Pina colada cupcakes

Finally, a recipe from scratch that I like:

Ingredients:

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar I used 3/4 c. sugar but they came out way too sweet
1/4 c. canola oil
1 egg
1/3 c. coconut milk Original recipe asked for buttermilk but I wanted more coconut flavor
1/2 c. crushed pineapple, undrained
1/2 t. coconut extract or coconut rum I used the rum, couldn't tell the difference really
1/2 c. sweetened coconut Could probably use more if you like the crunchiness

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl whisk together sugar, oil, coconut extract or coconut rum and egg until smooth.

Beginning and ending with dry ingredients, alternately whisk in flour mixture and coconut milk, beating until smooth. Stir in pineapple and sweetened coconut.

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake 22 minutes, or until the tops spring back lightly when touched. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Frost & enjoy! I didn't really wait the 10 minutes, the cupcakes were eaten within 45 seconds, I believe.

I made 24 mini cupcakes

Peanut butter caramel surprise cookies

I finally have a recipe for peanut butter cookies from scratch that I love and they were perfect. I would not change a single thing. I got this recipe from somebody else's blog and I wish I could remember but it's been sitting in my email box since last year. Here's the proof of that:

Here's the recipe:

• 2-¼ cups All Purpose Flour
• ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1-¼ cup Packed Brown Sugar
• 1-¼ cup Sugar
• 1 cup Butter, Softened
• 1-½ cup Creamy Peanut Butter
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla
• 3 Eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F. 
Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
In a large mixing bowl, mix sugars on medium with your stand or hand mixer.
Add butter and mix until incorporated.
Add peanut butter and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
Beat in eggs ONE AT A TIME. Once all eggs are incorporated, mix till fluffy.
Add flour mixture on low speed till just mixed. Don’t over mix or you’ll make gluten and hard cookies!
Chill for half an hour in the fridge. Yes, this really does make a difference.
Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet. With a wet fork, make a crisscross pattern on each cookie.
Bake for 15 minutes (my oven cooks low, so I have to cook for closer to 20 minutes) or until SLIGHT browning occurs on the edges. DO NOT OVER BAKE or chewiness will be gone.

If you do this, you'll get a chewy yummy cookie that looks like this: 

 

But, maybe you'd like a cookie that surprises you, that when you break in half, gives you a gooey, chocolatey center, like this:

You'll need a bag of Rolos. Grab a good tablespoon full of cookie dough and form it into a ball around the Rolo. The Rolo should be completely encased inside the cookie dough. Drop it on the cookie sheet and bake for 17 minutes. Take the cookies out when they are just slightly browned on top. Cool for a couple minutes, then ENJOY!