grandma's blueberry muffins.

These are my favorite muffins in the world. As you can see from the name, they are my Grandma's recipe which makes them even more special to bake. Not to mention, they taste amazing- I hope you think so too!

I am totally on a blueberry kick right now and just had to make these blueberry muffins. I have been baking these muffins with my mom and sister since I can remember. Whenever we got ready to bake something, my mom would ask my sister or me to get the recipe card. My mom has a million and one recipe cards so sometimes the recipe card we needed was hard to find.  The recipe card for this one, however, was always the easiest to find- it was the one that was smudged and spilled on because we used it all. the. time. As much as we made them, I never got tired of them.

These muffins are sweet, moist, soft, and just plain perfect. Many people like spitting them in half, and putting butter on it. Not me, though- I like them just as is. :)

~

grandma's blueberry muffin recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup blueberries
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Grease or line 24 muffin tins with paper liners. 
3. Mix flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut in butter until crumb mixture forms.  I used a pastry knife, but a food processor works even better. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture. Set aside.
4. Put eggs, milk, and vanilla into the crumb mixture in large bowl. Beat until smooth, then gently fold in blueberries. Fill your 24 muffin tins 3/4 full.
5. Place reserved crumb mixture into a small bowl, then dribble in melted butter. Toss with a fork to make crumbs. Sprinkle on top of each muffin cup.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until crumb topping is golden brown.

glazed blueberry cake bars.

My new favorite blueberry dessert. Moist, soft, sweet, and oh-so-delicious. These I simply cannot get over. I literally have to restrain myself from the pan. I am sending them to work with Grant tomorrow because if I don't, I'll eat the whole pan!

This recipe couldn't be easier- mix up the dough and pour all except 1.5 cups into a lined pan (I used a 9"x13" one). Bake for 15 minutes. Now create your filling: blueberries and sugar. Mash, mash, mash. Take the pan out and pour your blueberry filling over baked dough. Spoonful by spoonful, pour your reserved dough over the blueberry filling. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool for about 10 minutes. During this time, make your glaze: powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. After 10 minutes, you can drizzle all that yummy glaze over your cake. And you're done! Enjoy the delicious masterpiece you just created :)

 ~

glazed blueberry cake bars
from the domestic geek blog 

• Cake Ingredients
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour

Blueberry Filling Ingredients

• 2 cups blueberries
• 3 Tablespoons sugar 
• 
  
• Glaze Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 teaspoons milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a 9x13 pan by greasing with butter and lining with parchment.
2. Beat butter until smooth, add 1 3/4 cups sugar, baking powder, and salt. Continue beating.
3. Add eggs and vanilla, once incorporated add flour. Beat well, scraping at sides of the bowl when needed until all flour has blended in.
4. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of dough, spread remaining dough evenly in prepared cake pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl sprinkle sugar on top blueberries. Mash blueberries to create a pie filling consistency.
6. Spread over pre-baked cake, spoon mounds of remaining filling on top of blueberry layer.
7. Bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until cake is golden brown.
8. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add all icing ingredients into a bowl and mix. Add additional milk 1 teaspoon at a time until you have a icing consistency. 
8. Drizzle on top of the cooled bars.
9. Slice, serve, and enjoy.

Recipe Credit:

http://www.thedomesticgeekblog.com/2014/02/better-blueberry-pie-bars.html

snickerdoodle blondies.

Snickerdoodle cookies have never been a favorite of mine. Don't get me wrong- they are good but I would choose a chocolate chip cookie over a snickerdoodle cookie on any given day. 

These snickerdoodle bars are different. A million times better than the cookie version. I am talking crazy addictive. 

You can probably tell from the picture how gooey, dense, and moist they are. The white chocolate chips perfectly accompany the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Look for the recipe below- you don't wanna miss out on these yummies!

