Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s getting even chillier over here in Ohio and I am soooo here for it. The snow started falling around noon and it’s supposed to keep falling through tomorrow. Do I even need to tell you how excited I am about this?!?! We’re supposed to get 3-6” and for us here in central Ohio, that’s a whole lot of snow.
I’m about to start some tomato soup simmering on the stove and we’ll be dipping the best ever grilled cheese sandwiches into it tonight. My son, Ben, requested clam chowder for dinner tomorrow and I’m looking forward to that too. I’m thinking that we might need some cheesy biscuits to go with it.
ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Sometimes the simplest things end up being the biggest wins. That’s how I feel about this cheesy, crispy, Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadilla. My boys and I threw them together a few weeks ago for the first time with some of the items we tend to have on hand in the freezer. Suffice it to say that these are way tastier than they have any right to be!
This crave-worthy Ground Beef Fried Rice is absolutely packed with flavor, and it’s ready to eat in under 20 minutes. Did I mention that it’s a one pan meal? Yep. Quick and easy with almost no dishes to do? Count me in for seconds.
Everyone seems to have a different name for these melt-in-your-mouth Mexican Wedding Cookies. Regardless of what you call them, they’re dangerously delicious! Eat just one? Yeah, right.
Imagine you’re sitting at a European streetside cafe, sipping a tiny cup of espresso and watching all the people bustling along. The waiter brings you this confection for dessert. It’s a slice of Chocolate Salami, a rich and silky ganache, absolutely packed with crunchy cookies and walnuts. And, the good news? You can make this no-bake dessert at home in just 10 minutes. Buon appetito, indeed!
This luscious Chocolate Sea Salt Ice Cream is the kind of indulgence you whisper about at the end of a long day. I don’t know what it is about sea salt ice cream that has me hooked, but I’m in deep now, and there’s no going back!
What I’m CRAVING: This Christmas salad with fresh greens, mandarin oranges, pomegranate, candied pecans, and crumbled feta in a zesty citrus vinaigrette caught my eye this week. Not only is it beautiful, but it sounds absolutely delicious too!
My FAVORITE THINGS this week
Move over Chex Muddy Buddies, this Double Peanut Butter Muddy Buddies mix is going VIRAL! While we still love puppy chow with peanut butter and chocolate chips, this peanut butter and peanut butter chips version is the most addicting snack I have ever made! It’s creamy, it’s crunchy, and it’s got a secret in the powdered sugar you won’t believe!
Looking for more fun snack ideas? Make sure you check out our Reese’s Snack Mix, Salted Caramel Pretzel Snaps, or our Sweet Coconut Chex Mix.
The Best Muddy Buddies, AKA Puppy Chow Recipe just got a makeover. The DOUBLE PEANUT BUTTER Muddy Buddies recipes uses both peanut butter and peanut butter chips making it a peanut-butter-lovers dream snack! It comes together in just a few minutes, no baking needed, and results in the most irresistible snack to feed a crowd!
Why Our Muddy Buddies are Better
Listen, I have some issues with other recipes for puppy chow- too little clumping of peanut butter globs, too much or too little powdered sugar. Ugh, I want to indulge. I want to FEEL the heaviness of peanut butter goodness as clusters stuck together!
The Many Names of Puppy Chow
My mom and sister and I are in a group text and tonight’s text thread was about “muddy Buddies” vs “Puppy Chow”. I don’t know if it was a Pacific Northwest thing or an Idaho thing (that’s where my mom is from), but we call this treat “Puppy Chow.” Always have, always will. But the truth is, it has other names, like muddy buddies, monkey munch, dog food, Chex mix, but no matter what you call it, it’s delicious.
Our daughter and her friends make this recipe almost monthly making it a favorite in our household, (except for our famous GOOEY Peanut Butter M&M Cookies). I CANNOT stop eating either one!
Double Peanut Butter Muddy Buddies Recipe Ingredients
- Creamy Peanut Butter: The star flavor! It coats the cereal, giving it that rich, nutty taste and helps the other ingredients stick together. Peanut butter also adds smoothness and makes the mix more satisfying.
