Mud Pie Oreo Stuffed Brownie Cupcakes

I will be honest.  I had been begging for a reason to make these Mud Pie Oreo Stuffed Brownie Cupcakes again.  I originally came up with this recipe towards the end of the summer, & I had kind of been hanging onto it... until today. ;)

I decided to jump back into the The Leftovers Club this month and was paired with the lovely Shaina from Take A Bite Out of Boca.  (By the way, she sent me an amazing homemade granola- be sure to pop on over to her blog in a bit to get the recipe!)

I knew this was the perfect excuse to whip up a batch of these brownie cupcakes again!

These stuffed brownie cupcakes are decadent and yummy and not so New Year's resolution-friendly. 

(Sorry! Sort of... ;)).

Peanut Butter Chai Cookies {The Leftovers Club}

A few months back, I was hanging out on Twitter when I saw someone post a recipe link for Chai Peanut Butter.  

Chai Peanut Butter?!?

Needless to say, I was super excited to click on the link and then within almost the same instant completely and utterly let down...

It was CHIA Peanut Butter!

The person who tweeted out the recipe spelled chia wrong.

Yep.  Bummed.

I have pretty much been obsessed with using that flavor combination in a recipe ever since. ;)

When I received my pairing for this month's The Leftovers Club and she stated in her email that she loved peanut butter and cinnamon, I knew it was time to make my Peanut Butter Chai dream a reality...

Thus my Peanut Butter Chai Cookies were realized.

These cookies are softy and chewy, close to a bakery style.  There is a slight hint of spice to the peanut butter, and I am happy to say peanut butter and chai make perfect bed mates. ;) 

Peanut Butter Chai Cookies

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

6052870

Ingredients (2 dozen cookies)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• Turbinado sugar or large crystal sugar, for topping the cookies

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

In large bowl, cream together the butter & peanut butter. Beat in the sugars until fluffy.

Add in the egg, milk, & vanilla and mix well.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, all the spices, and the black pepper.

Beat half the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Then add the rest of the flour mixture and mix. Do not over mix.

Sprinkle the turbinado sugar onto a small plate.

Roll the dough into balls slightly larger than a tablespoon. Press one side of the cookie dough ball into the sugar, flattening slightly. Continue this for the rest of the dough.

Place the sugared cookie dough balls on your prepared baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are slightly browned.

Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

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Recipe adapted from THIS ONE on Pinch of Yum.

These cookies were seriously amazing!  I have never baked a better peanut butter cookie in my life. 

If you loved this recipe, you might also like my...

Coconut Chai Biscotti

Crock Pot White Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Be sure to check out all the other amazing recipes in this month's The Leftovers Club below!

Cherry Almond Granola {The Leftovers Club}

It is the first Thursday of the month, and you all know what that means, right? Yep, time for The Leftovers Club big reveals.  This month I was paired up with Danielle from Dining With Dani.  I decided to send her a jar of my homemade Cherry Almond Granola.  My original inspiration for this recipe was the Cherry Almond Granola I used to buy from Trader Joe's when I lived in the big city.  I used to love it and haven't had it in quite some time, so I decided to try and recreate it in my kitchen.  I would say it turned out pretty successful. ;)

What you will need:

2 cups of old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup of chopped or sliced almonds

2 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

4 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 cup of maple or pancake syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup dried cherries

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Set aside.

In large bowl, mix together the oats, coconut, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the coconut oil (sometimes it is solid at cooler temperatures) and the maple syrup together over medium heat.  Mix and heat until the coconut oil is melted.  This should only take a few minutes.

Remove from the heat and mix in the extracts.

Pour the liquid mixture over the oats mixture and mix until evenly coated.  

Spread your granola mixture evenly over your prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes, stirring & flipping the mixture after 15 minutes.  

Allow the granola to cool completely before removing from the baking sheet.

Once cooled, transfer the granola to a large bowl and then mix in the dried cherries.

Store your Cherry Almond Granola is an airtight container for up to a month.  I prefer to use mason jars for storing and gifting my granola.  

Look, I even got all crafty and used washi tape and baker's twine to pretty up the jar that I sent to Danielle. ;)

Serve this granola over your favorite yogurt or pour milk over it and have it in the morning.  (Or be like me and snack on it while you are waiting for it to cool completely...)

