First playoff win in 15 years celebration bars

These are quite a concoction to honor the Sabres first playoff win in 15 years in our first playoff game in 15 years.  I wondered how nervous I would be, as I would be working in studio for Sunday night baseball on espn radio.  The answer – very.  I was extremely antsy, much like for Bills playoff games.  And for 52 minutes, I did not take a breath.  We were down 2-nothing, scored 4 unanswered goals and beat Boston 4-3 in game one.  What i loved seeing is all the videos of people inside Key Bank Center and at various places indoors and outdoors, watching.   It was just awesome.  i am not sure how far this sabres team will go, but it just feels different.

Because it was such an impressive comeback win, these treats are a doozy- chocolate chip cookie layer on the bottom, a layer of oreos, a layer of brownies, and pieces of mini hershey bars pressed into the bars immediately after taking them out of the oven.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  And firmly packed brown sugar into your measuring cup.  And, preheat your oven before baking.

  • Chocolate chip cookie layer
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 yolk
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9×13 pan with baking spray.   Place parchment paper on top of sprayed pan.  Set aside.   In a bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and sugar.  Add egg, yolk and vanilla.  Blend in flour.   Mix in chips.  Gently press into prepared pan.

Top with a layer of oreos.

  • Brownie ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

Directions – in a microwave safe bowl, melt butter and chips in 45 second increments until you can stir melted.   Add sugar and eggs.  Blend in flour and cocoa.   Drop by large spoonfuls on top of oreo layer and spread evenly.

Bake 28 to 33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Gently press Press pieces of hershey bars on top. 

Cool completely.    Store in covered container.

Italian (olive oil) brownies

  • Ingredients list
  • 11/2 tbs water
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions- preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an  8×8 pan with pam and line with parchment paper, set aside.   In a bowl, combine water, oil and cocoa.  Microwave 45 seconds.  Let sit 2 minutes.  Blend in eggs and vanilla.  Add flourand salt. Mix in chips.   Spread into pan.  Bake 18 to 19 minutes, no longer.

Ice cream hot fudge m&m cookie dough brownies with melted hershey bars

Celebrating the Sabres first division title in a looooong time.   Next level cookie dough brownies, featuring a brownie mix.

Ice cream and hot fudge

Mini m&ms

And melted hershey bars

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 brownie mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup ice cream (not melted)
  • 1/4 cup hot fudge
  • 1 cup mini m&ms

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper.  Set aside.  In a bowl, combine brownie mix, eggs and oil.  Blend in ice cream and hot fudge.  Spread evenly into prepared pan.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes (toothpick inserted on center comes out with a few moist crumbs)  cool completely

  • Cookie dough topping ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbs heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 cup flour (scooped from flour bag into measuring cup)
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter, brown sugar and sugar 2 to 3 minutes.  Add cream and vanilla.  Blend in flour then chips. 

Grab a spoon!

Evenly spread over cooled brownies.   

Top with melted milk chocolate. 

Cut and store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by.  Can’t wait for the playoffs!

Milk  chocolate chip chocolate banana bars

I have not made any banana flavored treat in quite some time.  So today, I decided to make chocolate banana bars with milk chocolate chips and brown butter frosting.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9×13 pan with baking spray and set aside.  In a bowl, blend bananas and melted butter.  Mix in sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Blend in dry ingredients then milk.  Fold in chips.  Evenly spread into prepared pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes (toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs).  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 tbs milk

Directions – in a pan, cook butter over low-medium heat until browned, like below.  

In a bowl, combine  browned butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk.  Frost cooled bars. 

Cut and store in covered container.

Lemon brownies with crushed lemon oreos and lemon frosting

In addition to making lemon cookies with crushed lemon oreos and lemon frosting for Sabres game night and MLB opening night, I also made these lemon brownies with crushed lemon oreos and lemon frosting.  (Confession – i wanted to finish using the lemon oreos).  

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  And, preheat your oven before baking.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 15 to 20 finely crushed lemon oreos

Directions – line an 8×8 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray.  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a microwave safe bowl, heat chips and butter for 1 minutes.   Stir until melted.  (You may need to do another 30 seconds to ensure chips are melted).   Add sugar, eggs and lemon juice.  Mix in dry ingredients, then crushed oreos.  Evenly spread into prepared pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting ingredients
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice.

