Chocolate Cookie Butter Bars

The other half is so good about his dieting self discipline...I kind of feel bad for him...that his wife bakes what he shouldn't be eating like all the time. While I was baking these bars he said I was evil and I had better get them out of the house. My co-workers, on the other hand, are very happy to have me. Because of him I now have food guilt. When I go to the grocery store with him our cart is mostly filled with fresh fruit and vegetables...when I go by myself it's sugar, chocolate, and all kinds of junk food. I keep thinking the people in line in front of me are watching me load up the conveyor belt...judging me...thinking wow what a fatty. That being said this last trip to Trader Joe's along with the cookie butter and loads of chocolate, I swear I had everything pumpkin in the store...shame or not...I was getting this...all of this!

For those of you that have not tried cookie butter yet, stop what you are doing and go to the store right now and buy yourself a jar.  It's cookie butter at Trader Joe's or Biscoff at other grocers. This stuff is so amazing that I've been found eating it right out of the jar with a spoon. Trader Joe's just came out with Cocoa Swirl Cookie Butter and I just had to grab a jar. If fact, just telling you guys about it right now made me get up and go grab a spoonful. I'm powerless against it. I knew I wanted to make some bars with it and to make these bars even better I chopped up some of their cookie butter filled dark chocolate bars and threw them in as well. You will not be disappointed!

Chocolate Cookie Butter Bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

3/4 cup Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter swirled with Cocoa

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

4 Trader Joe’s speculoos bars (cookie butter filled dark chocolate), chopped

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 13x9 baking pan with foil and spray with non stick cooking spray.

2.  In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

3.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a large bowl with a hand mixer) cream together butter, cookie butter, granulated and brown sugar, until light and fluffy.

4.  With the mixer on low beat in the egg and then the vanilla.

5.  Then gradually add in the flour mixture until just combined.

6.  Turn the dough out into prepared pan and smooth out with a spatula, bottom of the measuring cup, or your hands, whatever works.

7.  Sprinkle the chopped chocolate bars over the top, pressing down slightly, and drizzle the sweetened condensed over the top.

8.  Bake in preheated oven for 17-23 minutes, mine spent 20 minutes in the oven. Then let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before lifting out of pan and cutting.

Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Cookies

I love the fall season. Not that we really get a "fall" here in Texas, but I just love the weather. It's finally nice enough to go outside and do things. During the summer you have to stick to water related activities because it's just too darn hot. Right now it's great, I've been eating my lunches outside and spending more time on the patio in the evenings. Anything to keep me occupied so I don't have to do housework, that's me. My poor husband, but it's not like he didn't know what he was getting into. He was fully aware he wasn't marrying a housekeeper or a cook. Luckily I married both...I know...I'm a lucky girl.

Are you ready for some yummy fall spiced cookies?

It's like autumn exploded in your mouth.

These are pretty quick and easy for a scratch recipe. Doesn't take too long to mix them up all in one bowl. This is my new favorite pumpkin recipe. They'd be great with coffee in the morning or just a little snack. For me they're dinner. My eating habits are so horrible when the other half is out of town. I'm like a kid trying to get my hands on all the junk food possible. But this isn't junk food...it has pumpkin in it...which is a fruit...therefore it's healthy.  Like my logic?

Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup cinnamon chips

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer) cream together butter and both sugars, until light and fluffy about two minutes.

3.  Beat in the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla extract, about another minute.

4.  With the mixer off add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice to the bowl. Then start on low to stir the ingredients together and then speed the mixer up and beat until combined, then stir in cinnamon chips.

5.  Drop tablespoons of the batter onto the cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven for 12-16 minutes. (mine were perfect at 14 mins) Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

While cookies are cooling, make cinnamon glaze.

For the glaze
Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp whole milk

Directions:
1.  Whisk ingredients together until smooth and spoon glaze over cookies.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.