Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth: Reese's Cheesecake Brownies

I'm going to apologize in advance for making you hungry today. But  I promise, you're going to want this recipe in your arsenal!

Cheesecake bars are a favorite of Ryan's. I made cookie dough cheesecake bars two years ago and it's been a common request ever since. And when I found these Reese's Cheesecake Brownies from Pip and Ebby, I figured it would be another home run.

Brownies are my current weakness and Reeses is my favorite way to eat peanut butter. Actually, it's just about the only way I like peanut butter. And this recipe is rich and creamy and delicious!

And the great thing about this recipe is you can either use a store-bought brownie mix or use this amazing and delicious homemade brownie mix. (Seriously, keep some of the dry mix in your cabinet for last minute get togethers! You'll thank me for it!)

I whipped up this recipe when we were invited over to someone's house for dinner. I wasn't able to chill it right away, so that's why the top looks a little melty. But the important part was that it was a really big hit. So head over to Pip and Ebby and print out this Reese's Cheesecake Brownie recipe. You'll be making it for the rest of your life!

Sweet Tooth: Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Sweet Tooth: Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars - It's basically a combination of everyone's favorite things! I mean, how could you go wrong? This has been one of Ryan's favorite desserts for the past two years! I originally blogged it in 2013 after we first made it, but it's so good it's worth posting about again.

The recipe originally came from a blogger called Brandy's Baking, but it appears that her site is no longer live, so I'm actually including the recipe in it's entirety here instead of sending you over to get the recipe.

And since the cookie dough is made without eggs, you can feel free to nibble. (Or make a double batch and eat half of it. That would be fine too!)

Sweet Tooth Goes Savory: Favorite Food Blogs

Every few months, I find myself in some sort of cooking rut. For a while, I was making every kind of marinated chicken you could possibly think of. Then I got really into different pasta dishes. And lately, I've been getting bored with chicken. 

No matter what the rut is, I always find myself going to Pinterest for some new recipes to try. But I have two problems with Pinterest.

1. A lot of the recipes call for 2 cans of this, 1 jar of that, heavy cream, and an entire block of cheese. I'm not buying all of those ingredients just to use them all up on one dinner! That gets expensive!

2. Some things look really good on Pinterest, but taste terrible. I've only made a couple of disaster recipes, but when you've followed the recipe exactly and end up with an inedible dinner, it kind of makes you wonder if the food bloggers care more about the hits on their website than on putting out quality food. 

I don't really know the answer to that. But I do know that I'm very hesitant to pin recipes now. I get most of my recipes from 3 food bloggers that have earned my trust. I've made a handful of things from each of them and they've always turned out great. I follow all three of them on my Feedly reader and pin what looks good to me. 

Table for Two - I get more recipes from Julie (both dessert and entree) than anywhere else! There's so much variety in her recipes! One of my favorite recipes from her is an amazing macaroni and cheese. I had been looking for something without Velveeta and other fake ingredients that still tasted super cheesy. But I also wanted it to be easy and not use $15 worth of cheese! I also love:
Fake-Out Chipotle Burrito Bowls
Slow-Cooker Pumpkin Curry
Fried Rice

Our Best Bites - My favorite recipe from them is a party pleaser, pretzel bites! They're time consuming, but oh so delicious! I also love their chicken enchilada soup.

The Pioneer Woman - I think the Pioneer Woman is a staple in any southern house, but she cooks for cattle ranchers doing physical labor all day, so I have to be careful that I don't make her recipes too often. But they are delicious! Some of my favorite Pioneer Woman recipes are:
Sesame Noodles
Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
Chicken Enchiladas
Coconut Curry Shrimp

If you're looking for more recipes you can trust, I pin all my favorites to a Tried and True Pinterest board.

Sweet Tooth: The Best Brownie Mix

Are you ready for the best brownie of your life? I know, that's setting the expectation pretty high, but I didn't think I was that into brownies until I made this recipe. And now, all I want is brownies!

I first stumbled upon the Best Brownie Mix from Crazy for Crust when my mother in law came over one evening with the dog. We were relaxing out on the porch and we all wanted some kind of dessert, so I went hunting for a recipe I could mix up quickly. And I found this mix, which allowed us to put together a full batch of dry mix but only bake enough for us to eat that evening. So do yourself a favor and mix up a batch of brownie mix to keep in your cabinet. Then you can bake up a 9x9 or loaf pan size of brownies whenever you want them!

Pros to this recipe:
- Baking a smaller batch means you don't have a huge pan of brownies sitting around tempting you (Although they freeze really well too!)
- Brownies use vegetable oil or melted butter so you don't have to wait for butter to soften
- You can keep the dry mix in your pantry
- They're seriously delicious!

Cons to this recipe (and brownies in general):
- They take longer to bake than cookies

Not enough sugar in your life? Check out more of my tried and true Sweet Tooth recipes!

Sweet Tooth: White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

This month's Sweet Tooth recipe is courtesy of Lovin' From the Oven. My husband and I loved dried cranberries and we buy a huge bag every month. It's one of our favorite snacks. So I was excited to see two big beautiful white chocolate cranberry cookies were part of my vendor meal at Nikki & James' wedding last December. (Thank you Sweetwater Cuisine!)

I scarfed down one but decided to save the other and tucked it away in my bag. Wouldn't you know, Ryan found it and gobbled it up before I could even tell him about it.

Needless to say, he was pretty excited when I made these cookies. Yummy! These white chocolate cranberry cookies are simple and delicious and would be perfect anytime of the year!