Cashew Cookie Dough Balls

Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookie dough? Last week I bought a tub of Eat Pastry cookie dough and had the bad habit of half baking a big spoonful of dough in a small ramekin dish and eating it with a spoon. Brent joined in on the fun, and when we finished the tub we decided we needed to find a healthier way to enjoy cookie dough. With a little bit of googling, I found this delicious recipe! Cashews and oats give you protein and energy, but the sweetener and chocolate chips make it feel like an indulgence. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup cashews
2/3 cup oats
2 Tbsp Agave
2 Tbsps Maple Syrup
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Directions:
1. In a food processor, blend cashews and oats until they become a powder.
2. Add the agave, maple, vanilla and blend until incorporated.
3. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
4. Form into small balls by rolling between your palms. Keep in the fridge or freezer.

Grandma's Vinegar Pie

During Thanksgiving weekend the Johnson family eats pie for breakfast, as an afternoon snack, and for dessert after dinner. We are passionate about pie. At my wedding there was no wedding cake. I was more interested in wedding pie from Zingerman's. This Thanksgiving we baked Pumpkin Pie, Oatmeal Pecan Pie, Apple Pie, Blueberry Pie and Chocolate Banana Cream Pie. We also made a Johnson family specialty...Vinegar Pie. For the first fifteen years of my life I was a Vinegar Pie skeptic. Vinegar in a pie sounds gross. My mom finally convinced me to give it a try when she described it as a pecan pie without the pecans. Vinegar Pie essentially is a sugar pie. Nobody seems to know why the recipe calls for vinegar, but we add that tablespoon every time. It's about time I blog Grandma Johnson's Vinegar Pie. I dug out the recipe in Mama's old cookbook. Give it a try this holiday season! I have also included some of my Friendsgiving and KIPP Potluck photos. Quick tip: Next time you make sweet potato casserole, use marshmallow fluff. Your vegetarian friends will thank you and if you bake then broil it, the marshmallow will make a delicious crusty layer.

Mamita Chenhall's Recipe Book

Chocolate Banana Cream Pie, Vinegar Pie, Apple Pie, Oatmeal Pecan Pie 

Thanksgiving 2013, Green Bean Casserole, Marshmellow Fluff Sweet Potatoes, Alaina's Rolls

Runner's World Black Forest Blizzard

Living off of blended foods for the week after I got four wisdom teeth pulled turned me away from smoothies. I have tried to get into the whole green smoothie fad as a way to pack in the leafy greens, but I am just not a smoothie person. This Runner's World recipe, for example, had been hanging on my fridge for over a year. It even has chocolate! I finally blended it up last weekend after a run. Although it is not packed with spinach and kale, the protein from the greek yogurt and antioxidants from the cherries help reduce inflammation after a tough workout. The Black Forest Blizzard is the smoothie for non-smoothie lovers, tasting more like a light milkshake. I'm still working on drinking my greens, and finally blending up this Black Forest Blizzard is a step in the right direction. If anyone has green smoothie recipes that will convert me, send them my way!

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen, dark sweet cherries
1 frozen banana (freeze them with the peel off)
1 cup dark chocolate almond milk
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons agave syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Famous Chocolate Wafer for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients (expect the wafer) in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Top with crumbled chocolate wafer.

Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies

It's time for a cookie recipe! Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies have great texture and a nice balance of sweet & salty. They are best right out of the oven, with gooey chocolate and peanut butter chunks and the crunch of broken up pretzels. I made them for a friend's labor day barbecue, and sadly there were none left over :( I guess I'll have to make more soon. I'm thinking of mixing a batch, roll the dough into tablespoon balls and freezing them. Homemade cookies in less than 15 minutes anytime I want, with no extra dishes to clean, and no need to bake the entire batch. Yum!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chunks
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup broken up pretzels

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the vanilla extract and egg. Beat to combine.
Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Carefully stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and broken up pretzels. Cover and refrigerate for an hour, or freeze for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough. Leave about 2 inches between each scoop. Bake for 10 minutes (11-12 if you like crispier cookies.) Cool cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes before enjoying.

Makes 24 cookies.

