They were well worth the wait because they’re the best carrot cake cupcakes I’ve ever had.

I love carrot cake and wanted to turn one of my favorite cakes into cupcakes, but the road was paved with snags.

I love this Carrot Cake Loaf, but the recipe was written to be made as a loaf cake rather than as cupcakes. The cake is incredibly moist and I knew it would produce dense, heavy cupcakes. I wouldn’t mind because I think good carrot cake should be on the denser and heavier side, but others may prefer their cupcakes a bit lighter.

I have this Carrot Pineapple Banana Bread, a tropical spin on carrot cake. And Cinnamon and Spice Sweet Potato Bread, which uses similar spices to carrot cake, but neither are cupcakes.

A couple months ago I tried to make carrot cake cupcakes and accidentally overfilled my muffin pan. I wound up with splooging mushrooms rather than cupcakes.

Instead I made Soft and Chewy Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies. They turned out to be some of my favorite cookies of 2013 so far, so all was not lost.

And there’s a recipe in my cookbook for Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Cookies, which have cream cheese baked in and they’re great cookies, but they’re not cupcakes.

Now I finally have my cupcakes and I love them. They’re fast and easy to make, and ready from start to finish in under 30 minutes. The batter comes together in one bowl without a mixer.

They’re soft, the perfect balance of dense yet light, and so moist. There’s nothing worse than dry cake and cupcakes tend to dry out even more so than cake, and these are anything but dry.

They’re oil-based rather than butter-based. Oil keeps cakes, breads, and quickbreads softer, springier, and more tender than butter.

The carrots themselves add moisture and texture, as do the raisins. If you don’t like raisins, you can omit them. I’m a raisin lover and they’re a must. If you like nuts, add some, but I prefer to keep those little pebbles out of my soft, tender cupcakes.

Bland carrot cake isn’t worth eating and the cupcakes are pleasantly spiced in a way that’s robust enough to complement the natural flavor of the carrots. They’re sweet, but not overly so.

The tangy cream cheese frosting, which is a must-have, balances the sweetness and rounds out the flavors. I just spooned it on, but pipe if you prefer. I only pipe unless I absolutely have to because so much precious frosting sticks to the bag and is wasted.

Many times I donate our extra goodies to friends, neighbors, my husband’s coworkers, my daughter’s teachers because our family of 3 does not need it all. But my husband insisted we hoard these. I agreed.

All my trials and tribulations of getting to these cupcakes were so worth it.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

I love carrot cake in any way, shape, or form, and these soft, moist, tender cupcakes are the best carrot cake cupcakes I've ever had. They're fast and easy to make, and come together with one bowl and a whisk in minutes. They're soft, springy, and the cream cheese frosting adds the perfect tanginess to these well-spiced and flavorful cupcakes.

Yield: 12 to 13 cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup sour cream or thick Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch salt, optional and to taste
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated carrots (2 to 3 medium/large carrots, peeled)
1/2 cup raisins, optional
1/2 cup nuts, optional

Frosting
1/2 cup (4 ounces) cream cheese (light is okay), softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
about 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, more or less as desired

Directions:

1. For the Cupcakes - Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 12-count muffin pan very well with floured cooking spray or use liners (Cosmetically, I prefer avoiding the ripples and ridges that liners produce)
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the first 11 ingredients (through optional salt) until combined.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and stir until just combined, don't overmix.
4. Fold in the carrots, optional raisins and nuts. Note about the carrots - I use a box grater on the coarsest blade and it takes less than 2 minutes to grate them. I prefer the consistency of doing it by hand rather than using a food processor. Don't use bagged, pre-shredded carrots from the grocery store; grate them yourself.
5. Turn batter out into prepared pan. Fill each muffin cavity between 2/3 and 3/4-full. Do not exceed 3/4-full because they will overflow. You may have batter remaining for a 13th (or 14th) cupcake and it's better to either discard it or bake it in another pan even though it's a pain for just 1 cupcake. I have overfilled, and then overflown, trying to make it all work in one pan.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cupcakes are domed, set, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before removing and turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. While cupcakes cool, make the Frosting - With an electric mixer, beat together first three ingredients on high power until combined and light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
8. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and beat to incorporate. Play with sugar ratio based on desired frosting consistency. If you accidentally add too much sugar, add a bit more cream cheese to thin it out.
9. Frost the cooled cupcakes. I spoon on about 2 tablespoons frosting per cupcake. Pipe it with a piping bag if desired. If you have extra frosting, it will keep airtight in the refrigerator for many weeks. Frosted cupcakes will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Unfrosted cupcakes will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

Related Recipes

Carrot Cake Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting

Soft and Chewy Spiced Carrot Cake Cookies

Carrot Pineapple Banana Bread with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting (small-batch recipe, makes 6)

Cinnamon and Spice Sweet Potato Bread

Oatmeal Raisin Carrot Cake Bites (no-bake, vegan, GF)

Coconut Spice Cheesecake Bars

Do you like carrot cake? Have a favorite recipe?

Thank goodness I’ve made up for lost time.

I’m not sure how I managed to write my cookbook Peanut Butter Comfort, filled with over 100 recipes using peanut butter, and have 75+ peanut butter recipes on my site, but have never baked those smooth little discs into cookies.

I’ve used Reese’s cups, mini Reese’s cups, M&Ms, peanut butter M&M’s, and finally now Reese’s Pieces.

The Reese’s Pieces add a wonderful crackly texture to the soft, moist, tender cookies. I prefer my cookies on the underbaked side and these are soft, squishy perfection.

There’s a very slight bit of chewiness to the edges, but these are for soft-batch cookie fans. No crispy or crunchy cookies for me. Ever.

They’re loaded with Reese’s Pieces and there’s an abundance of oozing, melted chocolate chips in every bite.

I almost skipped the chocolate chips and opted to solely use Reese’s Pieces, but I’m glad I tossed in the chocolate chips, too. Cookies just aren’t the same without chocolate.

