Ari's Menu

Little changes making a big difference.


Peppermint Bark Cookies

· by ·

Rich, chocolatey cookies overflowing with pieces of sweet, crunchy peppermint bark, topped with crushed candy canes–a chocolate and peppermint lover’s dream! Peppermint Bark Cookies On a whim, I decided to buy a bag of peppermint bark baking bits at TJ’s. I knew it probably wasn’t the greatest idea. I took it out of my basket more than once, but I just kept imagining all of the wonderful things I could bake with it! Peppermint Bark Cookies I LOVE peppermint bark. Every year, it’s pretty much the biggest act of willpower to stop myself from buying a bag of the Ghiradelli peppermint bark, and eating the whole thing in one sitting. Buying the bag to eat a few in “moderation” isn’t even an option. I figured at least these ones were chopped into reallllly tiny pieces. Plus, when I bake, I give things away. If I try to give away the store bought candy I just purchased, I feel a little silly. Peppermint Bark Cookies So I bought this bag of baking chips, and I was trying to decide what to do with it. Then I looked at the back of the bag, and there was a recipe. A recipe that called for use of the entire bag. Perfect. No bark left over means no pieces getting shoveled down my mouth by the handful. It’s a win-win situation. Peppermint Bark Cookies Especially when the cookies turn out ridiculous-stop-everything-I’ve-found-the-solution-for-all-the-world’s-problems-amazing. Peppermint Bark Cookies These cookies are soft, chewy and filled with delicious chocolate flavor, complemented by the bright refreshingly sweet peppermint, and topped with crunchy candy canes for some extra texture. To me, the secret to a perfect cookie comes in the texture combinations. A slight crunch on the outside with an extra soft, almost dough-like inside. Peppermint Bark Cookies And you know how I KNOW they were a success? I brought them to a showcase where a bunch of kiddos happily gobbled them down without any clue that they were eating health(ier) cookies. Kids are the best testers because they are ridiculously honest, and happy, chocolatey faces tell all. **Note: All photos on this post were taken by my husband. I made these last year before I was exclusively taking the photos for my site. I could make them again (they are so good), but his photos are gorgeous, so I decided to keep them. 🙂

Print
Peppermint Bark Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Peppermint Bark Cookies

Rich, chocolatey cookies overflowing with pieces of sweet, crunchy peppermint bark, topped with crushed candy canes--a chocolate and peppermint lover's dream!

Ingredients

  • 1 and 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (or gluten-free baking blend*
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)
  • 1/2 cup light cream cheese
  • 1 and 1/3 cups brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
  • 1 bag Trader Joe's peppermint bark baking bits
  • 1 candy cane, crushed

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.
  3. In a large bow, beat together cream cheese and sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating until fully incorporated, then beat in extracts. Slowly beat in dry ingredients until fully incorporated. Fold in baking bits.
  4. Use a small cookie scoop to transfer dough onto prepared baking sheet. Press a pinch of crushed candy cane into the top of each dough ball. Bake for 10-14 minutes until set. Let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container for about 1 week.

Notes

*Recipe tested with white whole wheat flour, but I've subbed my gf blend in very similar recipes and it has worked great. You may need to reduce baking time, so check cookies around 7-8 minutes.

https://arismenu.com/peppermint-bark-cookies/

Vanilla Bean Cookie Butter Cup Cupcakes

· by ·

I have a serious problem.

How do you live with a fridge full of this and not eat every last one?? Seriously.

Well, I guess the fact that they were made for someone else is pretty good for the whole self control thing. I canNOT make cupcakes like this that are just for me. I will eat a dozen in about 2 days hours minutes.

Remember when I made these and said they part one of a special baking project?? Well, I made vanilla bean cupcake batter, swirled in some cookie butter, then pressed one into the center before baking.

I thought they would bake much faster than normal cupcakes, or that the cookie butter cup would just melt right into the cupcake, but they baked for a normal amount of time (18 minutes) and came out looking perfect!

Then I made a Cookie Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and things got REAL over here.

Because what good is a cupcake picture if you don’t cut it in half and show off all the gooey insides?!