Nutella Bundt Cake

Five years ago I packed up my car, and drove from Michigan to California to teach in Los Angeles. I wanted to impact the lives of inner-city students, and put them on a path to college. I was warned of the challenges that lay ahead, but nothing prepared me for what I face in the classroom. After five years, most stories don't even faze me. I used to come home overwhelmed because of books being thrown across a room, forced urination on the floor as an act of defiance, students swearing at me, teachers quitting halfway though the year, or mice running interrupting my lesson. Five years of experience has not only taught me to be unemotional when ridiculous things happen, but has given me the tools to manage and lead a classroom to high quality work. Years 2, 3 and part two of year 4 were especially rough, but it feels so good to be at a point where I can teach and kids will listen to me! My classroom is far from perfect, and there is still much growth to be made. I don't, however, have daily panic attacks on the way to school, my heart doesn't start racing when I see my students walking down the hallway to my class, and I don't hold back tears in class because the entire class refuses to sit down and be silent. Sometimes I just stop and smile when I see all my students silently reading, working collaboratively, or listening to me while I speak. It seems silly to appreciate focused students, but it is a reflection of four years of hard work.



This year was my first year teaching reading, and after the mentorship of Lelac at KIPP DC, I was ready to recreate her structure in my classroom here at KIPP LA. Alaina tested all 105 of our students to determine their reading level, as a school we rallied them around the goal of making more than one year of reading growth during this academic year, I stocked my classroom library with high interest books, and committed to the reading workshop model of teaching that included thirty minutes of reading in class everyday. It took time, but our apathetic readers turned into avid readers. As a final event to celebrate our hard work, and class average of more than two years of reading growth, we planned a reading marathon for students to take on the challenge of reading two hours straight without looking up. We were mean, and tried to distract them periodically during the marathon. Below is a video of them reading to The Beach Boys. The event concluded with a victory party. I made this Nutella Bundt Cake for the party, and kids were going crazy over the cake. Some of my favorite cake quotes include, "This is better than cakes from five star bakeries," and "Can you make recipe cards to hand out in class? Nutella cake is the bomb." I have to agree with them. Fluffy, nutella-ie, moist. This stuff is good!

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup Nutella
1 cup milk (whole milk will make the cake super moist)
Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a bundt pan. In a large bowl whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a mixer cream sugar into the butter until light in color and fluffy in texture, about three minutes. Add one egg at a time, then the Nutella. Pour in half the dry ingredient mixture, half the milk, the rest of the dry ingredients and the rest of the milk; mix until just combined. Spread the thick batter into a prepared bundt pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. Top with powered sugar.

Dark Chocolate Linguine

Lately Saturday mornings have consisted of sweating at Rudy's yoga class at Santa Monica Power Yoga, followed by sampling local foods at various farmer's markets. Quality farmer's market ingredients inspired this tasty dessert. I discovered Pappardelle's pasta a few weeks ago at the original Los Angeles Farmer's Market, and yesterday I came across spicy cinnamon chocolate at Chocovivo's stand in Playa Vista. What I love most about market shopping is meeting passionate small business owners who have devoted their lives to preparing natural, high quality products. Dark chocolate linguine, ice-cream and stone ground cocoa was a fun way to finish off a Saturday night meal.

Ingredients:
8 ounces dark chocolate linguine
A few scoops of ice cream
Chocolate bar or chocolate chips for melting
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
1. Cook pasta in a pot of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente (about 8-10 minutes). Drain and rinse with cool water. Allow to cool.
2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Add milk to chocolate and stir.
3. Divide linguini into 3-4 bowls. Top with ice-cream and melted chocolate.

Caramel Apples

KIPP Academy of Opportunity fifth graders celebrated halloween with an $80 average paycheck party. Our bundles of energy contained their excitement through five classes, working hard even though it was obvious their mind was on the festivities planned for the day. Along with watching halloween themed movies, dancing to thrilling and enjoying coveted social time, our KIPPsters made their own caramel apples. This was a fun fall group activity because kids were able to choose their toppings and decorate their own apples to take home. After the kids had their messy fun, the teachers dunked away. As a lover of pecans, I found the apple, caramel, pecan combination heavenly on halloween. 

