Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hola!

I have a huge collection of cookie recipes, but I look at them so often and have made most of them at least once that every once in a while I need to do a new search online and find some new recipes. That's what I did a few weeks back and when I came across this recipe, I just knew this is what I had been waiting for. Yeah, I found other good recipes that I can't wait to try, but I had to try these first! Peanut butter, pretzels, chocolate chips, and sea salt all in one cookie? Why didn't I think of this? Alas, I did not (I was inspired by this recipe), but either way, I got a great new cookie recipe. These are sweet, salty, just a little chewy, with a little crunch- perfection! Enough talk! Let's go!

Cream together butters and sugars.

Then add in your eggs and vanilla (I only made a 1/2 batch, that's why only 1 egg!)

Add in your chocolate chips and crushed pretzels.

Here's the finished dough- beautiful and almost impossible to resist trying!

Scoop onto your baking sheets (shout out to Dare, thanks for the Silpat for my bday!), and sprinkle with sea salt.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe mostly from The Cooking Actress)
-1/2 cup butter
-1 cup peanut butter
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup white sugar
-2 eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1 cup flour
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-1/8 teaspoon salt
-2/3 cup chocolate chips
-1 cup crushed pretzels (I used my mini-cuisinart)
-sea salt for sprinkling
Cream butters and sugars together. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Add in dry ingredients, and stir well. Mix in pretzels and chocolate chips.
Chill dough for 2 hours or up to overnight.
Scoop onto a baking sheet (silpat or parchment paper ideal), and sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake at 350 F for 10-14 minutes or until the edges start to brown.

And the beautiful finished cookies!

Savor it!
love, rue

Zucchini Muffins/Bread

Hey everyone!

Today is a super simple recipe for delish Zucchini bread or muffins. These are easy to make and great to have on hand for a healthy and filling snack. You can hardly tell the zucchini is there at all! Let's get going.

Add your first six ingredients to a mixing bowl.

And mix well.

Add in all of the dry ingredients.

And mix well!

I made mine into muffins- it helps to grease the papers if you are using them.

Zucchini Muffins/Bread
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup milk
-1/2 cup oil (I substitute applesauce for half)
-1 cup sugar (I use 2/3 cup to make them healthier)
-2 cups shredded zucchini
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-3 cups flour
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-2 teaspoons cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
-1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Mix eggs, milk, oil, sugar, zucchini, and vanilla well in a mixing bowl. Add in the dry ingredients and stir well. Stir in walnuts if you are using them.
Put batter into greased muffin tins or two loaf pans (or a combo thereof!).
Bake at 350 F for 18-22 minutes for muffins, 40-50 minutes for loaves- test with a toothpick, when it comes out clean, they are done.

Here are the finished muffins- just lightly browned and perfect!

Savor it!
love, rue

Zucchini Bites

Hello!

These are fabulous. So fabulous I've made them a number of times since my first foray into the idea. I got this idea from a recipe, but changed the ingredients around a bit and changed the ratios to make them into how I like them. These are super simple to make, and great to have in the fridge to heat up in the toaster oven for a quick snack- fantastic!! Let's get going.

Your arsenal- zucchini, onion, cheese, egg, breadcrumbs. Pretty easy!

Mix together your 'dry' ingredients first.

And here's the finished zucchini mixture with eggs and all added.

Press into 12 mini muffin cups- greased!

Here they are just out of the oven- pulling away from the sides and starting to brown. Yummmmm!

Zucchini Bites
1 medium zucchini- grated then squeezed dry- about 1 cup
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 large onion, diced (or 1/2 small/medium onion)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients- use a fork or get your hands in there- and make it all uniform.
Spoon mixture into mini-muffin tins (makes 12) and press down the mixture in the muffin cups so that it will all stay together once baked.
Bake at 400 F for 16-18 minutes.

The finished bites- perfect as a side dish for any meal of the day, or great as a snack!

Savor it!
love, rue

Blueberry Cake with Lemon Glaze

Hey there!

This cake is super yummy, and super easy- just what I look for in my recipes! We used fresh blueberries because they are plentiful at the farmer's market right now, but frozen would probably work just fine. Let's get started!

Your wet and dry ingredients, and blueberries.

Stir up everything into your dough, then pour in the berries.

Fold in the berries carefully, so as not to pop them!

Pour your mixture into a greased loaf pan.

Your cake just out of the oven- beautiful!

Make your lemon glaze and pour over- I didn't sift my sugar, which is why it is a little lumpy- just as tasty though!

Blueberry Cake with Lemon Glaze
-1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
-2 ounces cream cheese, softened
-1 cup sugar
-1 egg
-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
-2/3 cup buttermilk
-2 cups fresh blueberries (or thawed frozen ones)
-2 cups flour
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating. Fold in blueberries.
Bake at 350 F for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool, then loosen the sides by running a knife along the sides of the pan, and turn out.
Glaze- a few teaspoons lemon juice and a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar, mix up with a fork, and drizzle on top!

Your delicious finished product- bursting with berries and flavor. Dig in!

Savor it!
love, rue

Frozen Peaches

Hey everyone,

Today I'm gonna tell you about a really simple recipe my BF brought to me- frozen peaches. These are delish over ice cream or yogurt, perfect for breakfast or dessert. This would work equally well with nectarines or the like. Let's get to it!

Your OJ/honey mixture, and the peaches.

Mix it all up!

Freeze for several hours or overnight, stirring occasionally.

Frozen Peaches
-1 quart peaches, sliced thin
-1/2 cup orange juice
-juice of 1 lemon (2 T or so)
-1/4 cup honey
-plain/vanilla yogurt or vanilla ice cream
Mix orange juice, lemon juice, and honey. Stir in peaches. Freeze for several hours, stirring occasionally. Serve peach mixture with yogurt or ice cream.

Here are the finished peaches, served with ice cream. Yumm!

Savor it!
love, rue