Also can we check out all those vanilla bean specs?! In the cupcake and the frosting. Can’t. Get. Enough.

These weren’t completely cooled, so everything just came right out. I love that. If you don’t, just make sure you cool them in the fridge first. But seriously, if you don’t like warm, oozey chocolate, who are you and why are you even reading this blog?!

Just kidding, please keep reading. I can overlook your weird textural preferences. Maybe…

Drrrrooooool.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE!!!! I couldn’t have picked a better occasion to make probably the best cupcake I have ever created. Obviously, you inspire me 🙂

Vanilla Bean Cookie Butter Cup Cupcakes

yield 15

  • 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or all purpose)
  • 1/2 tbs baking powder
  • dash salt
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (or butter)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup reduced fat buttermilk
  • 1/2 tbs vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tbs TJ’s Cookie Butter (or Biscoff spread), melted
  • 15 Salted Chocolate Cookie Butter Cups, frozen

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Spray lightly with nonstick spray, then set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can use a hand mixer if you don’t have a stand one), add applesauce and sugar. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and beat on medium speed.
  4. Beat in eggs one at a time.
  5. In a glass measuring cup (or separate bowl) combine buttermilk and vanilla extract.
  6. With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour and buttermilk mixtures, starting and ending with dry ingredients.
  7. Beat until just incorporated, scraping down sides of the bowl when necessary.
  8. Fill 15 cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. I used a medium sized cookie scoop and it took 1 1/2 scoops per cupcake.
  9. Drizzle in a small amount of cookie butter into each cupcake, and swirl lightly with a toothpick.
  10. Press one Salted Chocolate Cookie Butter Cup into each cupcake.
  11. Bake for 17-19 minutes. (I always turn mine around halfway through to keep even cooking)
  12. Let stand for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  13. Top with Vanilla Bean Cookie Butter Cream Cheese Frosting.

Vanilla Bean Cookie Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

yield enough for 20 cupcakes

  • 16 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup TJ’s Cookie Butter
  • 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
  • 3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

  1. Place cream cheese and cookie butter in a large bowl. Scrape in vanilla bean seeds and beat together for 1 minute.
  2. Slowly beat in powdered sugar, scraping down sides of bowl when necessary.
  3. Frost immediately, or chill in refrigerator.

 

Cookie Butter Brownie Bars

· by ·

Please don’t tell me you’re sick of the cookie butter already. You can’t be. This is only recipe #2. In fact, recipe #1 happened because the first time I tried this recipe it absolutely failed. I mean, it was delicious, but the brownies didn’t bake all the way through, and you couldn’t get it out of the pain, so you kind of had to sit there with a fork chowing down on a 9×13 pan of gooey half baked goodness. It kind of became a problem, and I had to give them away–well give it away, since it was kind of like one big bar. Anyway, I knew I was onto something with the taste, so I tried again.

Try #1 went brownie batter on bottom, cookie butter bar layer on top, bake. Try #2 included baking the brownie layer a little bit first, but still somehow came out looking like try #1. Third time’s a charm, I guess 😉

Cookie layer on the bottom because brownies cook more slowly–duhhh, Ari! The result? Gooey, brownie, cookie butter deliciousness that can actually be plated and served. See?

 

Cookie Butter Brownie Bars

yield approx 32 bars

  • 1 box TJ’s reduced guilt brownie mix or No Pudge Brownie Mix
  • 6oz nonfat vanilla yogurt (some other flavors also taste good mixed with brownie like red velvet–yum!)
  • 1 cup cookie butter
  • 1/2 cup apple butter
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
  • white chocolate and caramel for drizzling (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray to 9×9 baking pans with nonstick spray. Set aside.
  2. Combine brownie mix and yogurt. Set aside.
  3. Beat together cookie butter, apple butter, brown sugar, Splenda, vanilla, milk and baking soda. Slowly beat in flour.
  4. Divide cookie butter dough in half and press into the bottom of each 9×9 baking pan. Smooth out the top as much as possible.
  5. Evenly divide the brownie batter between the two pans, using a spatula to smooth on top.
  6. Bake for 18-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Careful not to over bake–you still want a little gooeyness in the middle, but you want everything set enough to come out neatly.
  7. Cool on a wire rack, then slice and drizzle with white chocolate and caramel if desired.

