So you know how we love surprises?

Wrong! We HATE surprises!!! Ugh! We are far too controlling and type-A to get enjoyment out of a surprise. Plus, we luuuurrrrvvvee planning things and organizing said surprises (for other people) so why deny us that enjoyment? We are crazy Jane from Happy Endings (aka the greatest show ever after Phineas and Ferb but you knew that already).

Also, we can't keep secrets. But you knew that already too.

So we're going to let you in on this secret. The secret surprise in this amazing ("a-MAUZ-ing") pie. It's just too exciting. 

Bananas. Gasp! Bananas, you ask? Bananas. For reals.

Because, really, what goes better with peanut butter and chocolate? Nothing. Bananas are tops. 

And not only is there a banana surprise, but this lovely little pie is no-bake. 

We know, we know. You love us. 

There is nothing better than bananas with peanut butter and chocolate AND no-bake. Be still our beating hearts. The gluttonous lazy girl inside is super pumped. And she loves surprises so everyone wins!

No Bake Peanut Butter Surprise Pie
Serves 8-10

Print Recipe

10 ounces chocolate cookies (we used Oreos, 25-30 cookies)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6-8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for drizzling
1 large banana, sliced
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup creamy style peanut butter (not old fashioned)
1 cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a food processor, pulse the cookies until a fine crumb. Blitz in the melted butter. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch springform pan.

Melt the chocolate using our patented microwave method, being careful not to over melt (read: burn) it. Spread it onto the bottom of the pie crust. Scatter the sliced bananas in a single layer on top of the chocolate. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a smaller bowl and put in the fridge while making the rest of the filling. Using the same stand mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and peanut butter on medium speed until light and well blended. Scrap down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add in the powdered sugar, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. 

Stir (using a spoon) 1/3 of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture to lighten it and then fold in the remaining whipped cream being careful not to deflate the mousse. Pour the filling into the springform pan crust and drizzle the top with melted chocolate. Cover and refrigerate for 4-24 hours.

Serve cold and keep chilled and covered. 

You know, like one with pretzels, or with peanut butter cups, or bacon.

That old adage “less is more?”  Yeah we kinda don’t subscribe to that when it comes to cookies.  As a very smart friend once pointed out, more is technically more.  Wiser words were never spoken.

So imagine our surprise when we fell in love with such a simple little cookie.  We recently attended our lovely and gorgeous friend’s equally lovely and gorgeous wedding where these unassuming little butter cookies were placed in each welcome bag (sidebar – we REALLY appreciate welcome bags).  

Aside from fitting with the rustic chic theme of the fabulous reception, these crunchy little cookies had us completely smitten.

Us!!  The more is more girls!  A delectable herb laced shortbread!?  We know.  WE KNOW.  We were as shocked as you are.

Plus, this recipe yields cookies a plenty (more! wahoo!).

So while we’re certainly not ready to give up our more is more lifestyle, we certainly will admit that there is a time and a place for less.  Even in cookies.

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Makes 50-60 cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Print Recipe

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg white, beaten
1/2 cup Demerara sugar, sanding sugar or cornmeal

Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and blend for a few minutes on medium speed until pale and fluffy.  Mix in whole egg and vanilla extract and stir to combine.  Reduce speed to low and add flour, rosemary, and salt and mix until combined.

Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a log about 1.5 inches in diameter.  Place each log on a large rectangle sheet of parchment and roll up, twisting ends to secure.  Freeze until firm, about 1 hour – or – if you’re making the dough ahead of time, place in the fridge for up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Unroll each half of dough and brush each log with beaten egg white.  Sprinkle all sides of the roll with Demerara sugar, sanding sugar or cornmeal.  Using a sharp knife, slice into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space each cookie 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with a silicone mat or parchment.  Bake until edges are golden, about 18 minutes.  Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

It's just that if something is supposed to be a secret then it's definitely going to be super cool and definitely something we want to tell the world. Like when we broke the news that Tom Wolfe was the surprise guest speaker at graduation. Or when we told Baby Bro how "Labyrinth" ends. Ugh, that was the worst. But, we can't help it. We just get so excited!!!

So you know it's a good secret when we do decide to stay mum. Just sayin'. Lips sealed. Tightly. Ate key. And used super glue.

But we can tell you about our amazing cinnamon ice cream experiment. 

Seriously, cookies, if you haven't made slash mastered ice cream yet you need to get on it. Because once you have the base, you can make SO many different kinds. Cookies and Cream. Ginger. Strawberry. Flank steak. No. Don't make flank steak. Or do. The ice cream world is your oyster once you have the basics down. 

