Puppy Chow

There are several beautiful aspects of puppy chow, but the main ones are, in my opinion, that it is a) cheap, b) fast, c) DELICIOUS. I don't have any grand story to tell about how I came across this "recipe," if you can even call it a recipe. It just...happened.

I hope it happens for you, too.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 bag chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 9 cups chex cereal
• 3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Start by melting chocolate chips over the stove on a low heat setting.

Add the peanut butter and butter and continue to mix until melted. Add vanilla. And to be honest, you could just as easily melt all three ingredients in the microwave for 1 minute, stir and then add the vanilla. I was just on autopilot and did it this way.

Try not to steal a bite like this little elf.

Combine the chocolate/peanut butter/butter mix and the chex mix in a large bowl.

Mix well, but carefully. This might take a few minutes to get the chex cereal all covered.

Add chex mixture to a large ziploc bag with powdered sugar. Make sure the bag is zipped tightly and shake well.

Now come on. How easy was that?

Love and husband-made-desserts,

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Tim and I hosted a Doney/Wadsworth fiesta tonight. Yes, it is December 20th, and we are celebrating the country south of our border. Why? Because I have about 100 coupons for free tortillas, and I decided to use them. There were 11 people in our two-bedroom apartment, and two of those guests happened to be under the age of 3.

Did I mention we have the most unbaby-proofed apartment in the history of mankind? Because we do.

All that to say, I'm exhausted. But because I'm middle child, I tend to carry unnecessary guilt and set my expectations too high. It is for this reason that I feel I must blog about these sugar cookies. Tonight. Because someone might need them tomorrow.

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. 
• Beat in the egg and vanilla.
• Add in dry ingredients slowly. Please don't dump it in all at once, unless white is really your color.
• Drop teaspoonfuls of dough on sprayed pan and bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden brown.

You might notice that I did not do normal-shaped cookies. That's because I'm a sucker for my niece and nephew's adorable faces and just had to do the traditional "Christmas cookie-cutting event." If you're pathetic like me, roll out the dough on a floured surface and, using a rolling pin, spread out the dough until it's flat. Then cut out the shapes with cookies cutters and bake. Top with frosting and sprinkles. 

Then kiss the messy faces that eat the frosting by itself.

Love and sugar,