- Butter: Adds richness, a little extra flavor, and helps thin the peanut butter so it coats the cereal more evenly without clumping.
- Peanut Butter Chips: Boost that peanut butter flavor even more and give the muddy buddies a creamy, candy-like coating when melted with the peanut butter.
- Rice Chex Cereal: The crunchy base that holds everything together. Its light, crisp texture makes the perfect vessel for soaking up the peanut butter coating without gettin
This luscious Chocolate Sea Salt Ice Cream is the kind of indulgence you whisper about at the end of a long day. I don’t know what it is about sea salt ice cream that has me hooked, but I’m in deep now, and there’s no going back!
Chocolate Sea Salt Ice Cream
Travel seems to inspire so many of my recipes. And this one was no different. My sisters and I visited Santa Fe, New Mexico recently, and while we were there we found a shop that served a chocolate sea salt ice cream just like this one. It was love at first bite, for me.
My older sister wasn’t a fan of the sea salt ice creams, but I would have happily increased the salt even more. I just knew that I had to recreate those ice creams when I got home. I’m happy to report that I’ve nailed them both now.
As it turns out, I like salted ice cream so much that I’ve started sprinkling salt over pretty much every scoop of ice cream I serve lately. If you think that sea salt and chocolate is a strange combination, then I can’t wait to introduce you!
Sea salt chocolate captures one of my absolute favorite combinations, salty and sweet. I always sprinkle Maldon sea salt flakes over desserts like these chocolate chip pudding cookies. It takes them from really good to downright glorious.
The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!
Salted Chocolate Ice Cream
I’m really proud of the way that this salted chocolate ice cream turned out. I’ve worked on a lot of i
For all our chocoholics, these double chocolate chip cookies are about to become your new obsession. With double the chocolate and double the deliciousness, they are chewy, rich, and completely irresistible.
I struggled to find the perfect name for them whether it should be chocolate chip chocolate, chocolate chocolate chip, or simply double chocolate chip but one thing is certain this cookie recipe is absolutely divine.
I’m actually more of a fruit dessert kind of gal, and Cade is a chocolate lover, but when I make these cookies, it’s me who can’t stop eating them. I may have even grabbed a couple and eaten them alone in the pantry so I didn’t have to share with my kids. Shhhhhh…yes, I am one of those moms!
Ingredients You’ll Need
These double chocolate chip cookies are the best cookies for chocolate cravings. It starts like classic chocolate chip cookies and then we add all the chocolate! They could actually be called triple chocolate chip cookies because we have chocolate coming from three different directions. Yummmmm!
- Unsalted Butter: Adds richness and helps create a soft, tender texture.
- Eggs: Bind the dough and provide structure and moisture.
- Sugar: Sweetens the cookies and helps them spread slightly.
- Brown Sugar: Adds moisture, deeper flavor, and a chewier texture.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances and rounds out the chocolate flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour: Gives the cookies structure and helps them hold their shape.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and boosts overall flavor.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cookies rise and stay soft.
- Devil’s Food Pudding: Makes the cookies super soft, rich, and extra chocolatey.
- Cocoa Powder: Deepens the chocolate flavor and darkens the dough.
- Chocolate Chips: Add pops of melty chocolate throughout the cookies. (Use whatever kind you like! Milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, or even white chocolate chips work great!)
Jump down to the recipe card for all the exact measurements.
What Kind of Cocoa Powder is Best?
For the richest flavor and deepest color, use a high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder. Natural cocoa powder works great in these cookies because it delivers a bold chocolate taste and reacts well with the leavening for a soft, tender texture.
If you want an even more intense, almost fudgy chocolate flavor, you can use Dutch process cocoa powder, but it may make the cookies slightly denser. Both options work, so choose based on the flavor you prefer and what you already have in your pantry.
How to Make Double Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cookies
These double cho