Cherry Almond Granola

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

6048283

Ingredients (6-8 servings)

• 2 cups of old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup of chopped or sliced almonds
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 cup of maple or pancake syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 cup dried cherries

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Set aside.

In large bowl, mix together the oats, coconut, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the coconut oil (sometimes it is solid at cooler temperatures) and the maple syrup together over medium heat. Mix and cook until the coconut oil is melted. This should only take a few minutes.

Mix in the extracts.

Pour the liquid mixture over the oats mixture and mix until evenly coated.

Spread your granola mixture evenly over your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring & flipping the mixture after 15 minutes.

Allow the granola to cool completely before removing from the baking sheet.

Once cooled, transfer the granola to a large bowl and then mix in the dried cherries.

Store your Cherry Almond Granola is an airtight container for up to a month. I prefer to use mason jars for storing and gifting my granola.

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Be sure to check out all the other recipes in The Leftovers Club below!  You will find tons of tasty treats that also travel well. ;)

Cookie Butter Pecan Bars {The Leftovers Club}

I will admit it.  I am a full-on cookie butter addict.  I spread it on granola bars, dip pretzels in it, and just eat it by the spoonful straight out of the jar.  I knew it wouldn't be long before I was baking with it.  

The inspiration for my Butter Pecan Cookie Butter Bars came to me when I was visiting the Wine and Glue blog and came across Lisa's recipe for Sugar Cookie Cookie Butter Bars.  I am not going to lie- I REALLY wanted to make her cookie bar recipe, but I was feeling lazy and was short on butter for her recipe.  So, I improvised! ;)

I had a box of Butter Pecan cake mix that had been sitting in my pantry for a few months now.  Honestly, I had no clue why I even bought it.  But it had been sitting there on my shelf for months staring at me, begging me to just do something with it.  I figured cookie butter and butter pecan would go well together, so why not make some cookie bars combining the two flavors? (And finally get rid of that box of cake mix already! ;) )

And so I did and the results were ah-mazing!  In fact when I was paired up with my April partner for The Leftovers Club, I knew I had to make a batch of these cookie bars again to send to Daphne of Go Gastronomy.

What you will need:

1 box of butter pecan cake mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 egg

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional- I did not add pecans to either one of my batches of the cookie bars, but I plan to for my next batch.)

For the cookie butter layer:

1 stick of butter

1 cup of cookie butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 8 x 11.5 baking pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Dump the cake mix into a large mixing bowl.  In your microwave, melt the 1/2 cup butter in a microwave safe bowl.  Pour the melted butter over the cake mix and add the egg.  Mix well.  Fold in the chopped pecans if you decided to add them.  

Press the butter pecan dough into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until the cookie layer is lightly golden brown.  

Let it cool completely (pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes to speed up the process if you are impatient like me).  

Once the cookie layer is cooled, whip up the cookie butter layer.  Place the stick of butter in a medium sized microwave safe bowl.  Nuke it for about 30 seconds.  Add the cookie butter and microwave for another 30 seconds.  Whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth.  

Spread the cookie butter mixture evenly over top of the cooled butter pecan cookie layer.

Pop in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes until the cookie butter layer sets up. 

I cut the cookie bars as needed, and left the entire pan wrapped tightly with plastic wrap at room temperature.  You can refrigerate them if you would like, but be sure to let them come to room temperature before cutting or the cookie butter layer will break up.

I am not going to lie...  I probably ate 80% of both of the batches of these Cookie Butter Pecan Bars that I made.  They are addicting.  And they were staring me in the face.

All day.

Every day.

Just sitting out on that kitchen counter beckoning me to cut off just one more tiny piece.

Note:  All those tiny pieces add up to one huge hunk by the end of the day.... just saying. ;)

So I was more than happy to send a few bars Daphne's way for this month's The Leftovers Club swap. 

Cookie Butter Pecan Bars

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

6046418

Ingredients (12-16 bars)

For the cookie bar layer

• 1 box of butter pecan cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

For the cookie butter layer

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup of cookie butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8 x 11.5 baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Dump the cake mix into a large mixing bowl. In your microwave, melt the 1/2 cup butter in a microwave safe bowl. Pour the melted butter over the cake mix and add the egg. Mix well. Fold in the chopped pecans if you decided to add them.

Press the butter pecan dough into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until the cookie layer is lightly golden brown.

Let it cool completely (pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes to speed up the process if you are impatient like me).

