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KAF Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I know that I pledged to only post classic chocolate chip cookie recipes as part of my Chocolate Chip Cookie Experiment. And I don’t…

Cinnamon Swirl French Bread Recipe

This Homemade French Bread has become a favorite staple in our house, and we make it all the time. It’s perfect on it’s own,…

King Arthur Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Alright you guys. I’m pretty sure this is it. Like, the one. The cookie recipe I’ve been searching for. This Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from King Arthur Flour is seriously perfection.

Call me crazy, and I know we’re only 16 (with 36 left to go) recipes into the Chocolate Chip Cookie Experiment, but I’m honestly tempted to look no farther! This recipe from King Arthur Flour is everything I’m looking for…

Let’s talk about qualifiers for a perfect chocolate chip cookie:

Pretzel Pecan Crumb Bars Recipe

White chocolate covered pretzels, pecans and lots of chocolate chips come together in these Pretzel Pecan Crumb Bars that are perfect served warm with a side of ice cream.

Happy April Something Swanky readers! It’s Emily from It Bakes Me Happy here again to share another tasty bar dessert you’re sure to love! With the temperatures starting to rise that typically means picnics and family get togethers increase and these buttery, Pretzel Pecan Crumb Bars make the perfect ending to any meal.

I have days when I just crave something sweet and chocolatey, but I don’t know exactly what I want to bake. In fact I had one of those days last week, enter these Pretzel Pecan Bars; they’re buttery squares filled with white chocolate pretzel pieces, pecans and chocolate chips. They are pretty fantastic alone but even better when served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or make it a real treat and throw a little chocolate fudge on top as well. I really think you’re going to love these bars, they’re easy to make, delicious and a real crowd pleaser; enjoy and happy baking!

Cook’s Illustrated Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

This recipe has come highly recommended from bloggers and home bakers all over the place, and I was super excited to try it. If you don’t know it yet, Chocolate Chip Cookies are my jam. And any CCC recipe that comes this highly recommended puts me over the moon 🙂

And they’re totally worth the recommendation. But first, I have to tell you the pains I took to get my hands on the original recipe for these guys…

Do you guys remember the Neiman Marcus Cookies? They’re famous for having a recipe that cost Neiman Marcus patrons $250 to acquire.

Well, this recipe didn’t cost me $250. But it did cost me 39.99. Which, you know… is kind of equally annoying.

I found lots of recipes for these cookies from other bloggers. But I’ve been really committed through this experiment to follow each original recipe exactly to the letter. And I didn’t want to go off of another blogger’s version of the recipe in case they had changed a little something here or there.

So I found the original recipe on the Cook’s Illustrated website… available only to their paying subscribers. But they had a 30-day free trial option– provided you entered your credit card information, of course…which I did. I figured I’d just cancel once I got the recipe.

But then I thought… what’s so great about this site that you have to pay 39.99/month for access to their recipes?? Maybe I’ll just try it out for the month and see if I find any other really cool recipes.

You can guess the rest. I put a reminder to cancel up on the white board in my office, and Emma covered it up with some of her artwork… and today the subscription fee came out of my account.

And if you were wondering… nope. I haven’t re-visited the site since that first fateful day that I nabbed this chocolate chip cookie recipe. Not even once.

But I guess the silver lining to to this story is that we can all rest easy knowing that this is for sure the original and exact Cook’s Illustrated Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies!

So I bet you’re all wondering… was the 39.99 worth it?

Well, in all honesty, I would have been just as happy eating AllRecipes.com #1 Ranked Chocolate Chip Cookies or Food Network’s Simple Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipes that I didn’t have to pay for). But I will concede that this Cook’s Illustrated recipe is pretty darn good! It possibly broke into my top 5 favorites, so I guess that’s saying something (as we are now 15 recipes into the Chocolate Chip Cookie Experiment!!!). I love the flavor you get by using more brown sugar than most recipes call for. And by melting the butter and adding an extra egg yolk, this recipe yields a chewier cookie than most. Overall: very yummy!!

