Easter Candy Cookies #CreativeCookieExchange

Never mind that Easter bunny left too many sweets. This recipe will turn that excess into buttery Easter Candy Cookies your whole family will love.

I must confess that since our daughters left home for college, we have really tapered off on the buying of Easter candy. The first couple of years, I made up one sparse basket for their father and me to share. But the last few years I haven’t even done that.

This year, HOWEVER, my Creative Cookie Exchange friends decided that cookies with leftover Easter candy would be our April theme, so I went out and bought some candy. I couldn’t believe how many new varieties there were! M&Ms Eggs filled with caramel, peanut butter or hazelnut spread, just to name three treats I had never seen before.

On Saturday my whole family came round for a crawfish boil and these cookies were our dessert. They were very popular!

Easter Candy Cookies

For these cookies I used a mix of the peanut butter filled M&M eggs and the caramel filled M&Ms, which looked like eggs as well, though the packaging didn’t say that. It was an excellent combo! You can use the same amount of your favorite Easter candy. This recipe was adapted from one on Thanksgiving.com.

Ingredients
3/4 cup or 170g unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup, packed, or 150g light brown sugar
1/4 cup or 50g granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups or 360g M&M eggs, assorted
To decorate: pastel sprinkles

Method
Beat the  butter, sugars and egg together with the vanilla, until the mixture is smooth and the sugar is no longer gritty between your fingers.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Sift the mixture into the creamed butter and sugar bowl.

Beat again until combined. Fold in the Easter candy.

Use a scoop to divide the dough into balls and place them on a cookie sheet. Pop them in the freezer for 30 minutes.

When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven and line your cookie sheets with baking parchment. Place the dough balls at least three inches apart on the parchment. Use a pastry brush to wet the top of the dough balls with water and add the sprinkles.

Bake in the preheated oven for 13 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Leave to cool in the pan then remove to a plate with a spatula. These cookies are quite soft and oh-so-moreish!

Enjoy!

Check out the two other recipes by Creative Cookie Exchange friends are sharing. Many thanks to this month's host, Laura of The Spiced Life.

• Easter Candy Cookies from Food Lust People Love
• Easter Peanut Butter Blossoms from The Spice Life
• M&Ms and Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars from Karen's Kitchen Stories

You can use us as a great resource for cookie recipes. Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them here at The Spiced Life). You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month! If you are a blogger and want to join in the fun, contact Laura at thespicedlife AT gmail DOT com and she will get you added to our Facebook group, where we discuss our cookies and share links.

Pin these Easter Candy Cookies! 

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Liquid Cocaine (Espresso-White Chocolate) Bundt #BundtBakers

Strong espresso and melted white chocolate combine to make a special dessert cake I’m calling a Liquid Cocaine Bundt. It’s great with a cup of tea or coffee, cake you can even legitimately nosh for breakfast.

Our Bundt Bakers' host this month is Felice from All That's Left Are The Crumbs, and she proposed that we create coffee shop drink Bundts. Isn’t that a fabulous theme? We've been making Bundt together for so many years that one might think there aren't any more great themes. Never underestimate the Bundt Bakers for creativity!

If you’ve been reading along here for a while, you know that Starbucks has a secret menu and I am a fan of their Liquid Cocaine combination of espresso and white chocolate syrup. So far I’ve made those flavors into muffins and cookies, both delicious. Today, for Bundt Bakers, they have become a most moist and sweet Bundt cake.

Liquid Cocaine (Espresso-White Chocolate) Bundt

If you want to try the original drink my Bundt is modeled after, order 4 shots of espresso and 4 pumps of white chocolate syrup over ice in a grande cold cup.  Stir and enjoy.

Ingredients
1 cup or 160g good quality white chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli.)
2 cups or 250g flour, plus extra for pan
1 cup or 200g sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup or 80ml milk
4 shots espresso (1/2 cup or 120ml), cooled
1/2 cup or butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for pan
2 eggs

Optional for decoration: powdered sugar

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 10-cup Bundt pan by buttering and flouring it.

