fall baking.

Fall is here. Commence baking season.

Mini gingerbread pumpkin trifles:

Pumpkin and cream cheese whoopie pies:

Pumpkin and chocolate swirl brownies using this recipe:

 

And a few non-pumpkin treats.

A birthday cake. Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse inside and a chocolate ganache outside. And a crunchy toffee topping.

And I'm not going to lie. I've already made these cookies three times in the last two weeks. Nutella-stuffed brown butter and sea salt chocolate chip cookies. Okay, so the title is pretty ridiculous. Just imagine an amazing chocolate chip cookie (because browning butter is the best) with gooey nutella hiding inside and that delightful sweet/salty flavor going on. Recipe found here.

mississippi mud brownies and other things that would make my dad cringe.

I wish I had my dad's tendencies toward healthier foods, and repulsions toward fried foods, multi-layer desserts, and heavy pasta dishes. Or at least his ability to have all things in moderation. Don't get me wrong. My dad likes to indulge here and there. He's a master pie maker but is somehow able to limit himself to one (small) piece. And he eats oatmeal cookies daily (I use the term "cookie" loosely). I've even seen him eat sandwich cookies (after scraping out the cream center). He has an admirable habit of eating only half of things. And an apple a day? Try three.

But alas. I am not repulsed by deep fried oreos. And I like to eat french fries (which, by the way, are very hard to eat in moderation). And donuts. And chocolate. And layers.

And these Mississippi Mud Brownies:

A chewy brownie. With marshmallows and chocolate chips layered on top. And peanut butter. And nuts. Oh, and a little chocolate frosting too. You know, just to seal the previous mentioned layers. I used this recipe. And I have no regrets.

Except that I also made Peanut Butter and Nutella Swirl Cookies the same week.

 The recipe can be found here.

christmas cookies.

The post-Christmas mess is starting to disappear. Most of the cookies and treats have been devoured.

In addition to sugar cookies and these delicious peppermint patty surprise chocolate chunk cookie bars (phew) highly recommended by my sister, I made four different kinds of cookies this year.

Peanut butter kiss cookies (made with Hershey's Bliss), chocolate peppermint bark cookies, candied orange slice cookies (a family recipe and one of my favorites), and salty chocolate nutella thumbprints (a new recipe I tried this year found here).

I thoroughly enjoyed each one. (And will definitely be taking part in another Lettuce Eat Cake weight loss contest in January.)