However… please feel free to donate 39.99 to Something Swanky each time you visit for the recipe 😉

Cream Puffs Recipe

Is there anybody in this world that isn’t completely obsessed with cream puffs? Maybe people who don’t like rainbows and unicorns and happiness. Maybe…

Easter Krispie Treats with Peeps and M&Ms Recipe

Honestly… I’m cringing a little posting this recipe. And I know that my reasons are silly and vain, but they’re there all the same….

Brownie and Bar Recipes

Healthy Chocolate Mousse Recipe

We’ll get right to the Healthy Chocolate Mousse Recipe. I don’t have any time to stay and chat today. I’m really sorry!

I try to do this pretty much never, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to eat and run. Today has been nuts. Just simple as that. But it’s totally okay. Because this recipe is actually perfect for those nuts-o kind of days. In fact, I made myself a bowl this morning before running out the door!

It’s two ingredients + fruit (if you want), takes about 10.2 seconds to whip up, and uses healthy ingredients! Win-win-win, right? Plus, it tastes like dessert. So another win.

I hope you enjoy this healthy chocolate mousse recipe on your busy days as much as I do! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to scoot!

Rainbow Bark Recipe

Rainbow-colored bark with gold coin sprinkles. Ingredients Needed for Rainbow Bark colored candy melts (like Wilton) in white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and…

Chocolate Filled Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

Chocolate Filled Thumbprint Cookies Chocolate Filled Thumbprint Cookies aren’t just for Christmas plates! Enjoy these buttery, chocolate-y cookies all year long with this simple…

Honey Bun Pancakes Recipe

I thought about waiting for a little while to post this recipe, since it’s, oh I dunno, the billionth breakfast recipe I’ve posted in…

Bananas Foster French Toast Recipe

I’ve come to the recent realization that I probably should have more aptly named my blog: Something Swanky Breakfasts That Taste Like Desserts. And…

Diner-Style Pancakes Recipe

We looooooooooooooove pancakes in this house. Like… love love. It’s not a special occasion food for us at all. It’s more like a Monday through Saturday food (because Sundays I usually try and do something a little extra special… you know.. like cereal or something 😉 .

Every morning I ask Emma what she wants for breakfast.

Every morning she says, “pan-pakes, please.”

And everrrrrrrrrrry morning I think, ooooh yeah, pancakes do sound good!

Which is why we have pancakes pretty much every day of the week for breakfast. Sometimes we take a little bit of a healthier route and make skinny funfetti pancakes or oatmeal pancakes or even these paleo banana pancakes.

But sometimes we get really wild, toss caution to the wind, and decide to make these gigantic, bigger-than-face-sized, diner-style pancakes smothered in butter and syrup. With chocolate milk on the side. Because, duh.

For those of you who aren’t quite as… er.. experienced… in the world of diner-style pancakes as I am, here’s what makes a diner-style pancake different than just regular old pancakes:

Cinnamon Toast Pancake Bread Recipe

Everything you love about a pancake in quick bread form – A moist, tender bread with lots of cinnamon-y goodness, hints of maple flavor, and a cinnamon sugar coating, – all topped off with a generous sprinkle powdered sugar. Yum!

Hi to all you awesome Something Swanky readers! I’m Emily and I blog over on Layers of Happiness where I share lots of delicious eats and treats with my mom. I am super excited to get the opportunity to share some delicious baked treats with all of you fun food-loving friends. Today I am sharing a super comforting and delicious Cinnamon Toast Pancake Bread with you.

This bread seriously blew me away with how yummy it was. It tastes just like the super pillow-y thick, soft pancakes you’ve always dreamed of and more. Hints of maple and cinnamon, and a cinnamon sugar coating. This is what all pancakes should taste like.

Make It Ahead — and Fast!

And because it’s a quick bread, it can easily be made ahead of time and eaten up throughout the week on-the-go. Say what?! Pancakes on a weekday morning. Yes way. And the best part is this bread comes together in about 10 minutes (maybe 5 if you are cool like that) with no mixer required. Long live easy recipes!!