The peanut butter flavor is distinct and full-on. There’s a hefty amount in the dough and there’s all those Reese’s Pieces.

These cookies are made for those of us who really like the peanut butter in peanut butter cookies. With some recipes you have to wonder if it’s really there, or not. Not an issue here. Very peanut buttery.

They’re a snap to make and the dough comes together quickly and easily.

Use regular, storebought peanut butter. Old-fashioned Jif or Peter Pan Honey Roasted Peanut Butter are my favorites for baking.

Homemade Peanut Butter or ‘natural’ varieties are playing with fire in cookie-baking.

Cookies made with them tend to spread, and I don’t have time to worry about a potential cookie flop or wasted ingredients, so I bake with what I know will give me success, every time.

Every recipe in my cookbook was tested with Jif because it’s universal and I know it works.

Chill the dough so your cookies bake up nice and thick. Warm dough equates to thinner, flatter cookies and I prefer thicker and puffier.

I use my cookie scoop to scoop out the dough, put the mounds on a plate, and refrigerate. When I’m ready to bake, I grab a half dozen and save the rest for later.

I always have plates of dough in the fridge. Cookie dough, bread dough. Somethings always ready and waiting.

Calling all peanut butter (and chocolate) lovers.

These are for you.

Reese's Pieces Soft Peanut Butter Cookies

The cookies are soft, moist, with irresistibly tender centers, a slight bit of chewiness to the edges, loaded with Reese's Pieces, and oozing, melted chocolate chips. They're packed with full-on peanut butter flavor and are the perfect choice for soft peanut butter cookie fanatics.

Yield: about 26-28 medium-small cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 18 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large egg
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use homemade or natural peanut butter; use Jif, Skippy, or similar)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
1 cup Reese's Pieces
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric hand mixer), cream together the first 5 ingredients (through vanilla) on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, baking soda, optional salt, and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute; don't overmix.
3. Add the Reese's Pieces, chocolate chips, and blend until just incorporated.
4. Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two-tablespoon mounds (I made 27). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly with your palm, cover with plasticwrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
5. Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet). Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than 10 minutes because cookies will firm up as they cool (The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled overnight, allowed to come to room temp for 15 minutes, and were baked for 8 minutes, with trays rotated at the 4-minute mark. They have slightly chewy edges with soft, pillowy centers). Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
6. Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

Adapted from Soft and Puffy Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies and Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

Related Recipes:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (GF) – My favorite peanut butter cookies on my blog. My other favorites are in my book. There’s NO Flour, NO Butter, and NO White sugar used! Soft, chewy & oozing with dark chocolate. Crazy good!

Soft and Puffy Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies – No butter used in these soft, tender cookies with dough so good you won’t even want to bake them

Thick and Soft Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies – Richly and intensely chocolate-flavored cookies with NO Flour, NO Butter, and NO White sugar used. They’re thick, dense, soft, chewy and almost brownie-like

Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peanut Butter Cups & Peanut Butter M&M’s

 Puffy Vanilla and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies – These cookies are extremely popular on Pinterest

Soft and Chewy M&Ms Cookies – My favorite chocolate chip cookie dough base that I loaded with M&Ms

Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Crumble Bars – This bar and the one below it are my two favorite bars of 2013 to date

Peanut Butter Caramel Twix Bars

Homemade Peanut Butter (vegan if plain peanuts are used, GF) – Ready in 5 minutes and you have not lived until you’ve made your own. Just eat it, but don’t bake with it

75+ Peanut Butter Recipes

35 National Peanut Day Recipes

Peanut Butter and Jelly Recipes

Peanut Butter Comfort, my cookbook featuring 100+ Peanut Butter Recipes

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The only thing better than the rolls is that the dough is a make-ahead and no-knead dough.

The rolls are so easy to make. I adapted the dough from my Challah recipe, which uses the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day method.

The principle is that you make a big batch of dough, keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days, and just bake off what you need on that particular day. It sounds too good to be true but it works.

They’re practically work-free because there’s no-kneading involved.

Since there’s no kneading, I don’t even use my stand mixer and stir everything together with a wooden spoon in a bowl.

Simply combine warm water, yeast, two eggs, honey, oil and flour.

Stir, cover it for about two hours to rise, and from there you have options.

…Two Hours Later

You can either bake with some of the dough now, or bake later. I usually use about one-quarter of the dough, and refrigerate the rest.

The recipe will yield about 14 to 16 dinner rolls, but I don’t only make rolls with this dough.

Sometimes I make mini-challah loaves. Mini food tastes better.

Or I make mini loaves of bread in Mini Loaf Pans. These pans and they come in handy for so many things and I just love them.

I bake rolls in them, too. We are a family of 3 and 4 rolls is fine. We don’t need carb mania every night.

You can see how much mileage I got from one batch of dough. And it’s not even that much dough, just a 3 1/2 cups flour recipe, but I love the flexibility of it.

Sometimes I form the dough into balls and keep them in the fridge in a covered pie dish. About an hour before I want to bake them, I put the dish on the counter to warm up and rise.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Instant dinner rolls.

The recipe is perfect for anyone who’s never worked with yeast because it’s almost impossible to screw up.

If you can dump ingredients in a bowl and stir, you can make these.

I like to brush the tops with honey butter before baking and it makes them even more irresistible.

Schmear the extra honey butter on after they’ve baked as you’re devouring them. So good.

The rolls are light, soft, and fluffy.

I just want to rip them apart and drench them in honey butter.

Nothing beats warm, fresh, homemade bread.

And for the rest of the day, your house will smell like a bakery.

If you literally need to butter someone up in your family, these will do the trick and earn you some major brownie points.

You can just pretend that you slaved away over them.