Put your white chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl. On high power, heat the chips in 15 second bursts, stirring well in between, until they are just melted. Stir well and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another small mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, eggs and cooled espresso.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones, until just mixed. Some flour may still show.

Pour half the batter into your prepared Bundt pan. Spoon on the melted white chocolate.

Top with the rest of the batter. Use a wooden skewer to swirl the batter.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow the Bundt to cool in the pan for a few minutes and remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar, if desired.

Enjoy!

And don’t forget to take a peek at what our other talented bakers have baked this month. Many thanks to our lovely host, Felice of All That's Left Are The Crumbs.

• Cappuchino Bundt Cake with Coffee Glaze from Merce's Cake
• Cardamom Mochaccino Bundt from Sweet Sensations
• Chocolate Mocha Bundt from Simply Inspired Meals
• Cinnamon Dolce Latte Mini Bundt from Passion Kneaded
• Dirty Chai Bundt Cake from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Eggless Chai Bundt from Sneha's Recipe
• Liquid Cocaine (Espresso-White Chocolate) Bundt from Food Lust People Love
• Sweet Vanilla Bean Cold Brew Bundt Cake from The Spiced Life
• Tricolor Irish Coffee Bundt Cake from patycocandybar
• White Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt from Living the Gourmet

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

Pin this Liquid Cocaine Bundt! 

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Cheesy Bacon and Tomato Lettuce Rolls #FoodieExtravaganza

These cheesy bacon and tomato lettuce rolls are simple to create. They make a wonderful lunch or snack full of freshness and flavor, from the smoky bacon and sharp cheddar to the crunchy lettuce, ripe tomatoes and especially the honey Dijon mayo.

I have mixed feelings about this post. Not the cheesy bacon and tomato lettuce rolls themselves. They are fabulous. Make them.

My problem is the post itself because I have some news to share that finds me conflicted. For a few years as a child and then since moving overseas in 1987, my identity has been largely defined by the many places I’ve lived, by being an expat. If you’ve read my About Me page, you know that the places I’ve had a bedroom makes a very long list. This week, that comes to an end.

Even as I type, the movers are packing things up around me, with the familiar screech of huge tape rolls sealing boxes, the noisy rustle of crushed wrapping paper and box knives slicing through cardboard. With so many workers in one room, it’s almost deafening at times. These sounds are familiar, normal, usually harbingers of a new life in a foreign land. Now they mean I am going home.

I look forward to spending more time with family and friends in the States, and also traveling with my husband for extended periods, with no deadlines looming or constant emails and phone calls to tend to.

But I am also going to miss the unexpected challenge of moving to a new country, the adventure of making new friends and figuring out how things work. And, of course, I am really going to miss the friends I made in Dubai. I know we’ll keep in touch, as I have with other special friends from other locations, but there’s always sadness to leave people behind.

I don’t want to trivialize that sadness but I can tell you that bacon always cheers me up. Hence, these lovely rolls.

Cheesy Bacon and Tomato Lettuce Rolls

You can switch out the thick bacon for thin sliced, if you’d prefer but I think the thick cut stuff gives a better bacon to other ingredients ratio. Make sure to cut enough of the hard ribs out because this will make the lettuce much easier to roll up.

Ingredients
For 6 cheesy BLT rolls:
6 slices thick cut bacon, fried till crispy but still pliable
2 ripe Roma tomatoes, sliced very thinly
6 heart of romaine lettuce leaves, washed and dried well
3 1/2 oz or 100g extra sharp cheddar, grated
Freshly ground black pepper

To secure the rolls: wooden skewers

For the honey Dijon mayo:
1/4 cup or 56g mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon minced green onion tops
1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
Optional but recommended: dash or two of your favorite hot sauce

Method
In a small bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the honey Dijon mayo. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Use a sharp knife to cut the thick hard ribs out of each lettuce leaf. Spoon some of the honey Dijon mayo on one side of the leaf.