And people are SO impressed by ice cream. They're all "WHAT? YOU MADE ICE CREAM? WHAT?" when the joke's on them because basically it's custard you pour into a machine and freeze. Easy as pie, or rather, easy as ice cream.

The kicker of course is that it tastes divine. Which is NOT a secret.

Cinnamon Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart
Adapted from Gale Gand

Print Recipe

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
9 egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
1/4 cup cinnamon chips (optional)

Combine milk and cream, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick and ground cinnamon in a medium saucepan and heat until very hot but not boiling. Remove from the heat. 

Mix the sugar and egg yolks in a large bowl. Slowly add some of the warmed cream mixture to the sugar and egg yolks whisking briskly to temper the eggs. Gradually add the remaining cream mixture, whisking until all combined. Return the new cream and egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens (but does NOT scramble the eggs) and the back of the spoon is coated. It will resemble a very thin milk shake and take 3-5 minutes. Pour the custard into a clean bowl through a seive to get out the vanilla bean, cinnamon stick and any potentially cooked egg-y bits. Cover tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

Finally, pour the cooled custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according the manufacturer's instructions, adding the cinnamon chips if you chose towards the end of the cycle. 

Thursday!  And we all know Thursday is basically Friday.  You know, because once it’s Friday people just kinda check out and countdown til the full on weekend.  Not US of course, no no, we stay focused, head in the game, nose to the grindstone right through Friday evening.  But some people…we hear…you know…don’t. 

And what can we thank for getting us more than halfway through the work week?  Carbs!  Yes you know carbs, like for energy!  And endurance. 

You know, for all that focusing we’ve been doing.  Er, we mean, will continue to do right the way through Friday.

Ok, so maaaaybe our focus will wean ever so slightly, but that just means we’ll have to eat some more delicious, almond butter-y bread (slathered with extra almond butter of course for all those good, helpful fats of course).

Sigh.  Friday doesn’t seem so far away… 

Raisin Almond Butter Bread
Makes 1 loaf
Adapted from My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method

Print Recipe

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons bread flour
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/3 cups golden raisins
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon instant or other active dry yeast
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cool water
3 tablespoons unsalted smooth almond butter
3 tablespoons roughly chopped almonds
Additional flour for dusting

In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, raisins, salt, and yeast.  Blend the water and almond butter in a blender.  Add to the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough without any lumps.  Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 12 to 18 hours (we let ours go for the full 18 hours).

When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece.  Using lightly floured hands or a bowl scraper, lift the edges of the dough in toward the center.  Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.

Place a tea towel on your work surface and dust it with flour and 2 tablespoons of the chopped almonds.  Gently place the dough on the almonds, seam side down.  Sprinkle the top of the dough with the remaining chopped almonds and a light dusting of flour.  Fold the ends of the tea towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours.  The dough is ready when it is almost doubled.  If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression.  If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 F, with a rack in the lower third, and place a covered 4 1/2 to 5 1/2-quart heavy pot in the center of the rack.

Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it.  Unfold the tea towel and quickly but gently invert the dough into the pot, seam side up. Cover the pot and bake for 45 minutes.

If bread is dark golden after 45 minutes, remove from oven.  If not, remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep chestnut color but not burnt, about 10 minutes more.  Use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly.

How...how...HOW have we not posted homemade peanut butter cups yet?!

Wait.  We feel like we need to apologize to you.  We feel like we've been bad baking bloggers. 

It's not like we don't make candy.  Like a lot.  Peppermint patties, Fererro Rocher truffles, Almond Joys, caramels, barks, brittles!  We make candy!

And yet, we haven't made peanut butter cups!?

Well that changes right now. 

We made you peanut butter cups.  Crunchy ones.  With a salty chocolate top.

Hopefully you'll forgive us...

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cups
Makes 8

Print Recipe

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
Sea salt

Line a  muffin tin with papers (you could also use a mini muffin tin if you prefer).

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter & peanut butter together for 45 seconds.  Stir until smooth.  Add graham cracker crumbs and sugar and mix to combine.  Distribute mixture evenly between the prepared muffin cups.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes to set peanut butter layer.

After the peanut butter has chilled, combine chocolate and milk in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 25 second intervals until chocolate is just melted.  Stir until smooth.  Distribute chocolate evenly over the top of the peanut butter layer.  Sprinkle with sea salt and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.  Store covered in the fridge.

