Birthday Cake Chex Mix

I love chex mix. Whether it's sweet or savory, I can't keep myself from reaching for a big handful of it at a party. My favorite chex mix has always been the chocolate peanut butter muddy buddies or puppy chow as some people call it. A unique twist on muddy buddies, I found this recipe for cake batter flavored chex mix on Pinterest and decided to whip it up for a friend's birthday cookout. Being for a birthday party, I decided to dub it Birthday Cake Chex Mix to fit the occasion.

White Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cheesecake

Also known as the cheesecake that had in me in tears and cursing at 9:30 a.m. Oh, and also convinced me to give up baking forever... or well, for at least a day or two.

Remember a few months ago when I said I had never attempted to make a real cheesecake? Anything that required a cake to be "bathed" in water completely intimidated me. That is until I saw this gorgeous cheesecake from Baked By Rachel. With a week off from work, and a holiday gathering to attend, I decided it was time for me to tackle a cheesecake.

So what went wrong with this seemingly gorgeous cheesecake that caused me to have an early morning kitchen meltdown? What didn't happen is more like it.

Butter Pecan Cake

On Sunday afternoon, my family celebrated my Grandma's birthday over a home-cooked meal of stuffed chicken and all the trimmings. Not only was it my Grandma's birthday, but it also was my grandparent's 52nd wedding anniversary. Naturally, my grandparents celebrated their anniversary by buying a 60 inch 3D TV. I say naturally because my grandparents have always been up on the latest technology whether it be TVs or computers. My Granddad even bought me one of the first ever MP3 players way back when. It had enough memory to hold seven whole songs!

White Chocolate Nutter Butter Fudge

Big news last week. I mean, huge. Two of the greatest things known to man came together as one. And no, I'm not talking about New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys.

Maybe you haven't heard the news? If you follow me on Twitter you should know.

Ready for it?

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

I first heard of White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter by Peanut Butter & Co. by reading other food blogs. This is usually how I find out about fun food products. I searched high and low at my local grocery stores but was only able to find their Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter. On a trip to Baltimore a few weekends ago, I stumbled into a Whole Foods (we don't have these where I'm from), and found myself in the peanut butter aisle. I couldn't believe my eyes... there it was, White Chocolate Wonderful. It was almost as if I was staring at a pink sparkly unicorn basking under a rainbow with a leprechaun and the Easter Bunny. Even more astonishing? It was only $4.99! I know most of you are reading this saying, "who pays $4.99 for peanut butter?" Well, a girl who clearly has no conscience when it comes to finances. Plus, I paid close to $6 for the Dark Chocolate Dreams at my local grocery store, so this seemed like a steal. I snatched up a jar and ran to the checkout counter like I had just won the lottery.

I knew exactly what to do with the peanut butter. After eating half the jar by the spoonful (don't worry, I didn't double dip, I just went through about 10 spoons), I saved the other half for these cookies... White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies. As I was mixing them I had an even better idea... banana! Spying the ripe bananas across the kitchen, I grabbed one and threw it in the mixer (I peeled it first, of course), all the while my mom was watching me wondering how and when she had given birth to such a crazed lunatic. I assured her the banana was for the best. And why stop there? Next, I threw in some cinnamon. Again, my mom shook her head and thought for sure I had just ruined a batch of perfectly good cookies. Wrong. So, wrong.