Brownie Covered Peppermint Oreos

When I saw these cookies on Picky-Palate last week, I knew I had to make them.

I immediately thought to use some sort of peppermint flavoring to make them taste "Chirstmas-y", so I used Trader Joe's Candy Cane cookies instead of regular Oreos.

These are the BEST! Get them.

After I baked some I brought a batch to my company's Ugly Sweaters and Cookie Contest.

Most everyone seemed to like them which made me happy.

I lost the cookie contest, though.

Another colleague's Molasses cookies won and I honestly thought she deserved it.

I took home like 11 of her cookies for the weekend.  =)

Make sure to completely coat the cookies.

Anyways.

These cookies are SUPER simple to make.

You just make brownie batter, dip Oreos in it, bake in muffin tins,
(any size will work) and voila!

Brownie Covered Oreos! 

These cookies are better the day that they are made--when they're warm and fresh out of the oven. After a couple of days I found them to be too hard/stale if that is possible.

Other than that, I liked them.  :)

**I borrowed my brother's camera to take these pictures and as you can see...eh.**  

LOL,  thanks anyways Che! 

Update.

Hey People!!! Hope all is going well with you. Just a quick update:

My camera broke! Boo.

It broke at the most inopportune time, as well.

I was standing on the streets of Geneva, Switzerland, and as I excitedly pointed to a Cafe that had indoor seating, I heard a loud "CRACK". I looked down and saw my beloved blue camera on the floor.

The lens completely broke. 

I may get a temporary camera sometime this week... Hopefully.

Until then, no pictures.

That means I can't document anything that I make.

And, that makes me even sadder.

Hopefully I can get back to blogging this weekend. ::Crosses Fingers::

Other than that, everything is peachy!

For all those who asked, my trip was L-O-V-E-L-Y.  :) I leave you with some photos.

Cheerio!

Mmm! Classis Swiss Fondue. so good!

Best buddies! At Tower Bridge in London.

Sticky Toffee Pudding and ice-cream.

Apparently I have a thing for phone booths.

Thanksgiving Dinner! We made all this in Switzerland. I'm still shocked!

Swiss Chocolates...I bought and ate a  ton.

Swiss Alps. Majestic.

We took a random trip to Evian, France and gorged on pastries...well, I did.  :)

The Group  :)

Simply had a lovely time!

Away I Go!

I'm going to spend the Thanksgiving holidays overseas with some of my friends  this year. We're going to visit London for a couple days, followed by 3 days in Geneva, Switzerland.

I'm leaving today and I can't wait to go shopping, enjoy the company of some of my best friends, absorb new cultures, and EAT!

I plan on eating Fish and Chips in London.

Tons of cheese fondue in Switzerland.

...of course gorge on chocolate.

See you when I get back!!   =)

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

This past week was ANNOYING.

I had a ton of articles and paperwork to catch up on at work.

This week doesn't look like it will be any better.

I still have a mountain of stuff to finish.

It's my fault.

I'm going overseas for 10 days on Friday-- that means I have to cram about a month's work in  two weeks to meet all deadlines.

The batter looks weird, right?

It's making me irritable.

I had two hours to kill on Sunday, so to appease my bad mood, I of course baked something.

I made Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies.

They SUCKED.

They were dry and crunchy.

I think it was because the recipe I used didn't call for brown sugar.

Sigh.

I should have known better.

So, yucky week and crappy cookies.

No Bueno.


**I SHOULD HAVE USED THIS RECIPE.**

I'm not going to put up the recipe I used. If you feel like making these cookies, I think the above link is your best bet.

Vanilla Sea Salt Caramel Candy

YOU MUST MAKE THESE.

Burnt Sugars and cream? Yes, please!

LIKE, BEFORE THE YEAR IS OVER.

Luxurious river of velvety smooth caramel.

THEN GIVE THEM TO PEOPLE.

Sprinkling of Sea Salt

AND THEY WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU.

ahh! So good!

I PROMISE.

This thermometer was stupid. I'm so returning it...

 **GET THE CARAMEL RECIPE HERE!**  
I stuck to this recipe exactly, but then I added sea salt to the top of the caramels after I poured them in the pan to cool. It's an AWESOME addition---TRUST ME on this.  :) 

I also doubled the amount of vanilla because I like vanilla. yea.

Halloweenie Cupcakes

I grew up in a very Catholic and Haitian household, so Halloween was never celebrated much.

We didn't go trick or treating, never bobbed for apples, didn't carve pumpkins, and only got costumes because Halloween coincided with our Christian schools Harvest Festival where you had to dress up as a character from a storybook.

Other than that? Nothing.

The batter is incredibly moist and rich.

I didn't really start celebrating Halloween and dressing up until I got to college.

It took me a while to get  into the swing of things, but I'm fully engaged now.

I've been wanting to try out a chocolate cupcake recipe that I've seen going around. It's heralded as "The BEST Chocolate Cake" and I got the recipe off of Kevin and Amanda's Blog .

I made the cakes for my friend's Halloween party, and while I thought the cakes were good but "regular", everyone else thought they were delicious. People kept commenting, so perhaps I was too hard on them?

I made them X-Large... =D

I dunno.

I suppose I expected some crazy deliciousness that made made feel as if a miracle just happened, but I didn't.

