmallows, frozen
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 & 1/2 cups all-purpose
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsaltd butter, melted
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

What To Do:

1. Mix together the melted butter, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl or electric mixer.

2. Add in all other ingredients except for the marshmallows.

3. Chill dough in the fridge for at least an hour.

4. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

5. Flatten one tablespoon of the dough onto a flat surface. Place 3 to 4 mini marshmallows on top of the dough and then cover them with another tablespoon of dough. Shape into a ball and place onto a greased cookie sheet.

6. Place entire cookie sheet in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. (Here’s Why: If you do not chill the dough balls, the edges will brown too much and the bottoms will darken. I learned from experience. Also, if the marshmallows are not completely cold, they evaporate into the dough when baking!)

7. Bake for 12 minutes.

8. Let the cookies cool for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Here’s links to all my friends fabulous posts this month:

Peppermint Patty Cookies – Food Ramblings

Rosemary Roasted Almonds –  In the Loop

Salt-N-Pepper Cookies – Joanne Eats Well With Others

Ginger Granola with Red Quinoa – The Low-Acid Kitchen

English Toffee – Omeletta

Caramel Apple Cookies – Live, Bake, Love

Pumpkin Swirl Raisin Bread – Mind Over Batter

Candy Cane Kiss Cups – Sugar Dish Me

Oatmeal in a Little Black Dress – Pinch & Swirl

Rum-Soaked Chocolate Chip Cookies – Cooking in Stilettos

Orange Marshmallows – The Spiced Life

Pumpkin Rugalach – Take A Bite Out Of Boca

Orange-Bourbon Cranberry Sauce Brownies – Notes From A Messy Kitchen

Andes Peppermint Bark – Lacey Moody

German Burnt Sugar Almonds – Souffle Bombay

Recipe: Gooey Peanut Butter Marshmallow Brownies

What You Need:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 & 1/2 cups marshmallows

   

  What To Do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

  2. Cream together the eggs and sugars.

  3. Add all remaining ingredients except for marshmallows.

  4. Gently stir in the marshmallows. Do not worry about them being fully incorporated into the batter, as they will rise to the top while baking.

  5. Pour the batter into a generously greased 8×8 baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out clean.

  6. Let cool before slicing.

Recipe: Chocolate Fudge Cake Balls

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cake balls

What You Need:

• 1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
• 1 tub chocolate fudge frosting
• 1 package dark chocolate candy melts
• 1 package milk chocolate candy melts

   

  What To Do:

  1. Bake cake according to package. Let it cool completely.

  2. In  a large bowl, mash cake. Add 3/4 of the tub of frosting. Mix until well incorporated. Stick the mixture in the fridge for an hour.

  3. Using a tablespoon, form cake balls. Gently place the balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, being sure to keep the cake balls rounded. Freeze overnight.

  4. The next day, melt dark chocolate in a large bowl. Carefully roll each cake ball in the dark chocolate and then place back on the baking sheet. These should dry quickly due to the contrast of the frozen cake and the hot, melted chocolate.

  5. When all of the balls are dry, melt milk chocolate. Scoop the chocolate into a small ziplock bag and snip off one of the bottom corners. Pipe the chocolate onto each cake ball for added color and cute drizzle!

Today is my first full day back in Texas, a state so hot that when you go outside during the summer you swear you smell like chicken. I have been too busy uploading hundreds of pictures of my trip to go anywhere near my kitchen, but luckily I had this recipe on hand specifically for this occasion.

Remember a few weeks ago when I shared my Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie recipe for Canada Day? Well, originally I was going to share these with you instead. I decided the oatmeal cookies were just fancier and wanted you to see those bad boys ASAP. I got the idea for these cookies when we got a catered lunch at my office last month. We are used to having chocolate chip cookies at the bottom of our box lunches, but when we unwrapped them to discover the pieces were peanut butter cups this time I instantly knew I had to try to recreate this cookie. While my attempt is delicious, nothing will ever top the version from that lunch. It was perfection.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies

Makes 3 dozen cookies

What You Need:

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 8 oz. mini peanut butter cups, quartered

What To Do:

1. Cream together butter, sugars and egg.

2. Add peanut butter until mixture is smooth and creamy.

3. Mix in all the dry ingredients until well incorporated.

4. Gently add in peanut butter cup pieces, being careful not to chop them too much with your mixer.

5. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.

6. Heat oven to 375 F.

7. Form balls of dough using a tablespoon. Place them on an un-greased cookie sheet and gently press them to make the tops flat.

8. Bake 9 minutes.

Happy Leftovers Club Day! Today I am sharing a recipe for my all-time favorite cookie. It’s a big day. Not only do I get to share these with you, but I also get to watch my cousin get married tonight. I figured that these cookies would be perfect to celebrate, as she’s the reason I eat so many of them every summer.