Directions – combine powdered sugar and juice in a bowl.  You may need to add more powdered sugar to get the thickness you want. Frost cookies and store in covered container

Frosted chocolate sugar cookie bars

These were a request from one of my goddaughter, Lyndsey.  A chocolate sugar cookie dough, with chocolate chips, in bar form and frosted with vanilla frosting.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup.  Same goes for the powdered sugar.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tbs water
  • 1 tsp chocolate extract
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper and set aside.  In a bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, water and extract.  Mix in dry ingredients, then chips.  For this next step, I moistened my hands.   Evely press dough into prepared pan.  Bake 18 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting list
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Milk

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar.  Add vanilla and enough milk to get the consistency you want.  Frost bars.  Store in covered container.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Caramel/Milk Chocolate/ Oreo topped brownies

Rob asked for brownies today, with some crushed oreos on top.  So I made those, cut out a few for him and wantes to make the rest a little fancy, so I topped them with  caramel frosting, melted milk chocolate chips and crushed oreos.

My caramel layer got a little thicker and harder to  than I wanted, because I went to let Gracie in and the cold air hit it and really made it too thick to spread, so I microwaved it for 30 seconds and was able to spread it.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup so you get the right amount.  Also preheat your oven to 350 degrees before baking.

  • Brownies ingredients
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cup
  • 5 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbs special dark cocoa
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • Crushed oreos

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray.  Set aside.   In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter and dark chocolate chips.   Mix in brown sugar and sugar.  One at a time, beat in eggs, then vanilla.  Do not overnight.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Mix in chips. Evenly spread into pan.  Sprinkle crushed oreos on top.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs.  Cool completely.  Using the bottom of a wooden spoon, poke holes, about halfway down, in brownies. 

  • Caramel frosting ingredients
  • 6 tbs butter
  • 1 3/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed into measuring cups
  • 1/4 cup plus 3 tbs heavy cream
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla

Directions – in a saucepan, heat butter, brown sugar, heavy cream and salt over medium heat to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Once boiling, contstantly stir until thick (from 5 to 10 minutes).  Remove from heat and add vanilla. Wait a minute or two, then  pour over brownies.  Let set about 5 minutes.  

In a microwave safe bowl, melt 1 cups milk chocolate chips in 45 seconds until you can stir melted.  Pour over caramel layer.   Top with more crushed oreos.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Brownie cookies with ice cream frosting and chocolate chip chip cookie dough

I had a lot of leftover chocolate chip cookie dough from my cookie dough cookies, so I made some brownie cookies to help use it up!  I also used ice cream frosting on top.  You can use any flavor ice cream (i used cookie dough), or you can use a vanilla buttercream.

Remember to scoop your flour from your flour bag into your measuring cup  so you get the right amount.  After you scoop out the individual doughs, chill a few hours or overnight.   And preheat your oven before baking.

  • Cookie dough ingredients
  • 2 tbs butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tbs heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup flour (heated in a microwave safe container for 30 seconds)
  • 2 tbs mini chocolate chips

Directions – in a bowl, cream butter and brown sugar for 3 minutes.  Add vanilla and cream.  Mix in flour.  Blend in chips.  Scoop out tsp of dough and freeze. 

  • 6 tbs butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 tbs corn syrup (or honey)
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup baking cocoa (I used rodelle dark)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions – in a bowl, mix butter, and sugar.  Add egg whites, vanilla and corn syrup.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Scoop out 1/4 cups of dough.  Chill a few hours or overnight.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with nonstick baking liners.  Stagger cookies on sheet.   Bake 10 to 12 minutes, no longer.  Cool completely.

  • Frosting list
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbs ice cream, melted

In a bowl, blend butter, powdered sugar and vanilla.  Blend in ice cream.  Add more powdered sugar if you want a thicker consistency.

Frost cookies.

Top with cookie dough bites and store in covered container

Thanks for stopping by!

Peanut butter cookie mix /cake mix bars with Reese’s hearts

I need to use up my Reese’s hearts so I can buy the Reese’s eggs, so I decided to use a peanut butter cookie mix,

a yellow cake mix,

some eggs, melted butter and one cup peanut butter.  Tossed in about 20  of these and made bars.

  • Ingredients list
  • 1 peanut butter cookie mix
  • 1 yellow cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • Reese’s hearts, chopped into large pieces

Directions – preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray with baking spray.  Set aside.  In a bowl, mix cake and cookie mixes together.  Add eggs and melted butter.  Blend in peanut butter.  Mix in Reese’s hearts.   Evenly spread into prepared pan.   Gently press extra Reese’s hearts on top. 

Bake 19 to 24 minutes (edges will be golden).  Cool completely.   Cut into squares and store in covered container.

Thanks for stopping by!

Doctored up brownie mix

I wanted to make brownies quickly, so I grabbed a mix and added a few things to dress it up. 

I used the ingredients on the back of the brownie mix box and added the following.

2 tbs black cocoa

1 tbs vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

I baked them, according to the directions  on back of the box.