Once the cookie layer is cooled, whip up the cookie butter layer. Place the stick of butter in a medium sized microwave safe bowl. Nuke it for about 30 seconds. Add the cookie butter and microwave for another 30 seconds. Whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth.

Spread the cookie butter mixture evenly over top of the cooled butter pecan cookie layer.

Pop in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes until the cookie butter layer sets up.

I cut the cookie bars as needed, and left the entire pan wrapped tightly with plastic wrap at room temperature. You can refrigerate them if you would like, but be sure to let them come to room temperature before cutting or the cookie butter layer will break up.

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If you are a lover of cookie butter like me, make sure to check out my recipe for...

Cookie Butter Walnut Granola

Be sure to check out all the other amazing recipes from this month's The Leftovers Club...

Savory Simple - Quinoa Energy Bars

Meadows Cooks - Intensely Chocolate Sables with Raspberry Cream

The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen - Cashew Butter and Blackerry Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Dining with Dani - Pancakes and Bacon Cookies

Juanita's Cocina - Butterscotch Browned Butter Blondies

Damn Delicious - Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies

Eats Well With Others - Salted Caramel Shortbread

Farmgirl Gourmet - Sea Salted Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Frugal Foodie Mama - Cookie Butter Pecan Bars

Let's Give Peas a Chance - Chocolate Stout Brownies

Budget Gourmet Mom - Crisp Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches

A Zesty Bite - Dulce de Leche Sugar Cookies

Sugar Dish Me - Strawberry Lemonade Loaf

Roxana's Home Baking  - Chocolate chip bars

Little Kitchie - Salted Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pineapple and Coconut - Pineapple Whoopie Pies with Coconut Cream Filling

O'Boy! Organic - Rhubarb Cake

MarocMama - Caramel Vanilla Bean Krispie Treats

Omeletta - Brown Sugar Meringues

Eat Bake Drink Cook - Everything Cookies

Healthy. Delicious. - Carrot Cake Granola

Souffle Bombay - Sweet & Spicy Pecans

The Spiced Life - Garam Masala Caramel Corn

Kelly Bakes - Raspberry Cream Marshmallows

Bakeaholic Mama - Chocolate Cookie Dough Macarons

Whey Beyond the Naked Truth - Chia Seed Protein Bites

Don't you wish you could enjoy some of these leftovers with us? You can!  Visit The Leftovers Club online for more details!

Coconut Chai Biscotti {The Leftovers Club Recipe}

So earlier in the month, I saw some chatter and recipe links floating around on Twitter about a new little fun foodie program that had just started called The Leftovers Club from Savory Simple.  After probing a little and finding the club page, I decided that this was my kind of club!  You basically are paired up with another blogger, make some goodies that month, send the "leftovers" to your partner, and then post the recipe for what you sent to them on the first Thursday of the following month.  I strongly suggest you all get signed up for the next go-round of The Leftovers Club. ;)

This past month I was paired up with Colleen from Souffle Bombay. After conversing a bit with her via email, I learned that she is a hot tea drinker.  I have recently become pretty obsessed with this Sweet Coconut Thai Chai tea from Celestial Seasonings, so it became the inspiration for my Coconut Chai Biscotti that I sent to Colleen.  (Psssttt... Colleen sent me amazingly chocolaty Mexican brownies with a spicy kick. Make sure you check out her blog today for that recipe!)

Also, I may be a tiny bit obsessed with making homemade biscotti lately. ;)  It really is so simple to make, and so much more cheaper than the biscotti you buy at the fancy coffee shop. 

What you will need:

2 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp coconut extract

2 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup shredded coconut

For the cinnamon white chocolate glaze-

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1 tsp canola oil

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  Set aside.

Combine the eggs, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla and coconut extracts in a large bowl.  Beat on medium speed until the the mixture is light in color, about 3-4 minutes.  

Fold in the shredded coconut.

In a medium bowl, whisk all the spices (the cinnamon through the black pepper) evenly into the flour.  

On low speed, gradually beat the flour/spice mixture into the wet mixture until incorporated.

Transfer the dough to your lined baking sheet and form into a flat loaf, about 15 inches long & 5-6 inches wide.  Bake for 25 minutes, and then remove from the oven.  Turn the heat down to 325.  

Allow the loaf to cool for about 5-10 minutes.  I like to lightly pat down the loaf with water after it has cooled for about 5 minutes to prevent the loaf from cracking.

