Lesson #57: Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Justin has been asking me to try new ice cream flavors! BTW, I'm planning on having an ice cream tasting party next summer, so everyone will be able to try all the flavors I invent. :)

I thought peanut butter ice cream sounded interesting, and I've never had peanut ice cream before, so I used my favorite ice cream base and added peanut butter.

This flavor of ice cream is definitely a keeper! It's super YUMMY! I added some marshmallow fluff during the last minutes of churning and I'm sure chocolate chips would be a great addition as well.

LESSON LEARNED: Thinking creatively about ice cream flavors has delicious results.

Recipe for Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Lesson #56: Blondie with Peanut-Pretzel Caramel

These cookie bars slowly grew on me after I made them yesterday. They are pretty messy to try cut, and at first, I was turned off by this. I would describe them as breaking apart better than evenly cutting apart. Even though they aren't the prettiest dessert I've made, these bars are surprisingly ADDICTIVE.

First, there is a layer of gooey brown sugar blondie. Then, peanuts are roasted in the oven, mixed in with pretzels and tossed with a homemade caramel. This mixture is generously poured over the blondies. The result is a salty & sweet dessert with multiple textures from the blondies, peanuts, and pretzels.

LESSON LEARNED: Messy desserts taste good too!

Recipe for Blondie with Peanut-Pretzel Caramel

Lesson #55: Hot Chocolate Cookies

Even though it's been unseasonably warm the past few days, I've been getting into the holiday spirit. I saw these cute cookies in a magazine this month and I knew right away I had to try them.

Yes, they definitely taste like hot chocolate in the form of a cookie! A sweet chocolate cookie is partially baked and then topped with a piece of milk chocolate topped off with a marshmallow. The result is a crunchy cookie topped with melted chocolate and a gooey marshmallow. DELICIOUS! In case you weren't already convinced of the deliciousness, the pictures will convince you. In fact, I may go get one out of my freezer right now :)

LESSON LEARNED: Be careful when you take a bite of these cookies, the marshmallow might come off in the first bite!

Recipe for Hot Chocolate Cookies

Lesson #54: Peppermint Twist Cupcakes

Happy December! I thought I would start off the month with these festive cupcakes to get in the holiday spirit.

The cupcakes have a white cake base which is swirled with a mint flavored batter. To mix up the flavors, I made a few different icings. One was a mint flavored meringue and a chocolate butter cream. These cupcakes are just minty enough without being too overwhelming.

LESSON LEARNED: These cupcakes look pretty and taste good too!

Recipe for Peppermint Twist Cupcakes

Lesson #53: Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been searching for an AWESOME chocolate chip recipe! The recipe off the back of the chocolate chip bag is disappointing. Sometimes my cookies are flatten out while they are baking and they taste less than spectacular.

This is one of my first attempts at improving my chocolate chips cookies. I thought that weighing the ingredients (like professional pastry chefs) may improve the cookies. In any case, the scientific side of my personality loves accuracy when measuring ingredients. I also mixed up the chocolate chips. I used a super high quality chocolate (Valrhona - for any chocolate fans!) and included both chopped milk & dark chocolate. I also used a different technique to shaping the balls (check it out on the recipe). I'm not sure this made a huge difference, but these cookies were better than my typical chocolate chip cookies.

LESSON LEARNED: Who knew that perfecting chocolate chip cookies would be so tricky?

Recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lesson #52: Strawberries & Champagne Cheesecake

Strawberries & champagne in a cheesecake? Yes, please! I made this cheesecake for Thanksgiving at my grandma's on Saturday and it went over very well :)

First, you reduce champagne in a saucepan until it becomes sweet and syrupy. While the champagne is reducing, you make a chocolate graham cracker crust. Then, sliced strawberries are layered on top of the crust. The reduced champagne is incorporated into the cheesecake batter and placed over the sliced strawberries. Finally, the cooled cheesecake is topped with sliced strawberries and drizzled with melted chocolate. This cheesecake is a SHOWSTOPPER!

LESSON LEARNED: Don't underestimate the flavor of champagne in a cheesecake!

Recipe for Strawberries & Champagne Cheesecake

Lesson #51: Triple-Chocolate Mousse Cake

I LOVE the holidays! I especially love cooking and baking for other people. It really gives me a good excuse to make desserts that can be shared among many people. For Thanksgiving day, I made a triple-chocolate mousse cake!

The bottom layer is a gooey flour-less chocolate cake. The middle layer is a dark chocolate mousse and the top layer is a white chocolate mousse. The dessert is rich & chocolate-y, but is super light from the layers of whipped cream and melted chocolate. Each layer has a different flavor and texture, which makes this a FABULOUS indulgence.

One important thing to note is serving temperature. I unmolded the dessert right out of the fridge and it was pretty firm. However, I left it out in a dessert table which we finished Thanksgiving dinner and by the time I ate dessert, it was pretty messy. Check out the pictures below :) In any case, this layered cake was EXCELLENT and can be made ahead of time.

LESSON LEARNED: This dessert is best served right out of the refrigerator!

Recipe for Triple-Chocolate Mousse Cake