Ingredients:
8 small apples, washed, well dried
1 bag (11 oz.)  Caramel Candy
2 Tbsp. water

Toppings (mini-chocolate chips, pecan pieces, walnuts, coconut, sprinkles)

Popsicle sticks

Directions:
1. Cover large plate with parchment paper. Insert one wooden pop stick into stem end of an apple. 

2. Place caramel in medium saucepan. Add water; cook on medium-low heat 3 min. or until caramel bits are completely melted, stirring constantly. You can also microwave the caramel candies for 2 minutes in a microwave safe bowl. Warning, caramel will be VERY hot. Stir gently, I learned the hard way.
3. Dip apples into melted caramel until evenly coated, spooning caramel over apples if necessary. Allow excess caramel to drip off. Dip in desired topping. Do not roll in the mini-chocolate chips. This will create a melted mess. Place on parchment paper. Ideally, refrigerate at least 1 hour, but you probably won't be able to wait. If you manage to wait, remove from refrigerator 15 min. before serving.

Pumpkin Pie Bites

Is October too early to be baking mini-pumpkin pies? I found these on bakerella, and I couldn't resist. These baby pumpkin bites make me so excited for Thanksgiving. 78 degree days at the end of October is glorious, but I am looking forward to bundling up in Michigan, cooking delicious comfort food, and spending time with family.  I guess I'll patiently pop pumpkin pie bites while I wait. 

Ingredients:
2 refrigerated ready-to roll pie crusts
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Optional
Candied Pecan Halves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Use a circle cookie cutter to cut 24 circles from the pie crust. You will need to roll the dough thinner than it comes out of the box.
Press dough shapes into a 24 cup mini muffin tray.
Apply egg whites from one egg to the top edges of each pie.
Mix cream cheese, sugar, canned pumpkin, remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice together until thoroughly combined.
Spoon mixture into each pie crust and top with a candied pecan.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Makes 24 pies. Keep refrigerated.

The Focus Cookie

The Focus Cookie first made its appearance in Mrs. Lowry's classroom a few days before DCCAS standardized testing. The kids and I were getting burnt-out from all the intense work and stress. We needed joy and enthusiasm. The Focus Cookie was invented as a way to have fun, without sacrificing sacred learning time. I told the kids that Focus Cookies have a magical power and ability to help students focus and master math skills. My too cool for Mrs. Lowry sixth graders rolled their eyes when I pretended to sprinkle magic focus dust on each cookie, but raved about the taste and kept asking for more. Yesterday on our way back from the sixth grade West Virginia camping trip we stopped at Splash Down Water Park before saying our goodbyes. We spent three hours in the pool, and were treated to cookies and snow cones before boarding the bus. A bunch of KIPPsters ran up to me after eating what I considered to be delicious cookies and said, "Mrs. Lowry, these cookies are good, but they're nothing compared to Focus Cookies!" We'll see how much math they retain from the year, but at least they know how to recognize a good cookie.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup of peanut butter chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl and mix thoroughly. Beat butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well each time. Slowly stir in the flour mixture. Gently fold in the  chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Drop small spoonfuls onto an un-greased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remember, the cookies will continue to cook when you take them out of the oven. I personally enjoy gooey undercooked cookies, so I only cook them for 8 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Nutter Butter Balls

Brent and I love nutter butter cookies. He asks me not to buy them because we both lack self-control when they are around. When I baked this bakerella recipe, we, being nutter butter fanatics, thought it would be an easy win for the KIPP Baking Club. Who doesn't love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate? Unfortunately they lost to a delicious batch of blueberry brownies by one vote. Although they didn't win, I will still vouch for these smooth, buttery nutter butter balls. Peanut Butter/Chocolate lovers will not be disappointed.

Ingredients:
1 pkg. Nutter Butter cookies
1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)
2 bars of semi-sweet baking chocolate