Why just the summer? Well, these Rainbow Cookies are made in bakeries and delis across Long Island, where I was born and have spent almost every summer since visiting. My Aunt Noreen makes sure the house is stocked with my favorite New York-only treats…and that my cousins and I have plans each day so we do not become giantic from eating them all.

Rainbow cookies are traditionally pink, green and yellow, but I put a little spin on them because of yesterday’s holiday. They take several hours to complete, but the payoff is worth it. While doing research on how to make the best version of them, I discovered that this unique dessert requires an unusual ingredient – almond paste. I had never heard of it before so do not worry if you haven’t either. Almond paste is sold at most stores in the baking section and is also incredibly easy to make from scratch. Once you make the dough with the paste, it is hard to stop eating it before you put it in the oven. I mean, what? That totally didn’t happen.

Recipe: Patriotic Rainbow Cookies

Makes 7 dozen

What You Need:

• 8 oz. almond paste
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs, separated
• blue food coloring
• red food coloring
• 2 & 1/2 sticks butter, cut into chunks
• 1 jar apricot jam
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate baking melts or chocolate chips

What To Do:

1. Heat the oven to 350 F

2. Combine almond paste and 3/4 cup of the sugar in a mixer. The dough will be crumbly. Add in butter and egg yolks until the batter begins to be creamy and smooth. Add in the flour and mix until it is well incorporated into the dough.

3. In a small bowl, mix together egg whites and the remaining sugar until they start to fluff. Add this to the batter.

4. Divide the batter evenly into three bowls. Mix drops of red food coloring into the first bowl until the batter is a dark pink color. In another bowl, do the same thing with the blue food coloring until you reach the desired shade you want. Leave the third bowl as it is.

5. Cover a rimmed 9 x 13 baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour one bowl of batter onto the parchment paper and smooth out with a spatula until it covers the entire surface of the pan and the layer is smooth. Bake for 10 minutes. Repeat this step with the two other colors. Let each one cool completely.

6. Now it is time to make the layered cake. Spread a thin layer of apricot jam onto the top of the blue cake layer. This is to keep the layers stuck together. Make sure you distribute it thinly, or the jam will ultimately make the layers slide all over the place. Trust me. I know from experience. Top the blue layer with the white layer and top that with jam as well. Carefully place the red layer on top and gently press on the cakes to make sure the jam sticks to each of the sides of cake. Place your layered cake in the freezer for two hours.

7. Place the cake onto a large cutting board. Heat your chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl in 45 second increments, stirring after each time. When the chocolate is smooth, pour directly onto the top of cake. Using a spatula, spread the chocolate evenly onto the top and all 4 sides of the cake. Take a fork and gently press lines into the top of the chocolate.

8. Let the cake sit for a few minutes so that the chocolate hardens. If you notice that it isn’t hardening, place the cake in the fridge for a few minutes. It is imperative that the chocolate hardens, but do NOT leave it in the fridge too long because if the chocolate is too hard it will be hard to cut without the chocolate slipping off the cake.

9. Cut the cake by cutting it into lines. Then carefully cut those lines into inch long pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Interested in what all of my friends made this month? Here’s links to all of their posts. Check them out!

Happy Canada Day!! Canada Day is their equivalent of our 4th of July, a national holiday where the country celebrates with fireworks. Yes, I am from the US, but I have a fond admiration for all things Canadian. After all, the country has a lot to offer. Like Ryan Reynolds. See? Now you love Canada too.

Although I have always been a fan of Canadian actors and maple syrup, my true love of Canada hit its peak this year during the Dallas International Film Festival. If there’s one thing I love more than food, it’s movies. (Last year I watched 151 movies I had never seen before.) I write film reviews for Examiner.com and was invited to not only watch all the movies being presented as part of the press, but to interview any of the filmmakers I wanted. The first red carpet event that I did, I met the writer/director of a short film called Broken Heart Syndrome, Dusty Mancinelli. Hours later I ended up standing behind him in line for a midnight screening of a zombie film called Buck Wild when I overheard him talking to someone about how hard it is to make films if you are from Canada. When I audibly laughed, they turned and he recognized me from before. We started up a conversation about all the good things from Canada… which ultimately led to them trying to convince me to go back with them so I could help them win at trivia nights.

Dusty’s friend turned out to be another filmmaker who persuaded me into seeing his film, which I absolutely fell in love with. Luckily, you’ll get a chance to fall in love with it too because actor Kevin Smith (also Canadian) picked up The Dirties and will help distribute it later on this year. Because of my random introduction to these two kind strangers, I became intrigued by Canadian culture. I found new bands to listen to — and got to talk to other famed stars like Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg from This Is The End–, but also discovered things I already love that I did not realize have Canadian roots. My favorite? Peanut butter.

