Peeps Rice Krispie Treats {...or how I accidentally browned butter.}

Real quick. Before I head off down the coast for a spring weekend vacation (and, let's just all be honest, to avoid packing) I need to tell you a few things.

Like how I am not ashamed to be posting a Peeps recipe twenty-five days after Easter. I'm just not. 

Like how the only thing my boyfriend ever wants me to bake him is Rice Krispie treats. A bundt cake? He is just not impressed. Oh there's bourbon in these chocolate chip cookies? I mean... I love you. But could you just melt some marshmallows and cereal?

Or how between Instagram, counting marshmallows, and catching up this season of the Vampire Diaries (what is even happening with this show?!?) it's definitely and totally possible to accidentally brown butter. 

Yes. It happened. It's real. I accidentally browned butter. 

But honestly... I can't think of anything wrong with brown butter Rice Krispy treats. So I'm just going to own it. Like it was all on purpose. 

Okay. So sometimes baking is simple. Sometimes it's not even baking at all... it's just melting bright, colorful, sugary marshmallows and stirring in crispy cereal. That could totally be a thing, right? 

This is a melt, bake, and eat situation. It's the perfect way to live like it's spring, while getting ready for easy, no-oven summer baking.

A tip: I was impatient and chose not to let the Peeps get fully melty. I wanted marshmallow-y chunks of Peeps and it was fully a good decision. 

I mean, what else was I going to put in these crispy bars? Bourbon? Stop it.

Another tip: one ounce of Rice Krispies cereal = one cup. So you don't have to google it in the cereal aisle. Don't be like me. 

Peeps Rice Krispie Treats

Printable Recipe

3 tablespoons butter
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
35 (7 sleeves) assorted colors of Peeps (I used pink, purple, blue, & yellow)

Prep. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with baking spray.

Melt. Melt butter in a large pot over low heat. Add Peeps, keeping each different color in it's own section in the pot. Do not stir. Remove from heat once Peeps have melted (about 8-10 minutes).

Mix. Add the Rice Krispies cereal and stir to combine until well-coated. Pour into prepared baking dish and press down evenly. 

Eat. Allow to cool completely, then cut into squares and serve.

Source: Serious Eats.

Peanut Butter Rolo Blondies w/ White Chocolate Chevron.

Peanut butter blondies + pastel Easter Egg stripes. I mean... really. Could Friday get any better? 

It could. Because Rolos!

So far 2013 has been about combining my favorite flavors into something else entirely... and in totally unexpected ways. Brown butter and bourbon. Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and s'mores. Oreos and white chocolate raspberry. I literally get inspired (and make it through my work day) by thinking of two things I love and dreaming up ways to smash them together. 

Like peanut butter and caramel and white chocolate M&Ms. 

I knew about chocolate and peanut butter. Seriously... trust. And I knew about peanut butter and marshmallows (obsessed/in love). Peanut butter and spoons is also a true thing to appreciate. But peanut butter and caramel? Get into this immediately/where have I been living!

Like oatmeal and brown butter, bourbon and chocolate, these two rich, honey-sweet flavors complement each other in an even sweeter, richer, meant-to-be flavor.

The best part about these blondies? They're a buttery, sugary-sweet blank canvas for all kinds of cookie doughs, flavors, and add-ins. Chocolate chip cookie dough, sugar cookies, all-chocolate cookies, or fudgy brownie batter mixed with chocolate chips, nuts, candy bars, crushed cookies (Thin Mints! Oreos!) M&Ms,  or marshmallows. The oven's the limit.

For these, I went with a peanut butter blondie batter and Rolo candies (you could also use Hershey's caramel kisses). These peanut butter cookie bars start with a simple peanut butter cookie dough base that's pressed into a pan for quick baking. They bake up extra-thick, soft, and chewy, studded with bursting pops of bite-size chocolate caramel chunks and couldn't be any easier to throw together.

Also: let's discuss how those pops of bursting caramel could easily be miniature peanut butter cups.

Next: the chevron stripes. We're going to need some some Easter egg colors! 

I used pastel-colored white chocolate (Easter seasonal) M&Ms. For these stripes (and to make sure I had enough of each color), I needed three bags. 

You could also use regular M&Ms, dark chocolate M&Ms, or Reese's Pieces. Mix up the colors for the holidays! Red, white, and blue chevron stripes in July or orange, yellow, and white candy corn stripes in October are simple ways to make any cookie bar instantly impressive. Or look like an Easter egg.

First things first: get organized. Separate your colors. The Type-A in me loved this step a little too much. 

Then gently press the M&Ms (with the "m" facing down) into the cookie dough in a chevron stripe. You can use a knife to trace stripes into the cookie dough to guide you, but we're just making blondies here! It doesn't have to be perfect. 