Directions:
1. Finely crush all but 5 cookies in a food processor. Snack on the 5 leftovers while you bake.
2. Combine with cream cheese. Use a mixer, or a large wooden spoon.
3. Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Refrigerate for at least thirty minutes.
4. Melt chocolate using a double boiler, then dunk balls into chocolate. Using a spoon, fish the balls out and tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.
5. Once dry, keep refrigerated.
Makes about 30 balls.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I baked these cookies for our friend Elisa's Italian Meatball night. In retrospect it was risky of me to bake cookies for someone who bakes cookies for a living, but these got the stamp of approval from Elisa, CEO of Hoff and Holmes Baked Goods. They looked pretty with the light sugar coating and cracks, and were soft and cakey. Delicious after a meal of prosciutto, artichoke, olive and red pepper antipasto, and the star of the show, the Italian meatballs and pasta. Thank you Elisa for a fun night!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup natural creamy peanut butter at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
For coating the cookies: A few extra tablespoon of sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
With a mixer, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips. Place coating sugar on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets. Using a fork, lightly indent the cookies with the signature peanut butter criss-cross. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure you do not over-bake the cookies. Cookies may look underdone, but they are not.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Red Velvet Cake Balls

With the huge popularity of Nutella Cake Balls, I decided to experiment a new cake ball combination. What I love about Red Velvet Cake Balls is the bright color when you take a bite. I like to make cake balls over the weekend, store them in the refrigerator and have a yummy bite size dessert ready to enjoy after dinner. I am still working on how to best dip the cake balls in the chocolate. Although delicious, they do not have the smooth truffle look I was going for. Any tips?

Ingredients:
1 box red velvet cake mix/ingredients listed on cake mix
1/2 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
2 bars semi-sweet chocolate
Wax paper

1. Bake the cake according to directions on the box.
2. Cool the cake completely, then crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1/2 can cream cheese frosting. Some recipes call for the entire can, but I prefer a more cakey cake ball.(Make sure the cake is cooled, otherwise your cake balls will be soggy.)
3. Roll mixture into balls and lay on cookie sheet. You choose the size, but think a little smaller than a ping pong ball.
4. Chill for several hours in the fridge, or 45 minutes in the freezer.
5. Melt chocolate in a double boiler.
6. Dip balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. This is the trickiest part for me. This time I used toothpicks.
7. Store in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There is no gift giving stress, just good food and good people. What I love most about Thanksgiving is the pie. I absolutely love pie, especially pumpkin pie. Pumpkin products are a little harder to find overseas, so eating pumpkin pie was always a special treat. On Thanksgiving I would eat pumpkin pie for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. I know it might seem strange expressing my love for a November holiday in February, and even stranger that this is not a post for pumpkin pie, however these pumpkin muffins allow me to enjoy the flavor of Thanksgiving pumpkin pie all year. Just like I freeze my banana muffins, I bake these muffins in bulk, and then stored in the freezer for lunches. I have also given two versions of the recipe so that you can decide whether you would like to make a healthier muffin, or more of a dessert.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole white wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15 ounce can)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce ( or 1/3 cup vegetable oil)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
1/2 cup sugar plus one tablespoon (or 1 cup sugar)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
As many chocolate chips as you like

Directions:
Put oven in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Put liners in muffin cups.
Whisk together pumpkin, apple sauce, eggs, pumpkin pie spice,  sugar, chocolate chips, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.
Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.
Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about three-fourths full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

I don't dread Monday mornings.  It's hard to complain when my week starts with baking club treats. At KIPP AIM Academy our previous 6th grade non-fiction teacher came up with the brilliant baking club idea. Every week, two baking club members are assigned to bake a specific type of dessert. On Monday morning they anonymously put their entries in the teacher's lounge. Baking club members then sample and vote to determine which item is the best overall. Alicia and I made this recipe for bar week, and they won! They involve several layers, making them time consuming to prepare. It's definitely worth the time though. Chocolate chips, cookie dough, cheesecake and graham cracker crumbs all in one recipe is sure to please everyone.






Crust Ingredients
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Cookie Dough Ingredients
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325°. Butter a 9″-square baking pan. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving enough to extend over the sides. Butter the parchment paper.

Filling Ingredients
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crust Directions
Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until crumbs are moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Press crust mixture into bottom of pan and 1 inch up sides. Bake for 6 minutes. Set pan on wire rack to cool

Cookie Dough Directions
Using an electric mixer , mix butter, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract at medium speed until smooth. Decrease mixer speed to low and add flour. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.

Filling Directions
Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar just until smooth. Add egg and vanilla extract, beating just until blended. Pour batter into baked crust. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the filling.

Bake about 30 minutes, or until set. Transfer to wire rack. Cool bars in pan completely, about an hour. To make the bars extra firm, harden them in the freezer. Using the edges of the parchment paper, remove bars from pan. Cut into bars and serve.