So, most of the time we're sweats (fancy sweats, we mean) and ponytail girls. We eat mac n' cheese, the occasional burrito from Chipotle and drink beer. We like diners and hot dogs. We're happy to have chocolate cookies for dessert. That's our philosophy after all, baking doesn't have to be hard or scary. We're low maintenance, you know?

(Cue the boyfriend/husband's collective eye roll and complete disbelief).

But sometimes we like to get glam. Put on our sequins and jewels (though we prefer the word 'bling') and the highest heels we have (and then take cabs because our feet hurt) and go all out spendy at a chic restaurant. We order the second cheapest bottle of wine, instead of the very cheapest. We have appetizers AND the weird bombe dessert (whatever a bombe is). Fun times. 

And then other times, we want to get dressed up and fancified but really we also just want pizza or french fries or cheeseburgers. We don't care about the stares. We don't care about wearing 6" heels and diamonds (fake but LARGE) at Cleary's in Boston or the Knickerbocker in New York. We just want our burgers and we want to look good eating them. Leave us alone. Let us be. We're HUNGRY.

That's what these muffins are. Fancy and sophisticated (thyme, oooooo) but still just delicious muffins. 

PS- We adjusted the crumb topping from the recipe we baked so your muffins will look slightly different from our pics. But trust us, they will be AMAZING.

Blackberry, Lemon & Thyme Muffins
Makes 18 Muffins
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Print Recipe

For the Crumble:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup granulated sugar 
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold

For the Muffins:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 cups fresh (or frozen, thawed, drained) blackberries (about 1/2 pint)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

First, make the topping. Combine all crumble dry ingredients and then cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs using your hands. Chill for at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

To make the muffins; preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit.  Line standard 12-muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup all-purpose flour and next 4 ingredients. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat butter until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and continue to beat until well incorporated, 2-3 minutes longer. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Continue beating until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the buttermilk and lemon zest, gradually beating into the butter mixture. Finally, add the dry ingredients and beat until just blended (do not overmix).

Toss blackberries and thyme with 2 tablespoons flour in another small bowl; fold into batter, gently crushing berries slightly to release some juices. Divide the batter between prepared muffin pans (remember the recipe makes 18 so you will have to make another batch, we filled the muffin holes about 3/4 full). Top each muffin with 1-2 rounded tablespoons of crumble.

Bake until tops are golden brown and a tester comes out mostly clean when inserted in the center, about 30-40 minutes for standard-size muffins. Let cool in pan at least 20 minutes, then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

PS. Obviously that's a lie. But we did NOT eat anything that was >51.4% chocolate, therefore not chocolate. We reserved that special indulgence for Easter when we went full-throttle, all-you-can-eat, bottomless-pit chocolate gorging insanity. We never want to eat chocolate again. Barf.

So avoiding our typical chocolate-dipped almond biscotti for breakfast, what were we supposed to eat Easter Monday (which should TOTALLY be a holiday in the US like it is in England, we can't be the only crazies suffering from major chocolate hangover) after consuming our collective body weight in Cadbury Mini-Eggs...er, and some Cadbury Creme Eggs, Organic Chocolate something, Chocolate Chip Pancakes and a Mocha?!?!

STRESS!!! DECISIONS ARE THE WORST.

Our pals at Bon Appetit came through in the end with a recipe for Ham & Cheese Waffles drizzled with maple syrup and a healthy (read: not healthy healthy, large healthy) pat of melty butter. 

We got to use our fabulous new waffle maker, include cheese in our breakfast routine (second only to chocolate) and get our sugar kicks from the maple syrup. 

Stay tuned next Lenten season 2013 when we give up our obsession with Ham & Cheese waffles for 40 whole days and come up with recipes that don't involve anything >51.4% ham or cheese.

Ham & Cheese Waffles
Makes 12 waffles
Adapted from Bon Appetit 

Print Recipe

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large egg whites
3 large egg yolks
1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup soda water
nonstick vegetable oil spray 
1/2 cup sliced (deli) ham, cut into thin strips or pieces
1/2 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (or your choice of cheese)

Preheat oven to 300° Fahrenheit. Heat waffle iron until very hot.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites in a medium bowl until medium-soft peaks form. In a separate, medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, melted butter, buttermilk, and soda water; gradually whisk into dry ingredients. Fold in egg whites.

Coat waffle iron with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Pour batter onto iron, spreading it into corners (amount of batter needed will vary depending on your machine, we found a 1/4 cup to be about right for each waffle square). Scatter bits of ham and cheese over each waffle. Cook until golden brown and cooked through. Pop the cooked waffles out (we actually used a bamboo skewer to help get into the tight, deep waffle spaces) and transfer to a baking sheet; keep waffles warm in oven between batches. Serve with butter and warm maple syrup.