Top this with a slice of bacon.

Sprinkle with cheese, the top with the thinly sliced tomato. Give the tomatoes a good couple of grinds of black pepper then drizzle with a little more mayo. 

Finally add a little more grated cheese. Fold the other side of the lettuce leaf over.

From the base of the romaine leaf, roll it up and secure the roll with a wooden skewer.

Repeat until all six rolls are done.

If you have a few tomatoes slices left over, serve them with a little of the mayo. Delish.

Enjoy!

This month my Foodie Extravaganza friends are celebrating National BLT (Bacon Lettuce Tomato sandwich) Month by sharing classic BLTs or variations on that theme. Check out the creative recipes below.  Many thanks to this month’s host, Sue of Palatable Pastime.

• A Classic BLT Sandwich from Sneha's Recipe
• BLT Focaccia from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• BLT Panzanella from Palatable Pastime
• BLT Pizza from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• BLT Waffle Fries from Simply Inspired Meals
• Cheesy Bacon and Tomato Lettuce Rolls from Food Lust People Love
• Fried Chicken BLT from Cookaholic Wife

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays by posting delicious recipes your family will love. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you’re a home cook looking for tasty recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

Pin these Cheesy Bacon and Tomato Lettuce Rolls!

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Browned Butter Banana Muffins #MuffinMonday

Banana muffins are always good, especially when your bananas are sweet and ripe but switch out the oil or butter for browned butter and try my browned butter banana muffins with browned butter glaze. You’ll never want them any other way.

A number of years ago, I discovered browned butter on my friend Kayle’s wonderful blog, The Cooking Actress. While I think I am mildly addicted, Kayle has so many more browned butter recipes on her blog than I do. She is my inspiration to brown butter all the things. If you need instructions on how to make it – it’s super simple, so don’t be scared – check out this link.

Meanwhile, you might want try some of my favorites:

• Browned Butter Applesauce Bars with Apple Walnut Streusel 
• Browned Butter Dark Chocolate Marshmallow Muffins 
• Browned Butter Maple Muffins 
• Browned Butter Pecan Muffins 

Browned Butter Banana Muffins with Browned Butter Glaze

Can you leave off the browned butter glaze? You could, of course, but WHY? I am not a big sweet eater but I do have a weakness for all things caramel. I’m here to tell you though that browned butter lends that same almost smoky flavor to all things, both sweet and savory. Seriously. I couldn’t stop eating the glaze and it’s just about pure sugar. So good!

Ingredients
1/2 cup or 115g butter
2 1/4 cups or 280g flour
3/4 cup or 170g golden caster sugar (Sub regular sugar if you can’t find golden)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 well-ripened bananas
1/2 cup or 120ml buttermilk
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional (BUT DO IT!): browned butter glaze
2 teaspoons browned butter
1/2 cup or 63g powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons milk or buttermilk
pinch salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your large 12-cup muffin pan by greasing lightly or lining with muffin papers. This batter will fill more than your standard 12-cup muffin pan. Either use larger paper cups that come up higher than the pan, or make more muffins.

Brown your butter for the muffins, adding an extra couple of teaspoons if you are going to make the browned butter glaze. If you don’t know how to brown butter, it’s easy! Follow these instructions, right here, from The Cooking Actress:  How to brown butter. When the butter is browned, set it aside to cool, reserving two teaspoons of it for the glaze in a small mixing bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

In another bowl, mash your ripe bananas with a fork. Add in the eggs, vanilla extract and milk and whisk.

Pour in the cooled browned butter and whisk again.

Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ones and stir a couple of times until just combined.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the pan then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, add the powdered sugar and pinch of salt to the reserved teaspoons of browned butter. Mix well.

