Pumpkin Dessert Bars

A pumpkin pie in bar form with a cake mix crust, pumpkin custard filling, and a cinnamon cake-mix crunch topping. These bars are perfectly soft, pumpkin-y, and comforting. They are best when served topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, and a little sea salt.

White Chocolate Honey Nut Cheerio Bars

Sweet and salty cheerio granola bars dipped in white chocolate candy melts. These bars are a sticky treat that can't be beat. They'll be gone in seconds, promise.

Mini M & Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Homemade chewy granola bars studded with mini chocolate chips and mini M&M's. They're the perfect snack to pack for road trips! These chewy, crunchy, and chocolatey treats will satisfy any sweet tooth, and they're a pretty healthy too.

S'mores Granola Bars

Soft and chewy granola bars loaded with mini teddy grahams, marshmallows, and mini chocolate chips. These bars are a quick and easy no-bake treat for hot summer days!

5-Ingredient Homemade Samoas

Apparently even though girl scouts have started selling cookies orders won't be in until the end of this month. Because I am very impatient and I needed some samoas, I developed this recipe. All the goodness of a girl scout cookie but homemade (sort of) with only five ingredients. Enjoy! 

Homemade Samoas

12 golden oreos

2 cups sweetened coconut, toasted

1 (14 ounce) package caramels, unwrapped

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Separate the oreo cookies into two halves and scrape off the cream filling. In the end you will have 24 cookies. You may want to have more oreos on hand in case you accidentally break any.

Melt the chocolate according to package directions (I melted mine in a double boiler). Dip the bottoms of the oreo cookies in the chocolate and let cool on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. 

Meanwhile melt the caramel and heavy cream in a microwave, 30 seconds at a time, until it is smooth. Stir in the toasted coconut. Divide mixture evenly on the tops of the oreo cookies and press down.

Drizzle the remaining chocolate over the tops of the cookies. Let cool until chocolate hardens.

Recipe Yield: 24 cookies
Recipe Source: an Amanda Jenks original

Brown Butter + Chocolate Chip Cookies

While we were visiting family for Christmas, some girls brought my brother cookies. They were so good that I begged my brother to get the recipe from them. They were the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. Come to find out, it was store-bought cookie dough.

At first I was embarrassed that I even asked, and I was ashamed that I loved a store-bought cookie  dough SO much. I usually prefer making things from scratch. I may or may not have even gone out with my mom to buy a five pound bucket of said cookie dough.

Ever since I ate those cookies it has become my life's mission to find a homemade chocolate chip cookie that tasted exactly like them. I've had way too many chocolate chip cookies in the meantime, but I am proud to say that I have found the cookie. The secret is browned butter. If you don't know how to brown butter, I have included a link in the recipe below. These cookies do not disappoint.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe Source: about.com

1 cup (2 cubes) salted butter, browned and cooled to room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the browned butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until well blended.

In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) together with wire whisk. Gradually add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until a soft dough forms. Scrape the bowl a few times. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover and chill for 1 hour--- if it chills for longer it will have to thaw a bit before it is soft enough to be scooped but still firm.

Heat oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, drop rounded tablespoons of cookie dough two inches apart on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 6-10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack. Devour, or store in an air tight container.

TIP: Scoop cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours. Remove from cookie sheet and store in a gallon size ziploc bag in the freezer. Frozen cookie dough will need 9-10 minutes to bake in a 375°F oven.

Shared here: Pin Me Fridays @ Diana Rambles, On the Menu Monday @ Stone Gable