Vanilla Bean Blondies

Greetings!!  Remember when I used to blog, every single weekday?  Remember when I didn't have two children, and I showered more than twice a week, and I worked out more than twice a year?  I remember.  Sort of.  Not really.  Or even at all.  The truth is, I could blame my kids all day long for my lack of posts and showers (no but really, the shower thing IS their fault), but that wouldn't be fair.  The truth is, we're going through a major life change as a family (which I'll share more at a later date) and my mind has been elsewhere.  That, combined with lots of travel, have meant I've barely been in the kitchen!  And now that I am back, it's like I've forgotten how to cook.  What do I like to make?  What ingredients do I buy at the market?  Are there breakfast foods besides NY bagels?  

But don't fret.  I'll figure it out.  I'll cook my way out of the hole.  I'll shower.  I made these Vanilla Bean Blondies after all!  Half with chocolate, because, chocolate.  The vanilla flavor is pretty ridiculous, they taste like vanilla ice cream in bar form.  Simple, easy ingredients that come together in no time.  I used 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla paste instead of a bean, because that's what I had.  

I'm going to shower now, I promise.          

See what I mean?  Mind, elsewhere.

Holiday treats from long ago...

Some ideas for last minute holiday baking (6 more days people)...

Nutella Truffles

Peppermint Marshmallows

Chewy Ginger Cookies

Bittersweet Chocolate Fudge with Sea Salt

Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cranberry Pistachio Pudding Cookies

Peppermint Meringues

Homemade Almond Roca

Homemade Hot Chocolate

On another note, I don't have nearly enough photos from you guys for the contest.  Should I extend the deadline by a week, so you can get all toasted and goofy with your friends and family over Christmas?  Otherwise I'm just keeping this $120 basket for myself : )

UPDATE:  I have extended the deadline to submit photos to NEXT Friday, 12/27, so by all means, drink some spiked egg nog with your loved ones and eat some pasta.  

Andes Mint Brownies

Let's keep talking about chocolate and mint, shall we?  I always love the combination, but especially this time of year.  I've even been ordering Peppermint Mochas at Starbucks.  Who am I?  I would never do that any other time of year.  I'm not even sure I like them!  I just want a couple of sips, to savor that chocolaty, minty combo.  Which is why I bought Andes Mints at the market the other day and instantly researched recipes.  I knew this one was the winner, because brownies should be more of a consistent thing in my life.  Don't you think?  They are wonderful... fudgy, gooey, very rich.  The only thing I did differently was add regular semi-sweet chocolate chips to the top, instead of more mints.  I ran my knife through the brownies before the chocolate on top cooled, to make it easier later on.  

Reminder, only a few more days to submit photos for the contest!        

Carmelitas

When I asked you what I should bake in my new oven, you had good ideas.  You are smart, brilliant people.  Especially you, Person Who Recommended These Carmelitas.  You are a damn genius!  You should quit your job, and become a Treat Email Recommender.  That's a real thing.  I'll pay you in Monopoly money and baked goods.  Speaking of paying people, my son got a dollar for unwrapping 32 caramel squares.  A dollar, and one caramel.  I bribe my kids.  

Anyway, let me be very clear about this: MAKE THESE.  They are crack bars.  I even made a corner without chocolate for my friend who's allergic, and they were still wonderful.  Also, I bet you could make your own homemade salted caramel sauce instead of paying someone to unwrap 32 squares.  We're all geniuses!!        

first layer...

second layer...

Salted Caramel Brownies

I'm not sure there's anything to say here.  These are Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies, drizzled with caramel sauce and sprinkled with sea salt.  Do you want me to tell you that they're good?  See, I think that would be insulting your intelligence.  Similar to talking really  s l o w l y  AND LOUDLY to a foreigner or an old person.  They're not dumb.  You're not dumb.  You know these are amazing.  You know I'm eating them for breakfast, I don't need to tell you that.  Oh you didn't know that?  

I'M EATING THEM FOR  B R E A K F A S T,  OK??? 

Recipe here.  

Chocolate Banana Brownies

It's that time of year again, when I obsess over my son's birthday party.  My to-do list is about a mile long, I woke up at 3:30am last night thinking about it and couldn't fall back asleep and OH, I decided to make 5 cakes.  That's right 5 cakes.  If you want to plan an intervention, I'd probably be a willing participant.  And while we're at the intervention, can we also tackle my obsession with googling "banana baking" recipes?  It's become a daily occurrence.  But be prepared for me to get super defensive on you and say something like, "EACH POWER RANGER NEEDS A SEPARATE CAKE AND ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH CHOCOLATE BANANA BROWNIES???"  Actually, they were slightly more cakey than I would have preferred (I'm partial to a fudgy brownie) but still pretty delicious.  So anyway, let me know what time the intervention is.

Recipe here.

Banana Cookie Bars with Nutella Buttercream Frosting

Carson accuses me of letting bananas go bad.  And by the way, it's possible I've written that exact sentence on this blog before.  Ok so maybe I don't rush to eat them while they're edible.  Maybe I silently rejoice when I see them start to brown and ripen.  Maybe I google banana recipes like it's my job.  It is sort of my job, right?  It's my job.  Let's go with that.  