No-Knead Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter

These soft, light, fluffy dinner rolls are so easy. They're practically work-free because there's no-kneading involved. The beauty of this dough is that you can make it ahead of time, refrigerate it, and when you're ready to bake, grab a hunk and bake off only what you need. You can use it for more than just dinner rolls, too. Try challah or mini-challah, mini loaves of bread, or even cinnamon rolls. So many possibilities and knowing you have dough in the fridge waiting makes having fresh bread or rolls an easy reality.

Yield: 12 to 24 dinner rolls, depending on size

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 3+ hours, for rising

Ingredients:

Rolls
7/8 cup water (scant 1 cup), warmed to about 125F for Platinum yeast, about 105 to 115F for most other yeast
2 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce packet, I use Red Star Platinum)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil, or 1/4 cup butter (oil creates a softer loaf, butter creates a crustier crust; butter-based dough is firmer and slightly easier to work with, but I have no trouble with oil-based dough and prefer the bread)
1/4 cup honey
pinch salt, optional and to taste
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I have also used 2 1/2 cups bread flour and 1 cup all-purpose; bread flour creates chewier, firmer bread; AP creates softer, squisher bread and it's not quite as high-rising)

Honey Butter
1/4 cup (half of one stick) unsalted butter, very soft
2 to 3 tablespoons honey

Directions:

1. For the Rolls - Pour water into a microwave-safe measuring cup or bowl and warm it to manufacturer's directions on yeast packet, about 45 seconds on high power. Take the temperature with a thermometer. If you don't have one, water should be warm to the touch, but not hot. Err on the side of too cool rather than too hot because you don't want to kill the yeast.
2. Pour water into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the top; wait 5 to 10 minutes, or until yeast is foamy. This means it's alive and will work. (This is proofing and technically with instant dry yeast you don't have to proof it, but for this recipe, I do)
3. Add the eggs, oil, 1/4 cup honey, optional salt, and whisk to combine, about 30 seconds.
4. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate the flour. Stir for about 1 minute more. This is as much 'kneading' as the recipe requires. Dough will be thick, lumpy, bumpy, and not smooth. This is okay. Make a ball with the dough in the center of the bowl. Cover bowl with plasticwrap and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Tip - Create a warm environment by preheating your oven for 1 to 2 minutes to 400F, then shutting it off. This creates a 90F-ish warm spot. Slide the bowl in and wait while the yeast works. Just make sure your oven is off.
5. At this point you have a choice... If you plan to bake now (through step 11) punch dough down, remove it from bowl, and turn it out onto a well-floured surface. Knead it only so much as necessary to shape it into balls for rolls (I divide the dough in half, and if I'm making rolls, I make 8 rolls from each half, for 16 rolls total, they're just a bit bigger than golf balls). Or form desired shapes such as mini loaves, challah, breadsticks, pretzels, etc. Use only what you need and save the rest for later in the refrigerator.
6. Place balls of dough in a cooking sprayed round baking dish or pie plate, or in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan; size depends on how many you're making. They can be close to each other, but if they're overly squished they'll bake into each other.
7. Cover baking dish with plasticwrap, and allow rolls to rise in a warm, draft-free environment for about 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. I use the preheated oven trick again.
8. In the final minutes of rising, preheat oven to 350F.
9. For the Honey Butter - Stir to combine the butter and honey. Generously brush or spread the mixture over the top of the dough before baking. Reserve remainder to serve with rolls after baking
10. Bake rolls for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly golden and puffed. Baking time will vary greatly based on how many rolls you're baking, or if it's another shape such as a mini loaf, the size of the pan, and personal preference. Watch your bread, not the clock.
11. Serve as soon as bread is cool enough to handle. Rolls are best fresh, but will keep airtight for up to 4 days at room temperature or may be frozen for up to 4 months.
12. If you plan to bake later - Take dough that's risen for about 2 hours from step 5, keep it covered, and refrigerate it. Dough may be kept refrigerated for up to 5 days before baking.
13. When you plan to bake, pick up at step 5 and follow through step 11.

Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

Related Recipes:

Honey Dinner Rolls

Challah (no-knead)

30 Minute Honey Whole Wheat Skillet Bread (no-knead, no yeast)

Cinnamon Raisin English Muffin Bread with Cinnamon Sugar Butter (no-knead)

Soft and Fluffy Sandwich Bread (vegan)

Soft and Chewy Coconut Milk Bread (vegan)

One Hour Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (vegan)

Soft Buttery One Hour Pretzels (vegan)

Overnight Buttermilk Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls

Thanks for the entries in the 25 Restaurant Copycat Recipes and CopyKat Cookbook Giveaway

Do you make dinner rolls or bread? What’s your favorite recipe?

1. There’s a Los Angeles-based business that sells only pedal-churned ice cream. They’re dishing out frozen goodies that are not only made from organic ingredients, but are also processed entirely by human power.

“…it only takes about 3-4 miles of pedaling (aboard an old Schwinn bike mounted on rollers) to freeze a 5-gallon batch of Mexican chocolate ice cream, salted caramel non-dairy vegan dessert, or strawberry-basil sorbet. If you’re going at a decent clip, that’ll take about 15 minutes.”

photo source

They should try my ice cream cream, No-Ice-Cream-Maker Funfetti Cake Batter Golden Oreo Ice Cream

No ice cream maker needed, it’s a no-cook recipe, make it in 10 minutes, and only two main ingredients are required: heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk.

It’s dangerously easy and the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted.

2. I’ve been doing recipe development for Pillsbury and a new post of mine just went live on their site, Strawberry Jam Sweet Rolls with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze

3. They’re the shortcut version using pre-made dough of these Strawberry Sweet Rolls with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze

4. This Vanilla Bean-Infused Simple Syrup looks like something I could use in just about everything from iced coffee to muffins to coffee cake

“Cane sugar and water infused with pure Madagascar Bourbon and Tahitian vanilla bean seeds, and vanilla extract.”