Uh yeah, we had no idea what croccante is either.  But that certainly didn't stop us from making (and eating) an entire batch of it.

We see caramel, we see chocolate, we see cayenne...we're intrigued...who has time to google croccante? 

We're too busy yanking the matzo down from the top shelf & whipping out the chocolate chips.

And so we made it.  And then we googled it.  After we'd determined through our rigorous QC process it was worthy of our precious googling time of course.

Newsflash muffins - it's a fancy Italian word for brittle.

This version if perfect for your Passover or Easter feast.  But if you expect it to stick around til this weekend you should probably plan on making a few batches. 

Matzo Almond Croccante
Serves 12-14
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Print Recipe

5 sheets matzo
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Arrange matzo on baking sheet in one layer, breaking pieces as necessary to cover most gaps.

In a small saucepan over medium low heat, stir sugar, butter, honey and water until sugar dissolves, about 5-7 minutes. Turn up heat to medium high and let mixture boil without stirring, swirling every few minutes, until mixture is a pale brown color, 11-13 minutes.  *Note - careful not to burn the mixture!  It goes form lighr brown to burned brown pretty quickly so pay attention.

Pour caramel evenly over matzo and cover with almonds, cayenne, sea salt and melted chocolate.  Let stand until caramel and chocolate sets, about half an hour, then break into pieces and serve.

In fact, people in general don't eat enough cake. Why is this? Why does cake get such a bad rap? Yes, yes, it's not as portable as cookies and caramels but it is still soooooooooo delicious. So, you know what, we're going to bring it back. We are bringing cake back!

We are going to be so on-trend. Or trendy. Or trend-setting. Whatever. You heard it here first.

It's all about cake this season.

Reintroducing cake to the world (you're welcome, you're welcome) has been of course limited by our CRAZY RIDICULOUS decision to give up chocolate for Lent. (Well, you know, we gave up chocolate). 

Nevermind, Ina came to our rescue. As per usual. 

Her fabulous Coconut Cake is the ideal choice. Rustic, no need for sheening, perfect frosting, and chocolate-free.

Coconut Cake
Serves 10
From Ina Garten

Print Recipe

For the Cake:
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 cups granulated sugar
5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
4 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

For the Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 pound confectioners' sugar
6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 9" round cake pans, then line them parchment paper. Grease them again and dust lightly with flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look a bit curdled but don't worry.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix! Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool further.

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth. Don't worry if there are a few small lumps...you are going to cover it with more coconut. No one will notice. Just don't whip the frosting!

To assemble, place 1 layer on a flat serving plate, top side down, and spread with frosting. Place the second layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides. To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides. Serve at room temperature.

Second of all, what in the devil is going on with this weather?!  Are those 40 mile per hour wind gusts?!  For real?

Thirdly, wait, we definitely had a thirdly when we started this little rant...er...we mean blog post.

Bottom line cookies, we're having a long week.  And like we said, it's only Tuesday (how for the love how!?!).  Soooo, how do gals like us find the strength to keep on trucking all the way to the weekend?

Yes you there!  Correct!  We bake!

You saw that one coming a mile away.

And what's more important when you're feeling a little overwhelmed than breakfast?  Start the day off right!  Top of the morning!  Right side of the bed and all that jazz...

But wait, we're overwhelmed, we need something easy, something fast, something that doesn't require us to haul out the stand mixer and measure anything with a food scale.

Sounds like we need some fast acting, blue-eyed blitz baking.  Or really, "baking."

Kinda like how we "exercise." 

Do not try and tell us that shoe shopping (online) doesn't count as cardio.  Because it totally does.

Right!  We're "baking" cinnamon rolls.  Yes, there might be a few shortcuts involved here, but hey, it's ONLY Tuesday and we were just knocked over by a wind gust coming up 8th Avenue. 

We need all the help we can get.

Ridiculously Easy Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 8 servings
Adapted from The Hungry Housewife

Print Recipe

1 tube (8 count) refrigerated crescent roll dough
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Sliced almonds, optional

Preheat oven to 375.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.  Unroll and separate the crescent rolls and place on baking sheet.  Set aside.

Next, mix softened butter, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and spread evenly over one side of the unrolled crescent rolls.  Roll the crescent rolls up and bake for 10 minutes.

While the rolls are baking, make the glaze by combining the melted butter, powdered sugar and vanilla & almond extracts in a bowl until blended.  Once the rolls are done baking, drizzle glaze evenly over the top.  Sprinkle with sliced almonds if desired.  Serve warm.