Peanut Butter and M&M Blondies

I love Christmas. But then again, who doesn't? My life has been rather busy/chaotic/stressful the past several months. I'm in my final year of high school, and working to finish 6 more college applications. Don't remind me of how stupid it was to apply to 12 schools. I know. Anyways, I'm so thankful to finally be on holiday break. The music, the warmth from the fire place, never having to leave my bed - it's nice to relax. I also have ample time to bake my life away, which is really the best part.

I had never made blondies before yesterday, and I'm not sure why that is. They are absolutely delectable. Soft, chewy, sweet, salty, delicious, perfection in bar form. 

What's better than peanut butter and chocolate? I can think of hardly anything. These peanut butter and M&M blondies could quite possibly be the best desserts you've ever eaten.

Peanut Butter and M&M Blondies
Recipe credit

Ingredients
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup of packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup of peanut butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of M&Ms
1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon of vegetable shortening

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil; coat lightly with cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. After the peanut butter mixture has cool slightly (should still be warm, but not hot - you don't want to cook the eggs), add the vanilla; stir until combined. Add eggs one at a time, stirring until fully incorporated.

Pour the warm peanut butter mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until fully incorporated. Fold in one cup of M&Ms, and mix until dough forms. Pour into prepared pan, and smooth out with spatula until evenly distributed. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of M&Ms and press lightly into the dough. Bake for 25 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.

Allow to cool for at least 45 minutes. Melt chocolate chips and shortening in small bowl in microwave - 45s at 50% power. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over blondies.

Pecan Pie Cookies

I love cookies. A lot. Half my heart is probably cookie dough, and I more than likely have brown sugar running through my veins.

I stumbled upon these cookies last Christmas, and they were a hit. Understandably so. They are, without a doubt, the most delicious baked morsels I've ever put in my mouth. Seriously, they're incredible.

The cookie is sweet and buttery, and the filling, well, it tastes exactly like pecan pie. You know what else rocks about these sweet treats? They're probably the easiest cookies to make.

Bake them. Now.

Pecan Pie Cookies
Recipe credit

Ingredients
Cookie ingredients:
1 cup of packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup of softened salted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder

Filling ingredients:
1 cup of chopped pecans
1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/4 cup of whipping cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Combine all cookie ingredients in a large bowl, except for flour and baking powder. Mix until creamy consistency. Gradually, add in flour and baking powder. Mix well until dough forms.

Shape dough into walnut-sized balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Make indentations in dough balls using your thumb, or the back of a teaspoon.

Combine filling ingredients in small bowl and mix well. Fill each cookie with 1 rounded teaspoon of filling.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until light brown.

Holiday Buttons

I love simple sweets that take less than 10 minutes of preparation, and even less time for baking. The ease at which I can pop them in my mouth makes me enjoy them even more.

A few years ago, in 7th grade, my friend's mom made these delicious little buttons. I gobbled down one too many, but enjoyed them wholeheartedly. Years passed and I forgot about the miniature treats, but was recently reminded of their whimsy a few days ago. I knew I had to make some.

Peter and I went to Lowe's tonight and practically bought out the baking section. I kid. Lowe's was, however, lacking holiday Hershey Kisses which was a bit of a disappointment.

These buttons combine sweet, salty, and adorable - all into one bite-sized package. 

Holiday Buttons
1 bag of spiral or square pretzels
1 bag of Hershey's milk chocolate Kisses
1 bag of Hershey's cookies & cream Kisses
1 bag of holiday M&M's 

Preheat oven to 170°F. Lay pretzels on cookie sheets. 60-80 pretzels should fit on 1 sheet. Place kisses on center of pretzels. Bake for 4-8 minutes, depends on the oven, until the kiss is soft. Place M&M on top of kiss. Enjoy immediately, or wait for chocolate to set. Place cookie sheet in fridge for at least 15 minutes. I tried to cool them by leaving them on the counter, but the chocolate cools at different speeds and temperatures to they turned kind of chalky. I recommend the use of a refrigerator. 

Pop a button in your mouth, one after the other, and enjoy!