5. I just got my monthly iHerb order. Their prices are, hands down, the cheapest on my daily probiotics, the nutritional yeast I sprinkle on everything from popcorn to salads to kale chips.

I get all my vitamins and supplements, bulk cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, liquid vanilla stevia drops, bulk white stevia powder, medicinal fancy-grade honey, chia seeds, and so many other things I use every day there.

With free shipping and a discount on top of already rock bottom prices, I always feel like I hit the jackpot.

Enter code AVE630 at checkout to save $5 bucks and go shopping.

6. Polished metal cuff – Punctuated with sparkling Swarovski crystals and bright turquoise cabochons, $465 from Shopbop

I’ve always loved turquoise. Both the stone and the color. And with Swarovski crystals, I wouldn’t say no.

7. Cook’s Illustrated tested popular brands of grocery store black tea. They confined the tests to black tea, or English Breakfast tea, and what follows are the winners and losers.

More Results

8. Daiquiris aren’t just on the “specialty cocktail” page at chain restaurants. Done right, they’re a mix of light rum, lime, and sugar. The Hemingway Special was Ernest Hemingway’s favorite daiquiri. If it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for me.

More ideas in Saveur’s Papa’s Favorite Poison

photo credit Michael Kraus

9. The Best and Worst Nuts for Your Health – “A look at the pros and cons of different nuts, as well as the best and worst products on supermarket shelves today. Of course, you can get too much of these good things: Nuts are high in fat and calories, so while a handful can hold you over until dinner, a few more handfuls can ruin your appetite altogether. And although nuts are a healthy choice by themselves, they’ll quickly become detrimental to any diet when paired with sugary or salty toppings or mixes.”

Best nuts for your diet:  Almonds, Cashews, Pistachios

Worst nuts for your diet:  Macadamia Nuts, Pecans

Best nuts for your heart:  Walnuts

Best nuts for disease prevention:  Almonds

Best nuts for your brain:  Peanuts

More Results

10. I’m glad that peanuts are the best nuts for my brain. I eat way more than my fair share in the form of loose peanuts or ground into homemade peanut butter

Here are 35 Favorite Peanut Butter Recipes

And my Cookbook, Peanut Butter Comfort, has 100+ peanut butter recipes

I recommend putting Peanut Butter Honey Buttermilk Cake with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Streusel on your agenda. It’s good for your brain.

Thanks for the entries in the 25 Restaurant Copycat Recipes and CopyKat Cookbook Giveaway and in the $500 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

What are your Weekend Things?

Favorite nuts? Tea drinker or favorite tea? Fave Daiquiri? Favorite place to save money on your everyday staples and supplements?

If you’ve made anything, done, seen, or bought anything fabulous recently, feel free to link it up in the comments.

Rather than being dependent on going to mall for my fix, waiting for seasonally-available treats to come along, or over-paying for storebought, I came up with at-home, copycat versions of the real thing.

Included are 25 of my Favorite Copycat and Restaurant Knock-Off Recipes, and some fun DIY recipes, like making vanilla extract or peanut butter, which save money and taste far better than storebought.

1. Overnight Buttermilk Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls – My ode to Cinnabons, and I prefer these to the real thing

2. Baked Vanilla Donuts with Vanilla Glaze – The baked version of a Krispy Kreme

3. Ritz Cracker-Stuffed Peanut Butter Cups (No-Bake, Vegan) – I like adding crackers for added crunch along with salty-and-sweet, or try this recipe for classic Peanut Butter Cups (No-Bake, Vegan, GF)

4. Peanut Chewy Payday Bars

5. Cranberry Bliss Bars – Starbucks Copycat Recipe and the reader feedback on these has been extremely positive

6. Old-Fashioned Butter Mints (no-bake, gluten-free)

7. Homemade Little Debbie Star Crunch (no-bake)

8. Soft Buttery One Hour Pretzels (vegan) – Faster and easier than going to the mall for Auntie Anne’s or Wetzels Pretzels

9. Outback Steakhouse Wheat Bread (vegan) – Copycat Recipe for the soft, brown bread many steakhouses like Longhorn and Outback serve. I don’t eat steak but I do love this bread

10. Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies – My favorite homemade brownies, ever

11. Twinkies

12. Butterfinger Bars (No Bake, Vegan & GF options) – Make in less than 5 minutes in the microwave

13. Homemade Baileys Irish Cream – Make in the blender in 1 minute

14. Homemade Cinnamon-Sugar Graham Crackers

15. Samoas Bars (Vegan & GF options) – The flavors of the Girl Scout classic cookies combined in easy-to-make bars rather than fussy, layered, multi-step cookies

16. Homemade Vanilla Extract (vegan, GF) – A truly work-free recipe. Just wait it out

17. Homemade Ginger Ale (vegan, GF)

18. 10-Minute Homemade Hot Fudge (GF)

19. Homemade Peanut Butter (vegan, GF) – Make in minutes in your food processor. Once you try homemade, you’ll never want storebought

20. Homemade Cookie Butter (vegan, GF) – Very similar to Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter or Biscoff spread

21. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF) – Better than Quaker Chewy Granola Bars and ready in minutes

22. Hot Pepper Jelly (vegan, GF) – Like Trader Joe’s Hot Pepper Jelly, which is sometimes only seasonally available

23. Pumpkin Spice Latte (vegan, GF) – Starbucks Copycat Recipe

24. Thin Mints (vegan, no-bake) – Make in minutes and they’re a dead-ringer for the original

25. Orange Push-Up Smoothie (GF, can be kept vegan) – Tastes like an Orange Push-Up, in smoothie form

CopyKat.com’s Dining Out at Home Cookbook: Recipes for the Most Delicious Dishes from America’s Most Popular Restaurants by Stephanie Manly is packed with the most popular recipes from CopyKat.com

This book offers over 200 unauthorized restaurant re-creations that have been tested and re-tested by people just like you. Each delicious dish is guaranteed to taste like the restaurant original so you can:

•Save money while enjoying all your favorite restaurant dishes

•Mix and match items from different restaurants to create the perfect meal

•Satisfy kids with their fast food favorites while making a fancier dinner for the adults

•Modify original re-creations to make them healthier while maintaining the delicious taste

•Find the ideal recipe for any occasion with the book’s quick reference icons, impress-your-guest dishes, quick-and-easy treats, meat-lover fare and vegetarian options

There are recipes for all your favorite entreés, appetizers, soups, salads, desserts and more from Americas best restaurants, including:

•Boston Market®
•Chili’s®
•Cracker Barrel Old Country Store®
•IHOP®
•Jack in the Box®
•Joe’s Crab Shack®
•Mrs. Fields®
•Olive Garden®
•Outback Steakhouse®
•Red Lobster®
•Taco Bell®
•T.G.I. Friday’s®
•The Cheesecake Factory®

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And for any peanut butter lovers, my cookbook, Peanut Butter Comfort, was released last week. Thank you for your support!

With pizza.

It’s also vegan, made with whole-wheat flour, and bakes in a skillet with no kneading and no fuss.

The dough comes together in one bowl in minutes, and the bread is ready in 30 minutes. Sold yet?

Last week Gaby invited some San Diego-area bloggers out to lunch to celebrate the release of her new cookbook, Absolutely Avocados.

The recipes are creative and fun, Gaby’s writing is easy-breezy and a joy to read, the photography is stunning, and the book is just wonderful. Two thumbs up.

Reading all those avocado recipes got my wheels turning and I came up with this.

I took advantage of the natural, plant-based healthy fats found in avocado, skipped any butter in the dough, and added just two tablespoons of oil for this big slab ‘ole pizza bread.

Between the seasonings and the cheese, the avocado and sour cream, it’s dense, cheesy, and packed with savory flavor.

Avocado, sour cream, buttermilk, and cheese (use vegan ingredients if desired) keep the bread soft, chewy, and very moist.

It’s so moist that when I placed it on the cooling rack after baking, it released a few tablespoons of water onto the counter. That’s some moist bread. If you’re looking for thin and crispy, dry, light and airy, this isn’t that.

The whole wheat flour adds extra chewiness, texture, and an earthier, nuttier flavor that comes with whole wheat flour.

I love the taste and health benefits of whole wheat flour but it can be tricky to get to rise properly because is has less gluten. However, it’s perfect in dough that it’s okay if it stays flatter and denser, like Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, Honey Whole Wheat Skillet Bread, or this bread.

If you like cheese bread, pizza, or are already an avocado fan, all the bases are covered here.

If you’re not an avocado fan, you’re still in luck because the avocado flavor is hardly noticeable. It adds creaminess, richness, moisture, and softness.

The pizza bread would be great served with a side of guacamole (I ran out of ripe avocados), sour cream, salsa, pico de gallo. And when all else fails, my 6 year old dipped hers in ketchup.

So many bases covered in one recipe. Pizza, bread, cheese, avocado. We were fans.

30-Minute Cheesy Avocado Skillet Pizza Bread (Whole-Wheat and Vegan)

This pizza bread is what you'd get if you crossed cheese bread with avocado with pizza. It's made with whole-wheat flour, with no kneading and no fuss, can be kept vegan, and is ready in just 30 minutes. If you can't decide if you want bread or pizza, this moist, soft, dense, cheesy pizza bread is the perfect solution.

Yield: one 10-inch flat round, 8 generous pieces

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

2 medium ripe avocados, mashed (I used Hass)
1 1/4 cups buttermilk*(see vegan tip if don't keep it around)
1/4 cup sour cream or thick Greek yogurt*
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 cups shredded cheese (one 8-ounce package), divided*
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons all-purpose seasoning blend, or to taste (Mrs. Dash varieties, TJ's 21 Salute, Lawry's Seasoning Salt, grill seasoning, etc.)
2 teaspoons baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste (remember buttermilk is salted, cheese has salt, and many seasoning blends contain salt)

*To Keep Vegan - Use vegan buttermilk. Make by combining 1 1/4 cups non-dairy milk (or regular milk if vegan considerations aren't important and you just don't keep buttermilk on hand) with 2 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice, let stand for 10 minutes, stir, and use. Use vegan sour cream/yogurt, and vegan cheese to keep recipe vegan.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray an enameled 10 1/4-inch cast-iron skillet (or skillet that's 10 to 12 inches in diameter) with cooking spray, grease a seasoned cast iron skillet, or prepare an oven-safe skillet; set aside. Bread could likely be made in a sprayed 9-by-13-inch pan although I haven't tested it.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine first four ingredients and whisk to combine.
3. Add about 6 ounces of cheese and fold to incorporate.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and fold to incorporate. Batter will be lumpy, bumpy, thick, and not at all smooth; don't overmix and don't try to make it smooth.
5. Turn dough out into skillet. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes.
6. Remove skillet from oven, and evenly sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.
7. Lower oven temperature to 350F, return skillet to oven, and bake for 15 minutes, or bread is cooked through and cheese is golden.
8. Optionally, place skillet under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes in order to brown the cheese more. Be very, very careful if you use the broiler so you don't burn it. It can burn in the span of 1 minute; stand right there and watch it the entire time. I keep the oven door ajar.
9. With a large spatula, slide or nudge bread out of skillet and onto a wire rack to cool. Don't keep it in the skillet because it will continue to cook from the carryover heat. Slice and serve after it's sufficiently cooled. Serve plain, with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, or your favorite dip. Bread will keep airtight for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Adapted from 30-Minute Honey Whole Wheat Skillet Bread

Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

Related Recipes:

30-Minute Honey Whole Wheat Skillet Bread – Fast and so easy to make, you’ll think you left something out