Lemon Bars

My favorite part of the school day is reading with my two learning teams. The fifth graders are divided into groups of ten, based on their reading level, and we meet for thirty minutes a day to read as a book club. It is such a relaxing class, and takes minimal preparation, and so rewarding for myself and the kids. It feels like a college seminar, sitting around with a small group of kids reading and discussing a book. This past week one of my reading groups finished Junebug, by Alice Mead. It is the story of a young boy growing up in a rough neighborhood in New Haven who dreams of becoming a boat captain. We've now moved on to a more challenging text. To celebrate finishing Junebug, and moving on to Al Capone Does My Shirts, we indulged in these yummy lemon bars. Here's how my learning team described them:
Gooey, sweet, sticky, buttery, lemony, powdery, and my personal favorite, goody.



Ingredients: For the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups  flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt


For the filling:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Powedered sugar for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light. Combine the flour and salt, then add to the butter until just mixed. With floured hands, press the dough into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides.
Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Cool. Leave the oven on.


For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Cool. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.


Adapted from Ina Garten

Banana Muffins

I hate throwing away food, and bananas just seem to go bad all the time. I modified dozens of recipes and came up with this yummy healthy treat. Now I always buy extra bananas, wait for them to get super ripe, make muffins, freeze them and use them as a replacement for granola bars in my lunch box. Warning: Don't expect super sweet muffins. They are sweet, but not dessert style muffins.

Ingredients
3 or 4 very ripe bananas, smashed
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup sugar (or 3/4 cup if you are looking for a sweeter muffin)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
A handful of chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups of whole white wheat flour
Chopped walnuts or oatmeal to top the muffins

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix apple sauce into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour and chocolate chips last, mix. Pour mixture into muffin tins. Top each muffin with a few walnuts. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 35-40 minutes for mini-loaves. Allow to cool, then enjoy!

Nutella Cake Balls

Nutella Cake Balls need no introduction.

Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix/ingredients listed on cake package
1 cup nutella
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
Sprinkles

Instructions
1. Bake cake according to package directions.
2. When the cake has cooled, crumble it in a large bowl.
3. Mix nutella well into cake crumbs, microwaving the nutella first if necessary. Add more or less nutella depending on preference.
4. Using your hands roll each mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
5. Chill in freezer for at least thirty minutes.
6. Using a double broiler, melt chocolate chips.
7. When smooth, add butter.
8. Using a toothpick or lollipop stick, dip cake balls in chocolate and immediately add sprinkles.
9. Freeze for another 30 minutes until chocolate has hardened.

Mini Oatmeal Pecan Pies

I know what you are thinking. You're a third culture kid, and you claim your cooking and baking comes from inspiration abroad, and your first post is mini-pies!? Before you judge, let me explain. England is not known for its food. Mr. Kipling, however, is pure genius. Nothing beats a snack sized apple pie. When Mama came home from Sainsbury's I usually went straight for the mini apple pies, or prawn cocktail chips (surprisingly delicious). I was such an apple pie enthusiast that I even had a special way of eating them. Start with the top crust, bite off the edges, lick the apple filling, and save the buttery bottom crust for last. 

Anyways, my love for mini pies, pecan pies and oatmeal has created one amazing and adorable baked good. Mini Oatmeal Pecan Pies!

Ingredients:

1/2 a cup of butter

2/3 cup oatmeal

2/3 cup dark corn syrup

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

Enough chopped pecan to make you happy!

12 Mini Pie Crusts (These are sometimes called pastry shells. I bought mine at Harris Teeter. If you have trouble finding pasty shells, you can also make these by lining muffin tins with your own pie crust.)

Directions:

1. In a saucepan melt the butter over medium heat.

2. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, corn syrup and oatmeal.

3. Stir in eggs and vanilla. (Make sure the mixture has cooled a bit. You don't want scrambled eggs in your mini pies!)

4. Divide the mixture amongst the 12 mini pies. Take into account that the oatmeal will rise a little bit.

5. Top with chopped pecans.

6. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. (All ovens are not created equal. Your pies may be done in more or less time. Check your pies around 25 minutes to make sure they are doing OK.)