Drizzle the cooled muffins with glaze. I like to use a plastic bag with the corner cut off for neater drizzling.  I left a few naked at my daughter's request.

Enjoy!

Check out all the lovely muffins my Muffin Monday group are sharing today!

• Browned Butter Banana Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Small Batch Apple Nut Oatmeal Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Strawberry Banana Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Sugar Free Banana Pecan Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Browned Butter Banana Muffins!

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Granola Brownie Bundt #BundtBakers

When you are looking for a dessert you can also eat for breakfast, consider this granola brownie Bundt! It’s full of good stuff like dried cranberries, toasted almonds and crunchy granola, in a thick brownie batter.

My favorite granola used to be available here in Dubai before my nearby supermarket was bought out by another big chain. Unlike my other favorite cereal (Post Spoon-size Honey Nut Shredded Wheat) which has been discontinued, the Quaker granola is still available in two places I travel to regularly. So, depending on baggage allowance, I usually come home with two or three boxes. The cardboard part goes in the recycle bin and the bags of cereal inside get popped in the deep freezer so the almonds won’t turn rancid. The granola stays fresh for months, perfect no matter how long it takes me to eat it all.

Since we found out we were moving, I’ve been trying to eat it more often but I still have a bag and a quarter to get through and only a couple of weeks left in Dubai.

Fortunately my efforts to use up the contents of my freezer and cupboards were aided by our Bundt Bakers’ host, Felice of All That's Left Are The Crumbs. She chose Breakfast Cereals as our theme/ingredient of choice. Along with the granola, I used dried cranberries and almonds, also from the freezer. It was a good day.

Granola Brownie Bundt

I adapted this recipe from one on the King Arthur flour website for brownie bars kingarthurflour.com/recipes/granola-brownie-bars-recipe and baked it in a 6-cup Bundt pan.

Ingredients
1 cup or 125g flour, plus extra for the pan
1/4 cup or 22g extra dark cocoa (I use Hershey’s Special Dark.)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 113g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for the pan
1 cup or 200g brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup or 100g granola
1/2 cup or 70g dried cranberries (no sugar added, preferably)
1/2 cup or 65g chopped almonds, toasted in a dry pan

Optional for decorating:
3-4 tablespoon Nutella, warmed in microwave
Extra toasted almonds, dried cranberries and granola

Method
Preheat the oven to 325°F and 163°C. Prepare your 6-cup Bundt pan by buttering and flouring it.

Measure your flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl and set it aside. In another large mixing bowl, use a mixer or electric beater to beat together the butter and sugar until they are fluffy.

Add the first egg and beat well.

Add the second egg and beat well again.

Pour in the vanilla and beat again.

Use a flour sifter or strainer to sift half of the dry ingredients into the batter.

Beat well to combine. Sift the other half in and beat well again.

Fold in the granola, dried cranberries and toasted chopped almonds.

Spoon the thick batter into your prepared Bundt pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. Leave to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn the brownie Bundt out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

After it was cool, I wanted to decorate mine so I warmed a few tablespoons of Nutella with a quick couple of zaps in the microwave, then used a pastry brush to apply it to the Bundt. I drizzled some on the top of the cake and then sprinkled the top with almonds, cranberries and granola. You can, of course, eat this granola brownie Bundt plain as well.

Cut into wedges to serve.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to this month's host, Felice of All That's Left Are The Crumbs for the great theme and her behind the scenes work. Check out all the fun Breakfast Cereal Bundts we've baked for you today!

• Breakfast Mini Bundts from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cinnamon Frosted Flakes Bundt Cake from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Granola Brownie Bundt from Food Lust People Love
• Grape-Nuts Bundt Cake from Passion Kneaded
• Honeycomb Cereal Bundt Cake from Patty's Cake
• Mixed Cereal Upside Down Pineapple Bundt from Sneha's Recipe
• Oatmeal Bundtlets with Granola Topping from Sweet Sensations

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

Pin this Granola Brownie Bundt!

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