Copycat recipe for Outback Steakhouse Wheat Bread (vegan) – Based Outback’s hearty, wheaty bread, and is ever-so-slightly infused with subtle hints of molasses and honey. Serve with honey butter for even more authenticity

One Hour Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (vegan) – Homemade pizza dough in 1 hour so there’s never an excuse not to make pizza. Free yourself from storebought pizza dough and make your own in an hour and it’s healthier because it’s wheat

Soft Buttery One Hour Pretzels (vegan) – Just like the soft and fluffy pretzels you can buy at the mall, but now you don’t need the mall. In just 1 hour, they’re ready from start to finish and you can customize the dough, toppings, and dip and pretend you have your own pretzel shop at home

Vanilla Avocado Banana Ice Cream (Raw, Vegan, GF)

Cheater’s Guacamole (Raw, Vegan, GF) – 3 minute recipe.  No veggie, onion, or garlic chopping required

Avocado, Cream Cheese, and Salsa-Stuffed Puff Pastries (with a vegan option) – This was one of the most popular recipes on my site in 2012, thanks to Pinterest

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How do you enjoy avocados?

What do you like to make in your skillet?

It’s even better when paired with homemade salted caramel sauce.

This isn’t the type of breakfast you’d make every day, but it sure is a good one when you do.

It’s my birthday today and they’d make a nice birthday breakfast. But I made them last weekend and they’re long gone.

The pancakes are light, soft, and fluffy from the buttermilk. They’re anything but lead balloons, a major gripe I have with many pancakes.

And if you can get the pancakes to look like Pac-Man, they taste even better. I loved that game and could play it for hours, but I digress.

The pancakes appear fairly dark because I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder, but they look darker and more intense than they actually taste. I love my dark chocolate, but I don’t want bitter for breakfast.

The chocolate flavor is present, but not overpowering. If you prefer to be overpowered, make these.

The salted caramel sauce is the icing on the cake. Or the drizzle on the stack. If you’ve never made caramel sauce, it’s not a biggie.

I wrote a step-by-step tutorial with Dark Rum Caramel Sauce. Same thing here, just swapping out rum for a bit of sea salt. Or keep the rum.

When making caramel sauce, make sure you’re organized and have everything ready to go. Read the recipe. Then read it again before you turn on the stove. Make sure you know what you’re doing, where you’re going, and what to look for. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes, but before you start playing around with boiling sugar, make sure your ducks are in a row.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce.

I kept the pancakes on the smaller side, about 3 inches in diameter, and made 11 pancakes. If you’re keeping them smaller, it’s a 10 to 12 pancake recipe. Or a 6-pancake recipe for larger pancakes.

I’m not a good pancake flipper and smaller pancakes are easier and more manageable to flip.

Feel free to double the recipe, and the extras can be frozen for up to 6 months and warmed in the micro. It’s a nice 60-second hot breakfast option for busy weekday mornings. They’re a smidge rubbery when reheated, but it’s very liveable and easy to overlook because there’s chocolate involved.

I took some of the extra pancakes and smeared peanut butter on them for chocolate-pancake-and-peanut-butter-sandwiches for lunch boxes. Chocolate pancakes trump bread.

The soft, light, moist pancakes are the perfect sponges for the sweet and lightly salted caramel sauce. Maple syrup of course works too, but caramel and chocolate is a match made in heaven.

The caramel is thick, rich, luxurious, and I couldn’t keep my spoon out of the jar.

When I made these over the weekend, they were met with rave reviews from my family.

You can’t go wrong with chocolate for breakfast. Or with caramel sauce.

Chocolate Buttermilk Pancakes with Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

Chocolate and caramel is a match made in heaven and makes for a special breakfast treat. The soft, light, fluffy, moist buttermilk pancakes are the perfect sponges for the sweet and lightly salted caramel sauce. Recipe may be doubled and extra pancakes can be frozen and reheated for busy mornings. Chocolate, it's what's for breakfast.

Yield: 10-12 small pancakes or 6 larger

Prep Time: 5 mins for pancakes

Cook Time: 5 mins for pancakes, 10 mins for caramel

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional
1 cup buttermilk , plus a splash more only if necessary
1 large egg
2 heaping tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Salted Caramel Sauce

Makes about 1 cup

Note - If you don't want to make your own salted caramel sauce, Trader Joe's sells Fleur de Sel Salted Caramel Sauce, which I swear by. Williams-Sonoma has a Salted Caramel Sauce for four times the price of the Trader Joe's sauce.

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup heavy cream or half and half (I use half and half)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons rum, optional

1/4 cup butter (half of 1 stick, salted or unsalted may be used)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste (or omit salt for regular caramel sauce)

Directions:

1. For the Pancakes - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together first 8 dry ingredients (through optional salt); set aside.
2. In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk together final 4 wet ingredients.
3. Add wet to dry, and fold gently to combine. Don't overmix; batter will be lumpy. It's a thick batter, but if it's too thick for your liking, add a splash of additional buttermilk to thin it.
4. Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium heat.
5. Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop or spoon that's been sprayed with cooking spray (helps batter to slide right off), place heaping 2-tablespoon mounds of batter in skillet. Cook pancakes on first side for about 3 minutes, flip and cook on second side for about 2 minutes, or until done. Repeat until all batter is gone, respraying both skillet and scoop with cooking spray as necessary.
6. Serve pancakes immediately with butter, syrup, or your favorite topping. If making the salted caramel sauce, place pancakes on a baking sheet and keep them in a preheated 250F oven while making the sauce so they stay warm. Pancakes can be wrapped or kept airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 4 months.
7. For the Salted Caramel Sauce - In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan with tall enough sides to accommodate the mixture when it starts bubbling, combine the sugar and water. Heat over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.
8. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a boil without stirring. Using caution, use a wet pastry brush or damp paper towel to wipe down any crystals that are clinging to the sides of the saucepan. Failure to remove them could result in a grainy sauce. Boil until the mixture is a deep amber color, about 5 to 6 minutes.
9. Remove the pan from the heat, and using caution, whisk in the cream. The mixture will bubble up vigorously.
10. Add the vanilla and optional rum. It will bubble again.
11. Stir in the butter and salt to taste; or omit salt for regular caramel sauce. If using table salt rather than Kosher salt, add less because it’s finer-grained and 1 teaspoon of table salt is much saltier tasting than 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt.
12. Transfer caramel to a glass or heatproof jar with a lid. Caramel sauce will keep airtight for many months in the refrigerator.

Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

 Related Recipes:

Strawberry and Sprinkles Buttermilk Pancakes

The Ultimate Fudgy Caramel Brownies

Salted Caramel Pretzel Blondies

Milky Way Chocolate Cookie Crumble Bars

Dark Rum Caramel Sauce (gluten-free) – A step-by-step guide for easy at-home caramel sauce that can be used on everything from ice cream to apples. Can be made with or without rum, although I recommend the rum. Add salt to taste

Marshmallow Caramel Oreo Cookie S’Mores Bars

Seven Minute Microwave Caramels (gluten free) – Almost too good to be true. The best caramels I’ve ever had and will be the only recipe I’ll ever use or need again

Chocolate-Covered 7-Minute Microwave Caramels

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars (GF with Vegan adaptation) – Caramels, more caramels, and plenty of chocolate and oats are combined in these gooey, sticky, sweet, and texture-rich bars

Nutella Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Homemade Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies

Thanks for the entries in the $500 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

What’s your favorite pancake recipe?

Until I made this. It’s the best ice cream I’ve ever had.

I made it for my husband because unlike me, he is a ridiculously huge ice cream lover. It’s his thing. He loves, loves, loves ice cream.

We don’t tend to keep it in the house (his request) because he can’t trust himself around it.

However, he goes to the 24-hour Rite-Aid at 3am on ice cream runs at least 4 times a week. They have an in-store ice cream counter and he’s best friends with the graveyard shift employees.

So I decided to give him an early Father’s Day present in the form of pink sprinkles and creamy, homemade ice cream. I just didn’t think I’d be the one falling in love with it.

It’s full of chopped Golden Oreos, sprinkles, and tastes like Funfetti Cake Batter. No cake mix involved.

The flavoring secrets are a bit of almond extract, in conjunction with clear imitation vanilla extract.

Normally real vanilla extract is the way to go, but to create that classic, nostalgic, bakery-style cake batter taste, use the cheap stuff like I’ve mentioned before. Clear imitation is found next to real vanilla in the grocery store, usually for about one-third of the price.

This is a no-cook recipe. It’s a major time saver to avoid standing around whisking eggs, cream, and sugar together, then having to wait for them to cool.

The solution? A can of sweetened condensed milk. There are only two required ingredients to make it. Sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream.

Nor do you need an ice cream maker. I just recently got this Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Compressor from Sur La Table, but prior to that didn’t have one, and many of you may not have one either.

This recipe can be made in an ice cream maker if you have one (details in the recipe section), but it’s not necessary.

To make the ice cream, simply whip heavy cream to stiff peaks.

Then, fold in a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, almond, and vanilla extracts.

Fold means be gentle. Don’t stir like you’re mashing potatoes. Take your time so that you don’t deflate the puffiness. If you have an ice cream maker, the machine does this folding step for you.

Gently stir in cookies, sprinkles, and freeze it for at least 6 hours.

I dare you not to lick the bowl.

The ice cream freezes solid, but after 5 minutes at room temperature it’s easily scoopable. It’s similar to storebought ice cream and doesn’t turn ridiculously rock hard, an issue that can plague homemade ice cream. The photo below is before freezing for 6 hours.

This ice cream is soft, fluffy, and light. Light in texture, not in calories. Between the sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, half a bottle of sprinkles, and 2 dozen Oreos, it’s not exactly diet food. But so worth it.

The flavor resembles sweetened, frozen whipped cream. This is not a bad thing. If you like buttercream frosting, real whipped cream or Cool Whip, or sweetened condensed milk, this is the ice cream for you. Since I love all those things, it’s definitely the ice cream for me.

It’s ridiculously creamy and rich. It’s like no ice cream I’ve ever tried. Maybe that’s why I love it. And my ice cream-loving husband polished off a generous pint in a sitting.

There’s an abundance of cookies and sprinkles in every bite. The sprinkles stay a bit crunchy while the cookies soften just slightly after being soaked in the rich, luscious, cream bath.

Although I used almond and vanilla extract, Golden Oreos, and sprinkles, my wheels are already turning with ideas of chocolate, peanut butter, Nutella, Cookie Butter, and cookie dough. My husband loves mint. I should make him mint chocolate chip.

Since I helped myself plenty to his Father’s Day gift.

No-Ice-Cream-Maker Funfetti Cake Batter Golden Oreo Ice Cream

This is the best ice cream I've ever had and it's the easiest to make with just two main ingredients - whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk. It's a no-cook recipe and the recipe is written to reflect making it with or without an ice cream maker. The ice cream is soft, fluffy, and tastes a bit like sweetened, frozen whipped cream. If you like buttercream frosting, whipped cream, or sweetened condensed milk, this is the ice cream for you. The sprinkles and chunks of cookies add texture to this ridiculously creamy and rich ice cream.

