Cookin'

Inspired by my friend Danica (http://chicrunner.com/), and blessed with a whole day home alone, I decided to get my cook on.

I started with a recipe for butterscotch blondies to send to my dad for his birthday.  They were easy to make  and tasted AMAZING!  I've packaged some up to send away with love for my dad to have a birthday treat.
The butterscotch chips melted nicely during baking and the whole bar has an amazing flavor.

I then moved onto peanut butter cookies.  I made one batch using a mix from The Peanut Butter Company and a batch from scratch.  The ones from the mix were really peanut buttery and I loved them.  The others will be on their way as a birthday treat for my uncle.

Then I realized I might as well send my grandparents some love in the mail since they are out of state and can't bake at their apartment.  They are always a fan of my banana bread so I made a double batch.  It got a little crispy and the batter was very fluffy from using frozen bananas, but it still tastes good and let's face it, a little butter can solve anything.

Once I was done baking for everyone else, I started to try some things out.  Edamame is one of my favorite snacks, but I had seen a recipe about baking it.  I added a little olive oil, sprinkle cheese, salt and pepper and baked and the result was an addictive snack.  I actually had to package it up as I didn't want to eat ALL of it at once and upset my stomach.

Then I tried two new types of protein balls.  I'm a big fan of on the go protein filled snacks.  I first tried what I'm calling a protein rice crispy treat.  The recipe called for gluten free raw cereal, but I didn't have anything like that on hand so I used Snap, Crackle and Pop.  They didn't roll into balls easily.  I could have put them into the fridge to cool for a while and tried again, but instead I used a tossie pan and I love that they won't get stuck together.

The other protein ball I tried is supposed to taste like an oatmeal cookie.  This is the only protein ball mix that I make that goes in the food processor.  Its chopped nuts, oats and all sorts of other good stuff.  They also have chocolate chips and I put them in tossie pans too.  Another winner.

Then I moved onto crackers.  I love making crackers.  I have a tried and true recipe that I've used for years, but I tried a variation on it and they came out yummy and fluffy.

I had to run the dishwasher twice today and I still had a mess to clean up but having all of these treats in the fridge and in my arsenal is worth it!