Once the loaf has cooled a bit but is still warm, cut into about 1 inch thick slices using a chef's knife.  I know that most people tend to use a serrated knife when cutting biscotti, but I ALWAYS find that my slices rip and crumble when I use one.  I switched to cutting them with a chef's knife and never had that problem again. :)

You can cut your slices on a diagonal, if you wish.  I usually just cut them straight across.

Once cut, transfer all the slices flat side down back to the baking sheet.  Bake an additional 20-25 minutes.

Transfer the baked slices to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.

Once cooled, you can prepare the cinnamon white chocolate drizzle or glaze.  Mix your white chocolate chips and canola oil in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on high for 1 minutes, and then mix.  If it isn't 100% melted and smooth when you mix it, microwave for another 15 seconds.  Then mix in the cinnamon.  I like to drizzle my biscotti while they are still on the wire rack.  I just slide a piece of waxed paper underneath of the rack to catch the drippings.  

Allow the chocolate to harden completely, and then store in an airtight container for up to a month.

I was really pleased with how the flavor of these biscotti turned out.  It had just the right amount of spice to it, and went wonderfully with a cup of hot tea or a nice cup of coffee.  I hope Colleen has enjoyed them as much as I have. :)

So, what do you all think?  Will you be joining us in The Leftovers Club this month? ;)

Be sure to check out the other recipes in this month's The Leftovers Club below!

Savory Simple - Quinoa Granola

Bakeaholic Mama - Amish Friendship Muffins

Damn Delicious - Cinnamon Puppy Chow

Frugal Foodie Mama - Coconut Chai Biscotti

Let's Give Peas a Chance - Chocolate Chip & Potato Chip Cookie Bars

A Zesty Bite - Oreo Toffee Brownies

Dining With Dani - Chocolate Covered Espresso Cookies

MarocMama - Gluten-Free Moroccan Piped Cookies

Sugar Dish Me - Chocolate Cake Cookies

Diethood - Chocolate Cloud Cookies

Eats Well With Others - White Chocolate Blondies

Souffle Bombay - Spicy Dark Chocolate Brownies aka Mexican Brownies

Kelly Bakes - Lemon Thyme Shortbread

Pineapple and Coconut - Chocolate Dipped Caramel Cream Filled Coconut Shortbread

The Spiced Life - "Twisted Tollhouse" Shaved Chocolate Cookies

Eat Bake Drink Cook - Frosted Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Food n' Focus - English Muffin Bread

Coconut Chai Biscotti

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

6045011

Ingredients (10-12 biscotti)

For the biscotti

• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

For the cinnamon white chocolate glaze

• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

Combine the eggs, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla and coconut extracts in a large bowl. Beat on medium speed until the the mixture is light in color, about 3-4 minutes.

Fold in the shredded coconut.

In a medium bowl, whisk all the spices (the cinnamon through the black pepper) evenly into the flour.

On low speed, gradually beat the flour/spice mixture into the wet mixture until incorporated.

Transfer the dough to your lined baking sheet and form into a flat loaf, about 15 inches long & 5-6 inches wide. Bake for 25 minutes, and then remove from the oven. Turn the heat down to 325.

Allow the loaf to cool for about 5-10 minutes. I like to lightly pat down the loaf with water after it has cooled for about 5 minutes to prevent the loaf from cracking.

Once the loaf has cooled a bit but is still warm, cut into about 1 inch thick slices using a chef's knife. I know that most people tend to use a serrated knife when cutting biscotti, but I ALWAYS find that my slices rip and crumble when I use one. I switched to cutting them with a chef's knife and never had that problem again.

You can cut your slices on a diagonal, if you wish. I usually just cut them straight across.

Once cut, transfer all the slices flat side down back to the baking sheet. Bake an additional 20-25 minutes.

Transfer the baked slices to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely.

Once cooled, you can prepare the cinnamon white chocolate drizzle or glaze. Mix your white chocolate chips and canola oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minutes, and then mix. If it isn't 100% melted and smooth when you mix it, microwave for another 15 seconds. Then mix in the cinnamon. I like to drizzle my biscotti while they are still on the wire rack. I just slide a piece of waxed paper underneath of the rack to catch the drippings.

Allow the chocolate to harden completely, and then store in an airtight container for up to a month.

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