XL Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie for One {or Two} Recipe

You guys. This is seriously the chocolate chip cookie for me! Golden, wrinkly, crinkly around the edges and wonderfully soft, chewy, and slightly under-baked…

Homemade French Bread Recipe

Oh, you guys. This French bread recipe.

It’s really a must-have staple recipe in every home cook’s repertoire. And once you go homemade, you’ll never want to go back to that store-bought bagged loaf again. Because nothing in the world compares with a hot, steamy, crusty loaf of soft french bread coming out of your oven.

And the best part? It’s absolutely fool-proof. I swear it.

Even for those of you with a yeast-bread-making phobia, I promise that you can make this bread. The very hardest part of the entire bread-making process is the 50 minutes you’ll spend letting it rise and then kneading it down.

WAIT!

I know. Seeing “50 minutes” anywhere in a recipe usually has me running for the door too. But really, it’s not so bad here. Let me explain…

Banana Pancakes Recipe

*******Update 2/20/15: all of my amazing Whole30 readers have come out of the woodwork to inform me that this recipe is apparently NOT Whole30…

Nutella Brownies Recipe

It’s official. I am obsessed with these Nutella Brownies.

Seriously. These are the deepest, darkest, richest, most fudgiest brownies I have ever eaten.

When I eat a brownie, I do not, under any circumstances, want to be eating chocolate CAKE. I want crinkly crispy tops, crunch edges, and a layer of straight up fudge in the middle. To me, that’s a brownie done right. And these brownies meet all the criteria to qualify for the Brownie Hall of Fame.

Maple Almond Butter Recipe

My husband and I are obsessed with Maple Almond Butter. O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D.

Our favorite is spreading it on apples, but really it’s amazing on anything. It’s smooth and creamy with a hint of sweet maple– seriously perfection in a jar.

And best of all: it’s super easy to make at home!

Honestly, I could (and do) just eat it by the spoonful.

Here’s the run down on making this jar of creamy goodness: you’ll need 2 cups of whole almonds. Toast them in the oven for a little under 15 minutes. Toss those into a food processor with a few other simple ingredients (sugar, salt, maple extract, a little bit of oil) and give it a whirl! Depending on your food processor, it will take anywhere from about 3 to 10 minutes for beautifully dreamy and smooth Maple Almond Butter!

And I promise: you’ll love this homemade version infinitely more than anything that you can buy in the stores. Guaranteed.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Welcome to recipe post number TWELVE in this Chocolate Chip Cookie Experiment. Admittedly, the experiment is going a little slower than expected since it’s really turned into more of an every-other-week thing rather than a weekly thing. But, no complaints here! Chocolate chip cookies are my personal favorite dessert after all, so I don’t mind dragging it out a bit 😉

For those of you who are just tuning in… I’m on a quest to find the most perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe ever– even if it takes me a year’s worth of experimenting! So far, my favorites have been:

DoubleTree Hotel Chocolate Chip Cookies– these have been my husband’s favorites too. They are chock full of chips, oats, and walnuts. But my favorite part about these cookies is that the oats and walnuts are not overly detectable. They are blended and chopped very finely, so that they just add a lot of girth to each bite rather than chunks. Love, love, LOVE!

NY Times Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookies– these are another family favorite. You get a big mouthful of chocolate in every bite of these, which makes them absolutely to die for!

AllRecipes.com #1 CCC– I loved the simplicity of these cookies. It’s basically the same recipe I’ve been using for years, and there’s a reason I’ve held on to it for so long– it’s a good, solid, basic recipe with very little fuss and a lot of great taste.

I enjoyed the recipe from AllRecipes.com so much, that I decided I’d try a recipe from another user-submission-based site: Food.com. While this recipe didn’t have as many reviews as the one from AllRecipes, it did have a 100% positive rating with TONS of comments from people who tried and loved the recipe.