brookie-crownies

OH MY. These Brookie-Crownies are SO SO good. I didn’t know what to call them, so I gave them two names and they totally deserve it. They have a layer of super chocolatey brownie on bottom and the best chocolate chip cookie on top, combining two perfect desserts into one AND if you top it with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream [we LOVE this], it’ll be a solid 3-in-1. YUM.

I WAS totally inspired by Mountain Mama Cooks’ version, which uses a secret-weapon BOXED brownie mix in the recipe [shhh!] and then I added my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie dough on top for the cookie layer. The final product is super delicious and a total crowd-pleaser. I made mine GF with King Arthur’s awesome Gluten Free Fudge Brownie Mix, which I always keep on hand for easy treat ‘emergencies.’ The mix is nut-free, too, so it’s a great option for a group of sweet-lovers with a variety of food allergies, but they’re objectively gooey and yummy even if you don’t. Though this recipe calls for a few extra steps to get the 2-in-1, it’s super easy and totally worth it. Our crew ate them 4 at a time and loved every bite. GIFT A LITTLE HAPPINESS. xo

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box of brownie mix + the ingredients it calls for [eggs, etc]

• 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg, whisked

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 cup all purpose flour (I use King Arthur GF Measure for Measure and it’s perfect)

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven according to your brownie package directions

• Mix the brownies according to the package directions and spread them in a greased 9x13 pan

• Bake the brownies for 20-25 minutes LESS than recipe advises and take them out of the oven to cool for a few minutes [they will still be jiggly]

• Put oven temp to 375

• Cream the butter and sugar in a standing mixer (or in a bowl using a hand mixer) for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy

• Add the egg and vanilla and mix for 1 minute

• Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and slowly incorporate into the butter and egg mixture

• Mix until combined then pour in the chocolate chips and stir

• Drop blobs of the dough gently onto the brownie layer, then spread evenly to reach across the pan [I honestly used my hands for this, but do whatever works for you]

• Bake the whole thing for 20 more minutes, or until the cookie layer is golden brown

• Cool, slice and share with your favorite treat-lovers

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cinnamon donut muffins

OH LORDY, these are yummy. My younger son and I had a little time to spare this afternoon, so we whipped up a batch of these delish Donut Muffins for no good reason at all. They look like a muffin, but taste like a cinnamon cake donut, so basically amazing. And they look super impressive. They’d be awesome for a brunch or dessert with a little dollop of vanilla ice cream or a super special snack treat.

I ADAPTED the original King Arthur recipe just a bit because my guys don’t love the taste of nutmeg, so I replaced it with cinnamon and they were a huge hit. They’re filling and sweet and satisfying, but not a total gut bomb. We made the GF version, but King Arthur also has a recipe with regular flour that looks totally amazing if gluten isn’t a concern for your family. I think they’re best served warm and fresh. Enjoy! xo

GF cinnamon donut muffin recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tablespoons butter

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/3 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed

• 2 large eggs

• 1 + 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 2 + 2/3 cups flour [I use King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure]

• 1 cup milk [I used almond milk]
  +

• 3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar [for the topping]

• 2-3 tablespoons butter, melted [for the topping]

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat the oven to 425°

• Lightly grease a muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups

• In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the butter, oil and sugars until smooth

• Add the eggs and beat to combine

• Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla

• Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined

• Spoon the batter into the pan, filling the cups nearly full

• Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they're a pale golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean

• Let them cool for a couple of minutes, or until you can handle them. While they're cooling, melt the butter for the topping

• Use a pastry brush to paint the top of each muffin with the butter or dip the top in the butter, then roll them in the cinnamon sugar

• Enjoy them warm with your favorite donut lover

A few Muffin-baking Supplies I love

+ I love my Great Jones Stud Muffin, it’s gorgeous and makes me feel like a pro +

+ A Golden Rabbit Enamel Cake Stand is the perfect canvas to display your beautiful finished product +

+ I use this Duralex Lys 9-piece Mixing Bowl Set every darn day +

+ Caraway’s Muffin Pans are pretty, non-stick and non-toxic +

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double chocolate banana bread

OK, SO I could go ahead and say that I made this Double Chocolate Banana Bread just because I had a bunch of rotten bananas that I really needed to use up, which would totally not be a lie. But the REAL honest truth is that I’ve been dreaming about it since I first saw it on Smitten Kitchen [like maybe 24 hours ago] and HAD to make it. Like stat. It is super easy, made with all stuff you probs already have and SO SO SO good. I made mini loaves and had to hide the second one so that it didn’t get devoured before there was photographic evidence of its existence. My boys were seriously blown away, muttering lots of ‘mmmms’ at this one. And let’s face it, I’m just out here trying to wow my little guys.

IF YOU’RE not familiar with Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen, you should set aside a solid day to get lost in the gorgeous recipes on her site or pick up her book [and this one] for the most incredible collection of stunning food [her Pea Pesto is heaven]. Plus she’s a fantastic writer and funny. Anyhoo, I’m sharing her Double Chocolate Banana Bread recipe here to make things crazy easy for you. Let me know when you bake a loaf and I’ll be right over. xo

Double Chocolate Banana Bread RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 3 big super ripe bananas

• 1/2 cup butter, melted

• 3/4 cup brown sugar (I used dark on her rec, but either light or dark will work)

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon table salt

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I subbed GF and it’s perfect)

• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

• 1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chunks or chips

DIRECTIONS

• Heat your oven to 350 and butter or spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan (or a few minis like I did)

• Mash bananas really well in the bottom of a large bowl

• Whisk in melted butter, then brown sugar, egg, and vanilla

• Add baking soda, salt and flour

• Sift cocoa powder through a sifter or fine-mesh strainer over the wet ingredients to get out the lumps and chunks

• Stir dry and wet ingredients with a spoon until just combined

• Stir in chocolate chunks or chips.