~

snickerdoodle blondies from rumbly in my tumbly

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar + 1 tsp ground cinnamon
A couple good sized handfuls white chocolate chips, optional but recommended ;)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.  This recipe doubles easily and well in a 9×13 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. 
3. Beat in salt, egg and vanilla extract until well combined. Add in flour and stir until no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Stir in white chocolate chips.
4. Pour dough into prepared baking dish and smooth it into an even layer- You will probably have to wash your hands and use your fingers to pat it down evenly.
5. Stir together remaining 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Sprinkle dough evenly with cinnamon sugar mixture.
6. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until bars are set and the edges are just very lightly browned. Do not overbake or they won't be soft and chewy. Cool in the pan before slicing.

fruit pizza with greek yogurt cream cheese frosting.

Do you ever get sad when you eat the last piece of something you made? It doesn't happen to me too often because it usually means I get to make something else. :) Let me tell you though, I was very sad when I ate the last piece of this fruit pizza. Why? Because it was stinkin' amazing!

I think fruit pizza is one of the best things ever. I mean, come on, it contains 3 of the best foods ever. Just think about it- a cookie, fruit, and cream cheese. What's not to love?!

If you need a dessert for your next party or pitch-in, this one is sure to please. And it is sure to disappear fast! 

~

fruit pizza with greek yogurt cream cheese frosting 

sugar cookie crust ingredients*

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temp.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups  all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

greek yogurt cream cheese frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened & room temperature

1/4-1/2 cup greek yogurt (I used vanilla)
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

plus your choice of sliced fruit

directions

1. To make the crust, in a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in eggs and vanilla. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Once completely combined, cover the dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and up to 1 day.** See my note below.
3. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray. Remove chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator and press onto the pizza pan in an even flat circle. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until it is lightly browned. Do not overbake. Allow crust to cool completely before putting on frosting and fruit. If you are in a hurry, freeze or refrigerate for a few minutes to speed this process up.
4. Chop the fruit and make your frosting.
5. In a medium bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add the confectioners sugar. Add the vanilla and more yogurt if needed to thin out. Spread over the cooled sugar cookie crust. Decorate with fruit.
6. Cut into slices, serve, and enjoy!
7. Store leftovers in the fridge.

*You'll notice I put mine in a 9"x13" pan. This given recipe is for a 12" pizza pan. If you want it in a 9"x13", multiply this recipe by 1.5

**I put the dough in the pan to begin with and froze it for 10-15 minutes instead. Speeds up the process a lot :)

 Recipe Credit:

 http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/05/23/fruit-pizza/ & 

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2164627

cookie dough frosted fudgy brownies.

I cannot even describe how wonderful these brownies are- they are so rich and dense and moist and chocolate-y and just plain amazing. It starts with a homemade brownie recipe that mimics a box brownie mix and is topped off with safe-to-eat cookie dough frosting. Just take my word for it- these gems are worth all the calories I didn't calculate ;)

cookie dough frosted fudgy brownies 

by mel's kitchen cafe & mel's kitchen cafe

Fudgy Brownie Ingredients:

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 5 ounces) butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Cookie Dough Frosting Ingredients: 

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown Sugar
1/8 cup (2 tbsp) granulated sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tbsp cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/2-1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides (if you are going to cut all the brownies at once). 
2. For the brownies, combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for one minute intervals, stirring in between, until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Set the mixture aside until it cools slightly (is warm to the touch not hot). It will look gritty but it will become smooth once the other ingredients are added.
3. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Spread evenly in the lined pan.
4. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack. I put them in the refrigerator to cool quickly. :)
5. For the cookie dough frosting, in a small bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in milk and vanilla. Gradually add flour and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls over cooled brownies; carefully spread over top. If the brownies are cool enough, you shouldn't have trouble getting the frosting on successfully. The original author suggests to slightly wet hands and pat the dough down gently so it doesn’t pull up the brownies. Cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator. They taste AWESOME cold.

Recipe Credit:

 http://www.melskitchencafe.com/cookie-dough-topped-brownies/

&

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/the-best-fudgy-brownies/