 

Cookie Butter Bars

· by ·

Did you hear the news??? Trader Joe’s cookie butter is back! Please don’t ask how many jars I’ve gone through. It’s a little embarrassing. But, honestly, with bars like these, can you blame me? With cookie butter and apple butter, who needs actual butter? These bars have all of the delicious flavor of cookie butter and come as a cross between a cake and a cookie. Like a cookie cake. Cookies + cake + cookie butter. Yes, please.

These were my birthday treat to myself. And everyone (including our waitress) at Barrio Cafe 😉 I hope you enjoy them too!

 

Cookie Butter Bars

yield approx 30 bars

  • 1 cup TJ’s cookie butter
  • 1/2 cup apple butter
  • 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbs Splenda
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
  2. Beat together cookie butter, apple butter, brown sugar, Splenda, vanilla, milk and baking soda.
  3. Slowly, beat in flour.
  4. Press batter evenly into pan. Use a rolling pin to smooth out top.
  5. Bake for 18-22 min until set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Do not over bake.
  6. Cool completely on wire rack, then top with white chocolate cream cheese frosting and sprinkles if desired.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

yield enough to cover 9×13 pan of baked goods

  • 14 oz reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tbs light, whipped butter, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup Sunspire white chocolate chips, melted
  • dash almond extract
  • 1 cup powdered sugar (you may add more–I don’t like my frosting to be too sweet)

Directions:

  1. Beat together butter and cream cheese. Beat in white chocolate and almond extract.
  2. Slowly add and beat in powdered sugar, scraping down sides of bowl when necessary.
  3. Spread evenly on top of desired baked good, and enjoy!

 

End of the Year

· by ·

Well this super busy week is starting to come to a close. Not that this weekend is really any less busy, but it’s that time of year when all of my projects are finishing up. Some of them I will be very sad to see close (I really love my Fiddler and Bravo kiddos!) and to be honest, others will be a huge relief. After next week, I will get some much needed time off! Not that I don’t love what I’m doing, but every once in a while a break from even the things we enjoy doing, isn’t such a bad thing 🙂

This week, the only things I’ve been able to get done outside of work are a couple (yes TWO!) awesome spin classes

A successful and much needed grocery shopping trip, where I finally caved and bought this:

The thing is, it's just so good. If you have the self control not to eat it all from the jar in one sitting, then you should just buy it and experience the deliciousness.

And a hike with Nicole. Oh, and lots of cookie eating, but that’s for an other post 😉

Tonight is opening night! Come see Fiddler!!! I am a proud, proud director this evening.

Super Simple Pumpkin Brownies

· by ·

Okay, I almost never do this, but sometimes it is just nice to bake something that take like 3 steps. Sometimes you can take a normal boxed baking good and make it your own and enjoy not having to spend hours preparing said delicious baked good. Every once in a while I do something like this

Oh my gosh! It's from a box! I know, you're horrified.

And of course, I don’t follow directions. I change it, and make it my own until it’s something more like this

Super Simple Pumpkin Brownies

yield 25 small brownies

  • 1 box TJ’s Reduced Guilt Brownie Mix or No Pudge Brownie Mix (or honestly, if you follow these directions, I bet you could use any brownie mix and still have it be at least healthier)
  • 1 cup pureed pumpkin
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 25 grain sweetened white chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease 8″ square baking pan.
2. Mix all ingredients except chips. It will take a few minutes and batter will be very thick.
3. Transfer to baking dish. If desired, top with chips.
4. Bake for approx 30 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Cut, plate and top with red fat pumpkin ice cream and sprinkles!

Taaaaddddaaaa!!!!

Featured Here

Member Of…

FitFluential Is Fitness Found
AZ Bloggers Network
az 150 photo az150_zpsfb093d32.gif

Archives


Image Map