So I had two ripe bananas, and I found this recipe.  Gosh darnit, it's good.  I don't think you can possibly go wrong pairing bananas with Nutella, and these bars, while slightly dense, resemble a sugar cookie with delicious banana flavor.  You should let your bananas go bad, I think...      

Salted Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats

How has it taken me so long to make these??  I saw the recipe (here or here) ages ago, and how it didn't send me running into the kitchen like a lunatic is beyond me.  I guess it's because I stopped buying Rice Krispies when I saw what the damn cereal could do to my floor (Jack has no idea how to snap, crackle and pop the things INTO his mouth).  But I finally got around to it, and I will NEVER make the traditional treat any other way.  Browning the butter and adding a touch of salt take them to another dimension, but not too gourmet for the kiddos to notice.  You must, must, MUST try.  

Let's play the cloud game.  What do you see in this pool of brown butter?  I initially saw the state of Wisconsin, and then quickly realized it doesn't look at all like Wisco.  Then I saw the Land 'O Lakes butter woman and, finally, an embryo in a uterus.  Is this doing anything for your appetite?  

I swear I will put the heart-shaped cookie cutter away now.  

Fudgy Chocolate Yogurt Brownies

Today I had my first Parent/Teacher Conference.  I'm new to this, but the correct protocol is to show up with brownies, right?  To bribe them to say nice things about your kid?  Cool, then I either did this right or embarrassed myself tremendously by acting like Reese Witherspoon in Election.  Listen, people always ask me, what do you do with all of those baked goods, Siri??  And this is the answer.  I give them away, all of the time.  I find any reason to bake.  Teacher conference, cable guy coming, mailman's birthday.  (JK I don't know my mailman's birthday LOL.)  (Totally going to ask him.)

On this particular morning I was inspired by an entire tub of vanilla yogurt I bought and haven't touched.  I hate for things to go bad, so I googled "vanilla yogurt bake" and I found this recipe for Fudgy Chocolate Yogurt Brownies.  I had never heard of adding flavored yogurt to a baked good and I was intrigued.  The result?  A brownie that needs a serious glass of milk and one that I CANNOT stop eating.  So moist, so chocolaty, a slight tang from the yogurt - they are absurdly good.

p.s. If you're an iPhone user, I recently jumped on the bandwagon and joined Vine.  It's a video site, and I'm going to use it strictly for food.  Follow me on this culinary journey, why don't you.
(Search for "Siri Pinter" because that's my name.)      

6-Layer Bars

Oh 7-Layer Bars, I mean, 6-Layer Bars... you are so good.  So rich, and gooey, and irresistible... you make me want to eat you on a fluffy couch, in slow motion, like in a commercial.  I used this recipe and went with an even number bar due to a nut allergy, but if you'd like to add one more layer just throw some toasted pecans or walnuts into the mix.  I've made similar bars before, but they weren't my favorite (and dear lord look how tiny my pictures were back then).  These are my favorite.  

Smiling is my favorite (name the movie).  

Banana Bars with Brown Butter Icing

Somehow, this morning, in between feeding a baby and getting a 3-year-old to dress himself (which takes longer than you could ever possibly imagine) I found the time to make these.  I forgot to brush my hair, but I made Brown Butter Icing.  My priorities are whacked.  OR ARE THEY.  You make these and tell me what you would rather have in your life... smooth, tangle-free hair or soft, banana bars with nutty, buttery icing.  Yeah, I'm bringing dreadlocks back.  

Salty Chocolate and Butterscotch Blondies

I've had these on my Pinterest page for awhile now, and I finally made them yesterday.  If you're looking for something to bake QUICKLY, bake these.  It took me 5 minutes to get these ingredients into the pan - the Baker's Edge pan which was a little bit too big but who cares.  I also added some butterscotch chips because I'M AMAZING.  They were so good.  The combo of rich dark chocolate, sweet butterscotch and a touch of salt... let's just say I ate way too many before my "Body After Baby" class.  Not a good idea.  I don't think that's the way you get a body after a baby.  I could be wrong.

AM I WRONG?!  

Chocolate Chip Banana Snack Cake

Hello!  It's me.  I'm tired.  If I stop making sense somewhere in this post, chalk it up to no sleep and too much coffee...

I have some business to take care of first, and I'm going to use numbers like a Type A freak...

1. The winners of the Weelicious Cookbook are Kristen (commenter #12) and Valerie!  Please email me (contact info under 'Find Siri') and I will get you your books!

2. A huge, fat, gigantic THANK YOU to all my guest bloggers these past 2 weeks.  You saved my life and this blog.

3. Chocolate Chip Banana Snack Cake.  I'll stop with the numbers now...

With both of my childbirth experiences, I've come home from the hospital and all I can think about are the nurses who took care of me while I was there.  Honestly, when I come back in another life as a better person, I will come back as a Labor & Delivery RN.  Unless karma is a real thing because then I'll probably come back as a piece of chewed gum.  Anyway, those nurses are angels, catering to you in your most humble, most vulnerable, most joyful life moment.  So after giving birth to both of my babies, I brought baked goods to the hospital as a small token of thanks.

After giving birth to Etta, I found this recipe but added 3 ripe bananas to the wet ingredients.  I also used mini chocolate chips in the batter.  It was stupid good.  Moist, messy, full of chocolate and banana flavor - I want more right now.