That's a lot to ask for out of a cupcake, right?

I really liked the frosting!

I'm crazy.

Anyways, the icing I used was this one. I actually liked it a lot. It was like a whipped cream consistency, but thicker.

It was uber good.

I did a sucky job decorating them. I know. I was too tired to think, so I smeared frosting on them and then threw on random sprinkles.

It was actually kind of fun.

Yea.

So, Happy Halloween!

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe--CLICK HERE!
Frosting Recipe--CLICK HERE!

Fudgy Brownies with Whipped Peanut Butter Frosting

So decadent!

My little brother loves brownies. 

Brownies with Twix bars baked in, brownies with Heath bars, brownies with plain chocolate.

He loves them all, and I always get suckered into making a batch for him whenever I’m visiting Miami.

I was missing his cute little face this week, so I decided that I’d make brownies in his honor.

Oh, by the way---my “little” brother is 22 years old.

I just thought I should mention it. People tend to get mad at me when they either meet or see a picture of him.

They expect to see an adorable 6 year old with untied shoelaces dangling his feet from a chair while playing a Game Boy.

But, no. He’s a grown man.

I just don’t see it yet. He will forever be my little brother. But, I digress.

Ahh. That shiny crunchy top is the BEST part of a brownie.

Anyways, he loves brownies. So, I made them this week using the recipe from the back of the King Arthur flour bag.

Wanna know a secret?

Although these brownies were all kinds of yummy, chocolaty, and fudgy, I ALWAYS prefer a brownie box mix to those prepared from scratch.

Yea.

I just think they taste as good and are less fuss than measuring flour and butter. Perhaps I’m a sellout? 

Whatever.

So, these are the brownies I made in honor of my little brother. I added my FAVORITE peanut butter frosting to them, and that only made it taste that much better.  =)

Glass of milk and an episode of "Mad Men" goes perfect with these.

**Brownie recipe HERE 

**Peanut Butter Frosting recipe from Food Network HERE

Stuffed Crust Pepperoni Pizza

Mmmm! Homemade pizza. Fresh cheese, fresh sauce, fresh toppings. So good.

I knew I wanted to make pizza this week and even contemplated MAKING MY OWN DOUGH. 

I then thought about it and realized, eh---I’d rather buy dough. I don’t have time to knead stuff and watch it rise.

I went to a local pizzeria by my house to purchase their homemade dough. They were kind of confused and didn’t know what to charge me, so we settled on $5.00. 

It was funny.

I could have gotten regular freezer dough from the supermarket—but I thought my method would be more fun.

It was.

Anyways, I bought the dough, made the sauce, got some toppings, and went to work.

Being as obsessed with cheese as I am, I had to make a stuffed crust pizza.It was a must.

This involved placing a circular ring of mozzarella string cheese around the entire pizza and then folding the crust over it. Yea, boi.

I topped the pie with fresh mozzarella, basil, pepperoni, and then sprinkled it with a blend of parmesan, romano, and asiago cheeses.

This crust is STUFFED with cheese.

15 minutes later the pizza was cooked to perfection. Really tasty!

I cooked it in a pizza pan, but next time I make a pizza I’m going to get a pizza stone so I could lay it directly in the oven. I think it would give it a crispier crust next time around?

I like crispy crusts.

And cheese. :)

The pizza tasted incredibly fresh.

**Pizza sauce recipe HERE

**I didn't use a recipe for the pizza--I just threw the toppings that I wanted on and baked at 500 degrees F for 15 minutes, or until the crust is brown and crisp and the cheese is bubbling.

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

Last week was a cold and rainy nightmare here in DC.

It sucked.

If you know me then you know how much I HATE rain. Yea, I know it’s good for the trees and stuff, but I don’t care. I hate rain.

Unless of course I’m at home. In my bed. Under my covers. Reading Little House on the Prairie. Then I don’t mind it.

You know another time I don’t mind rain? When I’m lounging around in my favorite Semester at Sea sweatshirt with the hole in the elbow, watching a marathon of old school  Beverly Hills, 90210, all while eating a bowl of homemade mac and cheese.

This is what I planned to do this weekend, but most of that didn’t happen.

It was another busy Saturday and Sunday for me with errands to run, Sunday School to teach, hanging out with friends, having to do my hair (which turned out NASTY), and getting ready for the work week. I didn’t get to do my lounging, but I knew somewhere in there I would get my bowl of mac and cheese.

I did. It was Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese to be exact, and it was freaking good!

Buttery noodles, tons of sharp cheddar and Colby jack cheeses, chunks of chicken, a blue cheese and panko mixture. Ahh. It was delicious!

Do you SEE all that goodness?!

I found the recipe on the Food Network Site and knew it would be delicious. Takena, one of my really good friends, makes this Buffalo Chicken Stromboli with ingredients almost similar to the mac and cheese and it reminded me of this. I’ll have to make that too now that I think about it…

Anyways, I made it and was uber duper happy with how it came out.

I brought most of it to my brother’s place because I have no self control and would probably eat the whole pan in a day he likes mac and cheese and I wanted to share it with him. 

So yea, this was the perfect ending to my cold and rainy week. It was no coincidence that the day I made this, Sunday, it was perfect and sunny out.

Mac and cheese makes everything better!

   **Click here for Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese Recipe**