• Pour into prepared pan and bake 55 to 65 minutes

• Cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and pop it out onto a cooling rack

• Share at least one slice with someone you adore or wrap it up and deliver it to someone who could use a MAJOR boost of delicious chocolate LOVE

THE LOAF will keep for up to 4 days covered at room temperature, but seriously, if you last 4 minutes with this in your house, I’ll be super impressed. Enjoy, lovelies.

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double maple mummy cookies

SO PART of me can’t believe it’s almost Halloween and the other part is like ‘didn’t we do that 3 weeks ago?’ Maybe it’s because there has been Halloween stuff in the stores since July or because our weather has been so spectacular that it still feels like we’re tiptoeing away from Summer. In any case, my boys had their last Flag Football games of the season yesterday and it felt like treats were in order, so I figured I’d stick with the spooky theme until the bitter end. I saw these Runamok x Lenox Bakery Maple Mummy Cookies the other day and they looked so fun + yummy [and EASY]. And it turns out they are even better [and easier] than I expected, like SO so delicious that we might need to just give them all away. My boys were gushing and my little woke up this morning asking if he could have a cookie for breakfast [um, no, but I love the enthusiasm for my baking]. And if you leave off the goofy eyeballs, they’d be a fantastic treat anytime of the year, like maybe right next to the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.

THIS RECIPE calls for Runamok maple syrup, but obvs use whatever kind you like. I will say, the Cinnamon + Vanilla infusion I used in the glaze was next level and I’m guessing any of Runamok’s Infused [Cardamom would be amazing] or Barrel Aged syrups would be super delicious. I modified the original recipe slightly to accommodate my family’s dietary needs and it worked perfectly. SO, if you still need a fun + scrumptious treat for this season or the next [or the next], give these little mummies a whirl and enjoy eating them with your favorite ghouls + ghosts [or little turkeys]. xo

Double Maple Mummy Cookies Recipe

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE cookies…

• 1/2 cup butter

• 3/4 cup light brown sugar

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup [I used Runamok Sugarmaker’s Cut]

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 eggs

• 2 1/3 cup flour (I use King Arthur Measure for Measure GF)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• candy eye balls

FOR THE glaze…

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 1/3 cup maple syrup [ I used Runamok Cinnamon + Vanilla Infused]

• 1-2 teaspoons milk (I used almond, but you could probs just use water, too)

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350

• With a stand or hand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and light brown sugar

• Add in the eggs, maple syrup + vanilla

• Mix in the flour + baking soda

• Line a baking sheet with parchment and scoop the batter into little ping pong-sized balls

• Bake for about 10 minutes or until they have just started to brown at the edges. Remove from the oven to let cool. 

• Make the glaze by mixing together the powdered sugar, maple syrup and milk until well combined, then drizzle it on the cookies to make the cutie mummies. I started with 1 tsp of almond milk and then added a bit more to thin it enough for drizzling.

• Add the candy eyeballs if you’re making mummies

• Gobble them up with your favorite ghosts and ghouls [or little turkeys]

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the donut lady

MY LITTLES’ class is quarantining this week, so we’ve been kicked back to home learning. That combined with some seriously dreary weather called for a major shakeup at our house. So I pulled out my decade-old secret weapon…Well, actually it’s Jessica Seinfeld’s secret weapon that I co-opted for my big guy’s second birthday nearly 10 years ago and BLEW some toddler minds. I’ve been making them ever since with almost the same response each time (my big guy just snatched almost a dozen off the cooling rack on his way to MTB practice). Some of our little friends used to call me “the donut lady,” a name that stuck for years. I’ll totally take it. These sweet little rings bring an instant giant smile. And… they have vegetables in them. SSSHHH! Don’t tell my boys, it’ll spoil a decade’s worth of epic mama trickery.

SO MY super secret recipe actually comes from Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious cookbook from 2007. It’s a fantastic book designed to help you sneak veggies into everyday foods that kids like. If you have picky littles (or bigs) or you’d just like some creative ways to add more veggies to your cooking, it’s totally worth picking up a copy. In the meantime, here’s the recipe, only very slightly modified from the published version. It’s super quick to put together and if you don’t have a donut pan, you can def use muffin tins, though the exciting part where your kids think you’re letting them have donuts might be *slightly* diminished.

INGREDIENTS

• Nonstick cooking spray

• 1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

• 1/2 cup sweet potato puree (I use canned for this, too)

• 1/2 cup milk of your choice (I use almond)

• 1 large egg white

• 1 tbsp butter or oil

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup AP flour or whole-wheat pastry flour (I sub GF and it’s perfect)

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar (I’ve never bothered with it because they’re sweet without)

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a donut pan or muffin tin with cooking spray.

• In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, pumpkin + sweet potato purees, milk, egg white, butter or oil, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and spice and mix until completely incorporated.

• If using a donut pan, pour the batter into a Ziplock bag (or pastry bag if you have one) and cut a little tip off the bottom corner on one side. Squeeze the batter through into the donut mold. Bake until the tops are lightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean, around 15-20 minutes. Turn the donuts out onto a rack to cool. When cool, dust with the confectioners’ sugar if using.

• You can store in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days or freeze for up to a month. But… I challenge you to make these last 2 days in the eye line of any kiddo.

THESE little guys smell so amazing while they’re baking and the sweet potato puree gives them such a sweet and delicious flavor. I’ve made them in big donut pans, mini donuts pans, muffin tins… you name it. I once added spooky spider rings to the middle of each for a good allergy-friendly classroom Halloween treat and the kids absolutely devoured them. So go bake a batch and you, too, could forevermore be known as “the donut lady.'“ xo

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