It all starts with three triangles. Easy. We're doing this.

Keep adding triangles facing in alternate directions...

Take your time. Totally stop to eat some Rolos. It's a necessary thing.

And... done. Fifteen minutes later.

And that's it. They're ready to bake! 

These peanut butter cookie bars stuffed with chocolate, gooey caramel, bright pops of colors, and crispy white chocolate Easter egg stripes are all I'm thinking about this Friday... and how quickly I can bake these bars again (... and what new things I can smash into them) for Easter Sunday. Trust me... after making these chevron stripes you will feel like you can do anything. Look what you did with just M&Ms! You totally just made candy art. 

Happy Easter!

Peanut Butter Rolo Blondies w/ White Chocolate Chevron

Printable Recipe

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Rolo candies (whole or chopped)
White chocolate M&Ms (for these stripes, I needed 3 bags)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with baking spray and set aside.

Melt the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the creamy peanut butter until smooth and combined. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

When the peanut butter is cool to the touch, stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Pour into the flour mixture and stir until combined. Fold in the Rolo candies, either whole or halved (I used a combination of both... the whole Rolos had a bigger burst of caramel which I loved, but the smaller chunks made it easier to press the M&M candies on top of the dough.)

Transfer batter to prepared baking dish and spread evenly. To make the chevron design, separate your M&Ms into each color you want to use. Make sure you have enough!

Gently press M&Ms into the cookie dough ("m" side facing down) in chevron stripes (you could also trace lines in the cookie dough with the tip of a knife to help guide you). It doesn't have to be perfect! 

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden and the edges are slightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Cookie bars from Two Peas & Their Pod.

One-Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

I made cupcakes!

... again!

I'm sorry. If it helps, I made fluffy, buttery-rich vanilla cupcakes. And then I ate them. And they were delicious. 

Did you think I stopped there? I didn't.

I had lots of leftover coconut after making the hummingbird cupcakes earlier this week, so I dyed it pink.

Okay. Light magenta. I was excited.

Don't they just make you want play dress-up and have a tea party?

And look! Peanut butter eggs.

How'd those get there...

These are the first and only vanilla cupcakes I've ever made (so far) and I have to say... they're really, really good.

They're soft, moist, and melt-in-your-mouth buttery, with just the right amount of vanilla flavor, and the best part of all (besides the sugary frosting being the best I've ever tasted)... they're a one-bowl recipe.

Although any excuse to dye cocount pink is reason enough for me.

One-Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Printable Recipe

Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to middle position & preheat to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter, sour cream, egg, egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.

Divide batter evenly among cups of prepared tin. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20-24 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and transfer to wire rack; cool cupcakes to room temperature before frosting.

To make the buttercream, using the wire whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice.

Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated. Whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. 

Pipe onto cupcakes and decorate as desired. 

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Source: From Brown-Eyed Baker.

Hummingbird Cupcakes.

These may be the very best cupcakes I've ever had. 

Just the name hummingbird cake says Easter and spring to me. 

Need more convincing? These sweet, moist, sugary rich Southern cupcakes are chock-full of bananas, coconut, crushed pineapple, cinnamon, and toasted walnuts & are topped with a ridiculous addicting cream cheese frosting that you'll want to eat with your fingers a spoon. 

I died while these were in the oven. Died. They smelled that good. I'm surprised they got frosted at all.

Usually these are topped with a fancy dried pineapple flower or a sprinkling of nuts, but it's almost Easter & I was feeling festive. So I added some toasted coconut & a few speckled peanut butter eggs! It made me giggle.

I'll do anything to add peanut butter to a recipe.

I didn't expect to love these so much. There's no chocolate. There's no cheesecake. There's no strawberries. They're full of fruit and nuts, which makes them practically healthy. If you like, you can even convince yourself that they're just classy banana nut muffins, which makes them perfectly acceptable for breakfast, right?

Right?

... don't answer that.

It's probably best for everyone if I never make a hummingbird cake. 

Happy Easter baking! 

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Printable Recipe

Cupcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 really big bananas)
2/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (optional) [I used walnuts, toasted for 5 minutes at 350°F)
2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; whisk together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, vanilla, and sugar and beat until blended and smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the mashed bananas.

With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Gently fold in the pineapple, nuts (if using), and coconut with a spatula until evenly mixed.

Divide the batter between the prepared liners, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the cream cheese frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.

Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. (I used a Wilton #1M tip to frost these cupcakes.)

If decorating with toasted coconut, place about 1 cup of unsweetened coconut on a baking sheet or in a metal pie tin and place in oven for about 5-7 minutes, until golden brown. Be sure to check it every few minutes, shaking pan or stirring with a spooon to make sure it toasts evenly.

Source: From Annie's Eats.