Yield: about 2 quarts

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 6+ hours, for chilling

Ingredients:

24 Golden Oreos or vanilla-flavored sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped
one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream - for the No-Ice-Cream-Maker version (if using an ice cream maker, use 4 cups/1 quart)
3/4 cup+ sprinkles (I used 3 different kinds; two varieties of 'jimmies' and 1 non-pareils which are the little balls)

Directions:

1. These directions (through number 7) reflect the No-Ice-Cream-Maker method.
2. Chop the cookies; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, almond extract, and stir to combine; set aside.
4. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or large mixing bowl and hand mixer; or lots of elbow grease doing it by hand), whip 2 cups heavy cream to very stiff peaks, about 5 minutes on high power.
5. Gently add about half the whipped cream to the sweetened condensed milk mixture, and fold the cream in gently. Fold means turn the mixture over with a spatula from the bottom of the bowl up, rotate the bowl, repeat until the mixture is homogenous. The goal is to keep all that fluffy cream you just made as fluffy as possible. Take your time and be gentle. When you get the first half of the cream folded in and combined, add the remaining cream, and fold it until until mixture is smooth.
6. Add the cookies, sprinkles, and gently fold them in to distribute evenly.
7. Transfer ice cream mixture to a freezer-safe 2-quart container with a lid or freezer-safe bowl that can be covered with plasticwrap. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours, or until solid. Ice cream takes about 5 minutes to come up to room temperature to scoop it out without having to wrestle with a rock. Ice cream will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3 months.
8. If you are Using an Ice Cream Maker - Steps 1, 2, 3 are the same. Skip steps 4 and 5. Instead, add 4 cups heavy cream to the sweetened condensed milk mixture, and stir to combine. Step 6 is the same. For step 7, follow processing directions on your ice cream maker, noting to chill the mixture if necessary before churning.

Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

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Eagle Brand’s Vanilla Ice Cream

Martha Stewart’s No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

Our Best Bites Two-Ingredient Ice Cream

Amanda’s Easy Homemade Ice Cream Without a Machine

Michelle’s 47 Favorite Ice Cream Recipes

Bridget’s Mocha Ding Dong Ice Cream

Funfetti Cake Batter Blondies

No-Bake Vanilla Cake Batter Chocolate Truffles

Strawberry and Sprinkles Buttermilk Pancakes

10-Minute Homemade Hot Fudge (gluten-free)

Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups and Ice Cream

Baked Peach and Nectarine Donuts with White Chocolate Drizzle and Sprinkles

Chocolate Cake Batter Milkshake

Chewy Sugar Sprinkles Cookies

Cookie Butter Funfetti Triple Chip Bars

Thanks for the entries in the $500 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Do you make ice cream? With or without an ice cream maker?

Favorite ice cream flavor?

What’s your favorite ice cream?

Cookies in stick form.

One of the best parts of these cookie sticks is that they’re ready in under a half hour from start to finish.

Stir the dough together in one bowl, no need for a mixer, just press it into the pan and bake.

Because they’re baked in a pan, there’s no need to worry about spreading so you don’t have to chill the dough.

The baking time is brief and before you know it, you’re eating cookies. Or sticks.

To make them, I combined my recipes for Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookies, my go-to Blondie base recipe, along with Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups and Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars.

So many cookies and versions on a theme, but chocolate chip cookies never get old.

There’s no butter in them and instead I used canola oil. I used canola oil when I made Molasses Triple Chocolate Cookies.

And baking with coconut oil has produced some of my favorite cookies ever, including Soft Batch Dark Brown Sugar Coconut Oil Cookies.

Oil keeps cakes and muffins softer and moister than butter, and it kept the sticks soft, pliable, tender, and moist. I didn’t miss the butter flavor because I was too distracted by all the chocolate, but if you prefer melted butter, go for it.

There’s plenty of chocolate chunks lining the entire length of the sticks because I want chocolate in every bite.

The chocolate chunks remind me of lane dividers on roads.

They’re very soft with just a bit of chewiness. I kept them on the underbaked side because I prefer smooshy and gooey to crispy and crunchy.

Although the words crispy and cookies are mutually exclusive in my world, for firmer sticks, bake them for an extra couple minutes.

They’re so fast and easy to whip up and are perfect for lunch boxes, car snacks, or to toss in your purse for those you-never-know moments. I seem to have plenty of those.

Since they’re the same shape as granola bars, I pretended they were healthy granola bars instead of a cookies.

Remember the children’s game Pick Up Sticks?

These are the kind of sticks I want to pick up.

Chocolate Chunk Cookie Sticks

These sticks are a fun twist on chocolate chip cookies, but are much less fussy than cookies and are very fast to make, and ready from start to finish in under a half hour. They're soft, moist, tender, and have plenty of chocolate to satisfy your chocolate chip cookie cravings. They're portable, make great snacks, and you can't go wrong with chocolate chip cookies, in any form.

Yield: one 8x8 pan, about 12 to 14 sticks

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 23 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large egg
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil (1/2 cup unsalted melted butter may be substituted)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
about 3/4 cup chocolate chunks or chips (I used Enjoy Life Mega Chunks)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with aluminum foil and leave overhang, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together first 5 ingredients (through vanilla).
3. Add the next 4 ingredients (through optional salt), and stir until just combined; don't overmix.
4. Turn dough out into prepared pan, using a spatula or fingers to smoosh dough into corners. Smooth top lightly with a spatula.
5. Arrange chocolate chunks in rows (if desired) or simply sprinkle them evenly over the surface; press chunks is lightly, enough so they're anchored and bake into the dough or will be prone to falling out of the baked sticks.
6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes (sticks in photos were baked 19 minutes; for crispier sticks, add 2 to 5 minutes to baking time), or just until set in the center; don't overbake because sticks firm up as they cool. Allow to cool completely in pan before lifting out with foil overhang.
7. Place the large slab of baked dough on a cutting board and with a pizza wheel or sharp knife, cut into sticks. In order to get clean lines and very neat looking sticks as shown in the photos, you must wait for slab of dough to cool completely before slicing. Sticks will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

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Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookies

Soft and Chewy Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Molasses Triple Chocolate Cookies

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars

Funfetti Cake Batter Blondies

Snickerdoodle Cookie Granola Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Granola Bars (no-bake, vegan, GF)

Thanks for the entries in the 25 Cookie Jar Favorite Cookies and Cookie Cookbook Giveaway and in the $500 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

What’s your favorite cookie recipe?