The peanut butter everyone adores today traces back to a patent given to a man in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1884. So when I discovered my second favorite country’s national holiday, I decided we should all celebrate with a peanut butter cookie. These bite-sized cookies have dark brown sugar and oats, which make them unique and addictive. This will be a Canada Day treat you won’t soon forget.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Makes 4 dozen

What You Need:

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 cups flour
• 3 cups oats
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

What To Do:
1. Heat oven to 375 F.
2. Cream together butter and sugar.
3. Add in eggs and vanilla.
4. Mix in flour, baking soda, salt, oats, and water until batter is smooth and creamy.

5. Add in your peanut butter until evenly distributed.

6. Drop dough by heaping teaspoon onto an ungreased baking sheet.

7. Bake for 10 minutes.

When I found out a few weeks ago that June 7th was going to be National Donut Day, I knew I wanted to make something special to celebrate. 3 Musketeers are my all-time favorite chocolate bars and after extensive scouring on the internet I realized that a lot of people don’t use them in recipes. I then found out firsthand that this is because the fluffy bars of heaven have a weird consistency if you bake them certain ways. I have a black-spotted tray of brownies in the trashcan to prove it. Rest assured that the 3 Musketeers in these delicious donuts make them sweeter, softer, and addictive.

Recipe: 3 Musketeers Donuts

Makes 8 donuts

What You Need for the Donuts:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup fun-sized 3 Muskateers, chopped and at room temperature
• 1/4 cup light sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup EVOO

What You Need for the Glaze:

• 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon hot water

What To Do:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F

2. Mix 1/3 chopped candy bars in a mixer until they are soft and creamy. Add in flour, sugar, baking soda, and cocoa powder.

3. Add in sour cream, EVOO, milk and egg.

4. Spoon mixture into the holes in your donut pan.

5. Bake 9 – 10 minutes.

6. Let the donuts cool 15 minutes.

7. In a small bowl make your glaze by heating chocolate chips, corn syrup, and butter in the microwave for 1 minute. Add in the hot water and mix again. Do NOT make the glaze until the donuts are cool enough or the glaze will get lumpy before it is time to use it.

8. Spread a thin layer of glaze onto each donut. Smooth the glaze with the back of a spoon until it is even.

9. Top the donuts with the remaining pieces of candy bar.

10. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

“There’s always money in the banana stand.”

Tonight is a big night for television lovers. In case you don’t get the reference in the first line of this post, tonight is the release of Season 4 of “Arrested Development“.

This season has been seven years in the making. You see, originally the comedy aired on FOX back in 2003. It ran 3 amazing seasons before it was cancelled by the network. There was always speculation of the show returning to tv, or possibly to the big screen with a feature film, but it always got pushed back. However, Netflix announced that they were picking up the show for a 4th season and would have all 15 episodes available for streaming at once. Starting at midnight tonight, one of the greatest dysfunctional families to ever be created will come to life once again, bringing along: con artists, chicken impersonations, accidentally racist puppets, and their family banana stand.

I decided to pay tribute to this hilarious show by creating snacks that George Michael (Michael Cera) would serve at Bluth’s Original Frozen Banana Stand. I topped my bananas with shredded coconut, walnuts, and multi-colored sprinkles. If you are a Tobias Funke fan, you know why there’s one banana that only has blue sprinkles! Feel free to use whatever toppings you want; they’re your celebratory bananas after all. “I made a terrible mistake” by jamming the pink/red sprinkled banana in my mouth too quickly after taking these pictures and ended up with a rose-stained face for a few hours. Be aware, these are messy but they are worth it.

Recipe: Chocolate-Covered Frozen Banana Pops

What You Need:

• 3 large bananas, cut in half
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• popsicle sticks
• toppings of your choice
• several small bowls

What To Do:

1. Carefully slide the popsicle sticks into the bananas, being careful not to pierce through the sides. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for 2 hours.

2. When bananas are frozen, melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 45 second increments, stir until smooth.

3. Pour each desired topping into its own small bowl. Set aside.

4. Hold banana over the chocolate bowl and spoon the melted chocolate onto the fruit until it is covered. Do not try to use your fingers or press hard with the spoon to smooth out the chocolate. It will clump and fall off the banana.

4. Due to the extreme differences in temperature, the chocolate will harden within seconds. You must work quickly! Move your banana over the the desired topping bowl and sprinkle topping onto the banana. Do NOT roll the chocolate-covered banana in the topping or you’re going to have one big brown mess and zero topping on the banana.

5. Eat immediately. If you are planning to eat all 6 of them by yourself one at a time (don’t judge me!), you can store them in a tupperware container in the freezer.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend and don’t forget to check out the newest season of “Arrested Development”!