Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprises

YUM! If you saw my SHS post this weekend you know that I was looking forward to posting this recipe.

And the day is finally here! I want to get right to it so you can hopefully go make them!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus more for rolling)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided  into 3/4 and 1/4
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used extra)

1 egg

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Mix 3/4 cup powdered sugar and 3/4 cup peanut butter until fluffy and combined. Roll small balls and freeze on a cookie sheet.

2. Preheat oven to 375.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together sugars, butter and 1/4 cup of peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg, beating to combine. Stir in the flour mixture and stir to combine, blending well. Set aside.

5. Pull off a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough and flatten with your hands. Take 1 peanut butter ball and place it in the center of the chocolate dough. Wrap the chocolate dough around the peanut butter center, pressing to seal. Roll the cookie into a ball and roll the cookie in the sugar. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Using the bottom of a glass, flatten each cookie to about a 1/2 inch thickness.

(note if you let the peanut butter balls freeze completely you will most likely not be able to successfully flatten them.)

6. Bake in preheated oven for 7 to 9 minutes. Let stand on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack.

Recipe adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Rating 5 stars. These were AMAZING!

Tea Ring

Hello! Today I am excited to be sharing a very special treat in this house. The Tea Ring! Its not a really sugary and sweet treat, more something to go with hot chocolate or tea (It pretty much says it in the title!). 

Today we made a few different flavors:

Caramel and Swiss Miss

Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd and Honey

Another favorite is to put jelly inside, so good!

Tea Ring

Makes 2 Tea Rings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 package instant rise yeast

1 egg, well beaten

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2-2 tablespoon melted butter

brown sugar

Cinnamon

1. Measure milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt into saucepan and heat to scalding.

2. Measure 1 1/8 cups flour into large mixing bowl; add yeast. Blend.

3. Pour milk and melted butter  mixture into flour and yeast. Add egg. Beat about thirty seconds at low speed. Beat three more minutes at high speed or by hand. Add remaining flour a little at a time until soft dough forms. Knead. 
Cover and let rest 20 minutes.

4. Break dough into two parts. Shape each part into rectangle with rolling pin. Spread with melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll into Tea Ring Shape. Bake at 375 for about 10-15 minutes.

Note: This recipe doubles well to make four tea rings.

ENJOY!

P.S. I am looking to do some button swaps!
If you are interested look at my navigation bar up there and click on button swaps :)
I will be putting 5 200 x 200 buttons at a time.

Triple Chocolate

Triple Chocolate

Makes 5 Dozen

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 oz chocolate chips
1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips


1. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.

2. Melt chocolate in a metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring occasionally so it will melt evenly; remove from heat when smooth.

3. In a stand mixer (I actually mixed everything by hand), cream butter and sugars on medium speed for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

4. Pour in melted chocolate and beat until combined.

5. Add flour mixture and chocolate chips and mix on low until incorporated.

6. Cover dough and refrigerate for about 15-20 minutes until it is firm enough to scoop.

7. Preheat the oven to 350.

8. Roll dough into small balls.

9. Bake for 8-10 minutes-cookies will still appear soft but will firm up upon cooling.

10. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional) and ENJOY!

WW @ Tina's Picstory

Fizzy Cherry

Hello! I have seen this done on so many blogs, yet I have never done it so I decided it was time!

My camera doesn't do super well with macros and that close up stuff but I think my pictures turned out pretty well.

I am looking forward to trying this again, and maybe they will be as fabulous as some that I have seen.
If you have done this leave me a link and I will check it out!

Your Best Weekly.

White Winter Wordless Wednesday

Yesterday, 50's/60's

~

Today, 20's/30's

WW  with Chuck.
WW with Sue.
WW at Home of OHM.
WW with Project Alicia.
Outdoor Wednesday with Susan.
Down Home Blog Hop.

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate

Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup softened butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

3/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamoninto a medium bowl and set aside

In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars on medium speed for several until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla until combined.

Add flour mixture and mix on low just to combine. Stir in oats, raisins, and chocolate chips.

Scoop out tablespoon-sized balls of dough. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through. The cookies are done when golden.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

I will definitely be making these again! The whole family loved them so they will probably be back in the house soon :)

Your Best Weekly.

My Day

Wordless Winter Wonderland

Pretty Icicle

Flower?

Fluff Stuff..

Pretty pretty

Pond

My 13 Goals For 2013

Hello hello! This year I decided to make a list of goals that I would like to accomplish, mind you these are not resolutions. Cause I don't do that. So here we go...

Eat healthier - I don't really like a lot of vegetables but I kind of need to eat them, soo... Also I literally don't like eating anything green, unless you count green jello, or green pistachios.

Stop picking at my face - Yeah you read that right. I pick at my face too much. I have been doing a lot better, but I need to stop.

Complete my 365 photo challenge - I really want to do this! Along with a couple more photo challenges.
I hope i remember to take a picture every day, I won't post a picture day on my blog necessarily but if you follow me on twitter I will be tweeting them there!

Smile more -   I started smiling a lot more in 2012. And I will continue in 2013!

Spend less, save more - I don't spend a ton of money. But since me and my sister are going to Finland in 2014 and we are paying for it by ourselves. I need to start spending less so I have more money to spend there!

Learn how to crochet and or knit - I really want to learn how to do one or both of these, seriously!

Capture more moments with my camera - I would really love to dothis. I capture a lot, but I still want to capture more!

Go to the beach - The last time I went to the beach was when I saw really little so I don't really remember it.
It can be nearby or farther but I need to go!

Read 52 books in a year - This past year I have really slacked off reading, besides cookbooks and  and design books I probably only read 7 books or so.

Try 52 new recipes - I read a ton of cookbooks but I never actually make anything. Here's to baking an cooking more!

Carve my name on a tree - There is nothing behind this idea, I just want to do it.

Go to Zumba every other week - Zumba! I started going a little over a month ago and I love it! You should totally try it out...

Eat. Live. Dream. - Do I really have to describe this?

Well there we go. What do you think?

Linking up here and here. I hope you don't mind that this isn't wordless!
Nugget on a Budget.

Wait one more thing! Dancer the kitten is going to have her babies soon! Apparently when they start making a bunch of weird yowl-y kind of sounds it is a sign of labor? That is what she is doing.

Happy New Year!

Hello hello! Happy new year! So I am doing the 101 in 1001 thingy. If you are not familiar with this here is  a little bit about it... You choose 101 things, and you try to accomplish  all 101 things in 1001 days. Here are a few pictures from my day..

One of the things on my list was to stay up for the sunrise on new years day. I made it to 7am without any caffeine (boo ya!)!  I actually got so bored that I started cleaning the house. I then fell asleep until about 2pm. I have always hated waking up late in the morning and even more so when in the afternoon! But it was worth it.

I have never had much luck taking pictures of candles. But today was the day it finally happened!

I think my sisters camera is magic...

This cute little fence caught my eye...

I hope you all have a wonderful new year! I know I am definitely looking forward to this year...


Linking up with...
WW @ Live and Love Out Loud, WW @ Project Alicia, Sweet Shot Tuesday,  52 Weeks Of Happiness,
Our World Tuesday, Tones On Tuesday, You Capture.

Black and White Winter

Hello hello! If you saw my post yesterday you may recognize this photo, it was the first photo is the post but now its in black and white for black and white Wednesday!

So pretty. Loving the snow!

Wordless Wednesday.