No Pain....Thus Far

Happy Friday!! I'm so excited for the weekend, especially since I still have this cold and plan to sleep and watch tons of GILRMORE GIRLS or whatever I can find on Netflix (I have all the season of GG minus Season 5...they aren't on Netflix). 

At PT today (my only PT session this week due to the flooding that occurred on Wednesday...how rude Mother Nature!) I did a ton of ab exercises and did the exercise bike for 12 minutes PAIN FREE!! The PT also said I could work out (aka bike not run) as long as there was ZERO pain.  I plan to go to the gym tomorrow if I feel up to it...maybe even do 15 minutes on the bike and see how it goes!

So...I feel really bad for not posting these past couple of weeks...so how about some amazing cookies (ENJOY!):

No..it's not a UFO...it's just one of the best cookies ever.  You know why?!

Because there is a Reese's in the center of it!!!

I got the recipe from Picky Palate.  Do you forgive me?!

Candy Bar Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwiches

2 sticks softened butter

1 Cup granulated sugar

3/4 Cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla

3 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

10 oz bag chocolate chips

Variety of snack size Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers and Kit Kat (I only used Reese's and Snickers...but I will now have to try Kit Kat the next time around)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until well combined.  Add eggs and vanilla until well combined.

2.  Place flour, baking soda and salt in large bowl; mix then slowly add to wet ingredients.  Add chocolate chips to combine.  Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of snack size candy bar.  Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of candy bar.  Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until candy bar is enclosed with dough.  Place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until cookies are baked to your liking.  Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.  Serve with a tall glass of milk, enjoy!

Makes about 24 LARGE Cookies

-----------------------------------------------

What would you put in the center of a chocolate chip cookie? 

The Reese's was pretty amazing, but I wonder what more chocolate would taste like...hehe. 

I think I have a PB obsession

I think I have a problem....

....I love peanut butter...

....like eat it right out of the jar love it...and my husband looks at me like I have five heads every time I do it.  But today I decided to be creative.  I was craving Reese's but had no desire to go back to the store after we had already gone to Shoppers and Costco (I don't know how I forgot something as important as Reese's....)  So here's what I did:

Yes...the bag of chocolate chips is HUGE...but it's mostly for baking...and these random cravings I have.

Melt the chocolate chips and PB together and use the pretzels to dip.  It was pretty awesome...but my Reese's craving is still there (darn it!). 

PS...there are still pretzels in that bag, see:

 Well...this weekend was a weekend of cookouts, and I brought these to my friend's house yesterday (notice the peanut butter frosting...I told you I was obsessed!!):

I may have also had one (or five) of the cookies and one (or three) of the brownies.

And here's the recipe:

Cupcakes (from hersheys.com)

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.  
3. CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Peanut Butter Frosting (from Brown Eyed Baker)

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream (I used skim milk and it turned out fine)

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do :)

So tomorrow is the big day...the MRI is at 8:00am.  I'm looking forward to the results and finding out what is wrong with my knee and how it can be fixed.  My husband is now telling people that I'm lacking my normal amount of endorphins...hopefully the amount of chocolate I ate the past couple of days will change that...hehe. 

Have a great week everyone!



--------------------------------

How many cookouts have you ever gone to in one weekend? 
I think two is the most I've ever been to in one weekend. One of our friends went to three on Saturday...making us all feel less popular.

Did your parents ever give you treats after going to the doctors?
My Mom would sometimes take us out for ice cream afterwards....so I think fro yo is in my future after this MRI :)

The Teacher Potluck

Workout:  3.5 miles with my Dad (one of my favorite running buddies!).  It was crazy hot today...like so hot weather.com was warning Marylanders about the air quality hot.  So what do I do...I go running in it (I'm able to run with my Dad at lunch time...which is a pretty sweet deal)! My Mom wasn't too happy with us going out in the heat, but she was never a runner and doesn't understand the way our minds work (hehe..love ya Mom!).

So on a different topic--food-- My husband has potlucks at work every so often and he usually brings in an entree since most people sign up for desserts, chips and soda (which is a perfect potluck for me (esp. the desserts part)...but for him not so much).  But since this was the last potluck of the year and I haven't baked anything in a reeaaallly long time, I suggested...ok begged...him to let me bake him a dessert to take. 

I always like to research different recipes, usually picking out the dessert with the most chocolate, like this one. 

But instead I thought of my husband (I guess there's a first time for everything..haha...just kidding) and decided to make rice krispy treats.  How boring, you say?!  Not when you add some of these:

Oreo's are one of my favorite cookies (although all cookies are good)...and they are super chocolatey which is always a plus.  Here is what the treats look like pre chocolate drizzle:

And post chocolate drizzle (oh yeah...there has to be more chocolate than just the cookies...duh!):

And of course the hubby got to lick the spatula (this doesn't look staged at all...):

Here's the recipe...enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Krispy Treats

From: How Sweet It Is

3 tablespoons butter

6 cups rice krispies cereal

4 cups mini marshmallows

10 oreos, chopped (I think I doubled the recipe here...but I'm an addict)

Chocolate Chips

In a large pot over low heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Pour in rice krispies cereal and chopped oreos, and coat completely with marshmallow mixture. Press into a 9 X 13 baking dish and let cool.

Once cool, melt chocolate chips and drizzle over bars.